.1^2^-99 tihvaxy of Che trheolo^icd ^eminarjp PRINCETON • NEW JERSEY Presented by Prof. Wm. Brentcn Greene, D.D. ^1885^^' Alexander, 1804- ^n^M^''''^ ""^ Presbyterianisi m New England A HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM IN NEW ENGLAND. ITS INTRODUCTION, GROWTH, DECAY, REVIVAL AND PRESENT MISSION. Alexander ""blaikie, D.D., FOR THIRTY-THREE YEARS PASTOR OF THE (u.) FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, BOSTON, AUTHOR OF "the PHILOSOPHY OF SECTARIANISM," ETC., ETC. **r% saints take pleasure in her stones. Her very dust to them is dear,^* T^WO -V-OXiTJ^v^ES IIsT OITE- BOSTON : PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR BY ALEXANDER MOORE, No. 3 School Street. 1881. Prioe$2.00. Sold by subsoription. SentbymaU. Copyright November 14th, 1881, by ALEXANDER BLAIKIE, 8Z2I North i6th St.. Philadelphia. FERQUSON BROS. & CO.', PRINTERS ANO ELECTROTYPCRS, PHILADELPHIA. Mtiitutlon. TO PRESBYTERIANS IN NEW ENGLAND. Respected Friends : — Our " Form of sound words," embracing doc- trine, worship, government and discipline, is not ephemeral. As a more exact embodiment of revealed truth, than is found elsewhere among human productions, it will be perpetuated. Both Prelacy and Congregationalism borrow our axle to keep their ■wheels in motion. They could not usefully exist without at least some consultative, if not judicial representation. As we see, in the case of the seven churches in Lesser Asia, the influ- ence of revealed truth is not always equable and enduring. It performs its mission successfully, in proportion to the faithfulness of its professors. Let us therefore be " valiant for the truth in the earthy" and be ''judged faithful to the Lord " — " followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises." This work is written, that, you may know something of the doctrine, faithfulness, endurance and success or otherwise, of Presbyterians informer generations here — under the overshadowing influence of a difiierent church polity — sustained by the civil power. It is " written for the generation to come : and the people which shall be created shall praise the Lord." (3) PREFACE Thrown by Divine Providence among Presbyterians, who were " strangers in a strange land," and subsequently called to reclaim (if practicable) the church estate entailed for their denominational use in the New England metropolis, the equity of title to which was once enjoyed by our pastor, church and congregation, by our Presbytery and Synod '' of the bounds ;'* but, perverted first, by schism, and then by furtive and hasty local legislation, impairing the obligations of a contract, in vio- lation of the Constitution of the United States, it became ne- cessary for the writer to examine existing records of church courts. This duty and privilege opened to him a new field of study and observatioiu of which, in common with others, he had known but a little. As the records were extensively lost, a knowledge of the prin- ciples, privations, sectarian oppression, and toils, of his denom- inational predecessors were floating into oblivion, and while the name survived, those who then wore it were extensively suc- cumbing before a different species of ecclesiastical polity. From these and similar facts, on consideration, he thought, that a contribution, not yet written, might be made to the his- tory of a portion of the church militant, that in an historic form, it might " strengthen the things that remain and are ready to die," while the workings of Divine Providence towards and with our people, may afford a melancholy interest to those whose hearts still " tremble for the ark of God." In attempting to do this, his difficulty was much increased, by the changes, which have been (and are being) rung, on and un- der the specific name, Presbyterian, in two hundred years. In the Council at Edinburgh in a.d. 1877, no less than forty-nine divisions were found to take shelter under the genera] name. Hence some type of it must be selected, as an approximation to a standard, and finding, that, that one which British Pres- byterians have ever brought to America, is more extensively authorized by divine revelation than any. other, the writer as- sumes it, (excepting, the chapters, circa sacra), as the criterion (5) 6 PREFACE. of comparison and the most scriptural existing human " form of sound words." This (the Westminster Confession of Faitli and Catechisms, drawn up by godly men under solemn vow), ])iesent:^ that " form of doctrine which is according to godliness" (with the above exceptions), with almost the entire accuracy of the exact sciences, while it stands out in contrast with the modern ideas, that, " the manner in which Congregationalism took its rise in New Eng- land renders it sufficiently divine," and tliat these two systems of church polity are all but the same. "Merely a question of church government, where no substantial principle of rehgion is involved" (Hon. ^V. Willis). The manly utterance of the editor of "the Conqref/ationalist^^ of December, 1880, is" worthy of all accei»tation : ""such talk as that Congregationalism and Presbyterianism are but twins, only to be separately identified by blue and red ribbons, is exceed- ingly superficiaf and unworthy the dignity of serious and candid minds." In honor to the truth, he distinguishes things that differ, he has a full right to his own opinions, is able to express them, and in so far as this work may be in opposition to his views, it is trusted that he will liave only honorable compe- tition, while the writer endeavors to shew the '' more excellent way." The task undertaken is one of vast difficulty. If it were sim- ply to write the history of Presbj^terianism in any other part of the Union, so far as facts could be presented that might be easily done. Take Virginia for example. In it also Presbyterians were ostracized by civil law. / " In 1642 a law was passed forbidding any other than an Episco- ' pal minister to officiate in the colony." The restraining inliuences of tlie civil power were for generations felt. Consequently, says the Rev. Dr. Miller, when the Rev. Messrs. Tennant and Find- ley were sent for, in 1745, to preach to a company of sinners, who had been awakened by reading the Bible and practical religious books, they must obtain license of tlie governor, before they could,' to them, "preach Christ." Tiiere also, the governor could, only with great difficultv, prevail on the court not to re- voke the license which he had granted to the eminent Rev. Samuel Davies, and send him out of the colony, and there also, the venerable Rev. John Rogers, D. D., who died so recently as 1811, was forbidden to preach, "under penalty of £500, and a year's imprisonment, without bail, or main prize." Prelacy, however, did not "take its rise in Virginia," and while in its three divisions there, it has fifty percent, of the clnu'ches, yet, all the different forms of religion found in that State, are alike, under the eye of the civil law, abreast of each other, and Pres- byterians are not badgered by the dominant sect, while if any new ones appear, they are almost wiiolly, if not altogether imported. PREFACE. 7 By tracing records and from other sources of information a history of Presbyterianism in that State could without much difficulty be presented, for the population are not religiously "given to change;" while (excepting among the some 25,000,- 000, in England and Wales, there are one hundred and thirty-^ three sects), we have among the 4,100,438 people in New Eng-'^ land, the most shifting quicksands of rehgious opinion in doc- trine and worship to be found in Christendom. Congregationalism, springing up Avithin the Northern Virgi- nia plantations as a colonial religion, had from its infancy an exclusive theocracy. ''He (the Rev. John Cotton) found tho whole country in a peri)lexed and divided state as to their civil constitution, and was requested, from the laws wherewith God governed his ancient people, to form an abstract of such as were of moral and lasting equity, which he did acceptably and judi- ciously. But ina.smucii as an Athenian Democracy was in the mould of the Government by the Royal Charter, which was then acted upon, Mr. Cotton effectually recomm^^ided it unto them, that none should be electors, nor elected therein, except such as were visible subjects of our Lord Jesus Christ, personally con- federated in our churches. In these and many other w^ays, he propounded unto them an endeavor after a theocracy, as near as might be to that of Israel." (Mather, Mag., vol. 1, pp. 265, 6.) It was thenceforth, wliile the charter w^as in force, "the sword of the Lord and of Gideon." AVhen, in after generations, this was partially set aside, by " half w^ay covenants " and other customs, from her ecclesiastical order, there sprang forth not a few sects, which by division and combination are still being multiplied. These, when combined by the tie of species, to Presbyterian- ism and Episcopacy, present a very formidable opposition, which extensively compels them, in New England, at least, to conform to her usages, customs, logic, and vocabulary. Hence, their "church order," being "sufficiently divine by the manner in which it took its rise in New England," has so far permeated Presbyterianism itself, as to subsist at times un- der its shadow and to increasingly revolutionize all that was formerly reliable: not only by its spurious effects upon govern- ment, but extensively in doctrine and especially in the matter and manner of praise in divine worship. Here then, beyond paucity of material, a limited field and local hostility, while the writer cannot harmonize with the largest portion of the Presbyterian family in the United States, who, from the standpoint of' their own ecclesiastical constitution for the first fifty years of their history (the Westminster Stand- ards), especially in the matter and manner of divine praise in religious worship, have become not a little Congregationalized — his task is still much more difficult. Sir, by " thus saying thou reproachest us also. " (Luke xi. 45.) m PREFACE. This offence he would desire sacredly to avoid, did truth permit. " It is impossible, but that offences will come " (Luke xvii. 1), and while" woe is unto him through whom they come" yet, by presenting those symbols of the common Presbyterian faith, which have stood the test of time for centuries, and noting de- partures from them as they have arisen, the diversity of secta- rian divisions domiciled by the elasticity of conscience in our age, under the name can be thus more intelligently arranged and correctly valued. Beside this, here we especially see, the vast disadvantage under which Presbyterians are placed in New England, while they with their moral worth, industry and zeal support that civil government which is supposed to protect them in the enjoyment of liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Again, in order that the reader may be aided in ascertaining what Congregationalism is and in discovering the utter irrecon- cilability of the two species, it and Presbyterianism, the author here presents ^from the pens of their own writers, under the former polity ,'*first, the " covenant," which is the corner-stone of their affiliated superstructure, the germ, the mother one of their existence. The first church Boston " was gathered August 27th, 1630, under the following Covenant : " In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in obedience to his holy will and divine ordinance,— AVe, whose names are hereunder written, being by his most wise and good providence brought together into this part of America, in the Bay of Massachusetts ; and desirous to unite ourselves into one congregation or church under the Lord Jesus Christ, our Head, in such sort as becometh all those whom he hath redeemed and sanctified unto himself, do hereby solemnly and religiously (as in his most holy presence) promise and bind ourselves to walk in all our ways, according to the rule of the gospel, and in all sincere conformity to his holy ordinances, and In mutual love and respect to each other, so near as God shall give us grace." This "Covenant " remains unchanged, although the church is now Unitarian, as is also the first church of their order, that of Salem, Mass. (Dr. R. Ellis.) Secondly. The following clear statement is given 235 years after " Congregationalism took its rise in New England," and to it the writer trusts, no exceptions v/ill be taken, as the sys- tem is, he believes, here in theory fairly presented. It is from the " Ev. Trai'.," of April 23d, 1864, which says : " A writer in the Becorder of this week thus defines Congrega- tionalism : " The independent churches of this country who adhered to the faith and worship of the Puritans, were early driven by their isolation to congregate together for mutual encouragement and counsel. This necessity originated Congregationalism, or at least first gave it currency. If it is not an American term it came into general use first in this country, and to this day is but little used among our English brethren. I>REFACE. 9 " Its theory is that the local church parts with none of its rights to self-organization and self-government by consenting to the usage of seeking advice from neighboring churches, in certain cases. When the pastors and delegates of invited churches assemble, the convocation is called an Ecclesiastical Council, whose province is to give advice only on the subjects referred to in the letter missive. It has no judicial or legislative functions. It can bind nobody by its decision without the consent of the party. It has no authority to try, or punish, or to perpetuate its doings by permanent records. It has no Manual of Discip- line, no liules and Orders to govern its proceedings. It is sim- ply a transient convocation, which expires forever wiien it ad- journs without day. How such a body can be confounded with an Ecclesiastical Court, it is difficult to understand ; and yet there has scarcely been an important council, from the days of Cotton Mather to the present time, which has not put on judicial airs and assumed to appropriate to itself the terms of established courts. "It is a beautiful exhibition of Christian liberty and church order when brethren, or local churches, in their perplexities or their important movements, call together their sympathizing neighbors, who are perhaps as well informed of the facts in the case as the parties themselves, and better qualified to judge, simply to ask their fraternal counsel, without the forms of pleading or of trial. Advice, when so given, in the spirit of the system, is more truly potent than any decisions of General Assemblies, or orders of the Bishop, or bulls of the Pope. " In these times of progressive liberty, it is vital to the exist- ence of the Congregational polity that the simplicity of its theory should be perpetuated in its practice. Pure Congregationalism will not bear the least mixture of authority from without the independent church. The touch even of Consociation soils it. If the churches do not like the action of councils, the remedy is always easy ; they have only to fall back upon their independence. If a code of laws is thought to be needful for their government, they may well take one of the numerous sys- tems already extant in other denominations— it matters little which. David would probably have lived about as long if he had gone out into the valley of Elah, with Saul's armor on, to meet Goliath, as Congregationalism can at the present time, with a code of statutes and precedents and ecclesiastical lawyers to enforce them." That these polities are distinct species, which can never be transmuted, the subsequent historical statements will verify, while their specific influences upon the welfare of man may be extensively learned ; where the one has had the full opportunity of developing its entire nature and tendencies, of which the other, on the same soil, has been by it deprived. " The question is always, not whether accomplishments, and virtues and piety exist within this or that system, but simply whether the system itself be good or evil" (Isaac Taylor). Hoping, that imperfect as it necessarily is, it may stimulate the 10 PREFACE. inquirer after truth, in distinguishing things that differ, to " earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints ; " in suUtserviency to the honor of her King and the glory of the Head M the Church, this work is submitted to the candor of the reader, by _ The Author. Philadklphia, 1881. INTRODUCTION. Pilgrim Fathers — Their Church order defective — Presbyterianism — Waldenses — Calvin — ;Knox — Scotland — England — Puritans — Ireland — Comparative Notice — Shawraut — The Puritans — Black- stone — Representation — Mrs. Hutchinson — A Synod — Woodbridge — Heretics — The " Eagle Wing " — A Providential Return — Clarke's Wharf — First Stoves — Scotch Bondmen — Scot's Charitable So- ciety. On the mere meation of New England, our thoughts are immediately directed to " Plymouth Rock." TJiere, not only was the civil polity, but, also, the " church order " of " the old colony " adopted ; and what- ever might have been " the form of sound words " chosen by earlier emigrants, if there were any, 1p neighboring localities, " the Pilgrim Fathers " on landing at that spot, selected and determined their future ecclesiastical govern- ment. Notwithstanding the influences, to some extent, of the specific religious views of their previous pastor, the Rev. John Roliinscn, being a people extensively familiar with the Bible in its varied adaptations, in doctdne, worship and discipline, they prepared for themselves a code of church polit}^ almost wholly in unison with the teachings of the word of God. For their views of sound doctrine and their scriptural order of government, they were previously on the Conti- nent extensively indebted to the labors of John Knox in a former generation. I refer to this, their chosen system, as the first tangible outline of doctrine, worship and of eccle- siastical order adopted in those colonies, which eventually formed New England — the history of Presbyterianism in which I undertake (D. V.) to write. First, "As to faith and the holy sacraments — they believed the Doctrinal Articles of the Church of England, as also of the Reformed Ciiurohes of Scotland, Ireland, France, the Palatinate, Geneva, Svritzorland and the United Provinces, to bo agreeable to the holy oracles : allowing all the pious meni- (11) 12 INTRODUCTION. bers of the churches communion with them, and differing from them onlv in matters 'purely ecclesiasticaV — {Princey N. E. Chron., vol. i., p. 91.) The successor of Mr. Francis Johnston as pastor in Am- sterdam in 1594-5, was "the learned Ainsworth." He prepared a version of the Psalms in metre. These the Pilgrims in all their pilgrimage used. In their " perils in the deep and perils in the wilderness " they gave to " God the fruit of their lips," and "let the word of Christ dwell in them richly," not in the sickly sentimental tones of modern organ-lofts, but from the fulness of hearts made joyful by the Rock of their salvation. In their adopted version the poetry was very defective, yet for sixty years it continued to be the psalmody of the First Church in Ply- mouth. In the utterance of their praise to God as an act of worship, they sang by note ; and while the version of Ainsworth continued to be used, they sang without reading the line. Their cburch order is tbus recorded: " Rule 3d, of cburch government : sec. 6th. " That the officers appointed by Christ for this imbodied church are, in some respects, of three sorts: in others but two, viz.: 1. Pastors, or teaching elders, who have the power both of overseeing, teaching, administering the sacraments, and ruling too, and being chiefly to give them- selves to studying, teaching and the spiritual care of the flock, are, therefore, to be maintained. "2. Me7'e ruling elders, who are to help the pastor in over- seeing and ruling; that their offices be not temporary, as among the Dutcli and French churches, but continual. And being also qualified in some degree to teach, they ara to teach only occasionally, through necessity, or in the- pastor's absence, or illness ; but, being not to give them- selves to study, or teaching, they have no need of mainte- nance. That, the elders of both sorts form the presbytery of overseers and rulers, which should be in every particu- lar church, and are in Scripture sometimes called presby- ters or elders, sometimes bishops or overseers, sometimes guides, and sometimes rulers. 3. Deacons, who are to take care of the poor, and of the church's treasure, to dis- tribute for the support of the pastor, the supply of the needy, the propagation of religion, and to minister at the Lord's table." (Prince, N. E. Chron., p. 92.) In this, so INTRODUCTION. 13 far as It extends, we find pure Presbyterianism defective only in two essentials, that of supplanting the ministra- tions of the ruling elders at the Lord's table by the inferior order of deacons, who in this arrangement are thrust into the office of their superiors, and in consequence of which, as the elders were thus shorn of their most solemn official duty and honor, the office was eventually by the same in- trusion, totally superseded in New England. This otherwise scriptural order of government was also defective from its isolated position, having no court of reference, review, appeal, nor of final decision — nothing be- yond mere advice. It consequently bore within itself the seeds of dissolution, the germinating of which caused Jon- athan Edwards to declare, "I have long been out of con- ceit of our unsettled, independent, confused way of church government in this land." Presbyterianism, while it has been extensively retained in much of its early scriptural simplicity from apostolic times till to-day, by the faithful Waldenses, had, at the commencement of the seventeenth century, in those lands, which then enjoyed the labors of the Reformers and their successors, but partiall}^ recovered from its oblivious sleep during " the dark ages." As early as a. d. 1535, the immortal Calvin had, in his " Institutes of Religion " (including doctrine, worship, and discipline), presented the scriptural form of church gov- ernment; and from a. d. 1541 till a. d. 1564, he successfully labored to apply this ecclesiastical polity in the scene of his ministry. John Knox returned from Geneva to Scotland in April, A. D. 1559, and the First Reforming General Assembly of the Kirk of Scotland met in Edinburgh on Dec. 20th, A. D. 1560. In their First Book of Discipline, "the great lines of Presbyterian government and discipline were marked out." It was " ratified and established by an act of Parliament in A. D. 1567 — as the public and avowed Confession of Faith of the Church of Scotland," and afterwards further established and confirmed by acts of Parliament, and by lawful General Assemblies — until, in that realm, it was superseded by the Confession of Faith agreed upon by the Assembly of Divines at Westminster, as examined and ap- 14 INTRODUCTION. proved in a. d. 1647, by the Church of Scotland, and rati- fied by act of Parliament in a. d. 1649. England had preceded Scotland in the Reformation ; but had by no means obtained equal purity. The doctrine of her church respecting the leading truths of tlie gospel, as laid down in the thirty-nine articles, -which are commonly called doctrinal, was, for substance, the same with that of the Church of Scotland (excepting on the tenets of the imputation of the guilt of the first sin of Adam to his posterity, and the imputation of tlio righteousness of Christ to the elect) ; but her worship was disfigured by a great number of Popish superstitions. The Romish prelacy was retained in her form of gov- ernment. The supremacy of the Pope was indeed re- nounced; but, the sovereign was constituted supreme head of the church, in all causes ecclesiastical. Many, who were nearly of the same principles of the Church of Scotland, and who consequently, were dissatis- fied with these corruptions, struggled for the further refor- mation of the National Church of England ; but, without success. "The Queen and Bishops growing more severe on the Puritans, it only alienates them more from the Hierarchy, as well as the ceremonies, and turns their minds to the Pres- byterian Discipline. And though man}' of their clergy were deprived and silenced, yet many others by the favor of several great men in court and council stay in their places upon using the less offensive parts of the liturgy, without subscription. And now Bancroft and Cowell tell us, that, on Nov. 20th, 1572, this Puritan part of the clergy began to erect a Presbytery at Wandsworth, in Surrey ; which Ful- ler says was Ihe first-born of all Presbyteries in England, and names sixteen of the clergy belonging to it ; that May 8th, 1582, there was a synod of sixty ministers of Cam- bridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk at Cockfield, in Suffolk; and the summer following another in Cambridge at the commencement; that April 10th, 1588, there was another of the Warwickshire's classis at Coventry ; that by Sept. 1st, 1590, the Presbyterian Discipline so grew in the church, that their classes spread into diverse other parts of the kingdom and had their Assemblies at London, Cambridge^ Oxford, Northampton, Kittery, Warwick, Rutland, Leices- INTRODUCTION. 15 ter, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and other places : but in 1591, the High Commission and Star Chamber courts dissolved them. In the spring of 1603, there were 750 ministers (i. e., church ministers) in twenty- five of the forty counties in England, and twelve of Wales, who petitioned King James 1st, to remove the ceremonies, the publick reading of the books of the Apocrypha, Nonresidence, Pluralities, and the Popish canons. And Rushworth tells us that in 1626, the country was so overspread with Puritans, that Williams, Bishop of Lincoln, would not meddle against them, and said, he was sure they would carry all at the last. Yet all this time there were but few separations from the established church, nor would the law allow them in England till King William's time." (Prince, N. E. Chron., p. 234.) Still, their labor was not lost, for their efforts were much blessed, as means of promoting the real interests of religion in that kingdom, and preparing the way for the reforma- tion which followed. These were commonly called Puritans. The name was probably given in a. d. 1564, and was designed to stigma- tize those who did not conforui to the Episcopal liturgy, etc., etc. Afterwards when Arminianism arose, they were called doctrinal Puritans; and the term became a stigma for all Christians who were sound and pure " in the faith." In Ireland, although the great body of the natives con- tinued to be Papists, a considerable part of the people who were descended from English ancestors embraced the refor- mation, nearly after the model of their mother country, and while many emigrants from Scotland had settled in that kingdom (and multiplied until afterward, in 1734, they numbered 700,000) and retained the profession and worship of the Scottish church ; yet Episcopacy was es- tablished by law in that part of the British empire. In attempting to purify the Anglican establishment, the Puritans, finding their labors unsuccessful, a part of them removed from " the tents of Kedar," and a church colony of their people reached Holland in a. d. 1608. After sojourning a year in Amsterdam they removed to Leyden. "In 1609, Mr. Robinson's church there chose Mr. Brewster assistant to him in the place of an elder, ^^ 16 INTRODUCTION. (Prince, p. 26.) Finding licentiousness prevalent, their sons often leaving them to be soldiers and sailors in the Dutch service; and fearing, that in a few years, their chil- dren would have become Dutch and their church become extinct, they, in 1617, began to think of removing to America. And in 1620 they record, "the greater number to stay with Mr. Robinson at Leyden. Their elder Mr. Brewster to go with the other party. Those who go first to be an absolute church of themselves as well as those that stay: with this proviso, that as any go over or re- turn, they shall be reputed as members, without further dismission or testimonial, and those who tarry to follow the rest as soon as they can." {Prince, p. 66.) The history of their designs, sufferings and successes, until they adopted their "order of church government," has been all gratefully chronicled by their descendants — and it is doubtful, if time can ever obliterate the interest- ing story. Be this as it may, we return to their " church order," as our only tangible point of departure, and with the previous comparative notice of its want of identity with Presbyter- ianism the writer shall now attempt to trace the intro- duction, growth, decay, revival and present mission of the latter ecclesiastical polity into and in New England. We have had our attention directed to Plymouth Rock, yet but a very small proportion of the population of New England are the descendants of those who made it mem- orable, and who became the founders of " the old colony." As the tidings of the prosperity of the " Pilgrims," reached their native land, encouraged by "good news from afar country," colonies of Puritan emigrants prepared in a few years to follow them. Of these, the most important was that of Massachusetts bay, which with a royal charter, and many of the conveniences of life (so far as they were then known) made their final settlement on the Peninsula of Shawmut. Here, an ecclesiastical transition took place, of which we present an account in appendix A. '^Ceremony mongers,^^ says Mather (Mag., vol. i., pp. 249, 250), " drove these wor- thy men out of their native country into the horrid thickets of America-/-and the first planters in New Eng- land at their first coding over, did, in a public and printed /ode» ^<^^ INTRODUCTION. 17 address, call the Church of England their dear mother, de- siring their friends therein, to "Recommend them unto the mercies of God, in their constant prayers, as a church now springing out of their own bowels ; nor did they think that it was their mother who turned them out of doors, but some of their angry brethren, abusing the name of their mother, who so harshly treated them." Previous to landing and while they were engaged in pre- paring places of habitation, the less objectionable portions of the Episcopal prayer book were in use on each Sabbath among the fifteen hundred persons on board of the four- j teen ships in which they had at different times arrived. V Now, a chasm ensues — and we find them some time after • landing, no longer Episcopalians, but Congregationalists. A wide remove was soon made from the form, under which they had been trained in their native land. Blackstone, who (so far as is known) was the first white man who slept on Shawmut, and who claimed the whole peninsula, for thus upon it obeying the demands of nature, although a stern Episcopalian, was not a thorough Conformist, and he told the newcomers, " that, he came from England, because he did not like the Lords Bishops; but, he could not join with them (the Governor and colon- ists) because he did not like the Lords Brethren." To avoid their " theocracy," he retired to a life of solitude on its banks and gave his name to the Blackstone river. (Hutch- insoTh's Hist, of Mass., p. 26.) On the arrival of the Rev. John Cotton (with the Rev. Messrs. Hooker and Stone) in 1633, "the Governor and council and elders in Boston received him for their teacher, in which office he was ordained and installed October 17th, in the same year. " Mr. Thomas Leverett,an ancient member of Mr. Cotton's church in England, was at tlie same time ordained ruling elder." " The order of proceeding in Mr. Cotton's ordina- tion was intended as a precedent, and the Congregational churches of New England have generally conformed there- to ever since." (Hut., p. 38.) Cotton had officiated for twenty years in " holy orders," yet, when he became iden- tified with this new form of ecclesiastical polity, they gave him a new ordination. Hooker, " a preacher of great ce- lebrity," in like manner received anti})relatical and anti- 18 INTRODUCTION. presbyterian ordination. This new form became enduring without " tactual succession." As the freemen of the col- ony were so increased in a. d. 1634, that, it was impracti- cable to debate and determine matters in a body, the Presbyterian element of representation was forced upon them in their civil affairs, as a necessity, but, no provision "had been made for it in their charter." {lb., p. 40.) A similar necessity was soon forced upon them in their ecclesiastical matters also — " for which, no provision had been made in their charter." When "Mrs. Hutchinson set up meetings of the sisters and sixty or eighty prin- cipal women attended them," it was found necessary to resort to Presbyterial order (at least in part) and to ignore a usage of our modern Congregational churches (then unknown) " the result of council." Mere advice and recommendation, ministers and elders knew from the Scriptures, were not the order " in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth," and " in a. d. 1637, a synod was called and held, before which, Mrs. Hutchinson was charged with two errors. 1. That the Holy Ghost dwells personally in a justified person — and 2. That nothing of sanctification can help to evidence to believers, their jus- tification." (Hut., p. 57.) In that synod (which was commenced on the 30th day of August and continued three weeks) above eighty points or opinions were condemned as erroneous. The "de- crees " of this synod were signed by all the members ex- cepting Mr. Cotton. He maintained, that union to Christ preceded faith in him. (lb., p. 68.) Ministers and elders (not deacons) constituted that synod ; and in their whole polity, as thus founded, " the elders had great influence with the people. When the great influence of Mr. Cotton inclined Mr. Hooker to go to Connecticut, to be out of his reach, they, the people, by aid of the elders carried the point." (lb., p. 47.) Presbyterianism crept so closely into all their church and educational matters, that the civil power alone could at times prevent its influences. " On February 22d, 1633, the Rev. Messrs. Roger Williams and Skelton, of Salem, were afraid, lest an association of ministers in and about Boston, who met once a fortnight at each other's house, may tend to promote Presbyterian- INTRODUCTION. 19 ism and so endanger the liberty of the churches." {Felt^ HisL of Salem.) "In 1642, nine persons (the first gradu- ating class) left Harvard. "Benjamin Woodbridge, the first-born of that college (who became successor to Dr. Twisse at Newbury), although inclined to Presbyterianism — (to use Mr. Mather's words), was not malignantly affected." (lb., p. 107.) While " Congregationalism took its rise in New Eng- land," it was in due time carried to England; and " the oldest church of the Congregational order in London," the Rev. Dr. Joseph Parker's, was founded in 1640, by Dr. Thos. Goodwin, President of Magdalen College, "Oxford, and afterward chaplain to Cromwell. (Christian Insir., Feb. 10th, 1877.) " The Pilgrims, with their elders and deacons had a different order in 1620, and the ' ecclesiastical tran- sition,' noticed, by which Episcopalians became Congrega- tionalists, confirms the position, that 'it took its rise in New England.'" Although they had no bishop nearer than London, they (according to the Papal order in England) divided the Bay colony into parishes, each having its " church of the parish." "Of the 22,000 emigrants who came over before 1640, no less than 4,000 it is said had been Presbyterians in England," and while this persuasion were so far in the minority, yet the first churches, such as Salem, Charlestown and Boston had ruling elders, possibly by wa}^ of com- promise, and in 1646, the ministers, with probably an elder from each church, met in synod at Cambridge, Mass. They "came together, not to enact a code of ecclesiasti- cal laws, not even to construct an original system of church polity, but simply to compare notes and usages, and commit to writing that system which had already sprung into use among them, and thus make a declaration of the church order, wherein the good hand of God had moulded them." Hence, " the manner in which Congre- gationalism took its rise in New England renders it suffi- ciently divine," (Boston Christian Observatory, vol. i., no. 8, Aug., 1847, indorsed by the Year Book of Congrega- tionalism for 1853.) " Those who lived in the next age, speak of this, as the aurea aetas (golden age) when religion and virtue flour- ished." (Hut., p. 91.) 20 INTRODUCTION. The ministry, supported morally by the scriptural order of ruling elders and in temporal atiairs by the strong arm of the civil law, under their theocracy, were now, not only re- spected in the colonies, but, some of them were invited to return and assist in deliberations in Great Britain. "Cot- ton, Hooker, and Davenport were invited to the Westmin- ster assembly in 1643. "Cotton would have gone, but he had no company. Davenport, of New Haven, would have gone, but his con- gregation having but one minister could not spare him. Hooker did not like the business " {Hut, p. 112); and as Congregationalism often on the popular breath makes a man absolute and affords ample scope for ambition, so he, remembering doubtless the dominant sway of Mr. Cotton at Boston, and the opportunity which was now offered to him. to be at least his peer, in a sister colony, " was about that time framing a system, or plan of church government, which was designed for the New England churches^ let the determination at Westminster be what it would." (76., p. 112.) In his opinion they had as yet, rememher, no plan of church government in "the New England churches." Vast events are at times suspended on trifling consider- ations— the want of company on the part of Cotton ; the want of an ardent desire for the welfare of the entire church in the British Empire on the part of a congregation at New Haven, and the spirit of " Diotrephes " in Hooker, pre- vented the identifying of these ministers, with the only grand inquest of competent men, made under vow, on the systematic doctrinal teachings of the word of God, which was ever held. " I, A. B., do solemnly vow, that in this assembly of which I am a member, I will set down nothing in doctrine, but what is most agreeable to God's word, and nothing in form of discipline but what will make most for God's glory." If they had gone thither, imbibed the spirit of the as- sembly and returned with it to bless New England — possi- bly, the sword of persecution might (in these colonies) have slept in its scabbard— or, they might at least have pre- vented those " usages of the churches," which now allow, by a figment of local statute law under their Athenian INTRODUCTION, 21- democracy, " an increase of sinful men " to sweep away to the moonliglit of Christianity, to Unitarianism, the endow- ments established and the trusts created by pious persons, for the glory of God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. I say possibly only — for their theocratic form of union of church and state afforded too much scope to the am- bition of civil rulers here, to be easily foregone, and " the first authoritative and official civil action against Presby- , terianism, in New England, was taken in 1643, or 1644, F against those, who would sustain the teachings of its sym- f bols" — for, "several persons, who came from England in 1643, made a muster to set up Presbyterian government under the authority of the assembly at Westminster ; but, a New England assembly, the General court, soon put them to the rout." (Ih., p. 112.) In this, we see the atti- tude of New England towards Presby terianism from the first. It must not be tolerated. " Lechford in 1641, says, of late, divers of the ministry have had set meetings to order church matters, by which it is conceived, they bend towards Presi^yterian rule." (HuL, Boston, 1764.) As the Star Chamber, in 1591, extin- guished Presbyterianism in England, this persuasion were equally powerless in New England under the theocracy. There for generations they were not allowed to exist. "From 1637 till 1656 they had general quietness on ecclesiastical matters, yet, no religious opinions but their own could be tolerated, or, they would take the lives of here- tics.'' (Hut., p. 175.) The hand of Divine Providence prevented such a mani- festation of the spirit of their theocracy in one particular case; which I now mention. Presbyterians in Scotland, being assured by letters, that they might exercise their church government in New England, sent over an agent who pitched upon a tract of land, near the mouth of the Merrimac river; and in 1636, the "Eagle Wing," with 140 passengers, accompanied b}^ those eminent servants of God, Blair and Livingston, sailed from Carrickfergus to found a \ colony of Presbyterians on the Merrimac. The overruling of Divine Providence was seen in the failure of their en- 1 terprise. By stress of weather the vessel was forced to ' put back and the project was abandoned. This portion of the wilderness was then assigned to an- 22 INTRODUCTION. other people, and these ministers of Christ had large doors of usefulness opened to them, in and on behalf of their native land at one of the trying periods of her history. It was providential that they returned, as they would assuredly, notwithstanding their letters, have been driven off, if they had found their way to the Merrimac. Noth- ing could have saved them then, as residents in New Eng- land, but changing their religion — and they were not the men, nor were those whom they accompanied the people, to do this. Such was the overruling of Divine Providence that they were (with others) instrumental in raising in their own land a people, who nearly a century afterwards should come to the Merrimac and found a colony of Presbyterians, at a time when Presbyterianism was permitted under cer- tain conditions to exist in the unclaimed wilderness. With the hermetical seal of the sword upon Presbyte- rianism in these colonies, those, of this persuasion, who, as adventurers, during this century, found their way hither, had to succumb in conscience and principle to the "Lord's Brethren." Individuals of this character entered the colony at an early period in its history — and Clarke's street and Clarke's wharf in Boston perpetuate the name of one, a Scotch physician, who in his profession accumulated a consider- able amount of property in the town. As we learn from a codicil in his will, he in all probability, first substituted stoves for open fire-places in chimneys. But, "tell it not in Gath," the first numerous arrival of Presb34erians in New England after a. d. 1640, were bond- men. " They w^ere transported from their native land and sold in America, for fidelity to their oaths of allegiance to King Charles the Second. Their misfortunes overtook them for a great fault. They had sworn to their own hurt to a Papal monarch, and they \vould not change. Not only did they with many others invite him to ascend his native throne, but, they were disposed to aid him in his ambition to restore Popery to the three kingdoms, and for this purpose (most blindly it would seem) placed them- selves under him in opposition to ' the State of England. ' It was therefore (continues Dr. D'Aubigne) a remarkable and a sorrowful spectacle, wdiich might then be viewed, on INTRODUCTION. 23 the borders of Scotland ; one Christian army advancing against another Christian army. " This sight has no doubt been too often witnessed in history. But, in most cases, the troops which march against each other are Christian only in name, while the two forces of Scotland and England possessed (to speak generally) both the spirit and the reality of Christianity." They read the Bible in the same tongue, sung the songs- of Jehovah in the same version,* and prayed each for the overthrow of the other to the same God, through the one Mediator. Gladly would I say, "publish it not in the streets of As- kelon," for at such a spectacle the " uncircumcised tri- umph." But, so, it was. At Dunbar, on September 3d, 1650, the Scotch were discomfited. Besides slaughtering 4,000 men, Cromwell took 10,000 prisoners, exclusive of officers. Of these "the Governors of the kingdom" banished at least a great number to the colonies, where they were sold to several years of servitude to defray the expenses of their transportation; or, to increase the wealth of those who bought and sold them. As men were of old to "buy fields for money, subscribe evidences, seal them, and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin and in the cities of Judah " (Jer. xxxii. 44), so, in the capital of New Eng- land, Presbyterians were bought for money, evidences / subscribed and sealed, and witnesses taken in the trans- action, and the entire matter placed on record, as if they had been simply parcels of real estate, instead of living men. By ordinance of Parliament, dated the 20th day of October, 1651, in the cargo of the "John and Sara," planters' stuff, provisions and Scotch prisoners were im- ported at Boston free of duty ; and at the request of Thomas Kemble, the consignee, the following entry was made on the Registry of Deeds, for Suffolk county, Mass., on the 13th day of May, a. d. 1652. List of passengers in "the John and Sara." Of two hundred and sixty-two I give the following names : * Cromwell on one occasion, on the Scottish border, before engaging in battle, sang with his army the 117th Psalm in the Presbyterian ver- sion, and he with the 68th led his men to victory at Dunbar. 24 INTRODUCTION. Donald Roye, Jas. Moore, Walter Jackson, Daniel Sim- son, John Rosse, Daniel Hogg, Hugh McKay, John Mc- Donnel, Wmr Stewart, Alester Grant, David Patterson. These were "Registered at Gravesend, at the Search office, on Nov. 8th, 1651, by John Bradley, Sealer, with the arms of the Commonwealth," and entered in Boston as stated above by " F. Edward Rawson, Recorder." " Captain Greene had orders to deliver them to Thomas Kemble, of Charlestown, who was to sell them, and with the proceeds to take freight for the West Indies." (i\\ E. H. and G. R., vol. 1., p. 377.) " By order of the ' State of Eng- land,' many Irish Presbyterian people were also sent to New England. On their arrival they were sold by those at whose expense they had been brought over to any of the inhabitants who were in want of slaves or servants. There arrived in 1654 a ship called the ' Goodfellow," Captain Geo. Dell, with a large number of emigrants of the above description, two of whom were thus sold." (From an ori- ginal paper of the time, in possession of Frederic Kidder, Esq.) " May 10th, 1654, I, George Dell, master of the ship called ' Goodfellow,' have sold to Mr. Samuel Symonds two of the Irish youthes I brought over by order of ' the State of England ' — the name of one of them being William Dal- ton and of the other Edward Welch — for the sum of six and twenty pounds, in corn, merchantable or live cattle, at or before the end of October next. Geo. Dell." (In Salem Court Files, p. 77 ; vol. viii., H. and G. R.) " It is probable that some, or many of these Scotch were sent to Barbadoes, as all their names do not seem to appear in any other way in this country excej^ting on this list." Governor Hutchinson's collection of original papers gives an extract of a letter from the Rev. John Cotton to the Lord-General Cromwell, dated at Boston in New England, 28th of 5th month, 1651, respecting some prisoners of the same class of persons included in the above list, sent over before these arrived. "The Scots, whom God delivered, into your hands at Dunbar, and whereof sundry were sent hither, we have been desirous (as Ave could) to make their yoke easy. Such as were sick with scurvy or other dis- INTRODUCTION. 25 eases, have not wanted physic or chyrurger}^ They have not been sold for slaves to perpetual servitude, but for six, seven or eight years, as we do our own — and he that bought the most of them (I hear) buildeth houses for them, for every four a house, and layeth some acres of ground thereto, which he giveth them as their own, requiring three days in the week to work for him by turns and four days for themselves, and promiseth, as soon as they can repay him the money he laid out on them, he will set them at liberty." (lb., p. 380.) As these Scotch and Irish were considered " dissenters," their religious opinions could not be tolerated under the charters of any of the New England colonies.* Consequently, when their years of servitude expired, they found themselves in a position of much trial. They were ex}~)atriated from their families, from the places of their fathers' sepulchres, and from their chosen form of religious worship. They had endured defeat, oppression, toil and poverty, and now when "strangers in a strange land," they still set their trust upon the Lord, and endeavored (according to their opportunity) to do good. Their trials taught them to '' know the heart of a stranger," and their charity prompted the adoption of approi:)riate means of relief on behalf of those who might in future come from their native land and require as- sistance. Consequently, they obtained the honor of establishing the oldest eleemosynary society in America — "the Scots' Charitable Society " of Boston. Of it, the first meeting was held on January 6th, 1657, when the following preamble was adopted and signed : " We whose names are underwritten, all in the most part present, did agree and conclude for the relief of ourselves, and any other for the which we may see cause, to make a box, and every one of us to give as God shall move our *PIyniontli and Massachusetts colonies continued separate until Oc- tober 7th, 1691, when they were united by King Willi;uu and Queen Mary as the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Connecticut and New Haven colonies were separate governments till April 23d, 1662, when King Charles made them Connecticut Colony in New England. {Hist. 1744, p. 73.) 26 INTRODUCTION. hearts, whose blessing and direction we do from our hearts desire to have from him who is able to do abundantly above all that we are able to ask or think, both in the beginning and managing of that which we do intend ; and therefore that we may express our intention and become our own in- terpreters (leaving those that shall come after us to do bet- ter than we have begun) hoping that by the assistance of the great God, who can bring small beginnings to greater perfection than we for the present can think of, or expect, and likewise we hope that God, who hath the hearts of all men in his hand, and can turn them which way soever he pleaseth, will double our spirits upon them and make them more zealous for his glory, and the mutual good one of an- other, and therefore knowing our own weakness to express ourselves in this particular, we leave ourselves and it both to God and to the word of his grace, and do desire to declare our intentions about which we have agreed. " That is to say, that we whose names are inserted in this book, do and will, by God's assistance, give as God will move us and as our ability will bear at our first entering. " 1. But it is agreed that none give less at their first en- tering than twelve pence, and then quarterly to pay six' pence. " 2. And, that this our benevolence is for the relief of ourselves, being Scottish men, or for any of the Scottish nation whom we may see cause to help (not excluding the prudential car^ of the respective prudential townsmen whose God shall cast away any of us or them) but rather as an addition thereunto. " 3. And, it is agreed that there shall nothing be taken out of the box for the first seven years for the relief of any (the box being yet in its minority). " 4. And it is agreed that there shall be one chosen (one of good report, fearing God and hating covetousness) quar- terly to receive the duties of said box, likewise what lega- cies may be left unto it. "5. And that the first box-master shall give up all the revenues of said box unto the next one that is chosen, and so continue until the company may see any inconvenience in it or cause to alter it. " 6. And it is further agreed, that our children shall have the same privilege with ourselves; they entering (when they are grown up) orderly. INTRODUCTION. 27 "7. And it is further agreed that those who doth wilfully neglect to pay their duty, and have entered for the space of a twelvemonth, together, shall have no benefit hereafter by said box. " The names of those who first began to enter the box, sixth of Jimuary, 1657 : Robert Porteous, first chosen box- master; William Cosser, Alexander Simson, George Thomp- son, James Moore, James Grant, Thomas Dewer, William Gibson, Alexander Grant, Andrew Jameson, William Bal- lant3're, William Speed, James Inglish, John Clark, Peter Grant, John Kneeland, Thomas Palsous, William Ander- son, James Webster, Thomas Shearer, John McDonald, George Trumble, Alexander Boyle, John Bennet, James Adams, Malcolm Maktallome, John Mason." I present this long instrument, not only to show their manner of doing good, but especially that the reader may discover from its tone and spirit what manner of men they were; men "fearing God and hating covetousness." By an expression in their preamble to " rules and laws," adopted in 1684, it may be inferred that to many of them their wives and families had not come, and that others had married in the land. The surname of three or more of these expatriated men exist in their descendants in Boston after a lapse of two centuries. What efforts they made to obtain public or re- ligious worship in the Presbyterian form and a pastor, if any, we know not, but in 1662 the Rev. James Keith came from Aberdeen to Boston, and it is reasonable to conclude that, considering the " clannishness of the Scotch," he must have done what he could to have gathered together these " dispersed of Israel " here, who, although they were then slaves, were by birth his countrymen. The record of his labors previous to 1664 appears to be lost. At that date he was settled as pastor at-- West Bridg- water, where he died in 1719. (Barb., p. 531.) 28 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM CHAPTER I. Huguenots, 1686— First Presbyterian Church— Their Lot in 1704— • Forbidden to build for eleven years — 1716, first I^resbyterian Meeting House built in Boston — Prayers in Frencii — House sold in 1748 — LeMercier — Bought by enemies of Whitefield, and it became a Mass House — French Presbyterian ism extinct. No ecclesiastical organization being permitted to the Scotch, these detached Presbyterians in due time either re- turned to their native land, went to other provinces, or be- came absorbed by the churches of the colony. "Absorbed." Thus, of the one hundred souls given by the " Privy Coun- cil " to the Laird of Pitlochie, who sailed with them in September, 1685, from Leith road for New Jersey, and of the surviving one hundred and forty persons, out of two hundred others (three hundred in all), who in the same vessel left Scotland voluntarily to escape persecution — when pursued by Mr. Johnston (the son-in-law and sur- vivor of Pitlochie) for their four years' service, the most part came to New England. In Waterbury, Connecticut, the Rev. John Eraser, one of these exiles (and afterwards minister of Alness, in Scotland), married Mrs. Jean Moffat, who had suffered prosecution in the same manner as her husband did, and for whom, her father had paid at sundry times one thou- sand merks of fine, on account of her absenting herself from the parish church, and frequenting field meetings, jjrior to her transportation. They continued in New Eng- land until they heard of King William's accession to the throne. Then they returned to Scotland." (Acct. of Rev. Jas. Fraser, of Pitcalzian.) Those speaking the English language were not allowed to introduce Presbyterianism into either of the New Eng- land Colonies. It, however, was brought in, in " an un- known tongue." IN NEW ENGLAND. 29 "About the middle of the 16th century (says Mosheim) all the French churches without exception, entered into the bonds of fraternal communion with the church of Geneva," and on the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, Oc- tober 24th, 1685, nearly a million of these Presbyterians were obliged to escape from their native land. The term Huguenot, by which this people were known, has puzzled etymologists, but, " on November 11th, 1560, the Count de Villars, Lieutenant-General in Languedoc, in a letter to the King of France, calls the rioters, Calvinists, Hu- guenots, and this is the first time the term is found in the Registers of that province applied to the Protes- tants." (76.) As " godliness is profitable for all things, having prom- ise of the life that now is, as well as of that which is to come," and as Calvinism is the most perfect embodiment of " the truth which is according to godliness," so, those who consistently profess it, are always " diligent in busi- ness," maintaining " good works for necessary uses," and are *' not a whit behind the chiefest of any sect in subdu- ing the earth, obtaining subsistence, stimulating commerce, promoting convenience, and producing traffickers, who 'are among the honorable of the earth.'" Consequently, this masterly characteristic stroke of polic}^ of the Jesuits and of "the prince of this world," drew from the arteries of the nation, a large portion of her vitality. "During the persecution which ensued above 800,000 fled from France. England gained immensely by this: at least 50,000 arti- sans sought refuge in London and introduced the manu- facture of silk, crystal glasses, jewelry and other fine works, many of them before unknown, but ever since successfully prosecuted in England." (Anderson''s Hist, of Commerce.) " They carried with them a vital faith, frugal habits, and the knowledge of new sources of useful and elegant indus- try. Their posterity are living witnesses of what France has lost by the atrocious cruelties with which she forced them from her soil." While most of those who fled to America went to the colonies which now form the South- ern and Middle States, still, not a few of them came to New England. I mention first those who came to Rhode Island, where, by law then, it was supposed, it is said, every Christian sect so HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM excepting Roman Catholics, should enjoy all the privileges of freemen. "On Oct. 12th, 1686, an agreement was made by the Rev. Ezekiel Carre and P. Berton with the Narra- gansett proprietors for a place called Newberry plantation, but, this being too far from the sea, (Rochester) now Kingston, was selected and a new agreement made at 4s. per acre, i)ayai)le in three years at six per cent. Each family were to have one hundred acres if they desired it, and a proportion of meadow. The Rev. Mr. Carre was to have 15U acres gratis, 100 were assigned for a glebe and fifty acres to support a Protestant schoolmaster. "Forty-five families commenced tlie settlement; built a church and twenty-five dwelling-houses." Of the dimen- sions of their church and its appearance, we have no re- cord, but, as their soil was lawfully n])tained, probably they were not unduly liindered in building it on their own land by their surrounding religionists. As Presbyterians, after their distress as fugitives from persecution was relieved, they found no sympathy on New England earth, and even as early as "1687, the Atherton company petitioned for the Refugees' land to be sold to them." If not "the filth of the earth," they appeared to be in the colony as "the offscouring of all things." In 1689 (England being at war with France) a French fleet appeared off" the coast, and for fear they should aid their countrymen in their native land, to whom they had been so deeply indebted in 1685, for banisliment, and slaughter and loss, the refugees were required to present themselves to John Green, Esq., at Warwick, and take the oath of allegiance to the British crown. In consideration of which, they were to remain undisturbed, behaving peaceably." (Arnold.) " They prospered for some years until they were dis- persed by the lawless conduct of their neighbors." (76.) Contests for jurisdiction among the plantations made their surroundings disagreeable, and while they were for peace, they had to abandon in a few years their wilderness homes on account of the distress to which they were sub- jected. By or before Sept., 1699, all the forty-five families but about two had left for New York or elsewhere, excepting a few who had removed previously to Boston. " In 1705 IN NEW ENGLAND. 31 (August 20th) Dr. Pierre Ayrault represented the outrage on the French settlers committed some years before, to Gov. Dudley in a remonstrance with great minuteness.'' " It was the most flagrant case that could be brought against the people," but it was considered to be, "one of those acts of border violence with which the histories of all new countries abound, for which the government could not be held fairly responsible." (Am., vol ii., p. 21.) " In Br. S. P. 0., New England, vol. xiii., is a plot of the French town, containing the names of all the families on their separate lots." (lb.) While their plantation was being abandoned by border violence and distress occasioned by factions contending for jurisdiction; of them, individuals emigrated to New- port, and when an effort was made to establish an Episco- pal church in Rhode Island, tlie petition asking aid from the home government (through the Earl of Bellemonte) was signed by sixteen persons, headed by two of the Hugue- nots, Gabriel Bernon and Pierre Ayrould. Though they were Presbyterians, they became Prelatists for the means of grace. They ai)poar then (Sept. 26th, 1699) to have been the only individuals of the race remaining in the colony. With what results Ayrault represented the out- rage on the French settlers to the Governor we have seen. For them, as Presbyterian settlers, the Congregationalist sects, of Anabaptists and Quakers, as well as the others, had no sympathy — and the fruits of their labors, for some thirteen years, in "subduing the earth," were abandoned to their oppressors. Their habitations, humble in structure, which had been dwellings of the righteous, in which had been daily heard the voice of joy expressed in the melody of thanksgiving, were now left desolate, and their *' little sanctuary," which had on Sabbaths echoed en rime Francoise, "the word of Christ in the book of Psalms," became now to them of less value than "a lodge in a gar- den of cucumbers." The only further vestiges of their connection with the soil of Rhode Island is thus stated by Arnold (vol. ii., p. 55). About "June 13th, 1715, the Yemassee war desola- ting South Carolina caused many of the planters to remove. Several females, whose names indicate their Huguenot origin, fled to Rhode Island, bringing with them a few 32 HISTORY OF PRKSBYTERIAXISM Indian slaves. These ladies petitioned the assembly for relief from the import duty upon their slaves, which was granted." So far, for Rhode Island ; we now turn to Massachusetts. As this edict was not revoked till October 24th, " few or none of those against whom it was directed (says S. Drake) arrived in Boston until the following year. Contributions on their behalf were made in Salem in September, 1686." With those who came to this colony were Mr. Daniel Bondette, Mr. Laurie and Pierre Daille, ministers. Among the first thirty families who arrived in Boston in 1686, was Mr. Daniel Johonnette, with his uncle, Mr. Andrew Sigourney, from Rochellc, said to have been with Admiral Coligny. Of those who arrived in 1687 was Mr. Baudouin, progenitor of the Bowdoin family. He fled from France to Ireland, thence he removed to Maine, and thence to Boston. At this date there appear to have arrived too many persons of this class for conve- nient location in Boston, and to improve their condition, not a few of them removed to the towns of Oxford and Douglass, Mass. There, their minister was the Rev. Daniel Bondette. In their settlements neither the native forest, the sterility of the soil, nor the ungenial climate compared favorably with their native land, and they must have been exten- sively ignorant of the manner in which, and reluctant to spend the labor by which, the earth must be met and en- couraged to yield her strength for their comfortable sub- sistence. Still they toiled on under many privations until August 25th, 1696, when, by an incursion of Indians, not a few of them w^ere killed, their homes destroyed and their settlements broken up. The survivors removed to Boston, and afterwards aided their brethren in the erection and support of the French church in that town. (Barb.) There, maintaining their Presbyterian forms of church government, worship and discipline in a language not generally understood by the Puritans, who had, in sympa- thy for them as exiles from Papal fury, allowed them to occupy, as a place of worship, one of the two school-houses in the' town, not silenced by civil law — and increased by the remnant who fled for life a second time from similar instruments of desolation and death, the Huguenots here for a season prospered. IX NEW ENGLAND. 33 Although their existence was in so far viewed as an in- trusion on " the church of the parish " in the school-house on School street, one or more of their ministers preached for many years regularly to them, and they were organized into a Presbyterian church by the election, ordination and installation of ruling elders and the settlement of a pastor. What became of the Rev. Messrs. Bondette and Laurie is not ascertained, and whether the Rev. Pierre Daille was their first minister does not appear, as the first notice of liim as the pastor of the French church in Boston is found in 1696. He was at this date the twentieth minister settled in that town. It is probable that he had then officiated there for sev- eral years, and he continued in office until his death. He had been thrice married, and was represented {Bost. Notion^ p. 101) as "pious, charitable, courteous and correct in life." As a glance at the customs of "the times " then, and a little more extensive acquaintance with the man, I detail an account of his will and burial. In his will Mr. Daille prohibited the use of wine at his funeral, and directed that gloves should be given only to his wife's relatives. To the ministers of the town and to ^Mr. Walter, of Roxbury, he gave gloves and scarves. His French and Latin books he gave to form a library for the church ; for the benefit of the minister the interest of £100, and £10 to be put at interest till a meeting-house should be erected, " if one ever should be built," and then that sum was to go towards its erection. To old man John Rawlings, the French school-master, £5 ; to loving wife, Martha Daille, £250, my negro man, Kiffy, and also all my plate, clothes, furniture, etc., etc. The res- idue of estate to " loving brother Paul Daille, Vaugelade, in Amsfort, in Holland.^' " Good friend Mr. James Bow- doin, executor." It was dated 20th April, 1715, and proved on May 31st, the same year. Mr. Daille was interred near the centre of the Granary. Burying Ground, opposite to Horticultural Hall, Boston, and upon the headstone or his grave (which, D. v.), we will have to notice one hundred and forty-five years afterward (in June, 1860), is this inscription: " Here lies ye body of ye Rev. Mr. Peter Daille, minister of the French church in Boston. Died the 21st of May, 1715, in 3 34 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM the 67th year of his age." Near him is the grave of a for- mer wife, " Seyre Daille, wife of the Rev. Peter Daille, aged about 60." She died August 30th, 1712. His first wife, Esther Latonice, died 14th December, 1696. {Drake, p. 488.)^ Notwithstanding that the apphcation made by "Mr. Toutonn for himself and other expelled Huguenots to the General Court to inhabit here was granted," and that they Avere by courtesy allowed to worship in a town school- liouse, still " the iron entered into their souls ; " they had not then, as Presbyterians, liberty of conscience. Hoping to o]:)tain a permanent settlement, they, on January 4th, 1704,* purchased a lot from one of their own people for a church site. The transfer of which, as stated on Suffolk Records, Fol. 22, pp. 102-3, reads thus : " From James Meares, of Boston, hatter, for £110, current silver money of New England, to John Tartarien, Francis Bredon and Jean Depuis, elders of the French church, and to their successors and assigns in the same oflice forever — in the behalf of themselves and the rest of the congregation of the French church aforesaid, the lot northerly on Schoolhouse Lane 43] feet, easterly 36 feet, westerly 38 V feet, and south- erly 35^ feet, on the lands of Sarah Bobbins, to build a meeting-house on for the worship and service of Almighty God, according to the way and manner of the Reformed Churches of France." Owing to the individuality of Roger Williams, Massa- chusetts was then and is now far astern of Rhode Island in liberty of conscience. While no English-speaking people were then allowed to sell to them land on which to build a Presbyterian church, they manifested their submission to the laws and petitioned the select men of the town for liberty to erect a meeting- house (thirty-five by thirty feet) of wood upon their lot. But this prayer was refused to them on the plea that " the new school-house would well accommodate them, as the * In this year, 1704, the first paper, called the News Letter, was pub- lished in Boston by John Campbell. The name indicates him to have been a Scotchman, and by implication a Presbyterian, and if so, our modern New England enterprise was then dormant, and beaten by the tartan. IN NEW ENGLAND. 85 old one had done for some years past," and that it would accommodate for the time to come "a far greater number of persons than belonged to their congregation." " Freedom to worship God " like those moving mys- teries, the meridian of "no variation," and "the star of empire" having, above eighty years since, taken its way westward, was supposed to have crossed the Atlantic and to have perched on Plymouth Rock, yet it had not at this date arrived so far west as Boston. The facts that they were refugees, and that they conducted their religious wor- ship in an unknown tongue, protected them from scourg- ing and cropping, yet it took twelve years (after they had purchased and paid for their lot) of humble supplication to allow them to erect a Presbyterian church on the soil of Massachusetts. By their " continued coming " they in so far wearied the select men and innovated on the established religion as to obtain liberty, civil and religious, to carry out their pray- ers and purposes, and about a. d. 171G a brick church thirty-five by thirty feet, was erected. From and after that 3^ear Presbyterianism liad at least one roof, under which it found " a place of habitation for the mighty God of Jacob " in the province. Being in "fraternal communion with the church in Geneva," their Articles of Faith, forty in number, have the clear Calvinistic ring. Among them there is no "ij" sal- vation. A " form of sound words," which could, under Divine grace, educate, strengthen and sustain these "sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty " to suffer what supersti- tion, bigotry and fanaticism had inflicted upon their fore- fathers under Charles the Ninth of France, or to endure the atrocious scenes of horror, cruelty and devastation which they had witnessed among their native homes, and which had inspired them with an endurance which made themselves also under the fiendish cruelty of the priest- hood during the reign of Louis the Fourteenth a spectacle to God, angels and to men, such a creed ought to be per- petuated in time, as it will be " in spirit and in truth " in eternity, and I here present it to the reader as an appendix, translated by my daughter, the late Mrs. Joseph Stone. — Appendix B. 36 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM Their catechisms, other minor " forms of sound words " and director}^ for worship are all written on the same key- note, while the Book of Psalms exclusively, " Mis en rime Francoise, par Clement Marot et Theodore de Beze," set with musical notes to every line, formed the matter of their praise in the worship of God. Thus, taking to themselves ''the sword of the Spirit" and the whole "armor of rifjhteoasness on the right hand and on the left," they passed through the furnace of per- secution like gold of the seventh refining. Although they were "scattered among the countries," they now, like their brethren formerly in Rhode Island, even in Massachusetts found "a little sanctuary." This "their pious, charitable and courteous" Daille was not permitted to see, but in 1719 he was succeeded by the Rev. Andrew LeMercier, a graduate of Geneva, who was the thirty -seventh minister settled in Boston. His eccle- siastical connection will be subsequently stated. He continued for many years })astor over them until, owing to the death of the aged and the assimilation of the young to those by whom they were surrounded, the French language was no longer by them exclusively spoken. From these causes the society became too much dimin- ished for self-support ; the church was broken up, and on May 7th, 1748, the house was sold for £3,000 " old tenor." The sale was made by Stephen Botineau, the only sur- viving elder, the Rev. Andrew LeMercier, minister, by Johonnots, Arnault, John Brown, James Packenett, Wm. Bowdoin, and Andrew Sigourney, proprietors of said church, to the trustees of the Rev. Andrew Croswell's new Congregational societ}^, " for the sole use of a Protestant church forever." Said proprietors only conveyed " their right and interest in it." The house stood on lots No. 18, 20, and 22, now in 1881, on School street. The Rev. Mr. LeMercier, while pastor in Boston, in 1732 Avrote and published a history of his native city, Ge- neva, presenting it under its three forms of religion, Pagan, Papal, and Protestant ; a copy of which is preserved in the library of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and a synopsis of which will be found in appendix C. He, as lately as a. d. 1753, styled himself " pastor of the French church." He was " a gentleman of great benevolence and highly respected." IN NEW ENGLAND. 37 In view of the distressing shipwrecks which happened on the "Island Sables," he in 1738 petitioned the Gov- ernor and Council of Nova Scotia " for the property " of that island, that he might stock it with such domestic animals as would be useful in preserving alive any mari- ners who might escape from wrecks. His petition was granted, and through his efforts and perseverance, the lives of many were saved. Yet evil- disposed fishermen stole his cattle and his goods ; and in 1744 he offered through the Boston newspapers a reward of £40, for the discovery of the depredators. He contin- ued in full ecclesiastical standing with his Presbytery un- til his death, which occurred about the end of March, a. d. 1764, at Dorchester, in the 72d year of his age. Thus ended the second ihtroduction of Presbyterianism into New England, and although with its extinction the decay and change of their language had much to do, yet, why, it was not more permanently engrafted upon that, which was for some years co-existent with it, and which immetliateh' succeeded it — in other words, why they did not perseveringly retain and maintain their Presbyterian principles, sealed by the blood of a martyred ancestry — • does not quite fully appear. To Boston and the whole region, they were materially, morally, and spiritually an acquisition — not "an increase of sinful men." Yet, by the overshadowing influences of the Colonial religion, these Presbyterians had not "freedom to worship God," by holding and enjoying their church estate, and even when Mr. Croswell was to have been installed, on October 5th, A. D. 1748, as a Congregationalist, in their house which his people had bought, his settlement was delayed one day, by a sort of " remonstrative injunction from the Old South Society," as "the church of the parish." So rigid and exacting was the ecclesiastical law of their quasi theocracy. The fate of this church, as well as of the one in Kings- ton, R. I., was astonishing. It was bought by certain oppo- nents of the Rev. Geo. Whitefield, that they might have a pulpit open to oppose him, as it would seem that most of the then existing churches of Boston aj^proved of his course. After the death of Mr. Croswell in a. d. 1785, the house, strange to tell, as it was not needed by Baptists, r 88 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM nor Episcopalians, who were supplied, nor by either Metho- dists, Universalists, nor Unitarians, who had not yet been fully developed in Boston, was sold in violation of the deeds both of 1704 and 1748, by Trinitarian Congregation- alists to the Roman Catholics. The mass, which was made it is said for the first time in Boston, on Green street, and afterwards on Nov. 2d, 1788, on board of a French ship in the harbor, had now a domicile on the soil of Massachu- setts ; and was planted by an ecclesiastical successor and probably a lineal descendant of those bloody men, who had murdered the ancestry of these Huguenots in their native land, a priest from France, " the Abbe la Poitre." Their Presbyterian property, thus, through Congrega- tionalism, passed to the use of Popery, in less than ninety years, and their case stands probably without a ])arallel on the page of history. Of them, we see nothing left. Their limited privileges in New England, their trials, the absorbing of their dis- tinctive princi})les by the '' social compact '' as a govern- ment religion, left nothing to mark their existence on the sands of time in the land of their adoption, but the deeds which, twice violated, swell the records of Suffolk county registry ; their church site, now dedicated to Mam- mon, and those acts of beneficence, which sprang from their Calvinistic principles and which will be conveyed to posterity by such erections and objects, in aid of civil lib- erty and the diffusion of knowledge among men, as Fan- ueil Hall and Bowdoin college. Well and truthfully is it said by S. G. Drake, Esq. : (^ "Few of those who established the French church in Bos- ton could have thought that a branch of that power, from which they had fled their native land upon the pain of death, would so soon flourish on a sjDot, which they had chosen for a place of refuge." How strange, that these children of persecution, after having escaped for their lives to New England, should have had to plead year by year, for twelve years, under the British crown, for liberty to erect on the soil which they had lawfully purchased a house of prayer ! How astonishing the fact, that the refusal was made by those whose ecclesiastical predecessors one century and one-third before, had braved the horrors of a waste, howl- ing wilderness for " freedom to worship God." IN NEW ENGLAND. 39 They did not say — you are " lewd fellows of the baser sort," but, being of the Presbyterian persuasion, this was "the front of their offending." Again, how passing strange, that in less than forty years, their " little sanctuary " should, through the workings of Congregationalism, become a foothold for their blood- thirsty persecutors; and the first spot on which Papal su- perstition should permanently adorn the soil of Massachu- setts with a mass house! The French Presbyterian church in New England as an instrumentality had fulfilled its mission, and the Master was now by, or before 1753, pleased t« lay it away until the day of final reckoning. 40 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM CHAPTER II. 1718-1743 — Scotch Irisli — Left Home for Conscience Sake — Puritans — Siege of Londonderry — Dissenter?; — An open Bible — Baldacliins — Grievances set forth — Craighead — Five ship-loads in 1718 — McGregor and others — An address to Governor Sinite — Potatoes — Casco Bay — Nutfield — First Sermon in Londonderry — Echoes — First Pastor — Ezekiel xxxvii. 26 — Four Schools — Worcester — Meeting-House hewed down — Rev. Wm. Johnson — Tax — Presbyterian Property Destroyed — Saybrook Platform — A Pres])ytery — Porpoodnc — A case referred to the Synod in Ireland — Folder's Admission of — Palmer — Dummer's Indian War — Boston — Moorehead — His Peo})le Poor — A Vigorous Tradition — John Little — Ciiurch Organized — Barn — Five Elders — Miss Parsons — A Trust — A Barn Converted — " Two Wings" — A Pew — "Sundry Disputes" — An Award — A Deed — A Compact — A Second Church Built — Little's Will — The Londonderry Emigration 1718 — James Doake — Aid to Clarke in ranstaning his son from the Indians — A Collection also for Wm. M., who lost two cows by a tree — Their Code of Morals — Deai^i of Rev. James Mc- Gregor— How he went to Church— Zach Walker — Three Sermons and two Indians on one Sabbath — Rev. M. Clarke, a Vegetarian and a " Derry Boy" — Pastor's Salary in Deiry £140, (iovernor of Colony then £100— Rev. Thos. Thompson, Installation and Death— "Tokens" — Tables — West Parish — Rev. D. McGregor — Rev. W. Davidson — A Strife — "Tenents" — The Awakening — Results in Londonderry — Enthusiasm — Settlement's — Assimilated — Colonies — Parish Tax — Hireling — Presbyterian Ministers — Voluntown — Rev. S. Dorrance — Rev. Jas. Hillhouse, he split the Presbytery — Rev. J. Harvey sus- pended, Moorehead rebuked — Rev. D. McGregor's (Jrdination — A Sorrowful Spectacle — Rev. R. Rutlierford — Temple's Colony — A Town Sued — Colonies — Colonel Dunbar's CVlony — Waldo — The "Grand Design" — A Quarrel for two years — Rev. W. McClenahan — Porpooduc — Early decay of Presbyterianism near Casco Bay — "The Oppressed Irish Brethren" — Xo Synod — Johnston and Worcester — "The Old Garrison House" — A Problem Solved — Distinct Species — Chester — Two Presbyterians who would not pay the Congregational Tax, imprisoned — Rev. John Wilson — The New England Primer — AVorship — Rouse — Ainsworth — Bay State Version — The first Printing Press — The Imitations — Matter of Praise, an Index — A quaint title page — Mental Instability — Edwards had lost "conceit" — Radical Landmarks. IN NEW ENGLAND. 41 We must now revert to that division of Presbyterianism " which was coexistent with the French Churcli for some years, and which immediately succeeded it "' in New Eng- land. This was introduced by the Scotch Irish in a. d. 1713. Before entering more full}^ on their arrival and its con- sequences, " it may be useful to advert briefly to some of the circumstances and occurrences in their native land, wdiich constituted the great and leading cause of most of their New England settlements." In doing this, I shall extensively present the statements of the late Rev. Edward L. Parker, in his history of the town of Londonderry, in New Hampshire — a work of great interest, connecting with these extracts illustrative matter drawn from collateral sources. " It will clearly appear, that it was religious principle which brought our fathers to this land ; that it was for conscience sake they left their country and their homes, and 'sought a faith's pure shrine' upon our bleak and unhospitable shores." As we have seen, although at the Reformation Protes- tantism became the established religion in England, yet it was not fully clothed in the simplicity and purity of the gospel, while it was by law enforced with such rigor that many, rather than endure it and conform, preferred self- banishment and voluntary exile. The fires of Smithfield, which had raged violently during the days of "bloody IMary," had, it is true, been quenched by the accession of Elizabeth, "but toleration (it has been justly remarked) was a virtue beyond her conception and beyond her age. She left no example of it to her successor, James the First, and it was not to be expected that a sentiment so wise or so liberal could have originated with him." During their reigns acts were passed requiring, under certain penalties, that all should adopt the established religion in its articles of belief and modes of worship. These aroused resistance l)oth in Scotland and in England, and as we have seen, those who resisted the invasion of their rights of conscience were called " Puritans." This term, designed as a stigma, deterred all but those of true Christian principle from uniting with them, while they on whom it rested gloried in it, withstood the 42 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM encroachment upon their rights, and demanded greater simplicity and purity of worship than they were allowed in the Church of England. Some of their prominent traits of character are thus presented by a member of that estab- lishment— Macaulay : "We would speak," says he, "of the Puritans as the most remarkable body of men which the world has ever produced. The odious parts of their cliaracter lie on the surface. Nor have there been wanting malicious observers to point them out. For many years after the Restoration they were the theme of unmeasured invective and derision. Most of their absurdities were external badges, like the signs of Freemasonry, or the dresses of friars. We regret that these badges were not more attractive. But the Puri- tans were men whose minds had derived a peculiar char- acter from the daily contemplation of superior beings and of eternal interests. " Not content with acknowledging in general an over- ruling providence, they habitually ascribed every event to the will of that Great Being, for whose power nothing was too vast, for whose inspection nothing was too minute. To know him, to serve him, to enjoy him, was to them the great end of human existence. They rejected with con- tempt the ceremonious liomage which other sects substi- tuted for the ])ure worship of the soul. Instead of catch- ing occasional glim])ses of the Deity through nn obscuring veil, they aspired to gaze full on the intolerable brightness, and to commune with him face to face. " Hence originated their contempt for terrestrial distinc- tions. They recognized no title to superiority but the divine favor, and, confident of tliat favor, they despised all the accomplishments and all the dignities of the world. If they were unacquainted with the works of philosopliers and ])oets, they were deeply read in the oracles of God. On the rich and eloquent, on nobles and })riests, they looked down with contempt, for they esteemed themselves ricli in a more precious treasure, and eloquent in a more sublime language — nobles by right of earlier creation, and priests by the imposition of a mightier hand. Those had little reason to laugh at them who encountered them in the hall of debate or in the field of battle. " These men brought to civil and to military affairs a IN NEW ENGLAND. 43 coolness of judgment and an immutability of purpose which were the necessary eflect of their zeal. The inten- sity of their feelings on one subject made them tranquil on every other. One overpowering sentiment had sub- jected to itself pity and hatred, ambition and fear. Death had lost its terrors, and pleasure its charms. They had their smiles and their tears, their raptures and their sor- rows, but not for the things of this world. They had their minds cleared of every vulgar passion and prejudice, and raised above the influence of danger and corruption. " Such were the Puritans, and such were they made by their religion. Not always faultless, and their logic at times unsound, they 'fell into extravagances occasionally — the effect of the age in which they lived ; yet, in the excel- lence of their principles, and in the wisdom and result of their labors, they formed a noble race of men, superior to the ancestors of any other nation.' To this class belonged the Scotch Irish Presbyterians. t\.lthough, as we have seen, they differed from 'the Pilgrims' on two points, and in government were entirely difl'erent from that Congrega- tionalism which sprang uj) in the colony, still (as Calvin- ists), in their other views of divine truth and religious duty, in zeal and firmness to resist civil and ecclesiastical domination, they were in harmony with them, and were their fellow-sufferers for conscience sake. "'The Scotch Irish' are descendants of a colon}^ who migrated from Argvleshire in Scotland about the year 16i2, and settled in the Province of Ulster in Ireland. In suppressiuL' a rebellion of his Roman Catholic subjects in that Province, two millions of acres of land, almost the whole of the six northern counties, including Londonderry, fell to the king, James the First. By liberal grants he encouraged his Scotch and English subjects to leave their h(5mes and settle there, as an increasing power to awe and control the natives. This fact accounts extensively for the enmity with which the natives regard the Protestants, and intensifies their sectarian rancor — the echo of which is still heard in ' Ireland for the Irish.' " In this animosity the great Irish rebellion, thirty years afterwards, in the reign of Charles the First, originiitfnl, in which, according to some historians, one hundred and fifty thousand persons were massacred. The settlers of 1612 44 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM received accessions in succeeding years, and near the end of that century the military and barbarous executions of Graham of Claverhouse, in the reign of James the Second, in Scothmd, drove many more thither. These Protestants were during the time of Cromwell and for a few years sub- sequently protected from the bitter enmity of the Papists ; but they had afterwards to undergo privations and suffer- ings almost unparalleled. This monarch, supposing that he could subdue the con- sciences of his people and bring them again under papal superstition, was the cause of the siege of Londonderry, 1689, a city containing then about ten thousand inhabi- tants. Just as his soldiers were about to enter, "the 'Pren- tice Boys," thirteen in number, drew up the bridge and locked "the water gate. The other three gates were soon securely fastened. Famine, bombshells ^ and destitution scattered death within, while, under the intrepid Walker, Puritans (of the stamp above described by Macaulay) held their position for one hundred and three days, until relief arrived from England. In the course of the night the Irish army — hav- ing lost eight or nine thousand men and one hundred of their best officers, in their abortive attempts to reduce the city — ran away. Although James, during the summer of 1690, received supplies from France, yet he was soon after defeated by the Protestants under king William in person on the banks of the Boyne. At Aghrim, the next year, his army was again completely routed, and by the capitulation of Limerick, which soon followed, his last stronghold in Ireland was lost, and an end put to all his hopes of the recovery of his crown. "The protracted siege of this little city in all its connec- tions and consequences, when duly considered, will com- pare favorably Avith the battle of Bunker Hill, as a stand made in the cause of freedom. And yet, important as it was, how few comparatively even of the descendants in this country of the brave defenders of the place, who had even- tually to subsist on dog-flesh, cat-flesh, rats, mice, tallow, salted hides, horse blood, etc., are familiar with the history of that event upon which was suspended the rich inheri- tance which they have received from their fathers, and which they are to transmit to future generations! So IN NEW ENGLAND. 45 important did the king and Parliament consider the defence of this city, and so highly did they appreciate the valor, the endurance and the worth of its defenders, that, in addi- tion to certain grants, an act was passed exempting from taxation throughout the British dominions all who had borne arms in the city during the siege." Such tried spirits when they emigrated to America, sucli lovers of Christian liberty, were well prepared to encounter the hardships and endure the trials of forming new settle- ments. We here also see the result of the labors, in com- mon with others, of Blair and Livingstone, who were provi- dentially hindered in 1636 from coming on the " Eagle's Wing " to the Merrimac. The grandchildren of their hearers and people in due time fulfilled the mission which they and their one hundred and forty fellow-passengers had attempted in vain. Notwithstanding their firm allegiance to the crown, the Irish Presbyterians found themselves after the downfall and departure of James to France, in unpleasant circum- stances, which continued under William the Third, Queen Ann and George the First. They were dissenters from the Church of England, and had to experience many embarrassments. " They were indeed permitted to maintain their own forms of worship unmolested ; still, they were compelled to aid in support- ing a minister of the established religion — and a tenth part of all their increase was rigorously exacted for this purpose. They also held their lands and tenements by lease from the crown, and not as proprietors of the soil. With an inex- tinguishable thirst for liberty, they could not bear to be thus trammelled in their civil and religious rights." They were surrounded by the native Irish, and '' on the same soil (says Macaulay) dwelt two populations locally inter- mixed, morally and politically sundered. The difference of religion was by no means the only difference, and was not perhaps even the chief difference which existed be- tween them. They sprang from different stocks. They spoke different languages. They had different national characters, as strongly opposed as any two nations in Europe. They were in widely different stages of civiliza- tion. There could, therefore, be little sympathy between them ; and centuries of calamitiQ3 and wrongs had gener- ated a strong antipathy." 46 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM " The appellation of Irish was then given to the Celts and to those families which, though not of Celtic origin, had in the course of ages degenerated into Celtic manners. These people, probably somewhat under a million in num- ber, had with few exceptions adhered to the Church of Rome. Among tliem resided about two hundred thousand colonists, proud of their Saxon blood and of their Protes- tant faith. "The great superiorit}" in intelligence, vigor and organi- zation of the minority over the others more than compen- sated for their excess in numbers." The one people had an open Bible and faithful ex- pounders of its truth — the otlier, their holy water, organs, baldachins, beads and crucifixes. Mental nourishment, so varied, necessarily produced lives, manners and influ- ences of a totally different nature. It was in view of these associations, embarrassments and evils experienced in their native land, that emigrants to America, and especially the first colony of Presbyterians who came to New England, were disposed to leave their homes and the many comforts there enjoyed, for an untried region and the labors and sufferings incident to a settlement in a new country. " In the sixth year of George the First, in 1719, the Par- liament of Ireland passed an Act of Toleration (so called), under which dissenters must subscribe the doctrinal Arti- cles of the Church of England. This the Irish Presby- terians would not accept." ( Web., p. 96.) Beside this, " they were charged with persecuting their Episcopal countrymen, forced to submit to the ' sacramental test,' blamed with perverting the royal bounty from the purposes for which it was designed, and were accused of uniting with 'the disgusted party' of the Establislied Church, and with Deists, Socinians and all other enemies of revealed religion, and even with the Papists themselves, in order to destroy the constitution of the kingdom." For these false charges they sought redress. In November, 1713, three Presbyterian ministers, the Rev. Mr. Kirkpatrick, of Belfast, the Rev. John Abernethy, of Antrim, and the Rev. Mr. Iredell, of Dublin, laid before the Lord-Lieutenant " a representation of the state of their church, setting forth the grievances under which ministers and people were still suffering, and they state how discour- IN NEW ENGLAND. 47 aged they were by the frequent disappointment of their hopes of relief; and they assure his grace that ' the melan- choly apprehensions of these things have put several of us upon the thoughts of transplanting ourselves into America, that we may there in a wilderness, enjoy, by the blessing of God, that ease and quiet to our consciences, persons and families which is denied us in our native country.' '' {JReid, vol. iii., p. 95.) Although after the accession of George the First to the throne in 1714. some of their grievances were removed, yet previously their position was uncomfortable, for in itlo "the oppressed brethren from the north of Ireland " (as Mather calls them) began to emigrate to New England. The Rev. Thomas Craighead, who came among the first ministers thus self-banished, arrived in 1715. His piety was highly commended by the Rev. Cotton Mather, yet his views of ecclesiastical polity did not coincide with the es- tablished religion of the colony, even while the purity of Puritanism was untarnished. He remained in New Eng- land about eight years. He was employed in the ministry at Freetown (or Assonet), Bristol county, ^lass., and in 1723 he went to the Jerseys. He was afterwards for sev- eral years pastor at Pequea, in Pennsylvania. The Presby- terians of that colony requested him to write to Presbyte- rians landing in New England, and he accordingly wrote to the Rev. John McKinstry and the Rev. John Campbell, urging them to remove to his vicinity. In their cases he was not successful. They died in the service of Congrega- tionahsm. He also, in 1736, wrote to the Rev. John Moorehead and his congregation in the name of the Synod (1F(?6.), urging them on the suspension of their pastor to unite with them, but neither dependence nor control re- sulted from his solicitations. No connection was ever formed between the Boston congregation and that Synod. Soon after being installed pastor of Upper and Lower Hopewell, now Big Spring, he died in 1739. No associated, nor considerable number of this people appear to have come to New England before 1718, when five shiploads, about one hundred and twenty families, arrived in Boston on August 4th, in that year. , A young man, a son of a Presbyterian clergyman, called Holmes, had visited New England, and of it had taken to 48 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM Ireland a very favorable account. Consequently his father and three other Presbyterian ministers, James McGregor, William Cornwell and William Boyd, with a portion of their respective congregations, determined on a removal "to these colonies. To prepare the way and secure a recep- tion, they early in the year 1718 sent the Rev. Mr. Boyd with an address to Governor Shute of Massachusetts, expressing a strong desire to remove to New England if he should afford to them suitable encouragement. They also employed Mr. Boyd to make all the necessary arrangements with the civil authority for their reception. This "address, concise and appropriate, is signed by two hundred and seventeen persons. Nine of them were min- isters of the gospel, three of the others were graduates at the University in Scotland, and all but seven (who made their marks) subscribed their names. This fact shows that they were superior to the common class of emigrants. ^Ir.*^ Boyd received from the Governor the desired encour- agement, and so soon as his friends in Ireland were thus informed by him, they converted their property into money, and embarked in five ships for Boston. Their motives for colonization and removal we gather not only from the facts above stated, but also from a manu- script sermon of the Rev. James McGregor, one of the four pastors who accompanied their flocks to America. It was addressed to them on the eve of their embarking, from those very appropriate words of Moses when conducting the chosen tribes to the promised land : " If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence." In the applica- tion of the subject to their emigration, he states the follow- ing as reasons of removal to America : 1. To avoir] oppression and cruel bondage. 2. To shun persecution and designed ruin. 3. To withdraw from the communion of idolators. 4. To have an opportunity of worshipping God according to the dictates of conscience and the rules of his inspired word. The first minister of Aghadoey (supposed to be the Rev. Thomas Boyd) was deposed in 16G1 for non-conformity, but continued to minister to the people for years. He re- tired to Derry, and remained in the city all the time of the siege, and he died in that charge in 1699. He was sue- IN NEW ENGLAND. 49 ceeded by the Rev. James McGregor, who was ordained in Aghadoey on June 27th, 1701. In 1718 he resigned the charge and came to America. Sixteen famiHes of these emigrants left Boston and went to Casco Bay, now Portland, in Maine, to found a settle- ment. They arrived there late in autumn. Many of the families had to remain on the ship all winter, and they suffered much. Before going in spring to select their territory, to which they had been directed by Governor Shute, as they disem- barked (according to tradition), they united in acts of re- ligious worship, devoutlv acknowledging the Divine good- ness in preserving them from the dangers of the sea and during the unusually severe winter. No one of their num- ber had suffered by sickness or was removed by death. Standing on the shore of the ocean which separated them from their native land, they offered their devout praises in that " most touching of all songs," the 137th psalm in the Presbyterian metrical version : " By Babel's streams we sat and wept When Zion we thought on." " Oil, how the Lord's song shall we sing, Within a foreign land ! If thee, Jerusalem, I forget, Skill part from my right hand." Although the arrival of the ships at Boston on August 4th, 1718, was duly noticed, yet not a favorable word is said of the jDassengers. They were called "a parcel of Irish." Nay, the stor}^ is more than tradition, that they were not favorably received b}' the inhabitants. They were not pelted with rotten potatoes on leaving the wharf, for there were none in New England until they then brought them, but with other missiles. They were Irish and not English ; and although they, as Presbyterians, escaped better than the Quakers and Anabaptists, who preceded them, had done, yet their pres- ence was not agreeable to those who had hitherto dwelt so nearly alone, under the union of the government of the colony with their ^peculiar ecclesiastical regimen, which 4 50 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM " had taken its rise in New England." Consequently, they generally went to the interior, to the wilderness, and less cultivated parts of the country, while individuals of them, by indemnifying, obtained a residence in Boston and other prosperous towns. As we have seen, a part of them went to Casco Bay. They were informed by Governor Shute, that there was good land in that vicinity which they might have. This was to them pleasant intelligence, as they desired to carry into effect, as a community, their particular design and secure the enjoyment of religious ordinances under the ministry of their favorite teacher, the Rev. James Mc- Gregor. In the meantime he, with the remaining families, retired from Boston into the country ; some to Andover, others to Dracut, until a suitable tract of land for perma- nent settlement should be found. On the opening of spring, they commenced an examina- tion of their territory in the wilderness. After having ex- plored the country for some distance eastward from Casco Bay, finding no tract that pleased them, they returned, went westward and ascended the Merrimac to Haverhill, where they arrived on the 2d of April, old style. While at Haverhill they heard of a fine tract of land, about fifteen miles distant, called Nutfield, on account of the abundance of the chestnut, butternut and walnut trees, which grew in its forests. Leaving their families at Haverhill, the men examined the tract, and, ascertaining that it was not appropriated, they at once decided to here take up their grant, which they had obtained from Governor Shute, of a township twelve miles square. Having selected the spot on which to commence their settlement, and having built a few temporary huts, which they left in charge of two or three of their number, they brought from Haverhill their families, provisions, imple- ments of labor, and what little household furniture they could collect. A part returned by way of Dracut, where Mr. McG;regor had spent the winter in teaching, that they might bring him with them. As tradition says, tlie two parties arrived about the same time, April 11th, old stvle, 1719. Mr. McGregor made to them an impressive address on IN NEW ENGLAND. 51 the spot so happily selected, congratulating them on the propitious termination of their wanderings, their signal preservation as a company while crossing the ocean, and since their arrival in this country, and exhorted them to continued confidence in God, planted as they now were in the wilderness, and "strangers in a strange land." On April r2th, under a large oak, he preached to them (from Is. xxxii. 2) his first sermon in the town. Then, for the first time, did that wilderness and solitary place, over which savage trihes had for centuries roamed, resound with the voice of praise and prayer, and echo to the sound of the gospel. The spot and tree were long after regarded "vvith a degree of reverence, but in the last one-third of the nineteenth century, veneration for a Calvinistic ancestry, their monuments, hopes and prospects, is nearly, if not quite, a lost virtue. Their rude dwellings were erected on the two banks of Westrunning brook, called " the common field," and stood thirty rods apart. When the intervening forests had been (as they soon were) cut down, in summer evenings " the voice of rejoicing and salvation " was heard ascending from these "tabernacles of the righteous," and few scenes this side of heaven could be found more touch- ing than the echoes of the surrounding forests to the voices of these devout worshippers, as they lifted up their even- ing songs to their Father in heaven, usually about the same hour, sometimes in the same tunes, " Dundee's wild Warblings," or " Plaintive Martyrs," Coleshill, or, the Old Hundred. Up or down the stream, it was the same. They did not delay in securing the means of grace, and as soon as it could be done in order, they called the Rev. James McGregor to be their pastor. They had to submit to some informalities, as there as 3^et existed no Presbytery of the bounds, from whom they could ask the moderation of a call. This was not absolutely necessary, for Mr. Mc- Gregor had been ordained in a. d. 1701, and some of the families had formed a part of his pastoral charge in Ire- land. "Accordingly, on a day appointed for the purpose, the people having assembled, he, in connection with ap- propriate religious services, solemnly assumed the pastoral charge of the church and congregation ; and they, with like solemnity and by a formal act, received him as their pastor and spiritual guide. He preached to them on the 52 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM occasion from Ezekiel xxxvii. 26. To the infant settle- ment these were appropriate, and for generations, pro- phetic words. Having shown that it is the Lord who places a people in a land, multiplies them therein, and affords to them the ordinances of religion, he reminded his brethren that ' they should devoutly acknowledge the providence of God in all past changes, particularly in their emigration to this new world ; that they should live by faith in what was before them ; fervently pray that God would continue to bless them ; be firmly united with one another ; walk in the fear of God, and keep his charge.' " These discourses show that their removal and settle- ment was from religious principle, and in reliance on the divine guidance and protection. God in his providence multiplied them, so that from this settlement many others were early formed, even in some towns where they met with legislative as well as ecclesiastical opposition. Having thus the opportunity of dwelling alone in their town, which was incorporated in June, 1722, of controlling its civil matters, and favored from the first with moral and religious institutions, they soon became a thriving, prosperous and respectable community. In 1723 they built a house for their minister, and, in the next year, a meeting-house. In six years they had four schools in town — kept, each of them, for one-half of each year — and within nine years of its first settlement, Londonderry paid one-fifteenth of the State tax. It was not only a place of rest to which not a few of their countrymen resorted, but it soon became a nursery, from which several other towns were formed. Instead, however, of tracing the organization and estab- lishment of churches in those towns, which principally, or, in part, obtained their population from this maternal one, thus civilly and religiously, so favorably situated, we now chronologicall}'' direct our attention to sketches of the his- tory of other portions of " the oppressed brethren from the north of Ireland." I begin with those who sought a home in Worcester, Massachusetts. "This town (savs Wm. Lincoln, Esq., Hist. Wor., pp. 47, 48, 191, 194, Ed. 1837) shared liberally in an accession to the population by a colony of Scots, in the early years of the last century. Loaded (in Ireland) IN NEW ENGLAND. 53 with the tythes of the harvest, and with lands held by tenancy under exorbitant rents, they embarked for a coun- try, where " (they supposed) " religious freedom was united with civil liberty, and neither tything-man nor tax-gath- erer had oppressive jurisdiction. A company of them ar- rived in 1719, and it is said they were accompanied b}^ the Rev. Edward Fitzgerald from Londonderry, who preached to them for some time in the old garrison house. They sufiered illiberal opposition and even active hostility. " Having formed a religious society, they commenced the erection of a meeting-house on the west side of the Boston road, north of the house of Frederic W. Paine, Esq. The material had been procured, the frame had been raised, and the building was fast in progress of construc- tion, when the inhabitants gathered tumultuously by night, hewed down and demolished the structure. Per- sons of consideration and respectability aided in the riot- ous work of violence, and the defenceless foreigners were compelled to submit to the wrong. " The riotous act was sustained by the intolerant spirit of the day, and the injured foreigners were compelled to mourn in silence over the ruins of their altar, profaned by the hand of violence." In our boasted " light of the nineteenth century " to many, such violence by a devout people making a high profession of godliness, will appear almost incredible, but it was even so. " The strangers were not treated with common decency by their English neighbors," whose fears were excited lest they should outnumber them in town-meeting and com- pel them to support a Presbyterian minister. " Let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply and they become more and mightier than we," was the language of the new king over Egypt, that knew not Joseph. And the same principle, the fear of the loss of civil power, then actuated those, who, as yet, controlled the compulsory support of the gospel in this town. " Little care was taken (says Mr. Lincoln) to preserve the memorials of this unoffending, but persecuted people, whose history discloses only the injustice and intolerance of our ancestors. Few facts can now be ascertained of their struggles with the prejudices and hostility, which finally drove them away to seek an 54 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM asylum in other colonies. Tlie number of the Presbyte- rian communicants is said to have been nearly equal to those of the Congregational Church, and the Presbyterian clergyman was once invited to occupy the vacant puljHt, but the request was not repeated." ( P. 192.) How long the Rev. ^Ir. P'itzgerald labored among them is uncertain, but it w^as not })robably long, as he (says Mr. Lincoln) " removed for want of maintenance, and left A\'orcester before the settlement of the Rev. Mr. Burr," on October 13th, 1725.* ''At his settlement, it was under- stood, that if the Presbyterians would aid voluntarily in his support, they should be permitted to })lace in the pulpit, occasionally, teachers of their own denomination; and the foreigners united with the other inhabitants." After some time, they found that their expectations would not be realized. They then withdrew, and the Rev. Wm. Johnston was installed as their minister. This took place some time near 1736. When, from the loss of the records of Presley tery, does not appear. Being compelled to contribute to the support of INIr. Burr, an a])peal was made to the justice of their fellow -towns- men in 1736-7 by the Presbyterians for relief from a tax inconsistent with their religious privileges, as British subjects, but without avail. The Congregational oppo- nents, in their answer, said that "the ordination of Mr. Johnston was disorderly. The recorded answer to their ai)plication furnishes a curious specimen of mingled subtlety and illiberality. " (P. 193.) We insert it, as a fact from which the reader can make his own deductions. " In 1736-7, the Scotch Presbyterians, ten persons, resi- dents, prayed to be relieved from supporting Mr. Burr, as they had settled the Rev. Wm. Johnston. Their petition was refused as unreasonable," for 1st. It does not appear from their names wdio they are, and it would be too much at random to do so. 2dly. It does not appear that they are actuated by just principles of conscience, as should necessitate their forsak- ing us. We hold to the Westminster Confession of Faith, ■^In 1726 there was due by the town "to the Eev. Mr. Fitzgerald i£2." (Town Kecords.) IN NEW ENGLAND. 55 which, they say, they promised to adhere to. We do not substantially differ from the divines at Westminster as to the worship, discipline and government* of the church. They may enjoy their way, which they call Presbyterian- ism, with us and their consciences not be imposed upon in anything. A number of those now withdrawing were jointly concerned in settling Mr. Burr and in our fellow- ship. We know not why thej^ should not continue with us. 3dly. We look on the matter as disorderly, not to men- tion that the ordination of their minister they speak of Avas disorderly even with respect to the principles by which they pretend to act by, as well as with us, up to whom they stand related, and they enjoy with us all proper social, Christian, and civil rights. Their separating from us being contrary to the publick establishment and laws of this province and contrary to their own covenant with us, and also very unreasonably weakening to the town, whose numbers and dimensions, the north part, being ex- empted by the vote of the town from paying to Mr. Burr, will not admit of the honorable support of two ministers of the gospel, and tending to breed division, destructive of our peace, and upon which and other accounts, the town refuse to comply with the request of dismissing said peti- tioners." {Tou-ii Records.) "Many unable to endure the insults and bitter preju- dices they encountered, removed to Otsego county, N. Y. ; others joined their brethren of the same denomination, who had now commenced the settlement of the town of Pelham, jNIass., and were some years afterward under the pastoral care of the Rev. Ralph Abercrombie." "About thirty " (it is much to be regretted that Mr. Lin- coln does not say which, persons, or families) "remained in Worcester after the dispersion of the rest."t Their pas- tor, the Rev. Wm. Johnston, was settled in Windham, N. H., early in 1747. " Their settlements in other places were ap- *As to "government," this is simply untrue. fTlie ancestry of the Blairs of political fame in Washington, D. C, and in Missouri, as well as of those in Truro, Nova Scotia, and Boston, after the middle of the 19th century, were buried in Worcester before the dispersion. 66 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM proached by bodies of armed men, and their property in some instances wantonly destroyed." "They were every- where abused and misrepresented as Irish/' (P. 48.)* To remove this odium, they petitioned the General Court of Massachusetts to call them Scots, yet their relig- ion contributed much more to produce and vivify it than did their race and nation. The germ of all the opposition shewn to them was in their scriptural form of church government. If they had, like the Scotch, who were brought over in a. d. 1652, made (so far as now appears) no efforts to organize Pres- byterian churches, but melted away religiously into the common mass, this odium would have been soon lost by in- termarriages and the influences of the other social relations. The General court, never surcharged with love to Presbyte- rians, nor their principles, does not appear to have granted the desired relief. The Saybrook platform, adopted in A. D. 1708, sufficiently verifies the position, that the "front of their offending " was, that they were Presbyterians. In it, this order of polity is ignored, if not opposed. To these strangers, however, it was dear — not only be- cause that to its blessings, under the kind providence and grace of God, they were indebted for all their heroism of soul, which they possessed, but, because, in their belief, it ,was the only form authorized by the Holy Scriptures ; as both Prelacy and Congregationalism must borrow from it, while it cannot, in safety, borrow anything from either of them. How early measures were taken to form a Presbytery in New England and to unite its subordinate courts, we do not precisely know, as time and neglect have wasted not a little of the records. Of these, the earliest extant are the sessional minutes of the First church in Derry, N. H., which commence in a. d. 1723. From these, and other collateral sources, such as, references of matters to the Synod in Ireland, from town records, and direct references to the action of Presbytery, in controversial communica- tions published by its members and still extant — we gather, that a Presbytery was formed probably between 1726 and 1729. *"At this date (about 1736,) one ounce of silver was worth, or equal to, twenty-nine shillings in paper." {Lincoln.) IN NEW ENGLAND. 57 Not only did the emigration from Ireland of 1718 in- clude four Presbyterian ministers (the Rev. Messrs. Mc- Gregor, Cornwell, Boyd, and Holmes), of whom a part re- mained in New P'ngland for years, but the Rev. Andrew LeMercier, a graduate of Geneva, commenced his pastoral labors in the French church in Boston in 1719, and in the same year (as we have seen) the Rev. Edward Fitzgerald, accompanied (as is supposed) by some of his people, came to Worcester. He might possibly have been a member of the original Presbytery. In the al)sence, then, of records, we find not only num- bers of ministers sufficient, but also, the appointments of ruling elders by sessions to meetings of Presbytery, and references from this court to the Synod in Ireland. We find also, as early as a. d. 1729-30, men ordained to the work of the ministry, which among Presbyterians is done always and only by Presbytery. This Presbytery at its organization was called the " Presbyter}^ of London- derry," and nicknamed, "the Irish Presbytery." We are not to understand, however, that all who were Presbyterians in their native land, upon their arrival in New England, united with it. Where a particular denom- ination have the ascendency in a region, they absorb not a little and often control large portions of the minor sects, who dwell with them. This applies extensively to the ministr^^jWho are "men of like passions with others; " es- pecially, where tenacity of principle might demand re- moval, a lower social position, or a grappling with poverty. Consequently there were those who came to these colonies, "who departed from " their avowed principles, who "went not with " the Presbytery " to the work," and who hired themselves out to serve Congregational parishes ; such as the Rev. John McKinstry, from Brode, who settled in Sut- ton, Mass., in 1720, the Rev. James Hillhouse, at New Lon- don, Ct., in jNlarch, 1722, the Rev. John Campbell (said to be a Scotchman), at Oxford, Mass., on October 3d, 1722, the Rev. John Graham, in Stafford, Ct., on May 29th, a. d. 1723, and the Rev. Samuel Dorrance, who was settled at Voluntown, Windham county, Ct., in a. d. 1723. Others again, on surveying the field occupied by their brethren, returned home. In 1718 the Rev. Wm. Boyd, who had been minister of McCaskey, in Ireland, was among the 58 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIAXISM emigrants. He officiated once at " the weekly lecture " in Boston (on ^larch lOtli, 1719), and of iiim the Rev. Increase INIather, on March 25th, 1719, says: "The Rev. Mr. Boyd arrived last sunimer. He was educated in p]dinhurL>;h, studied in Glasgow (probably divinity), and was ordained at McCaskey, in Ireland. The issue of this afiair, the com- ing to America, has a great dependence on his conduct — and since the Rev. author (of the sermon delivered at the lecture aforesaid) is returning to his native country, let the grace of Christ be with him." Tins " })rayer of a righteous man " was probably at least as " fervent" as it would have been on his behalf if Mr. Boyd had remained in New England. He returned, settled at Taboyne, and lived to a good old age. At the same time the Rev. William Cornwell arrived. He formerly belonged to the Presbytery of Monaghan, and settled, with a number of families, in Porpooduc, on Casco Bay. While there he probably belonged to said Presby- tery, but how long he continued or to what part he re- moved is not known. A Mr. \W)odside, who came from Ireland, succeeded him in taking charge of that people, but he, exposed to many privations and discouragements, soon (it is believed) returned home. Still, so fjir as numbers were concerned, there remained among the emigrants min- isters enough to form and sustain a Presbytery, and, as we have seen, this was not long delayed. We suppose it to have been organized l)efore the death of the Rev. James McGregor, on i\Iarch 5th, a. d. 1729. Who were, or how many were members of it in its early existence, cannot be fully known, but within twenty-five years of their first settlement at Londonderry, it is be- lieved that LeMercier, James McGregor, Edward Fitzger- ald, William Johnston, John Moorehead, William Mc- Clenahan, Matthew Clarke, John Harvey, John Caldwell, Thomas Thompson, Clarke, of Kingston, N. H.. Dalrymple, AVilson, Morton, Rutherford, Davidson, probably Urquhart, and, it may be, others, were members of said Presbytery. We glean some items of their manner of procedure from existing documents, by which we ascertain their strict ad- herence to Presbyterian principles. In the Synod of Ulster in 1705 all candidates wxre IN NEW ENGLAND. 59 required to subscribe the Westminster Confession of Faith. To these standards tliey expressed a firm adherence in 1722. This, tiiose now in New England did not as yet abate. On INIarcli 2d, 1729-30, James Reed was appointed as the ruling elder from the session of Londonderry to the Presbytery at Boston, by which Mr. John Moorehead was ordained to the ministry on the 30th of that month. The session also ordered ''that his (Mr. R.'s) expenses for man, horse and time be paid by a collection," which, when taken, amounted to £3. 8s. We gather from his own record that, in order to larger usefulness in gathering the people preparatory to their or- ganization as a church, Mr. Moorehead was then ordained without charge. The Rev. Mr. Clarke, of Kingston, was invited by the Rev. ^Ir. McC4regor and his session to assist at the dispen- sation of the Lord's Supper at Londonderry on the loth day of October, 1727. April 5th, a. d. 1731, T. S., who had by previous appointment of session, " already appeared three several Sabbath days before the congregation, and liad also appeared l)efore Presbytery," was on tliat day be- fore and by the session " absolved of the heinous sin of adultery." At the communion, on the first Sabbath in June, 1732, Mr. Moorehead and the Rev. Mr. Wilson, of Chester, N. H., were invited to assist, and on a similar occasion said sessional record states : '' October 9th, 1732, having had the sacrament yesterday, we had of communicants 600. Our collection was £19. lis. 10(/. All charges being paid, there remain £7, wdiich is given to the Rev. Mr. Wilson." To install the Rev. Thomas Tliompson, who was or- dained by the Presbytery of Tyrone, in Ireland, for Lon- donderry, N. PL, and who arrived October 3d, 1733, the said Presbytery met on October 10th. The session make this record in their minutes of October 5th : " There being a Presbytery to be here on Wednesday next, Justice Duncan and Mr. McKeen are to attend them." "October loth, session met. There being a col- lection for the Presbytery, there were £10 5., of which was given to Mr. LeMercier and Mr. Moorehead and their elders £8, and the rest for man and horse to bring them froni Haverhill, and to take them there again." {lb.) 60 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM November 11th,' 1733, a case of severe discipline " was recommended to the Presbytery." Another similar case, February 19th, 1734, which session were requested to review, they resolved " it should go to the Presbytery." " October 7th, 1734, Thomas Wallace and John Craig were appointed by session to attend the Presbytery." " March 9th, 1735, James Reed was appointed to attend Presbytery " as an elder, and William Lyon to appear by order of ses- sion before Presbytery to undergo discipline. "April 10th, 1735, a case of discipline was received back by session from Presbytery." December 11th, 1735, the sacrament deferred " until after the Presbytery, and William Coch- rane to attend the Presbytery." "January 8th, 1736, John Stewart appealed from the session to the Presbytery, and to give his reasons in ten days." On "June 19th, 1734, a case occurred, which said Pres- bytery could not settle, and the Moderator, the Rev. John Moorehead, was apj^ointed to refer it to the Synod in Ireland." These facts from existing records show their orderly and formal Presbyterian way of conducting business in church courts. Their manner of admitting persons to the eldership also partook but little of modern looseness and congregational proclivities, as said sessional records, while they collater- ally prove the elxistence of a Presbytery, will verify. In enlarging the session on " March 25th, 1736, the elders-elect were nominated to the Presbytery, and the session agreed that their names should be published before the congregation. At a meeting, June 10th, 1736, the ses- sion having deliberately proceeded with the above-named (six) men to be added to the session, by nominating them to the Presbytery, as also their names to the congregation, do agree that they shall be ordained elders on the 23d of June inst." The ordination of probationers to the work of the min- istry was also performed by said Presbytery. Mr. Joseph Harvey, licentiate, who had received his education in Ire- land, was elected pastor of the church of Palmer, Mass., and was ordained and installed in said charge by the Lon- donderry Presbytery on the 5th day of June, 1734. The IN NEW ENGLAND. 61 records of that town show that it was settled by emigrants from England and the north of Ireland in 1727, and the church was formed in 1730. The Rev. Mr. Kilpatrick first visited them, and preached there five Sabbaths. He was succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Weld, who preached to them for three months, and was then succeeded by the Rev. Benjamin Dickenson for six months. We then learn also from the " Proprietor's Records " that " after preaching to them for four years, the Rev. Joseph Harvey was, on the 5th day of June, 1734, ordained and installed the first minister of the church in Elbow settle- ment by the Rev. the delegates of the Presbytery of Lon- donderry upon a scaffold standing on a plain on the east side of the meadow, called Cedar Swamp Meadow, within Mr. Harvey's lot. The Rev. Mr. Thompson, from London- derry, preached the sermon, and the Rev. Mr. Moorehead gave the charges." Thus, although its records are lost and the steps taken in (and the date of) its formation are unknown, yet we have the original Presbytery of Londonderry mentioned by name in existing records, and we can speak of it with certainty. It continued, as we may subsequently see, for about forty years. AVe now proceed to trace the origin and progress of what was probably the third church formed by " the oppressed brethren from the north of Ireland," in New England. Londonderry having civil privileges, and no rival, nor overshadowing sect to whose church funds it must contrib- ute, was not, for the same number of years which it had then thus existed, surpassed, if ever equalled in New Eng- land, for the prosperity, civil and religious, of its people. Consequently, it was now preparing by its sources of in- crease to send out, even in the first quarter of a century of its existence, its offspring as colonies. The Church of Worcester, on the contrary, was pros- trated in the dust before the bitter influences of sectarian- ism, and those of its members who were possessed of strong gospel principles had to remove to the deeper toils and dangers of the wilderness, for " freedom to worship God." After the departure of the Rev. Wni. Johnston, parents were obliged to take their children to distant towns for baptism, and after the destruction of their church edi- 62 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM fice a large proportion of them removed to Otsego county, New York, as well as to different towns in Massachusetts, such as Pelham. Besides those Scotch and of Scottish parentage who resided in Boston, emigrants of the Presbyterian persua- sion appear to have come annually in these years from Ireland* and Scotland to New Enghmd; and notwithstand- ing the prejudices with which they had to contend, in view of the accident of birth, not a few of them, as artisans, obtained bondsmen, gave security to the authorities that they would not be disorderly, and established themselves in that town. As British subjects in a British colony, they supposed themselves entitled to liberty of conscience. This was, hoAvever, only with great reluctance, or rather as a matter of necessity, accorded to them at all. The overshadowing influences of "the Church of the Parish," which had cast no encouraging smiles on the French Presbyterians, viewed the collecting of an Irisli Church as an almost unwarrant- able interference. Boston contained about 16,000 inhabitants, and had five churches of the established order, when, a. d. 1727, an effort was commenced to collect a second Presbyterian Church. This was done by Mr. John Moorehead, a native of Newton, near Belfast. He was born of pious parents in 1703, received the rudiments of his education in Ireland, and finished his collegiate course of study in Edinburgh. *It )R stated by the Hon. Wm. Willis (Mass. H. G. Eegr. p. 236, July, 1858) that " in 1719 and '20 live ships under Captain Eobert Tem- ple landed several hundred families on the shores of the Kennebec; that Dnmmer's Indian war broke up the colony, and that the larger part of them went to Pennsylvania, while some fragments of it settled in Tops- ham, Ijrnnswick, Boothbay, Pemaquid and the Waldo Patent." "Sir Robert Temple landed at Boston in 1720, looked at Connecticut, went to Maine and settled Cork, jVIaine; brought over three ship-loads of the children of the Kirk of Scotland, and planted several hundreds of the Scotch Irish on the Kennebec at 'Merry Meeting-House.' " He, on the west side of the Kennebec, laid the foundation for Dun- bar's (settlement) on the east side ten years afterwards. " In 1722 the savages destroyed ' Merry Meeting-House settlement.' (Sewall's Maine, p. 236.) " Scarcitv of corn almost equal to a famine drove many from Ulster in 1728 and '29." (Willis.) IN NEW ENGLAND. 63 He was licensed to preach before he came to America. Some families of his acquaintance, it is said, about or before that year, came over, and being kindly welcomed by their countrymen then living in it, settled in the town. ^ Upon his arrival here, this people (several of whom appear to have come with him) became attached to him and desired him to become their minister. As a licentiate, he labored some three years to collect them and prepare them for organization as a church, and with this design he was, in order to be more successful, ordained on March 30th, 1730, before a churcii was organized. Whether his people were hindered by the civil power (as the French Presb3'terians had for above twelve years been prevented) from erecting a place of worship, or not, we are not informed. This is liighly probable, for it is a vigorous tradition that, being Irish, it was proposed that they should give bonds to the town that any meeting-house which they might erect should not become Roman Catho- lic, and if they had, in the usual way, asked an Act of Incorporation, the request would of course not have been granted. Indeed, it was with difficulty that they could as Presbyterians remain in the town at all. Hence we have such records as the following : To secure the good town of Boston against harm and loss by Presbyterians, they must indemnify the authorities. Hence we have entries as follows : 1718. August 13th. Town to be secured against passen- gers lately, August 4th, arrived from Ireland. ^ 1719. April 27th. Geo. Glinn, tailor, from South Caro- lina, ordered to depart the town. Robert Holmes and wife, and Wm. Holmes and children, ordered to depart on the 15th of April. Alexander McGregory, from Ireland, to depart. 1719. July 25th. Joan McCulloch (widow), from Casco, to depart. 1719. June 9th. Persons arriving from Ireland, John McCannis, wife and children, John Henderson, Wm. ^lil- ler, wives and children, John Crichton, Samuel Severight, Francis Gray, wife and three children, were ordered to depart on June 13th. 1719. October 24th. Several. • 1719. January 22d. Many farmers from Ireland, twenty- 64 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM one in all, were on November 30th last warned to depart; also John Walker, wife and three children. Havinfr, as foreigners under bonds, to compete in the trades with the natives and with Englishmen, these "op- pressed brethren " were too poor to purchase land and erect a meeting-house ; yet Divine Providence raised up to them a friend. A Mr. John Little, who was a gardener and market man, and who appears to have resided in Boston for some time, as he was married tliere in 1718, and whose dwelling was in Milk street, purchased in May, 1729, a lot of land on Long Lane, on which there then stood a barn. Into this "rude and lowly structure," after some time, when his dwelling would not contain them, he invited his country- men to enter, and worship that Saviour who was born in ''a stable and laid in a manger." From all that is known of his history, he appears to have had, until late in life and after his second marriage, no offspring. Consequently, by industry he was enabled to accumulate some property. Although unable to write his own name, his first, thrifty and pious wife, Mary, through whose counsel and promptings he was encouraged to create a Trust, which should in subserviency to the glory of God and the honor of our Lord Jesus Christ perpetuate his own name to coming generations, was able to write her own, and so far as was necessary to keep his current accounts. His business, as a gardener, kept him in and near the town, in which he may have been one of the earliest Irish settlers. He had, on the 14th day of May, A. D. 1729, bought of Henry Deering for £550, " in lawful public bills of credit," the aforesaid lot, nearly one-quarter of an acre, and about one twenty-four-hundredth part of the original site of Bos- ton. Disposed to " honor the Lord with his substance " — feeling deeply for the best interests of his then present and future resident countrymen in the town, and the duty of providing for his own spiritual welfare by enjoying the public ordinances of religion, he afterwards devoted said land to religious use for ever. That Mr. Moorehead was ordained March 30th, 1730, we gather from two facts — the appointment by the session of Londonderry on March 2d, 1730, of James Reed, ruling elder, to attend the Presbytery IN NEW ENGLAND. 65 at Boston, and the statement of Mr. Moorebead, which he has written on his Registry of Marriages and Baptisms, that "I began to baptize on and after March 31st, 1730." "This religious society was established by his pious zeal and assiduity." It required years of labor to collect the scattered fragments, to gather together even the few dis- persed brethren of the Presbyterian faith then resident in Boston and the neighboring towns, exposed as those had been who had for any length of time resided here to the influences of another ecclesiastical government. Perseverance, under the blessing of Heaven, brought success, and in a few months after his ordination he had the pleasure of seeing a church organized. Having "sown in tears, his reaping time of jo}^ " now began, and "the first meeting of the brethren with their minister, for the election of ruling elders, according to the government of the Church of Scotland, was held in the house of Mr. John Little, in Milk street, on the 14th day of July, 1730. The elders then chosen were John Young, Robert Patton, Samuel McClure, Richard McClure and Thos. McMullen." (Mc- Clure's Sketches, 1807.) We have seen the manner pursued by the church session of Londonderry in a similar election, and whether each of the steps there enumerated was now taken with these brethren or not, we know not; but they "were (in due time) ordained," and the organization of the Second Pres- byterian Church in Boston was then completed by their installation. How soon afterwards a call was made out for Mr. Moorehead, on the acce]:)tance of which he was installed as their pastor, we know not; but it was doubtless done at an early day. He had labored among them with an increasingly mu- tual attachment, and the consummation of this official spiritual relation would not be unduly delayed. He was the forty-sixth minister settled in Boston, and " soon after his induction he married Miss Sarah Parsons, an English lady, who survived him about one year." As the congregation met for the important purpose of the election of elders, when a full meeting would be desirable and almost certain, at the house of Mr. John Little, on Milk street, it is at least reasonable to suppose that they met often, if not statedly, there on the Sabbath for public 5 bb HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM worship, for months or for years. Indeed, these " Preshy- terian strangers " had no other place in which to meet, until they went to his barn. The overshadowing influ- ences of " the Churcli of the Parish," as we have seen in the case of the Presbyterian Church in A\'orcester, and in the impediments cast in the way of the French Church in the same parish in Boston, when endeavoring res})ectively to supply themselves with })laces of worship, would afford to tliese " oppressed Irish l)rethren " but little encouragenient, wlien they desired to find "a place of habitation for the mighty God of Jacob." Their case, in view of the aspect of colonial law and its theocracy towards them, could not have l)een flattering. Consequently the inconvenience of a dwelHng, or the associations of a l)arnyard, were by them readily borne, in order that they might " sing the JehovaJi^s song in a foreign land" (Ps. cxxxvii. 4), and perpetuate tliose principles which had descended to them sealed by the blood of a martyred ancestry. As " a man's house is " said to be " his castle," so John Little, with liis faithful wife, appears to liave projected the idea of turning liis barn into a meeting-house. By making it a trust with a charitable use, for Presby- terians to hold and enjoy ibrever, he, as a British subject, with his counsel, supposed that they could avoid troubling the selectmen or the general court. Trusts for the wor- ship of God, for education and the aid of the poor, they su})i)osed to be sacred throughout the British empire. At what time lie began to " convert " his '' barn " into a meeting-house does not appear, but it was obviously after the 14th day of July, 173U, when the work of church or- ganization was in progress. Previously to the election and ordination of Ruling Elders, there would be no strong probability that a house of worship would be required. He had owned the land from the 14th day of May, 1729, and probably he soon after the 14th of July, 1730, began to " transform " his barn. Some months afterwards, these people had a building separated from former uses to the worship of God, and how delightful to them must have been their " little sanc- tuary ! " According to the autobiograph\^ of the Rev. Dr, David McClure, who was one of Mr. Moorehead's pupils, *' This little colony of Christians for some time carried on IN NEW ENGLAND. 67 worship in a barn, and as the congregation increased by emigrants from Scotland and Ireland, they added to it two wings." In preparing the building for this use, he erected for himself, in common with the others, a '' pew and seat," and as the congregation gathered strength, they appointed " a committee for managing the prudential affairs thereof." After years of ownership he offered the premises wholly to them on certain conditions. In this attempt unanimitv was eventualh^ lost between the donor and the immediate beneficiaries. Part of the history of this strife is ascer- tained by verbal statement and part is on record. As to the former, the writer was informed in a. d. 1S49, by Mrs. I. Cossington, a granddaughter of the Rev. John Moore- head, and who was aliove fifty years of age when her mother, Mrs. Agnes Wilson, deceased, who was thirty- seven years of age when her father died, that it was the unvarying account of the church estate founded by Mr. Little, that "he would give to them his lot of land forever, if they would pay him for his work on his meeting-house, and keep a meeting-house on the land, and keep a seat or pew in it for his heirs forever," and that the congregation all agreed to do this. They, however, soon differed as to the amount of pay- ment which he should receive, and in less than four years after the ordination and settlement of their pastor, " sun- dry disputes and diff"erences arose between " them. Little not only owned the land and the house, but he also controlled " the outstanding debts due by the said congregation." Instead of attempting to compel him by a suit in civil law, to deliver up their " outstanding debts," as they would, in all probability, have done, if he were only their agent or factor, they asked him to submit their " disputes and diff'erences " to peaceful arbitration, and in order to this, they "signified their mutual consent by their several obligations, called bands of submission." By this process concord was soon re-established. The award was made by persons whose names indicate that they belonged to the French Church of the town, and was as follows • 68 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM Aivard of Jacob Sheafe, Stephen Bouiineau^ and Hugh Fa7is. To all people unto whom this present writing of award shall come, Jacob Sheafe, Gentleman, Stephen Boutineau and Hugh Vans, Merchants, all of Boston, in the county of Suffolk, and province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, send greeting : Whereas, upon sundry disputes and differences arisen between John Little, of Boston aforesaid, Gardner, on the one part, and George Glen, Taylor ; Edward Allen, Taylor ; Andrew Knox, Mariner; George Southerland, Shopkeeper; William Hall, Leather-dresser; Daniel Macneal, Laborer; Samuel Miller, Gunsmith; Abraham All, Taylor; and William Shaw, Taylor, all of Boston aforesaid, of the other part, they the said partys for the determination thereof and by their mutual consents signifyed by their several obligations, dated the fourteenth day of January, Anno Domini, 1735, appoint us, the said Jacob Sheafe and Ste- phen Boutineau, arbitrators of all their differences till that time, and agreed that either of us, in case of our non-agree- ment, should choose a third person — and we being willing and desirous to determine the disputes and differences between said partys, in order to effect the same, have chosen the said Hugh Vans to assist us therein. And the said partys by the said obligations further agreed, that we, making up our award of the same under our hands and seals, ready to be delivered to the said partys, on or before the fifteenth day of April curi'ent, should finally determine the premises as by their several obligations, with condi- tions for the performance thereof, will more fully appear. Now in pursuance of the said submission and to answer the end proposed thereby, we, the saide Jacob Sheafe, Ste- phen Boutineau and Hugh Vans accept of the burthen of the said award, and having fully heard both partys, perused, examined and deliberately considered on all papers, matters and things disclosed or pretended to us by either party as the cause of their variance, do make, publish and declare this our award between them con- cerning the premises, in manner following, that is to say : — Imprimis, we award and order that the said George Glen, Edward Allen,, Andrew Knox, George Southerland, IN NEW ENGLAND. 69 William Hall, Daniel Macneal, Samuel Miller, Abraham All and William Shaw shall, within the space of two months from the date hereof, pa}' or cause to be paid unto the said John Little the sum of one hundred and forty pounds and five pence, in Publick Bills of Credit, which is and shall be in full of the claimes and demands which the said John Little had against ye congregation belong- ing to the Presbyterian meeting-house in Long Lane, in Boston aforesaid, w4th respect to his attendance upon and looking after the building of ye sd meeting-house, and all his accounts of charges and disbursements about the same, and the land whereon it stands, as also touching and con- cerning the said Little's purchase of the said land of Henry Deering, Esq., at the time of entering into the said Bands of submission. Item. We award and order that, upon ye payment of ye sd sum, the said John Little shall make and execute in due form of law, unto the said congregation, a good Law- ful Deed of Conveyance of the Land whereon ye sd meet- ing-house stands and is thereunto appertaining, with the privaledges and appurtenances thereunto belonging, which the said Little bought and purchased of the said Deering as aforesaid. To Hold the same unto the said congregation according to ye Tenures and after the same manner as the Church of Scotland hold and Enjoy the Lands whereon their meeting-liouses are Erected. Item. We agree and determine and do hereby ascertain the Right and Interest which the sd John Little hath in the said meeting-house to be the pew and seat therein now in his possession, which is to remain good to him forever, in the same manner as the rest of the proprietors in the said meeting do hold and enjoy their respective Rights and Interests therein. Item. We award and order that the said John Little shall assign Transfers and make over unto the said George Glen, Edward Allen, Andrew Knox, George Southerland, William Hall, Daniel Macneal, Samuel Miller, Abraham All and William Shaw, as they are a committee chosen and appointed by the said congregation for managing the prudential affairs thereof, the outstanding debts due to the said congregation amounting, as by account appears, to the sum of fifty-four pounds five shillings, and shall in- 70 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM vest them with all the power he ye said Little is possessed of, in order to recover the same for the use of the said congregation. Lastly. AVe award and order that the charge of this ar- bitration shall be borne and sustained by the said Partys share and share alike. In Witness whereof we have here- unto set our hands and seals, the ninth day of April, Anno Domini, one thousand seven hundred and thirty-five. Jacob Sheafe, and a seal ; Stephen Boutineau, and a seal ; Hugh Vans, and a seal. Signed, sealed and delivered in ye presence of (By the said Stephen Boutineau, and Hugh Vans) Daniel Marsh. And by the said Jacob Sheafe in the presence of us Daniel Marsh, Anth. Woulfe. These two months soon passed, and as the dervish in the desert, who from time to time found his spring of living water rendered nearly valueless for a season by the feet of the camels of the pilgrims, in order to do good to himself and to future generations, surrounded it with a safe stone curb, so that the thirsty might drink and thank their benefactor while he lived and bless his memory after his death — so John Little, on the 9th day of June, a. d. 1735, devoted a lot of his land, for he had other lots in town, to the worship and glory of God and to the welfare of men, in connection with a specified and definite " form of sound words " imbedded in the aff'ections of Presbyterians, and sealed by the blood of the martj'rs of his native realm. His deed reads thus : " This indenture, made the ninth day of June, Anno Domini, one thousand seven hundred and thirty-five, and in the eighth 3^ear of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord George the Second, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c. : Between John Little of Boston, in the County of Suffolk and Province of the Massachusetts Bay, in New England, Gardner, on the one part, and George Glen, Tailor, William Hall, Leather Dresser, and A\"illiam Shaw, Tailor, all of Boston, aforesaid, and Andrew Knox, of said Boston, Mariner, for themselves, and as a Committee chosen and appointed by the rest of the Congregation belonging to the Presbyterian Meeting House, in Long Lane, in Boston IN NEW ENGLAND. 71 aforesaid, for managing the Prudential Affairs thereof, on the other part witnesseth : — " That the said John Little, for and in consideration of the sum One Hundred and Forty Pounds and five pence, in good publick bills of credit of the Province aforesaid, to him in Hand, at and before the ensealing and delivery of these Presents, well and truly paid by the said George Glen, William Hall, William Shaw and Andrew Knox, in behalf of themselves and as a Committee chosen as afore- said, the receipt whereof the said John Little doth hereby acknowledge, and thereof doth acquit, and discharge the said George Glen, William Hall, William Shavv^ and Andrew Knox, in behalf of themselves, and in their capacity aforesaid, and their successors in said trust, and each every of them forever by these Presents, hath given, granted, bargained, sold, aliened, enfeoffed, released, con- veyed and confirmed, and by these Presents doth give, grant, bargain, sell, alien, enfeofPe, release, convey and con- firm, unto the said George Glen, William Hall, William Shaw and Andrew Knox, a certain Piece or Parcel of Land, situate, lying, and being in Boston aforesaid, and is bounded in the Front Westerly upon Long Lane, so called, there measures one hundred and twenty-nine feet; North- erly by land of Mr. Jonathan Loring, and there measures ninety-eight feet; Easterly by land of Nathanael Green, Esq., and there measures one hundred and fifteen feet; Southerly by Bury Street, so called, and there measures one hundred and twenty-six feet and an half foot ; or, how- ever otherwise butted and bounded, or be the dimentions on either side, more or less. Also, the Meeting House on the said land standing. Together with all and Singular, the rights, members, profits, priviledges, fences, improvements, and appurtenances, whatsoever to the said granted and bargained piece or parcel of Land, and Meeting House, be- longing, or in any wise appertaining, or therewith now used, occupied or enjoj^ed. Also, all the Estate, Right, Title, Interest, Inheritance, Use, Possession, Property, Claim and Demand whatsoever, of him the said John Lit- tle, of, in and to the said granted and bargained Premises, and ever}^ Part and Parcel thereof, with the appurtenances : and the Reversion and Reversions, Remainder and Re- mainders thereof, saving and always reserving to the said 72 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM John Little, his heirs and assigns forever, the Right and Interest which the said John Little hath in the said Meet- ing House and Land, to wit: the Pew and seat therein now in his possession, which is to remain good to him, his Heirs and Assigns forever in the same manner as the rest of the Proprietors in the said Meeting House do hold and enjoy their respective rights and interests therein, which right and interest by a certain Instrument of award made by Jacob Sheaf, Gentleman, and Stephen Boutineau and Hugh Vans, Merchants, all of Boston aforesaid, between the said John Little on the one part, and the said George Glen, William Hall, William Shaw and others, a Commit- tee, chosen for the purposes aforesaid, on the other part; bearing date the ninth day of April, one thousand seven hundred and thirty-five, was ascertained to the said John Little, as by the said Award, reference thereto being had, may more at large api)ear. " To HAVE AND TO Pioi.D the Said piece or parcel of Land, Meeting House, and Premises with the appurtenances (saving and reserving as aforesaid), unto the said George Glen, William Shaw and William Hall and Andrew Knox, in their caj^acity aforesaid, and to their successors in that Trust and office forever, but to and for the only proper use, benefit and behoof of the said Congregation (according to the Tenures and after the same manner as the Church of Scotland hold and enjoy the Lands whereon the Meeting Houses are erected), forever, and for no other use, intent or purpose whatsoever; with Warranty against him the said John Little, and his heirs, and all and every other Person and Persons, whatsoever, from, by or under him or them. Together with the Benefit of a Warranty in a certain Deed mentioned from Theodore Atkinson, Gentleman, as the afore-named Nathanael Green, purchased the same as in and by the said deed, bearing date the twentieth day of November, 1723, of Record in the Registry of Deeds, for the County of Sufiblk, may appear, which granted Land and Premises, with the appurtenances before the said Meeting House was thereon erected, the said John Little purchased of Henry Deering, Esqr. " In Witness whereof, I, the said John Little, and Mary his wife (in token of her free consent to these Presents and Release of her Right and Title of Dower, and Thirds of, in IN NEW ENGLAND. 73 and unto the afore-granted and bargained Premises, with the appurtenances), have hereunto set their hands and seals, the Day and Year first aforewritten. John X Little, his mark and a seal ; Mary Little and a seal. Signed, sealed and delivered in presence of William Morto, John Sale. Received on the day of the date of the aforewritten Deed, of the aforenamed George Glen, William Hall, and William Shaw and Andrew Knox, Committee as aforesaid, the sum of One Hundred and Fort}' Pounds and five pence, being the Consideration Money aforementioned. John X Little, his mark. Suffolk, SS. — Boston, June 9th, 1735. The aforenamed John Little, and ^lary his wife, personally ap- pearing, acknowledged the aforewritten Instrument by them executed to be their act and Deed. Before me, Joshua Winslow, Justice of the Peace, June 10, 1735. Received, and accordingly Entered and Examined " Per Samuel Gerrish, Register. "A True Copy from the Records of Deeds for the County of Suffolk, Lib. 51, folio 14. " (Attest) Henry Alline, Register.'''' Thus, not only was harmony re-established, but a com- pact of the most solemn nature known in the alienation, conveyance and possession of landed property on earth was made, (upon, or at least) relating to, this estate. A trust was on that day by him created, and by the "pru- dential committee " accepted for the beneficiaries, which tliey mutually designed to have perpetuated while British civilization should continue (or be succeeded by its equivalent) upon this soil. From that day forward, " the said premises formed a species of property, which is not the subject of any ex- changeable or marketable value." (See corporate oath of the trustees of the occupants in 1854.) Tliis chuch, unfettered by pew patronage, entitled to the immunities of trusts under the British constitution, free from the overshadowing influences of the "great and general court " of the colony — having a faithful pastor and at times, twelve diligent ruling elders, now started on a career of prosperity. When " the converted barn " became too strait for them, " they added to it two wings," and in less than six 7-i HISTORY OF presbyterianism: years a much larger house was required, which was erected and occupied in a. d. 1742. Of this nian, who gave of his £550 in " public bills of credit," at least, £409. 19s. 7fZ., for the cause of Christ, it may not be without interest to give a more extended no- tice. In disposition, he was sociable, charitable, and unusually liberal. When " on ^larch 17th, 1737, twenty-six gentlemen of the Irish nation," resident in Boston, formed " the Irish Charitable Society " of that town, his name is the twentieth on the list. With him were George Glen and Andrew Knox, while in 1737, Wm. Hall was President. In his will, which was made July 25th, and probated September 1st, 1741, after provision for the payment of all his debts, the allotment of one-third of his real estate to his wife, a small sum to his father, to his brothers, sis- ters and mother-in-hi\v, he gave two pounds to Charles, son of Peter Pelham, schoohnaster, for the friendship received from his father and family — and the rest of his estate, real and personal, to his two sons, his dear children, John and Moses, in equal portions — and if they should both die before they should marry, or arrive at twenty-one years of age — " Then, I give all my real and personal estate and profits thereof remaining, to the overseers of the poor of Boston forever — for the following purposes, and no other use whatsoever, viz.: to improve the same to the best ad- vantage, and of the annual profits to employ some able and proper person from time to time forever, as a school- master, to teach poor Protestant children whose parents are of the kingdom of Ireland, and inhabitants of Boston, in reading, writing, and arithmetic, and pay him a proper sum for the same. To provide for such children books and utensils, with a Psalter, Testament and Bible to each of them. " None to be admitted to this charity, but such as are properly recommended and seven years old, and to leave at fourteen years of age. ' Their number to be regulated by said overseers and directors forever.' " He did not with this charity, as he did with the trust created on June 9th, a. d. 1735, for a vastly higher purpose, put it beyond the contingencies of human life; yet it IN NEW ENGLAND. .75 manifests a kind, generous, and Christian spirit in the man, while it shews ns, to some extent, the inseparable connection between true Presbyterianism and the dif- fusion of elementary education. Whether either of his sons came to manhood or mar- ried is now unknown. He had by this date, August, 1741, not only "served his generation by the will of God; " but had created a trust, designed, if not perverted, to subserve the glory of Jeho- vah, the honor of Christ, and the welfare of true Presby- terians forever — and "he being dead j'et speaketh," and serves each succeeding generation, so that one hundred and forty-six years have not j^et erased his name from the list of Ciiristian benefactors." A quarter of a century had not given these "oppressed Irish Presbyterian brethren " civil and social freedom yet, as we see by the record of such examples of indemnifica- tion as the following. 1728, March 5th. Robt. Gardner, from Scotland, on in- demnifying in the sum of £100, was admitted to open business as a wigmaker. 1741, April loth. Matthew Campbell, from Nutfield, (Derry, N. H.,) obtained leave to open a tobacco shop. Wm. More and he to give bonds for £50 indemnity for five years. 1741, April 22d. Andrew Craigie and family admitted for five years for £150. 1741, April 29th. McGregor and wife and two children, from Brunswick, "to be here next Wednesday." 1741, June 24th. Robt. Henry indemnifies for five years as a blacksmith for £100. Green and ^^'alker w^ere his bondsmen. We now chronologically return for a time to the church of Londonderry, in A'iew especially of its early loss of its beloved friend and pastor, while, at the same time we look at the ecclesiastical usages of this people, in common with all scriptural Presbyterians, in some of their dis- criminating features, as distinct from Prelacy and Congre- gationalism. In doing this, I again quote extensiveh^ from the Rev. Mr. Parker. " The text from which the Rev. Mr. McGregor preached. 76 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM when he took the pastoral care of the infant church in Londonderry, then literally in the wilderness; was Ez. xxxvii. 26. "This promise as applied to this band of emigrants, has been strikingly fulfilled, in the permanency, enlarge- ment and prosperity of the settlement, then devoutly commenced. It has been shewn, that the leading motive of these colonists in coming to this country was the more full and free enjoyment of religious privileges. "Like the Pilgrims, they sought a home and a place, with 'freedom to worship God.' The Londonderry emi- gration, in 1718, so called (as they mostly came from that city and its vicinity,) included four Presbyterian ministers. Of these, McGregor was chosen pastor. The records of the church commence June 27th, 1723. The first session was composed of ten ruling elders, and one was added in 1726." The following extracts from their records may shew how they "took heed to the flock over wdiich the Holy Ghost had made them overseers. The first case presented Avas the report that James Doake had quarrelled with his Either and had beaten him. * The session came to the conclusion : that after a great deal of pains taken, they cannot find it proven, that James Doake did beatlhis father, yet the session agreeth that James Doake should be rebuked before them, for giving his father the lie, and to be ex- horted to respect and honor his parents in words and ac- tions." The next case of discipline was a charge brought by John Archibald against James Moor, for using unjustifia- ble expressions of a profane character, which Moor denied ; yet he was exhorted by the session to be ^vatchful and more circumspect for the future. A trait of character which distinguished this people was a generous sympathy for their friends in afliiction, and a readiness to tender relief. Hence we find, that at the early period of 1725, the session ordered two public col- lections on Sabbath. One was to aid a Mr. James Clarke, residing in Rutland, Massachusetts, to ransom his vson taken by the Indians ; the collection, straitened as were their circumstances at the time, amounted to five pounds. The other was for the relief of William Moor, who had two cows killed by the falling of a tree ; three pounds and IN NEW ENGLAND. 77 nineteen shillings were received. It is most evident from these ancient records, tiiat, whatever imperfections ap- peared in the character of the people, the elders did not suffer sin to pass unreproved. Impurity of speech or act; the circuhition of shmderous reports, dishonesty, or, neglect of social religious duties, were subjects of prompt and faithful discipline. ■y They were pure Presbyterians, and no people were more \ distinguished for sound Christian doctrine and order, or \ for a more strict and inflexible code of morals. ^ On March 5th, 1729, the congregation experienced a I heavy loss in the dpatli of the Rev. Mr. McGregor. He died at the age of fiity-two. Habituated to hardships and self-denial, he was well ])repared to share with his people the toils, dangers and sacrifice of ease and comfort ever attendant upon a new settlement. It was the custom at that day, and for thirty years afterwards, for all " able- bodied men " to go to church well armed, in order to be prepared to repel any sudden attack from the Indians, and their pastor always marched into his pulpit with his gun ivell loaded and primed* The Rev. Matthew Clarke , became the successor of Mr. McGregor, and on January | 9th, 1733, married, as his third wife, his widow. He never ate of anything which had possessed animal life, and while a minister of the Prince of Peace, as he had served as an ofificer in the Protestant army, and was active in the de- fence of Londonderry during the memorable siege, his martial spirit would not unfrequently be revived. He died January 25th, 1735, aged seventy-six. There were in those days no theological seminaries in America, and previously to the death of Mr. Clarke, the people made application to the Presbytery of Tyrone for a * The Rev. Zacharv Walker, of Woodbury, Connecticut, on one Sab- bath preaclied tliree sermons and shot two Indians. He was ihe first minister of tliat town. So, during the eight years of savage warfare in the Cumberland valley, in Pennsylvania, the Presbyterian minister, the Rev. John Steele, ''often exercised his ministry with his gun at his side, while the men of his congregation had then their weapons within their reach." (Chambers' Tribute, p. 85.) The Norridgewalks were taught by the French missionaries to believe, that the English murdered the Saviour of mankind, and the Indians would kill all of them they could." (Sewall, p. 317.) Wolfe's victory in 1759 put a stop to this savage car- nage, and after that date garrisons and blockhouses were not needed. 78 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM candidate, " a suitable, well-qualified, and accredited min- ister, to take charge of them in tlie Lord, engaging to pay him one hundred and forty pounds annually, beside the exj3enses of his voyage, with one-half of a home-lot and a hundred acre out-lot," as it was then termed. The gover- nor of the colony had then but one hundred pounds an- nually. This shows the zeal and liberality of the early settlers in supporting the gospel. They had been taught the value of divine ordinances, and they aj)})reciated them by "honoring the Lord with their substance." On the 10th day of October, 1733, the Rev. Thomas Thompson, ordained, married and fully accredited, at twenty-nine 3'ears of age, was installed as their pastor. As expenses attendant upon his installation, there were paid to the Rev. Messrs. LeMercier and Moorehead, and their elders, £8, and £2. 6s. for man and horses to bring them from and take them back to Haverhill, Massachusetts. He died September 22d, 1738. Though his ministry was short, it was liighly acceptable to the people, and attended with the divine blessing, tlie church being very considera- bly increased during the period of his connection with it. , At a sacramental occasion in 1734 (only fifteen years after the settlement of the town), there were i)resent seven hundred communicants. As not a few of these came from other congregations, " tokens " (as cheap and convenient little certificates of church membership, for such they were,) were dispensed to prevent unworthy intruders. Thursday before the communion was observed as a sacramental fast with much strictness, while preaching on Friday and Saturday and thanksgiving on Monday, were part of their stated communion services. There would sometimes be three or four tables, after which a short recess, then a discourse and the usual devotional exercises, which were often extended to sunset. "Such solemn and devout convocations, such assem- bling of the people for several consecutive daj^s for prayer, praise and preaching ; if the practice were revived by the churches, would happily serve, it is believed, to promote their spirituality, and bring down the divine influences in more copious effusions." (Parker.) " The settlement continuing to receive accessions from Ireland and elsewhere, and the remoter sections of the IN NEW ENGLAND. 79 township becoming inhabited, sundry persons in the westerly part having petitioned for that object, were set off as a religious society, and, in 1739, were, by the gen- eral court, invested with privileges, and styled the West Parish in Londonderry. " Rev. David McGregor, son of the Rev. James McGregor, took the pastoral charge of the newly-formed congregation. He received his literary and theological education chiefly under the Rev. Mr. Clarke, his father's successor, and was ordained in 1736." The East Parish, in 1739, called the Rev. WiUiam David- son. They gave him one hundred and sixty pounds as a settlement, and the same sum annually as his salary. Amidst all their general prosperity and the enjoyment of the means of grace, unsanctified human nature began to operate, and, at an early day, harmony became impaired betAveen the two congregations. A number of families residing in the east one, being dissatisfied with Mr. David- son's ministry, and particularly attached to Mr. Mc- Gregor, as he was the son of their former pastor, more evangelical in his doctrinal views, and a more talented preacher than Mr. Davidson, united with the newly-formed parish. A change of about a mile in the site of the West Church induced about the same number of families (about fortAO to withdraw from the West and unite with the East. This unhappy division, which lasted for nearly forty years, was productive of evils long felt in the congregations, not only occasioning alienation of feeling and often bitter animosi- ties between the members of these two churches, but also preventing all ministerial and even social intercourse be- tween their pastors. The following minute from the records of the session (of June 1st, 1743), may serve to show the want of Christian fellowship which then ex- isted : ''James Wilson came to the session and desired to be admitted to the sacrament, to which Mr. Davidson told him, with the session, that we admitted none that partook with Mr. McGregor; and was inquired of whether or not it was a personal quarrel with his minister that made him decline from him. He answered it was not, but only the tenents (tenets) they held up amongst them, and that he •80 HISTORY OF PRKSBYTERIANISM would not join with them for the future, and upon these he got a token of admission." This alienation is further shewn by their respective views of the great awakening or extraordinary seriousness and attention to religion which, in 1741, in the days of tlie Tenants, of Edwards, and of Whitefield, so extensively prevailed in this country, pervading New England and ex- tending to this town. McGregor preached and entered earnestly into the awakening, and a happ}^ addition was made to his church. Davidson and his church stood aloof from all participation in the work. The Rev. George Whitefield preached to a very large collection of people in the open field, the meeting-house not being large enough to accommodate them. "Although Davidson and those in the Presbyterian connection who sympathized with him, adhered to the Confession of Faith and catechisms in their iamilies, schools and congregations, yet in their preaching they left out, as has been justly said, the distinctive doc- trines of the Calvinistic system, dwelt chiefly on moral and practical duties, were not zealous for the conversion of sin- ners, and in their preaching and devotional services lacked that unction and fervor which distinguished the advocates, promoters and subjects of the great revival." The result was that vital godliness greatly declined in this churcli, few were added by profession, discipline was much neglected, and the distinctive lines between the €]nirch and the world were nearly obliterated. Mr. McGregor, vindicating the work from the charges of antinomianism and fanaticism {Princess History), says: " For my own part, I have seen little or no appearance of the groAvth of antinomian errors or an3^thing visionary or -enthusiastic, either in my own congregation or among the people in the neighborhood where I live. Indeed, if as- serting justification by faith alone, and denying it by the law as a covenant of ^^^3rks, while the eternal obligation of the law as a rule of life is strongly maintained in practice US well as profession — if this, I say, be antinomian doc- trine, then we have a great growth of antinomianism. Again, if asserting the necessity of supernatural influence or divine energy in conversion, or the reality of the imme- diate witnessing and sealing of the Spirit be enthusiasm, then we have a remarkable spread of enthusiasm ; and in IN NEW ENGLAND. 81 these senses may antinomianism and enthusiasm grow more and more till they overspread the whole land." We now look a little, on what was farther done in the extension of Presl^yterianism during the first twent^^-five years after the settlement of Denw, N. H. In all towns where Presbyterians mingled with the natives, they had to encounter strong prejudices, were viewed, to some extent, as intruders, and were compelled to support a form of church government and worship for which they had no affection. Consequently, if they obtained a peaceable settlement and were not driven off or expelled, they were in a generation or two often assimi- lated to and absorl;ed by the overshadowing influence of the colonial religion. Hence their meeting-houses in many towns have passed into the possession of Congregationalists. These settle- ments were made almost wholly of Presbyterians from the north of Ireland, and the Scotch (excepting those who went to the Province of Maine) do not appear to have come into New England in colonies until after the middle of this century. At this period, liowever, ministers from the Kirk, the only order of Presbyterians then in Scotland (excepting a few of the Reformed) came over. The minister of the majority of the votes of a town was supported by a parish tax col- lected by civil authority, and although this was less secure than patronage in Scotland, yet individual adventurers from British Presbyteries were not unfrequently hired to serve Congregational societies. About this period James Keith, John Campbell, Hugh Campbell, Hugh Henry, John McKinstry and John Gra- ham, as we have seen, served as pastors in this way. " Many of the emigrants (who came to the Ba}' in and before 1633) had, while in England, belonged to the con- gregation of the Rev. Tliomas Hooker, a preacher of great celebrity, who, to escape fines and imprisonment for non- conformity, had fled into Holland. Being greatly attached to him, at their earnest request he came to them and per- suaded Mr. Samuel Stone to accompany him as an assistant. They arrived in Boston September 4th, 1633. On October 11th they were ordained to their respective ofhces as pastor and teacher in the church at Cambridge 6 82 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM in the new way. Finding himself overshadowed by the great influence of the Rev. Mr. Cotton, in 1636, he (with his whole church and congregation, consisting of about one hundred persons) removed to Connecticut and commenced the settlement of Hartford." (Cam. Con. Faith.) " Presbyterianism has not been without right in Con- necticut. The principal friends and patrons of the colony at the time of its settlement were Presbyterians : and so were many of those who came over at an early day. Some of the first ministers of this colony were avowed Presbyterians. That is such as were Presbyterians in England from 1572 until 1591. The later Puritan emigra- tion brought with it ' a leaven of Presbyterianism,' says Dr. Bacon {Cuntrib. Hist. Conn., p. 17), and its workings are to be traced in tlie Saybrook Platform. Under the system of church polity tliere defined, the consociation * could be made, and was made to a great extent a judicial and authoritative tribunal (p. 122), corres})onding very closely with the Presbytery. In keeping with these facts, the name Presbyterian has been applied very connnonly to the churches of Connecticut, and on more than one occasion it has been affirmed, upon high authority, that the system of church order prevailing among them was really Presby- terianism." (Hist. Disc. Ibid., p. 63; Dr. DwighVs Travels^ vol. iv., p. 410 seq.) " But the churches in this State that have been in a stricter and more usual sense Presbyterian have never been numerous, and they have come into existence under special conditions. In Voluntown, now Sterling, Wind- ham county, a church was organized on the 15th of October, 1723." (Rev. Chas. W. Baird.) The Rev. Samuel Dorrance, a native of Ireland, was set- tled there on that day, and, on August 14th, 1749, a peti- tion from said town was received by the original Presby- tery at its meeting in Boston in the LeMercier Church, on which he and his congregation was received. He was dis- missed in 1770, and the church became Congregational June 30th, 1779. Of this Presbytery he was probably during its existence a member. He died there on Novem- ber 12th, 1775, in the ninetieth year of his age and the forty-seventh of his ministry. Peters (Hist, of Conn.) says : *'In Voluntown there is one Presbyterian parish. This IN NEW KNGI,AXD. 83 sect has mot with ns little Christian charity and humanity in this hairbrained community as the Anabaptists, Qua- kers and Churchmen. • The ' sober dissenters ' of this town (as they style themselves) will not attend the funeral of a Presbyterian " (p. 162). This might, however, apply only to the state of that community in the time of his succes- sor, the Rev. Mr. Gilmore. Of all the inductions of Presbj^terian ministers to serve Cono;regationalist societies, that which as the occasion was procluctive of the most extensive consequences for evil was the settlement of the Rev. James Hillliouse with the second parish of New London (called Montville) in that colony on October 3d, 1722. For several years matters appear to have prospered with him, but whether his doctrine did not suit his audience or his practice became improper, does not appear. For some cause, however, he became unpopular with his people. He also ]n'osecuted one of his neighbors and was non- suited. The power of his employers was now exerted to remove him. The people shut the church door on him and witliheld his salary. "A Council," not " mutual," but " ex parte," was held, and instead of advising him to ask for a dismission, they in 1735 '^ordered him to resign his office." This he did not do ; but continued to preach and de- mand his salary. To protect himself ecclesiastically, he applied to the Presbytery for admission. Excitement became rife. The correspondence between the Congregational and Presbyterian ministers of an offi- cial and especially of a fraternal character was now rup- tured, by specific view^s of church power. If the Presbyter}" should admit him, while "ordered" by a council to resign his office, a par value would not be placed on their standing and authority. On this question the Presbytery divided. A majority were for rejecting him, but at a meeting held in 1736, when but five ministers were present, by the aid of the votes of ruling elders, Rev. Messrs. Moorehead and Harvey had him admitted by a majority of one vote. Against his admission, the three other ministers then present protested. They could only protest — not appeal, 84 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM for there was not until nearly forty years after, any synod nearer than Ireland, with which they had any connection. Mr, Moorehead maintained, that -though hired by Con- gregationalists, as he was not ordained b}^ any of their councils, he was not amenable or subject to them. He prosecuted his parish for his salary, lost his case in court, and on June 28th, 1737, " he was cast out and de- posed (says LeMercier) by a council, who also appointed another in his stead." From 1736, j)eace and the Presbytery shook hands and parted. Recourse was had, not only to vindications be- fore the Presbytery, but criminations and recriminations -were spread before the people, by both the puli)it and the I^ress. Among those, thus alienated, were the pastors of the Boston churches. LeMercier advocated the expe- dienc}^, if not the principle of recognizing the action of the council as valid — while Moorehead maintained, that its *' power (as exercised in the case of Mr. Hillhouse) was Jesuiticaland usurped" — and that as he had received his ordination before he came to the colonies, the Presbytery, in 1736, "received him as a member of the Church of Scotland." From the pulpit also, evidences of alienation were pre- sented, and from Luke xvi. 15, Mr. Moorehead preached textually to the Presbytery. This of course produced deep feeling, which was increased by Mr. Hillhouse, who per- sistently pressed his admission on the court. Such was the furor of the contest, that, in October, 1736, the Rev. Mr. Harvey was suspended by Presbytery — while the Rev. Mr. 'Moorehead was twice rebuked and finally suspended from office and emolument. When un- der process, " both Mr. jMoorehead and Mr. Harvey were permitted to give their reasons and defend their course before Presbytery." Besides Moorehead, Harvey, and Hillhouse, there were in and remained in Presbytery, five ministers — LeMercier, Thompson, Wilson, McLena- lian, and Johnston. The Presbytery which met in Boston Oct., 1736 (that is, these five clergymen with their elders), forbade their members to preach or exercise any ministerial office (says Le^Mercier) within the bounds of the other ministers, without the knowledge of the Presbytery — that is, they IN NEW ENGLAND. 85 were not to preach in the pulpits of Mr. Moorehead or Mr. Harvey, and he farther sa3^s, " as the ministers of the town of Boston liave been always willing to live in friend- ship with the Presbyterian ministers, and to shew their regard for good order, they have not preached for ' John Presbyter,' since they heard that he had been suspended by the Presbytery. "To receive Mr. Hillhouse would make Presbytery very ridiculous in the e3^es of the people of New Eng- land." (Remarks LeAIercier, p. 14.) Thus, " the be- ginning of strife was like the letting out of water," and the Presbyterial harmony, which it had required years to establish and maintain, was now forever broken by parti- san passion. While " Mr. Hillhouse forced himself into the Presby- tery, not at all to the satisfoction of its members (says LeM.) this was not the only ground of grievance of which the majority complained, and which made the separation final. " In the Presbj^tery held in Boston in Oct., 1736, when the names of the several members were called, among the rest was that of Mr. David McGregore. 'As he had never sat with them before, the Rev. Mr. Rutherford desired to know how he became a member, and who gave the or- dainers power to do it? As the major part desired to be satisfied in this, before they admitted Mr. McGregore, Mr. Moorehead, previously ordainer, and now moderator, not giving a satisfactory answer, the majority denied Mr. McGregore's right to a seat. After much debate and some fruitless propositions, Messrs. Moorehead and Harvey de- clared, that they would not sit in Presbytery with the rest, if Mr. McGregore was not permitted to vote." This being still refused, " Mr. Moorehead left the chair and the meeting-house (the French one), followed by Harvey and McGregore." All solicitation was in vain. "They re- fused to return. Perhaps they resolved to set up a Presby- tery of their own to screen themselves from justly deserved censure." {LeM.) This was. a sorrowful spectacle, that these few ministers, nearly all of the same race, from lands of martyred ancestries, professedh- believing the same things, under the same vows and Avalking by the same rule, should now utterly 'fall out by the way.' Yet 'the 86 ' HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder the one from the other,' and became 'two bands.' Moorehead and Harvey (and possibly some others) had, in 1736, ordained and received Mr. McGregore when ob- viously but a minority of the Presbytery ( probably owing to their distance from Boston) were in attendance. To the suspension, which followed, they were probably brought, by the impulsive temperament of Mr. Moorehead and his strong attachment to his countrymen, while Le- Mercier's sympathies pro))ably were somewhat misled, by his early associations and then present surroundings of cliurch and state. Tlie unpleasant bearing of Mr. Hill- house also made his fellowship with the Presbytery to be of a short duration, and it did not nullify the action of the council in his case. Owing to the widel}^ scattered position of the members of Presbytery, and consequent probable non-appearance at stated occasional meetings, especially in winter, we can account for the absence of a majority of the ministers at the ordination of Mr. David McGregore (who had been pre- viously licensed) ; but why the Rev, Mr. Rutherford, " who was of an amiable and excellent disposition," should aim to exclude him, does not so fully appear. The young man was much beloved, eminently popular and useful. Per- haps the fact that he had not graduated at any college may in part account for the opposition of the majority of the ministers. Judging from the part which the Rev. Mr. Rutherford took in excluding him, it is not easy to deter- mine whether he intensely desired to have order observed to the letter, or acted from a love of pre-eminence, or both. He lived on the then most remote borders of civilization in the Province of Maine. To the shores of the Kennebec Mr. Robert Temple, from Ireland', had brought a colony in 1719 or 1720. While some of them, discouraged by the climate and the wilderness, had sought in the middle or southern colo- nies a more pleasant home, others remained and had occa- sional supplies of preaching. In Scarboro, Maine, in 1720, the Rev. Hugh Campbell, from Scotland, preached. He remained only about one year, and was in June, 1722, succeeded by his countryman, the Rev. Hugh Henry, who, although he was not formally IN NEW ENGLAND. 87 settled, in 1725 sued the town for his salary, which was seventy pounds per annum, but did not recover it. As that was the age of colonies from Ireland to America, we find that in 1729 a Colonel Dunbar brought over a num- ber of Presbyterians. " His colonists (we again refer to the Hon. Wm. Willis) in two years amounted to more than one hundred and twenty families, and with the first of these he brought as minister the Rev. Robert Rutherford." Massachusetts, wdiich then claimed jurisdiction over the Province of Maine, protested against his usurpations, and his government over his colony ceased, for he was driven out by the forces of the former in August, 1732. He, how- ever, when in possession, had ceded to his countrymen the towns of Bristol, Noblesboro and Boothbay. He returned to Britain in 1737. Of Andrew Reed, a principal settler in Townsend, it is said that for a whole winter (that of 1730) he read his Bible and cut and piled cord wood alone, exposed at all times to the savages, and when asked on his return, " Were you not afraid?" answered, "Had not I the Bible with me? I was neither alone, nor afraid of the Indians." (S., p. 264.) Of the descendants of tlie Dunbar emigration, says Sewall, p. 263, " they are intelligent, enterprising, fearless, thrifty, peaceful and vigorous." Waldo, who had, as the agent of Massachusetts, appeared successfully against Dunbar in England, next brought over emigrants to Maine. Twenty-seven families of Scotch descent from the north of Ireland, who in 1735 arrived under his direction, were each by him furnished with one hundred acres of land on the banks of the river St. George, in the town of Warren.. Rutherford had thus from his arrival an ample field of labor. " He preached in Bristol four or five years." (Wil- liamson's Maine.) To assist him, the Rev. William Mc- Clenahan came over about 1734. Neither of them, how- ever, appears to have had in Maine a permanent settlement. An increase to their numbers, in this region, occurred in this way: About 1740 the "Grand Design," with passen- gers for Pennsylvania, was wrecked on Mount Desert, and many of the survivors settled in Warren, Pemaquid, Sheepscot and Damariscotta. W^hile, at this date, it is supposed that no part of New BS HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM England was so strongly Presbyterian as was the country lying between the Kennebec and Penobscot, yet, to effect settlements of this church order was difficult, owing to the tenacity or obstinacy of the Congregationalists in the dif- ferent parishes. They seldom became Presbyterians, while the others frequently united with tliem. From 1734 till near 1737 the Rev. R. Rutherford preached chiefly at Pemaquid, and in 1737 he preached at Bruns- wick, where he was settled as the first minister of that town, and continued there till 1742. (Williamson.) In 1747 Mr. Rutherford was chaplain in Henderson's Fort, at Pleasant Point. He asked a suitable sum for his table expenses and was refused. Perhaps his being a Presbyte- rian as well as a friend of Governor Dunbar's operated against him. (P. 59, Eaton.) He died at Thomaston in October, 1756, aired 68 years. The Rev. William McClenahan was invited in 1734 to settle at Georgetown, but the Congregationalists kept up a quarrel for the two years in which he occasionally preached to them. On the 15th of November, 1736, he was installed at Cape Elizabeth, as appears by the "Journal of the Rev. Thomas Smith, of Falmouth," who opposed his usefulness. His temperament was such that he was often in difficulty, and in this place " he stirred up a controversy which ended in his dismission," and he returned to Georgetown and vicinity. ' Cape Elizabeth had been partly settled by the McGregore and Boyd emigration, and now, seventeen years afterwards, the number of families which had settled at Porpooduc, on Casco Bay, in Falmouth Township, is supposed to have been about twenty, who, although they at first enjoyed the services of the Rev. William Cornwall, and after he had left them the labors of the Rev. ^Ir. Woodside — still, such were their disadvantages civilly as well as physically that tlie}^ were unable long to sustain ordinances. Congregationalism obtained the ascendency in the town, and now after some twenty years of struggle for a perma- nent existence, with the departure of Mr. McClenahan Pres- byterianism became prostrated, so that when, some thirty years later, a Presbyterian clergyman preached a Sabbath or two in the vicinity, while his teachings and usages in worship were hailed with great delight by the aged, yet IN NEW ENGLA?,-D. 89 the Presbyterian element had become nearly extinct, either by removal or by conformity to other usages, or by both. We have, then, the early decay of Presbyterianism in the neighborhood of Casco Bay, and it never revived. Midnight violence was not probably employed towards this people, as it was about this date to the church in Worcester, yet, from the "Journal of the Rev. Thomas Smith, of Falmouth," and other sources, we find that they were treated in an unkind manner, on account of their views of church government and Christian worship. The fragmentary and opposing condition of "the op- pressed Irish brethren " and their ministry at this time, from 173G till 1740, and later in New England, was humil- iating and trying to those who were truly pious. They had no connection with the Presb3^terics and Synods which had since the commencement of that century sprung up in the central colonies, and they had no Synod with which they were identified nearer than Ireland to which they could go by review or appeal. Consequently, order and peace in their churches suHfered extensively. Several cases were, by reference, from time to time carried to tb.e Synod of Ulster. After Moorehead and Harvey Avere (in 1737) suspended and McGregore's ordination was ignored, Rutherford, LeMercier, Thomson, Wilson, McClenahan and Johnston (their congregations where they were settled pastors, and those adhering to them in the varied vacan- cies and settlements) constituted and perpetuated the Presbytery of Londonderry. Notwithstanding the destruction of their house of wor- ship, the Presbyterians in Worcester continued for some years to support their pastor, the Rev. William Johnston. The date of his ordination does not appear. It took place in Worcester between 1729 and 1786, for in 1736 his con- gregation appealed "to the justice of their fellow-townsmen for relief from " the parish-tax for the support of the Con- gregationalist minister, and while, instead of receiving equity, they were answered with " subtilty and illiberal- ity," they were also told that " his ordination was disor- derly." (Lincoln.) How long he labored there is not known, but his i)eople, doubtless, became weary of sup- porting both their OAvn pastor and the parish minister, until, owing to their discouragement and general disper- 90 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM sion, he had finally to leave them. Their church organi- zation as Presbyterians ceased within twenty-five years of their first settlement in the town. If toleration to erect their house of worship had been allowed to them, they would probably, in a few years, have become " the church of the parish," instead of being the occupants of the " old garrison-house." Their case solves a problem on which much speculation has existed, that is, the harmonious co-habitation of Presbyterianism and Congregationalism. Many persons imagine that they are similar, or, as they say, " there is between them only a little diflf'erence, only a little about church government — and they are so nearly identical as mutually to support each other," while in reality they are irreconcilably antagonistical. " Obey them that have' the rule over you and submit yourselves, for they watch for your souls, as they that must give an ac- count " — first to the Presbytery, and finally to " the chief Shepherd," is essentially and totally difierent from, " Go to, let us," or, that, "all church power resides in the church, and not in church officers ; and resides in each particular church directly and originally, by virtue of the express or implied compact of its members." So it was then in New England between these two forms of church government. So it is now, and ever must be. They are distinct species, radically different and essen- tially opposed to each other. Consequently, so long as any congregations were kept purely Presbyterian, they prospered as such, and just so soon as this form of regimen was abated or ignored, Congregationalism controlled the parish. We have in Milford, New Haven county, one of those churches, which came to Presbyterianism. The Rev. Samuel Whittlesey was settled here in December, 1737, and " regarded as unsound in doctrine " by a considerable minority of the people, who professed themselves to be Presbyterians according to the Church of Scotland, they left the State religion, and the Presbytery of New Bruns- wick took them under its care. The Rev. Samuel Find- ley, afterwards President of the College of New Jersey, was sent to preach to them. But the congregation had not obtained recognition, either by the civil or ecclesiasti- IN NEW ENGLAND. 91 cal authorities as a religious society ; and for the offence of preaching to them, the Doctor was indicted, arrested and sentenced to be transported, as a vagrant and a dis- turber of the public peace, out of the colony. In 1747 Mr. Job Prudden was by the same Presbytery ordained and installed their pastor. The people, however, continued to be taxed for the support of the parish minis- ter. The State, while it then exempted from such taxa- tion certain religious societies, duly authorized to have worship in their own way, refused to exempt seceding Congregationalists and Presbyterians. In 1750 the}^ were released from their burden ; ten years later they obtained an incorporation from the Legislature as the second eccle- siastical society in Milford, and their connection with Presbytery ceased. (Trumbull, Hist. Conn., vol. 2, pp. 325- 839.) Prudden was a laborious, prudent and faithful pas- tor, sound in doctrine and experimental in his preaching. His talents, meekness and piety, gave universal satisfac- tion to his people. He died June 24th, 1774. (B.) Cases of such expediency are relatively numerous. Not onl}^ Porpooduc and Worcester but also Chester in New Hampshire now began to manifest the truth of this position. This town, contiguous to Londonderry, was settled first by Presbyterians, and from 1730 till 1734 they had the services of the Rev. Moses Hale in the Congrega- tional way, as the parish minister, some of the townsmen who came to it from time to time being of that order. In 1734, however, the Presbyterians finding themselves able to support him, had the Rev. John Wilson"^ settled over them, "after the rules of the Church of Scotland." In 1736, after resisting, as far as practicable, the settle- ment of the Rev. Ebenezer Flagg, as a Congregationalist minister there, the Presbyterians were compelled by law to support him also. Many of them refused to pay the tax for his support. For this two of them, James Camp- bell and Thomas Tolford, were put in jail at Exeter, by * His father, the Rev. John Wilson, came from Ireland, and was re- ceived by the Synod of Phihidelphia in 1729. *' On January 27th, 1730, the Presbytery of Newcastle received a letter from Armagh Presbytery concerning him, and they resolved not to employ him. He removed soon after to Boston, and died there on January 6tii, 1733, aged sixty- six years." (W.) 92 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM the town collector. They afterwards obtained a decision in law in their favor and were released. Taking- encour- agement from this, the Presbyterians, in 1738, erected a raeeting-hoiise, and persevering in sustaining the pastor and worship of their choice, they, by importuning the Legislature, were, in 1740, allowed corporate powers, and after this date separate congregations (one of each order) were maintained in Chester for many years. The Rev. Mr. Wilson preached in this town for forty-five years. (N. H. Gaz.) This case also fairly illustrates the irrecon- cilable nature of these two systems of church government, and things which differ should always be distinguished. In doctrine^ at this date, Presbyterianism and New Eng- land Congregationalism differed very little, as the latter was, as yet, Calvinistic in her theology.* The New Eng- land Primer was the basis of instruction in the pulpits, in the family and in the daily schools. Witness Prince's Thursday lectures on the Shorter Catechism, in the Old South Church in Boston, for several years. In worshij^ the difference became increasingly greater with time. The Presbyterians, now expatriated from their native homes, had for above two generations cherished with sacred affection the songs of Zion, and sang in their families and churches only the book of Psalms, in the version appointed (to the exclusion of all other poetry) by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, to be sung by her congregations. This version had been, after careful examination by her Presbyteries, adopted and ex- clusively authorized by the Kirk on May 1st, 1650. In later times, by ignorance, prejudice and bigotry, it has been called " Rouse," because many of the psalms were, after revision, adopted from his metrical translation of a part of the Psalter. While the Pilgrims had brouglit with them to Plymouth Rock, in 1620, Ainsworth's ver- sion ; and the Puritans had, with their Episcopal service, brought the version of Hopkins and Sterphold to Shaw- mut in 1630, when these last turned a somersault; in 1636 the Rev. Messrs. Mather, Eliot and Weld were appointed to make a new version, which they completed in lour years. To print this, the first press was brought to the colony. After the Freeman's oath and an almanac, their version IN NEW ENGLAND. 93 of the Psalms was published in 1640, and was the first book printed in this part of North America, books having been previous!}^ printed in IMexico. (Thomas.) This version was called "the Bay State Psalm-Book." It passed through at least eighty-six editions before it was, in the next century, supplanted by " the Psalms of David, imitated in the language of the New Testament by Isaac Watts, D. D." The matter which men employ in praise to God often, or usually, forms a correct index of their acquaintance with " the truth as it is in Jesus," and of their living under " the power of an endless life," or otherwise. Hence, tersely said Matthew Henry, " con- verting grace makes men very fond of the Psalms of David." The Puritans in the course of a century added to this version of the Psalms several pieces from the other scriptures, susceptible of a poetical rendering, and when it was reprinted in Scotland these poems were bound up with the Bible and with the Psalms. The title-page might shock the nervous system of the devotees of modern " cul- ture," and runs thus, as I have copied it from a Bible printed in 1755 : " The psalms, hymns and spiritual songs of the Old and New Testament, iaithfulh^ translated into Enghsh metre, for the use, edification and comfort of the saints, in public and in private, especiallv in New Eng- land, 2 Tim. iii. 16, 17; CoL iii. 16; Epln v. 18, 19; Jas. V. 13. The twentieth edition, Edinburgh, printed by Adrian AVatkins, His Majesty's Printer, 1754." If our modern sentimental New England hymnologists, per- meated with " culture," will condescend to read this title, I fear they might in future swear by Darwin. A copy of the second edition is preserved in the library of Harvard College. But two copies of the first edition are known to be in existence, and of it eighty-six or more edi- tions were published. Destitute as it would now be con- sidered of elegance, it formed the matter of praise to the pious Congregational ists in New England for generations, and of it the immortal Jonathan Edwards said in 1735 : " God was then served in our psalmody." But the mental instability incident to, or inherent in Congregationalism, which that good man deplored in 1737, induced the minis- ters of Roxbury, Mass., to agitate the setting aside of this version and the introduction of that of " Tate and Brady," which had been first published in London in 1698. 94 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM The question of the identity of these two species of church government in discijjliMe was that on which, in 1736, the Presbytery of Londonderry was ruinously di- vided— the one part recognizing the action of a council as right in suspending the Rev. Mr. Hillhouse from the minis- try and compelling him to leave his pastoral charge, the other considering it " a Jesuitical " transaction. To "the truth as it is in Jesus," to the "offering" of a " pure " worship to Jehovah^ to the purity and increase of the church of Christ, it would, under the influences of the Holy Spirit through "the word," prove an inestimable blessing if tliese radical landmarks were understandingly observed throughout Christendom. Men would then walk together only so far as they were agreed, and our modern Joab and Amasa charity, "Art thou in health, my brother?" and then stab "him under the fifth rib," would, like Adam, run and hide. The ten- dency now is in an opposite direction. IN NEW ENGLAND. 95 CHAPTER III. 1718-1743 — A thrifty branch — Practical Godliness — Irregularities — Sessional Records burnt — An increase — Blandford largely Irish — Re- ligious Yicis=:itudes — Wliitefield — Tennant — Davenport — An Earth- quake in 1727 — Alarm wore oli^ — Novelty and Eloquence of White- field — "Aj)piauded by about one-fifth of the Clergymen of I*New Eng- land"— Wondrous work — An unfruitful ministry — Aroused — Prompted — Edwards at Enfield — " Shy of it '' — Communion four times each year in Moorehead's Church — Whitefield assisted him once — " Rotation " — Stood aloof — Irregularities — Declension — Relig- ion, what it became then — Discipline neglected — A dead letter — Churches of New England before *' the awakening" — Vitalizing in- structions of Edwards — "On their lees " — A dull routine — Sceptical — "The Church of the Parish" — Trances and revelations — The Scrip- tures a dead letter — Sci-eaming — Paintings — Conversion — Psalms set aside by Davenport — ]\len less careful — "Se[)aratists" — Benjamin Franklin — Turnell's dialogue — Dr. Coleman — Caldwell — Letters to Scotland — Antinomianism — Attestations to the revival — Harvard College, Professors of, against it — Retractions — Presbytery prospered in some towns — Churches formed — The Press not employed by Pres- byterians, except by LeMercier — " The wrath of man." Such was then the condition of the Presbyterian churches ecclesiastically in New England at the end of the first quarter of a century after the emigration of 1718. Thc}^ continued separated from Congregationalism, and a two-thirds majority of their Presbytery had (by an abuse of authority) suspended the others from their ministry. To them, however, their people remained attached, and in a few years a more thrifty branch sprang up in the form of a Presbytery. With the exception of the Rev. Mr. Rutherford, who was suspected of ''new light," the minis- ters appear to have all been doctrinally sound according to the Westminster Standards. In practical godliness they were generally pre-eminent. In their attendance on the means of grace, in private and in public, the people were punctual and exemplary, as we see abundantly shewn during this period by the history of the church in London- 96 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM derry, N. H. It must not, however, be concealed that not a few of them mani feasted irregularities of a criminal character in 3^outh, and brougl^it upon themselves the discredit of discii)line by their sessions — as well as a sense of criminality and shame, which memory preserves and time cannot obliterate. In one church at least so numerous were the records of antenuptial crimes that the minutes of the session, even when wrongfully obtained, were by an Unitarian pastor favored (like Huss and Jerome of -Prague) with " a warm re- ception." Tlie " culture " of the nineteenth century de- manded this. Beside those arising to them annually from their own youth, each year brought to their churches from their na- tive lands an increase of membership. In 1741 the Rev. William ^IcClenahan left the Province of Maine and came to Blandford, ]Mass., previously called New Glasgow, where lie was afterward settled. A church had been organized there in 1735 by the Rev. Thomas Prince, afterwards pas- tor of the Old South Church, Boston. But the people were nearly all Irish, and after the incorporation of the town on April 10th, 1741, they determined to have a Presbyterian minister. . Having thus seen the condition of these " oppressed Irish brethren " during the last few years of the first quar- ter of a century of their residence in New England, we now turn to some of the religious vicissitudes through wliich thc}^ })assed, induced by their surroundings. The country in the southern and central colonics had been visited, and in parts revisited by the renowned White- field, and he reached Boston in September, 1740. He was assisted in ^is itinerant and revival labors by the Rev. Gilbert Tenn^ait,* and soon both were followed by the Rev. James Davenport, of Southfield, Long Island. On October 29th, 1727, New England had been visited by an earthquake so powerful in its nature as to exten- sively alarm, and in connection with the means of grace, bring not a few of the people to a more solemn personal *''He was ordained in 1727, and is supposed to have been the first candidate licensed in the Presbyterian Church in America who was educated within its limits." {Log College, p. 43.) 1 IN NEW ENGLAND. 97 inquiry in relation to their spiritual welfare. In the course of ten or twelve years these impressions were by that generation measurably forgotten, and probably were now ahiiost lost. In such days of declension the atten- tion of many was arrested by the appearance of Whitefield. The novelty of his manner and his powerful eloquence at- tracted large audiences, and as he visited the prominent towns and villages in the colonies, his influence became very extensive. He had not yet (in 1740) separated from Wesley (which he did in the next year). It has been estimated that probably by about one-fifth of the clergymen of New England he was welcomed and applauded. The doctrine of the Congregationalist churches was at this date still generally Calvinistic, consequently Rev. Messrs. Thomas Prince, John Webb and William Cooper, of Boston, who were the warm advocates of the revival, not only described it on January 12th, 1742, as " the wondrous Avork of God making its triam}>hant i)rogress through the land," but they also declared tliat "in vain do its remain- ing enemies attempt to brand it as enthusiasm." The}^ then state, "We are glad that our brethren from Ireland agree with us on the Shorter Catechism." Yet at this period, while the doctrine of the churclies was extensively Calvinistic, the union of Cnurch and State was operating in many cases to produce an unfruitful ministry, if not a lifeless formality, and both pa.st(M's and people were now, at least partially, aroused to inquiry. In view of the results of the labors of Messrs. Whitefield, Tennant and Davenport, some of the most powerful and sanctified minds in the land (such as that of Jonathan Edwards) were prompted to greater diligence in the work of the ministry. Not only did he " cry aloud and spare not " in his own charge in Northampton, Mass., but he to some extent itinerated. Among the many places which he visited none was more highly favored by the blessing of heaven upon his labors than Enfield, Conn., where, on July 8th, 1741, from the words, " Their feet shall slide in due time,"* he was * A conference of Baptist ministers in Boston in October, 1880, after discussing the subject, concluded that " it would not be for edification to 7 98 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM instrumental in awakening liundreds from spiritual lethargy. When this revival of 1740-4 commenced in New Eng- land, Mr. Moorehead was "shy of it," but, when its effects were more extensively exhibited, he, with the Rev. D. Mc- Grcgore entered zealously into the measures adopted for prospering it. In his church, the sacrament of the Lord's supper was usually dispensed four times in the year. After his sus- pension in 1736, he was generally assisted by the Rev. Mr. McGregore. When the Presbyterian form is con- sidered, and it is remembered, that tlie services were con- tinued from Thursday forenoon till Monday afternoon (with the exception of Friday), it will be seen that aid in tlie pulpit became necessary. He availed himself of the opportunity, and had on one sacramental season, the as- sistance of the Rev. George Whitefield. His meeting-house then was the old " barn," which John Little had " con- verted into a house of worship," and to which building the congregation had before this date — between 1735 and 1741 — "added two wings." In "tiiis rude and lowly edi- fice," (Mem. Fedl. St. Ch.,) at this date, 1740-1, even his own growing congregation could with difficulty he accom- modated. " On this occasion the house could not contain the audience, and the doors and windows were filled with the spectators," especially on the Sabbath, when " each minister served a table in rotation." It was now a little unusual to see the position of Moore- head and ^McGregore. They had, in 1736, been suspended by the Presbytery. This had the effect (according to Le- Mercier) of preventing any of the Congregationalist min- isters for years from preaching in exchange with Moore- head, if they ever had done so, yet, now the majorit)'' of the ministers of the town received him as a fellow- worker in the revival — while from it, from year to year, the whole remanent members of the original Presbytery stood aloof. In this respect, as Presbyterians, taking part have any man preach such a sermon from that text to-day." It was an Old Testament text, and they are in the last quarter of " the nineteenth century." A sermon from that text must be " dark and Jewish and cloudy." The times are changed, and such men are changed with them, while truth is unchangeable. IN NEW ENGLAND. 99 with the others who associated with Mr. Whitefield, Moore- head and McGregore were alone. Their previous unha})py action in suspending Moorehead and Harvey and ignoring the ordination of McGregore would doubtless prompt Le- Mercier, Davidson, Rutherford, Wilson, McClenahan, Dun- lap, and Johnston to avoid such associations, or ministers, as would join in fellowship with them. Beside this, however, other influences were in operation. As will be subsequently seen, many irregularities and ex- cesses subversive of decency and order, judging from a Presbyterian standpoint, attended the "awakening." Some of them, as LeMercier, Wilson, and Davidson, might fear the disturbance of their parochial peace, and dreading the influences of excitement on the growth in spiritual knowledge and mental stability of their pastoral charges, stand aloof from its supporters. From whatever cause, they gave the " awakening " no encouragement. By others, it was hailed with joy. " Deep declension was now pervading many of the New England Congregational churches." The Puritanism of Shepard, Cotton, Norton, Mitchell, Hooker, and Stone was now, under an increasing worldly prosperity, diminishing in spirituality. Godliness was manifestly declining. Religion became more of an outward profession and less the reality of " newness of life." Be- tween the church and the world, the difference was fast diminishing. The eldership were more lightly esteemed. Their ofhce, work and "faces were not honored" as in times past. Church discipline was increasingly neglected. Immorali- ties grew apace. "The preaching became less discriminating and pun- gent. The doctrines of the ancient faith, long neglected, and reduced in the minds of the people to a dead letter, were fast gliding away from the popular creed, and were on the eve of being displaced for another system. " Such was the condition of a large portion of the churches of New England when the great awakening broke upon them in its power." {Stearns.) Under the faithful preach- ing of the Rev. Jonathan Edwards, at Northampton, the covenants both of works and of grace were exhibited to sinners in their connections and dependencies. The Holy 100 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM Spirit owned his own truth, and in the salvation of num- bers honored his own word. Edwards was settled in that town in February, 1727, and his vitalizing instructions had under the Divine blessing pervaded his people extensively before Whitefield visited these eastern colonies. " Under the preaching of White- field and Tennant the impulse spread rapidly, even to the remote villages and rural districts, as well as to the larger and commercial towns. Says the Rev. Jona. F. Stearns, wliom I freely quote {Hisi., Dis., p. 8): "Churches Avhich had long ' settled upon their lees ' " now began to feel within them a strong fermentation. Old respectabilit}', proud of its decent forms, began to find the sceptre of its influence loosening in its grasp, aiwl the legitimacy of its long dominion boldly questioned, by a people, profess- ing to have been just now turned from "darkness into marvellous light." The-eflect of this new impulse fell, as might have been expected, most heavily upon the pastors of the churches. Secure of their support, by the aid of the civil law pledging all the real and personal estate, within certain geographical limits, for the fulfilment of their pecuniary contracts (destitute of the supervision of scriptural Pres- bytery, and of all courts of reference, appeal, or review), and ministering to a people not desirous of great pastoral fidelity, to the disturbance of their slumbering consciences, a large part of them had settled down into a dull routine of Sabbath day performances, and were spending their week-day hours, when not employed in the preparation of their hasty discourses, in the improvement of their parsonage lands, the indulgence of their literary tastes, or in friendly correspondence and in social intercourse with each other, and with those distinguished men in civil life, who courted their society and respected their respec- tability, or sought to avail themselyes for their own pur- poses of their unbounded influence. Many of the ministers of that day, it is supposed, were men who had never experienced in their own hearts the power of " the faith " which they professed to teach. Not a few had become very sceptical in regard to the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures ; and one evil of the law was, that by a majority vote a Calvinistio minority were IN NEW ENGLAND. 101 compelled to support an Arminian or Pelagian teacher, or if they built an house for themselves on the voluntary principle, they Avere still taxed to support "the church of the parish." Thus, in seasons of declension, the law be- came an instrument of oppression to the followers of the Puritan doctrines. As we have seen, about one-fifth of the ministr}^ hailed the arrival of Whitefield and Tennant ; but of the others, at least not a few, opposed the "awakening." In their visits to the leading towns and villages of New England, they were followed by the Rev. James Daven- port. Of him the Rev. Mr. W — n, of Farmington, Connect- icut, in which colon}' he labored much, says: "Laying great stress on trances, visions, revelations and impulses, speaking of the Holy Scriptures as a dead letter, and that it was not worth while for the unconverted to consult them ; encouraging negroes and the most ignorant of the people to become exhorters, even in considerable assem- blies, and women to become teachers. Laying such weight on their agonies, screaming out, convulsions, faintings, etc., etc., whereby the worship of God is disturbed, and, suddenly, when they came out of them, with some seem- ing joy, declaring their conversion." As Mr. Davenport set light by the " Holy Scriptures as a dead letter, and that it was not worth while for the unconverted to consult them," so he carried out his measures by introducing human poetry to excite appropriate feelings, rejecting the gongs of Zion, " written not with ink only, but with and by the Spirit of the living God." Hence, coi:ttinues Mr. AV — rr, " thrusting out, and bringing in a reproach upon our sacred psalmody, by l)ringing hymns into the worship of God of a mere human composure." Up till this period the Psalms alone were the matter of praise used in the pu1)lic formal worship of God, but now the agitation of the churches made men less careful about the Divine landmarks. Copies of the imitations of the 139 of the Psalms, which the Rev. .Dr. Watts had finished in A. D. 1718, were from time to time imported and used under the grace of better rhythm and beauties of smoother poetry (while he did not pretend that they Averea trans- lation, version, or copy of the sacred original, but only an imitation^ the Psalms of David imitated in the language 102 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM of the New Testament), yet, as this author was an avowed defender and a boasted ornament of independency, if not of Congregationalism, the Rev. Mr. Mather said, in ad- dressing him, " Is this an angel, or a Watts that sings? " It is probable that, having drunk so long the old wine of the pure word, the New England churches would not yet, for years, have said, the now wine of the 139 imita- tions is better, but they were probably extensively used by Mr. Whitefield, and they suited the views and aims of Mr. Davenport and the other " separatists." Consequently a demand was created for them, and in 1741, a Mr. Edwards published at Dock Square in Boston, of them the first American edition. His '' three books of hymns " were not scriptural enough to warrant the pub- lication of them in New England as yet, but Benjamin Franklin, who thought it as well for his father to " bless the whole barrel " of meat " at once," keenly saw how the tide was flowing, and that a market for them was spring- ing up in connection with the religious movements of the day. Consequently in 1741, at Philadelphia, he published of them the first American edition. The introduction of both the imitations and his hymns, especiall}' the latter, was in strong opposition to the Puri- tan feeling of the period. " Hence," says Turnell's Dia- logue (published in 1742), p. 13, " we are much obliged to Watts and others. What I am against is every preacher bringing what hymns and sonnets he pleases, to be sung among us. I have reason to fear, that heresy may creep in at this door." "A few years ago, when some worthy ministers Cprobably the Congregationalist ones of Roxbury, already mentioned) moved for another translation of the Psalms, there was made a loud cry of innovation ; but now, it seems, the Psalms themselves may be almost wholly laid aside in private meetings and evening lectures, and mere human compo- sures (and some of them low enough, too) introduced without much opposition. This cannot be from the Spirit of God, who will ever put honor on the word." The same feeling was expressed by the Rev. Dr. Cole- man of Boston. When time had somewhat enabled him to see the fruits of this unscriptural innovation, he wrote, on August 14th, 1744, to the Rev. Solomon Williams, of Lebanon, thus : IN NEW ENGLAND. 103 " I heartily wish that no more human hymns may be brou:;ht into the public worship of Gocl. No, not the very best in the world, even those of Dr. Watts himself." We thus see the hold which the songs of Jehovah had for above a century upon the Puritan mind, when the soul recoiled at the idea of placing " strange fire upon the altar of God " in praise, even while it might be the " very best mere human hymns in the world." " How has the gold become dim ! How is the most fine gold changed !" We have seen that, on the character and results of the "awakening," the Presbyterian ministers were divided. The Presbytery appear to have, if not opposed it, at least to have taken no' positive interest in it. One of their number, who appears to have joined them since the sus- pension of Moorehead and Harvey (in 1736), was a Mr. John Caldwell, of whom, owing to the loss of the Records of that Presbytery, we know but little, beside the fact, that he zealously opposed " the awakening " and its authors, and preached before the Presbytery in the French Church a sermon on "the marks of false prophets." Davenport was at this time in a frenzy of zeal, animating and increas- ing " the separating brethren and sisters in Long Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts." "He was borne away b_y a strange enthusiasm in 1740-41. He encouraged out- cries, by which religion was disgraced. His voice he raised to the highest pitch and gave a separate tune (tone) which was characteristic of the separate preachers. In his zeal he examined ministers, as to the reality of their religion, and warned the people against unconverted min- isters. Davenport having denounced the Boston minis- ters was presented to the grand jury and by them declared to be insane. (W.) In 1742 the Assembly of Connecticut directed the governor to transport him from that colony to Southhold, Long Island. He published a retraction and confession in 1744 and died in 1755." On his departure from Boston, in 1742, Mrs. Moorehead wrote to him an address in poetry, " by way of dream." In a pamphlet of eight pages 16mo., she not only praises Mr. Davenport and " censures Mr. Caldwell," but also " addresses a sinner," saying : " We merit nothing but our utmost cares, But plead the scars his human nature wears." 104 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM In the meantime Mr. Caldwell labored zealously to counteract what he believed to be a wide-spreading and dangerous enthusiasm. In 1742 he preached and published in Boston a sermon on the " trial of the present spirit," a second on " the Scripture character, or marks of false teachers," and a third "against uncharitable judging." In these views and hibors he appears to have been sus- tained by the Presbytery. In June, 1742, he received by the recommcn(h\tion of their pastor, the Rev. WilHani Davidson, from the congregation of Derry, " a little help, the sum of eight pounds." (Rec. of Sess.). Letters were written to Scotland speaking disparagingly of " the awak- ening " and its results. Hence, said the Rev. Joshua Gee, of Boston, to the Rev. Nathaniel Eells, "The shameful misrepresentations of the state of religion among us, which" have been given by Mr. A. M. (probably the Rev. Andrew LeMercier), by the famous Mr. John Caldwell and by the Rev. S. Mather, according to the accounts of the revival in England, which come to us from Scotland, seem to be this: that since Mr. Whitefield's coming, antinomianism, familiaistical errors, enthusiasm, gross delusions and scan- dalous disorders have been })revailing in the churches." What action the Presbytery took, or what deliverances it gave to the churches under its care, in view of the distrac- tions which were introduced (from the loss of their Re- cords), we know not, only we see that Caldwell labored atileast occasionally in Londonderry, but Moorehead and McGregor (who were not then in connection with any Presbytery) joined with others in approving the entire movement. Mr. McGregor preached in favor of the awak- ening, and printed one or more sermons on the subject. On July 7th, 1743, a meeting of ministers called for the purpose of approving the labors of Whitefield, Tennant and Davenport, was held in Boston. Moorehead was present and joined in the approval. McGregor could not attend, but afterwards concurred by letter, saying, " I look upon this to be the happy effects of Divine influences. I have seen but little growth of antinomianism but what arises from justification by faitli alone, and of enthusiasm onl}^ that which springs from tlie witnessing of the Spirit." At that meeting, or subsequently by letter, there were IN NEW ENGLAND. 105 given in all one hundred and eleven attestations to the re- vival : one from Rhode Island, eight from New Hampshire, twelve from Connecticut, and ninety in Massachusetts — and of these only two were given by Presbyterians, by those two named. Only seventy pastors were present at the said meeting of approval. Of these thirty-eight voted in the affirmative. Scarcely one-third of the pastors were present, and " the awakening " was favorably " attested by less than one-fifth of the pastors of Massachusetts." The last published " testimony against Whitefield and his conduct " was l)y the professors of Harvard College on December 28th, 1744. For their objections they gave as reasons : "1st. The man himself was enthusiastic, censorious, un- charitable, and a deluder of the people. 2dly. As an ex- tempore and itrinerant preacher, as opposed "to study and to meditation." They conclude " by suggesting to the pastors and associations that it is high time to make a stand against these mischiefs coming on the churches." Signed by Edward Holyoke, President, and seven Pro- fessors. To end this matter, so far as this chapter is concerned, it is enough to state that in 1744 Mr. Davenport published his confessions and retractions. They seem to have been addressed to the Rev. Solomon Williams, of Lebanon, and were by him sent to the Rev. Mr. Prince, of Boston, under date of August 2d. In these he states : ^^ First. 1 openly exposed in prayer or otherwise those whom I thought unconverted. Secondly. I advised to sep- arations from them. Thirdly. I was led astray by follow- ing impulses. Fourthly. By encouraging private persons to a ministerial and authoritative kind of method of exhort- ing. Fifthly. I did not prevent singing with others in the streets. I make this public recantation. May God bless it. "James Davenport." Such, then, was the state of Presbyterianism in New England in relation to doctrine and worship in 1743-4, at the end of the first quarter of a century after it had been introduced Uy McGregor and his associates. In some places it prospered exceedingl3^ This was the case in all 106 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM the towns where it had the ascendency and was established by civil law. In others it was worried for Avant of " free- dom to worship God," and in some cases, as we have seen, it succumbed to Congregationalism. The precise number of congregations now, nor yet the exact number of settled pastors, we cannot state. There was, however, a Presbytery in full operation which had no intercourse with the ministers whom they had suspended. Emigration and domestic increase added largely to tlieir aggregate numbers. New towns were set- tled, churches were formed, and during the next twenty- five years Presbyterianism had an increasing vitality in, New England. ' For the diffusion of knowledge or the support and vin- dication of " sound doctrine " up till this period, the Press had not been employed by Presl)yterians in these colonies excepting by the Rev. A. LeMercier in publishing his " History of Geneva." See appendix C. To it both Moorehead and LeMercier afterwards resorted in their controversies, and the pamphlets of " John Pres- byter " and LeMercier's " review " and " answer " each betray not a little of " the wrath of man." IN NEW ENGLAND. 101 CHAPTER IV. 1743-1768 — An efficient Eldership — Prejudice — Formation of a second Presbytery — Abercrombie — Pelham— Its bell — AVork to do — Colerain — A " Presbyteriul visitation " — Daniel Mitchell licensed — Rutland — Georgetown — Shee[)scote — If "he should judge safe" — Wiscasset — Souhegan^ — Kingston — (Glasgow — Boyd licensed — Difficidties in Pel- ham — Parsons rec^ ived — Double taxes — First pro re naia, 1749 — Re- lief sought by Parsons — Strife in Pelham— Reaction — A plea — Rea- sons— Abercrondjie suspended — "Rejoinder" — The precision of the Scotchmnn - Four persons tit — His imprudence — An exotic — The rea- son— It grows — Better counsels — Palmer — Harvey — A scandal — Dis- missed— R. Bin-ns examined a ))art of two days — Installed there — Mr. Kniblows — C'oleraine — The Foi't j)receded the church — Its bell from Lord C. purloined — Alexander McDowell — Another phase — Easton — Rev. Sol. Prentice — Troubles — Voted — Xov. 5, 1752 — "My wife at it" — Vagrant lay teachers — The milletmium — Presbytery suspended him — He entertained not "angels unawares" — An address to "the Kirk"-— Zeal in their work — Calls — Boyd and Mary Buchan — I32d Psalm — Boyd installed at New Castle — AVinslow a disturber — Volun- town — Dorrance — Pioneers — Peterboro — John Morrison — A compro- mise— Felo de se — The plain of Ono — Tampers with principle — Wind- ham— Rev. John Kirdeople was deemed valid, the administration of the Lord's »^upper ought not to have been gone into without a Pres- byterial appointment." On October 5th the Rev. "Mr. Abercrombie 'petitioned for a dismission from his pastoral charge. He was recom- mended to give the reasons of his ' uneasiness ' to the l)eople, who with I'lim are to report the circumstances of things against the next Presbytery." At a pro re nata meeting in Boston, on March 14th, 1749, the moderation of a call was granted to Kingston, or Elbows, New Hampsliire, and on May 2d, at Newberry, a moderation for a call was granted to Rutland. At this meeting the congregation of Pelham did not make the statements previously ordered, and consequently, in their case with their pastor, the Presbytery could not at present proceed. A supplication from Messrs. Samuel Poor, John Emory and others, to become, for several weight}^ reasons, members of the Rev. Mr. Parsons' church, ■was considered ; and as it appeared, that said " people had used all proper endeavors to get relief on the Congrega- tional way without success, that their reasons are sufficient to legitimate their withdrawal, and it is directed that IMr. Parsons and his elders should upon request admit them, finding them, upon examination, to be persons of a gospel conversation." On June 13th, 1749, at Pelham, both Mr. Abercrombie and a committee on the behalf of that town appeared, and now "the beginning of strife was as the letting out of waters." Contention was (not only) not "left off, but meddled with " for several succeeding years, again " wound- ing the Saviour in the house of his friends." Among the varied forces in nature " action and reaction " are equal, and it has at times proved to be not a little so in the visi- ble church. The extraordinary results of the labors of Whitefield, Tennant and Davenport we have noticed, and now reaction in religious zeal was taking place, and " the love of many had begun to wax cold." This was the case to some extent in Pelham. Mr. Aber- IN NEW ENGLAND. 113 crombie, being from conviction a Presbyterian (although from necessity ordained by a Council), considered it to be his duty to apply the discipline of the church to the igno- rant and immoral in relation to church privileges, and especially to those of them in Pelham, who demanded for their children the ordinance of baptism. Thougli the Presbyterian rule in relation to baptism is alike Scriptural and plain, viz. : that " baptism is not to be administered to an}^ who are out of the visible church till the}^ profess their faitli in Clirist, and obedience to him ; but the infants of such as are members of the visible church are to be baptized " — yet it is strange that, wherever men have not, in other religious matters, the ample faith of Prelac}^, which on this point maintains that baptism " is to be refused to none " — or, on the other hand, the less Scriptural belief that the Abrahamic covenant w^as not " confirmed of God in Christ," but profess to believe that " the infants of such as are members of the visible churcli are to be baptized " — they will often habitually live without any connection with the church on earth, excepting the formal official sprinkling of their infants with water, which they usually consider to be " christening," or, otherwise, giving to their child a name ! The criminal indulgence of careless parents in this unscriptural and wicked whim by ministers has given more weight of argument to the opinions of the Anabaptists than all that can be found in the volume of divine revelation. This evil had now for years appeared in Pelham, and as the support of the min- ister was a town business, so such persons had apparently a plea for their demands. Hence, says Mr. Abercrombie, May 30th, 1755, in a let- ter to a friend : " When the late remarkable Divine influ- ences were withdrawn, and religion began to decline among us, some uneasiness arose in my congregation, which I soon perceived would increase unless I preached smooth things^ and unless I complied with the Presbytery in all their measures. This I thought I could not in faithfulness do ; and therefore resolved to leave my congregation. I once and again desired Presbytery to dismiss me from my pas- toral charge." But this* they would not do. He presented reasons : " 1st. Ignorance and the neglect of the means of knowledge, particularly their defects in attending on cate- 8 114 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM chising." " 5th. The town, on January 21st, 1747, voted that ' Mr. A. should not be allowed his next year's salary without a discharge for the former years.' "* This lifth reason the Presbytery considered " injurious to Mr. A.'s moral character, and ought to be recalled," and " they en- join him to bestir the unbaptized children in case the parents shall in some proper manner " secure his necessary support. This the town as such did not do, while "a great number of the town distinguished themselves accord- ing to the order of Presbytery, and Mr. A. was enjoined to continue their minister agreeably to their request." He, however, insisted upon the application of the dis- cipline of the Church of Scotland (to which the Presbytery professedly held) to the parties to whom it ought, in his judgment, to apply. By so doing he was charged with " insinuating things against the Presbytery, evidently false and groundless." Mr. Moorehead was " ordained to baptize the children of those whom he finds on inquiry to have a right (in P.) to that privilege." Thus matters continued from year to year, becoming continually worse, until at Boston, on May 14th, 1755, he declined their authority, and they sus- pended him from the ministry and from the pastoral relation in Pelham, because, say they, " he refuses to retract from or make satisfaction for the false and injurious things insinuated." His friends had also, on April 15th, 1755, addressed Presbytery on his behalf, but both for himself and for them there was no redress, as they were not in connection with, nor subject to, any Synod as a court of appeal or review. In reference to this he says to Presbytery : " 'Tis plain, the sum of both my representations upon which you build your awful procedure is to plead with you to receive the discipline of the Church of Scotland in her purest times, * " Pelham, March 24th, 1748. "Accounted with James Conkey, Treasurer, for my salary from the year 1744 to August the 30th, 1746, and received fifty pounds in bills of the new tenor, which I accept of as my salary for said year, and hereby discharge him and the town from all further demands of the same. " R. Abercrombie." IN NEW ENGLAND. 115 and practise in snch a manner that immoral and illiterate persons ma}^ not be admitted to the sacred office of the ministry, and that those who are unworth}^ among the people may be kept back from sealing ordinances." " The late remarkable Divine influences " thus appear to have been "withdrawn, and religion to have declined" generally in the bounds of the Presbytery, and doubtless also among their surroundings when such occurrences had taken place. Like the stimulant of strong drink upon the human system, the " awakening," which had popularly ran into a "revival," had now, in a few years, sunk the churches beneath the level of the usual results in the ordinary en- joyment of the means of grace, and either in sympathy with, or in deference to, the opinions and lives of the church members and dwellers in the towns, the Presbytery, according to Abercrombie, adopted new " measures " and " preached smooth things." It is quite possible that now, in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, in these things, as in others, history may "repeat itself." Notwithstanding his suspension "the congregation had never brought any charge against " Mr. A., and the Presby- tery " could not break in upon the congregation by the session." The select men, however, by the order of Pres- bytery, shut the meeting-house doors on the Rev. Mr. A., not on Sabbath, but on Monday. Thus matters continued for three years. A narrative from Parsons, Moorehead and McGregor was issued. This was followed by " Re- marks " by Abercrombie, and these by a " Rejoinder " from Parsons and McGregor in 1758. As Mr. A. had declared that if he "had a superior court to which to carry his case, he could vindicate his conduct," so " at a meeting at Newberry, on May 24th, 1758 (Mr. Moorehead being Moderator and Mr. McGregor Clerk), they agreed to let him appeal, according to his proposal, to the associated ministers of Boston or to the Synod of New York," not as having any jurisdiction over the Presbj^tery, but as a friendly court, who could act as umpire, and by advice, promote peace. They so wrote to him. Here, however, the preciseness of the Scotchman appears in his answer to this proposal, dated at Pelham on June 21st, 1758. He says : "A Synod to whom the Presbytery 116 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM was not joined could give him no lawful nor satisfactory redress." The representations of the Presbytery on the points at issue are, however, often ver^^ different from those of Mr. Abercrombie. They appear to have believed that he sought to quarrel with them, say that "the society had been long without the Lord's Sup2)er, as he would not dis- pense it to them, considering that only about four persons in the town were worthy to receive it, that a considerable number of children, whose parents were persons of good character, had been long deprived of baptism, that he could never be prevailed upon to make any addition to the session, and baffled the aggrieved when they would attempt to bring their matters of complaint before Presbytery." If they were indeed guilty of conforming to their sur- roundings, he did not shew prudence, mucli less wisdom, in upbraiding them with their delinquencies, while he de- clined their authority because he viewed them as a party, 'and must have reconciliation only by measures of his own proposing, which, when acceded to by Presbytery, he would again ignore. Whether his course of conduct in the matter arose from " a zeal for God, not according to knowledge," or, as the authors of the " Rejoinder " say, *'Some of us would still hope that his conduct towards his brethren is the effect of a strong temptation,^^'^ still it * "J. strong temptation." It is possible that the following vigorous tradition may give to us "a bird's-eye view" of the state of morals in the town (after the "awakening" had passed away), with both the preacher and the people, as he continued to reside among them, and (so far as we know) to officiate among them after he and they had ceased to be Presbyterians. A story ofjiip-daijs. The old Abercrombie house at Pelham is said to have once been the scene of a practical joke by Rev. Mr. Abercrombie, the original occupant of the house and minister of the town. In his days, of course, flip was the common beverage of clergymen and the laity, and no objection was ever made, unless people became notoriously over-indulgent. The charge was finally brought at a church-meeting that the minister was drinking too freely, and a committee was appointed to tell him of his fault and warn him of tlie danger of continuing in it. Warned of their coming, the erring pastor told his wife to prepare the first round of flip, which even this committee would expect, with equal parts of rum and water, the next with more rum, and the next mostly rum. The committee soon after their arrival partook of the flip, which their pastor ordered, after which they made known the nature of their IN NEW ENGLAND. 117 had a paralyzing effect, in spreading " roots of bitterness," and of tending to make Presbyterianism still more exten- sively an exotic in New England. In view of their posi- tion, the authors of the " Rejoinder " near the close of it, say, " The reason why we keep up a church government and administrations, in some things difierent from our fellow-Christians in the country where we live, is not from any fond desire of singularity, but because we are con- scientiously persuaded that these are most conformable to the Scripture platform, and have the most effectual ten- dency to promote purity of faith and practice." This " reason " has grown manifold stronger in a century, not only in view of the growth of Arminianism, Pelagianism, Universalism, Arianism, Socinianism, Transcendentalism, Spiritism, Spiritualism, Infidelity and Atheism, but also by the introduction among the professed adhering Ortho- dox descendants of the Puritans of " German doubts, con- jectures, negations and hypotheses " into " the country where we live." While the townsmen of Pelham could not obtain, as easily as they desired, baptism for their children, the professing Christians among the Congrega- tionalists of to-day, either have very few of this " heritage " of God, or care but little about having the seal of his cove- errand. The pastor admitted that there might be need of the reproof, and that he would be governed by it. Then came the second round of flip, and, as the business liad been dispatched, the committee were dis- posed to be talkative and social with the pastor who had so humbly ad- mitted his sin at their rebuke. The flip came around the third time, and it is said near sunrise the next morning two of the committee man- aged to reach their homes, but the third lay prone on the floor, unable to stir from the effects of the flip, until broad daylight. At the adjourned church meeting, when this committee made their report, it is said they made a very concise report of their visit to the pastor, and the kindly way in which he received the reproof, by reporting: "We have called on the pastor, as directed, and he gave us Christian satisfaction." As his name appears upon the Eecords of Presbytery, the Rev. Kichard Graham succeeded Mr. Abercrombie in Pelham before 1770, and on May 29th, 1771, Presbytery made a request to each congregation for aid for Mr. Graham's widow and family. Down to 1775 Pelham received supply from Presbytery. On September 27th, 1786, Pelham requested some assistance and sup- ply from the Associate Reformed Presbytery of Londonderry. On May 30th, 1792, this people requested supply' from the Associate Re- formed Presbytery of New England. September 11th, 1793, Mr. Oliver was installed as their pastor. 118 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM nant placed upon those whom they nurture, perhaps, without it, " in the admonition of the Lord." For, says the Christian Instructor of Phihidelphia, of May 15th, 1875, " In more than two hundred Congregational churches, of Massachusetts, there were no baptisms of infants hist year. The same is true of one hundred and thirty Congrega- tional churches in Maine." As a thunder-storm tends to purify the atmosphere, so these controversies and " vain janglings," even while " the wrath of man will not work tlie righteousness of God," had to some extent the effect of bringing back the parties to the anchorage from which they were drifting. Better counsels appear, at this date, to have increasingly pre- vailed, and at a meeting held in Boston, on May 16th, 1758, " all the ministers and probationers present, being required by the Presbytery, did readily subscribe the Westminster Standards." We have seen that the Rev. Joseph Harvey was or- dained by the Londonderry Presbytery, at Palmer, Massa- chusetts, on June 5th, 1734, and that with Moorehead he was suspended by the same court in 1736. What corre- spondence, if any, was kept up between him and Moore- head and McGregor, is unknown. One thing is certain, he did not unite in forming the Boston Presbytery, and whether he was restored by his Presbytery or not, he con- tinued to live and labor in Palmer. He does not, however, appear to have conformed to the Scripture requirement — ''A bishop must be blameless, the husband of one wife." Hence, his usefulness was im- paired and his pastoral labors Avere cut short* Where there is no " present distress," a minister, if he have com- mon-sense and understands human nature, so soon as he can " provide things honest in the sight of all men," will be one of the first to know that " it is not good that the man should be alone." Mr. Harvey does not appear to have made this discov- ery, and after a ministry, which otherwise, so far as we know, was, and might have continued to be, largely use- ful, he fell under temptation, and, " as the result of a diffi- culty between him and his church, arising from a scandal between him and a female," he was dismissed in 1748. At the stated meeting of the Presbytery of Boston, at IN NEW ENGLAND. 119 Newberry, on August 14th, 1753, T^Ir. Robert Burns, a licen- tiate from the north of Ireland, was admitted, '"promising subscription to the Standards when required." From his immediate appointment to " supply in Palmer till next sederunt," but, from the fact, in connection with it, that the " Rev. Mr. Abercrombie moderate in a call for him in said Palmer, some convenient time before next meeting," it is nearly certain, that he had previously preached there and that they had expressed a desire for his settlement over them. In proof of this, the adjourned meeting of Presbytery was " on desire of several members of Presbytery convened at Boston on October 18th, appointed to be held in Pal- mer instead of Boston." They met there, and after an examination, during a part of two days, on the 15th day of November, 1753, he was ordained and installed as pastor of said church. The con- gregation, it would appear, came voluntarily to the Pres- bytery. They, while a vacancy, had not been very satis- factorily supplied, for we find that " at a vote taken on August 23d, 1754," the claim of a Mr. Kniblows, then un- paid, was decided in a very discriminating manner, but one which might puzzle many a modern congregation to imitate, and ought to prove suggestive to the occupants of the pulpit. " He was charged with preaching other men's sermons. He was to have four pounds sixteen shillings, which was eight shillings lawful money for each sermon," and after due examination he was paid at this rate for all, " except- ing three, which we can prove were other men's sermons." Mr. Burns was duly dismissed from Palmer on May 5th, 1758. We have seen that at the organization of the Presbytery (April 16th, 1745), a letter was received from the inhabi- tants of the toAvn of Coleraine, Massachusetts, requesting to be taken under their care. This parish, settled about 1736, was then a frontier set- tlement and originally called Boston Township, probably because many of the pioneers were from that place ; others were from Ireland, Londonderry, New Hampshire; Wo- burn, Sto'./, Roxbury and Pelham, Massachusetts. For them, ss early as 1742, Mr. James Fairservice (formerly 120 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM from Mr. Moorehead's church), built the first grist-mill. Tliey erected a meeting-house in 1742. Being disappointed, as stated, in not obtaining the ser- vices of Mr. Graham, Presbytery still gave them supply. They also occasionally experienced the dangers of frontier life. In May, 1746, Matthew Clarke, his wife and daugh- ter were fired upon b}^ the Indians. He was killed, and his wife and daughter were carried to the fort. This is a specimen of what was not uncommon in re- claiming the wilderness from savage man. The fort usually preceded the church. Tliis town was Presbyterian from its commencement. The name was given to it in honor of Lord Coleraine, who handsomely and gratefully presented to them a church bell, which, "through the unfaithfulness of the agent, was kept in Boston, where (says Barber) it is believed to still exist and to be in use in one of the churches." This was one of the ways in which Presbyterianism was not promoted in the colony. The supply which Presbytery was able to afTord was but limited, while their requests were frequent and earnest. At length, on June 4th, 1750, " the Presbytery appointed Mr. Abercrombie to visit them, and, if he find it expedient, he is to ordain elders among them," and in 1751 they had made out a call for Mr. Daniel Mitchell to become their pastor. This, from the want of order, was not sustained on March 17th, 1752, and a new moderation was then granted. At the same meeting Mr. Alexander McDowell, after having satisfactorily sustained the prescribed "trials," and having subscribed his adherence to the Westminster Standards, was admitted as a probationer for the holy ministry, and was now appointed for some Sabbaths among other places (Rutland, Kingston and New Rutland) to Coleraine. On August 14th, 1753, he accepted the call from this town, and was, on September 28th following, by a commit- tee of Presbytery, ordained and installed as their pastor. He was a native of Ireland, and probably the first graduate of Harvard College who entered the 'Presbyterian ministry. His pastorate began with promise, i,ut the in- fluence of artificial appetite in a few years bligrited his IN NEW ENGLAND. 121 prospects of usefulness, and he was dismissed for intemper- ance in 1761. On June 30th, 1761, this town was incorporated. We now direct our attention to another phase of ecclesi- astical development by which Presbyterianism was intro- duced into the tow^n of Easton, Mass. Their second Con- gregationalist pastor, the Rev. Joseph Belcher, died in 1744. During his ministry, and, so far as he knew, during the ministry of his predecessor (the Rev. Matthew Short), the society had no church covenant. As this instrument forms the vitalizing bond of the de- nomination, Mr. Belcher declared to a committee who waited on him on the subject, that the society had " no records, no covenant and no church." On April 6th, 1747, they subscribed one. What their fellowship with surround- ing churches had previously been is not stated in their records, if they had any, but from the fact that they had had two pastors settled in the usual' form, we may infer that matters in their church were no more loosely managed than in some others. On August 28th, 1747, they voted to call the Rev. Solo- mon Prentice, who was installed on the 18th day of No- vember following. "August 18th, 1748, voted, that we are a Congregational church." (Rec. of date.) In a difficulty which arose in 1748 about who have a right to baptism, it was voted that '' Presbyterians coming with certificates may obtain it." '' Two elders were chosen June 16th, 1749." Troubles now arose about the location of a new meeting-house, in which "the select men re- quested Mr. Prentice to attend worship on November 20th, 1750." Why, instead of occupying this house statedly, he preached for four successive Sabbaths at two or more pri- vate houses alternately, does not fully appear, but in 1751 he met with his friends in it, while a party was formed who " charged him with inconsistency," and on May 20th, 1751, charges against him were preferred by Deacon Hayward and others. As it exhibits the working ability of the church polity ahvays prevailing in New England, I quote fvoui tlieir records : " October 17th, 1752, the church met. Voted affirma- tively and unanimously ' Considering the brokenness of the 122 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM Constitution of the Congregational Church in New England (this church being hitlierto professedly one;, because the churches themselves don't stand b}', but occasionally, and as cases suit, break in upon their Constitution, whereb}^ an injured church or brother cannot obtain right (as we can see), witness the dei)lorable state of the church of Christ in this place by the acts of Council, whicii the disaffected brethren of this church have called : To renounce and come off from the broken Congregational Constitution, and de- clare for, and come in with, the discipline and order of the renowned Church of Scotland.' " Voted, to keep a day of fasting, and to request " the Presbytery, which is to meet at Londonderry on next Tuesday, to assist them in carry- ing on said fast." Their committee reported that they " were favorably received, and that the Rev. Jonathan Par- sons was appointed to assist them on the 22d day of No- vember." Mr. Prentice on "November 5th (a famous day)" preached for the last time in the old church, and "voted previously, on November 2d, that on November 12th and tlienceforward, we will attend ordinances in the Presbyterian meeting-house in Easton." " The church made a declaration to the town for coming off." An " exparte council " was soon afterwards held, but its "result" rather made bad worse in the community. The Rev. " Mr. Prentice, as a Presbyterian minister, com- menced catechising in December, 1752." ''March 7th, 1753, elected four ruling elders and signed for Presbyte- rianism." Says Mr. Prentice : " I preached on May 19th all day at home, and on Sabbath, the 20th, I dispensed the sacrament in the Presbyterian form. My wife at it. We had a blessed day. I preached also on Monday, the 21st." He was admitted as a member of Presbytery at Boston on IMay 15th, 1753. At Newbury, on August 14th, the Presbytery received "a letter of excuse for absence from the Rev. S. Prentice of Easton," and on the 28th of Sep- tember following, he and his elder. Mr. Hartwell, assisted at the ordination of the Rev. A. McDowell. At the meeting of Presb'.'tery at Easton on November 12th, 1754, on their minutes it is recorded : " The reason why the meeting was not opened with a sermon as usual, was because no public intimation had been given, Mr. IN NEW ENGLAND. 123 Prentice not being acquainted with the custom of the Presbytery herein." He had not been a Presbyterian formerly, and under this order of church government his " course " was short, for on the next day he was arraigned by the court on com- plaint of four persons, members of his church. '^First. For countenancing vagrant lay teachers, particu- larly in his own house in December last." The Presbytery judged that said conduct is of dangerous tendency to the interests of true religion, and deserves a severe rebuke. ^^Secondhj. It is the judgment of the Presbytery that the expiration of the time of the concert for prayer in Scotland is no argument that the millennium is commenced, and that Mr. Prentice should be cautioned against advancing any such opinions about the millennium as may prove hurtful to the interests of true religion." " Presbytery judged that he should be rebuked, particu- larly for the first article, and restored, if humble. If not, that he should be suspended till next Presbytery." He would not submit and was accordingly suspended. Sup- ply was then appointed to Easton, but, as the records of Presbytery are discontinued or lost after the next meeting on April 16th, 1755, at Pelham, for fifteen years, we learn nothing farther from them of Presbyterianism in this town. The domestic history of this man presents one curious phase. His wife had, under the influences of the " vagrant lay teachers " (who appear to have been by him coun- tenanced for several years), without his knowledge and consent, been immersed. Hence, on his record he leaves this statement : "Sarah Prentice Ipsa Anabaptista Immersa Indignis- simo Laco, viz.: Dec. 5th, 1750, absente marito." "Sarah Prentice had herself baptized again by immersion in a small lake, viz. : December 5th, 1750, in the absence of her husband." Whether she had returned to his views or not, she joined with his church at the communion on May 20th, 1753, and it is probable that he had allowed his kindness to con- quer his judgment when he had again particularly coun- tenanced them in his own house in December, 1753. In view of the action of Presbytery, he writes : 124 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM " Because I received a few of my fellow-creatures (and fel- low-Christians, so far as I know) into my house, and suffered them to pray and talk about the Scriptures, and could not make any acknowledgment thereof to some of my brethren that were offended thereat, nor to the Presbytery, I have been suspended from the discharge of my ministry until next April, and because by said vote I was deprived of my small subsistence which I have among my people in Eas- ton, I thought it necessary for the honor of God and the good of my family to remove with my family to Grafton, N. H., which accordingly was done April 9th, 1755. " N. B. — I have never heard a word from the Presbytery, neither by letter or otherwise, nor they from me, from the day of my suspension to this day, viz. : September 5th, 1755. " Sol. Prentice." There appears thus to have been in their official inter- course with him at least as much of the fortiter in re as of the suaviter in modo, while it cannot be supposed very probable that he " entertained angels unawares." This Presbytery then required those who took "care of the house of God " to be discriminating in their hospital- ity, especially with " unruly and vain talkers, who crept into houses and led away silly women." Existence was not always and only with the Presbytery a matter of administration, of receiving petitions, granting moderations, examining candidates, ordaining ministers, receiving congregations, or of suspending pastors. They at times, also, considered their ecclesiastical position and disadvantages. There was at this period no Synod nearer to them than New York. They were not connected with any, and while nearly all of the members of Presbytery were from Ireland, still they hej^i in remembrance their mother church, tlio Church of Scotland. To inform her of their position and enlist her sympa- thies, at their meeting in Boston on August 13th, 1751, "' it was agreed that an address should be sent from this Pres- bytery to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland relating to the common cause or interest of Presbyterians in New England." What said address was, if it were ever prepared, when IN NEW ENGLAND. 125 sent, and what its reception, consequences and fruits were, their minutes do not say. By this agreement, however, they manifest zeal in their distinctive work and respect for the venerable kirk, as most of them were trained in her schools of the prophets. They had in her also, beside the accident of origin, occa- sionally an indirect interest, by the admission of individu- als from her fellowship. As noticed, a Mr. Alexander Boyd, from Glasgow, had been by them licensed on June 15th, 1748. From the infant church of Kingston, N. H., a call for his labors was presented on March 14th, 1749. This was on May 2d sustained and recommended to him for acceptance, and on August 14th they " received from Georgetown, eastward, a call to him with an attested copy of the vote of the town, relating to his temporal support." Difficulties now beset him. He had to appear before Presbytery at Londonderry on the first Tuesday of Octo- ber. There he " acknowledged his irregular marriage with Mary Buchan, confessed his sorrow for the offence he had thereby given, and declared his resolution to adhere to her as his wife." He stated that "he had written for her, and also to the Rev. Mr. McLaurin, of Glasgow, declaring his grief for the offence which he had given that congregation, and moreover, that he stood ready to give the Presbyter}^ whatever further satisfaction was needful to remove the offence, either for being married in a clandestine way, or in concealing his marriage from the Presbytery when taken on trials by them, etc., etc." They " rebuked him sharply," and as they could not proceed to any higher censure, they gave him employment and reserved his case for future consideration. In view of the above case, as Mr. Boyd did not appear at their meeting in Boston on the 14th of August, the Presbytery returned, to the respective congregations, the calls which had by them been made in his favor. He fulfilled his appointments from year to year, but " he could not altogether vindicate himself" on May 14th, 1751, when they " saw fit to give him a gentle reproof," to which he submitted, and they continued him as supply. A renewed call from Georgetown was by him accepted on November 13th, 1751, but, owing to new difficulties, his ordination was from time to time deferred^ until, on Octo- 126 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM ber 29tli, 1752, it was " delayed till spring, when the peo- ple there were to give light to the Presbytery in the case." Their light does not appear to liave proved siilficient, and we again find that "among the Newcastle, Maine, papers, at a meeting, at Boston, on May 14th, 1754, is a call for Mr. Boyd." "The commissioners from Newcastle" in- tended to have met Presbytery on the matters of his set- tlement among them, at Newbury on August 20th, 1754, " but in Providence they were frustrated by contrary winds, and they had no objections against Mr. Boyd's ordination." This took place at New])ury, Mass., on September 19th, 1754, by a committee consisting of Messrs. Moorehead, McGregor and Parsons, and it is recorded that " the sol- emnity concluded by sinofirig a part of the 132d Psalm." His' installation was also performed by a committee of Presbytery. The community was a mixed one, and al- though the majority of the town were Presbyterians, the Congregationalists, led on by Mr. Winslow, so disturbed his peace, that he finally left Newcastle in 1758. A similar irritation had probably prevented his settlement at George- town, which may possibly have been aided by ecclesiasti- cal discord, as Mr. McClenahan, of the Londonderry Pres- bytery, had previously labored in that precinct, and his friends would form no strong attachment, either to Mr. Boyd or to his ecclesiastical connection. " The Presbyte- rian minister left Georgetown in 1752 " (Willis), and when " in 1764, the Rev. Alexander Boyd revisited Georgetown, he found that the people had letVPresbyterianism." (lb.) Two distinct species of church government can never cordially dwell together. Every ecclesiastical form of thought, and every idea of governmental order forbids it. " Two cannot walk together," much less dwell together, " unless they are agreed." At their meeting in Boston, on August 14th, 1749, Pres- bytery received a petition from Voluntown, Ct., with a number of papers relative to it, and on the 15th they say : "Whereas several applications have been made to this Presbytery at different times, by a number of people in Voluntown, the case concerning which appearing to us in such a light, that, if the majority comply with the late proposals of the Rev. Mr. Dorrance, the Presbytery shall then be willing to assist in settling a minister among them, IX NEW ENGLAND. 127 agreeably to said proposal. But otherwise, they see not at present how they can concern themselves in the affairs of Voluntown." The case was probably one similar to that of Campbell or McKinstry, or Graham, an attempt to identify these two discordant species, by hiring a Presbyterian minister to perform the duties of a Congregationalist pastor. He had then labored in Voluntown (now Sterling) about twenty-five years, and being a native of Ireland and a graduate of Glasgow University, his habits of thought might have constrained him to press his Presbyterian ten- dencies too strongly upon the Congregational portion of his church, or he might have joined the First Presbytery since 1736, and a portion of his people might have now sought connection with the Boston Presbytery. It is more probable, however, that his attachment to his early eccle- siastical principles was now not a little abated by his posi- tion and surroundings, and that consequently an increas- ing number of his people might desire the settling of a Presbyterian minister as their pastor. Hence they must comply with the late proposals of the Rev. Mr. Dorrance. This " number of his people " were, however, for some time afterwards Presbyterians. As we have seen, emigration and domestic increase com- bined, induced the settlers of Derry and other towns to send pioneers into the wilderness, and we now trace briefly the settlement of the town of Peterboro, N. H. This was first attempted in 1739. In 1744, under the alarm of war, their clearings and homes were abandoned until the peace of 1749. In 1752 they built a meeting-house, and in 1759 there were forty-five or fifty families in the town, which was incorporated in 1760. The Rev. William John- ston, formerly of Worcester and W^indham, came to them in 1752 and remained about one 3'ear, when the Rev. Mr. Harvey supplied them for a time. They met on July 18th, 1760, " to see if the town would embrace the present op- portunity of sending by the Rev. Mr. Kinkead (who was then probably at Windham, N. H.) to Philadelphia to the Synod or Presbytery there, for a supply or gospel minis- ter to preach. Voted ; and also voted, not to mention any certain sum for encouragement, but, that if any came, he should be treated like a gentleman." " In 1761, voted to 128 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM raise £150 for the support of the gospel," and a committee were appointed " to invite regular ministers, and renew the supplication to the Synod of PhiladeljDhia." A Mr. Powers supplied them in 1764, and on January 8d of that year the town " voted to commission the Rev. Mr. Morrow to send us a minister when he returned to Ireland, and that he should have a good new beaver hat if he would accept this commission. Eight persons pro- tested against sending to Ireland." At a subsequent meet- ing " it was voted to authorize the Rev. Mr. Morrow to act with full power to send a faithful minister of the gospel — a C'llvinistic of the Presbyterian Constitution. Mr. Mor- row should receive eight dollars for liis service." He did not succeed, for none came ; and in March, 1765, they " voted to commission Hugh Wilson to go to Philadelphia or elsewhere on this continent, to obtain a gospel minister," In May, 1766, a Mr. John Morrison landed in Boston. He was born in Pathfoot, in Scotland, in 1743, and gradu- ated at Edinburgh in 1765. On November 26th, 1766, he was ordained a-t Peterboro by the Boston Presbytery, the original Londonderry Presbytery being then dissolved, for it may be here mentioned that " in 1765 (according to Webster), the Dutchess Presbytery at Cherry Valley, New York, received the Rev. Samuel Dunlop, a former member of the Presbytery to the eastward of Boston," which, when he left " was terminated, being incapable of sitting by rea- son of dispersion." Also the Rev. W^illiam Johnston, who *'was born in Dublin in 1713, educated and studied the- ology in Edinburgh (who married a Miss Cummins, a fellow-passenger), and labored as we have seen in Worces- ter, Mass.; in Peterboro and Windham, N. H. ; about this time moved to the region of Schenectady, bought a large tract of land near Cherry Valley, and according to docu- mental history, gathered a number of families of Scotch and Irish descent about him. "His papers, goods, etc., were burned at the massacre at Cherry Valley." Some of his descendants now occupy prominent positions of usefulness in the State of New York. Thus, in a rivalry of twenty years' duration, the first Presbytery " finished its course." Such is the power of sectarian rancor, that the nearer divisions are to each IN NEW ENGLAND. 129 other, their antipathies are usually or often strong in ad- verse proportion — they " bite and devour one another," and are at least at times " consumed one of another." These two did not now say, " We are brethren ; let there be no strife between us, for the Canaanite and Perrizite dwell in the land." The extinction of the original Presbytery was a natural result of expediency and conciliation, of a compromise with principle. The disease began in the Hillhouse case, and with all the undying grasp of the leprosy, permeated the Presbytery, while those who stood on Presbyterian principles under all the disadvantages and odium of suspension, and even at times inconsistent outbursts of passion, amidst all their difficulties survived and grew. Presbyterianism, from the ordination of Timothy down to the present hour, never gained any permanent good by compromise. When it em- braced the prison and the stake, " the blood of the martyrs became the seed of the church." But when the London- derry Presbytery bowed dow'n to expediency, custom, to popular opinion (the great " image set up in " New England), " rottenness entered into its bones," and sep- ulture became only a question of time. The terror held up by LeMercier, and sanctioned by the majority of his Pres- bytery in 1736, W'as that "to receive Mr. Hillhouse w^ould make Presbytery very ridiculous in the e3'es of the people of New England " (p. 55). By recognizing the action of the " council " in his case as valid, said Presbytery basked under the sunshine of popular favor for less than thirty years, then committed /efo de se, and had a burial so deep that we cannot find its records, epitaph nor mourners. On the other hand, the principle advocated b}^ the minority, that to receive a man "who had " received his ordination be- fore he came to the colonies as a member of the Church of Scotland " (p. 54), even when he had hired himself to do congregational service, and served the people until an " ex- parte council " " ordered him to resign his office," shewed a principle of vitality and consistency, which, while it made those Avho held it " very ridiculous in the eyes of the peo- ple of New England," has, under "the good-will of him who dwelt in the bush " (Deut. xxxiii. 16), extensively maintained "the truth as it is in Jesus^" and perpet- 9 130 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM uated its existence in the bounds of that Presbytery until to-day. Presbyterianism, wherever or whenever it refuses to meet its opponents in any " of the vilhiges in the plain of Ono," and goes "up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this (or any) question," is always " strong in the Lord." Whenever it tampers with principle, and bows down at the clamor, or for the favor of the multitude, it becomes like Samson, sliorn of his locks, weak as expediency itself. Its "glory is de- parted." The history of Morrison is a lamentable one. " He was the first settled minister in the town of Peterboro, N. H. Although he was possessed of more than ordinary talent, he soon proved to be intem})erate and licentious. Pres- bytery suspended him for a time from his office, and finally terminated his pastorate and ministry in March, 1772. He then visited South Carolina; returned and joined the American army at Cambridge, Mass., in 1775. He soon after went over to the British, and remained with them till his death, which took i)lace at Charleston, South Carolina, on Dec. 10th, 1782" {Hist, of Pet). "Deceitful men shall not live out half their days." "Strono; drink is raging." He became a professed atheist, and died an abandoned profligate." Reader, "who maketh thee to differ ? " The frequent attention given, by Presbytery in watch and care to his case will be subsequently noticed. Windham was another town which during this quarter of a century was settled by Presbyterians. It had pre- viously formed a part of Londonderry, and was incorpor- ated in 1742. In 1747 the Rev. Wm. Johnston was in- stalled pastor, and the ruling elders wore then Messrs. Hemphill, Kinkead and Kyle. Simply for want of sup- port, the pastor was dismissed in July, 1752. In 1753 a meeting-house was erected, and on applica- tion by their commissioner to the Synod of New York and Philadelphia, the Rev. John Kinkead was, as their pastor, installed in Oct., 1760. Although he possessed respectable talents and acquirements as a preacher of the gospel, yet, not maintaining a Christian and ministerial deportment, and being chargeable with immoralities, he soon lost the confidence and respect of his people, and was dismissed in April, 1765 (Parker). It thus appears that both Johnston IN NEW ENGLAND. 131 and Kinkead were here installed by the original London- derry Presbytery, and as Windham was orip^inally a part of Derry (or the old parish^, so up till 1765 their affinities held them in ecclesiastical fellowship with the Rev. Wm, David- son and his associates. But " soon after the dismission of the Rev. Mr. Kinkead, the parish presented a call to Rev. Simon Williams, who was ordained their pastor Dec, 1766, by the Boston Presbytery.'^ (P.) As has been noticed, the Rev. Hugh Campbell and the Rev. Hugh Henry preached in Maine from 1720 till 1724. The former "was the regular minister of the town" of Sciu'boro in 1720-21 on " a salary of £50 (then equal to about 856.50 in specie), beside his meat, drink, washing and lodging." But he soon left on account of the small- ness of his salary, and in June, 1722, the town unani- mously invited the Rev. Hugh Henry to become their minister, and he continued with them till 1725. From 1728 till his death in 1762, tlie Rev. Mr. Thompson offici- ated as town minister, and during that period the congre- gation were with him Congregationalists. On August 23d, 1762, the church called Mr. Thos. Pierce to settle in tlie work of the ministry in the first church and parish in Scarboro, and "voted that Mr. Thos. Pierce be settled in the Presbyterian order, and agreeably to the Westminster Confession of Faith" (CA. Rec, p. 15). Mr. Pierce was born in Newbury, Oct. 11th, 1737, and graduated at Harvard College in 1759. He was ordained at Newbury Port on Nov. 24th, 1762. In 1763, on Sept. 22d, four ruling elders were elected " for the year." Mr. Pierce in a few years sunk down "as a common drunkard, although he continued to preach up to the time of his death, June 26th, 1775. Immediately after his decease the church re- nounced Presbyterianism " (Storer). This church forms a specimen of several in New England, which for years had a vibratory existence between these two forms of polity, and which eventually settled down into Congregationalism — such as Chester, Ackworth and Goffstown, in New Hampshire. During a part of this time at least (1743-1768) the Lon- donderry Presbytery was respectable in numbers — LeMer- cier, Johnston, McClenahan, Harvey, Caldwell, Davidson, Wilson, Rutherford, Urquhart, Dunlop, and probably 132 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM others, as Clark, of Kingston, belonged to it, yet it did not possess vitality. Beside the causes of its decay already stated, they had no means, or seem not to have taken any pains to instruct young men for the ministry. Some of them, as Davidson and Rutherford, were proba- bly not a little " unsound in the faith," while the immorali- ties of others, such as Kinkead and Harvey, were highly injurious to Christianity. In these twenty-five years the French Church and others became extinct by the assimila- tion of their members and their offsj^ring to their surround- ings. The death of LeMercier and Rutherford, and, it may l)e, others, the removal from their bounds of McClenahan, Johnston and Dunlop, with other influences, all conspired to blot it out about the end of this quarter of a century, after an existence of about forty years. Dunlop appears to have been connected with it about twenty-five years. '' He was a native of Ireland, a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, and having removed in 1765 to Cherry Valley, N. Y., at the massacre of that place, on November 11th, 1778, his family were slain. He alone, with one daughter, escaped. Under the protection of an Indian chief Jie stood and beheld the destruction of his earthl}^ hopes, his home and the homes of his friends, melting away with the flames. He survived the massacre but a short time. The misfor- tunes of that day carried ' down his gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.'" (P.) The reader may here see one of the difficulties of the au- thor in preparing this history. He has followed Presbyte- rian writers (Parker and Webster) and given what they have presented above, stating that the Rev. Samuel Dunlop was a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, that when Lindesay became the patentee of Cherry Valley, N. Y., and located there in 1740, he " induced Dunlop by liberal off'ers to aid the settlement," which he did by influencing emigrants to come from Ireland and New Hampshire, that he had ministered to them for nearly forty years {Parker^ 198), and that his misfortunes at the Cherry Valley mas- sacre in 1778 " brought down his gray hairs with sorrow to the grave," that, coming from New England, "he was, in 1765, received by the Dutchess Presbytery " ( Webster), while Greenleaf, in his Ecclesiastical Sketches in Mairie, says : "The Rev. Samuel Dunlop was born in Antrim in 1715, IN NEW ENGLAND. 133 made M. A. at Edinburgh at nineteen, that on being licensed he came to America in 1736, that he was ship- wrecked on Sable Island, landed at Canso, that he taught school in Dracut, Mass., removed to Noblesboro, in Maine, that he resided at Booth Bay, Sheepscott Bridge, New Cas- tle, and then in Brunswick. In 1747 he was ordained in LeMercier's meeting-house in Boston for Brunswick (by the Rev. Messrs. LeMercier, Morton, of Coleraine, Davidson, Wilson and McLenahan), and was pastor there until Octo- ber, 1760, when he was dismissed (p. 95) by a council ( W., p. 33), that he was never settled again, and lived in Bruns- wick until his death, June 26th, 1776, that his history is in manuscript, and was in the possession of the Dunlop fam- ily in 1821, and that he was the grandfather of the ex- Governor of Maine of the same name." It is true that the Rev. S. Dunlop of Cherry Valley per- suaded four or more families to remove from Derry, N. H., to that place (p. 195), and that he ministered to them for nearly forty years (p. 198), and just as true that the Rev. Samuel Dunlop lived from 1736 till 1776 in New England, and consequently never "became a member of the Dutchess Presbytery." They were different men. Among other towns reclaimed from the wilderness dur- ing this quarter of a century was Bradford (formerly called Souhegan East), N. H. " In 1750 they gave a call succes- gively to the Rev. Alexander Boyd, Rev. Alexander Mc- Dowell, and to Mr. Samuel McClintock, but in each case without success. A meeting-house was erected in 1755, and on September 28th, 1757, the Rev. John Houston was ordained by the Boston Presbytery pastor of this church, which had been organized in the Presbyterian order. He was born in Londonderry, educated at Princeton, N. J., where he took his degree in 1753, and studied divinity with the Rev. David McGregor. He was a conscientious and a good man." (P.) During this quarter of a century a change, bearing most extensively upon the Presbyterian interests in America, took place in New York, and as a prominent member of the Boston Presbytery (the Rev. D. McGregor) became an actor in it, I now briefly present the case : After the atrocious oppression of the Rev. Francis Makemie by Lord Cornbury and hit> minions, ^n effort 134 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM appears to have been made to have Presb3"terian preach- ing and worship in the English language maintained in that town. We find the case referred to by Vesey (Albany Documents) in December, 1709, when writing to a friend. He says " that the dissenting preacher is likely to gain no ground." His stay was brief, but the people kept together and met for w^orship with few interruptions and with a gradual increase of numbers until 1716, when they took measures to form a regular congregation ( IF.), the same year (IF.) in which the French Presbyterians were per- mitted to erect a church in Boston. The}^ called a JNIr. Anderson and worshipped in the town hall. In 1718 they purchased a lot, and on the following year built a church.* Beside collections in the town, they were aided by the Governor, Council and Representatives of Connecticut. When the}" asked incorporation from the Legislature of New York as Scots, in consequence of opposition made by the vestry of Trinity Church, their request was refused. Their petition was in 1724 transmitted to the "Lords of Trade." They obtained aid also from Philadelphia and Scotland, and in 1730 their house was finished. Two lead- ing men opposed the settlement of Mr. Anderson as pastor, and the trustees of New Haven College sent missionaries at their request to erect a new congregation. This Congrega- tionalist efi"ort to produce division did not eventually suc- ceed, and the missionary left them in 1726. Pemberton and dimming served them several 3"ears. " In 1753 Pem- berton was blamed by some of the people (Scotsmen) for neglecting family visiting, Cumming and the session for introducing Watts of their own accord, and both ministers for neglecting to recommend the catechism at baptism and for praying when asked at funerals." ( IF.) Both were soon after dismissed at their own request. Failing, on July 18th, 1754, to obtain the Rev. Mr. Bel- lamy from Connecticut, he, in 1755, recommended to them ^'the Rev. David McGregor, of Nutfield, N. H., as likely to suit their religious people and the Scotch." They sent to him an " invitation," and even the Governor himself came * Presbyterians formed a congregation speaking English in New York in 1716, and in 1716 the French Presbyterians obtained permission to erect their first meeting-house in Boston. IN NEW ENGLAND. 135 to New England to persuade him to go to New York, but his Presb\^ter\% when met at Boston on May 14th, 1755, declared that they had no authority to remove a minister out of their bounds, and he saw no encouragement to adventure himself among a people so " divided among themselves." (IF.) But about what should a congregation aided by gov- ernors, colleges, councillors, representatives, by the town of New York, the town of Philadelphia, and by North Britain be divided? They had now, for above a quarter of a century, a large finished house of worship, and full effort was made to have it j^roperly perpetuated to its ap- propriate use. The secret was, divers doctrines, usages and worship had been introduced, and strife ensued. As we have already seen in the cases of Hillhouse and others, to harmonize the two species, Presbyterianism and Congrega- tionalism, is simply impossible, and the latter had now increasingly permeated this church. As far back as " 1724, out of seventeen ministers in a delegated Synod, six were from New England." (TF.) Early associations and cus- toms have a powerful influence upon the mind, and these men could not easily totally divest themselves of their Congregational training. Hence, when a committee was appointed by Synod in 1752, "the general ])la)i of the Church of Scotland as practised by the Synod of New York "was viewed as the true standard of Presbyterian- ism, and they conclude " that as to the methods taken to introduce a new version of the psalms in the public wor- ship, the Synod judge it to be disorderly, and always to be discountenanced when the parties in matters of debate in a church do car:|^y about private subscriptions." (Digest.') Said committee reported in 1753 that " it is not expedient at present, judicially, to recommend a change in the ver- sion of the psalms, lest the animosities in the congregation should be more inflamed." (Digest.) McGregor did not see his way clear to leave a devoted and confiding pastoral charge in order to dwell in a tent of Kedar among " ani- mosities." Owing to this commingling of English, Welsh and New England, as well as Scotch and Irish teachings, the de- nomination had in 1728, according to the Rev. John Thompson in his overture, " not any particular system of 136 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM doctrines composed by ourselves or others which we by any judicial act of our church have adopted to be the arti- cles or confession of our faith, etc. The most that can be said is, that the Westminster Confession of Faith is the confession of the faith of the generality of our members, ministers and people." Notwithstanding that they had, in 1736, avowed their adoption of " the Westminster Confession and Directory without the least variation or alteration " excepting the clauses anent magistrates circa sacra, they shewed them- selves to be gradually falling into Congregational usages, as we have seen, until at least a few of the peculiarities of Scotch (or proper ) Presbyterians were abandoned in New York, and a " session introduced Dr. Watts' imitations of the Psalms of David, the constant use of which much dis- satisfied a number of congregations." But this was not all. According to the historians, Hetherington and McCrie, ^' the secular affairs (in Scotland were and) should be un- der the management of deacons." The deacon "had the special oversight of the revenues of the church and of the poor." " The second Book of Discipline recognized three officers for three things, ministers, elders and deacons for three things, doctrine, discipline and distribution, the dea- conship to have the care of ecclesiastical goods." " The collections made by the first deacons of apostolical ap- pointment were not only of that v/hich was collected in manner of alms, as some suppose, but of other goods, moveable and immoveable, of lands and possessions." The Presbyterians of the Synods of Philadelphia and New York had adopted Stuart of Pardovan's collections for their government, which directs " that the money received by contributions be faithfully delivered up to the session, according to whose judgment and appointment the deacons are to distribute the church goods.^^ These Presbyterians now resorted to policy, to a Board of Trustees, or a committee to gain the strength necessary to support the gospel, and after fighting it over for two years the old Scotch party compelled this solitary board of intruding trustees to agree that they should be no longer elected in their present form : the Synod " approved said agreement, and judge that if the congregation think it ex- pedient to form a committee for the management of their IN NEW ENGLAND. 137 temporal concerns, the said committee shall be chosen, after that time, by the ministers, elders and deacons, with consent of the congregation, and be accountable to tliem for their conduct." The development and influence of this fibre of Congre- gationahsm will appear a century hence. From these innovations tlie proper Presbyterians of New York were delivered, by returning to the simplicity of their scriptural worship and government under a minis- try from Scotland and Ireland. On December 8th, 1755, Nathaniel- Hazzard, of New York, wrote to Dr. Bellamy that " Gellatly has sense, learning and piety," and on No- vember 17th, 1758, "the Scots people have got up a new meeting-house, Mr. Gellatly has been preaching in it for four weeks." (W.) Thus, while the Presbyterians of the country had drifted from their moorings, there were found those who continued to walk in " the old paths and good way," and who ought to have been subsequently regarded as the true or proper representatives there of this scriptu- ral regimen. It is well at such times to hear disinterested observers, and William Douglass, M. D., an Episcopalian, in his summary (vol. 2, p. 147, London, 1760), having investi- gated the case, tells us : " The dissenting congregation in New York, though under a Congregational minister from Boston, is called Presbyterian. The Scots Presbyterians there are modelled according to the Westminster Stand- ards appointed by the Kirk in 1647. These are properly called Calvinists and follow the Heidelberg, Geneva, Hol- land and the Huguenots. They use an established form of psalmody." As the Erskines left not the Church of Scotland, but her corruptions, so these men in withdrawing from the " animosities," engendered by unscriptural customs, ought to be honored for their attachment to gospel principles. They were the continuation of true Presbyterianism in the central and southern colonies. In consequence of their earnest and repeated applications to the ecclesiastical body to which he belonged, the Rev. John Mason came from Scotland to New York in 1761. As the Erskines were nick-named Seceders in Scotland, so a certain kind of char- ity, but not that which is " the very bond of perfectness," 138 HISTORY OF PRESBYTEllIANIS.M attempted to fasten this epithet upon them. Hence, sn^-s the biographer, in his " Memoirs of Dr. Rogers," they liad seceded from the first Presbyterian church because, " in- curably dissatisfied with the system of psalmody, which the majority " (not the denomination, nor any church court, but one session,) " had chosen to adopt." By " re- ceiving, observing, keeping pure and entire " the religious worship and ordinances which God has appointed in his word, "they, the ' seceders,' grew and prospered." With the exception of the congregation of Newburj^port, which was forced out of Congregationalism by civil embarrass- ments, and which was admitted with its Congregational " Bay State Version " of the psalms by the Boston Presby- tery, all the Presbyterians in New England had previous!}^ and during tliis quarter of a centur}^, continued to use the version ap[)ointed by the General Assembly of the Churcli of Scotland in 1G50, to be sung in congregations and fami- lies. So far from seceding from the first Presbyterian church in New York, the proper Presbyterians were over- borne by those of New England origin, who had artfully imported and introduced the 139 psalms as "imitated" and Christianized by the Rev. Dr. Watts, by " carrying about private subscriptions in a disorderly manner," (Digest.) Instead of being justly charged with seceding from the first church, they simply, as Presb3^terians, be- lieved that lawfully constituted church courts were the proper authorities to determine and change the worship of God as to matter and manner in " the churches," and not the simple " majority " of one congregation operating on, through or by a session. For this attachment to prin- ciple and to their church government, they are sneered at as " incurably dissatisfied." Had this " incurable dissatisfaction " taken and held possession of " the first church " of New York, and of those w^ho have followed the example and practice of that " majority," Presbyterianism to-day in this land, instead of being divided into its diff"erent " schools " and sectarian bodies, "would have stood forth with a majesty unequalled and a moral power unapproachable by, either separately or combined, the divisions of Prelacy or the ramifications of Congregationalism. It would also have so permeated New England as to aid, if not enable, Puritanism to throw off IN NEW ENGLAND. 139 the blight of Socinianism — possibly to have prevented its existence. As the " little cloud, like a man's hand," brought abund- ance of rain, so " the beginning of strife," and not the " leaving off of contention " by that " majority " (on Con- gregational principles) in a single congregation, has poured floods of error and division among those who were (and ought to have continued to be) brethren ; and after the experience and sectarian rancor of above a century — "Time but the impression deeper makes, As streams their channels deeper wear." 140 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM CHAPTER V. 1768-1793 — Development — The era of growth — Prior possession — Diffi- culties— John Murray — " AVoolers" — A dilemma — Ordained in Phil- adelphia— Boothbay — Dismissed himself — He developed Presbyte- rianism in Maine — Watched — The first minute respecting him — Pres- bytery of Boston, twelve pastors — Yet they could not extinguish him — Presbytery at Eastward — Its constitution — A Fast-Day — P'unda- mentals in five articles — Each certifies his former standing — A question — "The town clerk read the contracts" — "Judged" — Anil- lustration of the ductility of Presbyterianism — Samuel Wlieeler — Newmarket — Boscawen — "Brute Beasts" — Ready to join with other Presbyteries — Send a mission to Salem Presbytery — " Various ani- mosities"— Murray at 32 — Loss of minutes for fifteen years — The Roll in 1770 — Division into a Synod j)roposed — Rev. Geo. Gilmore — ■ John Eliot — Mr. Noble— Petitions — John Morrison — His case fearful — Joel ii. 17— Parsons and Moorehead in strife — A citation — Mr. Patrick — Blandford — Nottingham — Hampton Falls — Gilmore or- dained in 1773 — McLean installed at Bristol — Moorehead to apologize — An expedient disapproved — ]\Ioorehead's death — Dr. Whittaker and Salem congregation admitted — Rev. N. Merrill — Psalmody — The " felt want " — Rottenness — Valve defective — Supply — Com. to Boston reported — Voted — Presbytery at l]astward — Animosities — Strict dis- cipline— Murray rejected — Declinature by Long Lane — They called Murray, he promised if — A remonstrance — " Quum primum'^ — A mu- tual compact — Translation of M, opposed — Valuable congregation — Ten years* ownership — Moonlight of Christianity — Tilt — Calls — July 4th — 1776 Presbytery met — Debate — Parsons' death — Sermon on Orig- inal Sin — Reason No. 5 — No. 8 — Murray " transported " — A day of desolation. Development stands prominently forward among the beauties of nature from inception to maturity. This is applicable not only to the animal and vegetable king- doms, but also to benevolent associations of men, and es- pecially to the visible church in all ages — in all her de- partments— as " the pillar and ground of the truth." We have sketched the introduction of Presbyterianism into New England, and we enter upon the era of its growth. In doing thisj we must remember that the field IN NEW ENGLAND. 141 was not only limited, but ungenial, under the Procrustean domination of another species of ecclesiasticism sustained by its own civil power. Hence " the oppressed Irish brethren and Presbyterian strangers " had to " contend earnestly for " their " faith " from their first coming to New England. The exceptions to this w^ere found only where, as pioneers, they in colonies obtained prior possession of the soil, and removed tlie forest, as was the case in London- derry, N. H. From 1743 till 1768, by native increase and immigration from this one, other congregations were formed in new towns, and during this quarter of a century, under the original '' Irish " and Bo.^ton Presbyteries, some of them were pros]:)ering and others declining^ or, like the French Churchy were dead.. In the meantime, in entering on this period, we labor under difficulties in not knowing in many cases what was done by the church courts, and how they took care of the flock as overseers ; for the minutes of the first Presbytery have perished, and the records of the other, if kept at the time from 175o till 1770, are lost. From fragmentary sources, however, we learn not a little of what was done by way of church ex- tension. Before I revert to church courts, to congregations and families, I begin with one man who fills a large space in the history of Presbyterianism in New England. John Murray was born six miles from Ballymena, on May 22d, 1742; united with the church at fifteen; was educated at the University of Edinburgh, where he took his degree of M. A. ; received a license (as he claimed) from the class in Wooler, England, signed by Isaac Wood, Moderator, Robert Trotter, clerk, and nineteen other ministers, and began to preach at eighteen years of age. He was soon after charged with forging his certificate of licensure, and other acts were alleged against him in connection with the matter before he was tw^enty-three. When the Presbytery of Ballymena questioned his li- cense, he sent it to some in Edinburgh to have it attested by such as knew the hands that signed iU Instead of taking better steps, they wrote on the back of the same sheet a certificate attesting that " he had indeed gone to Northumberland ; had certainly been licensed there ; had 142 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM preached several times in Scotland in consequence thereof, and was well approved by them ; '' and then sent it to him signed by themselves, with the words moderator and clerk of Presbytery annexed to their names, which they were not. This certificate caused him trouble during his whole life; for being shown in the Synod of Ulster at Londonderry (although by another in his absence he al- ways said), it immediately became an object of attention. He was now accused of forgery. Meanwhile his Scottish friends had written to him, own- ing the fraud, but beseeching him not to ruin them, as their prospects in the church were good. Rather than ruin them and give his own enemies a triumph, which at that age he was too proud to endure, he defended the paper as genuine. (Ver.) "When hardly twenty-one he came from Ireland to New York, and was in May, 1765, ordained and settled for several months as successor to the Rev. Gilbert Tennent, in Philadelphia. The charge fol- lowed him, and while the Presbytery of Philadelphia acted in the matter with wisdom and prudence, the first wrong step had plunged him in the mire, and each suc- ceedinsj one sunk him deeper. He wrote, " the frown of a holy God was on the thing, and every measure of defence, either promised or actually taken by the authors of the2')aper, only increased the embarrassment of him whom they meant to defend." His whole character now became sus- picious. Other things were alleged, but never judicially investigated, although influencing the result. {Vermilyea.) He obtained certificates from the Presbytery, from the elders and from 115 heads of families in his congregation in Philadelphia, and removed to Boothbay ; while some months after, not appearing to defend himself, the case appeared conclusive, and Presbytery excommunicated him on April 7th, 1767. His retrospective view of the case will (D. V.) be after- wards presented. Such is the written account of him, and without casting away current historic statements, I here present the fol- lowing. The reader can judge the discrepancy, if any, in facts. We cannot at sight appreciate the spiritual condi- tion of the colonists who formed the Temple and Dunbar emigrations and their descendants, for many years after IN NEW ENGLAND. 143 landing in Maine. Removed from the extensive enjoy- ment of tlie means of grace, to have in the wilderness only " silent Sabbaths," their previous knowledge, love and fear of God could not increase, and many became (it is be- lieved) extensively inditferent. They did not totally neglect "the assembling of themselves together" on Sab- baths, to sing psalms, to pray, read the Divine word and portions of sermons, or other religious works, which they had brought with them. Yet, after years of deprivation, even when visited occasionally by transient preachers, their case became deplorable — " No man cared for their souls." Even tlie Boston Presbytery, when applied to, neglected them. (*Sew'., p. 272.) Boothbay was incorporated December 22d, 1763, and the inhabitants were cheered by the coming of Mr. John Murray in the same year. (An uncle by marriage) Mr. Andrew Reed, by urgent solicitations, drew him to visit them. Reed, when a younger man, spent at least one winter for wrecks at a distant lonely spot, cutting wood and living in a camp. On his return, as he was constantly ex- posed to the Indians, to wolves, as well as to the often in- tense cold, he was asked if he were not afraid ? His an- swer was energetic and to the point : " Had not I my Bible with me, and was not that enough?" Besides his influence, Robert, the father of John Mur- ray, had come to reside in Townsend. Hence, says Sew- all (p. 346), "Ninety pounds sterling per annum as a salary was subscribed at once." They were to give to him two hundred acres of land and build for him an house. As the church record has it, " The Lord spirited up the inhabitants so that it was quickly filled up." Still, ho left them in February, 1764, and on the 17th of May the Presbytery of New York reported to the Synod "that they have received Mr. John Murray, a candidate from Ireland, under their care." On a request " made from the First Philadelphia Presbytery, also from Mr. Gilbert Tennent and his congregation, praying supplies," Mr. Murray was appointed there four Sabbaths, in July, 1764. There, as his successor, he was ordained, and his labors were emi- nently blessed in building up that church. The dew of his youth was now upon him, and not a few rejoiced in his ministry, until his " sin found him out." Consequently, 144 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM on May 22d, 1766, the first Presbytery of Philadelphia re- ported, " that they have ordained Mr. John Murray since our last Synod ; but that some charges since that were laid in against him respecting his moral character, which are not yet decided by the Presl^ytery." His case was then deferred, and on IVfay 21st, 1767, said Presbytery report, *' that the}^ have deposed Mr. Murray since our last." Perhaps the })eople in Boothljay did not know all the above particulars, but, if they did, their commissioners to the Presbytery at Philadelphia reported diflerently. To him, Andrew Peed wrote, " V\'e are firmly resolved to in- sist upon your promise, to the uttermost, as we believe they have got you settled there by fraud and treachery, by stopping both your letters and ours " (p. 347). The Presbytery of Piiiladeli)hia did not heed their appeal, and their commissioners went before the Synod of New York and Philadelphia. ''The petition of the town set forth such a statement of facts and documentary evidence, that they did not doubt their success, if once they came before so conscientious a court as the Synod." {Ih.) "Andrew Reed was at the head of the commission in prosecuting their cause. The papers were all returned with the min- utes of Presbytery whereby Mr. Murray was liberated, in manner and form as full as desired." {lb. 348.) " In three months he returned. The town officers and people gathered under the new frame of their meeting- house, the meeting was opened with prayer, and Mr. ^lur- ray stated fully all their transactions with him." AVliether true or false, their town and session records, and his own private diary, give extensive details of their past, then present and subsequent procedure. In the meantime such a mind could not be hermetically sealed, e.ven in the primeval forests of Maine, On coming to New England, as he thought he had, as an ordained minister, dismissed himself from the Pliiladelphians, and finding a number of his own countrymen in or near^ the place of his adoption, he gathered a congregation, ordained elders, eventually associated with himself other clergymen, previously Congregationalists, and formed the Presbytery at " the Eastward.''^ He regarded his deposition as an at- tempted assumption of authority, which he disclaimed. As the Synods of New York and Philadelphia then alone IN NEW ENGLAND. 145 existed, and as neither of the two Presbyteries of New England had any connection with, and no subordination to them and as he did not trouble either of them, so he (without let) spread himself out in his work of the min- istry. While he was not hindered, he was, however, closely watched. On May 12th, 1768, a communication, " signed by eleven ' associated pastors ' in Boston, with Mr. John Moorehead at their foot, was published in the Massachusetts Gazette, and in answer he says, in an ' appeal,' dated Boothbay, June 22d, 1768: 'If I speak, I am suspended; if I preach, I am gazetted; if silent, deposed.'" While their regular records, covering the date, appear to be lost, the following statement from a fragmentary paper has been preserved, and it speaks plainly : '' The first minute respecting the Rev. Mr. Murray at Londonderry, 1769, when Rev. Mr. iMoorehead was present. " This Presbytery, finding that the settlement of Mr. John Murray, at Boothbay (Eastward), is irregular ; that he (though professing himself a Presbyterian minister) has not offered to join himself to any Presbytery of New England that we know of. That he stands -charged with gross immoralities, for which he is now actually under a sentence of deposition by the General Synod of Ulster, in Ireland. That some parts of his conduct in America (to say the least) are exceeding dark and doubtful. That he is living under a censure, and has been rejected by the Presbytery of Philadelphia, by which he was ordained. " In consideration of these things, this Presbytery is unanimously of opinion, that it is proper to caution their members from having any communion with the said Mr. John Murray, as they would not practically renounce communion with the whole body of Presbyterians in the Synods of Ulster, New York and Philadelphia; and as they would not expose themselves to the discipline of this Presb3^tery. "That a copy of this minute be transmitted to each of the congregations belonging to this Presbytery. "Attest, J. Strickland, "Presbytery Clerk." The Presbytery of Boston then consisted of twelve set- 10 146 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM tied pastors/with their elders, and this "minute "manifests an average " taking heed to themselves and to the flock over the which the Holy Ghost had made them bishops." In view of the power and activity of the man, it was all necessary, yet it did not extinguish him ; for within two years we have regular records commenced, from which these extracts are taken : " Minutes of the first Presbytery at Eastward, erected June 27th, 1771, at the meeting-house in Boothbay (now Maine)." After pleading tlieir destitution, in their con- stitution it is stated : " It having pleased xVlmighty God in his adorable providence by a series of wonderful steps to bring and fix one minister of Presbyterian principles, and to convince and bring over thereto two others of the Con- gregational way, it seemed to be a special and very partic- ular call to them to associate themselves into a Presby- tery at this time, and they judged that they could not be safely accountable for the neglect or delay of that im- portant step." " For all these reasons, the said three ministers, after the most mature consideration and diligent weighing of this affair, did revive to constitute themselves into a Presbytery by the name of the Fird Presbytery at the Eastward, and having for that purpose conversed with their own, and in- vited the other regular Presbyterian churches here that are destitute of pastors to accede to it by sending each their elder to take a seat with them, and finding that this step is much desired by the generality of God's people in these parts, and that several vacant churches have sent their elders here for that purpose. Therefore the said ministers, together with the ruling elders assembled, did resolve that this day be set apart as a day of fasting and prayer, and that the intended Presbytery be constituted after the public worship is concluded, and that the Rev. Mr. Murray is chosen to lead in that business. But that this Presbytery may stand distinguished from all sectaries of every class, Ave think it our duty to declare expressly the principles on which as fundamentals the same is now constituted, which are as follows : " I. We hold the Scriptures as alone of absolute authority in all matters of faith and duty. IN NEW ENGLAND. 147 " II. The doctrines of the Westminster Confession of Faith, catechisms, larger and shorter, we beheve to be founded on the Word of God, and as such take them to be the confession of our faith. " III. We adopt the Directory, etc., for substance, re- ceive the form of process, first and second Books of Disci- pline, with the Acts of Assembly that are collected by Stewart and Dundas for the substance thereof " IV. We promise due submission to the authority of this Presbytery in the Lord. " V. We will lay ourselves out for the peace and up- building of the visible church in this region. . " VI. We will never withdraw from this Presbytery but by its rules, etc. " VII. We will receive ministers and churches on this plan, etc. " VIII. This Presbytery shall be joined to a Synod as soon as one can be formed within our reach. " IX. We confess our sins, etc. " X. We will do all in our power to counsel and assist our brethren, etc. " Upon all which articles, we, the subscribers, do, in the name of God, constitute ourselves into a Presbytery by solemn prayer, etc., and in consequence thereof, declare ourselves possessed of all powers and rights, etc., lawfully claimed by any Presbytery in the Christian Church, and therefore we take instruments. " Joseph Prince, Moderator. •" John Miller, Presbytery clerk. " John Murray. " John Beath, ruling elder from the church at Boothbay. " David Dunning, elder from the church at Brunswick. " Wm. Ines, ruling elder from Bristol. " John Merrill, ruling elder from Topsham. " To prevent slanderous reports before they enter on any other judicial acts, each minister certifies his former standing." Joseph Prince was ordained by a council in 1757. After laboring fourteen years he was dismissed by a council and recommended by them, apjn'oved by the church, and is now in contract witli the N(ai)ers were before the court, together with a letter from the session of the I^ong Lane church. These were read, and the Presbytery, after "mature consideration of the case, owing to the paucit}^ of members present, resolved to adjourn the deci- sion of that affair till next meeting, and the clerk was or- dered to enclose in his answer to said letter a copy of the minute quum 'primumy Measures were now taken for some relief for Topsham congregation, which was then vacant, while Samuel Wheeler continued to roam about and preach there, hav- ing thrown off all restraint, and vexed tlie people so, that the}' refused almost universally to hear him. Any minis- ter of the body, when requested b}' their session, was au- thorized to baptize the children of parents recommended by the session. An application from the Presbyterian church in New- bur3^port, praying that said church and the Rev. Jonathan Parsons, their pastor, be received under the w\atch and care of this Presbytery, was now made. They were re- ceived accordingly. Mr. Parsons was installed there on March 19th, 1746, by a mutual compact between himself, and the clerk replying for the rest. His constitution was delicate since 1754, and in 1772 his public labors w^ere sus- ])ended by sickness. He had years previously asked for a colleague, and as he had entertained friendship for Mr. JMurray, so his congregation now extended to him a call, and " Mr. Moses Little, their commissioner, was heard on his reasons therefore." The translation was vigorously opposed by the congregation of Boothbay, who had now for years actively endeavored to maintain their rights against those who, as well as themselves, " coveted ear- nestly the best gifts." Hence the prosecution of the case was deferred. On " Thursday, May 9th, 1776, upon reading the min- utes, as to the Boston call, it was moved and seconded, that as there was now a full meeting of members, and that the interest of that valuable congregation, of which the utmost tenderness is an especial duty in its present dis- tress, might greatly suffer by our deferring judgment any longer." The call and relative papers, the protest and re- 158 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANTSM monstrance, and the abstracts of the reasons of both par- ties were read. The Presbytery then considered their powers in regard to the removal of any pastor within their bounds, and that they had now ample light in the matter of the Boston call, resolved as follows, (/. e.): " It is the judg- ment of this Presbytery, after a serious consideration of the matter, resi)ecting tlie removal of the Rev. Mr. Murray from his pastoral relation to the church in Bootlibay to the church in Boston, that it is by no means expedient in the present state and circumstances of that town and people." Thus, after nineteen months of exertion, the people in Long Lane were disap[)ointed. It is true the people at Boothbay had a lawful chiim of ten years' ownership, and were the man's own ecclesiastical offspring, but they were now established in the faith, and might have found another pastor, although not of equal power and attract- iveness. Not only so, as Presbyterians had then and have now no abiding hold of their church estate, so that they can under civil law enjoy the use of it ; and the people in Long Lane held theirs, amounting then to about one twenty-four hundretli part of the town of l>oston, by a trust deed of a charitable use and nature, Mr. Murray, with his powers and piety, might have instrumentally retained the foothold which Presbyterianism then had, extended widely " the doctrine of God our Saviour," and curtailed exten- sively that volume of error, wliich eventually culminated in the moonlight of Christianity, Unitarian Congregation- alism. He had, however, other missions to fulfil ; after taking the steps which we have noticed, the Presbytery the same day heard the commissioner from Newburyport in sup- port of the call from that church to Mr. Murray. On July 3d, 1776, the Presbytery met at New Market, when the clerk reported that in obedience to the order of our last, he has transmitted the minutes respecting the Boston call to the session of the Presbyterian church there. After reading the remonstrance from Boolhbay, the petition from Newburyport was heard, and on Thurs- day, July 4th, 177G, Presbytery met according to adjourn- ment, when the respective reasons for and against the Newbur^^port call were heard in detail. After long de- IN NEW ENGLAND. 159 bate, the commissioner from BoothbiJy moved, and the others concurred to defer it. On that eventful day Presbytery also granted vacant churches the libert}' to send each two ruling elders to each meeting of Presbytery. " Eventful " because that while the declaration of independence was not signed until the second day of August following, it was adopted on July ^th, 1776. At the next meeting, on October 9th, at Falmouth, it was reported that the Rev. Jonathan Parsons had died July 19th, 1776, at the age of sevent^^-one — some two years, seven months and seventeen days after his former co-presbyter, Moorehead. It is matter of sorrow that they were alienated from each other at death. As Parsons and his congregation (at his demise) were under " the Presbytery at the Eastward," Newburyport, now, that Boston was out of the way, desired the ser- . vices of this pre-eminent man. For him they persistently applied, and for years Boothbay as vigorously protested. Hence we find that at " Cape Elizabeth, on June 14th, 1780, after a sermon by Prince on the doctrine of original sin," as expressed in the sixth chapter of the Confession of Faith, agreeable to the order of our last, Mr. Murray's removal from Boothbay was opposed, and answered by a series of reasons. Of these, number five was "for preaching to and keeping from desolation the largest congregation in New England, where there are not less than ten times the num- ber of hearers he can preach to at Boothbay." "Eighth, for saving that numerous society from being overrun with errors, its government overcome, and itself split and ruined." " For these reasons the Presbytery required and en- joined said congregation at Newburyport to receive and acknowledge him, the said Rev. John Murray, as their stated pastor in the Lord, by virtue of their call, his ac- ceptance, and the solemn act of transportation as fully to all intents and purposes whatever, as by any other sort of installation or induction thereunto, and to yield to all his legal and constitutional acts of office, all faithful sub- mission and obedience in the Lord. And at all times to do what in them lies to strengthen his hands and en- courage his heart under the peculiar difficulties of the sit- uation in which he is hereby placed." 160 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM This was a day 'of desolation for the congregation at Boothbay. They had for nearly fourteen years hung with devotion on his lips ; in seasons of vast and imminent danger they had shared with him perils of which he was extensively both the cause and the occasion ; and now they were by the demands of Divine Providence and the authority of their own Presbytery bereft of him for whom ,for some six years they had with heroic fortitude con- tended against judicious and able commissioners from other churches. All that can now be officially done is not neglected. For them Presbytery express and record their pro- found " sympathy." They were then " sheep having no " under " shepherd ;" and while on August 11th, 1784, Pres- bytery "received a letter from Boothbay, requesting a supply," they do not appear to have received any of a per- manent character, and they eventually in the subsequent eight years in common with all Presbyterianism in Maine, fell asleep in the oblivious embrace of surrounding and assimilating Congregationalism. IN NEW ENGLAND. IGl CHAPTER VI. 1768-1793— Difficulties— They kept watch— •' Disannexed "-Routine duties — "Condescending" — Female members to be received if they return — Urquliart — Baich — Merrill's dismission — Boston society cited — November, 1774 — "Considering tiie man" — A plan for a Synod overtured — Salem Church burnt — Aid — Dartmouth College — Hutc h- inson's petition — Recommendation of a plan of Synod — Three Pies- byteries — Forbearance a duty — Pastoral visitation and catechising recommended — Not too close to their notes in the pulpit — Exposition reconmiended — License — Publication of Banns recommended — Sup- plies— Synod formed May 31, 1775 — Met at 7.30 a. m., June 1st — Urquliart ordained at St. George's in September — Merrill at Pelham in September — Taggart asks for license — His examination — License — Third Church, Salem — Withdrawing irregularly — The circum- stances of the times — The smell of gun-powder — A priori — A pos- teriori— Adopted the Westminster Confession of Faith and called the Synod of New England — Some development and some decay — Appre- ciated— A generation gone — Comforts — An era of prosperity now opening — Population too dense — Emigration — Truro, Nova Scotia — Civil and religious liberty tiiere — Cherry Valley, N. V., il welling safely — Trouble came — War — Colonies revolt — Rev. F. MaKemie — Mecklenburgh Convention — Declaration of Independence — This per- secution, says Bancroft — Bishops — September 4th, 1776, "are any- inimical? can have no seat here" — John Morrison deposed — Rev. John Houston falters and promises fealty, but does not satisfy Synod or Bedford either — Dismissed — Peril — French war in 1744-69— Cape Breton — Dr. Thornton — Crown Point — Three Captains from Derry — Two Starks and Rogers — No surplus of affection for Britain after the " Boston Massacre " — John Stark in his Sawmill, and in ten minutes left for Cambridge — "Distressing apprehensions" — Future homes — The loyalty of the Scotch-Irish dissipated — Troops in Boston, 1768 — Blood Drawn — The drama opened — The state of society domestically — Home products — Large Spinning Wheel — Wives and mothers worth having — The little wheel — Flax — Linen — Inspectors of it ap- pointed in Derry in 1748 — Forty pounds and a diamond ring premium for linen woven for Washington and his officers — Females industrious — Extravagance — Spinning schools — Daughters of Liberty, in his house in one day they spun 262 skeins and gave it to Mr. Moorehead — Tunes, anthems and liberty songs in the evening, animated by the "sons of liberty" — 100 spinners in Mr. Moorehead's society — Notices of one man — George Reid — Bunker Hill — His commission January Ist^ 1776— Colonel of the Army of the U. S. in 1783— Served during 11 162 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM the entire war — His wife — Their correspondence — The means of grace — Not merely a matter of intellect — Not yet modern "gush " — " Valley Forge" — A coiitinuaiue — These items form but a small part - — Not only in the bounds of tht- Synod, but by John Murray and his Presbytery, w;{s patriotism displayed — He was known and felt in Lon- don, and £500 sterling were ofiered for his person, but no man in Maine would take the money — His Presbytery release him from Booth- bay — Aids the committee of safety of New Hampsliireat Exeter — He wandered for about two years stirring up the people — A coiuparntive view with Samuel Adams and Hancock — The race in America — The Key Note — Tlie Scotch version — Waxhaw — Captain D. McCleary — Tine bullet — We turn to ecclesiastical matters — Career of Key. J. Murray — His power as a preacher — Filled a company in two hours, where tiie ofiicers had labored three days in vain — " Let the dinner go" — Successful in the ministry — Awakening under it — Plan of Vis- iting— His meekness, etc., etc. — Active in promoting religion — His daily views — Died March 13th, 1793 — A burse — His widow asked the fund which he had given for it. Persons were appointed by the Boston Presbytery to make definite arrangements for the formation of a Synod. They for some years experienced difficulties in executing the trust by the death of ^Moorehead, and the witlidrawal of Parsons, to say nothing of several minor untoward mat- ters. Still they'^kept watch and grew. At a three days' meeting of the court in Salem (Sep. I3th-15th), 1774, be- side the attention given to Morrison's case, Merrill's and Patrick's "affairs," the minute of the committee sent to Boston was read and approved. The society at Canter- bury was taken under their care, instructions were given to supplies of vacancies, the society at Hampton Falls was " disannexed," the appeal from Blandford was sustained, and to be tried at a future session, supply of preaching and the moderation of a call were granted at Pelham. Dr. Whittaker and the aggrieved members of his church are tendered counsel ; his bearing to the disturbers of his peace was considered " condescending," and the turbulent ones were ordered to be dismissed. ^^Resolved, That as there are a number of female mem- bers not adverted unto in the foregoing minute, who have absented themselves from this (Salem ) church, that if they see fit to return any time before next January (1775), they be received, if not, be dismissed also." The license of Mr. John Urquhart, from the Presbytery of Allon, Scotland, appeared satisfactory, and on it he was received as a probationer. IX ::EV»' ENGLAND. 163 The Rev. Benjamin Balch, on presenting testimonials, promising due submission, strict adherence to our stand- ards, and to subscribe the formula when required, was, on request, received as a member. " No objections appearing against the dismission of the Rev. Mr. Merrill, the conduct of the committee is approved." The Rev. Mr, McGregor was now ai)pointed to write a let- ter to the Boston society, respecting their conduct in en- tering their declinature, and to cite them to appear at the next session. Balch and Urquhart were appointed to sup- 2)1}^ vacancies. At Newburyport, November 8th, 1774, eight ministers and seven elders were present, and seven ministers were absent ; of Mitchell, an absentee, the excuse was sustained, " considering the man." Others excused and some not. A large amount of business was transacted, and they notice tliat they " are glad to find so large a number of the church nnd congregation of Long Lane, some thirty per- sons still adhering to this Presbytery, and good order, in opposition to the Decliners." A plan for a Synod was now ordered to be " laid before the elderships of every congregation respectively (or sent down in overture), in order to prepare matters, to adopt the same at next stated sitting." On behalf of the church of Salem, who have lost their meeting-house by fire, it was ordered that " their case be recommended to the charitable contributions of each con- gregation in this body." As the founders of Dartmouth College (the fourth in New England, founded in 1769) were extensively Presby- terians, "the Rev. Mr. Hutchinson now petitioned with regard to forming a Presbytery at Dartmouth. It was recommended to him to use the utmost prudent and effec- tual means to carry that measure into execution, and to report his doings thereon at the next meeting of Pres- bytery." November 10th, 1774. Opened with prayer. "After solemn and serious consideration of the plan of our Synod, the following conclusion " was reached, viz. : "That Messrs. Parsons, Whittaker, Perley, McLean and Pearce, with their congregations, and also the congregation of Boston, now under their care, with the other vacancies 164 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM in their bounds, together with the Rev. Mr. Balch, shall (if the plan be adopted according to the preceding minute) be the Eastern Presbytery and be called the Presbytery of Newburyport. '^ - * '-■* / '' Messrs. McGregor, Mitchell, Williams and Strickland, with tlicir congregations and the vacancies within their bounds be called the Presbytery of Londonderry, or Mid- dle one. Messrs. Houston and Baldwin, with their con- gregations, togetlier with the congregations of Blandford, Pelham and Coleraine, also Messrs. Hutchinson, Merrill, Gilmore and Patrick, shall be the Western Presbytery to be called the Presbytery of Palmer. "Appointed to moot in Seabrook, N. H., May 31st, 1775, then the S}- nod to l)c actuall}' formed and receive its name." It is further stated that " charitable mutual forbearance in lesser things appears to be a plain duty." " Yet, as uniformity, so far as it can be obtained, is beautiful in its nature and salutary in its consequences, it is recommended to every minister in this Presbytery, that he perform a pastoral visitation and catechising of his whole Hock once a year, or, at least, once in two 3^ears, or, if the adults will not at first submit to the latter, that he will catechise the children and youth, and use his best endeavors gradually to introduce it among the adults. It is also recommended to ministers, and especialh' to joreach- ing probationers, that they do not too closely confine them- selves to their notes, but that they commit their discourses to memory, at least in part." " It is recommended to all preachers that they make the exposition of the Scriptures an ordinary part of their pul- pit work." "As much difficulty arises from marrying with license, and though it seems impossible, under our present circum- stances, to prevent this practice, yet Ave prefer the publi- cation of banns, as is practised by the Presbyterians abroad, and earnestly recommend to our several congregations to proceed in this matter accordingly." Dr. Whittaker, about to rebuild his church, was recom- mended to the lilDerality of the public when he solicits aid ; and Parsons or McGregor is to preach before the Synod, on condition they agree. "Messrs. Hutchinson and Merrill were appointed to IN NEW ENGLAND. 165 supply at Blandford, Pelham, Coleraine, Petersburgh and Middletown, as occasion may require." "Appointed to meet in Seabrook, 31st of May, 1775." Seabrook, N. H., May 31st, 1775. After a sermon by the Rev. David McGregor, from Matt, xviii. 20, which was approved, constituted with prayer. Ministers present, McGregor, Mitchell, Houston, Perley, Strickland, McLean, Merrill, Patrick and Williams. Rul- ing Elders, James Taggart, John Moulton, Esq. ; from Canterbury, Henry Hale and Ezekiel Morrell, Gain Ar- mour ; from Salem, Miles Ward. Absent, Parsons, Bald- win, Gilmore, Hutchinson, Whittaker and Balcli. Rev. D. McGregor was chosen Moderator. They then continued for two daf s to act as a Presby- tery, and did much business, inquiring into reasons for absence, postponing the declinature from Salem, reponed Merrill in good standing, as no accusers appeared against him, presenting to him a call from Pelham, which he took into consideration. Opening at 7.30 a. m. on June 1st with prayer, the Clerk and his Elder obtained leave of absence, and Alexander McLean was chosen Clerk, pro tern. They then consid- ered the state of affairs between Mr. Patrick and Bland- ford, and approved of the conduct of the first committee "in dissolving the pastoral relation." "They gave no recommendation to Mr. Patrick, because the first commit- tee are all absent, and the la^t one had not reported." Mr. Urquhart accepted the call at St. George's. He was appointed to serve the Edict. It was ordered that he be ordained there on the second Wednesday of September, by Rev. Messrs. Perley and McLean, with the assistance of one or two neighboring ministers. Elders were appointed to be ordained at Blandford. At 3 p. M. opened with prayer. Mr. Merrill to be in- stalled at Pelham on the second Thursday of September, by McGregor and Baldwin, with some assistance. " Mr. Samuel Taggart applying for license, they exam- ined his diploma from Dartmouth, satisfied themselves with his moral character, and appointed him to deliver an exegesis on the subject : au necesse fuerit Christum pro nobis satisfacere Justitia Divina? and a popular sermon from Matt. xiii. 11, both of which were some time ago prescribed to him by the Moderator." 166 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANTSM " He having withdrawn, his discourses were approved. After examining him on personal piety, he approved of the doctrines of the A\'estminster Confession of Faith, promised subjection in the Lord to the Presbytery, de- ckired liis readiness to subscribe the formula, and they then licensed him to preach the gospel." They then designate the parties who " are entitled to the immunities and privileges of the third church in Salem, Dr. Whittaker's, of which the Rev. Messrs. Dudley, Leavit and John Huntington were formerly pastors." " The congregation of Seabrook are to use the most effectual means to settle their existing difficulties, or, the Presbytery will feel solemnly bound at next meeting to inquire narrowly into them." June 2d, 1775, opened with prayer. "On account of their withdrawing irregularly from this Presbytery, the Moderator, with Strickland, Williams and Mitchell, was appointed to write to the congregation of Newbury port." The process against John Morrison was forwarded one stage. " They deferred entering upon ' Boston affairs ' for this time, owing to 'the circumstances of the times.'" The smell of gunpowder was becoming too strong. After ''annexing Peterboro to the Middle Presbytery, and changing the name of the Eastern Presbytery from Newbury port to that of Salem, the plan of the Synod was otherwise amended and subscribed by the members present." The court " proceeded a 'priori^ to shew the necessity of government in the state and in the church ; a 'posteriori^ to shew that there is in fact a government of Divine institu- tion in the New Testament church. Nor will it be diffi- cult for the judicious and unbiassed, to find that Presby- terian church government has upon it the stamp of Divine authority, that the churches of Jerusalem, Antioch, Cor- inth, Ephesus, etc., etc., were Presbyterian churches." After shewing that there cannot be a single Congrega- tional organized church, without a pastor properly autlior- ized " with the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery " this plan states the powers, the mode of lawful increase, where the necessity exists, and the lawfulness of local separation into co-ordinate church courts, from which, by IN NEW ENGLAND. 167 reference, review, or appeal, matters for uniformity in doc- trine, government, discipline and worship can be brought for the purity, peace and growth of the whole church, as was done by those entrusted with the word and doctrine at Antioch to the Synod of Elders (for Peter and John de- clare themselves to be elders) at Jerusalem." After stating these and several other " points which no Presbyterian will controvert," they gratefully acknowledge the smiles of Divine Providence on their common cause in New England, and having had the matter under con- sideration for several years, they now, in aggregate, as the Presbytery of Boston, subdivide into Presbyteries as before stated. They then ordered a meeting of each of the three Pres- byteries twice a year, beside what may be required 'pro re nata. The manner in which their records were to be authenticated, business brought before the courts, the de- portment with which members should conduct themselves when officiating judicially, the equal standing of each Presbytery without preference, the appointment of a stated clerk of Synod, his duties, the preservation of the records, and other matters required for permanent organization were now duly arranged and ordered. The Synod now adopted the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms, and then the standing rules of the Church of Scotland, as collected by Stewart of Pardovan, " so far as our local and other circumstances will allow." An annual meeting of Synod, its duties and its officers, was now provided for. Correspondence with the Synods of New York and Philadelphia, by a committee, who are to write to them, was now proposed. As there can be no appeal from the Synod, parties not satisfied with its deci- sions, can enter their protest with their reasons on the Synod's books. These, their then present " regulations," may be altered from time to time, as God may give them light ; and while they have right in ecclesiastical cases to meet as courts, in the name of Christ, independent of the power and authority of civil princes, yet, in all civil mat- ters they own their subjection to civil authority. As a part of their statute law, each Presbytery was to keep a record " and shall enter this covenant and agree* ment in the beginning of it," 168 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM They then "solemnly covenanted the one with the other, that, by the help of Divine grace, they would en- deavor to promote the union, peace and prosperity of this court, now named ' The Synod of New England,' and all its Presbyteries and churches, looking to the great King and Head of his church, for his presence with, and bless- ing on, all its departments, that they be guided to such measures as may issue in the exaltation of Christ to his throne, kingly authority and rule in these churches." '' In testimony of this our covenant, consent and solemn engagement, we do, in the fear of God, hereunto subscribe our names, this 2d day of June, 1775." Ministers — David McGregor, John Houston, Daniel Mitchell, Samuel Perley, Jolm Strickland, Nathaniel Mer- rill, Alexander McLean, John Urquhart, Nathaniel Whit- taker, Benjamin lialch, Simon Williams, Moses Baldwin, Samuel Taggart. Ruling Elders — James Taggart, Miles Ward, Henry Hale, Ezekiel Merrill, John Moulton, Hubartous Mattoon. The moderators of the respective Presb3^teries were now appointed, and the Rev. D. McGregor is, as Moderator, to open the Synod at Londonderry next year with a sermon. Closed with prayer. We have, since the opening of the French church in Boston, in 1716 (in fifty-nine years), some development and some decay. The means of grace were now, in their varied congrega- tions, not only enjoyed but extensively appreciated. One* generation of ministers and people liad passed awa}^; homes were not only increased, but they were also fur- nished more extensively with the comforts of life, and their churches with an increasing number of members; while, having church courts, sessions, Presbyteries and a Synod, an era of prosperity seemed now to open before them. It is wise, however, to " mix trembling with mirth " in view of earthly mutations. For them the population became too dense, while the means of subsistence were not always superabundant. Gf the three crying sins of Sodom, " pride, fulness of bread and abundance of idleness," they were not extensively guilty. Hence, to better their condition, they not only emigrated to new portions of the forest in New England, IN NEW ENGLAND. 169 but to other colonies. In 1760 a thrifty company from and near Derry, N, H., removed to Truro, in Nova Scotia, set up Presbyterian worship there, where, not being under the control of law, enacted by Congregationalists, they could hold and enjoy, as Presbyterians, their church prop- erty. In that colony they, and those associating with and succeeding them, have wielded an important influ- ence in establishing, maintaining and perpetuating civil and religious liberty. Few spots on earth, if any, enjoy these blessings more extensively than does that province. This was the First Presbyterian church organized in the Dominion of Canada. >It has had but three pastors — the Rev. Daniel Cock, from 1772 till 1798, the Rev. John AVaddell, from 1798 till 1836, and the Rev. William Mc- CuUoch, D. D., from 1838 until now. It has sent out five or six branches, two of which are in the city proper. The original church is relatively strong, for the Doctor maintains that " the law of the Lord is per- fect," both for doctrine and worship. The praises of God are not there vitiated by machinery. For, while he fully believes the teaching of his illustrious father, the late Rev. Thomas McCulloch, D. D., S. T., P., that "Calvinism is the doctrine of the Bible," he can also say, with the prince of Arminians, the Rev. Adam Clarke, D. D., the Methodist Commentator, " If there was a woe to them who invented instruments of music, as did David, under the law, is there no woe, no curse to them who invent them and in- troduce them with the worsHip of God in the Christian church ? I am an old man and an old minister, and I here declare that I never knew them productive of any good in the worship of God, and have reason to believe they were productive of much evil. Music, as a science, I esteem and admire, but instruments of music in the house of God I abominate and abhor." During this quarter of a century another colony of these peoi)le settled at Cherty Valley, Unadilla and other towns in Otsego county, New York, where their moral worth aided not a little in elevating society. Extensively forget- ting the scalping-knife and tomahawk a quiet tide of prosperity seemed to be now carrying them onward in the enjoyment of the means of grace, and, in common with the Congregationalists, then Trinitarians, and Calvinistic -i 170 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM Baptists (almost the only other religious persuasions then in New England), the Presbyterians were extensively ^' dwelling safely," sitting " under their vine and fig-tree," '' but trouble came." Of our " lusts come wars and fight- ings," and God now arose " to shake terribly the earth." The nations of Continental Europe were not all at peace, and Great Britain commenced a series of operations which eventually became so oppressive as to cause her thirteen American colonies to revolt. The atrocious imprisonment of a Presbyterian minister, the Rev. Francis McKemic, by Lord Cornbury, in New York, in 1707-8, and making him pay some seventy pounds for the costs of his jjiosecution, though declared not guilty, was the "little cloud not bigger than a man's hand," which eventually assembled the INIecklenburg, North Carolina, Convention, in May, 1775, and caused the Declaration of Independence in 1776, with all their untold results. Secondary and subordinate matters, of course, conspired to the great issue, but this persecution occupied the primary place, not simply claiming redress, as did taxa- tion without representation, in the Stamp Act and other oppressive forms, but crying for vengeance to the Judge / of the oppressed. Hence, says the eloquent Bancroft, a Congregationalist, "The first voice publicly raised in America to dissolve all connection with Great Britain, came not from the Puritans of New England, or the Dutch ; of New York, or the planters of Virginia, but from Scotch- I Irish Presbyterians. They brought to America no sub- \ missive love for England, and their experience and their \religion alike bade them meet oppression with prompt re- sistance." {Hist, of U. S., vol. 5, p. 77.) The next step, which Presbyterians foresaw, would be the setting up of a bishop in each colony. The arrange- ments for this were already being made. Hence, when Synod met (agreeably to its adjournment) at Londonderry, N. H., on September 4th, 1776, two months after the birth- day of the nation,* immediately after, it was constituted in the usual and only Presbyterian form, with prayer by * The Declaration of Independence was adopted July 4th. but signed on August 2d. 1776. IN NEW ENGLAND. 171 the Moderator, in the name of Christ. We have this record : " The question being put whether any suspected to be inimical to the liberties of the independent States of America, which they are now contending for, and refuses to declare his attachment to the same, should have a seat in this judicature? Voted, they should not." Then it was asked " if tbey approved of the Declaration of Independence lately published by the American col- onies as the cause of truth and justice, and thought it should be supported by all ranks and degrees of persons in these colonies? " The consideration of this question (as the hour of adjournment had arrived) was " suspended " till the morrow, when we have this: ^^ Whereas the Rev. John Morrison, formerly a member of this body, has been under ecclesiastical process, and has eloped to the minis- terial army, and shamefully behaved himself, therefore he is deposed from the ministerial office, and likewise from the privileges of a private Christian." He had joined the Americi?-n army at Cambridge in 1775, but soon went over to the British, and this tact now gave promptitude and ap- parent severity to their deliverance. Among Scotch-Irish Presbyterians for such conduct there could be no forgiveness. But this was not all. Whether the Rev. John Houston, of Bedford, was, like Judas, the last to sa}^ " Is it I ? " or not, he was now not quite in sympathy in this matter with the Synod, and obtained the honor of their official atten- tion on September 5th, 1776. He had come from the church and college at Newark, N. J., in 1754, and had ap- peared for above twenty years to perform his relative and official duties well, but now he falters, and this minute of that date is on record: "As the Rev. John Houston is suspected as inimical to the States of America, and he being interrogated respecting this matter, promised that he would satisfy the civil authority, and in consequence of this, he would satisfy this fSynod; and on this the Synod recommended to him to bring evidence of such satisfaction to his Presbytery, so as through them to bring the same to the Synod at its next meeting." Failing to fulfil his promises and shew his fealty to the government, he was, in 1778^ suspended from a seat in 172 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM Synod, and having broken the peace of his congregation until his usefulness among them was destroyed, the Synod eventually dissolved his pastoral relation to the congrega- tion of Bedford. The Scotch-Irish had previously been loyal to the Home Government. In the year 1744 hostilities between Eng- land and France were renewed. This brought war be- tween the French and the Indians on the one side, and the English colonies on the other, which continued with little abatement for fifteen years. (P.) Until Canada was ceded to Britain in February, 1763, the fort and blockhouse were necessary in New England. To the defence of these colonies, in common with others, many Presbyterian volunteers (beside other services) joined the noted expedition against Cape Breton. " Dr. Matthew Thornton, of Londonderry, subsequently one of the signers of the Declaration of Indej^endence, served in this campaign as surgeon." When hostilities were renewed in 1756, the towns settled by Presbyterians were not behind the others. As they found the New England colonies in imminent danger, so a regiment was raised in New Hampshire to assist in an at- tempt to destroy Crown Point, and it being distinguished for hardihood and adroitness in traversing the woods, from it three companies of rangers were selected. These were placed under three captains from Londonderry — John Stark, William Stark and Robert Rogers. Rogers was soon promoted to be a major, and John Stark afterwards became celebrated as a warrior, and arose to be a brig- adier-general in the army of the Revolution. He was with Lord Howe, when that general was killed in storm- ing the French lines at Ticonderoga in 1758. While faithful to Great Britain so long as she was equi- table to her colonies, yet he had for her no surplus of affec- tion after the Boston massacre. On receiving the report of the battle of Lexington, when he was at work in his saw-mill, fired with indignation, he shouldered his musket, mounted his horse, in ten minutes left and hastened to Cambridge. He was at the battles of Bunker Hill and of Trenton, and achieved a victory at Bennington. So long as their clergymen considered loyalty to Great Britain a duty, so long the Scotch-Irish w^ere pacific ; but IN NEW ENGLAND. 173 after what we have seen in the Synod, held on September 4th, 1776, in relation to Morrison and Houston, and even years before the Declaration of Independence was made, every idea of further loyalty to the House of Hanover was dissipated. We now take a few notices of one man, il- lustrative of the character and prowess of many others of the same race. At the time of the battle of Lexington, George Reid was in command of a compan}^ of minute men, and no sooner did tiie intelligence of that event reach Derry, than leaving his wife and children, he proceeded with his com- pany to Medford. With them he took part in the battle of Bunker Hill, and his first commission under the Conti- nental Congress is in these words : "The delegates of the united colonies of New Hamp- shire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, the counties of New- castle, Kent and Sussex, on the Delaware, ^laryland, Vir- ginia and North Carolina to George Reid, Esq. : " We, reposing especial trust and confidence in your patriotism, valor, conduct and fidelity, do, by these presents, constitute and appoint you to be captain of a comj3any in the fifth regiment of foot, commanded by Col. John Stark. By order of the Congress. " John Hancock, President. (Attest) " Chas. Thompson, Secretary, Jan. 1st, 1776." In 1777 he received the appointment of lieutenant-col- onel, and in 1778 that of colonel of the second New Hamp- shire regiment. In 1783 he was by act of Congress appointed colonel b}^ brevet of the army of the United States. Having been in command of New Hampshire forces during the entire war of the Revolution, he was in. the battles of Bunker Hill, Long Island, White Plains, Trenton, Brandywine, Ger- mantown, Saratoga and Stillwater. He bore his share in the sufferings of Valley Forge in the winter of 1777. For above seven years, with the exception of a few hur- ried visits, he was absent from his family, during which time his wife, beside her duties to their children, had the entire charge of his farm and other domestic business. 174 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM Some of their letters breathe a constant reference to the Almighty, and the confiding trust in him, in regard to their daily cares, trials and anxieties, shewn by each of them, forms a pleasing feature of tiieir correspondence. From Medford, May 30th, 1775, he says : " I have not time to give you an .account of our late engagement, only that God has appeared for us in most imminent danger." August 10th, 1775, " May God prosper and protect us. I know we have your prayers, with many of God's people. I commend you and my dear children to the Shepherd of Israel." On September 8th, 1776, she writes to him at Ticon- deroga: "I received your letters of July 6th, 21st, also August 10th, and to the former of those two would say that God has laid you under the greatest obligations. Every mercy, every escape, must be accounted for. May w^e be prepared for the great day of account." After stating many matters relating to the farm, stock, etc., she concludes: "All this with your advice, not otherwise. May ' the good will of him who dwelt in the bush ' rest and abide with you." It is of the utmost importance to know whether a peo- ple in the full possession of the means of grace are profit- ing by them, or, whether they are living " according to the course of this world." Multitudes suppose proper Pres- byterianism to be only a matter of intellect, of mere doc- trines, of forms and customs, unless it runs into modern " gush ; " but here we find, amidst the din of war and the lowly labors of a backwoods New Hampshire home, the utterances of hearts ennobled by the indwelling of God, the Spirit vivifying that "form of doctrine wdiich is according to godliness." Hundreds of other wives of the same race and religion, as well as multitudes of others, among the hills in the granite State, and throughout New England, under similar circumstances Avould then have put forth just such utterances, and many of them did so. To them also their husbands would, under similar circumstances, write: "Valley Forge, Dec. 22d, 1777. We are now making huts to winter in. I feel sympathy for you, but cannot be with you ; honor forbids it. May happiness at- tend you and the dear children." As "godliness is profitable," this Christian woman was IN NEW ENGLAND. 175 " diligent in business," as well as " fervent in spirit," and addressed her husband while in command at Alban}^ on July 5th, 1782 : " I informed you in ray last that I had em- ployed Mr. Neil, who was attending at court, to represent the true state of the affair ; likewise to ask a continuance till 3^ou were acquainted with the matter. The judge in- formed me, through Mr. Neil, that I need give myself no uneasiness about the matter, for it should be continued till your return, if that should he Jive and twenty years." Such are some items, selected almost at random, con- cerning domestic life and ])ublic dut}' among Presbyteri- ans in New England in those years of trial. Yet they form but a small part of illustrations of endurance sup- ported by principle, which might be presented. Before passing the belligerent jjart of our history, as if all that was done for independence by Presbyterians in New England, was done only by those under the original Presbytery of Londonderry, or the Synod of New England and its subordinate Presb^^teries : as this was not the case, I must recall the Rev. John Murray of Boothbay. He appears to have largely imitated the Apostle Peter in his impulsive rashness, as well as in his earnest piety. " In 1775 he was a delegate to the Provincial Congress w^hich met in \A^aterto\vn." Maine Historical Society Col- lections, vol. 6, p. 160. His Presbytery met (as we have seen) on July the 4th, at New Market; again October 7th, 1776, at Falmouth ; at Pownalboro, June 11th, 1777, and at Boothbay, October 8th, 1777. Thus, busy ecclesiastically, apparently at the very verge of civilization, it might be supposed, that, of him, the government, army and nav}^ of Great Britain would know but little, and that his influences in the rebellion would be so small as to appear unworthy of notice, among the doings of the 231,791 American soldiers who were engaged in the war of the Revolution. But it was otherwise. With a mind of more than ordinary power, and an utterance (in the judgment of Benjamin Franklin) not much inferior to that of Whitefield, he was known from Boothbay to Boston, and from Boston to London as " a pestilent fellow and a mover of sedition " against the throne of England. Hence, at the above date, it was declared in Presbytery, that Mr. Murray was " peculiarly exposed by the common 176 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM enemies of the United States," and for safety he was then invited to remove to Newburyport. I have stated that he was the cause and occasion of trouble in his region, and t'.iis is proved by the sequel. He was not only active on the land, but also once ven- t'lred on the sea. Sir Georiie Collier came to the coast of T Liine in 1777, and his sailors thought it lawful to pilfer iVoin the Whigs, patriots or rebels. In this there was dan- ger as well as unpleasantness to those on shore, and a re- monstrance must l)e made. To this occasion Murray was (Mjual. Putting on a white wig, gown and bands, he went onboard and " talked " against such improprieties. (lb.) Under the disguise of his man-millinery he was unknown and escaped safely to shore, witli many points of informa- tion not previously possessed. When this came to be known it brought down threatening, and to secure ven- geance, a premium was set upon him. " Hence, at Pownalboro, on October 21st, 1777, Colonel Ileid reported to the Presbytery, that the town of Booth- bay had held a public meeting in consequence of the select men being served with a copy of our last, and see- ing that the situation of Mr. Murray's dwelling — the par- ticular vengeance threatened by the common enemy against him, and the large reward of five hundred pounds sterling (£500) offered by them to any person that shall deliver him up — render his longer residence in Boothbay at this juncture exceedingly dangerous, and that they are therefore willing that, for his own safety, he should re- move for a few days to any secure place, excepting New- buryport (whither they would consent to his removing upon no terms whatever.^ and that they might the more apparent make their displeasure at the application from said Ncwbui-yport, they had not sent any answer in writ- ing, and had forbidden the clerk to record any minute of said meeting." The Presbytery, taking the report into serious considera- tion, and having reasoned on the subject, judged that the people of Boothba}^, after consenting to his removal, acted very indiscreetly in not leaving to this judicature the choice of his retreat, as they can best judge where his ser- vices would have been of most use to the cause of Christ. "And although this Presbytery are unanimously of IN NEW ENGLAND. 177 opinion, that Mr. Murraj^'s safety requires his speedy re- moval from that place for the present, his clanger being so imminent, yet, as the church at Newburyport requested him to be sent there, onh" for so long as his present charge, when asked, should consent to ; and, since they have not agreed upon any time at all, this Presbytery cannot now order his sojourning there for an}' term agreeably to their request." " Yet, that this Presb3'tery ma}^ not appear to counte- nance any step that wears the aspect of untenderness for Mr. Murray's safety, tliey think it their duty to advise him seasonably to take any precaution of prudence to prevent his falling into the hands of our foes, and therefore to re- move himself and his family to any place of retreat he shall think proper, without any exception, whenever he apprehends himself and them in such danger as requires it, and there to continue until he shall judge it safe to return, or until this Presbytery shall take further order concerning him. And he is hereby released from all obligations to the churcli at Boothbay, that are any way contrary to the purport of this result." "At Topsham, on June 7th, 1778, it was resolved, that Mr. Murray have his license continued to . go where he pleases for safety." " New ^larket, July 1st, 1779. A letter from the session of Boothba}" church was brought in and read, purporting their utter dissent from the removal requested, but, with- out informing the Presbyter}^ of a descent of a British armament made in ^heir neighborhood, which has so alarmed and endangered that town, that they could not attend to this meeting." " July 2d. Mr. Murray represented the necessity of his meeting the committee of safety of New Hampshire at Exeter'^this afternoon, to transact w4th them some busi- ness relating to the defence of the Eastward at this crisis, and l)egged leave to withdraw. Granted." "With the splendid bounty of £500 sterling on his head,'"" valued at the same price with John Hancock and * So great was the influence of " the Kev. David Caldwell, D. D., re- siding but a few miles from Guilford Court-House, North Carolina, that not only was his house plundered, his library and papers burned, but also a purse of £200 was set by Lord Cornwallis on his head, to any one who would bring him in a prisoner." {Chambers.) 12 178 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM Samuel Adams, this outlaw, while under Divine Provi- dence he kept himself safe from shot and shell, wandered for above two years, helpino; committees of safety and stirring up the people to continue unremitting resistance to their foes, and on " October 7th, 1779, he informed his Presbytery, then in session at Newburyport, that the dan- gered situation of the people at Boothbay is such as to render it impracticable for them to attend at this meeting." Such was the spirit which he had instrumentally diffused among the inhabitants of the coast of Maine. In his Presbytery there were no John Morrisons nor John Hous- tons. None among his acquaintance who would betray him for £500 sterling. When we consider the power and influence of Hancock, the richest merchant in New England, and of Samuel Adams, the far-seeing and reliable statesman, "possibly the most powerful and sincere of all the advocates of in- dependence, to whom Lee, Jeflerson and John Adams ever turned with singular respect " {Eug. Laivrence), and find this Scotch-Irish preacher, in the woods of Maine, such a potent enemy to the king, lords and parliament of Great Britain, that his person is tinancially worth as much as either of theirs, in subduing the rebellion, we find the position of Bancroft verified, he " brought to America no submissive love for England, and his religion bade him meet oppression with prompt resistance." The " resistance " of the race in America was prompted more by their religion than by their experience, or even the experience of their fathers. Their " form of sound words," which was the key-note from Maine to Georgia among Congregationalists, Calvinist Baptists and Presby- terians (and the Revolution had in its aid a very small fragmentary shewing among the other sects, excepting it may have been the Low Church Episcopalians who were Calvinists), was the New England Primer. Beside this, their creed ; the Scotch-Irish throughout the revolted colonies, had their religion animated and made strong, by "Those strains that once did sweet in Zion glide " — {Burns) the Scotch version of the Psalms. They considered those good to "sing," and if they were not good "to whistle or to play," they found them as Cromwell did in his day, IN NEW ENGLAND. 179 **good for fighting." Hence, those who sung them were, at times, "treated with special cruelty and revenge." Says Kendal, in his unfinished history of General Jack- son, " The British oflicer who marched his troops into the settlement of Waxhaw, South Carolina, burned the Pres- byterian church and the house of the preacher, and every Bible he could lay his hands on containing the Scotch translation of the Psalms of David." {Christian /ms., vol. 4, p. 217.) The Bible, with these Psalms, was their chosen com- panion when they had leisure or rest from their daily du- ties in the army. Hence when Captain David McCleary fell at Bennington (on August 16th, 1777) in his pocket was found an Edinburgh edition of the Bible, with which was bound up " the Scotch translation of the Psalms." This volume and the bullet by which he was killed were kept as heirlooms in the family for above seventy years. When I saw them the days of the war, of the psalms, and of the catechism (I would not like to say also the days of the Bible) were past — the generations were gone who viewed them from time to time with a melancholy yet pa- triotic interest; and they were then in transitu in the hands of the minister of Londonderry, to be conveyed to and deposited among the relics and curiosities collected in the State museum in Concord. Silent leges inter arma, and from fields of carnage, scenes of domestic alarm, bereavement and sorrow, we now re- turn to the ecclesiastical arena, and recommence by no- ticing briefly the subsequent career of Mr, Murray. By his Presbytery, owing to his imminent danger there, he was on October 21st, 1777, relieved of his pastoral charge, his sorrowing people at Boothbay, and after nearly three busy years of aiding State and other committees of safety, and in other ways (according to his ability and op- portunity) assisting those engaged in the revolutionary- struggle, he was by his Presbytery, on June 14th, 1780, translated to Xewburyport, where he was finally "settled as pastor on June 4th, 1781, a few strenuously opposing his settlement." We have already noticed his power as a preacher. " Few ever drew larger audiences, or held them in more fixed attention through discourses, which were ordinarily 180 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM an hour and often two hours in length. " It is related that during the war in a crisis in public affairs, Newburj^port was called upon to furnish a full company for actual ser- vice. But owing to discouragement arising from a depre- ciated currency and the state of the army, the officers labored three days in vain. On the fourth it was moved that Mr. Murray be invited to address the regiment then under arms. Having accepted the invitation, he was escorted to the parade, and by the regiment to the church. There he pro- nounced an address so spirited and animating, that the audience were wrapt in attention, and tears fell from man}^ eyes. Soon after the assembly was dismissed a member came forward to take the command, and in two hours the company was filled. When he preached his thanksgiving sermon of two hours' length for the peace, a gentleman from another society, being meanwhile under great concern of mind for a spoiling dinner, fre- quently and resolutely took his hat to leave. But Mr. Murra3''s eloquence as often arrested him, till at last he whispered, " Let the dinner go ; I must hear him out." He is said to have been slightly pompous, but dignified in presence, courteous, sincerely kind, and by his people en- thusiastically beloved. In various labors he was abundant, and under the divine favor was extensively successful in the ministry. During his sojourn in Philadelphia of a few months only, the Rev. Dr. Green mentions that more were added to the church than there were during the whole ministry of the Rev. Gilbert Tennant. When he went to Boothbay, there was no organized church, and a general inattention to religion. Under his ministry a powerful awakening commenced, which continued through two years and extended to adjoining towns, his own lodgings being often crowded with enquirers, even till three o'clock in the morning. His private diary of this period indicates deep piety and unusual ministerial faith- fulness. As it may be useful to others, I give portions of it from Greenleafs Ecclesiastical Sketches: " Mr. Murray's plan of visiting as noted in his diary is worthy of attention. First, salute the house. Second, compare the list with the family ; mark them who can read, catechisables, covenanters, church members. Third, address, 1st, children to engage in early religion; 2d, IN NEW ENGLAND. 181 young ones to reading, secret prayer, the Sabbath, good company, good hours, good tongues, conversations. Fourth, address parents — 1st, about their spiritual state ; 2d, secret devotion; 3d, family worship, government, catechising; 4th, Sabbath, etc. If clnirch members, see what profit; if in error or vice, reclaim ; if in divisions, heal ; if poor, help. Lastly^ exhortation to all, pray," " To his prayerfulness, meekness, good- will and patient endurance of injuries in his later years, as well as his faithfulness in his calling, biographers bear ample testi- mony (Ferwi.)." "As his prominent wrong-doing was in early life, Mr. Parsons took special pains to write to England about him, and the result was a decided conviction, that the faults committed connected with his own humble acknowledg- ment should not debar him from Christian charity." (i6.) He was active in promoting religion beyond his own con- gregation. He was the guiding spirit and chief supporter of a society which aided many young men to enter the ministry. He had unquestionably his faults. His great fault, forging signatures to his credentials, and persisting in this through life, rather than disgrace his friends in Scotland, was an heinous sin. This he committed at eighteen. From twenty-three his life was public and unimpeached — a life of great devotedness, and in what extenuating pen- itence passed, a letter will show. In 1774 he writes: " The daily views I have had of the multiplied enormities it occasioned me, all of which, with the unhappy conse- quences to the church of Christ, have been continually be- fore my eyes — have made me wish my name blotted out of remembrance by all mankind, and nven regret the day of my birth times without number. The Searcher of all hearts knows my agonies of mind on every review, and that no restoration to the favor of men can ever give me ease ; and that but for the application of Gilead's heavenly balm, I had perished of my wounds years ago not a few. I find my comfort in my obscurity — there I hope to find my God; and there I see less 'danger of being a stumbling- block in Zion, the very idea of which to me is worse than death. I have not a wish to be drawn from my retire- ment (Boothbay); there will I remain in secret places, 182 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM looking to him whom I pierced, and mourning as for an only son, and striving to wear out the remainder of my cumbrous life in the best endeavors I can in liis service," etc. " No farther seek liis merits to disclose, Nor draw his frailties from their dread abode; There they alike in trembling hope repose, The bosom of his Father and his God." He died March 13th, 1793. He left a widow, Susan, the eldest daughter of General Lithgow, of Phippsburgli, and five chikh-en, all minors, and as he had devised of his substance for a burse to aid pious young men in entering the ministry, she, six months afterward, petitioned his Presbytery, to whom it was entrusted, to relinquish their claims to the substance thus devised. This, from the facts set forth in her petition, they doubtless did — other- wise they might have been constructively charged with devouring a " widow's house." IN NEW ENGLAND. 183 CHAPTER VII. 1768-1793 — A year of mark — Slavery abolished in the colony — Stone walls — Kiffy carried the foot-stove to church for " Missa " — "Attucks" — Tiie Synod and Presbyteries — Houston guilty of a breach of promise — Suspended — Restored — A case of bigamy — Dead, yet alive — Peter- boro congregation requested a dismission — Granted — The Associate Churcii — Brass instead of golden shields — The camp — Reduced to straits as for subsistence — Artisans — Ministers who are not parish offi- cials— Voluntary support — The extravagant price of food, etc., a recommendation — Commutative justice — Divine providences traced in their troubles — Causes — Hoary — Assassination — Money can be made — John Lowe — John Adams and the Sabbath — The Centennial commis- sion— Claverhouse — Vast blessings — An address — A letter to Grafton Presbytery — Of it but little is known — Members of it — Galvanized — Effort to unite with it — Unavailing — Records of Synod defective — Houston restored — Families confined to their own parishes in Derry east and west by the civil court — Pelham not by a town tax — Advice asked — Cases of appeal — Rev. Messrs. Annan ex-officio — Williams pro- tests— Revision — Williams' reasons — Synod concentrating power — To avoid John Murray — Williams declared guilty and suspended by Synod — These blessed effects — Associate Presbytery of New York — Presbytery on Connecticut river — An act of Presbytery over-ruled — Past noon-day and ebbing — Causes — A burse wanted — War times — Poverty — Gastric juice — Violent tempers — The want of the stated or- dinances— Congregations came to Presbyterianism — Confused way — So mild — The church of the town, if not of the Lord — The war produced deleterious effects — Paucity of ideas — The power — Took its rise in New England — The sword — To conform to the local system — The marriage relations — Mrs. Colonel Reid — Mental instability — Logic — Intruders — Nor seen a drunken man — The air of enthusiasm^— Theo- logical thought imported — Of one man — Souls annihilated — The soul of Jesus Christ the first thing made — By it God made all things else — Fourteen particulars — The outgoings of the soul of the doctor — David turned into a Christian — Coleman — The whale with Jonah — "A felt want" — Tiie enjoyment of it — A humble remonstrance — " Ichabod " — No union was effected — Last meeting of Synod Sep- tember 12th, 1782 — They submitted — Presbytery of Salem — Decay — Places where it for a time existed — This new thing — The worship — The loaves and fishes were small— The collapse. 1770 was a year of mark in Massachusetts. By an amendment of her constitution, slaves were made free in 184 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM the colony. Although having a commercial value,* they had measurably Deen a burden to many owners, from the day on which Noddle (after whom Noddle's Island, now East Boston, was called) had introduced the first one, and on obtaining freedom, they left few, if any, monuments in proof of the servile system, excepting those ranges of stone walls, especially old line fences, which may yet be occa- sionally found, all but buried, by the force of gravitation constantly applied for above a century. In those winter days, when steam-pipes and furnaces were unknown for the distribution of heat in churches, " Kiffy, or "Pete," or by whatever other name known, found it to be his duty to carry the foot-stove and hot brick for " Marm," or *' Missa," and deposit it in position in her pew, and to take it home when it had performed its office. How far " necessity " was in this case " the mother of invention " in bringing in the general application of large stoves for heating churches, I know not, but assuredly it is well that slavery has gone. In owning persons of color, ministers, as well as others, participated. They often, if not generally, had each one or more slaves.f Presbyte- rians as well as others took " stock " in the institution. John Little, the patron of Presbyterianism in Boston, dis- posed of one of his by will, while a man belonging to the Rev. John Moorehead obtained his freedom, went to Britain and died there. The letters from him in England were matters of pleasure to the Moorehead family for many years. His education, common and religious, had not been neglected in the parsonage. Rising from individual bondage to personal freedom, from being things to be men, they aided in creating a desire for civil liberty in the colony. Their release from bondage did not hinder the diffusion of this species of sentimentality among the " spinners " and their admirers. The " sons " and " daugh- ters of liberty " became in a few years a force of increas- ingly influential proportions in the colony, while "Attucks" was among the first five whose blood (from under his black skin) precipitated the mortal combat of the Revolution. * In 1760 A. Johonnett's negro man was valued at £53 6s. Sd., and a negro woman at £16. t In 1754 the Rev. Jonathan Edwards and wife wanted to buy the Bev. Mr. Bellamy's negro woman. ( W., p. 639.) IN NEW ENGLAND. 185 As, at that period, the master was not too haughty to labor at the same work with his slave, so the labor on the farm became more productive, as the proceeds were after- wards required only to support freemen. Laws regulating the return of slaves were no longer re- quired, and in several other ways the New England colo- nies took a prosperous " new departure " after 1770, although slavery -did not disappear until 1774. We have previously noticed a few of the incidents con- nected with the period, which illustrate character both in the people and the ministry during the seven years' war ; and we now return to matters ecclesiastical — to the Synod and to the Presbyteries. The annual meeting of the Synod of New England in 1777 was held in Londonderry on September 3d. Among other matters they examined the regular official standing of John Houston as a clergvman. He professed to vSynod that he had, as directed, satisfied the legal authorities of his town as to his loyalty to the Declaration of Indepen- dence, and that he had made due report, as he was directed, to his Presbytery. But their minute reads, " Rev. Mr. Houston being in- terrogated respecting the minute in his case in our last meeting, and it ap])earing that he has been guilty of a breach of promise and also of contempt to the Synod, they do therefore deem him unworthy of a seat in this body, till he shall make satisfaction to the Synod for the same, and do now again recommend it to him, to proceed in the manner before directed, to bring the satisfaction desired at our next sitting, either to his Presbytery or immediately to the Synod." This he was reluctant to do until thoy suspended him, when he made confession, promised obedi- ence and was restored to full official standing. To this confession of wrong-doing towards the govern- ment, he was rather hastened by his people, for through their committee they made " application to the Synod lor advice respecting the affair of the Rev. Mr. Houston and that congregation," and the case was remitted to " the Presbytery to hear and judge in the affiiir." He continued for several years to be the pastor of Bed- ford congregation, and was dismissed in good standing by the Presbytery of Salem^ on June 1st, 1785. 186 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM A matter of reference from the session of Nottingham, brought before Synod, touching the purity of a member, was settled in this way : " The Synod conclude that the session committed an error in judgment, and do restore Elder Emerson to his former good standing." By a case of bigamy brought before them, the Synod appear to liave been puzzled, and gave rather an accom- modating deliverance, somewhat different from the record of Ezra and Nehemiah. It runs thus : " This Synod are of opinion, considering his first wife dead in law to him, though yet alive, she having married another man, he may now lawfully live with the woman to whom he is now married, and upon a proper public manifestation of repentance he may have the privileges of the church." " Moreover, considering the heinousness of this crime, we judge it proper his confession be repeatedly published, he being jiresent in the congregation where he resides, and that he be not restored till after the next session of this Synod." To them, at their annual meetings, references and appeals were frequently made, and at times requests for separation were presented. Thus at Londonderry, on October 1st, 1778, the church and congregation of Peterboro presented a petition, re- questing a " dismission and a recommendation to the (Associate, styled by them the) reverend Seceding Presby- tery of New York." This denomination, " Seceders," w^e have previously seen was brought into existence by the Congregational" element in a church in New York city, in which the rulers of it were overruled by a faction intent on changing the psalmody of the congregation. In 1774 the Rev. Moses Baldwin agitated the matter successfully for the use of "the psalms imitated to the ignoring and the rejecting of the Presbyterian version, and feeling the ef- fects and seeing the consequences (as they had now become general through the Synod of New England), tliis congre- gation thought proper to "ask for the old paths," and to " walk in the good way," as subservient to the " rest of their souls." This the '^.^-soc/a^e Church of Scotland had done. For being Calvinists, they could say with Calvin, nobody has yet "appeared who could prove that we have appointed any new thing contrary to His word. They IN NEW ENGLAND. 187 considered that the law of the Lord, of which the Psalms for their appointed use form a part, is perfect. Consequently the Scotch-Irish of Peterboro, not yet ready, through poetical solutions, the imitations, to dilute and dissolve their doctrine, but especially their worship, desired an union with those who (under some disadvan- tao^es) were " contending more closely for the faith once delivered to the saints." In doing this, they acted orderly, respectfully, and yet firmly, and to this court their application was perplexing. "They were hopeful that this their Synod would exten- sively, if not eventually, embrace under its broad name all Presbyterians in New England." Still they dismissed them in peace, saying, "Taking the case into solenm considera- tion, and observing the fair prospect of having the gospel regularly settled among them, do hereby dismiss and recommend them in good standing with this body to that Presbytery." This was lionorable.* The years of the revolutionary struggle have been well called " the times that tried men's souls." A large part of the productive industry of the provinces was drawn off to the camp. The tillage had to be extensively conducted by the mothers, the youth and the children. Where any surplus could be produced, they were far from good markets, and, as a consequence, those who did not own soil, and had but skill and industry on which to depend for their subsistence and the support of their households, were measurably reduced to straits. They did not often partake of "dainties." While this was trying to me- ^ chanics, it fell with equal power on not a few of the min- isters, especially the Presbyterian ones, who were in many towns not the first nor parish officials. For them no salary could be collected by the town constable. They must de- pend on the voluntary support of their congregations and in all the afflictions of their people be afflicted. Hence on October 1st, 1778, after dismissing the congre- gation of Peterboro and instructing their clerk to obtain from the executors of the late Rev. David McGregor some papers belonging to the Synod, on their records they enter the following minute: * Being thus dismissed on Oct. 1, 1778. in the same month, Mr. David Annan was called and he was ordained in Wallkill, New York, by the Associate Presbytery, " with Peterboro for his destination." 188 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM " The Rev. John Strickland, intimating that he cannot subsist his family through the extravagant price of the necessaries of life — the smallness of his salary, and the neglect of the people to pay up his arrears — the Synod be- ing sensible that this is the case, do recommend it to the society of Nottingham to pay up his arrears and make such addition to his salary as shall compensate for the rise of the j^rice of the necessaries of life for the year past, as well as for the time to come; and in case they shall not do this, we think it Mr. Strickland's dut}^ to preach occa- sionally to vacancies as he may have opportunity, as a means of adding to his support, he still continuing his re- lation and preaching to them except as above." This was during the war. " The Synod, taking into consideration the distressing case of the ministers of the gospel in general, and those of this Synod in particular, on account of the smallness of their salaries, compared with the exorbitant prices of the necessaries of life, whereby many of them are reduced to the greatest straits and indigence, therefore the Synod do recommend it to the several congregations under its care to exert themselves to make a proper compensation to their ministers and supplies, according to the rise of the necessaries of life, which is no more than simple commu- tative justice; and they think it the duty of the re- spective Presbyteries to pay a due attention to the necessi- ties of their ministers, and make the best provision in their power for relieving their distresses, by appointing them to supply vacancies and other ways as the Presbytery shall think best." This was not all. As watchmen, they traced the mani- festations of Divine Providence in their troubles, domestic, social and civil, and on the same day record : " The Synod, inquiring into the cause of God's controversy with this land, are of opinion that among many causes the follow- ing are the principal : 1. The great and general declension of religion, occasioned by too general a neglect of the duties of public and family worship. 2. By the neglect of church government, which has opened a door for the spread of error and increase of erroneous teachers in the churches. 3. For the neglect of family government and religion, and for the neglect of civil government. Henxie arises the dreadful IN NEW ENGLAND. 189 increase of vice and immorality, injustice, oppression, de- frauding and injuring, a neglect of the ministry and qf their support.*' In these post-centennial years compared with 1778, " Time but the impression deeper makes, As streams their channels deeper wear." These specified neglects and declension have become hoary in productiveness, and in a century their conse- quences and effects are increasingly felt. Among these effects is a searedness of conscience, until multitudes in our land would rather say with the pagans of old : " It is a chance which has happened to us " than '' it is the Lord : let him do what seemeth to him good ;" while truth is extensively fallen in our streets, while equity cannot enter, while blood touches blood and the safety of human life from assassination is daily diminishing, rather than admit that God has (or is capable of having) any " controversy with this land." In the meantime, in this region, the ministers of religion are extensively like the ox in Egypt, a "victim " or a "god." The " beautiful man," the " smart man," the " powerful man " who, with " gush draws large houses," is pampered with his thousands, while the faithful ambassadors of Christ, as a rule, under any name, have (" as good sol- diers ") to " endure hardness." Yes, money can be now made in New England in the pulpit as well as by the lan- cet, or by delving into Blackstone. Hence we have " like people like priest," as well as " like priest like people." Another " cause of God's controversy with our land," now when vice, immorality, injustice and fraud are prevalent, manifested by an overwhelming commercial depression, which none will deny, from 1873 did exist for years onward, is our desecration of the Christian Sabbath. It had not then lost so extensively its hold upon con- science. For example, when John Lowe came to Boston from Scotland, in June, 1773 (as his son informed me), he found his boarding-house at noon on Sabbath too noisy to allow him to read his Bible in quietness, and he went out to the common and commenced to do so under a tree. He was forthwith visited by a select man, who said, " Young man, I cannot allow you to stay here to-day." " Why, 190 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM sir? I am doing no harm, only reading ray Bible. I found my boarding-house (when I came back from meet- ing) rather noisy, and I thought I would be quiet and do no liarm here." "That may all be, and 1 can give you a room in my house to read in, but I cannot let you stay here." He occupied the room until the hour of worship came, when he revisited the Presbyterian meeting-house in Long Lane. Not many years from the same date. Governor John Adams had official business in mid-winter, beyond the ^te of the present city of Lowell, wlien a severe storm Drought an unusual depth of snow, and delayed his return to Quincy until " the roads " were " broken." It was as- certained that the path could be travelled on Sabbath, and his informants urged him, as he had left Mrs. Adams severely, if not dangerously ill, some days since, that he had better return on that the Lord's day. But no ; Puri- tanism had as yet too firm a grasp of his mind, and he answered, " I could do so with a clear conscience, but many might imitate my example who would not know my motives." Hence he " rested (there) on the Sabbath- day according to the commandment." True, we have still the evidence that the Christian Sab- bath has 3'et an extensive grasp upon the American mind, when the Centennial commissioners did, 30 to 9, at Phila- delphia, in 187G, firmly oppose the opening of the exposi- tion on that day, for, perhaps, no greater combination of the odds and ends of creation could be brought to bear upon any board of managers than that to which they were subjected b}^ the combined influences of Papal bishops, Unitarian preachers, Jews, native, French and German Infidels, Atheists and drunkard manufacturers. Tliese all gave warning of a persistent determination that, fpr the sake of sensual pleasure, under the plea of liberty of con- science tbey would (with Graham of Claverhouse, when he had murdered John Brown of Priesthill), "take God in their own hands," and defy any " controversy " which he could possibh" have with our land. The assailants of our civil and religious privileges are in growing fellowship and combination, and " eternal vigi- lance " must ever be (under God) the price to us of these vast blessings. IN NEW ENGLAND. 191 The above assigned reasons of " controversy " their mod- erator was " appointed to transcribe, correct and print in the form of an address for distribution among the Presby- teries, at the charge of the Synod." The Rev. Dr. Whittaker was then appointed " to write a letter to the Presbyter}^ of Grafton, signifying their desire, that the said Presbytery would join this Synod." The date of formation, members, boundaries, vital force, usefulness, as well as the length of its days cannot now be fully ascertained, as the hiding-place of its minutes, if they exist, is known only to a few. It seems to liave existed in central New Hampshire and eastern Vermont from about 1776 to 1796, as it is called not only Graf ion Presbytery but also, in existing minutes, " The Presbytery of Connect- icut River." Of it the Rev. John M. Whiton, of Benning- ton, N. H., wrote, in February, 1856 : " It is well known that both the founder and the origi- nal church of Dartmouth College were Presbyterian, and that the Presbytery of Grafton in that vicinity was large and flourishing for some fourteen years ; that Presbyterian churches, or ministers, were once found in Hanover, East Hanover, Croyden, Lyme, Orford, Piermont, N. H. ; and in Norwich, Hartford, Fairlee, Royalton, Tunbridge, Ran- dolph, Thetford, Barnard, Newbury, Topsham, and per- haps other towns in Vermont; that the two Presidents Wheelocks, Professors Smith and Ripley, the Judges Bezaleel and William H. Woodward, and Rev. Messrs. Burrougjhs of Hanover, Conant of Lyme, Potter of Nor- wich, Hutchinson of Pomfret, Bowman of Barnard, Powers of Newbury and Burton of Thetford (who was at (me time its clerk), were prominent members of that Presbytery." It appears to have been a close body or corporation, springing by Congregational vitality, as to its worship, doctrines and usages, into a galvanized existence, formed from partial convictions of the Divine authority of Presby- terianism, as the "more excellent way " of taking ''care of the house of God," or, as more " agreeable to the word of God, and the nature and reason of things." Hence, says Whiton, " These churches have since become Con- gregational." I have called them a close corporation, for they resisted efforts, which were made to bring them into Pre.sbyterial fellowship and Synodical harmony. 192 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM Letter after letter was written to them, but these elicited no permanent response which has come down to us, and, " at a meeting of the Presbytery of the Eastward at Derry, September loth, 1785," we have it thus: " The Presbytery, sensible that a great part of the strength and beauty of Zion consists in love and union among the cliurches and ministers of our common Lord, has long lamented the divisions and animosities which have defaced the comeliness of the Presbyterian clnirch in tills country, and impaired their powers of resisting the enemies of the truth around." " Comforted with the in- formation that the Lord has moved the hearts of a num- ber of our brethren in the ministr}-, in the interior parts of this State, to unite together in seeking the good of his Israel by reviving the ancient and Scriptural form of gov- ernment in his church ; that they have formed themselves into a regular ecclesiastical judicatory, by the name of the Presbytery of Grafton, and continue to walk together in the order and ordinances of the gospel." " This Presbytery rejoice to take the earliest opportunity of opening a friendly correspondence with them, and offer- ing to them the right hand of fellowship, and for that end they did and hereby do commission and appoint the Rev. John Murray, a worthy and beloved member of this body, to be their commissioner and representative at the said Presbytery of Grafton ; willing and requiring him to repair thereto, to present to that Rev. Judicatory the letter now delivered to his care from us ; also to lay before them a copy of the constitution of this Presbytery and of our pub- lic testimony against errors ; to request their concurrence therein, or in some other public testimony for the truth as it is in Jesus ; to solicit their counsel and advice in what further steps are necessary to be taken for the sujjpression of error and vice, for the reformation of what remains amiss, and for the revival of vital religion among us, and especially to concert with them some measures for provid- ing a supply of regular and qualified preachers for our numerous vacancies, and for preventing the intrusion of such as are not so, and in general to consult and transact with that body in our name whatever may conduce to the peace and order of the churches, and to the establishment of visible union and harmony among Presbyterians, agreea- IN NEW ENGLAND. 193 ble to the word of God and the constitution of this Pres- bytery, and report his doings to us at our next meeting. " Signed by order, " Wm. Davidson, Moderator." Some years expired before this or these attempts at union terminated. We now trace some of the transactions of said S,ynod while it existed. They often had cases of reference from the lower courts, and at some of their annual meetings their sessions were protracted for days. They have not, however, transmitted to us clear records of their transactions, for at the same meeting in October, 1778, when Mr. Houston was found delinquent, it is said, "And as Bedford was annexed to the Kingston (possibly the Salem, if not, it was the Palmer) Presbytery, till they should be able to stand by themselves, which they now are, therefore this Synod now dissolve that relation and annex said Bedford congregation and Mr. Houston to the Presbytery of Londonderry, and appoint that Presbytery to take cognizance of any affairs that may respect Mr. Houston, and if they need, to call in one or two neighboring Presbyteries to their assistance." Windham, September 15th, 1779, met and after ''ser- mon constituted with prayer." Present — Whittaker, Bald- win, Houston, Strickland and Williams. Absent — Perley, McLean, Urquhart, Gilmore, Plutcheson, Taggart, Merrill and Balch. Perley, Balch and Taggart's excuses sustained. " Strickland and Williams reported that Houston brought from the State of New Hampshire a testimonial satisfac- tory, and Synod now restored him to full standing." The Synod, while they acquitted Elder Gibson of Nottingham, west, of removing his neighbor's landmark, with which he had been charged by Asa Davies, Esq., admonish him for threatening to do so, and restored him to his privileges. At Nottingham, September 13th, 1780, six present, five ministers absent, six elders present. As the Presbytery of Grafton did not receive the letter of Synod in time, so from them there is no reply. As the civil court had lately confined the families in each parish to their own bounds, the " Synod judge that members in the East Parish of Londonderry, belonging to the Western congregation, have right to act with them 13 194 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM still in all ecclesiastical affairs as fully as before, even though they continue to pay for the support of the minis- ter of their own parish onl3\" This was their deliverance on "the appeal of the aggrieved members of the congregation formerly belonging to the Rev. David McGregore," "and further, that as there, are a number of tiie Western Parish who cannot conve- niently attend at the Western meeting-house constantly, in order to accommodate them, we judge that the}^ ought to be allowed at the old house one Sabbath in eight of all the preaching that shall be in said West Parish, and one sacrament in four, and also occasional lectures, till circum- stances shall be altered." The session of Nottingham West had condemned Rich- ard Cutler for intemperance ; he had appealed to the Pres- bytery, and on the case now referred to them " the Synod confirm the sentence of the session, require him to submit to the admonition of the moderator ; that he did and was restored.'' At Pelham the Rev. Mr. Merrill had been laboring. A large majority desired to call and settle him, and to pacify " a number still averse thereto," the majority conckided to support him " by subscription," not by a town tax, " so that the dissatisfied may not complain of oppression." On their behalf " Rev. Mr. Merrill and Elder David Gray de- sired advice as to his continuance." They do " not advise a permanent settlement only from year to year, or for a longer period, and to have their children baptized by other ministers of our own, and, if they think best, have certifi- cates of standing given to them when they apply to any other minister of this Synod for special ordinances." A case of appeal from a session, even when sanctioned by the Presbytery, was now reversed, the individual ac- quitted and restored to fellowship. Other cases of appeal from the lower courts they settle with discrimination, and the accused, in the spirit of meekness, submitted to dis- cipline. Londonderry, second W^ednesday of September, 1781, S3mod met. Present — Rev. Messrs. Whittaker, Baldwin, Houston, Williams, Strickland and Taggart, with elders from Derry, Salem, Bedford, Windham, Pembroke, Pel- ham and Coleraine. Absent — Merrill, Gilmore and Balch. Excused — McLean and Urquhart, for reasons given. IN NEW ENGLAND. 195 " The Synod were favored with a conference with the Rev. Messrs. Annan, relative to a union with their body, and greatly rejoice at the motion they have made and at the great harmony of sentiments, both as to doctrine and discipline, which exists between them and us. We feel willing even to drop our 13th article and alter our 14th to coincide with their sentiments, but decision is deferred to the next meeting." As when the declinature was taken by the Boston con- gregation on September 20th, 1774, some thirty persons did not join in it and continued their connection with the Boston Presbytery, now the Synod; so, on May 15th, 1782, the Synod met pro re nata in Boston (as we will see), on September 11th, 1782 (stated by the Rev. Simon Wil- liams). An item of business there was the case of the Rev. Nathaniel Merrill, charged with getting his wife, through deceit, to sign two instruments, and who had made gross charges against her. '' He had disturbed the peace of the Presbytery and put Presbyterianism as well as Christianity to an open shame." The Rev. Moses Baldwin, who "exhibited the charges against Mr. Merrill, not being present, the Synod proceeded ex officio^ " Rev. S. Williams protested against our j^ro- ceeding at present and withdrew." " The Synod sent a letter to him desiring him to deliver up the papers of the two last sessions and received a re- fusal in writing." " Merrill acknowledged the fact charged, denied the de- ceit, made confessions and retractions of his statements about his wife and family, asked forgiveness of his wife, of God, the public, and of the Sj'uod, signed his written retraction," and " They admonished him to greater circum- spection, relying on Divine grace, and recommended him to the churches." Mr. Houston desired it may be added, " That this may be open to a revision at the stated meet- ing." Londonderry, September 11th, 1782, Synod met. Present, seven ministers witli five elders. Absent, five. Rev. Simon Williams, upon the electing of the clerk, with- drew, saying, he would have no more to do Avith that body; retained the papers of Synod; offered to read a paper containing his declinature, which was laid on the 196 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM table, and afterwards read by the moderator. With him, united his elder from Windham, John Dinsmore, Benja- min Smith, Elder of Bedford, and James Robertson, Elder from Penbrook. They express grief and trouble at what they had tliat day heard in Synod, viz. : 1st. In receiving the Rev. Solomon Perley, settled under the Congregational discipline, as a legal member of your body. 2d. In not allowing the elders of vacant congregations to vote in choosing the moderator and clerk. Dr. Whit- taker called, and you attended a meeting in Boston, which was " a direct violation of the 3d article of our constitution," which says, "Appeals and references from sessions to Pres- byteries, and from Presbytery to the Synod, and no link of this chain of subordination shall be overleaped, or this order inverted." 3d. The Synod at a previous session declared, that " from the representation of the Rev. Moses Baldwin re- specting the Rev. Mr. Merrill, they would take no notice of his affairs until he would, according to order, clear his character with his own Presbytery." In this Mr. Williams maintained, that " order " was "heaven's first law," and in ignoring the Presbytery, its duties and privileges, Synod was (at least apparently) concentrating power to its own destruction. " Not being able to concur, nor passively to submit," they say, " we take this lawful liberty to exonerate our own consciences," and that they did " meekly, quietly and peaceably withdraw." The Synod found themselves under the necessity of proceeding against them. As the Boston Presbytery (now the Synod of New England) had in 1769, and twice in 1774, prohibited the ministers of the churches of their body from holding communion with the Rev. John Mur- ray of Boothbay, as Williams had invited him to assist at the Lord's Supper, and had, without consulting any of his brethren, read the papers, and did what was done for in- ducting said Murray at Newbury port, as he had conducted himself in the time of Synod in a very disorderly way ; as he has indulged in ver}^ indecent reflections and even mockeries of his brethren in time of Synod, and has shewn ungovernedj sudden passions, contrary to the express com- IN NEW ENGLAND. 197 mand of Christ ; that he has induced some elders to unite with him, and for several other reasons recorded, the Synod, with grief and reluctance, declare the said Williams guilty of contumacy, schism and hypocrisy, contrary to tlie laws of Christ and the peace of the church. '' Therefore, we do susj^end said Williams from his office as a minister of Christ, and from all communion with any of this body, till he shall manifest repentance for the above offences. And we earnestly beseech him and the elders joining with him to consider their ways and humble them- selves before God, and seek pardon through the blood of Christ, and speedily heal the breach which they have made in the church, and we will not cease to pray for these blessed effects of this censure. " Voted, That this censure be subject to the revisal of the next meeting." These brethren were allowed till the first day of Novem- ber next to manifest their repentance. " Ordered, that a letter expressive of a desire of union with them be written to the Associate Presbytery of New York." The Rev. Mr. Perley was directed to instruct his people in Presbyterianism " and lead them to a union with this body, or the Presbytery on the Connecticut river." " Whereas the Presbytery of Londonderry have dismissed the congregation of the West Parish, in Londonderr}^ from their Presbytery, yet the Synod judge they retain their relation to this Synod."* From the notices given and extracts taken from records, it will be seen that Presbyterianism in New England had passed its noonday, and that its tide had begun to ebb. Different causes conspired to produce this result. The want of a fund for the aid of young men preparing for the ministry, had its influence. For this, the hopes of Mur- ray and others, to establish a Burse at Dartmouth, were from time to time expressed. But, in war times, with a deep commercial depression settled on the land, threaten- ing to drive the ministry from their pulpits, and but a *The Rev. William Davidson and his congregation joined the Pres- bytery at the Eastward on October 23d, 1781. They consequently formed no part of this Synod. 198 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM limited amount of public spirit developed in the few who had means, nothing for the support and increase of Pres- byter ianism Avas estabUshed, but what was soon assimilated to its surroundings, es|)ecially in the bounds of " the Pres- bytery of Connecticut river." Another cause was the violent tempers of not a few of the ministry. Thus to one it was said, " Mr. Moorehead, you have double as much grace as any other one of us, but you have not half enough for yourself." And we have just noticed a part of the charges of a hasty spirit and a violent temj^er, but too truly made against the Rev. Simon Williams. The immoralities in life of not a few of the ministers conspired to the same end. Bat by the want of the stated ordinances of the gospel in many cases, and by the teacliing of erroneous doctrines in others, "pure and unde- liled religion," during this quarter of a century, among Presbyterians in New England, " gained much harm and In many towns congregations came to Presbj^terianism, sometimes to avoid Jonathan Edwards' " confused way of church government in the land," as did the congregation of Newburyport. While those coming from the British Isles took it the natural way, their posterity in a few gen- erations, had Presbyterianism so mild that it ran out of their systems. They did not " take heed to the doctrine " '' sealed by the blood of the covenant," and in not a few cases, ceased to be " valiant for the truth in the earth." In some towns " the earth helped the woman," and men must honor the church of the Parish, if not the Lord, with their substance, or be cast into prison as were those two of Chester, N. H. Upon the churches, as well as the other interests of the community, the war produced deleterious effects in lowering the standard of morality and giving in- creasing vitality to crime. The main conflict was, however, partly between the dis- similarity of the races in juxta position as this w^as moulded and influenced by the form of church government and by worship. As Christ executes his kingly office, not onl}" by subdu- ing his people to himself, but by ruling them, so, where men view the Bible as simply adequately inspired, and not plenarily nor verbally, it is not a difficult process to IN NEW ENGLAND. 199 eliminate (from it) ordination " by the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery " and all that is peculiar to that species of church polity. Hence, so long as '' the church of the Parish " was maintained by the sword of the civil power, compelling all within its prescribed limits to sup- port the minister of the town, and if they were of a differ- ent persuasion, forcing them in addition, to support their own ministry, large inducements were extended, in almost all cases, to Presbyterians in New England, to conform to their surroundings. A large source of change, conspiring to the enfeebling of Presbyterianism in these bounds, also increasingly flowed from the influence of the local system on domestic life and the social relations. " Let the wife see that she reverence her husband " (Eph. V. 33), when viewed as only adequately inspired, is not friendly to the rule, of elders in a church, nor to the sys- tem, the very existence of which implies it. The idea of honoring " the faces of the elders," when col- lated with, " let your women keep silence in the churches " and levelled to adequate inspiration, has seldom a very salutary influence on that oneness which constitutes the marriage relation, especially where a believer in verbal in- spiration " renders to the wife due benevolence," and " so loves his wife even as himself." It requires plenary and verbal inspiration to make " the weaker vessel " realize the meaning of husband, that is " houseband, the band and bond of the house, who shall bind and hold it together." We have seen this illustrated in the case of Mrs. Colonel Reid, "All this with your advice, not otherwise." (Letter to him, September 8th, 1776.) It must be remembered that these statements are made in reference to the causes then commencing operation, for, until after the Revolutionary war, the New Englanders were Puritans and believed in the plenary inspiration of the Scriptures very literally. They at one time believed in the verbal inspiration of Ex. xxii. 18, " Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live," but, when the mind recoiled from this too literal an interpretation, it did not stop at the analogy of faith and plenary inspiration, but went on to the perfection of mental instability and, in our modern times, rested in an adequacy of the supernatural, or in sentiment, or in mere opinion, taste or feeling. 200 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM Hence, " I will not believe what I cannot understand," has become at times a practical aphorism with some of the descendants of the Puritans. Consequently, where faith and logic of such diverse kinds were found in father and mother, the children would usually take the course which led to " the largest liberty," the easiest, the most honorable and popular form. In doing so, they were not always required by "the customs of the churches " " to suffer affliction with the people of God." It would take the faith and logic of Moses to make this choice. * When the Presbyterians came among them they found the New Enj^landers almost universally " sound in the faith of God's elect," and pure in morals. As unsanctified human beings, they were not perfect nor free from sectarian rancor, and they viewed Quakers, Anabaptists, Episco- palians, and Presbyterians as intruders. Still, while four- fifths of them statedly waited on God in public worship in all seasons of the year (with rare exceptions), and a man under oath before a committee of the House of Com- mons (in 1660) could declare " I have lived seven years in New England, and I have never there heard a profane oath or seen a drunken man," the calamities and immoralities of war a century afterwards extensively marred this pur- ity and simplicity in almost a single generation. The air of enthusiasm introduced by breaking the fetters of colonial dependency and introducing with national ex- istence national liberty, had (not necessarily) apparently an extensive tendency to throw off the wholesome re- straints of superiors, to induce the young to forget their position, and to undermine " the things which are true, pure, lovely, and of good report." Like Jerusalem in ruins, "the faces of the ciders were no longer honored." It also gave ample " scope and verge " to theological thought, as it was imported from Continental Europe, until their various " schemes " supplanted the logic and theology of the New England Primer. These and other co-operating influences in the same direction were bursting the bud during the short years of the existence of the Synod of New England ; but the skill and application of one man probably surpassed them all. IN NEW ENGLAND. 201 The Rev. Isaac Watts, D. D., the guest of men of rank in England, not only wrote " On the Improvement of the Mind " and " Logic" — very useful works — but also set forth the belief that '' the souls of the children of unbelieving parents dying in infancy are annihilated" {Buck^s Die), and '' that the first thing which God made was the soul of Jesus Christ, and by this his first production he made all things else." This fanciful and false idea was by Jona. Edwards ( Works') refuted in fourteen particulars, and it lies harmlessly among the mental lumber which has been consigned "to tlie moles and to #he bats." Not so the outgoings of the soul of the doctor in poetry. For his " Cradle Hymns," multitudes would have remembered his name with pleasure if he had stopped there, but of the Book of Psalms, given by God the Holy Ghost, he undertook to imitate 139 '' in the language of the New Testament," and concerning them declared, " I would like to see David turned into a Chris- tian." The nourishing deep roots of a Christian Church are found where families and households evening and morn- ing shew forth the loving kindness of the Lord in sweet psalms, and from their childhood youth are taught to know the Scriptures ; where, out of the mouths of babes or infants, praise is given to God beneath the parental roof When such flow together to the heights of Zion, lier assemblies are blessed with times of refreshing. At the risk of intelligent contradiction, I state that just ^^ in proportion as the poetry of the Rev. Dr. Isaac Watts is • I introduced into any church or by any denomination, "the L voice of joy and rejoicing in the dwellings of the righteous " is diminished. His "David turned into a Christian," even when supplemented by the skeptic, Joel BarloAV, and sanc- tified by the Rev. Dr. Timothy Dwight, is not adapted to express the spiritual joy of God-loving families, who abide under the shadow of the Almighty, in shewing forth his loving kindness in the morning and declaring to him his faithfulness every night. They must sing psalms to him with grace to express the emotions of their souls, for his command is, " Is any merry ? Let him sing psalms." And assuredly, if his fragments of the psalter imitated in the language of the New Testament will not express such S02 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM heaven-born joy, his hymns for the use of " vulgar Chris- tians" will not. Not any one of them is a portion of the living and incorruptible seed of the Word which liveth and abideth for ever, and '' what is the chaff to the wheat?" I present the early psalm-singing New England in contrast with the present as irrefragable proof, "impugn it who lists." So Presbyterianism there has found it. This innovation, exchanging a reality — a perfect whole — for an imitation, desolating to " the truth as it is in Jesus," we have seen was opposed by Coleman, of Brattle street, Boston, and other faithful men, but in vain. For in the course of a generation or two, it in the Congrega- tionalist Churches supjjlanted " the Bay State Version of the Psalms," silenced the Jehovah's song in thousands of fam- ilies, and finally played the whale with Jonah with the Presbyterian version almost universally. When and wherever " godliness " existed in New England, its vitality was always and onl}^ commensurate with its " sound doc- trine " {alias Calvinism), and the daily use of "those glo- rious psalms let down from a higher plane " (Rev. Joseph Cook). In 1774, the Rev. Moses Baldwin, who in early life had been trained to the Imitations and Hymns, became (as all religious poetical innovators do) a " man of feeling." He had " a felt want," and he not only obtained liberty to in- dulge it, but, as " forbidden fruit is sweet," his example became prevalent. Among those congregations which came to Presbyterianism they were both pabulum and condiment. Into most of the churches composing the Presbyteries and the Synod they were speedily introduced, and the new tunes required for the enjoyment of them did violence to the feelings of many of the aged. When the use of the Imitations became general among them, " Ichabod " was written as frontlets between the eyes of Presbyterianism in New England, and rottenness had entered into its bones. Emigration to their towns had ex- tensively ceased, and their youth witnessed with diminish- ing interest the abandonment of the " sweet psalms " with which their fathers and forefathers had caused the wilder- ness and solitary place to rejoice, as their morning and evening songs went up from " the dwellings of the right- IN NEW ENGLAND. 203 There is something magnanimous in contending for a just cause under adverse circumstances, and this the Synod of New England, so long as its diminished forces wore the name, earnestly did. Their bounds were extensive — from Palmer, Mass., to Eastern Maine — and their disadvantages were consequently great. The}^ could not at any time, owing in part to the expenses, during the seven years' war, connected with travelling for days on horseback, often in inclement seasons, over bad roads, have a perfectly full meeting. From time to time their roll was diminished by the wrongdoing of some, requiring the exercise of disci- pline, and occasionally among them there "arose men speaking perverse things," " causing contentions," and eventually withdrawing from their fellowship. They had also, doubtless, been somewhat disappointed from the fail- ure of the anticipated co-operation of the Presbytery of Grafton. While carrying on their watch and care as the Boston Presbyter}^ on November 9th, 1774, at Newbur3^port, the Kev. Mr. Hutchinson, of Pomfret, Vt., had petitioned them (probably with others in his region) " with regard to the forming of a Presbytery at Dartmouth College," founded by Presbyterians, and then five years old. They recom- mended to him prudence in his exertions in the case, and to report to them ; but "the Presbytery of Grafton " or " of Connecticut River " (which, on October 21st, 1783, not only licensed Mr. Simon F. Williams, but excommu- nicated the Rev. Mr. Burroughs) stood aloof from the Synod, while " the Presbytery at the Eastward " formed extensively an ecclesiastical asylum for the troublers of their Israel. Consequently, of the thirteen ministers, McGregore, Houston, Mitchell, Perley, Strickland, Merrill, McLean, Urquhart, Whittaker, Balch, Williams, Baldwin, and Tag- gart, with six ruling elders (while Parsons, Gilmore, and Hutchinson were absent), who at Seabrook, on June 2d, 1775, signed their constitution as a Synod, but a part were present at their last meeting at Londonderry (West Parish) on September 12th, 1782, viz., Whittaker, Houston, Wil- liams, Strickland, Taggart, Merrill, and Perley, with five elders, while McLean, Urquhart, Balch, and Baldwin were absent. At this meeting, Williams (with the elders from 204 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM Windham, Bedford, and Pembrook) withdrew, and, as stated, he was suspended. The varied causes which have been noticed, and proba- bly others, were all conspiring to prevent the growth of pure Presbyterianism, and whether understanding denomi- nationally or not, the influences brought to bear upon them, they felt the reality. They " knew that the heavens do rule," and instead of endeavoring further to uphold, that on which their hearts were set at their organization, they submitted to the developments of the Divine pleasure. On September 11th they record: "The Synod taking into consideration the broken circumstances to which the Provi- dence of God hath brought us by the death of several of >v \: our members and otherwise ; therefore, we judge it neces- . sary to dissolve this Synod for the present, and form a Presbytery of the whole, by the name of the Presbytery of Salem. " Voted, That a committee be appointed to wait on the Grafton Presbytery, in order to open the way to form a union with them, in some manner that may be for mutual advantage." Dr. Whittaker was appointed. Then came the fact, solemn, indeed, to those whose '' hearts trembled for the ark of God," for on September 12th, 1782, the record reads : " The Synod being this day dissolved by an unanimous vote, the members convened at the house of Elder Fisher in order to form themselves into a Presbytery." Nature produces maturity in the animal and vegetable kingdoms, wdiich by inevitable law is succeeded by decay. Empires and renowned cities have their growth, their grandeur and dilapidation, and Presbyterianism in New England did not escape the common doom. Between 1768 and 1793 this polity was extensively spread in this region wdiere all its surroundings were hostile to its ex- istence. In the following-named places, as well as probably some others, especially in Connecticut, it was for a time planted, viz. : Boston, Derry, Londonderry, Worcester, Chester, Palmer, Oxford, Porpooduc on Casco Bay, Oakham, Blandford, Pelham, Newburyport, Salem, Saybrook, Pem- broke, Windham, Goffstown, Bedford, Kingston, Coleraine, Eastoiia Lunenburg, Peterboro, Rutland, Paxton, Boscawen, IN NEW ENGLAND. 205 Princeton, Greenwich, Groton, Candia, Antrim, Deer Isl- and, New Boston, Dunbarton, Greenfield, Litchfield, Not- tingham, Canterbury, New Gloucester, Canaan, Sylvester, Topsham, Turner, Francestown, Gray, Winthrop, Machias, Lincoln, Amesbury, Boothbay, Bristol, Brunswick, Belfast, Pownalboro, Warren and St. Georges, Voluntown, Damar- iscotta. New Market, Falmouth, Hanover, East Hanover, Lyme, CroN-den, Orford, Piermont, N. H., Norwich, ^Hart- ford, Fairlee, Pvoyalton, Tunbridge, Randolph, Thetford, Barnard, Newbury, Topsham, Pomfret and perhaps other towns in Vermont; apart from Craftsbury, Barnet, Rye- gate and South R^'esrate, which may be afterwards noticed. In but a few of these (above seventy) places was it fairly planted. In many, perhaps in most cases, Edwards' " un- settled and confused way " induced not a few towns to give to this new thing a trial, as was done in Newburyport and Easton. Beside this, while the form of government might be approximated, the doctrine extensively main- tained and discipline executed, the great difficulty was in and with the Avorship. One class of Presbyterians, maintaining that all scrip- ture is plenarily inspired, found their matter of praise ex- clusively in the Psalter. This was the case not only with the Scotch-Irish but with the French. They used it only, and to their metrical version they had to every line musi- cal notes placed. Not so the New Englanders. In some cases they might have brought with them the Bay State version, but, during this period, they seem to have used only the 139 psalms " imitated," together with the Doctor's three books of hymns. In such cases, while order might have been more extensively kept by the use of Presbyte- rial forms and faithful pastors and elders encouraged and sustained, yet the overshadowing wings of the civil power made the sustenance of the ministry more secure, hence they easily appealed to Csesar. In all but a very few cases the " loaves and fishes " of Presbyterianism were but small and somewhat uncertain. Hence, McKinstr}^, Keith, Hill- house and others of that generation, while indebted to Presbyterianism for their moral worth, were sustained as Congregational teachers by civil law. And while we have seen McGregor, Taggart and Brown of the next generation supported in the same way as ministers of towns, stiU, to 206 ' HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM 3^oung and aspiring natives, it was not always desirable to risk the truthfulness of the Master, that " the laborer is worthy of his hire." Hence, we find not only McKeen leaving, but the two sons of the Rev. Simon Williams of Windham, after obtaining aid from Presbyterian churches as Bursars at Dartmouth College, entering declinatures to Presbyterial authority and becoming Congregationalist preachers. In all this, however, we have the collapse of the Synod of New England, after a life of seven years and three months, and " a nation " must be found to " change their gods" before another comes into existence in the same territorial bounds. IN NEW ENGLAND. 207 CHAPTER VIII. 1768-1793— Presbytery of Salem— Rev. R. Annan— Rev. Mr. Merrill— Grafton Presbytery — Groton — Chars^es unfounded — Taggart — His overtures — Miltimore "our candidate" — Xo progress in union yet — Groton received — To be cautious in receiving members, unless Pres- byterians— Whittaker slandered — A difficulty between McLean and Urquhart about Urquiutrt's wives — Result — Wliittaker and a Congre- gational Council — Cbarges refuted in 1774 — Dr. Wliittaker exliorted to a search wiiile he is a worthy minister — Merrill from bad to worse — McLean dismissed — Gray — Notes of the ciuirch and of the town — Five, who call themselves Baj)tists, dissent — Dr. Whittaker dismissed — Settled in Canaan, Maine, 1784 — New towns apply — Sylvester set- tles Strickland, 1784 — (£50) — Creditable to both parties— A hearty wisii — To ask an " Incorporation " — An exhortation — Presbytery now in the humor — Uniformity recommended — Union River received — Sine die — Called meeting at Turner — L^rquhart deceives — Perley of Gray absent — Congregation not hospitable to Presbytery — Expedi- ency— Minutes defective — Williams cut off — Merrill deposed — George Gilmore long absent is dropped — Final meeting of Presbytery at Gray — 1791 — Perley to be dismissed from Gray — Adjourned Sine die — W^e have seen development, growth, vitality and decay of the Boston Presbytery, the Synod, etc. — We now turn to the Presbytery at the Eastward. We turn now to the Presbytery of Salem. It was formed in the house of Elder Fisher, at Londonderry, N. H., on September 12th, 1782, and consisted of Rev. Messrs. Whit- taker, Houston, Strickland, Perley, Taggart, Merrill, with Ruling Elders Thomas McGee, Hubbard and Oliver. The next recorded meeting was held at Salem, on September 10th, 1783, when four ministers were present and seven were absent. • As Mr. Williams did not appear his suspension was con- tinued. He and the elders who joined with " him in his declinature," were cited again. An answer to a letter pre- viously written to the Rev. Dr. Clarke, of Salem, N. Y., was then read, " expressing a desire of said union and an engagement to lay the matter before their body (the Asso^ 208 HISTORY OP PRESBYTERIANISM ciate Reformed Presbytery of New York) at their next meeting." "A reply was now ordered to be sent through the Rev. Robert Annan of Boston." The Rev. Mr. Merrill being charged with crime now failed to appear. Dr. Whittaker was directed to continue his correspond- ence with the Grafton Presbytery. Commissioners ap- ])eared from a society in Groton asking to be received, but Presbytery ascertained that said associated persons were under censure, and that the Congregationalist church to which they belonged had refused them a copy of said cen- sure. This procedure was deemed unjust and tyrannical. Presbytery received them and requested " said church to give all the light they can in the affair." The Rev. Jno. Urc^uhart presented severe charges against "the people of Warren and 8t. Gcrges lower plantation," and desired a dismission from his charge. Presbytery dealt with them, and investigated the charges wliich they preferred against him, which, after the investigation, were considered unfounded. The Rev. Samuel Taggart by letter now informed the Presbytery that " he had made overtures to the Associate Reformed'^ Presbytery of New York for a junction with them as far as may be without a dismission from this body." This step was deemed to be " irregular and un- presbyterial," as he had not previously informed them^ and as this Presbytery were now "endeavoring a union with the same body." So he has prejudged the matter, and they ordered him to appear before them at their next meet- ing to give satisfaction. A Mr. ]\Iiltimore now appears as " our candidate." Groton, June 9th, 1784. Presbytery met. Present, seven ministers, with two elders; absent, four, with ^' their el- ders." No answer had been received to the letter written to the Rev. Robert Annan respecting union ; nor had any been received from the Grafton Presbytery, to whom Dr. Whit- taker had written. On receipt of letters from Mr. Taggart and the A. R. Presbytery, they are to be informed that while "we are wiUing to hold Christian correspondence and communion with them, it appears to be someAvhat ir- regular to dismiss Mr. Taggart under present circum- stances ; therefore we must wait for further light." They IN NEW ENGLAND. ask also " to have their continued application for union presented before the A. R. Synod for their judgment." Upon the spot, they found that while it was represented that the whole society in Groton applying for admission to the Presbyterian persuasion were under the censure of the Congregational Church, that " only three of said per- sons were so at that time." As to the three, the church would give no " light on the subject " as to the grounds of their censure, excepting that '' they had used their Chris- tian liberty in joining said society," and "after mature consideration they were received as a regular Presbyterian station." "After careful and judicious investigation, they state, they ought to be considered to be in good standing in the Church of Christ." A caution was then given to them as a society " to cultivate harmony with our Congre- gational brethren ; to be cautious in receiving any mem- bers, unless to occasional communion, who are not of the Presbyterian persuasion ; and especially to reject all whose moral character is such as to bring discredit on religion in general or to the Presbyterian interest in particular." A copy of this minute was ordered to be served on the Rev. Mr. Chaplin, minister of the town. As Dr. Whittaker was now walking in trouble arising from slanders, his case at this time received an extensive investigation, the results of which were favorable to his Christian standing. In the meantime. Presbytery " called upon all who have reported scandalous stories respecting him to give regular and authentic testimony of his im- moral behavior to the Presbytery," at a time and place then appointed. The Moderator was now ordered to exhort the Rev. Mr. Merrill to watchfulness in his conduct for the future. At this meeting at Groton, June 11th, 1784, a letter which Dr. Whittaker wrote to the Rev. R. Annan was read, as was also their minute, previously noticed, respecting the dismission of the Rev. Mr. Taggart while negotiations for a union of the two bodies was pending ; and they conclude the matter at this time by expressions of good-will and an earnest desire for a union with the Associate Reformed Preshytery of New York. This Presbytery has also a New England history, which will in due time appear. Another matter then received ofl&cial attention. It was 14 210 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM a difficulty which had arisen between the Rev. Alex. Mc- Lean and the Rev. Mr. Urquhart. The latter, as we have seen, leaving his wife in Scotland, and hearing that she was dead, had married another. A letter from the true wife, addressed to his care, Mr. McLean had shewn to the American wife before he gave it to Mr. Urquhart. In his resentment his letters and expressions he had " not kept within the rules of tenderness," "and we heartily recommend it to them both to express their forgiveness to each other for any imprudences the hour of temptation may have produced, and resolve to bury all, and embrace each other in the arms of cordial friendship. We find nothing but what may have been the effect of incaution and infirmity." This was voted by the Presbytery, and acquiesced in by both parties. Concerning the Presbyterian Church in Salem, of whom a part had called in a Congregational council to judge in their quarrel with Dr. Whittaker, the Presbytery say, " We with abhorrence detest and cannot but lament, that an- other denomination of Christians, in these free States, should claim authority and jurisdiction over us Presbyte- rians, who have behaved peaceably and lived in love with our Congregational brethren." "That, as said Council was wholly preconstitutional, called wholly without the knowledge of Dr. Whittaker, and a court to which he was in no sense subject any more than to a court of Episcopalians, his refusing to be heard and tried by them was truly commendable, and can by no means bear any mark of contumacy." The charge was brought that the third church, Salem, was Congregational when Whittaker settled, and that he brought them over to Presbyterianism. This was strong language in reference to that S3^stem, which "took its rise" in that very town on August 6th, 1629. As " an old smug- gler " is said to " make a good custom house search officer," so the Doctor knew the tactics of his opponents. This Presbytery now show, that said congregation was ever deemed a Presbyterian church from the settlement of Dr. AV. among them in 1769, when it was received as such "by their own desire, choice, and request," and that these charges were refuted " in 1774, when the same objections were made by his adversaries." IN NEW ENGLAND. 211 The society, the Parish pewholders connected with the church, had refused to admit the Doctor's labors since the 25th of March hist, and after a long consideration of the subject, in which they shew that he had labored faithfully and spent much of his private substance for their good, and for which he was now, by the genius and spirit of the State religion, receiving, so far as 23artisan feeling could reach, only persecution. The Presbytery exhorted the Doctor to " a careful search why the Lord was now con- tending with him," and to watchfulness, while they recom- mended him to the churches as a '' worthy minister of Christ." The Rev. Nathaniel Merrill was now proceeding from bad to worse, by lying and in view of scandalous stories, beside reading a paper before Presbytery, advocating his idea that vox populi est vox Del — " the voice of the people is the voice of God," and he was by them suspended from his ministry till the next session of the court. The Rev. Alexander McLean, " on account of some pecu- liar circumstances of his people," now asked and very re- luctantly obtained a dismission, Presbytery " hoping that a way may soon be opened for his union with us again." At Gra}^, in Maine, four ministers met (while six were absent), and the church in that town having adopted the Presbyterian plan of church government, sought union and was admitted under the care of Presbytery on September 8th, 1784. "A call from the town for the Rev. Samuel Perley was presented, and considering the whole of the votes of the church and the tow^n, the Presbj^tery advise him to accept their call." Before his installation, which took place on the same day, the town were called upon to object, and " only hve who call themselves Baptists lifted up their hands against it." " The service was concluded with prayer and a psalm." " Ordered, That Dr. Whittaker write a consolatory letter to the congregation in Groton and appoint Mr. Strickland to preach to them as often as he can." About forty heads of families in New Gloucester, Maine, now petition to be received, and Dr. Whittaker was ap- pointed to write to the Rev. Samuel Foxcraft of that town to learn if the way be clear. All means having failed with the twenty malcontents in Salem to re-establish peace be- 212 HISTORY OF PRESBYTKRIANISM tween them and Dr. Whittaker, a few " unreasonable," if not " wicked men," being often able to pull down what they could not build, and, in the spirit of Diotrephes, being willing " to rule in hell rather than serve in heaven," the Presbytery now dissolved the pastoral relation, which had subsisted for fifteen years. A petition was now " received from the Plantation of Canaan on Kennebec river," in answer to which the Pres- bytery received them, and afterwards, at their request, over them as their pastor, settled the Rev. Nathaniel \\liit- taker, D. D., on September 15th, 1784. He had (in his case) realized the term Salem to be a misnomer. He was " for peace," but the twenty were " keen for battle." Re- moving from the vicinity of " Gallows Hill," he found in the wilderness of Maine, what he could not realize in Numkeag, even after its inhabitants had for a century and a half enjoyed the civilization introduced by Skelton, Hig- ginson and Williams as reformers of the Church of Eng- land. As settlements were annually forming in the wilderness by people, not a fcw of whom were brought up Presbyte- rians, so, from these new towns ap])lication was at times made to have Presbyterian ecclesiastical connection.^ Thus, *' the church and congregation of a plantation, then called Sylvester, had voted unanimously to accept the Presbyte- rian Church Discipline, and the Rev. Mr. Strickland at their request gathered them as an organization with ruling elders, and he now desires the approbation of this body." " Voted, That the said measure is approved." The town not yet incorporated, and having some public incumbrances when a call was presented to Mr. Strickland, the Presbytery advise him and his peoj)le, as their circum- stances may change, to submit their matters to its jurisdic- tion, and while the sum voted (fifty pounds) was small, it " ought to be increased as their ability shall increase." To this they mutually agreed before his installation, which took place on September 20th, 1784. While this settlement was unanimous, the people had considerations of their own to which they required atten- tion. According to Congregational polity, the people could at any time dismiss a minister, especially by the advice of a council ; but these people saw that at times the Pres- IN NEW ENGLAND. 213 bytery could and would remove a pastor when hig charge were anxious to have him continue, as had been done at Boothbay by another Presbytery. Hence, some of the peo- ple at Sylvester had " some difficulty in their minds with respect to his removal from them by the Presbyter3^'^ These he removed, by stating that he had " not known an instance in his Presbytery," and by engaging never to ''re- move from this congregation as long as it appears that I am useful as a minister, and this people fulfil their con- tract with me." Neither the " hay-fever," the " minister's sickness," nor the " louder call," could draw him from a confiding, afi'ectionate and dutiful people. This was credita- ble to both parties. As the Rev. Mr. Foxcraft was requested to give light on the affairs of New Gloucester, he, with two of his people, now appeared before Presbytery, where matters of dispute were heard, and judgment rendered thus : " We cannot but fear that many have treated Mr. Fox- craft unkindly, and could heartily wish that the disaffected could sit quietly and profit under him. " But as a large number profess that they cannot profit by his ministry, and that, on close attention to the subject, they are conscientiously Presbyterians : therefore we can- not say that it is their duty to act contrary to their judg- ment, but declare that they, as all, have liberty to worship God agreeably to their own consciences wherever they have opportunity. We wish that said disaffected could profita- bly unite with the rest of the town in settling a minister agreeably to the Rev. Mr. Foxcraft's proposal. But, if they cannot, we recommend them to wait on God, and be much in prayer for light and direction, and seek for a regular incorporation, that they may be in a capacity to suppctft the gospel among them." They then exhort them to avoid '' vain janglings," study the peace and prosperity of the town, and be steadfast in doctrine. At a meeting held at Sylvester, June 1st, 1785, at his own request, the Rev. John Houston was dismissed and recommended to the churches ; and so also was the church and congregation in Groton. The Presbytery being now seemingly in the humor, also dismissed and gave a gen- eral recommendation to the Rjev. Mr. Taggart and the church of Coleraine. 214 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM " Voted, That the minute made in 1775 at Newburyport, relating to uniformity, be recommended to the several con- gregations under our care." At Topsham, September 7th, 1785, a call was presented from Number Six Westward, and Number One Eastward of Union River, in Lincoln county, for the settlement of the Rev. John Urquhart, A. M., in the gospel ministry among them, and desiring annexation to this body. Tliey were received. He was dismissed from Topsham and forth- with settled at Union River. " Ordered, to read the con- stitution." The delinquents, Williams and Merrill, were to be again cited to appear. The Presbytery of Sakm met at Gray, June 21st, 1786. Present — Rev. S. Perley and John Strickland, Elder John Keen. Absent— Whittaker, Baldwin, Williams, Merrill, Gilmore and Benjamin Balch, witli Miltimore, their candi- date. After prayer the following minute is recorded : "W^hereas most of the members of the Presbytery are absent, and there being no business of importance to be transacted in it : Voted, therefore, that this meeting be ad- journed Sine die.''^ The pressure of their surroundings brought the members of this Salem Presbytery, who now seem only to have "a name to live " partly in two years, to their senses, and in response to a call of the moderator, a meeting was held at Turner, the charge of the Rev. Mr. Strickland, on August loth, 1788. Present — Perley and Strickland with three elders. " Voted, To send a consolatory letter to the people of Number Six and One on Union River." This will be explained under the notice of their meeting at Gray, on January 15th, 1789. There and then Captain Matthew Patton tabled the charge " of a design to deceive " against the Rev. John Urquhart, in saying, in a letter to his wife, six days before his installation, "that he was obliged to go, but he knew not where, and therefore could not inform her where to direct a letter to him. That he has two wives, and will not receive his lawful wife, but keeps a concubine. Also to answer to said Patton 's in- sinuation of forgery of the letter informing of the death of his first wife." Mr. Patton was duly " cited to appear at the next stated IN NEW j:ngland. 215 session to sustain the above charges taken from his letter to the Presbytery of September 8th, 1788." Mr. Perley, of Gray, was absent at the meeting in his church, on Jan- uary 15th, and his congregation made then no preparation for the accommodation of the Presbytery, who now, while they excuse him for absence, " think him truly faulty in not notifying the members, and not making some provi- sion for their accommodation in his absence." Neither pastor nor people seem to have been "given to hospitality." They were not j)ermeated with this Scotch- Irish grace. We again and already find Dr. Whittaker in trouble with a Mr. Wm. Steward, and the Presbytery appoint a meeting on the 12th of March, 1789, in Canaan, for inves- tigation. Resort is again had (perhaps necessarily now, owing to the paucity of members) to expediency, to ask two Congregational ministers to sit with the Presbytery (among these the Rev. Alex. McLean, of Bristol). Cita- tions are issued for the second Thursday of February, 1790, but here the minutes become defective — they do not record the result. At Gray, January 15th, 1789, citations were issued in the case of Urquhart, both to him and his accuser. Captain Matthew Patton, to appear before Presb3^tery at Winthrop, on the first Thursday of October, 1789, at which place and time Presbytery met. Present, Whittaker, Perley, and Strickland, with Elders Peter Heywood, Esq., and John Keen; absent, Baldwin, Williams, Merrill, Balch, Milti- more, and Gilmore, with their elders. We have previously noticed the Rev. George Gilmore. When a licentiate he landed in Philadelphia on September 9th, 1769. For nearly four years he supplied in diff'erent places (it is be- lieved) in Congregational vacancies as well as in Presb}^- terian pulpits, and while he does not appear to have been sufficiently attractive to have obtained a call, yet the Bos- ton Presbytery ordained him on Ma}^ 26th, 1773. Of it he continued a member until the formation of the Synod in 1775, when, residing (as is supposed) in Voluntown, Conn., he was allotted to the Presbytery of Palmer. At the dissolution of the Synod, on September 12th, 1782, his name remained on the reunited roll, and under its change of name to the Presbytery of Salem, and they 216 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM record, on October 1st, 1789, "As the Rev. Geo. Gilmore has been long absent from this body, and we not knowing where he is, the Presbytery conchide to drop him out of their list." As the war of the Revolution approached, being loyal to Great Britain, he with great difficulty and much loss es- caped to Canada. As Presbyterianism had not as yet any existence in the Provinces then of that name, excepting a mere commencement in Montreal, so in due time he reached Nova Scotia. There he was welcomed and useful. He for many years officiated at Newport, and he there died. Some of his posterity, it is believed, were persons of much moral worth. The Rev. Simon Williams, having years ago withdrawn and been censured, he was at this meeting " adjudged guilty of wilful contumacy, cut off and excommunicated from this body." Not only so, Nathaniel Merrill had for five years spurned the citations and despised the authority of Presbytery, and in his " moral character becoming more and more infamous and utterly unworthy of the sacred office. Therefore, this Presbytery depose him from liis ministerial office, and ex- communicate him from their body and their Christian communion." _ This was indeed a sorrowful exhibit. We come now to the final meeting of the Presbytery of Salem at Gray, on the 14th of September, 1791. Members present. Revs. Dr. Whittaker, Samuel Perley, and John Strickland ; absent, Baldwin, Balch, and Miltimore, with their elders. Opened as usual with jorayer. Mr. Perley, Moderator, and Mr. Strickland, clerk. " Taking into consideration the state of matters between the Rev. Samuel Perley and the church and congregation of the town of Gray, and having examined the proceed- ings of the church and peoi)le, and finding nothing exhib- ited by any against the Rev. Mr. Perley, either as a Chris- tian or a minister of Christ, but, on the contrary, that the Presbyterian church at Gray have recommended him as faithful, and with reluctance consent to his dismission from them — to which, they say, they are necessitated by a divi- sion of the town by an act of the general Court of this IN NEW ENGLAND. 217 Commonwealth, find cheerfully submit to this Presbytery the time and manner of his dismission. " The Presbytery, hoping that events may so occur that the church and congregation at Gray may yet continue him as their pastor, judge it best not to proceed to dismiss him immediately, but still continue him tliere for further trial, and then leave it to the judgment of the parties to say when he shall be dismissed, unless some difficulty should arise which may require the presence of the Pres- bytery. " They now recommend Mr. Perley as an able and faith- ful minister of the gospel in good standing, and then earn- estly recommend this church and people to use their best endeavors for Christian love and union for the continuance of the Rev. Mr. Perley. ^^Gray, September 14th, 1791. The Presbytery adjourned sine die. Concluded by pra^-er. (Signed) " John Strickland, Presby. Clerk." We thus see the development of Presbyterianism from 1718 till 1791 in part. The original " Irish " Presbytery of Londonderry became extinct about 1765. We "have now seen the growth, vitality, and decay of the second Presby ter}^ commenced in 1745, forming a Synod with three Presbyteries for seven 3^ears and three months, and dwindling down under the title of the Presbytery of Salem until it finally, after a life of forty-six years, expired at Gray in Maine, and we now return to " the Presbytery at the Eastward." /7-> ^ 218 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM t<^^>-^ CHAPTER IX. 1768-1793— One man— Vamped— "Woolers"— Ordered— The doctrine — Cobbisuente — The Banner Church-^Davidson alone — Williams asks aid to allay Parish difficulties — A place of ecclesiastical refuge — Four aided by a Burse at Dartmouth — Good men formerly came to aid — Eliot — His mantle — Indian school — Occuiu a Mohegan — A College — Com- mittee, a letter of, to the Board — For comparison with — A reply — To remit entirely the fees — Auspicious rays — Rev. John Hubbard — Sol. Moore of New Boston — Messrs, Annan and W. Morrison invited to sit — A colleague for Mr. Davidson asked — White Creek, New York — Cambridge, N.Y. — Miltimore — A. R. Presbytery — Four observations — Prorenata — West of the Green Mountains — Since the War — Tendencies — Free will — Universalism — Rellyite John Murray — In New Hamp- shire in 1773 — Measuresofhell — Testimony emitted — BathKol — Deism — Family worship a stranger — Sot's holes — A cold state shewn — Twelve years, 1771-1783 — A wide field — Eliot saw twenty-four Indian ministers — For AVitchcraft nineteen — Revival 1739-44 — Arminianism now re- spectable— Individuals in Newburyport did not believe the perpetuity — Pastor and session of Newburyport approved — Actual reformation — Presbyterial visitations — Rules — An account — Advantages of it — Learn to sustain — Such duty has the promise. This Presbytery obtained its vitality from one man, as our modern " Reformed Protestant Episcopalians " in America obtained through a lineal ecclesiastical descend- ant of John Wesley, who, through a bishop of the Greek Church (according to Toplady), received the thread of apostolical succession, and have had it vamped with regu- lar prelatic ordination given to him in the Protestant Epis- copal Church in the United States ; so John Murra}^, ob- taining his ministerial standing from the " Class at Wooler " (whoever they were), and having it vamped by a regular Presbyterial ordination in Philadelphia (though on forged papers, as was supposed), became, as we have seen, the father and vitalizing force of this Presbytery. It was erected at Boothbay, in Maine, on June 27th, 1771. At its first adjourned meeting, September 17th, 1771, at Brunswick, " Ordered, that the doctrines of the IN NEW ENGLAND. 219 Confession of Faith be discussed in their order." This was a wise beginning, for the doctrine is that which saves or damns the soul. It is all important to know " the doc- trine of God our Saviour," and to be able to detect " doc- trines of devils " where they exist. Hence the Divine in- junction, " Take heed to the doctrine, for by so doing thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee." Euphonious names of aboriginal origin are not unfre- quent even now " down East," and their minutes then pre- sent one : "As a commissioner has come from Cobbisuente, we each give them one day's sermon." This was well. We have previously seen the desolation of Booth bay by the translation of Mr. Murray to Newburyport, which now formed the Banner Church of the Presbytery, and we find that the Rev. Wm. Davidson, who had been settled in Derry in 1739, was now alone. Belonging to the Presbytery which had suspended Moorehead and McGregor, he could not recognize the court which they were instrumental in erecting, and now, in 1781, he seeks admission to "the Presbytery at the Eastward." Of it a meeting pro re nata was held in Derry on October 23d, when the Rev. Solomon Moore, of New Boston, and the Rev. S. Williams, of Wind- ham, were invited to sit as correspondents ; and " the Rev. William Davidson stated that he had been ordained by a Presbytery, had for many years been pastor of his present charge, and a member of the Presb3^tery of Londonderry, which had been dissolved by removal and death of its members," and that he was then unconnected with any ecclesiastical judicatory. He (Avith his elder, Moses Bar- nett, and the church and congregation by them repre- sented) was now officially admitted. The Rev. S. Williams " made a statement of difficulties existing in his congregation in Windham, and he requests some of the members of this Presbytery to attend his Pres- bytery at Windham on the 14th of next month." The Synod of New England still existed, and his would be the Londonderry Presbytery, probably so far reduced in its working force as to be unable to allay human pas- sions when in vigorous connnotion. How far the request was granted does not appear. As we have seen, the Long Lane congregation had entered their " declinature " and stood upon it^ while some 220 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM thirty persons of a minority continued to be subject to the Presbytery, and it was now " Ordered, That if they should desire it, Mr. Murray has permission to transmit applica- tions from them to any minister they may have in view, or to any Presbytery to which such minister may belong, in regular manner and form, as by the appointment and consent of this Presbytery." On June 14th it was reported to Presbytery that the Rev. John Murray had been settled as pastor in Newbury- port, on June 4th, 1781 ; and on October 1st, 1782, at Derr'y, the Rev. Simon Williams gave liis version of his declining the authority of the Synod of New England, for " various illegal steps which they had taken," and under the shadow of this Presbytery as a place of ecclesiastical refuge, he (with his congregation) and Mr. James Miltimore and Joseph McKeen, candidates, now placed themselves. On the original " Formula of the First Presbytery of the Eastward," their names were at that date duly enrolled. These two young men, with the two sons, Gilbert Tennant and Simon Finlay, of the Rev. Simon Williams, had en- joyed, or were then enjoying, the aid each of a Burse at Dartmouth College. This was one of the ways in which the ever-active mind of the Rev. John Murray was for years engaged. Whether he, after graduating at Edin- burgh, had felt himself deficient in relation to a full course of study or not, he knew that the office of a Presbyterian minister would not be honored, if he were not abreast of all men in the other professions. This was a grievous drawback to the spread, support and perpetuity of the truth as contained in their " form of sound words " in New England. Good men came in the first and earlier emigrations to them to labor in the work of the ministry, but, in time, defective characters, such as John Morrison and Urquhart, polluted their ministry. Dartmouth College, as noticed, was, in its early stages of existence, said to be essentially Presbyterian. Soon after the settlement of New England, the immortal Eliot was blessed, as an instrumentality in the hand of Christ, in turning many of the dusky sons and daughters of the forest " from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God," and when " taken U])," his mantle fell IN NEW ENGLAND. 221 upon others. Among these was, after the middle of the eighteenth century, John Sargeant. He labored among the Stockbridge tribe, and knowing, by abundant observa- tion, that " for the soul to be without knowledge was not good," he aimed at diffusing useful, but especially saving knowledge among his Indians. Out of his Indian school . sprang up a college. Among his pupils, Sampson Occum, a Mohegan, obtained a standing in the Christian ministry, and, in appealing to generous stewards of his Master's goods, he, with the Rev. Nathaniel Whittaker, went to Great Britain about 176G. (In 1767 the University of St. Andrews gave to Whit- taker the degree of Doctor in Divinity). The novelty of the appearance of Occum, his ability, earnestness and the interests of his race, excited the atten- tion of many benevolent persons, who were willing to " honor the Lord with their substance " until his " mis- sionary school " obtained the means to take rank as a col- lege. Not only the common people, but some of those of rank, vied in the enterprise, and as Lord Dartmouth gave for the purpose the most munificent sum, the town of Hanover, N. H., was honored and much of New England blessed by the founding of Dartmouth College there in 1769. The man for the place, the first president, was the ~ Kev. Eleazer Wheelock ; succeeded during the first century by his brother, by Brown, Dana, Tyler and Lord, the in- stitution has become an eminent " success," and is " not a whit behind " any other seminary in the land in develop- ing mind and making men useful. Others there are on •which funds are more extensively heaped, but few, if any, can be named where reputation, during the perilous years of college life, is more safe, or future usefulness, on the average, more extensively secured. Though only and always a college, the names of Webster and Choate, among her graduates, are names of which any universit}^ would feel proud. Many of the early friends of this seat of learn- ing were Presbyterians, and to it, among the others, " the Presbytery at the Eastward " looked for an increase in the gospel ministry by forming Burses. Paper after paper and letter after letter from the prolific pen of Murray testify this. In February, 1784, a committee of the Presbytery wrote 222 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM to the " Honorable Board and Immediate Governors of the Institution." To this a favorable reply was in due time obtained. " Impressed with a deep sense of the obligation con- ferred upon us by the pious and generous proposal of the worthy patrons of the cause of religion and literature which you have so politely communicated: The Pres- bytery entertained the enclosed resolutions on their records as a perpetual monument of the charity and pious zeal of the university over which you worthily preside. " We were not a little animated by the generous engage- ment of the Board, and authority to remit entirely the fees and tuition money of such Bursar as at any time might be sent by us for education to that highly favored fountain of learning. " Long may the seminary under your care flourish by those auspicious rays of the Sun of righteousness which have hitherto distinguished it as the favorite plantation of the Divine husbandry. , "The Hon. President Wpieelock." It will be thus seen that not only Grafton Presbytery, but also the Presbytery at the Eastward, had a deep inter- est in Dartmouth College. As a matter of courtesy, the Presbytery at Windham, on October 22d, 1782, invited the elders from Bedford and Goffstown, then present, to sit as correspondents, and on May 20th, 1783, the elder from the latter place presented a commission from a Presbyterian society there and was re- ceived. Other congregations continued to come to Presbyterian- ism, and on the same day the Rev. John Hubbard and Mr. Thos. Tewksbury as an elder presented their constitu- tion as a Presbyterian society. The Rev. Solomon Moore and William Moore, his elder, of New Boston, presented themselves to this Presbytery, and were received. " Diligent in business," the Presbytery in due form, after satisfactory " trials," licensed Mr. Joseph McKeen to preach the gospel. Nor was this all. At this May meeting they were vis- ited by the Rev. Messrs. Robert and David Annan and Mr. IN NEW ENGLAND. 223 William Morrison (to be subsequently noticed), who were invited to sit as correspondents. On October 8th, 1783, at Candia, a "petition from Deer Island was answered in a friendly manner." Pastors Wil- liams and Davidson were appointed to baptize children at Dunbarton, and on the application of the Rev. John Hub- bard and members of his society, Presbytery adjourned to meet in Amesbury, Mass., which they did on November 13th, when the first parish of Londonderry requested a supply as a colleague to the Rev. Mr. Davidson, when a plan for forming a Burse was encouraged by the Presby- tery, and the " respectful letter to the authorities of Dart- mouth College " (inserted above) was voted to be sent. In 1784, February loth, a petition was received from the New England congregation at White Creek, New York, praying to be received, and to devise some proper way to moderate in a call, and to this the Presbytery sent " a challenge to shew cause, if any, why the prayer of the petition should not be granted at next meeting." • On October 8th, 1783, a petition had been received from Cambridge, New York, which, when " considered with what the Rev. Dr. Thomas Clark wrote to the Rev. Mr. Murray respecting that affair, the Presbytery sent Mr. James Mil- timore thither some Sabbaths. If his preaching there gave offence to the Associate Reformed Presbytery, he must return to this Presbytery ; and we cannot allow Mr. Miltimore to preach at White Creek either, if by so doing the said Presbytery are offended." Whether they were offended or not", preach at White Creek he did, and received a call, which he subsequently declined. This called forth an urgent letter from " the Hon. I. Wil- liams on behalf of the Trustees of the New England con- gregation of White Creek, praying that the answer of Mr. Miltimore be revoked and that he be sent to that place." The Presbytery recorded four observations anent this letter : 1st. That they had used no influence to induce him to decline their call, and they did not know what his answer would be until they heard it in judicature. 2d. They had reasons to believe that the state of said congre- gation and its connections were such that Miltimore would have given the same answer if he had not had a call from 224 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM the Eastward. 3d. That the Presbytery had no reason to revoke his answer or alter their judgment. 4th. That no reason is oft'ered by said letter why they should do so; therefore they do not '* order him to White Creek." " Mr. Miltimore, being called on to make answer to that call, replied, that he had very seriously and prayerfully considered that same throughout the season past, and viewed himself accountaljle to the great Head of the Church for the result of his deliberations ; but that, on the whole, according to the best light he had, he could not see it to be his duty to settle tliere." At a previous meeting, the congregation of Cambridge, N. Y., if their circumstances required it, in connection with the preaching of Miltimore, were allowed to call a pro re nata meeting ; and at '' New Boston, Sei:)tember 8th, 1784, at such a meeting, Mr. John Morrison appeared as a commissioner from Cambridge, N. Y., and presenting a copy of a call, requesting Presbytery to sustain it and pre- sent it to Mr. Miltimore." " Voted : That as difficulties subsist, they cannot sustain the same." What these difficulties fully were does not clearly appear, and his reply in declining the call from White Creek put a termination to all efforts to obtain his services west of the Green Mountains. He received, September 8th, 1784, a call from Deer Island. This he did not probably accept, as he was settled at Stratham, N. H., in 1786, and dis- missed in October, 1807. On July oOth, 1878, the town clerk wrote : " I do not find any record of the settlement of any other minister since the said Miltimore." A town without a pastor for seventy years ! " Tell it not in Gath." As we have seen, for years it was their practice to open their stated meetings with a discourse continuously on one of the chapters of the Confession of Faith by a member previously appointed, and they appear for several years to obey the injunction, " take heed to the doctrine." Their surroundings (as stated) were suffering much morally since the war. The State churches became in many cases less careful about the doctrine, the elders were ignored and their office dropped, and tendencies were running from a theocracy IN NEW ENGLAND. 225 vested in an oligarchy and an Athenian democracy to an ecclesiastical democracy. While Presbyterianism was declining, some forms of Congregationalism were increas- ing. '( The immersing Congregationalists (self-styled Baptists) were in some cases diverging from their former Calvinism, and, under the'title of Freewill, were " subverting houses." When thus so fiir removed from a belief in the existence of " a remnant according to the election of grace," as to suppose, with Arminius, " That Jesus Christ, by his suffer- ings and death, made an atonement for the sins of all man- kind in general and of every individual in particular ; that, however, none but those who believe in him can be par- takers of divine benefits," it would not do violence to Con- gregational logic, to maintain, That " if Christ's atonement is of such value as to save all men, he would not die at a venture, but, possessed of infinite power, he would save all for whom he died." This, taken in connection with the presumptuous assertion of ignorance, that " God is too good to make any man to damn him," originated, or, at least, helped to perfect the tenet, that " as Christ died for all, so before he shall have delivered up his mediatorial kingdom to the Father, all shall be brought to a participa- tion of the benefits of his death in their restoration to holi- ness and happiness." In the course of a few years afterwards, those who in England associated with Morgan, in 1729, diverged, Wes- ley propagating the opinions of Arminius, Whitefield those of Calvin in relation to the way of life, and James Relly, upon a change of views, maintained " that Christ, as a Mediator, Avas so united to mankind, that his actions were theirs, his obedience and sufferings theirs, and, conse- quently, that he as full}^ restored the whole human race to the divine favor as if all had obeyed and suffered in their own persons." About the middle of that century a Mr. John Murray, belonging to Kelly's society, emigrated to America and propagated his doctrines. After laboring some time in New Jersey, he first preached in New York in 1770. He soon afterwards visited Boston and obtained a kind of resting place for his opinions in Gloucester, Mass. He first preached Universalism in New Hampshire in 1773. This new type of Congregationalism, that is, new in New 15 226 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM England at that time, as soul-destroying and God-dishon- oring, the Presbyterians conscientiously opposed, and on May 21st, 1783, emitted a testimony concerning it. Thus warning their people of danger, which liad now become the more insidious, because that "the Bay State Psahii- book " had been supplanted among the CongregationaHsts and many of the Presbyterians, especially those who came from Congregationalism, had become enamored with the imitations and other poetical effusions of the Rev. Dr. Watts, which, with a breadth and a depth equal to all tlie measures of hell, maintained that " Christ came to make his blessings flow Far as the curse is found." His poetry formed a rapid diffusive stimulant for " divers and strange doctrines." To counteract, so far as possible, the effects of the doc- trine of universal solvation, the Presbytery emitted their Testimony, with what salutary effect we cannot at this dis- tant period of time determine. It, however, showed how they endeavored to " take heed to the flock." Reading material did not then abound, and Presbyteri- ans in New England did not often employ the press in that generation. The almost only exception was a publi- cation by the Presbytery, an amplification of their testi- mony, under a peculiar title which read thus : ^^Bath Kol, a voice from tlie Avilderness. Being an hum- ble attempt to support tl;e sinking truths of God against some of the principal errors raging at this time. Or, a joint testimony to the churches under their care. By the Presbytery of the Eastward, Boston : N. Coverl}^ 1783." They begin with Deism and Origenism as lying nearest the root of all impiety and wickedness now leading the fashions in places of public resort. Then an inquiry into causes which have brought down these judgments on the church. Next, by way of introduction, they state, "that the regard for rehgion for which New England was once distinguished, has now vanished from among us in a lamentable degree. We have suffered eight years of war, and for this awful calamity there are moral causes. "Never was the public worship of God as generally voted away as at the present. Many grudging the ex- IN NEW ENGLAND. 227 pense of supporting it, have dismissed God's ambassadors and locked up the doors of his house. Others have ex- changed a learned, godly ministry for ignorant fanatical intruders, merely because they pretend to deal out to them their wild and indigested effusions without salary, while of the remainder among whom their ministers still make a shift to continue, the greatest number seldom attend, and not a small proportion of those Avho attend pass the sacred hours of worship in sauntering, gazing, dozing and sneer- ing. Family worship is a stranger to the dwellings of thousands. Sabbath profanation abounds on wharves, in coffee-houses and in sots' holes, and the answer is : * 'tis war times.' Country youth learn profanation on board of privateers and in the camps. " Benevolence is not cultivated now. Intemperance sends man below the brutal herd. Multitudes of men each year are destroyed by it, and women take it too. "Anti-nuptial offences are almost forgotten to be a crime. Adultery increases ; vile books are printed and read with avidity; extortion, theft, fraud and lying increasingly abound. " It is in view of this alarming state of things among us that we have ventured to deliver our souls in the follow- ing testimony, and to that step we judged ourselves bound at this time, for the following reasons. Nothing of this kind has come to our knowledge from any quarter in the land — not from Presbyteries and Synods, nor associations and conventions." These " reasons " show a lamentably cold state of zeal for the interests of godliness when none among professors of religion, and they were then in the land nominally nearly all evangelical, could be found to lift up their voice in warning and remonstrance. The moral sentiment of the church seems to have fallen from what it was before the war, when, on May 20th, 1771, the Rev. D. McGregor, at Seabrook, preached from Joel ii. 17. These twelve years, from 1771 till 1783, show not only the effects of a desolating war, but also the worthlessness of a State religion in supporting godliness and good morals. The earlier way of publicly professing faith in Christ as " the Redeemer of God's electa" and then from faith in him 228 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM and love to him, " living soberly, righteously and godly " as his people, had now measurably passed away. Hence the description of society in New Enuland here given. In their Bath Kol (a voice from the wilderness) the Presbytery now take under notice a wide field, from which I select a few items, such as: "Plymouth colony was erected b}^ letters patent from King James I., April 10th, 1606, for the pur|)0se of planting and ruling the territory (then called Northern Virginiaj, now called New England, which had been discovered by Bartholomew Gosnold on Ma}^ 11th, 1602. This society consisted of a number of nobility and gentry, but ibr fourteen years gather fish and fur was all they did. Money was, on the whole, their object, and money was the snare in which their scheme was entangled and lost; for a Caj^itain Hunt, in their em- ploy, carried off twenty-seven Indians and sold them in Spain for £20 sterling each. This immediately broke off their commerce with the Indians. (P. 25.) A colony of French Protestants went to Brazil about 1670, and had seventy-five ministers from Geneva, but they failed. Eliot saw twenty-lour Indian congregations with twenty- four Indian ministers. The Baptists began at Swanzey and at Boston in 1665, and were condemned by a Synod in 1679. Quakers began in 1656. For witchcraft nineteen were executed between 1648 and 1692. Revival from 1739 till 1744. 26th of January, 1744, war on Louisburgh was carried by one of a majority in Boston General Court. From these and various other topics, a])parently totally disconnected, somewhat after the manner of "Mather's AVonder- Working Providence," they trace a connection be- tween moral wrong-doing and calamity under Divine providence, and state that " ungodliness had now been in- creasing for twenty years," and as an evidence, if not a cause, an effect of it, "Arminianism " has (had then) now " become respectable." Think of this ! Their Bath Kol they published in an octavo form. So they describe it. By request, the Rev. Robert Annan, of Long Lane, did the proof-reading. Notwithstanding their diligence in spreading before their people through the „prQss their testimony in Bath Kol, in- IN NEW ENGLAND. 229 dividuals, with an inconsistency usuall}^ in keeping with attachment to error, imagined that they could deny the truth of the standards of the church and still (so far as they pleased) enjoy full privilesjes as members. This was attempted by individuals in Newburyport. They " were not free to profess their belief of the future eternity of hell torments," and yet claimed " all the special privileges of Christians." "After serious consideration " of a communication from the session of said church, the Presbytery at Derry, Sep- tember 13th, 1785, say, " We cannot see how any church connected with us could, after the issuing of our testimony on the 21st of May, 1783, judicially condemning the doc- trine of universar salvation, allow any special fellowship to any adherent to those errors." "This Presbytery, firmly adhering to our said public act, highly approve of the conduct of the pastor and ses- sion of said church in the facts stated in the resolutions now presented, and we solemnly enjoin on all our mem- bers and all churches under our care, to adopt the same rule of conduct towards Origenists which has been ob- served by these our brethren in this case, as they would avoid the pains of the discipline of Christ's church against schism, heres}^ and disorder." " On motion. Resolved, That in the present low state of religion among us, this Presbytery judge that it is not enough to bear as they have done open testimony against errors and vices, without seriously attempting to push for- ward an actual reformation in the matters complained of among the churches under our care. And as Presbyterial visitations have ever made a standing part of the adminis- tration of government in the Presbyterian Church, and have always been found to be a blessed means, under God, of reforming abuses and keeping peace and order in the church, this mode, long disused by this body on account of the public perils and distresses of the late war, ought now to 1)6 revived among us without further delay." This duty was to " be commenced at next meeting, and to be continued only at stated meetings until all the con- gregations were visited, and in performing, the rules laid down by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland shall be observed, excepting such parts as are local." 230 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM This was a wise movement, as such visitation of each church, pastor, elders, deacons, and people by the Presby- tery is a necessary element in "taking care of the house of God." "Obey them that have the rule over you." Submit yourselves, for they watch for your souls as they that must give an account, not onl}^ to the Chief Shepherd, when he comes from above, but now, to those who are constituted " in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ," as thrones of judgment, thrones of the house of (our New Testament) David. In no other way can delinquencies be so completely reached and' the church kept pure, vital, active, and ag- gressive as by sworn official watch of all its members, rulers and ruled. If this course were pursued by every Presbytery at each stated meeting, "pure and undefiled religion" would, under the Divine blessing, see brighter days than the visible church has yet seen. Where the pastor teaches publicly and from house to house, where the elders bear rule well, where those who are " over the outward things of the house of God " use the office of a deacon well, they individually, in their respective relations, purchase to themselves a good degree and great boldness in the faith." Individual members and parents thus seeing those Avho are over them in the Lord examined, not only become divested of any petty jealousy of feeling, but learn to sus- tain with pleasure their spiritual guides and overseers in every department of demanded duty ; while children be- come increasingly accustomed to them, and, by the obser- vation of such visitations, more familiar with the bulwarks of the church, and learn to go (not to be driven) "by the footsteps of the flock." That is not all. Such official duty has the promise of an efficacious blessing. " Occupy," " Be thou faithful . . . and I will give," " Digging about and dunging," is the only sure way to productiveness and abundance. (Acts XX. 28.) IN NEW ENGLAND. 231 CHAPTER X. 1768-1793 — How were the means of grace relished? — A revival — Pres- bytery of Grafton — A letter to — Wliat response we know not — " Hopes to be excused " — Odiorne — The State religion " the most honorablest" — D. F. Williams' declinature — "Not consistent with our principles" — Visitation — How conducted, shewn — A decisive part — Congn. stimulated — Innovations — Principle bad not yet evapo- rated— The Precentor — Presbytery recommended — Delusions and de- filmg sins — A Fast- Day — Observed November, 1786 — Jeremiah Pear- sons informs Kev. J. Chandler about their receiving Murray — Things tbat were ready to die in Church and Town — Hence letter to Sea- brook Congn., 1788 — The people obeyed the Presbytery and pros- pered— Kev. Thos. Hibbert from bad to worse — His lawsuit — De- posed and excommunicated — An unique scene — Washington goes "down East" — The Presbytery address him — His answer — The stigma — Murray's usefulness limited by it — The three Presbyteries — Three Churches — Kev. S. Williams anxious — He wrote earnestly to Mr. M. to seek reconciliation with the Philadelphia Presbytery — ^Mr. M. persisted in denying the forgery — Atkinson and Moore' licensed — Mr. Jona. Brown promised $5.00 per Sabbath and his ferryage — Death of Kev. William Davidson, Feb. 15, 1791 — His character — Mantles now worn by natives — Pungent letter to Seabrook — Its effects — Last meeting of the Presbytery at Eastward, of which we have records there, June 13, 1792— First Church, Derry, ask supply — But they object to Jona. Brown — Broadstreet examined and approved — Wm. Pigeon recommended as a Bursar — The proposals for a union of Presbyteries considered, and Commissioners appointed to meet the Commissioners of the other Presbyteries at Dartmouth on the 23d of August, 1792 — Adjourned to meet in New Market, on October 4th, 1792 — A recapitulation — Kegular meetings of this Presbytery held for a few years, but how long is uncertain. In tracing our ecclesiastical polities, it is a matter of the highest importance (and one which we can only reach ap- proximatel}^ to ascertain with what life the means of grace, where they w^ere enjoyed, were relished. " The cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful." 232 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM We have seen in a former generation how it was in Lon- donderry and elsewhere, while the utterances of Bath Kol are discouraging, indicating an extensive destitution of those " works of righteousness " whose " fruit is unto holi- ness." This is n()ticed in connection with a statement in the following letter, in which we find that a revival was expe-" rienced in the interior parts of New Hampshire, and that, as a consequence, a Presbytery had been there formed. It is dated at Londonderry on September 13th, 1785, " To the Rev. Presbytery of "Grafton, the first Presbytery of the Eastward, wish grace, mercy and peace, etc., etc. : "i^cy. and dearly beloved in the Lord : — Animated, we trust, by a dutiful zeal for the faith and order of the gospel, which, with pain, we behold lamentably set aside by too many of all ranks among us." They now state the cir- cumstances of their organization ; the name of their Pres- bytery, their standards as to doctrine, government and discipline, ignoring their matter and form of worship. " Conducted by this platform, through the indulgence of Zion's King, we have maintained brotherly love among ourselves, peace and order in the churches under our care, and have received various additions of ministers and churches to our number from time to time. "Beside the organized churches wliich compose our body, a great number of towns and settlements in this ex- tensive eastern region apply to us for supplies of the gos- pel. To the utmost of our power we have endeavored to answer their calls ; and had we candidates sufficient for our vacancies, we should not doubt but by the blessing of God, in a very short time to see Presbyterian churches planted throughout the Eastward. To this happy event nothing has been a greater obstruction than tlie want of visible union among Presbyterians. To form a counter- poise to this, it has been ' as cold water to the thirsty soul,' to hear that the Lord hatli l)een pouring out his Spirit on his ministers and churches in the interior parts of this State, and that a goodly number of them have been thereb}'' moved to revive the ancient and scriptural form of govern- ment in that country, and have actually formed them- selves into a regular Presbytery, and walk together in the faith and order of the gospel. IN NEW ENGLAND. 233 "This Presbytery rejoice to take this opportunity to open a friendly correspondence Avith you, as a sister judi- catory in Christ's house, and as such, to offer to you the right hand of fellowship. To make these our sentiments known to your reverend body, and in our name to negoti- ate whatever may be necessary for the union and har- mony of this part of Christ's mystical body among us, we have sent a worthy member of this Presbytery, commis- sioned and instructed for that purpose. "We request you charitably to receive him in the Lord as our own souls, to give full credence to him as our repre- sentative, and treat with him as you w'ould with us if per- sonally present. Begging an interest in your prayers, wishing you all needed grace and all desirable success in the gospel vineyard, witli great veneration and affection- ate esteem, we are, etc., etc." Whether an}^ and what response was returned to this letter we know not, but negotiations for union w^ere for years continued. It also brings out the real existence of Grafton Presbytery. From fragmentary minutes we are able to trace the doings of this Presbytery a few years longer. At Amesbury, June 7th, 1786, there w^ere present Revs. Joseph Prince, Thomas Hibbard and Simon Williams, with Elders Jonathan Ring, Edward Harris, Deacon Tukesbury and Jolm Moulton, Esq. Absent — Revs. Wil- liam Davidson, Solomon Moore, John Murray and Na- thaniel Ewer. In answ^er to a petition from Boothbay, Presbytery de- sired their candidate, Mr. Gilbert T. Williams, to go, but he requested the Presbytery to "indulge him, as he finds a great reluctance in taking such a journey " even in sum- mer, as far as from Windham, N. H., to Boothbay in Maine, therefore he " hopes to be excused." " Send, Lord, by wliom tbou wilt send." I cannot "en- dure hardness," much less ''all things for the elect's sake, that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory." Having declined going, he was " appointed to supply the vacancies in these parts at his own discretion." His Pres- byterianism was too feeble to resist his surroundings, and his proclivities ran to Congregationalism. 234 HISTORY OF piiesbytp:rianism Presbytery had control of the taxes for the support of the parish minister in only a few towns. " The loaves and fishes " were, even then, to some minds (indebted to Pres- byterianism for all their moral worth and consequent prosperity), of more importance than the dictates of grati- tude. Like tlie old Swiss gentleman, Odiorne of HaHfax, Nova Scotia, when with his daughter, who, after her mar- riage, went with her husband fa son of the Attorney-Gen- eral of the Province) to the Episcopal church, and when an elder remonstrated with liim, saying, " wliy do you leave our church, do you not know that the Presbyterian is the best religion?" "Oh," says he, " the Presbyterian rehgion is the best religion, but the Church of England is the most lionorablest." So it was with iMcKeen and the AVilliams as Bursars. The State religion was in their estimation " the most honorablest," and to it they went. October 5th, 1786. " Presbytery proceeded in the busi- ness of the visitation of this church (Newburyport). The pastor being withdrawn the elders were examined accord- ing to tlie rules about the pastor, and then the elders being withdrawn the pastor was examined as to the session and church ; a full statement of the order, government and dis- cipline thereof was laid before us, and on the whole noth- ing found objected to or complained of, unless that the pastor in session confined himself solely to the ])lace of moderator and executive officer without taking a deciding part. To which he answered by reading certain instru- ments, which passed between him, the session and church previous to his settlement, in which certain reforms were solicited by him and promised by them ; he withal declared that whenever these were actually complied with, he was ■willing to take as decisive a part as is usual for gospel ministers to do, but until then, he declared himself bound in conscience to go no farther than he has done." " Unanimously approve of the conduct of said pastor in the premises and encourage him to persevere therein." The " go to let us " part of their polity, in which their Presbyterianism was defective, is thus disclosed, while by thus "taking heed to all the flock," the Presbytery have before them a reliable knowledge of their average spiritual condition. The congregation in the meantime are stimu- lated to higher attainments in the Divine life, and see IN NEW ENGLAND. 235 more extensively the responsibility of those who watch for their souls and resolve to hold them more "highly in love for their work's sake." Pro re nata at Londonderry, November 9th, 1786. A remonstrance from the session of Londonderry, signed by eleven ruling elders, in reference to innovations introduced by a party in relation to the manner of singing in the church was now submitted. The Scotch-Irish Presbyte- rian blood and principle had not yet evaporated, conse- quently they sung psalms. But the style had l)ecome all important with a Dr. Isaac Thom and some of the parish. When forbidden by their aged pastor to disturb further the peace of the church, they rebelled, and persevered in their innovations. In times past, the precentor had stood in his desk facing the congregation, so that his countenance as well as that of the minister might be seen, and draw the sympathy and co-operation of his fellow-worshippers ; but in the surround- ing regions this decent and time-honored Scriptural order had been supplanted b}' pitch pipes, galler}^ singing, and tunes not only new to the aged, but unsuitable for the praise of God, with his " sweet psalms." The casting away of the " Bay State Psalter " and the introduction for nearly a generation of the " Imitations " had trained the sentimental New England mind for new usages, and the good " ould twelve tunes, which," in slang phraseology, " the Lord made in Ireland," now, like John Barleycorn, " must die." Upon " particular inquiry, it was found that neither the elders nor Dr. Thom were clothed with proper authority to represent their respective parties. Therefore the Presb}^- tery resolved, that they cannot constitutionally proceed to hear and judge on the merits of this cause at this time, and thc}^ earnestly recommend it to both parties to forbear all animosities and contentions on this subject, and to ex- ercise forbearance and Christian candor on both sides until we have opportunity to determine the case regularly in a judicial way." Newburyport, October 5th, 1786. " Taking into serious consideration the manifold delusions and land-defiling sins now prevailing in this land, and the awful public frowns and judgments of Almighty God now justly pour- 236 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM ing out upon it, in the lamentable state of our public affairs, Presbytery agree that the first Tuesday of Novem- ber next be set apart and observed in all the congregations under our care as a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer, that we and our people may then publicly confess our sins and implore the God of all grace to avert the judgments which he is now threatening and we as a people justly deserve." So far as is known, that day was duly observed. At Topsham, June 13th, 1787, an " elder from Boothbay expressed the desire of that congregation to receive a can- didate, who has a view to settlement." Their next meeting was at Seabrook, October 17th, 1787. Murray, Prince, Ewer, and Thos. Hibbard present, with six elders. On August 25th, 1787, a Rev. Jas. Chandler wrote to an elder (Jeremiah Pearson) in Newburyport, to " know upon what grounds they had received Mr. Murray " as pastor, as he had seen the character of him given by the first Presbytery of Philadelphia; and received the following reply : " JPrincipally these : Beside his appeal to an impartial public, are his examination and confession before his Pres- bytery ; his letter to the Rev. Mr. Parsons, in which is con- tained such a confession as satisfied the Boston Presbytery when read at their session both at Palmer and at Salem, and satisfied our church ; his transportation from Booth- bay to this place by the Presbytery of which those churches are members ; to which might be added, his being one of the greatest Calvinistic divines of the age — a mirror of patience, of a godly life and conversation during his residence at the Eastward — are some of the grounds upon which he was received by our church. Sir, I might give many more." At Candia, June 11th, 1788. Present, Prince, Ewer, Williams, Sol. ^loore, Robt. Moore, John Murray, and seven elders. Opened with a sermon by the Rev. Mr. Moore on "Effectual Calling" (10th chap. Conf of Faith). By this time some of their congregations were becoming like the seven churches in lesser Asia. They had things which were " ready to die," where the church and town Jiad alike sunk into indifference, and to which the}' gave IN NEW ENGLAND. 237 official attention. Hence the following from the pointed and prolific pen of Murray to the church and congregation of Seabrook, dated Newburyport, Jul}^ 5th, 1788 : " Dearly beloved in the Lord : " It is with much reluctance and regret that I am now obliged to sit down to the painful task of sending to you a letter of reproof and admonition, in the name of the Rev. Presbytery under whose care you are placed, for the long sinful neglect of seeking for the pubhc means of grace for 3^our congregation. "At the last meeting of Presbytery, when, in the course of their inquiries into the state of the churches under their care, they found that, after all that had been said on that matter at Seabrook, yet no steps have been taken on your part to obtain even occasional supplies for the pulpit since that time ; the information was received with equal horror and surprise. " Considering themselves as a judicatory bound to watch over you for good, they thought they could not acquit themselves to their own consciences, nor to the great Head of the church, if they continued any longer to stand by, and by their silence seem to connive at so open and de- liberate a neglect of Christ and of his gospel. " Therefore, to discharge the part of faithful friends and watchmen towards you, they ordered their clerk to testify to you, in their name, that this practice is equally dishon- orable to religion and dangerous to your own souls. The}'' beseech you as brethren to consider what an aspect that church must have, that professes the Christian religion, is planted in a Christian land where the means of grace are plenty and the fullest liberty to enjoy them indulged, and yet continues quiet and easy from year to year without sermons, without sacraments, with the house of the Lord shut up and lying waste. " They intreat you to recollect that, in the meanwhile, time is wasting ; death is hastening on ; the awful day of accounts drawing near ; and that when it arrives it will be an unavailing plea to say your parish was poor, since that God, who provided you with that little, will surely assert his right to require some part of it for his own service. " They wish you to reflect whether the continuance of that poverty may not be a judgment for this habitual pub- 238 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM lie contempt of his word, and whether it is not probable that your persisting in that sin may provoke the Lord to inflict yet sorer judgments; whetlier it does not tend to bring up your chikh'en in fatal ignorance of God, and to make way for deism, infidelity, and atlieism itself, to take their full sweep among the rising generation ; whether, if sinners go on hardened in impenitence and perish at last for lack of vision, their blood will not be required at your hands, and whether, in that sad case, the saving a little earthly interest for your children and posterity will be enough to countervail the damage? , " Tiie Presbytery remonstrate these serious things to you with the sincerest respect and love for your souls. They pray you to take the warning in good part, and give them the comfort to know at their next meeting that you are sincerely resolved on such a reformation in this respect as may give them occasion to rejoice in the prospect of your finally escaping the wrath to come. "As for myself, you may be assured that nothing but a conscientious obedience to the solemn injunction of that reverend body to which I am subject, could have persuaded me to undertake this painful task — and permit me to re- quest that you believe that every word I have written is dictated from the sincerest desire for your greatest happi- ness in time and eternity, and thus I hope to be still con- sidered as, gentlemen, your affectionate friend and very humble servant in the gospel of Christ." May not Presbyteries be found to-day who require to profit by this example of official fidelity where churches are alloAved to commit suicide or die out without such a solemn remonstrance? "These (as well as inspired) things were written aforetime for our learning." " How forcible are right words ! " The people obeyed them who had the rule over them, resumed public worship, and, as we shall (D. V.) see, the last meeting of " the Pres- bytery at the Eastward," of which we have full records, was held at Seabrook. Our next item of record is dated "Amesbury, Novem- ber 6th, 1788, 7 A. M. Presbytery met in interloquitur.^^ The cause of their meeting was an aggravated case of drunkenness. The congregation was one w-hich had come to Presbyterianism, and the habits of the pastor, the Rev. IN NEW ENGLAND. 239 Thomas Hibbert, had grown from bad to worse. By the " parish book " it appeared that on " December 13th (1787), they voted £18 to be paid to him for all services as a min- ister, on condition that he cancel all the minister's taxes till the 24th of May, 1788, and also continue to preach to us till then." This was recalled. He offered to leave the matter to referees. He prosecuted them. Deacon Tucker agreed that the society pay their part of Mr. Hibbert^ charges in a lawsuit with that parish, according to cove- nant, and also to pay up the £30 contained in the above vote and subscription on the condition therein men- tioned. " Mr. H. said he would agree to fulfil his part, on condition that the Presbytery peaceably dismiss him," Instead of doing so, he was arraigned and tried, and the evidence was only too conclusive. After a tedious process, " all parties and witnesses being heard until they had nothing to add, Presbytery ordered them to withdraw, and carefully examined all the papers left with them. " Resolved unanimously that the complaint of intoxica- tion is fully proved, as were also two other charges, and they deposed him from the office of the holy ministry." They then declared the pulpit vacant, and exhorted the society, so soon as may be, to obtain another minister. Is not " wine a mocker and strong drink raging " in view of such occurrences ? " The Presbytery gave to him the position of a private member in the church. This he spurned, and on April 29th, 1789, the session gave him till the last Wednesday in June to express his sorrow for his sin. If then impenitent, the session will ask the Presbyter}^ to excommunicate him, which was done on the 20th day of Jul}^, 1789, by the ap- pointment of Presbytery by the Rev. Solomon Moore, Moderator." From this humiliating scene, a minister excommunicated for drunkenness, for indecent conduct in the house of wor- ship on the Lord's day, and for lying, we now turn to an unique occurrence — a " Scotch-Irish " church court in per- sonal communication with the " President of the United States of America." In October, 1789, George Washington went "down East," and he who had " lifted up his voice like a trumpet," 240 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM who had aided successfully " committees of safety " and constrained men to fill the depleted ranks in the army, whose head was previously for years in the British mar- ket worth five hundred sterling pounds, standing in part in the shadow of the then traveller himself, as " the first in war, the first in peace " in the pulpit, and where he was not positively hated, " the first in the hearts of his coun- trymen," now, with his co-presbyters, addresses the Chief Magistrate of the nation. While the address, like the clerk who prepared it, may be by some considered a little " poilipous," those only Avho can produce one more appropriate are entitled to cavil at it. The criticisms of inferior minds cannot deteriorate it. *' The Address of the First Presbytery of the Eastward to George Washington, President of the United States: "Sir: We, the ministers and ruling elders resident in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, which comi^ose ' the First Presbytery of the Eastward^'' now holding a stated ses- sion in this town (Newbury portj, beg leave to a})proach your presence with genuine feelings of the deepest venera- tion and highest esteem. " We ask the lionor of a place among the multitudes of good citizens who are ambitious of expressing the heartfelt satisfaction with which they bid you a cordial welcome to these eastern parts of your government. In unison with rejoicing millions we felicitate our country and ourselves •on your unanimous election to the highest office which a nation can bestow, and on your acceptance of the trust with every evidence which a citizen can give of being ac- tuated thereto by the purest principles of patriotism, of piety and of self-denial. " Great was the joy of our hearts to see the late tedious and destructive war at length terminated in a safe and honorable peace ; to see the liberty and independence of our country happily secured ; to see wise constitutions of civil government peaceably established in the several States, and especially to see a confederation of them all finally agreed on by the general voice. " But with all our joy, we ever contemplated with regret the want of efficiency in the Federal government ; we ardently wished for a form of national union which should IN NEW ENGLAND. 241 draw the cord of amity more closely around the several States, concentrate their separate interests and reduce the freemen of America to one great body, ruled by one head and animated by one soul. "And we now devoutly offer our humble tribute of praise and thanksgiving to the all gracious Father of lights, who has inspired our public councils with a wisdom and firm- ness which have effected that desirable purpose in so great a measure by the National Constitution^ and who has fixed the eyes of all America on you as the worthiest of its citi- zens to be entrusted with the execution of it. " Whatever any may have supposed wanting in the original plan, we are happ}^ to find so wisely providing in its amendments ; and it is with peculiar satisfaction that we behold how easily the entire confidence of the people in the man who sits at the helm of government has eradicated every remaining objection to its form. "Among these we never considered iha want of a relig- ious test, that grand engine of persecution in every tyrant's hand. But we should not have been alone in rejoicing to have seen some explicit acknowledgment* of ' the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent ' inserted some- where in the Magna Charta of our country. " We are happy to find, however, that this defect has been remedied in the face of all the world by the piet}' and de- votion in which your first public act of office was performed — by the religious observance of the Sabbath and of the public worship of God, of which you have set so eminent an example — and by the warm strains of Christian and de- vout affections which run through your late proclamation for a general thanksgiving. " The catholic spirit breathed in all your public acts sup- ports us in the assurance that no religious establishments, no exclusive privileges tending to elevate one denomination of Christians to the depression of the remainder, can be ratified by the signature of the President during your ad- ministration. On the contrary, w^e bless God that your whole deportment bids all denominations confidently to expect to find in you the ^vatchful guardian of their equal "An acknowledgment would pick no man's pocket and break no man's leg." — {Thomas Jefferson.) 16 242 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM liberties, the steady patron of genuine Christianity, and the bright example of those peculiar virtues in which its dis- tinguishing doctrines have their proper effects. Under the nurturing hand of a Ruler of such virtues and one so de- servedly revered by all ranks, we joyfully indulge the hope that virtue and religion will revive and liourish ; that infi- delity and the vices ever attendant in its train will be ban- ished from every polite circle, and that rational piety will soon become fashionable there, and from thence be diffused among all other ranks in the community. " Captivated with the delightful prospect of a national reformation rising out of the influence of your authority and example, we find the fullest encouragement to cherish the hope of it from the signal deeds of pious and patriotic heroism, which marked the steps of 'the Father of his country,' from the memorable hour of his appearance in Congress, to declare the disinterested views with which he accepted the command of her armies, to that hour not less memorable, when, having gloriously acquitted himself in that important trust and completely accomplished the de- sign of it, he appeared in the same great Assembly again, and resigned his commission into the hands that gave it. " But glorious as your course has been as a soldier in arms, defending your country and the rights of mankind, we exult in the presage, that it will be far outshone by the superior lustre of a more glorious career now before you as the Chief Magistrate of our nation, protecting by just and merciful laws and by a wise, firm and temperate exe- cution of them, enhancing the value of those inestimable rights and privileges which you have so worthily asserted to it by your sword. " Permit us then, Great Sir, to assure you, that while it ever shall be our care in our several places, to inculcate on our people those principles drawn from the pure fountain of light and truth in the sacred Scriptures, which can best recommend your virtues to their imitation, and which, if generally obeyed, would contribute essentially to render your people happ}' and your government prosperous; our unceasing prayer to the Great Sovereign of all nations shall be that your important life and all your singular talents, may be the special care of an indulgent Providence for many years to come; that your administration may be IN NEW ENGLAND. 243 continued to your country under the peculiar smiles of heaven, long enough to advance the interests of learning to the zenith ; to carry the arts and sciences to their destined perfection ; to chase ignorance, bigotry and im- morality off the stage; to restore true virtue and the reli- gion of Jesus to their deserved throne in our land, and to found the liberties of America, both religious and civil, on a basis which no era of futurity shall ever see removed ; and, finally, that when you have thus done, free grace may confer on you, as the reward of all your great labors, the unfading laurels of an everlasting crown. " Signed in the name, presence, and on behalf of the First Presbytery of the Eastward. " Joseph Prince, Moderator. " John Murray, Pres. Clerk." The President's answer to the above address : To the Ministers and Ruling Elders delegated to represent the churches in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, which compose the First Presbytery of the Eastward. "Gentlemen: The affectionate welcome which 3'ou aie pleased to give me to the eastern part of this Union, would leave me without excuse did I fail to acknowledge the sensibility it aAvakens, and to express the most sincere re- turn that a grateful sense of your goodness can suggest. To be approved by the praiseworthy, is a wish as natural to becoming ambition as its consequence is flattering to self-love. I am, indeed, much indebted to the favorable sentiments which you entertain towards me, and it will be my study to deserve them. " The tribute of thanksgiving which you offer to the gracious Father of lights, for his inspiration of our public councils with wisdom and firmness to complete the na- tional Constitution, is worthy of men who, devoted to the pious purposes of religion, desire their accomplishment by such means as advance the temporal happiness of man- kind. "And here, I am persuaded, you will permit me to ob- serve, that the path of true piety is so plain as to require but little political attention. To this consideration we 244 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM ought to ascribe the absence of any regulation respecting religion from the Magna Charta of our country. " To the guidance of the ministers of the gospel this im- portant object is, perhaps, more properly committed. It will be your care to instruct the ignorant, to reclaim the devious ; and in the progress of morality and science, to which our government will give every furtherance, we may expect confidentl3% the advancement of true religion and the completion of hapj^iness. I pray the munificent re- warder of every virtue, that your agency in this good work may receive its compensation here and hereafter. " George Washington." At the risk of being charged with needless repetitions, I now revert to the anomalous position of the Rev. Mr. Murray. His usefulness was limited and his life made bitter by the stigma cast on his character. In Newburyport the pulpits were generally closed against him, and some of the pastors would not even speak to him. This was not all. The union of the three Presbyteries — his own, that of Grafton and one called the Presbytery of Londonderry (to be subsequently noticed), now became to him a matter of earnest desire. But the Presbytery at the Eastward, as well as Mr. Murray him- self, was denied to be in regular stimding, and from it, it was feared, that unless order and Presbyterial harmony could be obtained, the three Western churches w^ould finally withdraw. This pressed heavily (among others) on the mind of the Rev. Simon Williams, of Windham. He had borne odium for the part which he had taken in tlie installation of Mr. Murray at Newburyport, and years did not diminish it. He wrote to the Rev. Dr. Robert Smith, of Piiiladelphia, who " earnestl}^ recommended the personal a]>pearance of Mr. Murray before that Presbytery, in order to tiike off the censure and restore him to good standing with the Ameri- can Presbyterian churches." By having this done, Mr. Williams then saw the way apparently clear for a union of the three Presbyteries in New England, and the further propagation of Presbyterianism in the region, as w^ell as inter-denominational intercourse and fellowship with the surrounding regular Congregational churches. He wrote IN NEW ENGLAND. 245 earnestly to Mr. Murray, stating his motives — the glory of God, the honor of the American Presbyterian church, the well-being of his Presbytery, and the honor and dignity of his own person, as a lawtiilly ordained minister. So earnestly did he desire this, that he submitted the letter from Dr. Smith to his own session, then to the session of Londonderry, again to his own session, and then wrote in earnest terms to Mr. Murray, begging him to comply Avith the proposition stated by Dr. Smith. He says : " I trust that you yourself, and all that fear God in your society, will view my conduct in the most favorable light. If yourself and session think it best to drop the matter, I shall only briefly by letter inform Dr. Smith ; but, if you and they {consider atis consider cm dis) judge it best that I should go on and use all my endeavors to bring this affair to the happy union of the said Presbyter}^ of the Eastward with the other Presbyterian churches, then let this further inform you that when you concur, I will lay a proper memorial before our Presbytery that it may be corrected and authenticated by the moderator, in order to furnish our agent to wait upon the Presbytery of Philadelphia." Dr. Smith also Avrote to Mr. Murray, and while his friends prevailed on him to answer the Doctor, yet he never changed his position. He persisted in denying the forgery, and finally "intimated the utter impracticability of so great a journey." His "judgment respecting the importance of his Presby- tery continuing in a state of independent separation from the other Presbyteries," was very different from the opinion of the pastor and session of Windham ; and his own ses- sion, if they urged on him the propriety of the course recom- mended by Mr. Williams, had on his purpose and course no productive influence. We have seen the frame of his mind in 1774, when he wrote that " the searcher of all hearts knew Ids agonies of mind on every review, and that no restoration to the favor of men could ever give him ease ; " and now, after fifteen years (and even till the day of his death, four years after- ward), none of the considerations pressed upon him by his friend, the Rev. Simon Williams, changed his mind. Returning to the Presbyter3^ In 1790 they held two meetings — one at Windham and the other at Londonderry, 246 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM and after due examination in natural and moral philos- ophy, natural religion and the evidences of Divine revela- tion, in systematic divinit}^ their personal experience and their motives, the}^ directed them to deliver their popular sermons, all wliicli being satisfactorily done, they licensed Mr. Atkinson and Mr. More to preach the gospel. By elders Moulton and Tukesbury application was made that Mr. Jonathan Brown (candidate) preach in Amesbury, Seabrook, and Salisbury (old town) in rotation. They promise him five dollars per Sabbath and iiis ferryage. He was so appointed. Mr. IMore preached with accept- ance in the town of Brunswick, and on June 4th, 1791, they petition for his return to them for "further tryal." Business meetings were held at New Market and New- buryport in 1791. On February 15th, 1791, the Rev. Wm. Davidson, of Derry, died, after a pastorate of above fifty years, at the age of seventy-seven. He was a man of an amiable char- acter, exemplary in deportment, and a devoted pastor. As a theologian or as a public speaker he did not excel, and his doctrinal views were not always distinctively Cal- vinistic. He was beloved for his suaviter in modo more than he was relied upon for his fort iter in re. Thus the " Scotch- Irish" in the ministry were called away, and their mantles (so far as they could fill them) were increasingly worn by natives of New England, who had not the advantages of studying at the University of Edinburgh, which Mr. Davidson and many of his predecessors and associates enjoyed. We have already seen the pungent letter of Presbytery written by their clerk to the society in Seabrook, who had, through alleged poverty, " silent Sabbaths and a shut tem- ple door," and to all who have the charge of souls as pas- tors, elders, or church courts, the result (under the blessing of heaven) should prove admonitory and encouraging. They not only asked for supplies in 1790, but on June 13th, 1792, the Presbytery there held their last meeting, of which we have minutes fully recorded. There were present Revs. Nathaniel Ewer, Solomon Moore, and John Murray, with ruling elders Joseph Young, Abraham Moore, Jeremiah Pearson, David Tukesbury, John Moul- ton, and Thomas Kennedy ; and the Rev. Simon Williams IX NEW ENGLAND. 247 (absent) was appointed to open the next meeting by a ser- mon on the 13th chap, of the Conf. of Faith (on Sanctifi^ cation). "Voted by Presbytery, that they meet for the future at some central place, which shall by them be ap- pointed, with the proviso that the next meeting be at New Boston, on Wednesday, the 4th day of October." " Mr. Moore was reappointed to Brunswick for two months. A call from Salisbury for Mr. Jonathan Brown was sustained as regular ; the answer to the call was post- poned, and Mr. B. was ordered to preacli there for four Sabbaths. Messrs. David Adams and James Choate ap- peared as a committee from the first church in Derry for supply. The clerk was ordered to give to them a copy of a letter from Mr. James McGregor to the Rev. John Murray, stating objections against Mr. Brown's going to Derry as a preacher." " The Rev. Mr. Murray was appointed to assign places to the candidates after they have fulfilled their appoint- ments." " Mr. Nathan Broadstreet, a graduate of Dartmouth, was now examined for license. His extensive examination was satisfactor}^" " Mr. William Pidgeon, a student from Exeter Academy, having given satisfaction, was as a Bursar recommended to Dartmouth College." "The proposals for a union (which we shall subse- quently (D. V.) notice) between the Presbyteries of New England being laid before the Presbytery, voted, that they be received as preliminaries to a general plan, and that the Rev. Messrs. Nathaniel Ewer, Simon Williams, and John Murra}^ be commissioned b}" the clerk as delegates to attend a Synodical Convention at Dartmouth College, on the 23d of August next (1792), for the purpose of uniting the several Presbyteries into one Synod ; and this Presby- tery engages to ratify as their own act whatever may be done therein by their said delegates, or any number of them, who may attend at that meeting." "Adjourned to the meeting-house at New Boston, there to meet on the 4th day of October next (1792), at 10 a. m. Concluded with prayer." Thus the Synod of New England, formed at Seabrook in 1775j ignoring the existence of the Presbytery at the East- 248 HISTOKY OF PRESBYTERIANISM ward, continued some seven years ; and the Presbytery of Salem, to which it was reduced, becoming extinct on the 14th of September, 1791, at Gray, in Maine, this Presby- tery survived it only nine months. It may be said, that while its regular records are not found, it may have prospered for years. This was simply possible, not probable ; for one man was " the author and " apparently the "finisher of" it. He who had (for above twenty-one years, through evil report and through good report) been the embodiment of this Presbytery, finished his course at Newburyport, on March 13th, 1793, aged fifty-one. His funeral sermon was preached by the Rev. James Miltimore, parish pastor of Stratham, N. H. After his death regular meetings of the Presbytery were held for a few years, but how long we cannot determine. Thus, on April 19th, 1793, the three selectmen of the town of Belfast, Maine, gave power to " Deacon John Tufts to procure for the parish some person of good moral char- acter to preach for three months, for the sum of £14 or £15 in money." If Mr. Abraham Moore could not be obtained, he was instructed to consult the sessions of Windham or of Lon- donderry, for " our benefit, in this wilderness country." IN NEW ENGLAND. 249 CHAPTER XI. 1768-1793 — " Incurable dissatisfaction " in N.Y. carried North — Arjjyle settled and named, 1771 — Rev. Tlios. Clarke's Colony — Salem, N.Y. — The N. H. grants — Peterboro, N. H., notices of — W. Londonderry — AVm. Morrison — A. R. Synod formed — Its third Presbytery extended into N. E. — Presbytery of Salem (Mass.) desired to unite with it — Frustrated by Rev. S. Taggart — Irregular yet valid— May 19, 1783, R. Annan stated the case of Long Lane Congn. — "As he saw lit" — Notices of this man and that Congn. — Their application to Presbytery ^ — Received — Their danger — A. installed Sept. 25, 1783 — "A peculiar item of business"— Installations asked — Supplies, etc. — Litchfield — "Whipple — A deep want of Ministers now felt — What Anderson was to read — Supplies asked — The statement of R. Annan — Synod's rule — Rev. J. Houston— Groton, its trials and activity — Their case received attention — Whipple — Rev. R. Annan edited Ba(h Kol — Boston not Paradise — A.'s eccentricities — Recalled to Wallkill — Young preachers much wanted — A reconciliation desired — Not effected — An overture requested — Supplies, etc., asked — Church privileges — Offences in Cole- raine — Directions — Journeys performed to supply vacancies — Annan not unwilling to leave Boston — Bedford asked him — Worry — Local issues avoided by reference — Positive convictions — A time set — A Providential interposition — Dilapidation increasing — Elders said to be of no good, only to settle quarrels — Voted themselves into Congre- gationalism— The pious grieved — Little's Trust now perverted by schism — No redress — Fourteen families forced out — Blotted out in Boston by injustice — Presbytery of Londonderry from June 2d, 1786 — Records — Supplies asked — Difficulties in Coleraine considered — La- borers much wanted — " Orthodox," its meaning in 1787 — The political field —The L'^. S. Constitution — Simply Presbyterian church government adapted to the State — Brattle Street Church — " The Irisli meeting- house" in Long Lane — The structure — The U. S. Cons, adopted in it — An appropriateness — Federal Street Church — Patriotic delight in this spot by every true citizen in Massachusetts — A breach of moral hon- esty— The waning vestiges of this polity in our field — Antrim — Mer- rill unworthy — Six members of Peterboro anent a new version of the Psalms — The A. R. Synod — Supplies wanted — Reasons for non-attend- ance at Synod — " The broken State " — Presbytery of Grafton — At the Eastward the expediency of a coalescence with October 1, 1788 — Overborne — Response from Grafton Presbytery acknowledged — Bar- net incorporated — Cannot attend Synod — Modr. to write thus — Good feeling growing — Resignation of an Elder — " Devoutly to be wished " 250 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM — Concurrence on the matter of Rev. .Tno. Murray asked — Colby and plan of union — Supplies asked — "Void" — A change coming over — Toil — Letters of inquiry — Toombs — Oliver — Advice craved — D. An- nan demits — Attends Synod — Called October 19, 1791, A. R. Presby- tery of New England — Clamour — Dog-killers— Praise silenced in families — Imputation — A vote of thanks to the Rev. Dr. Huntington of Conn., for his defence of it — Supplies asked — Rev. D. Annan's troubles — Requests a dismission, granted — A Synodical Convention called — Grafton Presbytery absent, and no further notice of them is to be taken by the others — The A. R. and fragments of the P. at Eastward eventually "coalesced" — Grafton an amateur Presbytery — Jona. Brown as colleague to Ewer, remains of first Derry session, ask admission to the A. R. Presbytery of New England, and are admitted — Oliver installed in Pelhani — Instructions asked — Toou)bs called to Newburyport — No attendance at Synod for three years — A source of grief — Numbers and not purity now in the A. R. Presbytery, hence a "coalescence" — The terms of union — Four parallel R. R.'s in Iowa, from Cheyenne one track — Similar here at the close of this quarter of a century* (in 1793) with Presbyterianism in New P^ngland — Now one Presbytery — Introduction— Growth while the early Ministers survived — Yet they were not all faithful — John Morrison a disgrace and David Annan nothing better— Deposed — Notices of him— The Bible and family worship preserved religion (under God) in Peterboro for 50 years — A dark period — A noble testimony — Periods of existence of Presbyteries — A working Presbytery. We have seen that about a. d. 1760, those Presbyterians in New York City who endeavored to receive, observe, keep pure and entire the worship " of God in psalmody," were sneered at as " incurably dissatisfied," and that the Revs. Alex. Gellatly and John Mason ministered to them. This dissatisfaction was from the city carried to the towns in northeastern New Y^ork by emigrants from Scotland and Ireland. One of the oldest of the pioneer churches in that region is that of Argyle, Washington co. In 1764, George III. granted to Archibald Campbell, Duncan Reid, Neil Shaw, Alex. McNaughton, and Neil Gillespie about 47,000 acres, for about 140 Presbyterian emigrants, who came soon afterwards from Scotland. 500 acres were reserved for the gospel and for schools. The town was organized and named about 1771. In 1764 the Rev. Thomas Clarke, M. D., came from Ballibay, Ireland. Part of his colony of 300 people went to Long Cane, in South Carolina, while he, with the rest, in 1767, settled in Salem, N. Y. He had the honor of first raising the standard of Presbyterianism in that region, IN NEW ENGLAND. 251 none being farther north at that time. He left Salem about 1783, and went to Long Cane, where he died. The town of Salem bordering on the State of Vermont, commmiication, such as was attainable then, was in due time opened up. We have also to remember, that " pre- vious to the American Revolution, that part of the coun- try known as ' Vermont,' vv^as called ' the New Hampshire Grants,' and was claimed by both New Hampshire and New York. The General Assembly of New York divided it into four counties, two on the west and two on the east side of the Green mountains." As population pushed westward through and from New Hampshire, up the Connecticut river into these " Grants," Presbyterians were sandwiched in among other sects, and Peterboro in the southwestern part of the State was, as early as 1749, settled by emigrants from Londonderry. They built a house of worship in 1752, and their town was incorporated in 1760. After making varied efforts, and obtaining some temporary supply of preaching, on March 18th, 1766, "Article 4th in the town warrant made provision for public action in regard to the settlement of John Morrison." As the first settled minister of the town he was ordained there on November 26th, 1766. His wretched career we have already noticed ; and he was succeeded b}" the Rev. David Annan, who was ordained by the Associate Presbytery of New York " at Wallkill, N. Y., in October, 1778, with Peterboro for his destina- tion."^ This congregation, on October 1st, 1778, asked and ob- tained a dismission from the S3mod of New England, and on uniting with the Associate Presbytery of New York, they were brought into ecclesiastical intercourse with those beyond " the Green mountains," who had the " incurable dissatisfaction." After the death of the Rev. David Mc- Gregor (on May 30th, 1777), his congregation, being as yet " incurably dissatisfied " with hymnology, found it diffi- cult to obtain a pastor. As the colony, which some fifteen years before removed to Truro, Nova "Scotia, had procured one from Great Britain ; to them they made application, in hopes that they could inform them how to proceed with success*. From that quarter they obtained no relief. After continuing a vacancy for six years, they made an unani- 252 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM mous choice of Mr. William Morrison, a licentiate of the Associate Presbytery of New York, and placed themselves under its care. The Associate Reformed Synod was formed on October 1st, 1782, at Philadelphia, and consisted of three Presby- teries, the third one extending into New England. With it the Presbytery of Salem, Mass., were desirous to unite. They wrote to Dr. Clarke at Salem, N. Y., the answer to which application expressed a desire of said union and a promise to submit the proposal to his Presbytery. While negotiations were in progress, the Rev. Samuel Taggart, as noticed, informed the others by a letter, that he had made overtures to the Associate Reformed Presby- tery "for a junction with them, as far as may be without a dismission from this body," and this was deemed to be " irregular and unpresbyterial," as hopes of a union were now entertained. He was allowed to depart in peace and in good stand- ing, yet the Salem Presbytery did not dismiss him till June 2d, 1785. Hence, at Londonderry the Presbytery, composed of Rev. David Annan and the Rev. Samuel Tag- gart, ministers, with Elders George Duncan, of London- derry; David Harours, of Coleraine, and Robert Morrison, of Peterboro, ordained and installed the Rev. William Morrison, on February Tith, 1783. A p?'o re vata meeting was held in the same place, on May 19th, 1783, in which, with the others, the Rev. Robert Annan was associated. By the court " Mr. Morrison's ordination, though deemed to be irregular, was approved as valid and constitutional." " Mr. Robert Annan then laid the situation of the con- gregation in Boston before the Presbytery, as being desti- tute of the powers of government." He ''was appointed to moderate in an election of elders in that congregation, and to admit them as he saw fit," and it was voted to de- lay his installation till after the next meeting. This man and that congregation now require oi*r attention. He was born at Cu])ar of Fife, in Scotland, in 1742, and came to America in 1761. At the commenceruent of the Revolutionary war he was settled at or near Little Britain, now Walden, on the Wallkill, N. Y. When Boston was besieged and reduced nearly to starvation by the British, it was proposed in his congregation to send to them relief. IN NEW ENGLAND. 253 A meeting was called and held in his church. A lawyer endeavored by his eloquence to shew to the people their danger and prospective ruin, if they should thus aggravate the displeasure of England. The " Scotch " of the Scotch- man began to boil. He spoiled the oration and drove the orator into insignificance. Listening to the plausibilities uttered for a short time, he sprang to his feet, crying, *' toot, man, we have had enough of that," and, namfng a prominent man present, lie exclaimed, "All of you who are willing to send aid to our brethren in Boston follow Mr. out to the green, and all who are against doing so will remain in the house and hear the squire." The house was immediately emptied, and the speaker was left alone in his glory. Aid was sent, and the name of Robert Annan became known in Boston. When visiting his brother in Peterboro, and extending his journey to Boston, he was by the public, and especially by the Presbyterians, cordially received. As the congregation in Long Lane, after nine- teen months of earnest labor for the services of the Rev. John Murray, had, in 1776, entered their declinature, and were yet smitten with the "incurable dissatisfaction," so soon as they had opportunity of hearing the Rev. Robert Annan, they made application for his services as follows : Copy of the Letter dated September 11th, 1782, addressed by William McNeilU Andrew Black, Robert Weir, Hector Mc- Neill, and Simon Elliot, a Committee of the Congregation in Long Lane, to the Associate Presbytery of New York. " To the Associate Presbytery of New York, to meet at Peterburough, the 3d Wednesday in September, 1782 : " Reverend Gentlemen, " Convinced of the necessity of a Religious Life, and dwelling in a Land where the means of grace are plenti- fully enjoyed by others, we ardently wish to see ourselves upon a footing with our fellow-Christians, in observing the institutions of the Gospel. "And whereas the preaching of the word hath been made (through the divine blessing) the means of convincing and converting sinners, and building them up in the ways of virtue, and Holiness, it is our earnest desire to provide 254 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM ^ ourselves with these means, which God has always been pleased to continue and bless, for the spiritual good and edification of his churcli, firmly persuaded that our wait- ing upon Inm in the way of his own appointment is not only our duty, but the surest way to obtain his blessing here, and of being prepared for a Blessed Eternity with himself in Glory. " For this salutary purpose we have (we trust in God), by the special guidance of divine providence, fixed our choice upon the Rev. Mr. Robert Annan, to Administer the word and ordinances of the Gospel amongst us ; Humbly hoping that the Lord will favor tliis our choice, with his di- vine presence and Blessing, and make him the happ}^ instru- ment of collecting our dispersed people (who have been long wandering like sheep without a shepherd) and reviving once more the principles of piety and religion amongst us. " From the good character we had of this Rev. Gentle- man before he came to us, from the knowledge we have had of himself since our acquaintance with him, and from every idea we have been able to form of a Gospel Minister, we plainly see the suitableness there is between his abilities and our necessities. " Wherefore, having stood single and unconnected with any of the Presb^'teries in this Country for several years past, and finding tliat Mr. Annan still inclines to continue his connection with your reverend body, we find ourselves impelled by every rational motive to make our application to you at this time, earnestly Beseeching you to take the case of our society into your serious consideration. That our dissolution as a Worshipping Assembly may be prevented, which otherwise must surely happen, unless the Lord be pleased to bless us very soon with a faithful minister. " We are persuaded, That our necessities will plead for us, as well as our danger of falling into nothing as a society, if our present request be not attended to, and we hope these considerations will induce you to use your interest and in- fluence with the Rev'd Mr. Annan, and all concerned, to bring about his settlement with us at Boston. " Upon this express design, we have sent our trusty friends Hector McNiell, Simon Elliot and Francis Wright, or any two of them, as our commissioners to confer with you, and conclude on such measures as may be thought IN NEW ENGLAND. 255 most likely to effect this purpose in the best and speediest manner possible. " We are, Gentlemen, with sincerity and Brotherly Love, for ourselves, and on behalf of the Presbyterian Con- gregation in Long Lane, in the town of Boston, " Your Friends and Humble Servants, " William McNiell, Andrew Black, Simon Elliot, " Robert Weir, Hector McNiell, Committee. " Boston, ,Scp^. 11th, 1782. " To the Rev'd Associate Presbytery of New York, to sit at Peterburough 3d Wednesday this instant Sept'r." This Presbytery on that day received them, and they were "Associate " Presbyterians for a few weeks, and then this congregation formed one of those who, on October 31st, 1782, entered into the union with the Reformed Pres- byterians, in harmony with the terms of union agreed to at Pequa, Pennsylvania, on the 13th day of the previous June. Thus, the Long Lane real estate, the gift of John Little in 1735, became legitimately the property of the new de- nomination, as the congregation became a part of the As- sociate Reformed church. When the Synod was, on November 1st, 1782, arranged into Presbyteries, the third embraced Rev. Messrs. Thomas Clarke, John Mason, Robert Annan, David Annan, minis- ters with their ruling elders. It was constituted first in Philadelphia on November 1st. This Presbytery met at Londonderry on February 3 2th, and ordained Mr. William Morrison; and at the same place, on May 19th, 1783, " Mr. Robert Annan was appointed to moderate in an election of elders." In supplying the pulpit during summer, he made the discovery that they were in some " danger of falling into nothing as a societ}^" The thirty who would not join in the declinature were probably scattered ; they had been without a pastor for ten years, including a seven years' war, which brought in a flood of immorality, and were " destitute of the powers of government," having no ruling elders, Avhile the office and position of the Precentor (facing, in his desk, the congregation) had been exchanged by the assimilation of the juvenile mind to their congre- 256 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM gational surroundings, and, as he stated it, " a band of conciliators " placed themselves at the opposite end of the building, behind the audience, and when he, in Divine worship, would announce a psalm, they would sing ac- cording to their own '' tastes," a portion of the 139 imita- tions of Dr. Watts'. Beside this, a few of the families had become com])aratively wealthy, and the parents did not discourage their youth from promiscuous dancing, all which were a grief to the pious part of the church. Nor was this all. Not a few cases of anti-nuptial offence pol- luted the church, and when, for the honor of Christ, he and the pious part of the congregation thought that they who had thus " sinned " should be " rebuked before all, that others also may fear" (1 Tim. v. 20); such persons, who had '' dishonored their own bodies between them- selves " (Rom. i. 24), became " hardened through the de- ceitfulness of sin," and were unwilling, not only to submit publicly to the authority of the Lord Jesus, but even to be rebuked before the session in private. In short, to ac- knowledge that they had sinned at all. Finding, that in such cases " the word of the Lord had not free course," and that the " Holy One " was not " glori- fied," in a year or two his pastorate became less pleasant and change increasingly desirable. On revisiting Wallkill, and saying to one of his former elders (a Mr. McClure), '' I wish 3- ou would come with me and serve as an elder in Boston," he was answered thus : " because you have made a fool of yourself, that is no rea- son why I sliould make one of myself" " The course of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the lust of other things had entered in and choked the word until it had become (extensively) unfruitful." While his eccentricities were not a few, he was '' a master in Israel " in the pulpit, declared to be, during his stay, the ablest, or, at least, one of the ablest divines in Boston. He was " held highly in love for his work's sake." When the Presbytery met, according to appointment at Peterboro, on September 2d, 1783, "A letter from Boston, empowering the Rev. David Annan to act as a commis- sioner for and in behalf of the church, as also an earnest request of the society for the speedy settlement of Rev. Robert Annan," werfe read. ' IN NEW ENGLAND. 257 In answer it was " voted," that his instaUment be on the 25th inst. ; that the sacrament of the Lord's Supper be dis- pensed on the next Sahhath, and that the Rev. David Annan preach the instalhnent sermon and perform the other official duties, while Mr. Morrison was to preach in the afternoon. This was performed at date, and he jDro- ceeded to discharge conscientiously his official duties. At this stated meeting (September 2d) the Rev. Dr. Clarke, David Annan and Wilham Morrison were present with their elders, and a ])eculiar item of business was to "invite the Rev. Samuel Taggart " (who had assisted the Rev. David Annan on Februar^y 12th* to ordain Mr. "Wil- liam Morrison) "and his elder, Daniel Donaldson, to sit as correspondents." A petition from New Perth (Salem, N. Y.) requestinj^ the installation of the Rev. James Proudfit, was read ; and a request from Albany, from persons who were not of the Associate Reformed persuasion, asking the constituting the Rev. Thomas Clarke, INI. D., as their pastor.; and one from Fleming's Creek, requesting supply by Dr. Clarke. ''Resolved, To supply Ryegate and Barnet, if possible." The installation of the Rev. James Proudfit was ap- jwinted to take place at New Perth, N. Y., on October 22d, 1783, and " Dr. Clarke to supph' in Albany as far as it is consistent with his duty to this body." At the annual meeting at " Londonderry, September 2d, 1784, Mr. Morrison proposed to go a long journey, and re- quested some supply for his pulpit." On behalf of the committee of the town of Litchfield, N. H.. Mr. ^IcQuistou asked preaching. A vote of the town of Bedlbrd was read, asking ministerial labor, and a IMr. Whipple (whose name does not previously appear) " was appointed to sup- ply the first two places alternately for six Sabbaths." Also ordered, tliat "Mr. Morrison, when at the South- ward, endeavor to obtain supply for Bedford." " Presby- tery earnestly recommended Messrs. R. Annan, Taggart, Proudfit and Clarke to attend the next meeting and press Synod to write in a synodical capacity to any sound judi- cature in Scotland or in Ireland, for a supply of ministers, or young preachers, as in this part of the world ' the har- vest is plenteous, and the laborers are few.'" On his own application^ Mr. James Anderson, previ- 17 258 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM ously in connection with another Presbytery, was received as a student of divinity and '' recommended to read Owen, Boston, Hervey and the Erskine's writings, to study with Mr. iMorrison and prepare prescribed 'trials.'" At a meeting in Peterboro, March 2d, 1785, petitions for supply were received from lienniker and Antrim. [ His health failing him, the Rev. R. Annan stated ^that ! lie purposed to go soutli for the improvement of it, and to J attend the next meeting of Synod. \- On his request, during his absence, Mr. Whipple was [ appointed to supply in Boston. Proposed to ask Synod to set aside its rulef "That members be received from any Presbytery of any other Synod than the Associate Re- formed Synod, simply by Presbyteries, without synodical action, as such rule docs not appear to be for general edifi- cation." The Rev. John Houston was admitted as a cor- respondent. June 12th, 1785, p?'o re nata, at Londonderry. Present — Annans, Morrison and Houston. Mr. Anderson delivered parts of his " trials." The Rev. R. Annan was appointed to Avrite to the Rev. Mr. of Londonderry, Ireland, for his removal to Ryegate and Barnet. Oii February 2oth, 1786, the aggrieved Groton people, wliosj case in connection with another Presbytery, we have seen, were represented by four commissioners to defend said society against any accusations which might be brouglit against it, for a letter from the Rev. Mr. Chap- lin and the Congregationalist church there, was just read. Said Commissioners also requested a recommendation that the Presbyterians might be set off as a Poll parish in Gro- ton. International law being considered as of a very high character, so tiieir interdenominational case received full attention, and they then " voted. That tlie letter from the Congregational minister and church in Groton con- tained nothing of any force or validity against the Presby- terian society of said town, and as to the letter from Mr. Dana, it contained a favorable representation of said society to the Presbytery." " Said committee of Groton being neither confronted by- accusers nor witnesses against them, voted, that said soci- ety be continued under our care and inspection according to a former vote ; that they tell their numbers and be rec- I IN NEW ENGLAND. 259 ommended to the civil authorities to be set off as a poll parish ; that the Rev. R. Annan preach to them from time to time, and that our papers and minutes anent their matters be sent to Synod for advice." To them Mr. Hous- ton was also to preach. AV^ith tne unknown, Presbyter}^ dealt summarily thus : " Dissolved connection with Mr. Whipple." "Mr. Morrison to supply Bedford as much as possible." While the Rev. R. Annan was busy in Massachusetts in his own Presbytery and among his own people, he also found time to proof-read and issue Bath Kol for "the Presbytery at the Eastward," to attend other church courts and conventions, yet he did not find it in his case to be as it was said a century before, " Boston is the paradise of ministers." His people continued to be divided — the richer part caring less about sound doctrine and pure wor- ship, which the poorer portion of the people prayed for and craved. Yet he said both parties used him well. His eccentricities were such that of him it was said : " When he was in the pulpit, it was a pity he should ever come out; and when out, it was almost a pity he should ever go in." He did not, it seems, understand human na- ture well. During his pastorate. Captain Alexander Wil- son died abroad, and the owners of his ship, on hearing it, thought it best to have her pastor bear the solemn tidings to Mrs. Wilson, a daughter of the late Rev. John Moore- heacl. This he agreed to do. As her daughter, Mrs. Cos- sington (in 1849), told me : " He came when we were at dinner. One of us girls " (three sisters) " saw him through the window, and said, ' There's Mr. Annan.' Another said, ' He might have manners enough not to come at dinner- time.' But mother said, ' There's news.' The mother and daughters left the table and met him in the hall. Mother, fearing that something was wrong, inquired at once, ' Is there any news from the ship, Mr. Annan ? ' and received the overwhelming response, ' Yes, you're a widow ! ' No patient, wise, soothing, sjmipathizing introduction, but the worst first. "All entering the parlor together, and there giving ex- pression to their sorrow, the dinner was not thought of for a long time. When the}" returned thc}^ found that the dog had gone up and taken their lamb below the table, 260 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM and of it had made his meal — which incident had riveted it in the memory of the narrator for some sixty-four* years." He assuredly possessed but a little of that sympathy which is akin to common sense, for in this case he acted with the best intentions. The shrewd observers in his former chari^e, with whom he kept a friendly correspondence, saw that, while he went from them partly in order to obtain an education for his family, who, he claimed, had a riglit to higher instruc- tion than they could enjoy on the Wallkill, entertained hopes that if he were not successful amidst the refinements of Boston, they could again have him as their pastor. According!}^, on February 26th, 1786, " a call to the Rev. R. Annan from Wallkill and Little Britain was laid before Presbytery," The consideration of it was " deferred till next meeting, and the congregation of Boston were notified to show reasons, if any they have, why sucli call should not be sustained." "Voted, that tlie Rev. R. Annan, in case of a voyage to Scotland, be impowered to apply to any sound ecclesiastical judicature in that land for the purpose of obtaining a number of young preachers, such as shall appear to be well qualified to promote pure and vital religion and evan- gelical doctrine in America, and that he use his best en- deavors for that purpose; and also, that he be further im- powered to give a fair representation of our churches in America, and use his best efforts to accomplish a recon- ciliation between our Synod and that of our brethren in Edinburgh." These matters, of deep interest to the denomination, were not effected, as the journey was not performed. At Coleraine, on May 10th, 1786, the Presbytery was constituted by the Rev. Mr. Taggart. Present, R. Annan, Jas. Proudfit, S. Taggart, D. Annan, Wm. Morrison (and the Rev. John Houston as a correspondent), with their elders. Salem, N. Y., requested the installation there of the Rev. Jas. Proudfit, and further asked for " an overture from Presbytery to the next Synod upon church communion," * Mrs. C. died in Maiden, Mass., in 1850, set. 89. IN NEW ENGLAND. 261 and, as if this were not enough, "they desired Presbytery to petition Synod to set aside their present constitu- tion." A petition was presented from Black Creek (now Hebron, N. Y.) to be a distinct congregation. Lieut. Jas. Dickson appeared from Middlefield and Chester, Mass., asking supply, and that said places be taken under the care of Presbytery. Salem, it was ordered, must " pay up Mr. Proudfit's arrears before he be installed there." The question, '' What is necessary to entitle a person to church privileges ? " they answered, " Not merely a credible appearance of a man's being exercised unto godliness in itself, but also soundness in the faith, a competency of knowledge, a willingness to submit to the discipline of Christ in his church, with a regularity of life and conver- sation." " Voted, Not to petition Synod to set aside their present constitution." " It must needs be that offences come," and difficulties had arisen in Coleraine congregation on account that their meeting-house was not built in the most central place. In these it would appear that the pastor had become involved, for he " assigned reasons for a dissolution of the connection with his congregation." Those dissatisfied were advised to return, and ]\Ir. Tag- gart was directed to preach to them as equally as prac- ticable. The people were also to be notified ''and ex- horted to do their duty " to him. While travelling was still difficult (as, eleven years before, it took seven days to carry the news of the battle of Bunker Hill to New York), ministers and elders on church business were then usually in earnest, and journeys which would at times appear insuperable to their feeble successors would be performed with promptitude. Thus, the Rev. Mr. JNIorrison was appointed to travel from Londonderr}^ N. H., or at least from Coleraine, Mass., to supply Wall- kill, N. Y., on tlie third Sabbath of that month (May), a distance of nearly two* hundred miles, over mountains, through swamps, and in paths through the wilderness; while on May 11th, 178(3, Captain James Wilkin, elder, appeared as a commissioner from Wallkill and Little Bri- 262 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM tain to prosecute their recall for Mr. Annan. That he could be induced to leave Boston was extensivel}^ under- stood, for at this meeting the congregation of Bedford made petition to have him on trial as a candidate for the modest period of only " eight weeks." He does not express determination, in view of the action or inaction of his pastoral charge, to remain ; and remem- bering it may be not a little worry in the discharge of duty among his former flock, he feels no eager desire to return, especially as it would deprive his family of their educational opportunities. The advantage of a Superior Court is now realized. These perplexing local issues are now avoided, and after "the call was considered, voted, that the consideration of his removal from Boston to Wallkill and Little Britain be referred to the ensuing meeting of the Synod." He had found, with every other minister of his persua- sion possessed of positive convictions, who has tried the experiment in Boston, that the Presbyterian polity is (and is alone) warranted by the Bible ; that it is not simply the best expedient ; and that he must " speak (to the people) the gospel of God with much contention " (1 Thess. ii. 2). When the matter came before Synod, they limited to him a time, at which period, if he did not accept the call frora his former charge, he should be considered still to con- tinue to be the pastor of Long Lane congregation. In the meantime, he was providentially relieved of the difficulty by receiving a call from a congregation in Phila- delphia. With the varied inducements for a removal which we have noticed, he had had but little encourage- ment in his labors, but few additions to his church-roll. He had baptized but two or three children and solemnized but two marriages in three years. Of "consolation in Christ, comfort of love, fellowship of the spirit, bowels and mercies," among them, there was not enough to "fulfil his joy, that they be like minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind; in lowliness of mind esteem- ing each other better than themselves." Too much that was done by them and among them was only " through strife or vainglory." He was doubtless glad to be removed from them in an orderly manner and by a providential way. They could no longer, with their parents and grands parents, sing : IN NEW ENGLAND, 26^ ' " Behold how good a thing it is, And how becoming well, Together such as brethren are In unity to dwell." — Ps. cxxxiii. For, as he expressed it, " They sang and they sang, till they sung all their piety away, and he had to come away and leave them! " He was by no means the only Presby- terian minister who has realized the same bitter exjDerience in New England. Where the divine hedges of government and discipline are not kept "entire," other "fruits" than those "of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory of God," speedily grow. So it was in Long Lane in 1786. During the past thirteen years, since the death of their first pastor, especially during the seven years' war, dilapi- dation increased with time. Their former elders, who were men of understanding, had fallen asleep, or had left the town, and the office among them had not been well filled. So long had " the faces of the elders " not been " honored," that the office became despised, and the saying became law, that "the elders were only good to settle quarrels, and that the minister and the old men could do that." Consequently (as Mr. Annan left for Philadelphia), those \ who had imbibed Congregational ideas passed into the \ ascendant, and about August 4, 1786, " at a meeting of the proprietors and others of the Presbyterian church, Long Lane, Robert Wier, Moderator — Voted unanimously, that this church and congregation do embrace the Congrega- tional mode of government, and that all difficulties in the church hereafter be settled by the ministers or male mem- bers of the church." The gay and thoughtless were now triumphant, while the pious were grieved, to see only the " rubbish and the stones " of a church which at one time had been watched over by a session of twelve elders. The trust established by John Little was now perverted by schism, and the Presb^^tery had not in it vitality (for it soon had trouble with David Annan and others) to deal with the case, while for them, in the civil courts, there was, as Presbyterians, no redress ; they were from their first appearance deemed to be intruders, and, as in the case gf Newburyport, the law-makers did not smile upon them. 264 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM The majority having become, by their own vote, Con- gregationalists, as they did not, like Peterboro, ask the Presbytery to dismiss them, with them vox populi became vox Dei, and they went on swimmingly. " The Irish meet- ing-house," built in 1743-44, was now " swept and gar- nished," in view of their success, in order to make the place more attractive for a new minister. When a tax was laid upon the pews, to pay for the painting, Mrs. Captain Alexander Wilson (widow), who owned a pew in her own right, rather than see such a perversion of the sacred trust, and a teacher of " divers," if not " strange, doctrines," stand in the pulpit, in which for twenty-nine years she had seen lier father stand as " the messenger of God " and as her own Presbyterian pastor, she resolved (as did thirteen otlier heads of families with her) to forsake the place, and to change, if she could not forget, her Sabbath surround- ings. As the occupants knew there was force in the trust deed, his " pew and seat " was still kept free for the heirs . of John Little. Presbyterianism had to beg twelve years before it was allowed to build its first church in School street, on its own land, and now, after an existence of above seventy years, it is blotted out in Boston. On April 4, 1787, the Rev. Dr. Jeremy Belknapp was settled as their minister. On June 2, 1786, by the Associ- ate Reformed Synod, the third Preshytery was called the Presbytery of Londonderry. We now return to the records : At Peterboro, September 27, 1786, the members were D. Annan, Jno. Houston, S. Taggart and Wm. Morrison, ministers, with their elders. From them Ryegate and Barnet (Vt.) request supplies. To these places " the Rev. Jno. Houston was appointed, and instructed to ordain ekk'rs for them." " Elder Thos. McGee, of Coleraine, pre- sented a legal vote of the town requesting^ Mr. Taggart to continue among them." On May 30, 1787, at London- derry, but little business was done, and the Rev. James Proudfit was to " be earnestly requested to attend their next meeting," which was held at Coleraine on October 1, 1787, and which (with Mr. Robert McMurray, his elder) he did. The Rev. Mr. Hubbard, on request, sat with them as a correspondent. Pelham requested some assistance and IN NEW ENGLAND. 265 supply. Order was taken for the ordination of elders at Middlefield and Chester ; " they are to find a sound preacher, if they can, and when obtained, they and he are to be admitted under the care of Presbytery." Difficulties had arisen in Coleraine, which were now considered — and ^^ Resolved, That, unless they have union and harmony, and pay up their arrears to Mr. Taggart, his connection with them is to be dissolved by next meeting." The then state of their case, a member of the session and one from the congregation are to report at next meeting. Although it is said that " necessity is the mother of invention," theo- logical seminaries had not yet been opened in America. Their fields for harvest were now more numerous than their laborers. Their intercourse with Ireland was dimin- ished, and to supply their vacancies their native preachers were not sufficient. " Bedford is granted some supply — and Mr. Proudfit is to apply earnestly to Mr. Young, now at Cambridge, N. Y., to come and supply Pelham some Sab- baths, or, upon failure with him, to apply to any other orthodox clergyman, wherever Providence may open a door." Be it remembered, the term orthodox, in 1787, did not by any means convey the idea in New England of a single remove from Unitarianism, as it does now, but one who believed in the existence of the covenant of grace, a Calvinist, a Presbyterian, or one willing to come to Pres- byterianism and do work according to the Westminster standards. We now for a season turn from the ecclesiastical to the political field. From year to year, after the conclusion of peace, did the representatives of the colonies labor to de- tail constitutional principles, such as would mutually interest and combine all in one harmonious union. The matter was both important and difficult; but at last the Constitution of the United States was drawn, and, when completed, not only was it modelled almost entirely after the form of Presbyterian church government, but a vital principle of this order of ecclesiastical polity was fol- lowed, viz., that, before the constitution is finally adopted and becomes binding, it must be overtured. Having bor- rowed the model, the best ever drawn in Christendom, it was both natural and ntx^essary to overture the constitu- tion; in doing which it was agreed, that if nine out of the 266 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM thirteen colonies would ratify it, it should be declared to be fully adopted and to be binding on them all. Mind in Massachusetts, cast in their Congregational mould of iso- lated groups, or of " an Athenian democracy," is not partial to Federal representation, and when this became neces- sary, the great number of 355 delegates were chosen to form the convention, which was called to ratify or reject the prepared constitution. These assembled in Boston, where the famous old ciiurch of Dr. Colman, on Brattle street, had been marked by a cannon ball, and after seven- teen days of earnest and even stormy debate, it was found that the echo was so troublesome that some place of more correct acoustics must be obtained, and obtained it was in " Johnny Moorehead's meeting-house " in Long lane. This structure was of wood, in form like not a few of such edifices at the time, such as the old South, with the pulpit high upon the back wall, which stood on the lane. The principal door Avas through the base of the steeple and belfry at the corner of the lane and Bury street. To this structure the convention adjourned, and after debating the matter there for seven days, on February 0th, 1788, the Federal Constitution was adopted by the small majority of nineteen votes. Ten wrong votes more would have left the colony of Massachusetts Bay, n(^twithstanding all the patriotism of her Adamses and her Hancock, " out in the cold." There was providentially an appropriateness in the place, the only spot in the colony devoted by a deed declaring a use and enjoyment of it by Presbyterians for- ever, " to and for the only proper use, benefit and behoof of the said congregation (according to the tenures and after the same manner as the Church of Scotland hold and enjoy the lands whereon the meeting-houses are erected) forever, and for no other use, intent or purpose whatso- ever, with warranty." Although perverted by schism, it was still dejure under the Associate Reformed Presbytery and Synod of New York. Such was the spot on which Massachusetts passed from the leading strings of colonial rule to the womanhood of "the old Bay State." When the fact was announced by Sheriff Henderson at the State House, amidst triumph and joy. Long Lane, the soil and " the Irish meeting-house " were not then, as they IN NEW ENGLAND. 267 are now, forgotten — they were called Federal street and Federal Street Church. As the building in which and the soil on which, in Philadelphia, the Constitution of the United States was adopted, are matters of patriotic delight, bordering on veneration to every true American, and are preserved in- violate from century to century ; so, in like manner the intense vitality of national life is shewn by the citizens of each State, to the buildings and places of concourse where the inspiration of State existence, as a part of prospec- tively the greatest nation on the earth, was begun. After Faneuil Hall, which was also a Presbyterian foundation, the next place to it in importance, politically and civilly, in Boston, was the "Old South Church," where "the town's people " were by patriots aroused to the demands of duty. To preserve its identity a century afterwards, beside ten thousand dollars granted by the Legislature, oratory has been spread out in lectures, dances on " the light fantastic toe," and exhibitions of colonial relics, enough to decorate a pilgrimage to an holy ground, all crying, give, give money (and thousands are yet wanting), " to save the Old South Conoregational meeting-house," or it will be desecrated b}^ traffic. On this national feeling, honorable to every true citizen, "Federal Street Church " must be perpetually pointed out with pride by fathers to their children from generation to generation, and the care taken to preserve it distinctly in location, and so far as practicable, intact in structure and use will shew the vitality and force of national patriotism and zeal in the breasts of the sons and daughters of the Old Bay State, and especially of those resident in " the town of Boston." " There is Concord, there stands Bunker Hill " ( Webster), and there is, stands, or there was, or there stood Federal Street Church ! That this national name should continue for all time, would be a matter of simple honesty, as it was an honor to the Commonwealth, but then it was born out of wedlock, both church and State denied to it parentage, and it contained " a pew and seat" for the heirs of John Little, a Presbyterian, forever, which then and now represented in part the cestuis que trust of the whole estate. It could not be voted out of the position in which he had placed it, so long as equity should 268 HISTORY OF PRESI^YTERIANISM remain a virtue. It is also possible that tlie seat of Mrs. Wilson had not yet been " sold to pay for the painting of the church," as the criminal induction of Dr. Belknap had taken place less than a year before. We leave these pews and seats in this national house to trace otlier waning vestiges of this polity in our field. In the minutes at Peterboro, April oOth, 1788, it is re- corded that " the Associate Reformed Presbytery of New England met." ^^ Sederunt, Annan, Houston, Taggart and Morrison, ministers, with their elders." An agent from the town of Antrim, N. H., asked Presby- tery for the organization of a church. This, by appoint- ment, the Rev. William Morrison effected on August 3d. It consisted of seventy- two members under three ruling elders, but did not obtain a pastor for twelve years. "Philip Riley began this settlement in 1744. There was no religious meeting, probably not even a prayer- meeting in the town for thirty years. The first sermon was preached to them in September, 1775, by the Rev. William Davidson, of Derry, and after that they 'were not negligent in religious things.' They taught their chil- dren at home. The Bible and the catechism were the chief literature in every house. They kept the Sabbath with great reverence. Having no trash to read or for their children to read, they studied over and over the Holy Book, and came to hold its doctrines rigidly and intelli- gently." (His. Ser., p. 19.) From their organization they had no pastor until the Rev. Walter Little was settled over them, on September 3d, 1800, and he resigned September 4th, 1804. A Mr. Merrill, previously noticed, had appeared in Rye- gate and Barnet, and they ask Presbytery, whether they can safely employ him or not? They were answered: that " this Presbytery are totally opposed to him as being, in their opinion, unworthy of the ministerial character and office, and that this Presbytery cannot but totally disap- prove of said people continuing to employ him to preach among them." "A petition from six members of the church in Peter- boro, respecting the propriet}^ of introducing a new ver- sion of the Psalms, was presented, and as the minister and session had already written to the Synod on the affair, all IN NEW ENGLAND. 269 proceedings of Presbytery upon it were waived for the present." They were advised to " wait the decision of Synod, and admonished not to break the peace of the church, and if they can no other way answer a good con- science they do it under covert of a protest to be recorded on the session book." The " incurable dissatisfaction " was thus buried " de- cently and in order." On their request, a limited supply of preaching was given to the town of Hancock. " Mr. Taggart was still to labor in Coleraine, and the people are recommended to do their duty towards him." The " Rev. John Houston was appointed to supply Middlefield and Chester, and to certify to them when there, if he judge proper, that they are an organized Presbyterian church." Bedford to be supplied one Sabbath, Peterboro, May 1st, 1788. " Voted, that Mr. Morrison write to the Synod and give reasons why the attendance of this Presbytery has been so much omitted, and also re- questing the appointment of some candidates to New England." Londonderry, October 1st, 1788. The Rev. Aaron Hutchinson sat as a correspondent. " Rev. D. Annan was appointed to preach in Chester, Mass., to make farther in- quiries into their circumstances, to see if the certificate, which they ask to the civil authorities, signifying that they are a properly organized congregation, can be granted." Beside minor items, they record, "This Presbytery taking into serious consideration the broken state of the Presby- terian interest in New England, and the importance ofj doing something to unite the various bodies of Presbyte- rians. Voted, That letters be written — one to the Presby- tery of Grafton and another to the Presbytery at the East- ward, relating to the expediency of some proposals of a coalescence of the several Presbyteries." We have seen a similar feeling expressed by the Salem Presbytery and the one at the Eastward — " Union is strength," and tliey now mutually felt the need of it, as the}^ were gradually being overborne by the semiscriptural usages of the State religion on its native soil. At Coleraine, May 6, 1789, in answer to the one sent, on the above recorded vote, "a letter was read from the clerk of Grafton Presbytery," responding in words. An acknowl- 270 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM edgment and reply was now ordered to be written by Mr. Taggart. Petitions were received from Barnet and Groton, the last accompanied with a certificate of their incorpora- tion, signed by the town clerk. For each jilace some, sup- l)ly by settled pastors was granted. "This Presbytery finding it impossiV)le for any of their members to attend the next meeting of Synod, and at the same time conscious of the importance of considering with attention the overture lately published for illustra- tion of the doctrine contained in the Westminster Confes- sion of Faith, do think it their duty to intimate their judicial approbation of the same, so far as it is confined to and takes up and executes the illustration of the doctrines of the said Confession, and do appoint the moderator of this Presbytery to write to the Synod on the subject." " Peterboro, October 7, 1789 — the Associate Reformed Presbytery of New England met. The Rev. Aaron Hutch- inson, a member of Grafton Presbytery, being present, was invited to sit with Presbytery. Mr. Annan read a copy of the letter which he was appointed to write to Grafton Presbytery, and also their answer." Mutual good feeling appears to have been growing between them. The resig- nation of his office, by Elder Samuel Moore, was accepted, showing that this was not done merely to and by his ses- sion, but to and by the superior court, in which, when ap- pointed, he occupied an equal seat with the others. If this were required universally, it would constrain those who are worthy to " magnify their office." " 'Tis a consumma- tion devoutly to be wished." " Londonderry, May 26, 1790. The Associate Reformed Presbytery of New England met, sederunt, Messrs. Annan, Morrison and Houston, ministers, with elders Davidson and Griffin. The Rev. Messrs. Hutchinson and Williams sit as correspondents. "A memorial addressed to the Presbytery of Philadelphia by the Presbytery at the Eastward, respecting Mr. John Murray, was laid before the Presbytery by the Rev. Simon Williams, of Windham, entreating the concurrence of this body with the purport of the same in an address to the Philadelphia Presbytery." " Voted, That Messrs. Annan and Morrison draw up a representation concurring with the memorial, and that they report the same." IN NEW ENGLAND. 271 The Presbyterian Society of Pembroke, N. H., petitioned for admission, with the Rev. Mr. Colby, their pastor, and a plan of union between the Congregational and Presby- terian societies of said town was read. Mr. Colby was admitted and the congregation were received. Mr. Hutch- inson appears to have now left tlie Grafton Presbytery, as he was appointed with Mr. Morrison to Groton for one Sabbath each. Coleraine, September 30, 1790. The Associate Reformed Presbytery met. " Read a copy of the representation made to the Presbytery of Philadelphia, and also the minutes of last meeting." " Peterboro, September 27, 1791, the Associate Reformed Presbytery of New England met. Sederunt^ Annan, Mor- rison and Taggart, with John Houston, correspondent, and three elders. The Rev. Messrs. Trisk and Ainsworth sit as correspondents." A petition from Nottingham West for supply was granted, while a request of like nature was not, for they say, " It was uncertain in what State or township Col. RoL^ers resided — therefore the answer to his petition was void." As Vermont was this year admitted into the Union, that territory was no longer known as "the New Hampsliire Grants," and this increase of States might have increased the colonel's difficulty, until he had forgotten to state where the preaching was requested. By presenting items from their recorded minutes fre- quently, the reader can draw his own deductions ; and from those presented it will be readily seen that, to some extent, "a chan^ was coming over the spirit of their" attachment to Presbyterianism. From 1774 the matter of praise among (at least) one of the other Presbyteries had become increasingly assimilated to that used by the State churches, since the Bay State version was abandoned, and the leaven of change was working steadily. Again, they were so remote from those more central points, where co-presbyters from the Carolinas and from beyond the Allegheiiies could most conveniently meet, that this, when taken into account with the toil of travelling and the un- avoidable expense, constrained them to neglect almost wholly the meetings of Synod. "As iron sharpeneth iron, so doth a man his friend by hearty counsel," and to say nothing of bearing annually a 272 III.^TOllY OF PRESBYTERIANISM share of the burdens laid on church courts in "taking care of the house of God," the want of the " provocation to love and to good works " usually enjoyed, beside the neglect of the " least of reason and the flow of soul," all such omis- sions tended to a rotation, isolating and contracting to the overseers of God's heritage. Hence, by non-attendance they were discouraging others and not benefiting them- selves. Consequently, they were plied with letters of in- quiry for their reasons of absence. On September 28, 1791, Mr. Samuel Toombs, from New York Presbytery, was, on his own request, taken under care. Mr. Oliver delivered parts of his '' trials." A verbal request for supply from Derry was presented, and a similar one from Antrim. Mr. Toombs was appointed to supply in the East Parish four Sabbaths, in Chester one, and in Antrim four. "A commissioner from Bedford craved advice in their critical situation, and also supply. Mr. Oliver was licensed, which was, on October 24th, duly announced to Synod. Mr. D. Annan presented the demission of his charge — read and laid on the table. This was transmitted to the Synod for counsel, and the congregation of Peterboro notified to adduce their reasons, at next meeting, why it should not be sustained. Voted — that Mr. Annan represent this Pres- bytery in Synod at their next meeting," which he did at Philadelphia on October 19th. He was also charged " to make inquiry respecting the aff'airs of the Rev. John Mur- ray at the Presbytery of Philadelphia." At his request, the Presbytery of Londonderry was, on said day (October 19, 1791), by Synod, called the Associate Reformed Pres- bytery of New England. While the Presbyter}^ were yielding not only to the clamor of the young and unthinking in relation to liymn- ology, but also to town meetings, which voted out the God- given psalms and voted in the " imitations," or other human productions, as the matter of divine praise in the parish for the ensuing year, as they voted in the pound- keepers, dog-killers and the constables ; they found also that just as the appointed " pure ofiering " of praise was supplanted in the churches and silenced in the families, that " divers and strange doctrines " were propagated. As the doctrine of imputation alone can display the wil- ful ruin of a race and the satisfaction of divine justice for IN NEW ENGLAND. 273 the sins of that " multitude which no man can number," so it lies at the foundation of " redemption through the blood of Christ; "and as for nearly a generation human poetry had been increasingly sung in the State churches, so in proportion " the truth as it is in Jesus " had become of less importance; consequently, those whose "hearts trembled for the ark of God " at times " lifted up their voices like a trumpet." Hence, "Voted — that the thanks of this Presbytery be presented to the Rev. Dr. Hunting- ton, of Connecticut, for his late able and judicious defence of the all-important doctrine of imputation." At Peterboro, May 30th, 1792, sederunt. Rev. Messrs. Annan, Taggart, and"^ Morrison, with Rev. John Houston, correspondent, and four elders. Mr. Toombs, clerk. Requests for supplies, beside from other places, were made by Mr. Parks from Groton, Mr. John Duncan from Antrim^ Captain Thompson from Pelham, and Mr. Mor- rison from New Rowley. Rev. Messrs. Miles and Page sat.as correspondents. A petition from the A. R. Presbytery of New York was read, asking the labors of Mr. Oliver for some time among their vacancies. Mr. Annan's troubles were now considered, and commis- sioners from the town of Peterboro were heard. He asked for a dismission, which was granted, and the pastoral rela- tion was dissolved. His further history hereafter. We have already seen the Presbytery at the Eastward, on June 13th, 1792, at Seabrook, appointing as delegates to a Synodical convention, to be held at Dartmouth College, on August 2od, 1792, for the purpose of uniting the several Presbyteries into a Synod, the Rev. Messrs. Moore, Wil- liams, and Murray, and it was, on May 31st, 1792, " voted, that the Rev. Messrs. Annan and Morrison attend the next meeting of the delegates from the respective Presbyteries at Dartmouth College." It is probable that the Presbytery of Grafton made similar appointments, and we have (in the handwriting of Mr. Annan) " preliminary articles of union, to be submitted to the consideration of the respective Pres- byteries, Eastward, A. R. of N. E.,and Grafton, when they shall meet at Dartmouth College, on the day after commence- ment, and endeavor to settle the whole plan of coalescence, and shall appoint time ^nd place for next meeting." In 18 274 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM the absence of the minutes of the doings of the said con- vention, we know the fact that the Presbytery of Grafton did not unite, that they did not attend the adjourned meet- ing of said convention at Pembroke, N. H., and that after the death of the Rev. John Murray (on March 13th, 1793), the fragments of the Prcsbyterv at the Eastward and the A. R. Presbytery of New England eventually " coalesced." In the meantime, "the first Presbytery of the Eastward " met at Derry, on the first Wednesday in October, 1793, and to them the following letter was addressed: " Windham, September Ath, 1793. " This session having received a letter from the Presby- tery of Londonderry, of date of May 29th, 1793, requesting them to take into serious consideration the utility and pro- priety of uniting in judicial capacity with their Presbytery, taking no further notice of the Grafton Presbytery, as they have voluntarily declined connection with us b3^not attending the convention at Pembroke: " This session do cordially concur with the proposal, and solemnly recommend it to you (as a Presbytery) to do the same. We pray that this union may come to a happy issue, that harmony may be promoted, that the unity of the Spirit may be preserved in the bond of peace. " Simon Williams, Mod'r." In the absence of its minutes, this Presbytery of Graf- ton appears to have been a kind of amateur one, probably galvanized into existence by the Wheelocks and their in- fluence, as a good or, perhaps, a little better expedient than the *' loose, disjointed way " of Congregationalism. It, like the seed sown on the rock, endured for a time, but was afterwards offended when called on to sustain Presby- terianism as the Scriptural-ism in government. Its con- gregations returned to bask under the fostering care of the State, each one to act its own part without Presbyterial parity or Synodical unity. This was well, for the expe- dient of a merely nominal Presbyterianism yields no advantage in doctrine, worship, or discipline over 'a thor- oughly associated Congregationalism ; it is simply calling Jesus " Master and Lord," without doing the things which he says. # IN NEW ENGLAND. 275 The momentum given by the Rev. Mr. Murray to his Presbytery at Eastward did not whoU}^ cease at his death, and we find the town of New Market, in July, 1793, taking the usual steps prescribed by civil law and then by that Presbytery for the settlement of Mr. Jonathan Brown as colleague with the Rev. Nathaniel Ewer. Also : " Londonderry, September 2d, 1793. " We, the feeble remains of the late Rev. AVm. David- son's session, Avhich was formerly under the Presbytery at the Eastward — but it hath pleased the Lord of the harvest to call home the greater part of the members of that Pres- bytery, so that we can have no more help from them in that way — and now, in the good providence of God, having a desirable opportunity of joining with the Londonderry Presbytery, whereof the Rev. \Vm. Morrison and the Rev. Samuel Taggart are members, do cheerfully embrace it, by all our session that were present, hoi)ing that it may be for the honor of the great Head of the Church and for the comfort and enlargement of it. " Signed by order of six elders in session, by "John Moor, Clerk." They thus were accejDted and identified with the A. R, Presbytery of New England (probably) at Pelham, on the 11th of that month. At a meeting of this Presbytery -pro re nata, on Jul}^ 22d, 1793, a call was accepted by Mr. Oliver, and on " Septem- ber 11th, after the prescribed trials had been sustained, he was ordained and installed over the west (which was not, it would seem, the first) parish of Pelham." On asking his services, this congregation also " requested some direc- tion respecting psalmody and singing." They had doubt- less for years used the " 139 Imitations," and as this Pres- bytery had not as yet " so learned Christ," they properly ask for instructions, and to them all indulgence connected with the existence of this form of ecclesiastical polity was shewn. The prayer of their petition w^as "left to the wis- dom of the session, who may be best acquainted with that mode wdiich is most conducive to public usefulness. But, in particular, if the congregation sing without reading, that they be all advised to have books." 276 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM At " Peterboro, Octol3er 9th, 1793, a call from Newbnry- port for Mr. Toombs, presented through the Eastern Pres- bytery, was received," and when presented he asked time to consider it, which was granted. The reasons for not accepting the call from Antrim, which he stated, were approved. Supplies were granted to Antrim and Peterboro. The calling of the pro re nata meeting was approved. During the years 1792, '3, and '4, no member of the A. R. Presbytery of New England had appeared in Synod, which was a source of grief to the denomination. Numbers, ob- tained even by expediency, appeared now to be of more importance to them than purity of worship and fulfilled vows. Hence, they say, " The expedienc}' of forming a union with the Eastern Presbytery was considered and ap- proved. Voted, ergo, agreeably to the proceedings of the convention at Pembroke, that the delegates be appointed to form a union." " Rev. Wm. Morrison, with elders Bell and Smith, are hereby empowered to meet in convention with the Rev. Solomon Moore and elders Campbell and Moore, of the Eastern Presbytery, to form a coalescence, and to dissolve both Presbyteries into one, on the last Friday of this inst. If no union is formed, Presbytery is to meet in Pelham on the last Tuesday in May, 1794 ; and if an union is formed, the new court will appoint its own time and place, the clerk of said convention to give notice to the different members that they may govern themselves accordingl}'." From the " Minutes of the Convention, which met at Londonderry, October 25th, 1793, for finisliing the union," we learn that the meeting was held according to the ap- pointments of both Presbyteries ; that there were " present, Revs. Sol. Moore, Wm. Morrison, and Jno. Houston, min- isters, Esqr. John Bell, Captain John Moore, and Samuel Cam])bell as elders." " The Rev. Mr. Moore preached from John xiii. 34, 35, a sermon very suitable to the occasion." He presided as chairman. " This convention, being fully invested with power, pro- ceeded to form the union. "After pra3^er and deliberation, voted : "1st. To adopt the Westminster Confession and Gate- IN NEW ENGLAND. 277 chisms, directory for worship and form of government, as the standards of this Presbytery, in subordination to the word of God. " 2d. That the Presbytery shall be called the Presbytery of Londonderry. " 3d. That Derry east and west parishes alternately be the places for stated meetings, unless otherwise specially requested by some other town or parish, for special busi- ness there. "4th. That the Presbytery meet at the east meeting- house on the last Wednesday of May, 1794. "5th. That upon these principles the union be and hereby is closed." The Rev. W. Morrison, on request, gave a parting ad- dress, and is to open the first meeting with a sermon. Since the centennial year (1876), the traveller westward can traverse the Atlantic watershed by some four or more partly parallel railroads through Iowa, and whether he enter the eye of the needle at Omaha or make a detour of a few hundred miles by Denver, still, when he reaches Cheyenne, all travel is concentrated on one track over the Rocky, the Wahsatch, and Nevada Mountains. Similar has been and is, at the close of this quarter of a century, in 1793, our Presbyterianism in New P^ngland. We have had four — or, including the Synod and its three, in all seven — Presbyteries in sixty-five years in the land of the Puritans. The mountains, the shore of Salt Lake, and the desert must be travelled by rail on only one track; and now we have, in this region, to end the Presbyterianism of New England with only one Presbytery at the close of the eighteenth century ! To it as a plant the soil was most ungenial, the climate unpropitious, and the malaria noxious. Under the shadow of a native species of church polity supported by the civil power, it existed only in op- position to great disadvantages, and these were doubled by the "tastes " of men who did not "receive, observe, nor keep pure and entire all such religious worship and ordi- nances as God had appointed in his word.'' We have thus seen the introduction iinil "vowth of Pres- byterianism in New England. During tlie lirst generation, while those who brought it to the region survived, it was maintained on divine authority, as a government adminis- 278 HISTORY OF PRESS YTERIANISM tered by men who were " gathered together in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ," " with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ," to " take care of the house of God ; " fami- lies were nurseries for the church, in which the "loving kindness of God was shewn forth in the morning, and his faithfulness declared ever}^ night ; " the Sabbath was a day not only of rest, but of joy and, in the words of a modern errorist, wearing the Presbyterian name (Swing), their " Calvinism was a preachable and a preached doc- trine." We are not, however, to suppose that all, who came from Europe as ministers, " magnified their office." Some of them ended their career as desperate villains, especially the first two incumbents of Peterboro, N. H. To prove this awful assertion, in relation to Annan, I quote the Rev. J. H. Morrison's century address. " He was deposed from the ministry in 1800, and died in Ireland in 1802. He possessed res])ectable talents, and might easily have retained the confidence of his people. But his intemperate habits, his licentious and corrupt con- versation, and his haughty, over-bearing manner at length deprived him of their respect and regard. So brutal was his treatment of his wife, who was an estimable woman, that she was compelled to pass the whole night with her children in the woods; she finally obtained a bill of divorce on the ground of extreme cruelty." "They, Morrison and Annan, were the only settled pas- tors in the place for fifty years. During this dark period religion was kept alive by religious exercises in the family, rather than by public ministrations." " Our people were always readers, and the Bible was almost their only book. Here they went for counsel and support; it was to them prophet and priest. Family prayer " (that is, as we have seen at West Running-brook in Derry, worship by prayer, reading and singing psalms) " was faithfully observed. Morning and evening the Scrip- tures were read, and if the flame of devotion burned dim in the house of public worship, it was not permitted to go out upon the family altar." A noble testimony. While, " from the earliest time, that church was Calvinistic and Presbyterian " till 1792, " it is a matter of surprise that these two ministers were borne with by the people." " It is accounted for in part " by Mr. M — , " because of the IN NEW ENGLAND. 279 great veneration attached to the profession." " Ministers," said one at the commencement of the difficulties with Mr. Morrison, " are edged tools and we maun aye be carefu' how we handle them." " Keep yoursel' to yoursel'," said an elder of the church with great solemnity to his son, who was beginning to intimate that Mr. Annan was not what he should be. Again, those ministers, though wrong in practice, were supposed to be " sound in the faith, and an error in belief was esteemed to be far more dangerous than one in heart or life." Thus, the original Londonderry, or " Irish " Presbytery, had an existence of probably thirty-five or thirty-seven years ; the Boston Presbytery a career of forty-six years ; the Presbytery at the Eastward of twenty-one years ; the Grafton Presbytery an existence of probably fifteen or more years, and the other, under the names of the Asso- ciate Reformed Presbytery of Londonderry, the Associate Reformed Presbytery of- New England and again of Lon- donderry, " coalesced " with the scattered fragments of the others and continued to be a working Presbytery for seventy-six years. Its history, with those of the Presby- teries of Newburyport, Connecticut, Boston, Vermont and second Boston, together with the congregations of the Re- formed Presbyterians in New England, will (D. V.) form our second volume. HISTORY OF PRESBYTERMISM IN NEW. ENGLAND. VOL. II. 1793. 1881 (281) HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM 283 CHAPTER XII. 1793-1818 — Four parallel railroad lines — The one no wider — Frag- ments of Presbyteries — Not so — An expedient — Senii-Erastianism — Bath Kol— The force of truth— Starved out— The office of elder— A corresponding effect — The third vital power — Tripod — Contest — "Genevan jigs" — Control — Truth — The leaven — The rear rank — A matter of opinion — The Bay State Version — Producing for a genera- tion— Assimilation — A change — The Godhead — Sapped — The Old South — Repaired — King's Chapel-r-The thread of Apostolic succes- sion— Discarded — In 1785 — The protoplast — The clerk — Their rea- der— By power — Metamorphosis — Freedom idolized — Disregard — Murray since 1773 — A through ticket — "Arminianism respectable" — Freewill Baptist — New gods — Extensively shorn — Revived — Chev- erus — "The town's people" — The golden age of Boston — The influ- ences of these combined ingredients — Weight and force assimilate — Overshadowed — Pew patronage — No reinforcements — " The elect's sake " — Less a matter of ambition — Like passions with others — Easy to see — Domestic training — Could not be expected — Fragments — Death of Rev. W. Davidson — Brown — Opposition — His ordination unwise — A pretext — Prepared the way — A single life — Abandoning relations — Baldwin — Taggart — Dana installed in Newburyport — Dis- Jruption — Mr. Milton from Trevecca — "Better edification" — "Inde- pendent Calvinistic Church" — Form of installation — And behaved well — A charge — Prospect Street Church — The deacon p!a 'i the Apostle — A spectacle — "Thin and tenuous film" of power — Pi nary — Vowed to obey — Submit yourselves — Claims ignored — For six years — Concessions — Removal of censure — Average admissions — S. Tomb called thrice — A remonstrance — Dissentients — Opposition to Dana a misunderstanding — A peace measure — Second Presbyterian Church — First Church afiectionate — To escape oppression — Another denomination — Murray unwilling — Not customary — Parish districted — Safety of the church — Session the safety of the church — Records of Presbyteries — A convention, October, 1793 — An union — Approved, Newmarket and Antrim — To have "Bedford act consistently with Christian character" — Pickles — Action of employers condemned — The action of Newburyport session confirmed — Supplies — Nearly the whole mass — Absorbed — "A felt want" — Joel Barlow — His callings — National Convention of France Atheists — Revised 139 psalms — As a morning star unsavory — Dr. Dwight employed — Imitations allowed in 1787 — Moral sentiment waxing feeble — Changes — " Imitations " vamped — General Assembly, U. Sy 1789 — West Derry petitions— 284 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM Session to act — Varied matters — Toombs installed — Amherst Associa- tion— Pidgeon — Eight ministers and fourteen elders meet — Abund- ance of business — Advice — Peterboro call sustained — Coleraine to be seasonably notified — Jordan — Morrison to answer a letter from Synod — Presbyteries to deal honorably with Congregationalists — Coleraine to agree — Morrison to say so to them — Presbytery attenuated — Byefield in "strife and vain glory" — Taggart asks release — Not granted — Windham asks preaching — Boddily's installation valid — East Derry asks the "imitations," September 6tii, 1797 — West Derry three years in advance — Synod grieved — Appliances in vain — Ciiaracter of the causes imperfectly comprehended — Only a little different — The one will root out the other — Answer to a letter and one to an address — History repeating itself — Prentice forty-five years ago — Now creeping into houses — The emotional powers — This class increased — Brown obeyed — "Straggling persons" encouraged by Ewer — "Voted" — Vacant churches warned — "Such as I am" — Maine — Well, to "go and do likewise" — Khode Island sects — A peculiarity of Presbyterian church government — A painful interest — Washington, N. Y., Presby- tery, May 30th, 1794— Synod, Rev. R. Annan to write for it to Lon- donderry Presbytery — He reported — " Certain information received " — Town meetings ruling Presbytery — Reproached — A committee to visit Presbytery — To be informed also by letter — The letter, June 1st, 1795 — A strong remonstrance— They answer and glory in numbers and light — A new king enthroned — A contrast to Westrunning Brook and Casco Bay — "Most plaintive" — A letter from Synod, January 24th, 1797 — "Stating their views and grounds of complaint" — A masterly argument— M.iiohless and unanswerable — A reply on May 30th, 1797 — Good intentions — Providentially prevented — Case de- ferred— None from Londonderry Presbytery next two meetings— To see if to dissolve the connection would be beneficial — Only Morrison and Taggart now appear to have been trained as Presbyterians— A mild form — Advantage — Ignored a Synod which prevented will wor- ship— "Changes borrowed" — "Eelt want" — The harp — Voted, Oc- tober 9, 1799, to obtain and peruse — R. Annan reappointed in 1799 — No reply to him in 1800— No member in Synod in 1801 — Minute — Presbytery disclaimed — The process of assimilation completed — Ex- cepting in godly families " to the moles and to the bats" — In both versions— The Presbytery, September 6th, 1797, " Moor, Whipple and Boddily correspondents" — "The act valid" — Little licensed — New- bury received and Toombs installed, November 28tli — June 12th, 1799, assistance to ordain Mr. Slea at Byefield not granted — Necessity for sending preaching to the frontiers of New Hampshire — The letter to be answered — D. Annan's case attended to — Presbytery now incon- sistent— They wotild not lend to ordain Slea, and now borrow to or- dain Little at Antrim — A peace-ofiering— Little asks Presbytery to be so kind as to excuse him — Excused from giving his popular sermon on account of visiting so many sick — He is ordained September 2d, 1800 — Constitution to be considered, sermons to be criticised — D. McGregor licensed, June 9th, 1802— Taggart applies — Dana directed — Assembly's Constitution adopted, October 13th, 1802, in substance. IN NEW ENGLAND. 285 not in toto — Still unprepared to unite — Giles installed — Colby — Pem- broke— Chester — Presbytery cannot grant Goflstown's request — D. McGregor called to Bedford — Letter froua town-clerk of Peterboro — Their father's property — Presbytery recommend intercommunion — Promiscuous, not in use hitherto — Oliver demits — He is certified — • The Associate Presbytery of Cambridge, October 15th, 1804 — He broke his pledge to the Associate Presbytery — Rev. D. McGregor and Bedford — Little released — June 12th, 1805, recommended to the As- sociate Reformed Presbytery of Washington, N. Y. — October 9th, Harris installed in Windham — "The enticing words of man's wis- dom " — A new certificate granted — New Boston — Rev. E. Bradfoi'd — Presbytery meetings — " Pidgeon reprehended '" — Appointments made, June 11th, 1807, for Synod at Cooperstown, N. Y. — Pidgeon sus- pended— Minot, in Maine, want him, and they are " informed of the restt/f of Presbytery" — Wiiiton settled at Antrim — Letter from Dr. John Smith on Union — An inference — Church at Dartmouth to con- nect with Presbytery — Rotation meetings — Litchfield received — Pel- ham people inconsistent — $250 additional — " To negotiate a connec- tion " — Moderator to answer a vote of the General Association of New Hampshire — October 2(ith, 1809, result of mission to Synod — Dana to the Assembly, 1810 — Baldwin dismissed from Palmer — End of Rec- ords of Second Presbytery of Londonderry at 1810 — A copy — By loss of Records we must draw from incidental sources — In Vermont Rec- ords of psalm-singing churches — The pleasantness of domestic worship lost extensively — " Expressive silence " — Federal Street Church — Belknapp published history and poetry — Popkin — Effects of misrule and no rule — Trust-deed operative formerly with the owners — Not so now — Like savages — Pay as they pleased now — Channing — Neither orator nor numbers brought peace — Naboth's oflTer — Legislature in- voked— Action taken — Not too far off to whisper to its owner — Con- science yet extensively a power — That oath — Aided by the bar — The seasons — The want of legal authority — The occupants make " their courage cheery" — A document — The religious society — Act passed — Furtive legislation — The last parish — Presbyterianism robbed of a place of sepulture on its own ground — Channing installed as a Trini- tarian— All were sinking together — Controversy was rife — Little com- munion among churches with each other — Hopkinsianism, Emmon- ism — Sapling — The new preacher has at times a charmed character — A contract made seventy-four years before — A parsonage — Smooth things — The tidal-wave— He was not a perfect exception — Vermont — A coefficient — The sovereignty of the Green mountains — Barnet and Ryegate — Dr. Witherspoon — Whitelaw — " The Scots-American Com- pany " — This purchase from Dr. Witherspoon — "The Farmer's Com- pany"— Harvey — Emigrants worshipped God in their families — Eflforts to obtain public religious ordinances — Dr. Witherspoon's visits to them — Saddle bore the mark of the ball that killed his son — "Caledonia" Company — Crime but little known — A form of religion chosen in Barnet — Petition for a minister — Rev. Thomas Beveridge — Rev. D. Goodwillie — Rev. W.Gibson settles in Ryegate — Polls, clocks, scholars, town valuation — Their lives often endangered — Endurance 286 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM required in winter to attend public worship — "Intermission," liow spent — " Sabbatli-day houses'' — Miss H. Seaver's house — Stoves came slowly into use — So far as to appreciate — Goodwiliie for above twenty years — Outgrowth — Their vows — Dwelt alone and prospered — No voice of joy east of the Connecticut while they read and prayed — The Bells and others — "Expressive silence" — The one connecting link — Official duties performed by Presbytery — Connecting link between Synods — Presbvterv of Londonderrv, their actings, till 1818 — E,ev. W.Morrison died'l818— Rev. S. Moore died in 1803— Baldwin an inevitable consequence — E. L. Parker licensed by Grafton Presbytery in 1807 — Extinct in 1816 — Ecclesiastical and educational matters now increasingly controlled by the State religion — This brought strife in 1817 — Spoliation of property increases — First Parish, 1809 — Jonah and his union — Parker ordained, September 12lh, 1810, by a half- way arrangement — In ninety-one years the old mother-church had only one life annuity, and had settled her last nominal Presbyterian minister — It took forty years to shunt her ofl^ — A new form of opposi- tion— Unitarianism — Negations — The principles and doctrines — Jesus liad no more pre-existence than any other man — None will perish — Elevated to the highest plane. While we can easily understand how all the passengers and traffic from four or more parallel railroad lines can be taken upon one, and yet that one does not grow an inch wider from Cheyenne to Sacramento; still we would natu- rally expect, that when the fragments of tlie Presbytery of Salem (which seemed to be in moderate working order, when it was composed of Whittaker, Perley and Strick- land, present; and Baldwin, Bnlch, IMiltimore and Urqu- hart, absent; and when at Gray, in Maine, on September 14th, 1791, it adjourned sine die) saw the other two Pres- byteries unite, some individual ministers^ or congregations, would seek their fellowship. But not so. They were prob- ably all (excepting Baldwin) witli congregations, which had come to Presbyterianism as an expedient, not on prin- ciple from positive convictions of its divine origin and authority, and in some cases the semi-Erastianism of the State church controlled the ministry and eldership. Since the war, as noticed in Bath KoL the force of truth was less felt, God was less honored, the love of many waxed cold, and iniquity was abounding increasingly ; hence, some of them as Dr. Whittaker, after being starved out, emigrated. Urquhart removed eastward, and died near Mirimichi, New Brunswick. The return of peace to the colonies had a further effect IN NEW ENGLAND. 287 on the state churches of New England, in allowing the office of elder to float into oblivion. Consequently, the in- fluence of this one of " the customs of the churches " had with the flight of time on the Presbyterian vitality, pre- viously existing, a corresponding effect. As, in this last one-third of the nineteenth century, the introduction of the third vital power of Popery into Pro- testantism is, pari passu, weakening it; as the confes- sional, transubstantiation, and choirs with the organ are the tripod upon which Popery mainly rests, so any of these, but especially the last, being removed, it would topple, its proselyting attractions would then be lost, for Protestants could not be proselyted with either the confes- sional or transubstantiation, or with both, or with beads, baldachins and holy water thrown in. The contest lies mainly between the " Genevan jigs " (as the papists nick- named the Psalms when sung) and choirs, hymns and or- gans. So the increased aping "the gorgeous compositions which are heard in the Romish church " by nominal Pro- testants, is obtaining progressively that control over the mind which the Divine authority of revealed truth ought ever alone to maintain, and permeating a large part of the so-called " evangelical " churches with the leaven of will- worship. In a similar manner the purity of the doctrine and the excellence of the morals of the Puritans fell into the rear rank, while Congregationalism, in worship, be- came increasingly a matter of opinion under the elastic forces of " the customs of the churches." The psalmody of the pilgrims was gone, and the Bay State version of the Puritans, about this period, became increasingly super- seded by the parts of 139 of the Psalms imitated and in use, producing for a generation much " strife and vain- glory " — all which, by the principle of assimilation, brought the Presbyterians to give up, in several particu- lars, their "thus saith the Lord" for the "tastes" of men. The State religion had always maintained, under the severest penalties, the Godhead of the Trinity. Until 1786 it was blasphemy to deny this, yet, with the increasing diversity of human opinions, as these supplanted the au- thority of the Divine word, even this foundation was in due time sapped. The Old South meeting-house having 288 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM been desecrated by the British mihtary, on the evacuation of Boston, that congregation occupied for years King's chapel (founded in 1686), from which, all orders of prelacy had departed; and when, having repaired their church, they returned to it, leaving the other unoccupied, and it continued so for some time. The thread of apostolical succession over the premises held formerly by the Bishop of London became too attenuated to retain in it even the doctrine of the Trinity. Every vestige of prelacy (excepting a few outward forms) was discarded by the overwhelming force of Congregation- alism, and while in that chapel, in 1785, it was introduced into America, the Protestant Episcopal Church was guilt- less of the crime of reproducing there the protoplast of Socinianism. On reoccupying the edifice, the only de- nominational official remaining was the clerk ; and in order to give form to their religious assemblies, the people, b}^ vote, elected him to be their reader^ by the power of Congregationalism, which they assumed and adopted. The next thing in their metamorphosis was to change the doctrine, and they adopted the theological views in part of an English Socinian of the name of Clarke. The human mind ever idolizes freedom, and, as a counterpart to national existence and independence, disregard of doc- trine grew apace. Murray had previously, since 1773, propagated (where he could) the doctrinal opinions of Mr. James Relly, giving a through ticket to Paradise univer- sally to the race. "Arminianism " (as we have seen) had "become respectable," and one Benjamin Randall, in 1780, began to preach as a " Free Will Baptist " in New Dur- ham, N. H. With the return of peace " new gods came newly up." " Divers and strange doctrines " were propagated with a zeal worthy of a better cause, and in 1799 the State religion in Massachusetts was extensively shorn of her preroga- tives. Protestant prelacy and Wesleyan Methodism both, in a few years (after peace was concluded), returned to and revived in New England. " During the war, according to D'Arcy McGee, the Abbe la Poitre, a chaplain, collected a papal congregation in Boston, which bought the French Presbyterian church, and after 1796 Priest Cheverus, with his beads, crucifixes, ointment, organ, chrism and man millinery, gradually attracted ' the town's people.' " IN NEW ENGLAND. ' 289 The close of that century was considered to be ^'the golden age" of Boston, and by his blandishments, his suaviter in modo, his French (the language of courts), he made an increasingly favorable impression on the children of the Puritans. The influences of these combined ingre- dients of the social compact were such as to "gain" to " pure and undefiled religion " " much harm and loss," especially among Presbyterians. Where any form of religion strongly predominates, the weight and force of sectarian numbers proportionally as- similates to itself minor existences ; and while Presbyteri- anism continued in some places to have " a name to liye," it was overshadowed, its doctrine deteriorated, its govern- ment supplanted and its places of worship alienated by the pew patronage of the State religion. The ministry re- ceived no reinforcements of such men as McGregor, or Moorehead, or Robert Annan, from lands sealed by the blood of martyrs. To "endure all things for the elect's sake, that they might also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory " became less a matter of ambition with the occupants of the pulpit in New England generall}^ and succeeding Presbyterian preachers only showed that in this direction they were " men of like passions with others." Taking into the account that " forbidden fruit is sweet," it is easy to see that, with not a few, the law of Christ's house might be viewed as a burden, and young men (such as the two sons of the Rev. Simon Williams) might enter the ministry of an opposite polity. When we again remember the system of domestic train- ing, in doctrine and famil}^ worship, which enter into the vitality of Presbyterianism, and find these gradually ne- glected by those surrounding them, we see that, in every way, on this ungenial soil, extensive growth could not be expected. Hence, the dying out of Presbyteries and the course of fragments of churches succumbing to Congre- gationalism, with which we enter on this quarter of a century. On February 15, 1791, the Rev. William Davidson, of Derry, died, and the congregation remained destitute of a settled ministry till 1795, when Mr. Jonathan Brown (a native of Pittsfield, N. H.) was ordained and installed. A 19 290 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIAXISM number of churches were then vacant, and while, as a licentiate, he was popular in other places, still " a strong and determined opposition to his settlement was made by a large minority." The court did not act with wisdom in ordaining him. His situation became trying and unjAeasant, and tlie agi- tation engendered weakened the church by forming a pre- text to those thus incHned to introduce Congregationalism, both ecclesiastically and civilly. While this offshoot maintained worship for twelve years in a hall, it "produced not only bitterness and contro- versies, which for a time greatly marred the peace and happiness of the community," but prepared the way, in the course of half a century, for the abandonment of Pres- byterianism by this mother church and the alienation of her property. "At his own request, he was dismissed in 1804, and died in 1838, at the age of eighty. He was a man of sincere piety, but leading a single life (when he ought to have had a wife to ' guide ' his ' house '), he sub- jected himself to many uncandid and unkind remarks, and was required l)y the Presbytery not to preach, nor to perform any official acts after his dismission. He had se- vere trials, and toward the end of life endured many spir- itual conflicts." (P.) The Presbytery were now gradually abandoning their Presbyterial relations. Palmer Continued to enjoy the pastoral labors of the Rev. Moses Baldwin, while the Rev. Mr. Taggart was still fulfilling his ministry at Coleraine. At Newburyport, on November 19, 1794, Mr. Daniel Dana was ordained and installed as the successor of the Rev. John Murray. He was born in Ipswich, Mass., on July 24, 1771, and graduated from Dartmouth in 1788. " His settlement was preceded and succeeded by disrup- tion. The pulpit had been supplied during the winter of 1792, at Mr. Murray's invitation, by the Rev. Mr. Milton, a young missionary from Lady Huntingdon's school at Trevecca; an earnest, eloquent and original preacher, al- though eccentric as a man. Many were delighted with him, and would have retained him as colleague pastor. But the majority being unwilling, his friends withdrew, and, under the plea of ' better edification,' established wor- ship in a private house." After Mr. Murray's death, and IN NEW ENGLAND. 29l while under suspension for a breach of covenant, they re- nounced the government, built a house of worship, and organized an " independent Calvinistic " church. Six males and nine females signed the covenant; a session was appointed, and Mr. Milton became pastor. The forms of installation were quite anomalous; for after sermon, Deacon Solomon Haskell put the call to vote, and declared him their minister. Having delivered the Bible to him and told him what system of doctrines he was to present, he informed him that " so long as he did this and behaved well, they should acknowledge him as their teacher, and no longer." He then proceeded to give to him a "charge" liow to preach. Thus originated the Prospect street church. Here was spontaneous Congregationalism (F., p. 36) pro- ducing a nominal Presbyterianism — a church with a ses- sion. The deacon played the apostle in the name of four- teen members and himself to his " son " in the ministry (1 Tim. i. 18). The transaction looked a little like "a spectacle unto the world," if not "to angels;" yet it gave to Mr. Milton "the power" contained in nine women and six men, " under suspension for breach of covenant," to "make full proof of his ministry." Although this was " a more thin and tenuous film " of "the power of a church court" than Murray's, in perme- ating the two Congregationalist ministers and three congre- gations and constituting a Presbytery, it was, according to the "Boston Congregational Almanac, 1847, p. 43," not only adequate, but plenary ; for " all church power resides in the church, and not in church officers, and resides in each particular church directly and originally, by virtue of the express or implied compact of its members." Their " suspension for breach of covenant " was only the act of " church officers," whom they had solemnly vowed to obey, and " Go to, let us," was more congenial to their wishes than " Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves ; for they watch for your souls." Species can- not be transmuted. Murray's ecclesiastical claims were ignored by all true Presbyterians, while this " church of Jesus Christ " flour- ished in its own way for six years, when it made " some concessions as to the manner of withdrawal, and the ses- Bion removed their censure." (76.) 292 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM The annual average admissions to this church had been — under Parsons, ten, and under Murray, seven. A Mr. Samuel Tomb, a licentiate, an old-fashioned preacher, was called thrice by a majority of this congrega- tion, but under strong feeling the requests all failed, and, while Mr. Dana was called in June, he was not installed till November, and then in the face of '' a decided opposi- tion and after a remonstrance to Presbytery." His father, by vote of Presbytery, preached the ordination sermon. " The dissentients then in their turn withdrew, including most of the session and many of the most substantial and godly members of the church. This opi)osition to Mr. Dana was principally owing to a misunderstanding of his doctrinal views." (76., p. 31.) They were strenuous about *' sound doctrine," but could not perceive it (while it was there), concealed extensively by the graces of his style. " In July, 1795, they proposed, as a peace measure, that the Rev. Mr. Boddily should become colleague with Mr. Dana. This failed, and in October next the Presbytery organized them as the second Presbyterian church, with thirty-three members." (76., p. 31.) The first Presbyterian church, though weakened, remained with him (Mr. Dana) an affectionate and united people. This church (we have seen) was one which came to Presbyterianism while its members were of that stock, to escape the oppression of Congregationalism. As the law (enacted always by a Congregationalist legis- lature) "then was, they were forced, in order to obtain libert}^ and rights from Church and State, to become an- other denomination ; and to guard themselves and their children so far as possible against the evils they had seen and suffered, against false doctrine and oppression, they became Presbyterians." Like Edwards, they were " out of conceit with what was unsettled, independent, and con- fused." " Their first act was to choose six ruling elders." The Rev. John Murray was unwilling (when called) to settle in this congregation, because " the visitation of families, as Presbyterian pastors do, was not customary with the Rev. Mr. Parsons, except on extraordinary occasions ; " and " in 1780, the session districted the parish." IN NEW ENGLAND. Zyd " The session has often been the safety of the church, preserving its unity and maintaining its discipline and purity, when otherwise false doctrine might have intruded and order have been lost." (76.) Having seen the two Presbyterian churches in Newbury- port, after October, 1795, pressing forward abreast, I now turn to the meagre records of Presbytery. On October 25th, 1793, a convention met at Londonderry " for finishing the union between the Associate Eeformed Presbytery of Londonderry and the Presbytery at the Eastward, and being fully invested with power, formed a union," and styled themselves henceforth "the Presbytery of Londonderr3\" On the last Wednesday in May, 1794, at Derry, there were present Rev. Messrs. Solomon Moore, William Morrison, Nathaniel Ewer, John Houston, David Annan, Samuel Taggart, Andrew Oliver, and nine ruling elders, who unanimously approved of the union formed by the convention. Petitions for the services of Mr. Toombs were presented from New Market and Antrim, and one from " the Presbyterian society in Bedford, asking to have the inhabitants of that town act consistently with Christian character." They had employed a Mr. Pickles — who had been deposed by the Presbytery of Philadelphia, and who was immoral in character — and the petitioners ask, " Have any of the inhabitants any special right to special privileges from this Presb3^tery or from any of its members ? " The action of those who employed him was condemned. In reference to irregularities already referred to in New- buryport, in answer to a petition, the action of session was confirmed. On their request, supplies were granted to Derry, and Mr. Brown was, in answer to their verbal petitions, ap- pointed for four Sabbaths to Hampton. Chester petitioned for supply, and Messrs. Toombs, Brown, and Wallace were appointed to labor in assigned vacancies. The leaven had now permeated nearly the whole mass of professed Presbyterians in New England, and we have seen about a score of these congregations absorbed by the State religion. Among those which had stood firm for §pme fifty years in reference to the offering of "a pure 294 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM offering" to God in praise, was West Derry. But she had now become under that mysterious identity " a felt want," enamored with "the enticing words of man's wisdom." " Mr. Joel Barlow, who, on receiving a degree from Yale College, in 1778, then first came before the public in his poetical character by reciting an original poem, was suc- cessively a chaplain in the Revolutionary army, an editor, a bookseller, a lawyer, and a merchant." He published in London a poem, called " The Conspir- acy of Kings," and " in the latter part of 1792 he was appointed one of the deputies from the London Constitu- tional Society to present an address to the National Con- vention of France," with which they were in sympathy. This body had " formally disavowed the existence of God and the immortality of the soul, and disseminated atheism." (Home.) His most popular poem, published before 1795, was entitled '' Hasty Pudding." He had, however, in his earlier days, before 1787, " revised Dr. Watts' Imitation of David's Psalms " (Pres. Dig., p. 208), that is, the 139 imi- tated. Whetlier this was a labor of love to improve his poetical talent, or done by the request of "the General Association of Connecticut," his " advanced thought," as one of the morning stars of the nineteenth century, Avas unsavory to the pious in " the land of steady habits " — and " to sanctify the ticket," as among modern politicians, Frelinghuysen was put in nomination with the duellist, Henry Clay — so "the Pvev. Dr. Timothy D wight, by order of the said asso- ciation, revised the version as revised by Mr. Barlow, and versified a number omitted by Watts." In " 1787, the Synod of New York and Pennsylvania allowed the Imitation of David's Psalms, as revised by Mr. Barlow, to be sung in congregations and families under their care." (/6., 208.) Since the close of the war, as we have seen in Bath Kol, the moral sentiment of the land had been gradually wax- ing feeble, and this abatement of force, like "judgment," began with " the house of God." Changes in material pros- i:)erity seem to have been accompanied by innovations in doctrine, worship, and discipline in the churches. " The Imitations " were, among the Presbyterian churches IN NEW ENGLAND. 295 to the southward, in 1802 (Dig., p. 209), vamped with his three books of hymns ; and while in no way was either dependence or control established between any of the Presbyteries of New England and what became, in 1789, the General Assembly of the United States of America, still they were duly informed of the changes introduced, and at this meeting (in 1794) "a petition from West Derry (was presented) to use Dr. Watts' psalms, corrected and enlarged by Mr. Joel Barlow, and recommended by the General Association of Connecticut and by the General Assembly of the Presbyterians in the Southward." This was "referred back to the session, to act for the general good of the society in that case." At meetings on October 1st, 1794, and subsequently, the varied matters mentioned in relation to the settlement of Mr. Daniel Dana received attention, while a call from New Market for Mr. Toombs was read and sustained. His instal- lation took place on October 21st, when Rev. Messrs. McClin- tock and Miltimore (Congregationalists) sat as correspond- ents. '' The Rev. Messrs. Moore, Annan, and Morrison were appointed a committee to wait on the Amherst association, respecting something for the general good of the church." Trials for licensure "were assigned to Mr. Wm. Pidgeon. Eight ministers and fourteen elders w^ere present at the stated meeting at Londonderry, on May 27th, 1795. Nine papers were presented, and the court had abundance of business, as the opposition to the settlement of Mr. Brown W'as then considered. Presbyter}^ "advised the Congrega- tional church of Hampton to give up their negative power over the town in the settlement of a minister." That is, let the town meeting rule the church and vote it Presby- terian. At Londonderry, on October 28th, 1795, a call from Peterboro was sustained. Coleraine did not then appear to be walking in harmony wath this court, and the town was to be " seasonably notified, by the clerk, of our next meeting, and that they show reasons, if any they have," why their conduct should not be investigated. Mr. Pidgeon accepted the call from Hampton, and this congregation w^as received by Presbytery. A Congregationalist church, by the advice of Presbytery, yielded to a Presbyterian parish. Jordan was rolled backward once. 296 HISTORY OF TRESBYTERIANISM A letter from the A. R. Synod was now received, and the clerk (Rev. Wm. Morrison) was appointed to answer it, " when he thinks most conducive to the public good of this Presbytery, and to give a general account of that part of our conduct respecting psalmody and our absence from Synod, with the reasons therewith." January 7th, 179G. A pro re nata meeting was held on account of Mr. Pidgeon and those against him at Hamp- ton. They then and there ordained him, and "voted — that we advise our Presbyterian brethren to deal honor- ably and justly with the congregational part of the town, respecting the ministerial property." On May 4th, at Coleraine, the court advised that congre- gation to " no longer quarrel about the locality of their place of worship, and appointed Mr. Morrison to draw up an address to them for Presbytery." The vital force of this form of ecclesiastical regimen had now become so attenuated that occasionally Congregational societies desired to wear the name, especially where diffi- culties had arisen, and on June 14th, 1796, a jn'o re nata meeting was held in Byefield. A " petition from parties there to be received as a Pres- byterian society was presented." On investigation, it was found that the movement had originated in "strife and vainglory," Satan acting as the chairman of their church extension committee. Hence, it was " Voted — That we address the JNIiddle Essex association to advise the church here to keep the peace." " It must needs be that offences come," and so unyield- ing were the disputants in Coleraine about the location of their church, that their pastor, at a meeting held in Lon- donderry, on October 12tli, requested his release from the charge and a dismission from the Presbytery. As his use- fulness among them was not obviously at an end, and their spiritual prosperity required an oversight, which, in the event of his removal, might not easil}^ be obtained, so, to prevent them from being, as a church, "consumed one of another," his petition was returned to him. Windham now petitioned for a supply of preaching. 1797, at Londonderry, on iNIay 17th, a request was pre- sented by the second church in Newburyport, to have Mr. Boddily settled as their pastor. On September 6th, 1797, IN NEW ENGLAND. 297 Mr. Boddily was reported installed, and the act of the committee declared to be valid. Among the petitions presented at this meeting, number six '' was a request from East Derry for liberty to use Dr. AVatts' Imitations of the Psalms." The offshoot of 1736 (Londonderry) was thus in advance of the mother church of 1719 three years, in conforming to the "taste" estab- lished by "the customs of the churches" in New England. The consideration of this petition was jDOStponed until next meeting. Tliese varied irregularities on the part of the A. R. Pres- bytery of Londonderry had (as has been noticed) grieved the Synod. Varied appliances (implied in "review and controul ") had been used by the Superior Court, but in vain. The results Avere painfully obvious ; but the character and full course of the causes were but imper- fectly comprehended. As it is now, Congregationalism was then sui:)posed to be only a little diticrent from Pres- byterianism — " only a little difference about government, you know, yet substantially the same " — while they are in tlieir nature, origin, influence, and tendencies, irreconcil- ably antagonistical — the one will root out the other. The clerk was appointed in 1795 to answer a letter, and now, in 1797, the " Rev. Messrs. Annan, Toombs and Mor- rison were appointed to answer the address from Synod." I-Jistory is here, and at this date, repeating itself. The troubles which disturbed the j^eace of the Rev. Solomon Prentice forty-five years ago, are now reproduced in the region of Newmarket. Ever since the days of the apostles persons have been (at least at times) found, who " creep into houses and lead captive those silly ones," who in- dulge the emotional powers or feelings of their minds, in- stead of " getting wisdom and with all their getting obtain- ing understanding." As the purity of Puritanism was diminished, so in New England we find this class of ad- venturers increased. The Rev. Jonathan Brown,, when silenced by Presbytery and reduced to private member- ship, which he held till the day of his death, was forbidden to preach, and he obeyed. Not so with " unruly and vain talkers " under the auspices of the other polity. In the one case, the "mouths" of such persons "must be stopped.," in the other, the abettors of divers and strange 298 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM doctrines and corresponding practices may steal the hearts of communities. Hence, we have on record, " The Rev. Mr. Ewers is com- plained of by Mr. Toombs, as encouraging straggling per- sons, calling themselves preachers, to the great injury and dishonor of religion, in many places, particularly in New Market." "Voted, unanimously. That this Presbytery solemnly recommend to vacant churches under their care, that they encourage or employ no strangers as preachers among them without they see his license, or approbation from regular ministers, and that he have a good cliaracter." Few operations of the soul are more powerful than this. " I would to God, that all were, not only almost, but alto- gether, such as I am," and where this has in prospect good large " loaves " and a number of " fishes," or even " a piecis of money, or a morsel of bread," proselyting errorists would be seldom out of sight, excepting for the discipline of Christ's house. " Peace and good-will among men," as well as " })ure and undefiled religion before God, alike re- quire, all who are lawfully put in trust in the ministry," to rebuke all such " liars, evil beasts, slow-bellies, sharply, that they may be sound in the faith " (Tit. i. 12). By neglect of this, the Province of Maine, where the last Pres- bytery met in 1791, has become, religiously, not unlike a "waste howling wilderness." And so numerous are the sects in the small population of Rhode Island to-day, that there is extensively truth as well as humor in the saying, " If a man lose his kind of religion, let him go to Rhode Island and he will find it " among the crowd there, said to be some forty sects in number. In enacting this statute, and taking care that it should be executed, where required,Jhe court "took heed to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost had made them bishops to feed the church of God," and well would it be, now and hereafter, for all others in a similar position, to *'go and do likewise." It is one of the peculiarities of Presbyterian church gov- ernment, that, while each has its legitimate field, sphere and work, the courts have interest and responsibility pro- portionate to their authority. Hence, in these changes of constitutional law and violation of official vows, by the IN NEW ENGLAND. 299 Associate Reformed Presbytery of LoDclonderry, the Synod, and through it the denomination, had a painful interest. This they manifested. Hence, on the erection of the Washington, N. Y., Presbytery, on May 30th, 1794, Synod met "no representation from the New England Presby- tery," and the " Rev. R. Annan was appointed to write to them, requiring an account of the state of religion among them and a deputation of a member, or members, to repre- sent them in Synod." In 1795, on May 21st, Mr. Annan reported that he had "written to the New England Pres- bytery but had received no answer." "The state of that Presbytery being under considera- tion, it was stated that certain information had been re- ceived by the members of Synod, that Watts' psalms are generally used by the members of that Presbytery in their churches, that they hold promiscuous communion with exceptionable denominations ; that they have yielded to the town meetings several points of Presbyterial govern- ment, that for these reasons our people are uneasy and re- proached. Appointed Rev. Messrs. Annan, Mason and Clarke a committee, to visit these brethren in their con- gregations and deal witli them affectionately, to remove all grounds of uneasiness, and endeavor to prevail on them to conduct their government and discipline, according to the word of God and the rules of this church." They were also to be informed by letter of the appoint- ment of the visiting committee. The letter, written on June 1st, 1795, reads thus: " Rev. and dear brethren : — It gives us no small un- easiness to hear of some things, which have been intro- duced among you, inconsistent with the comely order to be observed in the house of God. Some of these are the introduction of Watts' imitations of the Psalms into the worship of God ; holding unnecessary and improper com- munion with other denominations, and in the regulation of your congregational affairs, acting repugnantly to the spirit of Presbyterianism. " Hearing these reports in 1794, we, by letter, ' earnestly requested your attendance at this meeting.' We are sorry that you have not responded. Our members from the Southern States come greater distances and at greater cost. Your inconvenience cannot excuse your constant neglect 300 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM of our Synodical meetings. You could not but know, that the use of Watts' imitations in the worship of God, has always met with our disapi)rol)ation. Your con- sistency, while you professed a connection with us, should have i)revented tliis innovation, es})eciall3^ in vicAV of our Judicial Tcdimony as a Synod. Feeling for you, as mem- bers of the same body, and anxious, in the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ, to reclaim to the path of duty those whom we deem to liave gone astray ; the Synod have ap- pointed and authorized a committee to visit you before their next meeting, who are to inquire into the premises and other matters of grievance, if any such exist, and deal with you as the circumstances of the case may demand. We hope you are not insensible of the obligation of your ordination vows, when you solemnly engaged to be subor- dinate to the Synod. Our principles are now precisely the same they were at that time. Suffer us then, in the spirit and words of the apostle, to beseech j^ou, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing,' that there be no divisions among us, but that we be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. "John Dunlap, Moderator. " Alex. Dobbin, Clerk." New York, May 30th, 1796. Messrs. Annan and Mason, the committee appointed to visit our brethren in New England, reported, "That several unexpected dispensa- tions of Divine Providence had rendered the fulfilment of it impossible. Reasons sustained." " June 7th, appointed the Rev. Messrs. Annan and JMason, w^ith Ruling Elders Ebenezer Clarke and James Stephenson, in view of the situation of that Presbytery, to visit our brethren in New England." The " situation " of that Presbytery was, in answer stated (by the Rev. William Morrison), thus, on August 26th, 1796 : " Distance renders personal interview's with our Southern brethren very inconvenient; we have ten settled ministers ; we consider ourselves competent as a judiciary ; we are best acquainted with the customs, tem- per and manners of our churches and their situation with respect to other denominations ; we have voted to reply to the act of Synod respecting Psalmody as injurious to the cause of Presbytery in New England. IN NEW ENGLAND. 301 "Your committee stating your terms would gratify a few and mortally wound others. Common observation and experience concur with revelation in teaching us the necessity of governing a people in a manner best adapted to their circumstances, for their good and for the honor of religion. America should have the most generous and benevolent system of religion." Here the appeal is not "to the law and to the testi- mon," to the authority of God, but to what was adapted to America, to the customs, temper and manners of their churches and of those around them in New England. The Synod met in Philadelphia on May 29th, 1797. On the 31st that committee reported. The difficulties of going to New England appeared not a little similar to the return of " the Eagle's Wing " from mid-ocean. The com- mittee say " That owing to an evident interposition of Providence, the appointment was unfulfilled," and in this the Synod acquiesced. It would only have been labor in vain ; for pure worship and official vows, if not gound doctrine had (by that date) been virtually swept away by the flood of pine-board (pew) patronage. Annan, sus- tained by the majestic presence, fervent piety and match- less eloquence of Mason, would have found the changes introduced by the permeating influences of the " social compact" in eleven years, to have made these congrega- tions, to the voice of truth, the presence of princijjle and allegiance to vows, " as deaf as the adder." They had, "August 26th, 1796, ten settled ministers — Eev. Messrs. Moore, Ewers, David Annan, Taggart, Oliver, Dana, Toombs, Brewer, Pidgeon and Morrison." They had increased from three or four to ten. (Morrison.) "A new king, who knew not Joseph," was now, through the rapidly diffusive stimulant of the imitations in the churches in New England, enthroned in the affections of the descendants of these "persecuted Irish brethren," who had lifted up their sweet psalms to Jehovah on the banks of "Westrunning Brook," or had made the sands on the beach of Casco Bay, their " place of habitation for the mighty God of Jacob," not only by " effectual fervent prayer," but by presenting to him' the emotions of their souls, as they were about to enter the "wilderness" in that most plaintive of all songs, the 137th Psalm. 302 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM All this the sequel will verify. "A letter, stating their views and grounds of complaint," in the massive thoughts of Mason, was written as an evidence of the faitliful- ness of the court to their trust, portions of which I pre- sent. After referring to " reports of abuses," alread}^ noticed, the efforts of ap})ointcd committees to visit them for conference, their own motives, tlie unforeseen " difficulties interposed," and their personal disappointment, they say: " We have done what alone remained in our power, and represent concisely in writing, with all brotherly affection, yet witii the most undisguised plainness, a few of those subjects of compkiint, on which we should have remon- strated more largely face to face. " You cannot be ignorant, brethren, that your discarding from public worship the Psalms indited by the Holy Ghost, and substituting in their room the composures of men, is highly displeasing to the Synod and to the body of Christians under their inspection. Whether the use of such composures in the public worship of God be in itself lawful or unlawful, is a question we do not mean to discuss, because it is a question with which, at present, we have nothing to do. But, whether considering your relation to the Synod, the edification of the church of which you are a branch, and your obligations to support the truth of the gospel, the use of them was allowable in you, is a question wliich demands your solemn regard. You certainly know, brethren, that the controversy about psalmody was warmly agitated both at and before the formation of your connec- tion with the Sj'nod. " You know, too, that they were decidedly and zealously opposed to these innovations in the praises of the church, which have since become fashionable ; and you know, also, that^ under the impression — unaccompanied with a single doubt — that you were perfectly joined in one mind with them, were the vows of God laid upon you. " How, then, does your departure in so material a point from the testimony of the body to which you belong — from the principles which, in one of the most serious moments of your lives, you unequivocally espoused, and adherence to which is notoriously implicated in the fellowship IN NEW ENGLAND. 303 you as yet own — how does it comport with your duty ? How with simpUcity and godly sincerity? And since, as there is reason to beheve, your firmness miglit have prevented the evil, how does your yielding at the ex- pense of 3'our professed convictions consist with the obli- gation to obey God rather than man, and with your engage- ments not to follow any devisive courses by compl3dng with the defections of the times ? Finally, as this step, so important in its nature and extensive in its consequences, was taken without endeavoring to obtain the consent of Synod, without asking their advice, without so much as acquainting them Avith those circumstances which are thought to plead in its favor: how is it reconcilable with a decent deference to that judicatory to wliich you have deliberately promised subjection in the Lord? " But apart Irom this, your proceedings, brethren, have greatly marred general edification. We are all members one of another ; and there is no maxim in Christian pru- dentials more sound and useful than this — that in matters of liberty, the edification of the whole must be preferred to the predilections of a part. " You will not pretend that you were bound in conscience to throw away the Psalms of the book of God. It was, then, at best a question of expediency, and we cannot but lament that in determining it no regard has been paid to the desires, to the feelings, to the conscience of by far the most of your brethren. "Was this conduct tender? Was it Christian? Its effects have been deplorable. Many who love ' the truth as it is in Jesus' are alarmed, lest what has hitherto hap- pened is but a prelude to deviations more unscriptural and fatal. The Synod on your account have lain under odium, not only from those who lie in Avait for their halting, but even from a number of their own people. Confidence in their integrity and in their faithfulness is, of course, dimin- ished, and the good cause of God and his truth in their hands proportionably suffers. They have already preju- dices enough to combat ; and it was not kind to strengthen these prejudices by furnishing even the candid with ground of real objection. " Furthermore, we beseech you, brethren, to reflect, that the principles, on which the plan you have adopted is too 304 HISTORY OF PRESBYTEEIANISM commonly defended, renders j^our adoption of it peculiarly unhappy. " It is justly deemed an essential doctrine of Christianity, that believers in every age and under every dispensation have one faith; that whether the revelation of the way of life be more complete or partial, more clear or obscure, they obtain pardon of sin. enjoy access to a reconciled (lod, and rejoice in the hope of glory, through faith in ' the blood of sprinkling.' But by many whose numbers continually increase, that glorious trutli is presumptuously denied — denied for the express purj)ose of exploding as unfit for Christian worship the Psalms, which Jesus liatn bequeathed unto liis church. As this notion is becoming prevalent, it is the duty of all who would ' earnestly con- tend for the faith once delivered to the saints,' to set their faces like flints against its progress; and it is with infinite regret that the Synod see so important a part of their body falling into the course which it is propagated to promote, and thus sanctioning an error which, in their judgment, stands in open contradiction to the experience of Christians, is fundamentally subversive of the doctrine of redemption, and gives tlie lie tUrect to the Spirit of the living God. " But beside this innovation itself, the manner, brethren, in which it was effected is another cause of serious dis- satisfaction. " If the Synod are rightly informed, the Psalms of the Bible were laid aside and their substitute introduced by the vote of a town meeting. You are no less sensible than ourselves that this was not only prostrating at the feet of the multitude the Scriptural authority of judicatories, but what is yet worse, was allowing a civil corporation to meddle with the interior and spiritual arrangements of the church. "The evil and offence are aggravated by the little resist- ance which even the ministers of the word made to a measure not less dangerous as a precedent than corrupt in its principle. It rests with your consciences, brethren, to vindicate your conniving at an open sacrifice of the church order, which you have professed, and still do profess, to re- ceive as the institution of your blaster in heaven ; and at violence offered by a political body to his glorious Head- ship— of which, as far as your officialagency is concerned, IN NEW ENGLAND. 805 you have sworn to be the guardians — connived at them without one manful struggle, and especially when the probability is that your judicial interference, prudently and faithfully directed, would have preserved both the prerogative of your Lord from invasion and his appoint- ments from insult. " The whole of our expostulations, brethren, are framed according to our best information. If in anything we wrong you, it is without design. But should this be the case, the fault is your own, and our very mistake would corroborate exceedingly the last reason of complaint on which we shall now insist, and this is, your habitual re- missness in attending on meetings of Synod. " You will not dispute that, humanly speaking, the respectability, usefulness, and efficacy of Presbyterial government depend materially on the regular and harmo- nious co-operation of its judicatories, and that its move- ments are impeded and its system disordered in propor- tion as this co-operation is frustrated. " By neglecting, therefore, the meetings of Synod, you have not only foiled in your own duty, but have embar- rassed them in doing theirs. Your distance from the cen- tral parts of the country may indeed exempt from constant attendance, but it is a very insufficient apology for per- petual absence. Our Redeemer, it is true, will have mercy and not sacrifice ; but he has not put mercy and sacrifice at eternal war ; and it is but a discouraging symptom, if his servants, when called to act in his name upon the largest scale which their connections permit, ordinarily prefer their own convenience to his honor. You have been for some time so numerous, that by visiting the Synod two by two, if no more, you might make it a very easy, as it ought to be a very pleasant, task. Others of your brethren attend, although at double your distance and through double your difficulties. From every Presbytery on the continent some usually come up to Synod, but from the Presbytery of New England. Inquiries are anxiously made, and not a single member nor a single official docu- ment appears to answer them. The Synod can learn the state of their affiiirs only from detached fragments of in- telligence or from uncertain rumors. ^' Nor is this a recent complaint — it is of years' standing. 20 306 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM The Synod have time after time caused their requests to be communicated to the Presbytery in writing, and their re- quests have been passed over in contumelious silence. "They have been treated with this indignity, even when their communications specified the evil reports against the Presbytery, and earnestly solicited thereon direct, candid, and explicit information. We leave it to your own sense of decorum, not to say of rectitude, whether this is the carriage which, from your engagements, they have a right to expect. " Such, brethren, is a sketch of the representation we would have made in conference, had the Lord permitted. We have not consciously misstated the sentiments of our brethren among ministers or people ; and it is not less our duty to you, than to ourselves, to them and to our com- mon Lord, to tell you, without flattery or concealment, the real light in which your proceedings are viewed. For our own parts, we will rejoice with thanksgiving, should we have mistaken facts, or erred in opinion ; and our joy will be full, should the removal of all just grounds of uneasiness enable us to ' keep the unity of the Spirit, in the bond of peace, striving together for the faith of the gospel.' " We entreat, therefore, tliat, on mature consideration of this letter, a copy of which is preserved for sy nodical pe- rusal, the Presbytery, besides sending some of their mem- bers, will transmit, in writing, to the Synod, to be laid before them at their meeting in Philadelphia, on the last Monday in May next, a correct account of their worship, discipline, communion and other matters relative to relig- ious concerns. And Ave trust, that if the union of the church is dear to their hearts — if the vows of subordina- tion are esteemed binding — if the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ hath any commanding influence — and the edification of his body is an object of desire, the intreaty will meet with prompt and pointed compliance. "Now, that the Lord himself may direct our way in wis- dom and in righteousness, revealing to us the path of duty and giving us grace to walk therein; without turning aside, either to the right hand or to the left, is the prayer of your brethren. " Robert Annan, " Jno. M. Mason. ''January 24, 1797." IN NEW ENGLAND. 807 This prompted a reply, written by the moderator, which was received in Synod on May 30, 1797, and which stated " that they had received the letter at too late a date to be laid before Presbyter}^, or to have any member or members attend Synod ; but that Presbytery were to meet in a short time, when the letter would be laid before them, which he was solicitous should be treated with due respect, and that he intends to come to the next meeting of Synod." On June 11, 1798, at Philadelphia, the Synod were in- formed that the Rev. William Morrison was providentially prevented from being present — and as they had not suffi- cient evidence of the true position of affairs, so as to come to a final decision, the case was deferred, and the Rev. Robert Annan was appointed to write to the Presbytery. At the next two annual meetings no representative of the Presbytery appeared, and Mr. Annan reported that, to his letter, sent to the Presbytery, he had " received no reply." The letter of January 24, 1797, galvanized the Presby- tery a little, and at their meeting in Londonderry, on Sep- tember 6, 1797, it was " Voted, That Mr. iNlorrison, as agent, should attend the Synod in Philadelphia, to sec whether it would be beneficial to dissolve the connection that sub- sisted between them and the Presbyter}^ and that his desk should be supjilied for four Sabbaths in his absence." This api^ointment, as we have seen, he was " providen- tially prevented from" fulfilling, and the specific character of their Presb3^terianism was now very extensively changed. Only Morrison and Taggart appear to have had a training as Presb3^terians, after the type of McGregor, senior, and Moorehead. Some of the other members, educated amidst Congregational surroundings and associations, had taken a very mild form of Presbj^terianism ; while others, who had been always Congregationalists, assumed this polity where it would be to them an advantage to officiate in a Presbyterian congregation. The forms were in the mean- time observed, but in a free and easy way, as they virtually ignored the advantage, authority, or even the very exist- ence of a Synod, which might not allow them to introduce will-worship into the house of God — by a vote on town meeting day, when they elected in the same manner their pound-keepers, fence-viewers and dog-killers for the year. Beside this, although the Assembly of the Presbyterian 308 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM Church in the United States (formed in 1789) Jiad never had any control in New England, yet, in the changes which it had borrowed from Congregationalism in refer- ence to Watts' imitations and liymns, not a few in this Presbytery had a growing deliglit. From 1774, when Baldwin was smitten with the " felt want," which has now for a century been the " harp of a thousand strings," with all sectarian poetical innovators who want new poems, " taste " and " culture " have had an increasing ascendency over Divine authority, and they became a power in the Associate Reformed Presbytery of New England. Hence she was now coquetting with the larger body, and on Octol^er 9, 1799 (present, seven minis- ters and six elders) "Voted, To obtain and peruse the Confession of Faitli of the Synod of New York and Phila- delphia of May IG, 1788, and to prepare our minds on the propriety of adoijting it as the constitution of this Presby- tery at their next meeting." In 1799 Mr. Annan was again appointed to write to this Presbytery, and in 18U0 informed tlie Synod that he had done so, and had received no reply. No member ap- peared in Synod in 1801 from it, and on May 30th, at Philadel[)liia, we find on the records of Synod this minute: "After serious and mature deliberation, the following reso- lution was adopted : " Whereas, the Presbytery of Londonderry has for sev- eral years been in a state of virtual separation from this Synod, entirely neglecting attendance thereon and due subordination thereto; and, Whereas, the repeated at- tempts of this Synod to obtain from said Presbytery infor- mation of its condition and i:)rocedure and a compliance with the order of Presbyterial church government, as main- tained by the Associate Reformed Church, have proved abortive; therefore, ^^ Resolved, That this Synod no longer consider the said Presbytery of Londonderry as in their connection, and do hereby disclaim all responsibility for any of its transt actions. "Ordered, That a copy of said resolution be transmitted to the Presbytery. "Alexander Proudfit, Moderator, "John McJimsey, Clerk." IN NEW ENGLAND. 809 " 1802, October 22d, the said clerk reported that he had transmitted to the moderator of the Presbytery of London- derry the resolution of Synod concerning them." Thus, after a history of about twenty years, we see the process of assimilation to their surroundings completing its operation, and the Presbj'terian version of the Psalms are now, after expressing the joys and sorrows of the hearts of thousands of God's people, cast (excepting in godly families) " to the moles and to the bats." For about eighty years these songs of Jehovah (Psalm cxxxvii. 4) instru- mentally increased the faith and strengthened the hearts of the "persecuted Irish brethren " and their descendants; but the same "imitations" which had worm-eaten the "Bay State version," and punctured it to death in the previous generation, and also increasingly bleached the truth out of the creeds and godliness out of the lives of the offspring of the Puritans, now supplanted the " hymns and spiritual songs " of God the Holy Ghost in both ver- sions, from the St. Croix to the Connecticut. We now return to the transactions of the Presbytery, and find that at Londonderry, on September 6, 1797, ^^Sedenmt, Annan, ]\Iorrison, Toombs, Dana, Brown, Oliver and Pidgeon, ministers, with seven ruling elders, and that Rev. jMessrs. Moor, Whipple and Boddily sat as corre- spondents." At the same time it would appear that the Rev. Mr. Boddily must have been a member of Presbytery, for a part of the minutes reads thus : The " report of the com- mittee to instal Mr. Boddily was considered, and the act of the committee declared to be valid." "Mr. Walter Little, a candidate for licensure, was then examined and assigned trials," and at Pelham, on May 17, 1798, after a satisfactory examination, he was licensed. An item at Londonderry, October 31, 1798, is not easily understood : " Mr. Boddily petitioned to be admitted a member of Presbytery, and was admitted." He was, above a year before, installed in the Second Church, Newbury- port, which had been organized by Presbytery in October, 1795. " The Second Church and parish in Newbury re- quested to be received into Presbytery. The congregation was received, and a call from them for Mr. Toombs was presented to him ; he declared his acceptance of it, and his 310 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM installation was appointed to take place on November 28th, which, notwithstanding a remonstrance, was then and there effected. At their meeting at Derry, on June 12, 1799, a request for the assistance of Rev. Messrs. Brown and Boddily to ordain a Mr. Slea (a Congregationalist) at Byfield, was made, " which Presbytery does not grant." At " Newburyport, October 9, 1799 — Read a letter from the committee of the New liampshire convention on the necessity of sending ministers to the frontiers of that State to preach." Rev. Messrs. Morrison and Dana were ap- pointed to answer it and report to Presbytery. At this meeting it was ascertained that tlie Rev. David Annan had become so immoral that Presbytery now com- menced those investigations by which he was eventually deposed from the ministry. At Londonderry, June 11, 1800, sederunt, eight ministers and eight elders. On the appointment of the ordination of Mr. Little, to take place in Antrim in September, while this Presbytery would not grant the request that at the ordination of Mr. Slea at Byfield, the Rev. Messrs. Brown and Boddily might assist, and lend their fibre of apostolic succession — yet, they now formally request the Rev. Messrs. " Barnes of Hillsboro, Bradford of Francestown, and Page of Hancock to assist at his ordination." The light of the nineteenth century had now dawned, the consistency of the previous one was " behind the age," Congregationalism was increasingly in the ascendant, and at its shrine a peace offering was to be immolated. Whether they formed a part "of the Presbytery " who laid hands on him or not, does not appear, yet the record of September 2, 1800, reads thus : " Met to ordain Mr. Little. When called to deliver his popular sermon he said that he had daily to attend fun- erals, sometimes two to four in a day, to visit a number of sick persons, and he hoped the Presbytery would be so kind as excuse him for these reasons. Excused accord- ingly. Examined him and ordained him." At "Londonderry, June 9th, 1801, the Constitution of the General Assembly was considered, and a continued attention to it was recommended to the churches under their care, with a viev/ of its being adopted with some few IN NEW ENGLAND. 311 exceptions, at the first meeting of Presbytery." '' Presby- terial sermons are in futm'e to be the subject of mutual private criticism." On June 9th, 1802, Mr. David McGregor was licensed, and the Rev. Mr. Taggart applied for a certificate of min- isterial standing. Trials were assigned to Mr. Matthew Taylor. The Rev. Mr. Dana was directed to obtain for sale and distribution eighteen copies of the Constitution of the General Assembly. Although this was done, yet many of the people had read in an old book, " Meddle not with them that are given to change," and when, on October 13th, they met, the record runs thus : "Will the Presbytery now adopt the General Assembly's Constitution in toto ? It was negatived, and they adopted it in substance as a directory." They were still unprepared to "explicitly unite with any particular Synod and with the Assembly at the South- ward." On June 8th, 1803, they considered the " official documents of a Rev. Mr. Giles, and on a requect from the Second Church in Newbury port, they voted to induct him there " in July. When the time came, they found that he *• made some difference on the subject of baptism from Presbyterians," yet "they installed him." On July 19th a Rev. j\Ir. Colby, it was appointed, should be installed in Chester, but when the day, the 12th of Oc- tober, came, a Mr. D. Baker, of Pembroke, tabled a com- plaint against him. Yet, as the pastoral relation between him and that town had, by a "result of council," been dissolved, "Mr. Baker's complaint and that of Pembroke were dismissed as disorderly," and he was on the next day installed in Chester. " This Presbytery cannot consistently grant the Goff^s- town request, considered as a Presbyterian incorporation, because in that capacity they had united with the Congre- gational incorporation in Goffstown, in the call and settle- ment of Mr. Morrell as the minister of both incorporations." A Mr. Robert Heath Noyes was now examined and taken under the care of Presbytery. At Londonderry, on June 13th, 1804, Bedford presented a call for Mr. David Mc- Gregor. Relative to the Presbyterians in " PeterborOj a certificate 312 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM from the clerk of that town was read, and they were allowed the use of the church one Sabbath in the year for communion in Presbyterian form," yes, positively allowed to use their father's property and their own, as Presbyte- rians, one Sabbath in the year. But this was not all. Unwilling as the Presbyterians were to forego the use of their property, their elders must not any longer " distin- guish things which differ " in relation to the Lord's table. For, " Presbytery recommended to the Peterboro church to admit to occasional communion all regular members of Congregational churches." This not only shews, that " the things which (then) re- mained were ready to die," but that promiscuous commu- nion had not been hitherto practised. At this meeting the Eev. Andrew Oliver demitted his pastoral charge of Pel- ham. They gave to him a certificate of good standing, and promised him a hearing tliere again in October follow- ing. At Argyle, N. Y., on October 15th, 1804, he informed the Associate Presbytery of Cambridge, that he " labored under difficulties in his mind for some time past, respect- ing his connection with the Presbytery of Londonderry, and had resolved to leave them and join the Associate Synod of North America. After hearing him fully he was admitted and assigned places in Avhich to preach." He returned to Pelham in November, 1804, and broke his pledge to the Associate Presbytery. Consequently, on his representation and petition to Presbytery, in November, 1805, they wrote to him, and charge him with leaving liis religious profession irregularly, and cite him to appear at Argyle on a day specified, in February, 1806. At that date he did not attend, and they sent him a summons to appear at their next meeting, at Florida, N. Y., on May 5th, 1806. This did not bring him ; and on October 12th, 1807, at Florida, they agreed to ask the advice of their Synod in his case. On June 13th, 1804, Alexander Conkey was taken under care as a student in theology. The town of Bedford concurred in calling Mr. David McGregor, and he was ordained and installed there on September 6th, 1804. To aid the Presbytery, though eight ministers and ten elders were present when the ap- pointments were made in June, they " invited Rev. Messrs, IN NEW ENGLAND. 313 Burnap and Barnard to be at Bedford as correspond- ents." At Derry, on October 4th, 1804, the Rev. Jonathan Brown was released from his charge. He was then offici- ally reprehended and admonished by the moderator. On his own request, the Rev. Walter Little was then released from the pastorate of Antrim, N. H., and on June 12th, 1805, he was dismissed and recommended to the Associate Reformed, Washington, N. Y., Presbytery. At this meeting a call from Windham for a Mr. Harris, of Fitchburgh, was sustained as regular ; and on October 9th, when twelve ministers and fifteen ruling elders formed the court, he was examined, ordained and installed there. At Newburyport, on December 4th, 1805, " the Rev. Mr. Oliver stated, that he had joined the Associate Presbytery of Cambridge i^rematurely, as they would not give him a certificate (for no other reason, but because he had sung Dr. Watts' psalms and hymns in public worship), and he then requested readmission." He was b}^ no means the only man under vows to pre- sent to God " a pure offering " in praise, 'who has employed "the enticing words of man's wisdom in preference to the words which the Holy Ghost teacheth." He was not only readmitted but was promised to receive, Avhen he might ask it, " a new certificate to any of the General Assembly Presbyteries." The Rev. Mr. Toombs, at this date, re- signed his pastoral charge. He was " furnished with a certificate to the Presbytery of Columbia, N. Y., or any other one belonging to the General Assembly." At New Boston, on February 25th, 1806, a call from that congregation for Mr. Ephraim P. Bradford was sustained, and on the 26th he was examined, ordained and there in- stalled by Presbytery. On June 11th Presbytery met at Derry West, and again at Pelham, on September 3d, when papers were presented and some ordinary business was done. At Derry, on j\me 10th, 1807, Mr. McConlde was dis- missed in good standing, while " Mr. Pidgeon was pub- licl}^ and solemnly reprehended." They, by this date, had ample opportunity, as pastors and congregations, to examine the standards of the Gen- 314 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM eral Assembly, and their minutes state : "Appointed Rev. Messrs. Morrison, McGregor and Bradford, to represent this Presbytery in Albany Synod next October, at Coopers- town, N. Y." Not heeding the Divine injunction, "lay hands sud- denly on no man," in the case of Mr. Pidgeon, his con- duct produced trouble. He was accused of improprie- ties by a young woman, and was dismissed on July 15th, 1807, from Hampton. By the report of the committee appointed to take the evidence of Jane Clarkson, of New- buryport, his guilt was established, and at Derry West, on June 8th, 1808, the Presbytery suspended him from the ministry. On September 28th, on the strength of papers from Minot, in Maine, he was restored " to private church membership, and if Minot«wish him to preach, he may do so till next meeting." " The moderator was appointed to inform the town of Minot of the residt of Presbytery on this subject." Finally, on June 14th, 1809, their record states : " Restored Mr. Pidgeon to the ministry for one year." Joseph was not his patron saint, he " fell into re- proach," and wounded his Saviour "in the house of his friends." At Derry West, October 14th, 1807, a call from Antrim for Mr. John M. Whiton was sustained, and on September 28th, 1808, he was ordained and installed in that town. At their meeting on the 14th of October, 1807, a letter from Rev. Dr. John Smith was received " on the union of the church of Hanover with the Presbytery," from which it may be fairly inferred, that (as represented above) the Presbytery of Grafton no longer existed. Consequently, on June 8th, 1808, " Granted the request of the church at Dartmouth College to form a connection with this Pres- bytery." At this date, " appointed the stated meetings to be in ro- tation, excepting at Coleraine and Dartmouth College; there they will be specially appointed." In April, 1809, Litchfield w^as received into the Presby- tery. On request of the tow^n, a Mr. Kennedy was, on the 12th, ordained and installed there. At Bedford, Presbytery met and w^as constituted, when eight ministers and eight elders formed the court, on June 14th, 1809. " Presbytery declare the people of Pelham to IN NEW ENGLAND. 315 be inconstant, and dismiss the Rev. Mr. Brainard from them, to take place on the 14th of September next, if they pay up his full salary till then and $250 in addition. If the}^ do not pay, he continues there till next meeting." June 15th, " Voted, to send a delegation to Albany Synod, with powers to negotiate a connection." At New Boston, on October 25th, 1809, Presbytery met. Sederunt^ Morrison, Dana, McGregore, Harris, Bradford, Whiton, and Kennedy, ministers, with ruling elders Aiken, Barnes, Craig, Duncan, Dinsmore, and McNeil ; corre- spondents, Rev. Messrs. Chapin and Bradford, of Frances- town. " Mr. Walker, a student, preached a probationary discourse." " Read a vote of the General Association of N. H., and appointed the Moderator to answer it. Ap- proved of Mr, Walker's discourse, and licensed him to preach the gospel." October 26th, 1809, attended to the result of the mission from this Presbytery to the Synod of Albany. Read the report of the committee appointed by the Synod to confer with our delegates. Rev. Daniel Dana was appointed our delegate to the General Assembly, to meet at Philadelphia in May next (1810), Rev. Wm. Morrison to be his alternate. Presbytery to supply his desk four days during his ab- sence. "Appointed the next meeting to be in Newbury port, on the first Wednesday in May next, the Rev. Mr. Kennedy to open it with a sermon." The Rev. Moses Baldwin, who was installed in Palmer on June 17th, 1761, was dismissed June 19th, 1811, and then the church became a Congrega- tional society. Here end the existing records of the second Presbytery of Londonderry. They were continued subsequently for sixty years, yet at that time, through the carelessness of a clerk, they were allowed to perish. Our quotations till date are taken from a cojjy of the volumes, transcribed by and for the writer in 1855. While we have now, in the absence of continuous rec- ords for thirty-six years, to draw from incidental sources in relation to the Presbyterianism east of the river Con- necticut, yet in Vermont we still find records of the psalm- singing churches. The others, whose history we have so far chronicled, became so extensively permeated with the 316 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM superincumbent native polity, as to be " part Jew and part Ashdod," especially in public worship and the matter of Divine praise. By abandoning the Psalms, as presented in the Bay State or Presbyterian versions, for the Imita- tions and religious poems of Dr. Watts, domestic worship lost (almost totally throughout New England) the pleasant- ness of " shewing forth the loving-kindness of God in the morning and of declaring his faithfulness every night." The scenes of West Running Brook (by the descendants of the "oppressed Irish brethren") became decreasingly continued for half a century in their families, until Thomp- son might say, " Come, then, expressive silence, muse his praise." The majority in Federal street church as Congregation- alists settled, in 1787, the Rev. Jeremy Belknap, D. D. " He was one of the founders of the Massachusetts His- torical Society, and devoted much of his time to the pro- motion of its objects and interests." He not only pub- lished works on history and biography, but also compiled and published, in 1795, a volume of poetry, which in some congregations supplanted the Bay State version of the Psalms. He died in 1798, and was succeeded on July 10th, 1799, by the Rev. John S. Popkin, D. D. From his pas- toral charge he was dismissed on November 28th, 1802. Sixteen years of perversion of a sacred trust, misrule and no rule, produced their effects on the people. The church estate had been held and enjoyed for fifty-one years by a trust deed of a charitable use, which, in the hands of the lawful owners, the Presljyterians, had proved to be operative for all ecclesiastical purposes. But now, to the occupants, it brought trouble. Like savages who, when they had boarded a ship and overpowered the seamen, were not able to navigate her, so it was with these depre- dators. While Little owned the house he could collect the pew-tax, and so, by virtue of his deed to them, could the Presbyterians easily, while they were in possession ; but Rot so with the Congregationalists. Persons would occupy seats and pay as they pleased. Hence, less pleasant times came, and this even after the Rev. Wm. Ellery Channing was, on June 1st, 1803, ordained their pastor. The de- scendants of "the Scotch-Irish" had been, under their IN NEW ENGLAND. 317 adopted church regimen, since 1786, permitted to dwell alone ; but from this date others, attracted by the suaviter in mo do and oratory of the young preacher, voluntarily associated with them, until '' the Presbyterian meeting- house " was filled with Trinitarian Congregationalists. Yet neither orator}^ nor numbers brought abiding peace. When Ahab, wicked as he was, desired to have the vine- yard of Naboth for a garden of herbs, he offered him an equivalent in money or in land. Not so here. They had entered in and taken possession, while the trust deed was on record, and the heirs of John Little and the Presby- terian minority (Mrs. Captain Wilson and others) might at any time, apparently, invoke the equity of the law. Consequenth% as " they experienced inconvenience in the management of the prudential concerns of said society, from the want of legal authority to assess and collect" under their perversion of schism, they invoked the arm of the Legislature to sanction their perversion of the trust. To this end the following action was taken: "At a meeting of the proprietors of the meeting-house and lot in Federal street, held at the school-house on said lot, on ^londay evening, March 5th, 1804 " (nine months and four days after the settlement of Mr. Channing), "being the annual meeting — voted, that the standing committee be authorized to apply to the General Court for the passing of such law as they may think necessary or beneficial to the society." This germ they incubated for above fifteen months. The trust deed stood out in bold relief; Little's reserved " pew and seat " could not be totally eradicated ; the seat of Mrs. Captain Wilson, which had been forced to a sale, was not too far off to whisper to its owner, so that, if appli- cation were made for a Legislative strangling of the Pres- byterian rights, a remonstrance might possibly be made ; and withal, conscience was as yet extensively a power in legislation — that "oath" which is, in Christendom, to men " for confirmation an end of all strife," had not yet been substituted by the fear of Charlestown or Sing Sing. In framing, interpreting, and executing law in Massachusetts, men yet swore by the ever living God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, one God. Hence, to ascertain what was " necessary or beneficial to the society," which the General 818 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM Court might grant, could not be determined in three months by said committee, aided by any desired amount of the wisdom of the Suffolk bar. Spring spread out her foliage, the dog-star made his annual visit, autumn pro- duced the "sere and yellow leaf," winter returned and assumed his domain in New England — the " Proprietor's annual meeting " recurred ; spring with her precious influ- ences again bespread the land, and still the " law " " neces- sary or beneficial " in their opinion had not been enacted. " The want of legal authority to assess and collect " became increasingly a realization in their experience, and at last, before the members of the Legislature from the rural dis- tricts should again rusticate, the occupants make " their courage cheery," and the document of which the following is an attested copy was placed in the archives of the State ; "To the Honorable the Senate and the Honorable the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in General Court assembled, " Respectfully represent : " The proprietors of the meeting-house and lot in Fed- eral street, in Boston, that they experience inconvenience in the management oj the fn'udential concerns of said Society from the ivant of legal authority to assess and collect the sitms neces- sary for the support of religious worship and other exigencies of said Society. " They therefore pray this Honorable Court, that the proprietors of pews in said meeting-house may be consti- tuted a bod}^ politic and corporate, by the name of the ^Religious Society in Federal Street, in the Town of Boston^ with the usual powers given to like corporations relative to the choice of necessary officers and holding of meetings ; with power also to hold in that capacity the meeting-house and lot aforesaid with the ministerial house lately erected on said lot by said proprietors, and such other estate, real or personal, as ma}" be acquired by or accrue to said society and be by them appropriated to the support of public wor- ship and the maintenance of a teacher or teachers of piety, religion and morality ; and that said society, so incorpo-» rated, may be authorized to make contracts with any IN NEW ENGLAND. 319 teacher or teacners of the descriiDtion aforesaid for their support and maintenance, to make any permanent or annual grant to any such teacher or teachers which they may judge expedient, and to lay and assess such taxes from time to time on the pews in said meeting-house, or any other meeting-house that may be erected in place of the present house, as they shall find necessary for. the foregoing purposes, and also for the repairing said meeting- house and their ministerial house aforesaid, and for dis- charging any arrearages arising from the erecting and com- pleting said ministerial house, and for the other necessary expenditures of said society. And as in duty bound shall ever pra}^, etc., etc. " Boston, June 10th, 1805. "Jno. Davis, Thos. Lamb, ) pj,onnetor'q Fran. Wright, Russell Sturgis, [ Co ' m?ttee Simon Elliot, Thos. Thompson, ) ^ommiuee. " Edward Tuckerman, Jr., Daniel Dennison Rogers, Henry Hunter." "In the House of Representatives, June 10th, 1805. Read and committed to the Standing Committee of Incor- poration of Parishes, etc., to consider and report. Sent up for concurrence. " Timothy Bigelow, Speaker. "In Senate, June 11th, 1805. Read and concurred. " H. G. Otis, President. "Passed June loth, 1805." Probably not on record does there stand a more furtive Legislative enactment, signed, and then read three times on the 10th, three times on the 11th, and the moment the five days (which any such enactment required the Gov- ernor to pause before he signed any bill) are passed, it becomes "such law as they think necessary or beneficial" to the " Proprietor's committee." This, probably, was the last Congregational parish formed in Massachusetts, and now Presbyterianism in the town of Boston (like " John Barleycorn ") under " solemn oath," " must die," and be robbed of a place of sepulture on its own ground. The text of the act will (D. V.) be afterwards considered. 320 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM As a Trinitarian society, the occupants flourished in numbers under the Rev. Mr. Channing. From a compara- tively small number of once Irish-lookino; Presbyterians, by assimilating extensively their surroundings, they, in a few years, more than filled the ever-memorable old " Fed- eral Street Presbyterian Church," the ever-glorious crown- ing spot, the birthplace of national life among the sister- hood of States, to Massachusetts. Channing was not only installed as a Trinitarian preacher, but years afterwards he (then believed to be such) baptized a grandchild of the Rev. John Moorehead (the Rev. A. W. McClure, D. D., resident in 1849 in ^lalden, Mass.) when said McClure's parents, in common with many (if not all) others, believed him to be (and enjoj'cd his ministry as) a believer in the Divinity of God the Son. The departure from Presbyte- rianism in government and worship soon ])ecame exten- sive, if not complete, while "the doctrine of God our Saviour," taught by Morehead, was more leisurely aban- doned. But all were sinking together. "At the beginning of this century (says Vermilye, page 36) great theological differences existed in Newburyport ; and in this the town was an epitome of New England. Controversy was rife and alienations existed. Scarcely any two churches maintained communion with each other, and of six ministers of near denominational com- plexion, scarce two agreed in theology." In times past, on the doctrine of the New England Primer and in the use of the common matter of praise, the " Bay State Psalm- book," they had to some extent "maintained the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." But now Hopkinsianism was extensively diffused, while it with Emmonism and other kindred speculations were sapping the foundations of the once Puritan churches ; and Dr. Channing (who was brought up at the feet of Dr. Hopkins, of whose church his father was a member) became progressively unsound in the faith, until in a few years he, with all the ministers of the town, excepting possibly Huntington, of the Old South, by the shifting quicksands of Congregationalism, always " sufficiently divine," opposed " the faith once delivered to the saints," which had, as held by the Pilgrims and the Puritans, made New England very extensively " a praise in the earth." IN NEW ENGLAND. 321 As the new preacher in a New England town has usu- ally a charmed character as " the coming man," so the prestige of the Rev. W. E. Channing increased seemingly with a geometrical progression in the wooden " Irish Pres- byterian meeting-house," until in six years it appeared too rustic, became too antiquated, and in 1809 a brick build- ing, capable of seating 718 persons, was erected on John Little's lot, in which new house his "pew or seat," accord- ing to the deed of trust, Avas rebuilt and preserved. In tiiis point "the obligations of the contract," made seventy- four years before, were not yet "impaired," while, by the purchast3 of 818 square feet from the adjoining lot, making in all, with the Presbyterian lot of 13,664 feet, 14,482 square feet, they were enabled to erect a " ministerial house," pre- latically called a parsonage. Eclipsing in a few years the other ministers of the town, Huntington, Lathrop, Eckley, Eliot, West and Kirkland, in " prophesying smooth things," his fame became exten- sive, as he ignored eventually the divinity of God the Son, and preached "another gospel, which was not another." The tidal "wave of Unitarianism now broke over much of New Enoland, especially in Massachusetts, and many, who were "lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God," began to glory in the morning light of " taste," culture and " advanced thought " in the nineteenth century. Notwithstanding his increasing popularity, he was not a perfect exception to the rule, that " a })rophet is not with- out honor, save in his own house," for when an admirer would (as the story tells) flatter one of his aunts by eulo- gizing him to her, the person was answered : " I know all that; the devil never emplo3'S a fool to do his business." " How forcible are right words." Having seen the Psalms ignored and forsaken east of the river Connecticut, we now trace their history briefly on the Vermont side. I use the word Psalms as a coefficient of the type of Presbyterianism which settled Londonderry in 1719. A long, fierce controversy existed between New York and New Hampshire as to the sovereignty of the Green mountain region. This was amicabh^ adjusted in 1790, and in 1791 Vermont was admitted to fellowship among the United States. Long before this, however, Presbyterians settled in Barnet and Ryegate. In 1775 21 322 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM Barnet began to be settled by emigrants from Scotland, "who soon composed the great majority of the inhabitants. The Rev. John Witherspoon, on September 8th, 17G3, be- came owner by charter from New Hampshire of 23,000 acres of land in Vermont on the Connecticut river. Com- panies were formed. Gen. James Whitelaw, an emigrant sent out as their agent, purchased in 1773 a large body of land for the " Scots-American Company," of Renfrewshire, composed of 140 families, most of whom were farmers. It happened in this way. Providentially meeting Whitelaw in Philadelphia, on his arrival, May 24th, 1773, Dr. Wither- spoon said that if he (and David Allen) could not suit themselves better, he would sell to tliem. After looking around for five months, they bought from him. This pur- chase embraced the south half of Ryegate. It was obtained from Dr. Witherspoon at "three shillings York money" per acre. Col. Alexander Harvey was another emigrant from Scotland, sent out as the agent of " The Farmers' Company, of Perthshire and Sterlingshire," to purchase land for them. In 1774 he purchased 7,000 acres in the southwest part of Barnet, the price being fourteen pence sterling (about twenty-five cents) an acre. The emigrants from Scotland in these two towns were distinguished for religious knowledge, being well acquainted with the Holy Scriptures. They daily observed the y/orship of God in their families, making their numerous hill-tops resonant with *' Dundee and plaintive martyrs " in the use of "Those strains tliat once did sweet in Zion glide." They were careful to bring np their children "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." They strictly sanctified the Sabbath and loved the house of God. Feeling the w^ant of the ^oublic ordinances of religion, they made strenuous endeavors, before and during the revolutionary war, to obtain them, and after repeated ef- forts they succeeded. Before the war, during and after it, several clergymen, most of whom W'ere Presbyterians, came and preached in these two towns. Dr. Witherspoon visited Barnet and Ryegate two or three times, and preached and baptized The first visit was probably in 1775, and in 1782 he returned^ when he IN NEW ENGLAND. 323 rode the saddle on which his son sat at the battle of Ger- mantown, and which bore the mark of the ball which killed him. As these emigrants purchased large tracts of land in the county, liad flourishing settlements in Barnet and Ryegate, and were distinguished for their intelligence, integrity, enterprise, industry and patriotism, as well as for their religious character, the county was called by the ancient Roman name of Scotland — " Caledonia." Count}^ buildings, a court-house and jail, were erected in due time, but for nearly half a century the latter of these especially did little else than protect the sheep as a place of shade on hot summer days. As they '' glorified God in the highest," so they " on earth " maintained " peace and good will to- ward men." Hence, among them for a generation or two crime was but little known. They " lived quiet and peaceable lives in godliness and honesty." In 1775 the Rev. Thomas Clark, of Salem, N. Y., j^rea'clied in these towns, and re- turned two or three times. The Rev. Robert Annan, when pastor in Boston, preached to them in 1784 and in 1785 — his brother David also in 1785. The Rev. John Houston, of Bedford, N. H., visited them in 1785, returned in 1787, and remained a year. In 1780 the town of Barnet voted unanimously "to choose the Presbyterian form of religious worship, founded upon the word of God, as expressed in the Confession of Faith, Catechisms, Larger and Shorter, with the form of Presbyterian church government agreed upon by the Assembly of divines at Westminster, and practised b}^ the Church of Scotland." In 1787 the town and church of Barnet sent a joint peti- tion to the Associate Presbyterian Synod of Scotland for a minister, offering to pay the expense of his passage to this countr}^ They were directed to apply to the Associate Presbytery of Pennsylvania. They did so, and the Rev. Thomas Beveridge came and preached in 1789, and re- turned in 1790. The Rev. David Goodwillie, in conse- quence of an application to the same Presbytery, came in the autumn, and continued his ministrations in Barnet and Ryegate until February, 1790, in which year he was unanimously called to be their j^astor, Ryegate receiving one-sixth part of his official labors. In September, 1790, he returned, and was settled as the minister of the town 324 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM of Barnet and pastor of the church. In 1797 a meeting- house frame was erected at Ryegate Corner. It was the first in the town, but was not finished till 1800. We see that Ryegate was to receive only one-sixth of the labors of the pastor. The reason appears to have been that a new element of Presbyterianism had been introduced. The Rev. William Gibson, of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, had visited them and become a candidate for the ministry of the town and pastorate of the church ; conse- quently, on July 29th, 1799, a meeting was called "to see if they will settle the Rev. Mr. Gil)son as their town min- ister— or make application to any other Presbytery to furnish them with one."' "Adjourned till September 3d, then till December 3d, 1799, when tliey voted — 33 ibr, and 13 against it. On December 10th the committee reported to the town meeting that the Rev. William Gibson will settle with them." There were then in Ryegate 68 polls, 5 clocks, 96 scholars in their two schools, and the town valuation was $6,710.85. To these 13, out of 46, and those whom they represented the Rev. Mr. Goodwillie gave the one-sixth of his labor. In common with all frontier towns, these pioneers were not only at times alarmed by the Indians, but their lives and substance were often endangered by wolves and bears, which, being " very numerous, were not so easy to subdue." Another matter may be here noticed — the endurance which it required in winter to attend public worship. The modern fair weather worshipper, with his furs, seated on a cushion in an audience chamber, warmed up artificially to 65° or 70°, while the thermometer may be near zero without, can but very imperfectly comprehend what was endured by the Calvinists of New England (Congregation- alists and Presbyterians alike) in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. To show this, I quote from a sermon " preached in Townsend, Mass., on October 16th, 1870, by Rev. G. H. Morss, acting Pastor." " The only meetings enjoyed by the fathers in the early days of the church were the two services of the Sabbath. " The public services were enlivened and spiritualized by the singing of the Psalms of David." The Bay State version was reluctantly exchanged by some congregations IN NEW ENGLAND. 325 only after the Revolution. It was used in Townsend church till 1770. The intermission between service was usually spent in the meeting-house, or in some of the houses near by, or in what were known as " Sabba day " or noon houses. In these they engael. liis license was signed by John Wheelock, John Smith, Roswell ShurtlefF, President and professors in Dartmouth College, and the Rev. James AYoodward, of Norwich. The first church in the college continued to be a con- stituent part of said Presbytery "until 181G; but tlie spirit of the times then fully overtook it. Congregationalism, abandoning in many places the absolute authority of IN NEW ENGLAND. , 329 Divine revelation for metaphysical tastes and human opin- ion, now with increasing vitality controlled ecclesiastical and educational matters in the land. It must now control this church of the college. This was for a time resisted, and brought on a bitter strife, and, in 1817, those who were '• given to change " were successful in controlling both the church and the college. Henceforth both tlie sub- stance and the honor of Presbyterianism tliere were assim- ilated by the New England church 2)olity. Annuidly the spoliation of Presbyterian church prop- erty became more common. Thus, in 1809, the Congrega- tional dissentionists, after a separation of twelve years, became " united to the Presbyterian societ}", and by an act of the Legislature were incorporated as The First Farish of Londonderry." In this "coalescence" a union occurred, and a suitable incumbent was soon found. Mr. Edward L. Parker was, on September 12th, 1810, ordained, not by the Presbytery, but by the Rev. Messrs. Abishai Alden, of Montville, Conn. ; Samuel Worcester, D. D., of Salem ; Rev. Samuel Woods, D. D., of Boscawen; the Rev. Wm. Morrison, of Londonderry ; the Rev. Daniel Dana, D. D., of Newburyport ; Rev. Jas. Miltimore, of Newbury ; and the Rev. Jno. Codman, D. D., of Dorchester — a kind of half-way arrangement, not under the S^^nod of Albany. Thus, at the end of ninety-one years, the old mother church of " the oppressed Irish brethren " had only one life annuity of the name Presbyterian, of her five acres of land, of lier parsonage, burying ground, sacred with the dust of five generations of pastors and people, her town hall, her nine thousand dollars of the Pinkerton fund, her church edifice, and now she was deprived of *' Those strains that once did sweet in Zion glide." This mother of churches had now settled her last nom- inal Presbyterian pastor; but the vital momentum pre- viously given to her it took forty years to counteract, before she could be shunted off on the gauge of Congrega- tionalism. In this quarter of a centur}" a new form of Congrega- tional opposition to Presbyterianism in New England was developed. The germ had been budding for above fifty years, yet " up to the year 1810, no party espousing Uni- 330 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM tarianism had been publicly and openly formed, but now the existence and prevalence of tliis opinion in Boston could not be much longer concealed. Its operations were for the most j^art secret, for the pulpit was silent until 1815, when a full and unequivocal development was made." (Buck.) A low state of religion and morals existed, especially in Massachusetts, from 1775 till 1799, and the change then was only from bad to worse. Preachers began to doubt whether there was any Holy Ghost, or that God the Son existed ; and as " an Athenian democracy was from the first in the mould of their civil government," so, in 1811, the civil law gave the parish full power to counteract, or rather to rule, the churcli. Still, the church was enamoured with her polit_y, even when she saw " the enemy coming in like a flood," and was for her life forced to secede from the parish. Thirteen out of the thirty-nine churches whose ^ delegates, in 1G48, formed the Cambridge platform and declared the system to be " sufficiently divine," about this period renounced that faith, and of the one hundred and sixty-four Unitarian societies in the State, ninety of them were once Trinitarian, and in all cases took with them the parish property. In all such cases our courts of law per- sist in declaring the residuum, when the Trinitarians secede, to be the original church — a declaration which common sense, to say nothing of common honesty, persists in denying. As the combination exists on negations of the super- natural in Divine revelation, it is difficult to group their sectarian opinions; but in'the fifty years succeeding 1810, they profess to have collected the " principles and doc- trines " of their association, and in 4th series. No. 17, we have these set forth. Some of the first, such as " the right of private judgment," they hold in common with Protestant Trinitarians. In " doctrines " they have no authoritative creed — these " must be gathered from their leading writers and from a general acquaintance with the men and women of the body" (p. 9). "They believe in the existence of God, a crecUor, a just one, v:ho rules the world by kncs as a loving and tender Father. They believe with Trinitarians m his unity, and as to man, he is the head of the orderly sys- tem of organic creations, he has a soul. On this fact they are IN NEW ENGLAND. 331 generally agreed. This gives a dignity to him which is a possibility of the ivhole human race. They have no dogma about the first human pair, or the, first creation of the race — where it was, in Asia or America ; when it was, 6,000 years ago or 600,000 years ago ; in one pair or one hundred pairs ; or b}^ development from lower races ; yet they believe that the race is an unity, and that all men are spiritually chil- dren of God. " They believe also in the actual imperfection of men, but not in any transaction between God and man in the matter of salvation. A man is saved in the spiritual world as he is in the natural world — by obedience to the laws of his being." " Unitarians believe, too, that heathen religions have saving qualities as well as the Christian religion — that the Chinese are saved from sin by the teachings of Confu- cius, and the Persians by the teachings of Zoroaster; yet the broadest and most spiritual religion is that which holds the name of Christ (p. IS). Christ saves men " (say they) *' by his teaching, example, the spirit of his icork, h\s fortitiide in suffering, and as he shows the life of a Divine many "Men are not saved by his miraculous birth, or by his miraculous death, or by anything in his history that is apart from practical adaptation to the human soul." " They are saved by the Christianity which has got into the customs of society, which has been fixed in the statutes and laws, which has entered into the relations of life, of busi- ness, of the State, or of the church " (p. 19). They have also "various views of the nature and being of Jesus of Nazareth, such as his being different by constitution from all other men, with no human father, or that he was the son of Joseph, or that he lived in an angelic state before he was born, or that he had no more pre-existence than any other man." " Some think that his rising from the dead was in the flesh in which he died ; others think it was a spirit which appeared in the form of a man ; and they all find this suffi- cient without any scheme or contrivance by which God has to appease his own wrath in the slaughter of an inno- cent person for the sins of a guilty world." "Unitarians have no doctrine in regard to rewards and punishments in the future life separate from their general doctrine of law 2Jid its violations. They believe that the spiritual 332 HISTORY OP PRESBYTERIANISM penalty of sin will endure as long as the sin lasts and until it has wrought its due and needful reformation, yet it is the Lord's will that not one of his rational creatures should utterl}^ and forever perish." The reader may thus see that this moonlight of Chris- tianity, these " cunningly devised fahles," must strengthen the other Congregational sects as against Presbytcrianism in New England, when now their wealth and culture ele- vate them to the highest plane of modern sentimental civilization. IN NEW ENGLAND. 833 CHAPTER XIII. 1818-1843 — History here hard to write — Congregational antagonism re- inforced by popery — Abbe la Poitre Cheverus — Ursulines, their nun- nery— Sweden borgianism — Nathan Parker, J as. Melledge, Rev. Jas. Sabine — The deacon included — Union Church — The Londonderry Pres- bytery— Church Street Ciiurch — Brazen shields — But little commercial expansion yet in Boston — A pastoral letter — A more powerful sect — Mixed up with them — Subdued — An infatuation — Ciphers — Preserved in standing — The proprietors — Duty plain — Episcopal — Advice — The too common apatliy — Ready to change — Naturally drawn to his bene- factors— "Took orders" — Under the Synod of Albany — No assistance afforded to the proprietors — House sold — Accessions — Presbytery of Newburyport formed — Six churches — And twelve ministers — For a season — Rev. Styles Ely quoted — The fruits of expediency — A con- ventional agreement in 1801 — Dig., p. 575 — A substitute — This breed — Protests — Honeycombed — This plausible scheme — With increasing readiness — Dana — Williams — The new Presbytery probably most heterodox — "Plan of union" — Assembly of 1837 — The mother Pres- bytery decided — The new one dissolved — Barnet and Ryegate stead- fast— Rev. W^m. Gibson — Rev. Jas. Milligan — Rev. J. M. Beattie — Topsham — Craftsbury — A division on the elective franchise — Effect felt in Ryegate — Rev. D. Goodwillie in Barnet — His son Thomas — Rev. Thos. Ferrier in Ryegate — Presbytery of Cambridge, N. Y. — Wm. Pringle — Said Presbytery rent by faction in 1840 — Rev. James McArthur settled — Associate Presbytery of Vermont constituted in 1840 — How was it that these churches prospered, while others con- tinued merely to exist? — Answered — To supply vacancies required much toil — The demand was met — Mrs. Gray's statement — John Pinkerton, Esq., of Londonderry, wise directions — His tombstone and its contract — The society of Derry lower village — Dr. Morrison suc- ceeded by Dr. Dana — Hayes — Adams — Town meetings opened with prayer — Brainard pastor — Londonderry East, by enactment in 1827, called Derry — Rev. E. L. Parker there — His forte — His advantages — Efficiency of his church — Youth the seed-time of life with him — For them his early working plans — His other forms of labor comprehen- sive— First temperance and Sabbath-school in the State led by him in Derry — Mrs. Agnes Wilson's refusal — The contract impaired — Her mortification — Four occupants — She witnessed two revolutions — Changes in Newburyport — Mr. Milton continued "fencing" — He adopted Murray's course — Arminians, etc., etc. — Potent, though now barbaric — Dr. Proudfit — Efficiency of the means of grace under him — 334 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM A four days' meeting in Milton's church — Numbers united — Reaction — Twenty-nine asked dismissions, but could not form a church — The meeting-house razeed — The crypt of Whitefield — His arm-bone pur- loined— A whispering gallery — Dr. P.'s last communion in 1832 — His departure unhappy — Many candidates — Kevulutionists hindered by the Presbyterian civil organization — One or two calls — The effer- vescence— Stearns settled — Peace and good success — Bedford and 1). McGregor — Bedford less carried away with winds of doctrine — Rev. Thos. Savage tliere in 1820 — Quite equal to others — Antrim — The Rev. J. M. Whiton — Twelve ruling elders — A successful ministry — 1827 — Windham — Harris — Calvin Cutler — The days of sorrow in Peterboro — They observed the Lord's Supper as Presbyterians once annually — In 1822 a part were formed into a Presbyterian church — Peter Holt — Mr. Pine — Joshua Barrett — Jas, R. French — In twenty years three pastors — A due appreciation necessary — Londonderry^ Four calls voted — Dr. Dana — His salary — First dismissal there in nearly a century — Dana soon pastor in the Second Church in New- buryport — Its history noticed — Calls not unanimous in Londonderry— A. A. Hayes ordained by three ot" each kind — J. R. Adams ordained by four and three — The office of ruling elder maintained, with the name — Common sense — Rev. Mr. Adams — His marriage displeased Ills people, and he resigned in six years — T. G. Brainard pastor in 1840 — Presbyterian ism in New England only about five psalm-singing churches and about ten others — Congregationalism now at ease — Epis- copalianism and Methodism now increasing* and Popery had now three chapels in Boston. The history of this period it is difficult to write. The data are few and the material is scanty, as the records of Londonderry Presbj'tery are lost. Not only so, but in Bos- ton, where, as a local organization, it had by spoliation, in 1786, ceased to exist, it now, when revived, met Congrega- tional antagonism reinforced by Popery. The mass, beads, organs, candles, chrism, man-millinery, holy water, and extreme unction, were introduced in 1788, or before, and during this period of Unitarian protoplasm among the Congregationalists, Priest Cheverus, from France, had, after 1796, made an increasingly favorable impression upon the descendants of the Puritans. His predecessors had bought from Mr. Croswell's Congregationalist society the French Presbyterian meeting-house in School street, and had occupied it as a mass-house for years. As converts were multiplied and numbers increased, so " sisters" were " led about," at least to " guide the house" (1 Tim. V. 14). Accordingly, in June, 1820, nuns of the Ursuline order were planted in Boston and vicinity. They IN NEW ENGLAND. 335 brought a few new " notions " in the line of instruction for young women into the once Puritpai metropolis, and event- ually established their nunnery at Somerville, Massachu- setts. There they grew, and in 1834 (says D'Arcy McGee), " rumors were circulated of a young lady being immured in a dungeon of the convent." " On August 10th, the Rev. Dr. Beecher preached in three difterent churches against the institution," and " on Monday, the 11th, tar- barrels were lighted near the house by a group of incendi- aries, who were joined by a tumultuous crowd from Charlestown and Boston." "Ten adults and sixty female children were within, and the female who had been the immediate cause of the excitement was, by the agitation of the night, in a raving delirium." "After the first attack the assailants paused a while, and the governess was ena- bled to secure the retreat of her little flock and sisters into the garden." Soon after 1 a. m., on the 12th, " the torch was applied to the convent, the bishop's lodge, to the farmhouse for- merly occupied as the convent, and to the extensive barn, and the four buildings were reduced to ashes." These two systems of church polity — Prelacy and Congregation- alism— were now in this case pitted against each other. The scene was unjustifiable, criminal, and disgraceful on the part of the invaders, while it formed a feeble echo of the demonstration 7:iiade against the Presbyterians in Paris on August 24th, 1572. Plere extremes met. In 1818, the forces opposing Presbyterianism in Boston were furnished with a new Congregationalist recruit. The banner of the Swedish baron — who, under the name of a Lutheran, taught that " the last judgment took place in the spiritual world in a. d. 1757, who denied the doctrine of the atonement of Christ, or vicarious sacrifice, together with justification by faith alone, the resurrection of the material body, predestination, etc., etc." — was by one of his followers — Mr. Worcester — unfurled in that town. We now revert to Presbyterianism. For many years previous to the war of 1812^14, a Mr. Nathan Parker, a native of Maiden, Mass., did business in Newfoundland, where he and a Mr. James Melledge, a native of Boston, together, erected a house of worship for "the first Calvinist 836 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM church in St. Johns." Returning to Massachusetts in 1818, and being attached to the Rev. James Sabine, of that town, an Independent from England, he persuaded him to relinquish a large balance of overdue salary (said to be above £300) and come to Boston to continue to be his pastor. Mr. Parker at this time, although a deacon in Park vStreet Church, thought that a tliird orthodox (or Trini- tarian Congregationalist) society was required in the town, and to the erection of a meeting-house on Essex street he contributed thirty-three thousand dollars. " In January, 1819, a Congregational church was gathered in Boylston Hall, under tlie pastoral care of Mr. Sabine, who had ar- rived in the previous July, and the house was dedicated in December following. Here, witliin two years, the power of the popular church polity ])ecanie increasingly mani- fested. The deacon being the controlling force, having *' loved the nation and (virtually) built tlie S3'nagogue" (as it was said), found he had not the right man to " fill the pews." " Difficulties resulted in the withdrawal of the pastor with the church, as a body, to Boylston Hall." "A minority" of pew-holders (the deacon included) "con- tinued to worship in the Essex street meeting-house, the premises being chiefly their own property." Mr. Parker was left extensivel^y '' alone in his glorj^," while the church were too poor, as yet, to build another edifice for that persuasion, which now was obviously un- necessary in the city. On March 28th, 1822, the deacons, Parker and Melledge, with three other male and five female members, were, on their own "request, dismissed from the church in Boylston Hall," and on June 10th, with one from Braintree, three from the Old South and nine from Park Street, beside two from Halifax, Mass., they were, by an ecclesiastical coun- cil, organized as the Union Church. Sabine, although a moderate Calvinist, was not yet acquainted with Presby- terianism. Being left with his " society " severely alone, and having the whole continent from wdiich to choose as- sociation, they sought fellowship with the Londonderry Presbytery, and were by that court organized as a church on November 23d, 1823. Thus, after a period of thirty- seven years, this church polity had again a recognized ex- IN NEW ENGLAND. 337 istence in Boston. Not a little friction attended their operations, when they attempted to transmute the species, or rather produce " a hreed." Those who had previously been deacons did not always exactly fill, even when elected and ordained, the office of ruling elders. Yet, having no sympathy from those whom they had left, the}^ for some years worked hard. In 1825 the congregation obtained an incorporation ; and, encouraged with hope, they, on a lot which had been deeded to them as Presbyterians on July 29th, 1825, on July 4th, 1827, laid the corner-stone of a church edifice. As the building was erected on a new site, then only partially reclaimed from the tide, the street was called Church street. To buy land, erect an edifice and support ordinances, imposed on them a heavy bur- den, as they were all comparativeh^ poor. This was not all; they were one in name, but not so in race, nor in early Christian education, nor perchance in doctrine. In the offering of praise, they conformed to their surroundings. Hence, when worshippers came to them from British Presbyterian churches and found only the imitations, instead of their " gnarled " version ; in short, finding only Congregational usages in worship, the brazen shields of Rehoboam instead of the golden ones of Solomon, while more brilliant men occupied the pulpits of the Old South, Park Street and Essex Street meeting- houses, they would not do honor to the mere name. While by the force of circumstances Mr. Sabine and his people became Presbyterians, they were not only opposed by the orthodox, but at least partly "chilled off" by the Presbytery. This we see set forth not only in his " Eccle- siastical Memoirs of Essex Street Religious Society," but from his correspondence. On March 18th, 1825, he wrote to the Rev. E. L. Parker: " The troubles of my people arose from their former con- nection. A meeting and sifting was instituted by Presby- tery. Essex Street Church (that is, his own) met it, and the}^ were admitted honorably. They then expected fel- lowship with the Presbyterian Church as often as oppor- tunity might occur, but this is not the case. A brother presbyter told me next day that he did all in his power to prevent our admission; still, he said our admission was orderly and complete. We are led to suspect that there is 22 338 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM something out of order, or out of the spirit of it. Many a ministering brother comes and goes, and though we are lying wounded and bloody, robbed and maimed, as left by our enemies, they pass by on the other side. Professor Hodge, from Princeton, last June, while I was from home, was appHed to by our session for a sermon, as the pulpit was unsupplied. He objected, and finally refused, saying, that our 'admission to Presbytery was not to him quite clear.' This want of order, if it be so, is declared at length by Synod, and' a copy given to me last October. Our opposers insinuate that we will be rejected and cast out before long. "Do you know anything about this? You, as clerk, can see many things I cannot. All I want of you is to tell me all you know of this matter, not officially, but as a brother. An expose of this deep-laid plot will save me, yourself and the Presbytery a deal of trouble. So con- scious am I of deserving all awarded to me for damage, service and sacrifice in the result of Council, in 1822, that I am afraid to see no man, and am willing to stand at any tribunal of the Presbyterian Church ; but, to be stabbed in secret and privately buried as a malefactor, I have no mind, but I will, if I can, expose their agents. " The honor and spread of religion are deeply interested in the exposure of such men as Drs. Codman and Woods. None of my troubles or of the church were by me, or them, entailed on the Presbytery; we are guiltless. Yet I trust a way will be found out in which they can clear themselves. You may shew this letter to our moderator, if you pledge me that no advice or intimation of matter in this passes over the limits of our body. To this I hold you pledged. I should have stated above that Brother Williams, of Salem, and Brother Parker, of Chester, have exchanged with me, but there ends, thus far, all inter- course with the Presbyterian body. The distance of most of the churches is a bar, others are willing, if opportunity were favorable, but the pulpits of our opposers have been decidedly preferred and ours totally neglected. " James Sabine." This statement gives to us a bird's-eye view of the case, and upon it we need not dwell. There was as yet but IN NEW ENGLAND. 339 little of commercial expansion in Boston to attract foreign Presbyterians, and to obtain an increase of numbers from their surroundings, amidst intense opposition, was exten- sively impossible. Under their trials "the love of " some "waxed cold," while only by a similar crucial test can the worry and "trembling of heart for the ark of God," which the pastor experienced for years, be known, for " the heart knoweth his own bitterness." This, for even a few years, he was unable to endure. Hence " a pastoral letter was addressed to the congre- gation in March, 1827, stating their history as a people gathered out of the wide world under peculiar circum- stances." But, as "no notice, either good or bad, had been taken of it for two years, and as he did not know whether it wrought any spiritual benefit to them or otherwise," so, in April, 1829, he again " stirs up their (inactive, if not) pure minds, by way of remembrance." After stating that he was "crossed and disappointed," because in competition with more influential sects, in providing the ordinances of religion for the increasing population of our city, he and they had been unsuccessful, until he was " overwhelmed with despondency," he says: "The ecclesiastical de- nomination to which we belong is so subdued by another and more powerful sect, and so mixed up with them, that no hope remains of replenishing our Society from their numbers." This unfolds exactly the relative position of Presbyterianism east of the Connecticut river, or rather in all New England, from generation to generation. It is "subdued by and mixed up with" Congregationalists. By this subduing and mixing, " the truth, as it is in Jesus," invariably " gains " much " harm and loss," while, so powerful is the infatuation, wherever modern charity prevails, that to see it, requires an absolute belief in plen- ary inspiration. Mr. Sabine continues : " He expected, as was natural, that what was lacking on the part of his peo- ple, owing to the smallness of their numbers and the de- pressed state of their means, would be, in some measure, supplied by the sympathy and benevolence of abler churches in our own body, or their rules and ordinances are mere cyphers, only calculated to make up an appear- ance, where the reality is wanting. Such complicated &40 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM trials, so long borne, have at length prostrated my health and reduced me to a state of depression trul}^ afflictive, from which nothing but a change of condition, with the blessing of God, can deliver me." He then states that *' friendship raised up in a circle beyond the bounds of his own society, liad preserved him and his people in stand- ing in the Christian church, and had enabled them to erect their place of worship." " The proprietors of the house are pledged to the dis- charge of certain obligations, under which the church can- not be brought, and in which case the church, in its present form, can afford them no assistance." The proprietors were here the incorjoorated pew-owners, over which, according to Congregational civil statute law (under which they were incorporated), the then existing Presbyterian church of Boston had no control. The church, that is, the elders and members, rulers and ruled, had no recognized existence in civil law, by which they could hold and enjoy any part of the property obtained. Hence, " the proprietors of the house are pledged to the discharge of certain obligations, under which the church cannot be brought," and in which, "as a properly organ- ized Presbyterian church, it can afford the proprietors no assistance." If the reader will please keep this recorded fact in memory, he can clearly see what has signed the death-warrant for Presbyterianism in Congregational New England. "My duty then is plain, and that is, to secure the entire apparatus of the church upon a foundation that will pro- vide for its exigencies temporal and spiritual. Those of you who can go into these measures, cheerfully and with a good conscience, will be able to exemplify the common jDrinciples of our Christian faith apart from all sectarian- ism. Others of you, not so minded, forbidden by a ten- der conscience, will find another way, and no damage will be sustained by either party." His letter presents the too common apath}^ of the exotic, Presbyterianism, and its almost hopeless struggle with modern Congregationalism in the land of its birth. As Mr. Sabine was trained under and into Independency, and not taking Presbyterianism " in the natural way," he was " ready to change." His aid had come from Episco- IN NEW ENGLAND. 341 pal friends, while Presbyterians had, like the priest and the Levite, "passed by on the other side." As "that which is natural is first, and afterward that which is spiritual," so, by relieving him and his, when in distress and want, he was naturally drawn, ecclesiastically, to his benefactors. Consequently, Avithin a year he "took or- ders " in the Protestant Episcopal church, and it is said a part of the congregation went with him. Thus " ended the first lesson " of Presbyterianism in Boston under the Synod of Albany ; and thus there, within ninety years, were three churches of that order blotted out. " The proprietors of the house" were moored to their " obligations," and the church in its then present form, destitute of a pastor, was in no position to afford them assistance. They had forgotten the wise counsel of John Rodgers : " Build not your house too high." Consequently, for a debt of some $8,000 due to the builders, the fine brick edifice of " The First Presbyterian Society, Boston," was, in July, 1834, sold to the Methodists. About 1824 congregations appear to have been multi- plied by accessions from different towns, which came to Presbyterianism, and, in 1825, out of the Londonderry one, the Presbytery of Newbury port was formed, of course by the authority of the Synod of Albany. In 1828 it em- braced six churclies and twelve ministers, including the Rev. Mr. Sabine, Church Street church, and one in Mill- bury, Mass. Why said Presbytery was formed, is matter of conjec- ture. It appears to have received as its " form of sound words," the Westminster Catechism onl}^ " for substance of doctrine," and tlie congregations which composed it seemed generally only to have grasped this form of gov- ernment for a season, as something tangible and compara- tively stable. Hence, in 1811, says the Rev. Dr. Ezra Styles Ely (Contrast, pp. 278, 279), " The New England churches formerly had a confession and system of ecclesi- astical government ; but the admission of multitudes, who disregarded those standards, to every privilege and office, has finally produced this effect, that iew churches acknowl- edge the authority of their platforms of government, and very few have any government at all. That the Saybrook, 342 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM Cambridge and Boston platforms should be in many churches disregarded after the most solemn adoption by the original churches of Connecticut and Massachusetts, is not wonderful, when we remember that those valuable in- struments contain the marrow of Calvinism. The Hop- kinsians, Sabellians, Arians and Socinians cannot be ex- pected to like them. " When any individual is admitted to the Presbyterian church in the United States, he either professes, or tacitly consents sincerely to ' receive and adoi:)t the confession of faith of this church, as containing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures,' and ' no i)erson, who is not fully convinced of the truth of this S3'stem, or who is not a Calvinist in sentiment, can conscientiously unite him- self to the Presbyterian church, by assent to its confession of faith. Neither can such a person, without prevarica- tion, consent to the standards of any Presl)yterian congre- gation in the United States. This should be well under- stood by private Christians and by all the rulers in the household of faith. A confession of faith should be a bond of union ; but it will be of no utility, when persons of con- trary opinions, upon the fundamental articles of religion, subscribe it. It then only becomes the bond of perpetual discord. " Should teachers and private Christians, seceders from the Calvinism of the reformed churches, continue to enter the Presbyterian church, the result must probably be, that the confession of faith and form of government now (in April, 1811) used with the most happy effect, must soon, like the Cambridge, Boston and Saybrook platforms, without any repeal, be consigned to the garret, there to moulder until the antiquarian shall deem them worthy of a place in his library." I thus quote extensively from this candid author, be- cause the fruits of expediency were now (in 1828) appear- ing as apples of discord, and ministers must, in modern phraseology, settle down in their " affinities." The Pres- byterian church in the United States then required assent to a creed, not so since 1869. "In the year 1801 a conventional agreement was en- tered into with the General Association of Connecticut, by the Assembly of the Presbyterian church, for the purpose IN NEW ENGLAND. 343 of preventing alienation, and promoting harmony in those new settlements which were then composed of persons adhering to both these bodies." {Dig.^ p. 575.) By this "a standing committee for the exercise of discipline," chosen by the church, were to take the place as a substi- tute for a constituted session of ordained ruling elders in church courts, and from whose " result " no appeal could be taken to a Presbytery, as they were not under the juris- diction of any. This " breed " (by the crossing of two species) had now grown for one-fourth of a century, and in the face of dis- sents and protests, these "mixed societies" even forced their unordained men into the Assembly as constituent members. {Ih.) This body being now honey-combed in government, it was, of course, proportionably leavened in- creasingly with "seceders from the Calvinism of the Re- formed churches." In such cases, as Socinianism had now extensivel}" permeated the Congregational societies of Massachusetts, so this plausible scheme of Joab and Amasa charity, to gratify the lust of numbers, brought members into churches, and congregations into Presby- teries, until many were " defiled by roots of bitterness." With increasing readiness also, Presbyterian churches in New England called ministers of the State order, to occupy with them as their pastors. Thus, when the Rev. Daniel Dana was called to the Presidency of Dartmouth College, in 1820, the Rev. Samuel Porter Williams, a Con- gregationalist, who had previously labored in two churches of that order, was settled, February 8th, 1821, as pastor of the First Presbyterian church in Newburyport. How far pastors and people in both Presbyteries, had become ^' seceders from the Calvinism of the Reformed churches " (in the absence of their records), we can but approxi- mately ascertain. It is probable that the new one em- braced the greatest amount of heterodoxy, for, when the " plan of union " of 1801, Avas, as an " unnatural and un- constitutional system " (Dig.^ p. 716) abrogated in the As- sembly by a vote of 143 to 110, in 1837, "the Presbytery of Newburyport, not being disposed to decide between the two bodies (Old and New Schools) claiming the name and rights of the Assembly of the Presbyterian church, has (says the Rev. I. F. Stearns, in 1846) remained separate." 344 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM (Cen. Ser.^ p. 47.) This the mother Presbytery, much to her credit, did not do, and the churches in Newburyport, always holding the catechism " for substance of doctrine," soon rejoined her, while the other congregations, " not being disposed " (when in Presbyterial form) "to decide between " the theology of the Rev. Albert Barnes and that of Princeton, were speedily disintegrated, carrying with them into Congregationalism, whatever ecclesiastical sub- stance they occupied. Thus, the ninth Presbytery in New England in one hundred and ten years (with its predecessors), after an existence of twelve years, floated into oblivion in 1838. The Presbytery of Newburyport was formed in 1825. The pretext seemingly was, that as the State of Massachu- setts was more influential than that of New Hampshire, she ought to have a Presbytery, and there were now enough of pastors resident in the Bay State for the pur- pose. When constituted by the Synod of Albany out (»f the Presbytery of Londonderry, it consisted of the first church of Newburyport, the church of Salem, of Princeton, Mass. ; of Dracut, Milbury and Church Street church, Bos- ton. It continued as a court until. the separation of the schools, in 1838, after which it drifted, and by 1847 only the First church in Newburyport retained the name, in part owing to their arrangements in their civil matters as Presbyterians, and to their experience in the early years of their existence. Again we look west of the river Connecticut, and we find Barnet, Ryegate, Topsham and Craftsbury steadfast in their profession. Near the end of the last century the Rev. Jos. McKinney, of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, preached in Ryegate, and in 1800 his brother-in-law, the Rev. Wm. Gibson, of the same persuasion, was settled there as town minister. In 1802 they ordained the Rev. Saml. B. Wiley, D. D., in later life a pastor and teacher of high position in Philadel- phia. Until 1815 Mr. Gibson labored faithfully and success- fully in the ministry in Ryegate, and in 1817 he was suc- ceeded by the Rev. James Milligan, D. D. Previously to settlement there he had preached a good while to a people in Tunbridge, and a little congregation was there furmed. IN NEW ENGLAND. 345 This was crushed out by resuscitating the Congregational- ist society of the town. He was then settled pastor of the congregations of this order in Vermont, then consisting of about eighty regular members, extending from Tunbridge to Barnet and Craftsbury, a territory nearly forty miles square. His congregation increased rapidly in all that range of country. He preached frequently in Chelsea, Corinth, Newbury, Topsham, Peacham, Da'nville, Cabot, Hardwicke, etc. About 1831 Mr. Milligan gave a branch of his congregation in Topsham to the Rev. Wm. Sloan, who obtained the minister's lot of that town. He labored faithfully there for some years, but his support was inade- quate and he left. Although Topsham never returned formally to the pas- toral charge of Mr. Milligan, still he supplied them occa- sionally, took a friendly care of them as far as he could, and as they needed. In the meantime he gave Craftsbury, a church of above sixty members, over to the care of the Rev. Samuel M. Wilson, who, after a few years, removed to Delaware county, N. Y. He was succeeded by his nephew, the Rev. R. Z. Wilson, who at the end of this quarter had charge of that congre- gation. Mr. Milligan labored still in Ryegate and Barnet, and with the consent of his people, i)eriormed several mis- sionary tours into Canada, upper and lower. Difficulties arose in his congregation about "lining the psalms." The New England people favored book singing, and the Scotch were zealous for lining. He took part against the Scotch, and had on account of the difficulties to leave them in 1839. After his removal the Ryegate and Barnet people called the Rev. James Milligan Beattie, who has since, not only to 1843, till 1868, but till 1881 been their pastor. In 1856 the Rev. N. R. Johnston was pastor of the Topsham congregation, and Mr. R. Shields, a probationer, was preaching in Craftsbury. During the ministry of Mr. Milligan a division took place in the Reformed Presbyterian Church in America re- specting the use of the elective franchise — one party main- taining that those who exercised it under the Constitution of the United States ought to be subjected to the discipline of the church; the other maintaining that this should be made a matter of forbearance. This resulted, in a. d. 1833, 346 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM in the formation of two separate synods. The effect was soon felt in Ryegate, and in 1843 the church was hopelessly divided. Those who would make it not a matter of disci- pline bat of forbearance, were recognized as the congrega- tion of the General Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, or New School. Those who considered it a matter of duty to abstain from the use of the elective franchise were and are called the Reformed Presbyterians, or Old School. Soon after Mr. Milligan left, the New Light division ob- tained an organization in South Ryegate, and had (in 1856) one or two congregations in Caledonia and Orange counties, Vermont. During the pastorate of the Rev. David Goodwillie in the Associate church in Barnet from 1790 to 1830, more than four hundred persons were enrolled as members, be- side more than one hundred and fifty probably in Ryegate, which from 1790 till 1822 shared one-sixth of his labor. In September, 1826, his son Thomas was installed as his assistant in Barnet, while in 1822 the Rev. Thomas Ferrier was inducted as pastor in Ryegate, which charge he held for five years. In June, 1830, by the Presbytery of Cambridge (N. Y.), Mr. William, son of the Rev. Alexander Pringle (who was for more than sixty years pastor of the Associate congre- gation of Perth, Scotland), was ordained as their pastor, and continued in that office till 1852. In 1840 the Presbytery of Cambridge was rent by faction, and from 1846 the Rev. James McArthur ministered one- half of his time in Ryegate, and the other half at Stevens' village, in Barnet. He resigned these charges in 1857. This was well, for it would have taken a much longer time for the wrath, prejudice and partisan spirit of man there to " work the righteousness of God." Living remote from Cambridge and being prospered as pastoral charges, the ministers and congregations in the State adhering to that Presbytery were, on July 10th, 1840, according to the decree of the Associate Synod, constituted the Associate Presbytery of Vermont. It might not be amiss here to ask how it was that these congregations under Milligan, Goodwillie, Pringle, and; others prospered as Presbyterians, while not a few (as noticed) sank into ob- IN NEW ENGLAND. 347 livion, or, if holdin.s^ their form of government, they merely continued to exist from 1818 till 1843? One reason obviously was that " the doctrine of God, our Saviour" was to them of more importance than the "divers and strange doctrines " with which Congregationalism had flooded New England. The Shorter Catechism was inva- riably their " form of sound words." But their grasp of this was strengthened by the use of the inspired psalms. These as a portion of " the word which has proceeded out of the mouth of God," and by which alone man is ever to live, formed a part of their daily bread. Their toil must vary with the seasons, but with them it was as imperative as it was pleasant to " shew forth the lov- ing kindness of God in the morning, and to declare to him his faithfuhiess every night." Like the dwellers on " West Running Brook," in Derry,a century before, they be- gan and ended each day with family worship, and by them *' the house of God " was not " forsaken." " This formed the axis of their (daily) mind ; this made them steadfast in their good old way." " The church in the house " was with them a power -subservient to the purity of doctrine, the fulfilment of daily duties, the patient endurance of toil and trial, the support of ordinances, and the growth of the di- vine life in their souls and the souls of their children. Family worship is set up and maintained only where that *' fear of God which is the beginning of wisdom " exists, while its " fruit is unto holiness and the end everlasting life." Households thus trained, with less difiiculty than others, " serve their generation by the will of God." They abide under the shadow of the Almighty, and " render to Csesar the things that are his." For all this, the use, the increased understanding, and the spiritual realization of "the glorious psalms, which have been dropped down from an higher plane" (Rev. Joseph Cook), not the "en- ticing words of man's wisdom " in poetry can alone avail. In some four or five towns of Caledonia and Orleans counties, Vermont, at the end of this quarter of a century, the Psalms, while they were ignored or consigned to ob- livion in all places elsewhere in New England, were there used as the matter of praise to Jehovah. To supply the congregations named when vacant, and to occupy in growing stations, required not a little labor at this point 348 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM SO distant beyond the Green Mountains, yet the demand was met. As an item illustrative, I i^resent the statement of Mrs. William Gray, of Ryegate, made October 21st, 1876, who was married in 1813, and was "given to hos- pitality : " "I have entertained'' (here naming them) "in sixty- three years thirty-eight ministers, who all came from the State of New York and beyond as pastors and supplies to our vacancies." During the pastorate of the Rev. Wm. Morrison, D. D., the church of Londonderry received substantial aid from the estate of Elder John Pinkerton, who died in May, 1816. " He bestowed nine thousand dollars upon each of the two Presbyterian congregations in town for the sup- port of the gospel, and thirteen thousand as a fund for the support of an academy." (P.) He wisely directed how his earnings should be used, and of his will so much is transferred to his tombstone as shews that so long as the doctrine taught in Princeton, N. J., should be inculcated there, so long should said funds be enjoyed by that Presbyterian church. To teach another doctrine would "impair the obligations of the contract ; " hence the Londonderry church continued to be Presbyterian, while those "given to change "(some twenty- three members) about 1839, united with forty from East Derry, and formed the Congregational " society " in Derry Lower village. {Pert.) Dr. Morrison was succeeded, January 15th, 1822, by the Rev. Daniel Dana, D. D., who was called from the presi- dency of Dartmouth College, and on his own request he was released in April, 1826. He was succeeded on June 25th, 1828, by the Rev. Amasa A. Ha3^es, who died October 23d, 1830, greatly la- mented. On October 5th, 1831, the Rev. John R. Adams was installed, and on his own request he was dismissed by the Presbytery in September, 1838, In Londonderry the town meetings have always been opened with prayer. This was a not unfrequent custom in many towns when sound doctrine was maintained and godliness was shewn in New England, although to infidelity now it looks very much like " church and state." The Rev. Timothy G. Brainerd was installed pastor in that church on November 5th, 1840. IN NEW ENGLAND. 349 Since 1827 the old or east town had been by legislative enactment called Derry, and in it the Rev. E. L. Parker, who was ordained and installed on Sej^tember 12th, 1810, continued successfully to labor through this quarter of a century. His fort was not in the teaching of " the doctrine of God our Saviour," distinguishing things which difter, but in practical instruction and diligence in pastoral labor ^^ from house to housed " No one ever heard from his pulpit the distinctive views or modes of philosophizing adopted by Edwards, Hopkins, D wight, Burton or Em- mons." Yet in his charge of nearly four hundred fam- ilies, and nearly two thousand souls, it was affirmed by others that he knew the name of every child. The people had now for a century formed religious habits of family catechizing, family worship, attachment to the house of God, Sabbath sanctification, and respect to their pastors when worthy of their confidence, so that he had " other men's lines of things made ready to his hand." Beside this he was surrounded by a large number of ruling elders, who "magnified their office" in "taking heed to the flock over which the Holy Ghost had made them bishops;" so, notwithstanding that the disturbing parties, who had previously sold their Presbyterian "birthright" for less than a "mess of pottage," had re- turned, and confidence in them must have been exten- sively "like a broken tooth, or a foot out of joint," the congregation as a working church thus manned w^ere probably not surpassed by any (and probably not equalled) in New England for efficiency. While all things were thus conducted well, " decently and in order," the pastor acted on the principle that youth is the seed time of life, and " years previous to the establishment of Sabbath schools in New England, he adopted measures to give the youth of his charge a more extensive and exact knowledge of the Bible. "As early as 1815 he established monthly the 'Adelphi ' society for young men and (meeting at a different time with the same frequency) the Young Ladies' Catechetical Society." These were expected to illustrate and establish particular assigned subjects by texts of Scripture. Few congregations had a more promising circle of young men than this one, before the advantages held out to them from 350 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM abroad induced tliem to leave their native place. He would persuade the youth to commit to memory the Shorter Catechism,, and for many years his custom was to give a pocket Testament to every child who would repeat it per- fectly. This was wisdom. When Sabbath schools and temperance societies were introduced, he was earnest that all the children might take an interest in them; and to promote general education, he during almost the whole of his ministry visited the eight or ten week-day schools each four times a year. Tiie scholars knew that their progress was marked, and were thus quickened to nobler exertions for the next school visitation. In the diffusion and enjoyment of higher education, both pastor and people were active. He was a trustee in both the Pinkerton Academy and in the Adams^ Female Academy from their first establishment, and was President of both boards at the time of his death. In favorable weather he usually preached three times on the Sabbath, in the evening at an outpost in one of the school-houses, and it is judged that on an average he preached three lectures a week. The first temperance society and the first Sabbath school in the State, it is believed, were by him established in Derry." As we have seen, in 1786 Mrs. Agnes Wilson refused to have her pew, owned in her own right, taxed for the re- pairs and painting of the church, when a majority of the pew proprietors and others " impaired the obUgations of the contract " made between John Little and the bene- ficiaries of his trust by voting Presbyterian property into Congregational use. And while she had the mortification to see a stranger of another denomination foisted into her father's pulpit, and sought religious instruction for her- self and her family elsewhere, she lived to see not less than four other occupants in the desk of Federal Street Church — Belknap, in 1787, Popkin, in 1799, Channing, in 1803, and Gannett, in 1824, when she was eighty-seven years old. She witnessed at least one other revolution beside that of colonial independence, but of an opposite character — • one in which " the Son of God was trodden under foot, the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified counted an unholy thing, and despite done unto the Spirit of grace," and all this in " the Irish Presbyterian meeting- IN NEW ENGLAND. 351 house " in the presence of John Little's pew, by the opera- tion of Congregationalism, in the space of thirty-eight years. During this period, 1818-1843, several changes in the way of worship were introduced in Newburyport, such as not reading out the hymn, line by line, dropping, in connection with the observance of the Lord's Suj^per, the week-day meetings, all except the fast on Tuesday, and the "fencing " of the table. This implies that they still sat down at a table, and did not hand the elements around. In the Prospect Street Church, after the usage had been discontinued by Mr. Miltimore in the first Presbyterian, Mr. Milton, who was a foreigner, it is said, continued the practice till his death. Adopting a course similar to the one pursued by Mr. Murray in the close of his sermon, he would say : " From our subject we learn who have and who have not a right to come to this holy table. Surely they have no right here, who trample under their feet the blood of the everlasting covenant, and do despite to the Spirit of grace. I do, therefore, solemnly enclose and fence this table; I do warn all unregenerated persons not to draw near; I debar all who deny the impu- tation of sin and righteousness, for they can never have known the plague of their own hearts, nor the need of righteousness answerable to the demands of the law — all Arminians, for they depend on and seek to justify them- selves by their own Avorks — all Antinomians, who profess to receive him by faith, but in works deny him — all Arians and Socinians," etc., etc. Although such exercises wear a barbaric aspect, not only to those who " live according to the course of this world," under modern culture, but to all hymn-singers, yet they were potent, under God the Spirit, in " warning the unruly and comforting the feeble-minded," while they made those who were "strong in the Lord" "ponder the paths of their feet," as they were about to " take the cup of salvation." The Rev. John Proudfit, D. D., was called from Rutgers College, New Jersey, and installed pastor of the first Pres- byterian church in Newburyport, on October 4th, 1827. At this date the efficiency of the means of grace seems to have continued, and while, during his ministry, two con> 352 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM munions passed without additions, still his annual average for five and one-half years about equalled the entire united annual increase of his predecessors. Parsons had an annual increase averaging ten ; Murray, seven ; Dana, eight ; Wil- liams, fifteen ; and Proudfit, thirty-nine. His health failed. On July 3d, 1831, he sailed for Europe, and was absent till January, 1832. His pulpit was supplied by Rev. Mr. Cheever and the Rev. Joseph Abbott, Congregationalists. On June 21st, a four days' meeting was commenced at j\Ir. Milton's church, as most central, b}" Drs. Beecher, Wisner, Adams, and Rev. Messrs. Cumming, Cleaveland, Blanchard, and others — all Congregationalists. In four- teen months one hundred and twenty united with this church, and by October, 1832, the usual reaction took place, when, " owing to some recent difficulties," twenty- nine asked dismissions, and Mr. Cheever would probably have been settled in town, could a church have been ob- tained for him. (V.) On razeeing the house, in 1829, by which " the inside was somewhat reduced in size, the ceil- ing lowered, new galleries put in, the pulpit removed from the side," and a monument erected over the crypt of the immortal Whitefield (whose remains, excepting the pur- loined migrating arm-bone, taken to England, and after years returned, liad rested in this venerable building since soon after his death, on September 30th, 1770), " a ' whis- pering gallery,' unsurpassed, it is said, unless by St. Paul's, in London, was accidentally discovered. This forms a conspicuous feature of the building at present." (lb.) Dr. Proudfit was dismissed on January 24th, 1833. To the people, or rather to the cause of " order " among them after their revival, his departure was particularly unhappy. An "awakening" produced by the instrumentality of nine or more Congregationalist preachers, with their " exercise," " taste," " substratum," and other " schemes," could hardly be supposed to make a church of Presbyterians more " steadfast and immovable in the work of the Lord.'^ Consequently, during two years and a half, many candi- dates were heard. Some professors were disposed to have the church (as in 1744-6) turned over to Congregation- alism, and were only hindered in their revolutionary enter- prise by the parish under its civil organization. One or IN NEW ENGLAND. 353 two calls were given, but without success. They had to let the effervescence pass off. On September 16th, 1835, Mr. Jonathan F. Stearns was ordained over them. His mmistry was faithfully con- ducted from youth to riper years with peace and good success. " In April, 1825, the pastoral relation which had sub- sisted between the Rev. David McGregor and the congre- gation of Bedford, N. H., for above twenty years, was, by mutual consent, dissolved by Presbytery. His ministry, it is believed, was greatly blessed." (P.) This church, being formed of descendants of the " Scotch- Irish " race more extensively than almost any other one in New England (excepting Londonderry and Windham), has been less " carried away with every wind of doctrine," and consequently has vitality as well as " a name to live." Over it the Rev. Thomas Savage was installed on July 5th, 1826, and at the end of this quarter of a century (1843) we find him and them " prospering in all things," at least equally with others around them who, as they had done, have abandoned the appointed puritv of Divine worship. Their first meeting-house served nearly eighty years. A new one was built in 1832. Antrim, N. H., where the first sermon was preached in September, 1775, and where the Rev. Walter Little was, from 1800 till 1804, their first pastor, during these twenty- five years, enjoyed the stated ministry of the Rev. John M. Whiton, D."^ D. He was ordained September 28th, 1808, and, supported by a session of twelve ruling elders, his ministry was eminently successful. " The year 1827 was distinguished by a remarkable attention to religion, and resulted in the addition of one hundred persons to his church." (P.) Over Windham — which was incorporated in 1742, and Avhich had enjoyed the labors successively of the Rev. Wm. Johnston, ReV.'john Kinkead, and the Rev. Simon Wil- liams— the Rev. Samuel Harris was ordained in 1805. In 1826, owing to the failure of his voice, the pastoral rela- tion was dissolved. He was succeeded, in 1828, by the Rev. Calvin Cutler, who was ordained in April, and minis- tered to this congregation until his death, in 1844. Of the days of sorrow and shame in Peterboro, by the 23 354 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM atrocious misconduct of Morrison and Annan, we have seen more than enough. At the beginning of this century the "society" adopted Congregational forms, and voted, that once in each year the communion should be observed in Presbyterian order by a Presbyterian minister. " This iService was for many years performed by the Rev. Wm. Morrison, D. D." In 1822, a portion of the people, who had never been jileased with the Congregational customs, and others, who li.id not been quite at ease under an Arminian preacher, withdrew, and were, on application, formed into a Presby- terian church. In 1825 they built a meeting-house, and in 1827 the Rev. Peter Holt»was installed their pastor. In March, 1835, he resigned the office, and the Rev. Mr. Pine, who was installed the next year, was dismissed in January, 1837. For two years the Rev. Joshua Barret was stated supply. On March 18th, 1840, the Rev. James R. French was ordained their pastor, and he was still olhciating there in 1843. They had thus in twenty years three pastors and one supply — rather too many teachers for "godly edifying," yet they shewed a due appreciation of the means of grace, without which no community can long and truly prosper, religiously, socially, or civilly. In West Derry, after the death of the Rev. Dr. IMorrison, in 1818, the Rev. Dr. Dana was, with great unanimity, elected. Of his salary of seven hundred dollars, one hun- dred were added, by subscription, to the income of the Pinkerton fund. Pie was installed on January 15th, 1822. This pastoral relation was, as we have noticed, on his re- quest and by their consent (most unwillingly given), dis- solved in April, 1826. This was the^Vs^ instance of a dis- missal in that congregation since its organization. Dr. Dana was soon afterwards installed pastor of the second Presbyterian church in Newburyport. Over this people in West Derry Mr. Amasa A. Hayes was ordained June 25th; 1828, by some six clergymen, three of whom — Bradford, Holt and Savage — belonged to the Presbytery. In a little over two years he had " fin- ished " his pastoral " course." He died on October 23d, 1830. Mr. John R. Adams was ordained on October 5th^ 1831. IN NEW ENGLAND. 355 Of the seven ministers who then installed him, four be- longed to the Presbytery, viz. : Holt, Parker, Savage and Bradford. In these congregations it must be remembered that the office of ruling elder was maintained so long as they Avore the Presbyterian name. In order to it, there must be rulers and ruled. The common-sense of persons trained in Presbyterian families insured this. Hence, as space does not permit, I make no mention of the ordina- tion of this class of cluirch rulers. Ordination and in- stallation are implied in the office. While a part of " the course " in our " schools of the prophets " ends oftentimes in the conversion of students to a belief in the text, " It is not good tliat the man should be alone," and not a few discover the "plighted partners of their future lives," while they are delving into Hebrew and theology, yet not so with the Rev. Mr. Adams. He did not do even so wise a thing, but married a ]\Iiss McGregor, of Londonderry, in 1832. Results seldom vin- dicate the wisdom of such an important step in or near the seminar}^ and it should be especially avoided by a pastor in his own congregation, where a very superior force of character built upon and embellished by divine grace can alone command respect and insure usefulness to one among her mere equals, who has the duties to perform connected with one of the most important posi- tions, if not the most important, which woman can occupy on earth. Not only in common with those of other godly mothers should " her children rise up and call her blessed," but by her influences and daily life, " her husband " should be " known in the gates when he sitteth among the elders of the land." It is supposed that his action and experience justified these statements. In September, 1838, he resigned, and in October the pastoral relation was dissolved by Presby- tery. Mr. Timothy G. Brainard was ordained on November 5th, 1840, and ni 1843 was still the pastor in Londonderry. We thus find Presbyterianism in New England at the end of this quarter of a century embracing only the congrega- tions of Barnet, Ryegate, Topsham, Peacham and Crafts- bury, retaining as the matter of praise to God in the sane- 356 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM tuary and in their families, as their fathers did, " the words which the Holy Ghost teach eth in the Psalter," and in the use in their churches of " the enticing words of man's wisdom," which brought "expressive silence " into their households, to "meditate his praise " in the congre- gations of Derrs^, Londonderry, Windham, Litchfield, Am- herst, Peterboro, Antrim, Bedford, New Market, New Bos- ton, with the first and second ones of Newburyport, while possibly others continued to retain the name and this form of government. The system of doctrine, government, discipline and worship resting on a "thus saith the Lord," was now so compressed by that built upon " Go to, let us," from the Connecticut river to Great Menan, that it was no longer felt to be a distinct force in upliolding and embellishing the social relations as it had been in those days, when the town of Derry paid the one-fourteenth of the taxes of the entire State. Congregationalism was now almost wholly "at ease in her possessions " in her " native land." The forces of Protestant Episcopacy and Methodism were how- ever increash]g, and Popery had now three chapels in Boston, beside foundations in many other New England cities and towns. IN NEW ENGLAND. 357 CHAPTER XIV. 1843-68 — Marked changes appear — Enterprise — Scotland and New Eng- land— Watt, Morse — The factory and its surroundings — Thomson' ville — First company — Worshipped at Enfield — Mitchell — A build- ing for school and church — Supplied by Professors until 1838 — Home Missionary society — Efforts to sustain ordinances — All but two for Presbyterian organization — Rev. Dr. Harvey — A good thing out of Nazareth — Eighty-two members — First Presbyterian Church in Con- necticut, excepting Voluntown — Carpet company build a house for them — "Customs" and the town of Berkeley men — Old School organ — Instruments — The choir — Above four hundred dollars of the salary moved out — Meetings — A society — An organization asked — Granted — Effected — "A peculiar people " — Rev. W. McLaren — Tears — Now the scene was reversed — Rev. P. Gordon — A rare class of operatives — Within one year — A pastor settled — The Carpet company failed — Gordon resigned — The bread of life — McLaughlin — Spiritual condi- tion good — He returned to Ireland — Rev. J. M. Heron — His pastorate — Secession — Men left — He resigned — They called others — An elo- quent deception — Firmness of the congregation — Rev. G. M. Hall called — Four and a half years — Resigned — Boston — The name ex- tinct for seventeen years — A Scotch preaching — March 6th — May 20th — On the seventeenth application for a hall was successful — The Mount Zion — He awoke to zeal — " We are not informed " — Men of distinction — Others — Vice increasing — Kneeland, Ballon, Parker — Unitarians — But three families — A "Derry" girl — A "lassie" — A case I mention — " You can never be my minister " — The prejudice of race — The Mull of Kintyre — Fairhead — Each aimed to have a preacher — The pioneers — " Preaching as high as the top of the State House "—"Out West"— The Scot held at bay— "Conflict of ages"— Invoked in vain — The pioneer in his work — Mr. John Fisher fleshy and "fleshly" — The pioneer installed — To go into the highways — Years of prosperity — An exotic — A change — Friction must ensue — Divisions lowered the standard of discipline — He sought relief — ■ Events concurred — One man full of zeal — He left — A minister com- ing— The church prospered till secession came — Union — United Pres- byterian Church — An episode — Our holy and beautiful house — An ominous silence — Could not be sold — "Old Harry" Adams — pro tem — Yon could not make a better deed — De jure till now — Little — Bene- ficiaries bound to prevent the perversion of the trust — The oath — We entered suit — No range of equity — Attorney — Appointed — A surprise —They concealed the " Memoir " — Records of Session — This religious 358 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM society — Records did some of them no honor — Sent to the light — Car- rying records across the street — Awry shapes — Affidavit — As taken very mild and safe — " Truth in a horn " — Mr. Choate — A most elab- orate case — Shaw's hold — ]\[etcalf — Outraged — This was so — (1 Tim. ii. 5) — His logic — Blasphemy — The decision stirred up conscience — Too strong for justice — An intolerant species of deism — A remnant — The occupants did not fully suppose they owned — They invoked the Legislature— The society worth $22,000,000— Began to thitik— And they now paused — This could not be done — May loth, 1855 — Out of love and fear they spent $4,700. on repairs — What C. Gushing said — Oh, how I would like — The decision has no equal on tins continent — A technical quibble— The restriction — One-fifty-sixth part of its value — They refused to take Unitarian money — The auctioneer's of- fice— A protest — A group for Punch — No sale, no pay — 120 families — Respectable — Bought damaged — Replication — Review — Bill to bill — Filed' — Waited long — Printed — A sworn official — Never to have been filed — A contrast — Presbyterians should pray — A shaky thing — ■ The result before the National Court would liav'e been different — Dr. Lothrop — Did not desist — Might " lay judgment to the line" — "An unco squad" — "Leave to withdraw " — A plea — Obtained the same consideration and courtesy — This pioneer church prospered — Preach- ing— Week-day services and tlie Press — Eighty-six reviews — McGee — Phillips — Asso. Reformed and United Presbyterian — Fall River — A high position — Operatives — To them the Associate Presbytery of Albany sent supply — Chauncey Webster — Rev. H. H. Blair — 1836 — Two elders chosen — Rev. D. Gordon — Associate Presbytery of New York gave supplies till 1840 — Commercial depression of 1837 — Un- able to sustain — Their case for five years not known — Rev. J. B. Dales visited them in 1846 — Rev. Andrew Johnston organized them as Associate Reformed — No preachers to supply — Rev. Wm. McLaren — Built — Every shingle mortgaged — Rev. T. G. Carver — Called January, 1849 — Exchange their house — Debt, hopes and energies increased — Carver preached " another gospel" — Could not save hearers — With- ered rapidly — Went inibrmally in 1849 to the Methodist Episcopal church — The church in 1850 in an encouraging position — Rev. D. A. AVallace — Installed — Energy, diligence and faithfulness — Perhaps a "pent-up Utica " — Removed by Presbytery to East Boston in 1854 — Rev. Wm. McLaren installed — A ripe scholar — A superior Hebraist — A terse speaker — His sermons good — A pastorate of nearly twelve years — Reasons for resigning— Rev. J. R. Kyle installed, June, 1887 — Progressive spirit of the age — Imbued with it — Continued until 187 o— Providence — Successful industries — May, 1848, com- menced collecting a church — Official acts — Organization August 16th — Supplies defective — A change of connection — Dr. Skinner — Rev. Jos. Sandei'son — "Foolish jesting" — Delilah won — A development not of early New England training — Separation came — Rev. Mr. McGauchy — He deceived them — Returned and made trouble — Left the denomination, but still made strife — Years of confusion — They applied to the Associate Reformed Presbytery — Committee to inquire — The way not clear — Application renewed in 1857 — Committee of IN NEW ENGLAND. 359 inquiry — Petition not granted — Eev. A. Thomas — Remodelled — Came to Lachine, thence to Boston — Served in Providence for two years — After the union on May 26th, 1858, order was restored — Statements of a leader in the ciiurch — The venerable Rev. Dr. A. Heron, a healer of their divisions — December 5th, 1859, Mr. Jolm C. Robb called — Ordained and installed April 27th, 18(50 — Dismissed by Presbytery January 22d, 1874 — Presbytery constituted in 1854 — Twenty-one ministers belonged to it in fourteen years — Lowell — March 20tii, 1850 — The dance — The pioneer and the watchman — Public worsliip begun — December 1st — Organized — Gordon called — Vain talking — A rural home — Under conflicting constraints he returned the call, went to Australia and returned — W. McMillan — His sense of official duty defective — An illustration — He left — No condensed spiritual vitality attainable — Tendency of events — A. C. Junkin — Commercial depres- sion in 1857 — Released — "Owing to the times" — No other settlement before 1868 — Taunton — Supplies — One man — Removed — Discontinued — Holyoke — Supplied above a year — Trans- atlantic feeling of sect split tliem, and Holyoke was discontinued — East Boston — Noddle — In 1847 active industry there — The wits — April, 1853, a station — Rev. D. A. Wallace in 1854 pastor — Attentive — His theology of New England — Encomium — 1855 a house in building — Opened — Chosen to be President of Monniouth College — Leaves — Rev. H. H. John* ston — He was given to change — Took the property away from the Associate Reformed church — Destroyed much good, and went to the Dutch — A new element introduced — Effervescence bolters — They and the former fragments unite — Organized — Rev. G. M. Hall installed April 17th, 1865, till December '26th, 1867— Laivrence— In 1853 in- corporated— The " scuit" — How commenced — A. McWilliams — Began on July 2d, 1854 — Rev. S. F. Thompson pastor from August 7th, 1855, till January 29th, 1857 — Commercial deprest^ion — Jas. Diusmore from October 18th, 1859, till September 15th, 1863— Their religious interests now suffered, and Presbytery dissolved the congregation — Hartford, Connecticut — Supplied after February 23d, 1862 — Organi- zation ninety-four persons on Mav 6th — Rev. \V. M. Clavbaugh in- stalled April 30th, 1863— Resigned January 8th, 1865— Rev. J. M. Heron installed January 17th, 1866 — By fever lost his voice — Rela- tion terminated December 31st, 1867 — South Boston — Gathered by a prayer-meeting — A station opened on October 9th, 1864 — Rev. W. M. Claybaugh settled — He wanted " more liberty '' — Dismissed December 26th, 1867 — WilkinsonviUe — Operatives — Ask and obtain supply be- fore 1858 — Derry — Death of Rev. Mr. Parker — Their good order — Presbytery disappointed — Derry only "a parish" — "Half and half" — Ichabod — Londonderry — Pastors — A basis of aid — Fruit — Pinker- ton's gravestone — Congregation Presbyterian — The pasto;-'s choice — Deviates — Families — Devotion in them — Difierent in the church — Dana saw a Psalter in the pulpit — Andover to teach the New Eng- land primer — Changes of pastors — The pulpit losing efficiency — Causes — Hood — Appendix — Hearers of four clav^ses — A modern inno- vation— Charles 11. — Pilgrims — Edwards — Watts — Modes — Antrim — Two ministers — Dr. Whiton genial — Rev. Mr. Bates — His organ and 360 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM revival — It abcated — His death — Windham — ^Kev. Laren Thayer— Faitliful — His ministry — Bedford — Rev. Thos. Savage — A long pas- torate— Peterboro — Rev. J. R. French dismissed in 1847 — Rev. A. Lamb ordained July 14th, 1847 — 175 — A number were dismissed by letter in 1851 — Formed a Congregational " society " — Lamb dismissed in 1852 — Roll down to sixty-seven, and no pastor — Neivburyport — During this quarter both congregations enjoy ordinances — First church — Rev. J. F. Stearns — His early history — Ordained September 16th, 1835 — After years accepted a call to Newark, N. J. — Rev. Jas. Gallaher a supply — Rev. A. G. Vermilyea — May 1st, 1850 — He, as well as Dr. Stearns, was a faithful pastor — Increase — Centennial commemorations — Building rededicated — Dr. Dana "suggested a few thoughts as to the proper manner of preacliing and hearing tlie gos- pel " — Succeeded by other Y>revious pastors — Proudfit looking at the tomb of Whitefield, said: "America well entitled to his remains " — Vermilyea, after thirteen years, dismissed — Of the eighth pastor, Rev. R. H. Richardson, we know but little — /Second church — A human change — Dana's opponents became his friends, and call him — The la- bors of his riper years not lost on a willing people — He was great among Christians, and accepted of his brethren — His pen not idle: — To him the truth was precious — A remonstrance forcible, but lost on self-sufficiency — A perversion of trust — After eighty-eight years and one month on earth, "he fell asleep" — A successor to sucii an one obtained— The Rev. W. W. Eells— Installed July 14th, 1846— A specimen of his way of " handling the word of God" — In this avc see the man — His teachings so verified that he was released on April 21st, 1855 — Rev. H. R. Timlow, December 30th, 1856 — Pastorates growing shorter — The character and results of his labor we can only infer, as the records of Presbytery are lost — April 21st, 1859, dismissed — Suc- ceeded June 6th, 1860, by Rev. Jas. Cruikshanks — Preaching "another gospel" in the pulpit of Dana and Eells, his stay was short — Dismissed August 1st, 1862 — In his best estate in New England he was only "a foreigner" — Those detachecl sojourn where they can find a place, and in modern light from twelve to fifty-two candidates may be heard in one year — The Rev. B. Y. George installed April 27th, 1864 — Cause of removal on September 26th, 1866, unknown — The Rev. Jas. G. Johnston succeeded him in three months, and Avas dis- missed September 22d, 1868 — East Boston — We have seen the origin of this church by Rev. H. H. Johnston and a society in 1858 — The Rev. T. N. Haskell settled December 3d, 1862 — ^lliis new man coming to Presbyterianism gathered some new people — How efficient he was as a pastor we know not, but he resigned on October 23d, 1866 — The Rev. M. A. Depue was installed on July 11th, 1867, and re- signed July 12th, 1869 — Boston proper — The Rev. A. S. Muir arrived December 9, 1853 — He was intensely Scotch, even to the Psalms and paraphrases — Man millinery — " He received" a call, but many persons lost confidence in him ; it was not unanimous, and he went to Scot- land— The ordination of elders by him, the Presbytery of Halifax de- clared to be unauthorized, irregular and void — A young man, Ross, supplied a year — The audience dwindled — In June, 1856, congrega- IN NEW ENGLAND. 361 tion roted to unite with the Presbytery of Montreal — Good supplies given — The Eev. Wm. McLaren called July 22d, 1857 — Rev. Mr. McLaren was installed and remained till iS^ovember 28th, 1858 — The spirit of the times now actuating this people, and they nuist have a Kalloch or a Stone — They unite December 1st, 1858, Aviih Londonderry Presbytery — Eev. David Magill invited — He put away "Rouse" — Installed over a society on July 14th, 1859, and on March 26th, 1860, his church wns organized by the installation of two elders — Beach street church bought December, 1859 — But he could not raise the money and resigned and preached his last sermon there on Sep- tember 8th, 1861— The Rev. H. M. Painter supplied a part of 1862— Rev. R. A. DeLancy also till October 23d, 1864— United then with Oak s reet Congregational church, and Rev. Mr. Bixby came with 1C9 members, and was pa«tor till October 1st, 1866 — They were then supplied for two years — T/wmpsonville, Ct. — The middle of the century — Labor-saving machinery — To enterprise — Scotland and New Eng- land extensively covered with factories — Dr. Dorus Clarke — Watt and Morse — Whitney — Around the factory a village must spring up — Thompsonville in 1828 — Carpet company— Labor, skill and integrity — An agent sent to Scotland — First company religious, and appreciated the means of grace — Anarciiy and despotism — The Rev. Mr. Robbins in Enfield — In 1831, Mr. Mitchell, a Scotchman — In 1834 a building — Professors supplied them till 1838 — Applied for aid — And refused — Redoubled their efforts — Dr. Plarvey now preached to them — They would not adopt his polity — All but two for Presbyterianism — Organi- zation— Eighty-two enrolled — This the first excepting Voluntown — House built by the con)pany — They occupied it free, but did not obtain a gift of it — The pastor a scholar— The groundwork of his preaching — Three sermons — On the true basis of fellowship — Dr. Tyler criti- cised iw him — Released — Eev. C. W. Adams, D. D. — December, 1857 — Not like Holden, Massachusetts, seeking a pastor for nine years by hearing 240 candidates — Such a gazing-stock — Dr. Adams dismissed — The company failed — Good intentions unfulfilled — No work for two years — Yet prayer and determination under God were suc- cessful— They prospered — Tariffville — Operations there — A church constituted — Presbytery of Connecticut erected October loth, 1850 — Seven ministers composed it — Eev. E. G. Thompson, of TariflVille, one — Failure in Tariffville prostrated this place — Operatives could no longer sustain ordinances — Churcii became extinct — Hartford — In June, 1851, Eev. James Ely commenced there — Ely stated supply — Mr. Thomas S. Childs applied to — Came to them — From Ireland and Scotland — Earnest Christians — Childs settled here — An organization — Upper room — A church edifice — The pastor has to sacrifice most — So here — Ordained June SOth, 1852 — A burden on the pastor for sev- eral years — Had to advance all his salary once — '• Secular" — Presby- terian ministers have to do this in New Enghiiid often — His health failed — He preached the gospel with majesty — -Had to leave a debt — 250 persons received by him — Took care of the youth — Aided men to enter the ministry — The customs of the churches overtook him — When an instrument was employed thirty or forty withdrew — He be- S62 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM came a theological professor — Kev. J. A. Hodge installed May 2d, 1866 — "The age" becoming material — An anachronism — Had now a plain brick building — Mrs. J. W.'s offer— Brick building sold — A new chapel — So much for sixteen years — JVat) Haven — A church received — Facts not the means to know — Transferred^ in hope — Ex- tinct— The same may be said of Beep River — Organized in 1856 — Stamford organized February 26th, 1853 — Its FsLsiorn— Bridgeport October 16th, 1853— Eighty-two withdrew — Keceived by Presbytery of New York — Dr. Hewitt— Hinsdale his associate — Church dedicated August 8th, 1855— Burnt — Rebuilt— November 4th, 1863 — Darien — Its first pastor installed March 4th, 1864 — In office in 1868— In Bridgeport — A German Presbyterian church organized in 1865 — In a few years dismissed to join the German Reformed — New Boston — Rev. R. B. Allen was called in 1853. As, during the last quarter of a century, the doctrine, government, and principles (excepting the force of char- acter transmissible through them from one generation to another, by the common laws of our nature), which made old Derry, for above a century, a praise among the churches, were fading, so, during this one, they passed into oblivion. The " model pastor," the Rev. Edward Lutw^vche Par- ker, ordained September l!2th, 1810, was on Sabbath, July 14th, 1850, called to his reward. In viewing his congre- gation he had reason to rejoice. It contained nearly four hundred families. Their "good order, intelligence, solid religious character, harmony, steady progress, and the number of youth they educated and sent forth to useful and honorable stations, were hardly excelled by any other town in New England." On the 17th, amidst sorrowing thousands, his remains •were deposited wdth the dust of his five ecclesiastical pre- decessors. The Presbytery supposed that they stood in a relation and had duty to perform to this old mother church of " the oppressed Irish brethren," and were soon duly notified. But they found that she had taken counsel "in the plain of Ono," and renounced their authority. About 1795, at the settlement of Mr. Br®wn, "the indi- viduals Avho opposed" Presbyterianism withdrew, "and were incorporated as a Congregational society." " In 1809 each society modified some of its peculiarities in respect to church government," to a kind of " half-and- half," and were by an act of the legislature incorporated IN NEW ENGLAND. 863 as the " First Parish of Londonderry." And now, although eleven ruling elders were officiality m charge of the churdi, as was supposed, under Presbytery, yet they refused alle- giance to the court, which was confronted by the Rev. Prof. Park from Andover, who sent to them and liad set- tled over them one of his students, the Rev. J. AV. Well- man. As has been noticed, they having existed as a Presbyterian church for 130 years, were now shunted off on the theological schemes, usages and customs of New England — Ichabod. At the beginning of this quarter of a century, the Rev. Timothy G. Brainard was pastor in Londonderry. He faithfully occupied the ])osition till April 25th, 1855, and was, on October 7th, 1857, succeeded by the Rev. William House, whom Ave find in the pastorate there in 1868. Its first pastor was so "steadfast in the faith," that, not by a governor, a president, trustees, ministers, nor by the cash itself, could he be induced to remove to the hj^mn and imitation singers in New York. At that time the pastoral relation was not placed on wheels, to be summoned elsewhere by a " louder call," and those sacred feelings, between pastor and people, sur- passed only in the family and by a blood-relation, were cherislied as among the most precious fruits of the gospel. This will be discovered wherever families " sing psalms to God with grace and make a joj^ful noise morning and evening." Their pastor ma}^ not always be the foremost man in all the earth, but he is "our minister" while he can say " I " dwell among my own people. So it was with the Rev. David McGregor and his congregation. The same was true of their second pastor, so long as he did not deviate from his ordination vows. But when he not only led his Presbytery into a "coalescence" with those who had onl}" come to Presbyterianism as an expe- dient; but also, in 1796, to his Synod attempted to vindi- cate the conduct of his co-presbyters, stating, that ex- pediency should outweigh the duty of going up to the assembled elders after apostolic example, liis ministerial efficiency was not increased, and while the flame of divine song still ascended morning and evening from " the dwell- ings of the righteous " under his charge, he and his flock became increasingly assimilated to their surroundings. 364 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM If they sang as families at all, after the manner of their forefathers at " AVest Running-brook," it must be in the same words, for "imitations" and uninspired hymns, whenever and wherever introduced into churches, pro- duce " expressive silence " in households. In the church it was different. All the varied arguments used by those around them and by the church councils with whom they associated, would constrain them to change the fire upon the altar. Hence, Avhen his successor was inducted, he "found a copy of the Psalms in the pulpit," but by him- self (he saidj they had never been used. As the seminary at Andover, Mass., was commenced on the theology of the Now England Primer, and as the pro- fessors solemnly vowed, or swore to teach only its doc- trines ; so, among Presbyterians, obtaining one of its graduates for a pastor was, for years, considered no dis- respect to Princeton, N. J. The ignoring of the teach- ings of the catechism, however, produced real results, not only by tlie introduction of " divers and strange doctrines," but by its influences on the pastoral relation. Hence, we see that the first two (the Presbyterian) pas- torates, extending from 1736 till 1818, were longer in dura- tion than the last six, from 1822 till 1879, by a quarter of a century, while the years, in which this church was with- out a pastor before the settlement of the Rev. William Morrison, were six, and from his death till this date, 1881, "we find seventeen years of destitution. Of all religious instrumentalities, tlie pulpit has gained the least in efficiency in the last fifty years, not because faithful, as Avell as grandiloquent, men have not occupied it, but perchance, from the effects produced upon the family as the training -place for those who ought to attend to the preaching of the word " with diligence, preparation and prayer." Under the old Presbyterian, or early New England style, hearers vastly more extensively received the word preached " with diligence, with preparation, with faith, with love, with readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily Avhether those things were so." Mark this, "Therefore many of them believed." As the Rev. Dr. Timothy Dwight informs us, " for above seventy years, the time was once in New England, that few persons came to the years of understanding without professing their IN NEW ENGLAND. 365 faith in Christ Jesus." That was in "the days of the Catechism," when the mothers were the teachers, and when the Bible was read dail}' in school as well as in the family. Then the dwellers in New England generalh", as Hood (Hist. Music) informs us, sang the Book of Psalms through as often as " six times in a year," in household worship. The modern " customs " have another indirect effect upon the pulpit; they prevent the qualifying of the mind for proper hearing, just as family worship is neglected. Hearers are of four classes, by the "wayside," on the "rock "and among the "thorns." These do not demand that full, thorough indoctrination in families which " the good ground" does, and in themselves the}^ never have it. In order to be profited individually, hearers must "bring forth fruit with patience," they must, by "prepara- tion," have "an honest and good heart." This can be obtained, under the influences of the Holy Spirit, only where they seek doctrinal intelligence and "keep it," (Luke viii. 15.) To teach such a people and preach to them Jesus Christ, is an easy and most pleasant duty, while critical, fastidious and carping hearers, having no sympathy with " the truth of God," will send a spiritual chill into the heart, and frost itself into the lips of him whose tongue should be as " the pen of a ready writer." Hence, the temptation to "prophesy smooth things," to please, to be popular, is too great oftentimes for un- sanctified human nature. The " Spirit is grieved " by the unfaithfulness of the occupants, even wliile the pulpit professes to " not shun to declare the whole counsel of God." When " standing between the living and the dead," so long, as the messenger of God is constrained by any force or influence to please men, his " doctrine cannot drop as the rain, nor his speech distil as the dew." Among the modern " usages " which deteriorate the pul- pit, is the substitution of reading for preaching. " Preach the gospel to every creature " is of heaven. It has been in every age, and must continue to be, the principal instru- ment of salvation. It is not only scriptural, which should be enough, but primitive, used by the apostles and re- formers, while reading is entirely a modern innovation. Probably the first record of it that history makes, is the 366 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM order of Charles II. forbidding it in the University of Cam- bridge, on October 8th, 1674, "as a supine and slothful way of preaching." '' The Pilgrim Fathers " never read their sermons. We first hear of it in New England in 1708, and " although Edwards read his sermons, he lived deeply to regret it, and to bear his testimony against the whole practice of the literal reading of a sermon fully written out." " He looked upon using his notes as a deficiency and infirmity." Of it the Rev. Dr. Isaac Watts says : •' When a sermon, however good, is read to the auditors, though read even with correctness, it may in some degree resemble speaking, but, the resemblance at best, is faint and distant ; the tone is not the natural sound of our organs of speech; it is still, that which we acquired when we were learning to read, and savors of coldness and lan- guor. When such a man would reprove sinners, he only reads to them a chiding; when he would pluck them as brands from the burning, he recuh to them some words of pity or of terror; and if he would lament over their im- penitence and approaching ruin, he can do no more than read to them a chapter of lamentation." For full writing, and committing the whole sermon to memory, or for thorough mastery of the subject and the use of a brief, reading is a poor substitute. It is a foolish kind of, but not "the foolishness of, preaching." In Antrim, N. H., during this period (1843-68) the con- gregation had two ministers. Their faithful pastor, the Rev. John M. Whiton, D. D., after a service of forty-five years, resigned January 1st, 1853, and " fell on sleep " on September 27th, 1856. He was universally beloved, and by his people supposed to be " as pure and good as this world affords." " Many of the hearers of his last ser- mon were the grandchildren of his original flock." Their inherited force of character remained with this people, for they were not yet "given to change." Where a man is thus held " highly in love for his work's sake," his people will, when deprived of a faithful minister, " covet earnestly the best gifts." Consequently, the Rev. John H. Bates, a graduate of Vermont University, was called and settled as their pastor, on the 16th day of March, 1853. "As a scholar his power commanded general respect. IN NEW ENGLAND. 367 but he was less social than Dr. Whiton. For eleven years the increase failed to keep his membership to its former standing, but, in 1864, he ' appointed a series of meetings,' and ' more than twenty members were added to the church.' " In 1826, when their house Avas opened, the only musical instrument was " a bass-viol," but, by the exertions of the pastor, seven natives of the town living elsewhere, con- tributed funds enough in 1864 to procure an organ ; and hardly had the force of this revival abated, when, on July 1st, 1866, Mr. Bates resigned, going at once to the desk in Merrimack; thence, soon after, to Charleston, S. C, where he died May 10th, 1870. Windham. The Rev. Loren Thayer was ordained here on November 5th, 1845. He was "faithful unto the death." His ministry as their pastor ended on April 25th, 1866. He died of consumption, September 19th, 1869, aet. 54 years. At Bedford. The Rev. Thomas Savage, installed July 5th, 1826, continued to officiate till 1850, and afterwards. Peterboro. The Rev. James R. French was dismissed in April, 1847, and the Rev. Henry J. Lamb was ordained on July 14th, 1847. The number of members in 1850 was one hundred and seventy-five, but many of these became Congregationalized, and during 1851 a number were dis- missed by letter, who organized and formed a State society. This "go to, let us" form a Congregational parish so weakened the Presbyterian church, that Mr. Lamb was dismissed, December 31st, 1852. In 1856 their roll was reduced to sixty-seven members, and in 1859, Presbyte- rianism became extinct in Peterboro. The Newhuryport churches continued, during this quar- ter of a century, to enjoy the ordinances of the gospel. The Rev. Jonathan F. Stearns, a native of Bedford, Mass., a graduate of Harvard, a student of Andover, and a licen- tiate of the Woburn Association, was ordained and in- stalled, on September 16th, 1835, by the Londonderry Presbyter}^ in the First church. After a ministry of four- teen years there, he accepted a call from the congregation of Newark, N. J. This pulpit was then for some time supplied by the Rev. James Gallaher, a revivalist, not un- known in the West, especially for his "earnestness and such a mass of it." On May 1st, 1850, the Rev. Ashbel G. 368 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM Vermilye was installed. He was the son of the Rev. Dr. Vermilye, of the Collegiate Dutch Reformed church in New York, and had enjoyed the advantages of a sound theological training. He, as well as the Rev. Mr. Stearns, was a faithful pastor. In the first six years of his pastor- ate his annual numerical increase was twenty-two, while that of ^Ir. Stearns was fifteen. On November 2'ot£st against the action of "the society," which was presented to Presbytery on the 4th of October. He had now " destroyed much good," and after loitering beside the wreck for above two years, he left both it and the Old School denomination, for whom he had done so much, for Hastings, Westchester county, N. Y., on June 12th, 1861, where he united with the Reformed Dutch church. After December 26th, 1858, to see what number might yet be gathered of those who had been spoiled of their church estate, worship was held at intervals in East Boston on Sabbath evenings. This continued for j^ears. In the meantime, in 1862, those who occupied the house called a Congregationalistj the Rev. T. N. Haskel, and he IN NEW ENGLAND. 423 was on December 3d installed. He brought in an element in sympathy with his own views, and as those who had previously worshipped there were nearly all British-born Presbyterians, an effervescence began. The elder who had for years officiated as the superin- tendent of the Sabbath school was set aside by vote, and a native put in charge. This and other matters not in ac- cordance with previous usage prompted not a few to leave. These were called bolters. They were occasionally supplied by the Keformed Presbyterian minister, and as those who had been deprived of their house on January 3d, 1864, commenced in a hired hall, by a sense of duty the prejudices of the former were overcome, and they united with them. On April 19th they asked for suppl}" and a reorganiza- tion, and when on November 13th they were visited by the Eev. G. M. Hall, they so soon rallied around him that on the 19th of December Presbytery granted to them a mod- eration, and he was installed on April 17th, 18G5. Wo have already noticed some of his characteristics and the feebleness of his health. Among the fragments of Presby- terians in East Boston he was considered rather a rigid disciplinarian, and when, on December 26th, 1867, he re- signed, the congregation concurred. We now direct our attention to Lawrence, Mass. In 1845 capitalists here built a dam across the Merrimac, and so rapid was the increase of population, that in 1853 (having the necessary ] 2,000 inhabitants) it was incor- porated as a city. Here, as usual, the "Scuit," "the wan- dering Scot," was soon found. On June 5th, 1854, by one of these, the writer was by letter informed that while a large part of the 300 or upwards of that nationality, then in Lawrence, would on " Sabbath visit and travel in the countr}^," and say " that they would rather stay at home than conform to the American forms of. worship," still some others of them " kept up a weekly prayer-meeting on the old principle of singing Psalms and standing during prayer." " Something," said he, '" must be done soon to save this people from perdition." Consequently on July 2d, 1854, Mr. Alexander McWilliams, a licentiate of the As- sociate Reformed persuasion, commenced conducting pub- lic worship in the Presbyterian order^ and on December 424 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM 19th a church was organized. On August 7th, 1855, Mr. S. F. Thompson, in answer to their call, was ordained and installed pastor. Although he made a good beginning, and was measurably successful, he resigned his pastorate on January 29th, 1857, and on March 25th he left the city. Amidst the severe commercial depression of that year, they called on June 10th the Rev. W. T. McConnell. He did not accept, and they became dependent on supplies until October 18th, 1859, when the Rev. James Dinsmore was installed. His entrance into the ministry was ex- tensively the result of his father's wishes perhaps more than of his own sensG of qualilication for the work. Pres- bytery, at his own request, the congregation concurring, released him on September 15th, 1863. From this date he did not officiate in the niinistry, and being a man of strict integrity and unblemished Christian character, he soon afterwards obtained joermanent employment in the financial department of the house of A. T. Stewart & Co. The congregation gathered from different divisions of the Presbyterian household in North Britain and Ireland did not altogether harmonize in their views of the value of the ordinances of the gospel, and as "thrift " sometimes " follows fawning," some of them became assimilated to their ecclesiastical surroundings. Their prospects for per- manent employment were not diminished by this course. Here Presbytery interposed, dissolved the church, passed the Session roll over to their own clerk, and authorized him to give a certificate to every member in good stand- ing, if they should desire it. All but five or six were so dismissed, and the meeting- house was (for 3' ears) let to the city for school purposes. Hartford, Ct., being near Thompsonville, was supplied with preaching by the Boston Presbytery after February 23d, 1862. That court, on April 15th, in answer to an ap- plication from ninety -four persons, to tliem granted an organization, which was effected on May 6th. One of those who officiated among them was the Rev. Wm. M. Claybaugh. In answer to their call, he was on the day of the national fast, April 30th, 1863, installed as their pastor. His father had been pastor at Chillicothe, and, by the IN NEW ENGLAND. 425 appointment of his Synod, Professor of Theology at Oxford, Ohio. He was pre-eminently a "messenger of God," and as such would be recognized at sight. He in early life (after the death of his mother) suffered much from bodily infirmity, but such was the sweetness of his disposition and the power of his mind, that one of God's " honorable women," a widow, Mrs. Margaret MacLandburgh, of that town, took him under her care, and, with a gentleman of the i^lace, " put him through college." He " was an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures." His son was slow to learn that " there is no royal road to geometry." Hence in his early ministry he had changes. Hartford did not suit him long, and on January 8th, 1865, he resigned his charge. To them the Rev. John M. Heron was appointed supply, and on December 22dhewas by them called. His install- ation took place on January 17th, 1866. Hoping to obtain public worship permanently, the congregation purchased a lot, while they had from year to year on Sabbaths the use of one of the city school-houses. During the next year their pastor was for several months confined to his cham- ber by a severe fever, which eventually for years deprived him of the necessary power and command of his voice. His resignation became a necessity, and the pastoral rela- tion terminated on December 31st, 1867. On May 5th, 1868, they called the Rev. R. M. Patterson, but of their call he did not accept. South Boston. Of the congregation organized on Decem- ber 20th, 1846, several members were residents in this part of the city. Beside the Sabbath services and the weekly meeting for prayer, one of the rulmg elders, Mr. John Tay- lor, the man who believed in imputed guilt and imputed righteousness, for several years conducted evening meetings weekly in South Boston. In these he usually read an in- structive Scriptural essay. In 1864 the attendance had so increased that on May 27th those resident there requested to be recognized as a station and to obtain preaching. The station was opened on October 9th, and supply appointed. An organization was requested on December 19th, and on January 8th, 1865, so soon as they were recognized as a church, they extended a call to the Rev. Wm. M. Clay- baugh. This he accepted on the same day on which he 426 HISTORY OF PRESEYTERIANISM was released from Hartford. The congregation was small but spirited. They appreciated their privileges, but the eastern ecclesiastical atmosphere soon made liim wiser (in his own estimation) than his father was. The principles involved in his ordination vows, in this age of modern conscience, he began to think were too rigid, for he wanted " more liberty," and tendered his resignation on December 2d. In this the congregation concurred on the 1 Sth, which, being on the 26th of December, 1867, made known to Pres- bytery, they officially granted his request. Supply was then to them appointed. Wilkinsonville. Probably no stream of its size in New England furnishes more manufacturing villages in the same number of miles than does the Blackstone river. Among these, Wilkinsonville was early favored with a col- ony possessed of much moral worth from Londonderry county, Ireland. In common with many other expatriated Presbyterians in this region, they found religious usages from which they derived but little spiritual advantage. This continued ifor years, until the Rev. Joseph Cooper, D. D., of Philadelphia, visited them. They were afterwards supplied by members of the As- sociate Presbytery of Albany. In 1855 the church was or- ganized, and on February 28th, 1856, the Rev. James Wil- liamson was installed pastor, and was in this position on May 26th, 1858, when the United Presbyterian Church of North America was constituted. The congregation and its pastor subsequently became identified with the United Presbyterian Presbytery of Bos- ton. The field was limited, yet when manufacturing was prosperous they built a neat place of worship and mani- fested liberality in sustaining ordinances. In the course of years trouble came. Their pastor was possessed of good abilities, a pleasant and a faithful man, until he was overcome with artificial appetite, not with the fearful maelstrom of strong drink, but by an article much more genteel, scholarly and martial in the estimation of too many, by tobacco. To it he fell a slave, and as it brought on delirium tremens^ he became obscene, until facts in the matter were brought before Presbytery. His character was now irretrievably stained, and his usefulness in his pastorate worse than gone, for while he IN NEW ENGLAND. 427 was dismissed on April 20th, 1864, the condition of the congregation, under partisan feeling, had become such that the Presbytery dissolved the church. It is one of the anomalies of modern Christianity (say nothing here of the drunkard's drink) that a pagan vice should be allowed to destroy soul, body and character, even among the ministry of reconciliation, of purity, and of holiness. When James Cartier wintered near where Montreal now stands, in 1535-6, he found among the pagans the disgusting " weed." Such was its control as an artificial stimulant over the stomach of the " poor Indian," that traders of that race brought it, when they brought nothing else, from " the sunny South," and such is its con- trol over thoughtless youth, criminally indulged, that mul- titudes " have their wealth " by the production, prepara- tion and sale of this vile narcotic, while the slaves of this habit are living: under the doom of diminished usefulness, and (as a rule, with comparatively few exceptions) shortened lives. It is only less destructive in its nature and tendencies than opium, over which, as a spectacle before God, angels and men, we have to-day the pagan government of China saying to Britain, the bulwark of Christianity on the earth, as the heathen stands in an imploring attitude in negotia- tion : " Flooding our country with opium from your Indian Empire is with you only ' a fiscal ' matter ; with us it is a matter of conscience." Yes, the feeble, partial pagan con- science at war with Christian cupidit}^ and avarice. This appears to be incredible. In ways not a few, this unclean habit hinders Sabbath sanctification itself, even when the filthy perfume of secu- lar time, by its change of dress, is partially removed. The use of it in j^outh gives no promise of vigorous manhood, even in military life. Hence, not only does Germany pro- hibit the use of it to her coming soldiers, who include her male population, but to the lionor of the United States, her cadets at West Point are prohibited from, by its use, becoming imbeciles ; the prominency and exception of ex-President Grant to the contrar}^ notwithstanding. To the minister of God it imparts no increasingly clear penetration into the mysteries of redeeming love, no angelic tones to his utterances, no " crucifying of the flesh with the 428 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM . affections and lusts " in his own soul, and at times, as in this deplorable one, it gives to the enemies of Christ the opportunit}^ of being " partakers of other men's sins," and presents detiance to the command of him who says to each ambassador of Emmanuel, " Keep thyself pure." To this station supplies were sent, and on September 19th, 1865, a reorganization was granted. Pursuant to a call extended to him, Mr. Philip Young Smith was or- dained and installed pastor on October 28th, 1866. Thus stood the United Presbyterian Presbytery of Bos- ton at the end of this quarter of a century, in 1868. The Reformed Presbyterians. 1843-1868 — Labors of their ministers in Vermont during the first half of this century — Their division about the elective franchise — The set- tlement of ^ir. Beattie in Kyegate and Barnet — Of them families came to Boston about 1848— They met " in society " — Rev. A. Steven- son and others preached to them — Organized as a church — Taking heed to the doctrine — Patrick Hamilton — J as. Renwick— With them the truth of the Bible is invincible — Do not allow collateral systems — Ever ready to associate — In a lew years obtain a pastor — Rev. J. R. Lawson — Rev. Wm. Graham — His cause established by 1868. We have seen their labors at an early day in Vermont, where the Rev. Messrs. McKinney, Gibson, Milligan, Sloan, the Wilsons, Johnston and Shields preached during the first half of the present century to the scattered dwellers in the wilderness, instructing " inquirers into the principles of Bible faith. Christian testimony and social order." We have also alluded to their division about the use of the elective franchue, and noticed that the Rev. James M. Beat- tie was, about 1840, called to be the pastor of Ryegate and Barnet, where he has labored during this quarter of a century. Among others, families of this persuasion came to Bos- ton about 1848-9 and onwards. Beside worshipping occa- sionally (and some of them statedl}^ with the Associate Reformed Church, they (it is believed) generally observed their Sabbath meetings " in society." To them occasion- ally, after May 5th, 1850, the Rev. Andrew Stevenson, of Ne\v York, and others, ministered, and on July 12th, 1854, a church of twenty-one members was organized by a commission of their New York Presbytery. As ministers, IN NEW ENGLAND. 429 in order to " save themselves and their hearers," must with vigilance " take heed to the doctrine," so among this peo- ple " sound doctrine " lies at the foundation of their hopes of heaven and of their associated existence upon earth. To errorists they never " bid Godspeed." In order to know the truth, they have to learn it and to teach it diligently unto their children. From the death of Patrick Hamilton down to the murder of James Renwick, for sixty years, they never did believe that " ignorance was the mother of devotion," and find them where you will, they are believers in " getting understanding." While they possess an average n mount of the knowledge "of science and philosophy, commonly so called," to them the truth of the Bible is invincible and irrefragable. Hence, in teaching it to their children they place little dependence on the less slavish and more genteel way of modern appli- ances outside of the family. They allow no collateral sys- tems to supersede the fulfilment of parental vows, and, while scattered like " two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough," they are ever ready to associate, when opportunity is to them afforded, in Divine Providence. Consequently, for above two 3^ears they labored to obtain a pastor, and over them, on November 20th, 1856, the Rev. James Reed Lawson was installed by a commission of their New York Presbytery. In coming to them for their encouragement, until they might become more steadfast, he left his previous pastoral charge in New Brunswick. To it he returned, and after September 23d, 1857, this vacancy was dependent on sup- plies until the first Sabbath of March, 1860, when Mr. William Graham, a licentiate, commenced to labor among them. To them his services were acceptable, and in answer to their call he was ordained and installed pastor on July 12th of the same year by their New York Presbytery. The membership of the church was then thirty-two. Bringing with him to the work business habits, experience and tact, notwithstanding the apparently exclusive charac- ter of his " form of sound words," he (under the Divine blessing) was prospered as a pastor, and at the end of this quarter of a century, 1868, his cause was firmly established in Boston. 430 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM CHAPTER XV. 1868-1881 — Derry — A monument — An apple-tree — Only an echo re- mained— Blessed are the dead who die in tiie Lord — Londonderry — • Rev. W. House — Kev. L. B. Pert — Fiscally not able — Rev. Ira C. Tyson — Membership — Antrim — Rev. Mr. Bates removed — Variable provender — Twenty poor fellows — Rev. W. Cochrane — Plis roll— Newhuryport — First Church — Rev. C. Durfee — Rev. W. W. Newell, Junior — Eleventh pastor — Rev, Dr. C. C. Wallace — His church roll — Second Church — Rev. Dr. W. M. Baker — Pastor — Supplies — A Metho- dist— Progressive with the youth — Presbytery invoked — The struggle — His name dropped — Membership — Boston — Rev. J. B. Dunn — An- tecedents— He is called — Examined by Presbytery — His humorous account of their action — Farcical procedure — Admitted — Pastor — Outlying Presbyterians — Large numbers — Well entertained — Their gifts praised — A committee — An eclectic field — Rev. Mr. Angler's statement — The executive officer — Twelve departments — Mr. Roe's account — Reception easy — Simplified — The Press employed — His financial skill — Results — Springfield Street Church bought — By men of substance — The loss of the helm — A tour to Cape Breton-^Suc- cessful — "If there was ony way to feed them" — One man demon- strative in devotion to the pastor — Was immersed — Opens a Theologi- cal Seminary — Two other professors — Three students — Results — Books for sale — The enterprise not successful — Novelty, etc., etc, " waxed old "—Great— Must travel— A delegate— Went to "the Old World" — One difficulty met — Made a good sale of Beach Street Church es- tate—Up town now— 2,000 sittings— $90,000— His building— Reli- gious light — Emblems " dedicated " — Chafed — A deacon — Arrearages — The blessedness — Removals — The day of trial — Succumbs to his own crop^Numbers reported — His farewell — Tact its value — So far as he preached the word his ministry was successful — " Shady side '' — Of it nothing said — Engineered a Second Boston Presbytery — The reader can determine — Rev. W. B. Green, Jr. — Installed — In- crease— Decrease — Roll in 1881 — Faithful preaching indicated — Windham — Rev. J. Lanman ordained — In less than four years dis- missed— Rev. C. Packai'd — His installation — Death — Faithful — The age of the church — Its pastors — Beading — Lynn— 'Rev. A. S. Gard- iner, Reading — Installed — House dedicated — Dismissed — Mr. P. M. McDonald called — Ordained — Labors in Boston— Pastor of Reading IN NEW ENGLAND. 431 clmrcli and of Boston chapel — His prosperity — Eoll — East Boston — De Pew — Ackerman — Dr. Kichards — Fitful changes — Edward Annan — The field good — He was faithful — His death — A thing not easily done — A want — An agency — Rev. E. F. Marston — His roll — Springfield Street Church, Boston — Some active men purchased an edifice — Third church organized — Pastor called — Settled — The field a failure — Other services not appreciated — A redundancy — South Boston a failure — A hall hired — Services — Rev. L. H, Angier — Rev. Dr. W. M. Baker — A house built — Debt — Not aided as they ought to have been— Rev. W. H. Sybrandt— Faithful— His roll— The German Pres- byterian church, Laurence, Mass. — The Rev. Augustus H. Hager — His roll and increase — Lowell — Vicissitudes — The Rev. Soltau F. Cal- houn— His services — Rev. R. Court — No other in the city, and he is prosperous — His roll and increase — Providence, R. I. — Tlie Old School party there — Advanced — Built a church — The Gothic contagion — Pay — Rev. J. Dickson initiated — Rev. T. Parry — Some change their colors — Rev. Mr. Morrill recently there — Elders report a roll — Connecticut — 18(58-1881 — Three congregations and a fourth — Encour. aging continuations — Rev. PI. W. Lee in Thompsonville — Nothing un- usual— Short vacancies — Dismissed — Rev. F. Shepherd Barnum — "Working force efficient — Roll — Hartford — Erected an edifice — De- scription of it — An unhappy change — Trouble — Courts invoked — Pew patronage — The pastor's experience — "Seven suits" — Mandamus — Pastor continues — Congregation increases — Roll — Stamford — Rev. A. S.Twombly, from 1868 till 1872— Rev. E. Van Slvke— Rev. R. Vail — Installed — His roll — Bridgeport — Rev. H. S. Hinsdale resigned — • Rev. H. A. Davenport succeeds — Installed in 1878 — His roll — Darien — Rev. J. W. Coleman installed — Resigned — Membership in 1881 — July 7th, 1881, Rev. E. P. Cleaveland installed there — Huguenot Memorial Church — Roll — New Haven — Church organized in 1878 — On account of financial embarrassment abandoned — Greenwich — Per- sons withdraw from Congregational Society — Organized April 26th, 1881 — Elected Rev. Dr. Sawyer their pastor — Roll — New Boston, N.H. — Rev. F. Allen, pastor — His roll. Each of the last six quarters of a century to which our attention has been turned, we have begun with Old Derry. In our last we saw her as to her distinctive principles in doctrine, government and worship, extinguished on her own soil by the quasi theocracy supported by the Athe- nian democracy, which gave specific identity to New Eng- land, socially, civilly and religiously. Before the final spark had fled, it was almost agitated to procure for the germ of all the worth, moral and material of this old niother congregation, a monument. Hence the editor, son of the author, in concluding his history of the town, says: " In regard to the erection of a monument to commemor- 432 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM ate the spot on which the first sermon was preached in Londonderry, it may be remarked, that much interest is felt in the execution of such a work at an early day. It is beheved that a shaft, or ol)eHsk of granite may be com- ])leted for from two to four hundred dollars. The editor is authorized to say, that the sum of fifty dollars may be considered as pledged, provided an additional sum of not less than three hundred dollars is contributed during the year 1851. As an inscription, on the front side, Isaiah xxxii. 2, the text from which the first sermon in this town was preached (under the wide-spreading branches of a venerable oak, which, for more than a century, marked this spot) by the Rev. James McGregor, on April 12th, 1719, would be appropriate. In 1851 Presbyterianism in this town was dead and buried, and the "much interest felt" became a thing of the past. An apple-tree is said to mark the spot as a monument of their Presbyterian worth. In entering on this quarter of a centm-y, we find her eulogy pronounced on the one hundred and fiftietli anniversary of the settle- ment, or on April 12th, 18G9. The orators were the Hon. Charles Bell, Horace Greeley, Dr. Taylor, Professor Patter- son and others. The compilation of their speeches, and other matter pertinent to the occasion, was made by R, C. Mack, Esq., of Londonderry, and forms "a nicely bound book of 124 pages. It has gone into the hands of the antiquarian stores, and is held at high prices." The occasion called out intellectual powers, which it would not be easy to surpass, inherited from the Scotch- Irish; but as to the logic and sound doctrine of "the oppressed brethren," only an echo remained. There was in the town no longer " the voice of rejoicing and of salva- tion, even in the dwellings of the righteous," after the manner of " West Running-brook ; " no longer the singing of " sweet psalms " in the house of the Lord ; no longer "the doctrine of God our Saviour" in the pulpit, which had, even then, become one of the bulwarks of New Eng- land theology ! But " Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord." In Londonderry the Rev. William House, settled Octo- ber 7th, 1857, continued to be pastor till February 26th, IN NEW ENGLAND. 433 1873. His pastorate appears to have been harmonious. The generation were gone who required doctrine, worship and affection between pastor and people of the Rev. David McGregor type. The passing audiences did not receive and hear the doctrine, maintain the worship, nor feel that affection. After two years of spiritual subsistence on sup- ply, the congregation called the Rev. Luther B. Pert. He.was settled over them on February 23d, 1875. In his ministry, it is believed, he was faithful under his cir- cumstances, but the spirit of the land in the last quarter of the nineteenth century overtook him, as well as accumu- lating years, and he was dismissed in September, 1879. " There is that scattereth and yet increaseth." Whether it is religiously so, with this old church, or not, I know not. But a candidate for the vacant pulpit was told, that fiscally the}^ are not able to support a pastor, even while they have the interest of the nine thousand dollar Pinker- ton fund by way of supplement. In the statistical returns for 1881, the Rev. Ira C. Tyson is reported as pastor elect, and the membership is 144. So that, in the one hundred and forty-fifth year of her age, this church is fulfilling her mission. Let it be remembered, however, that the in- scription on Elder Pinkerton's tombstone is no insignifi- cant force or factor in keeping her in her denominational position. From Antrim, N. H., the Rev. Mr. Bates removed in 1866. " For a year and an half this church then lived on the variable provender afforded by candidates. It is said that about twenty of these poor fellows came and went. Some of them were desirable men whom the congregation could not command." On January 1st, 1868, Mr. Warren R. Cochrane (a graduate of Dartmouth) began service here, and was or- dained on March 18th, 1869. Having "another man's line of things made ready to his hand," and, in 1877, a staff of six " deacons " (this word is possibly in the vocabu- lary of the land used here for ruling elders), being now in the vigor of manhood, he is prospering in the Master's work, returning, in 1881, a roll of 260 church members. In the First church, Newburyport, the ninth pastor, the Rev. Charles S. Durfee, was installed September 8th, 1869. His opportunity for leaving any very permanent impres- 28 434 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM sions of the value and power of Divine truth upon his peo- ple was short, as he was dismissed on July 29th, 1872. He was on May 7th, 1874, succeeded by the Rev. Wil- liam W. Newell, Jr. What his antecedents were, I cannot affirm, but his pastorate was acceptable and successful. He resigned on June 3d, 1880, and is officiating as a secre- tary in New York cit3^ The Rev. Charles C. Wallace, D. D., the eleventh pastor since 1746, was, for years, a prominent orthodox Congregationalist pastor at Manchester, N. H. What his type of theology is, is not affirmed, but his beginning has been numerically very favorable. In less than one year, as pastor, he reports a roll of 321, an in- crease over the report of 1880 of 47 members. After continuing as a vacancy for nearly four years, the Second Presbyterian church, Newburyport, called the Rev. William M. Baker, D. D., who was installed on June 20th, 1872. For seventeen years the mantles of Dana and Eells had not fallen on any of his four other predecessors. Their Presbyterianism appears to have been of a very mild type. Consequently, to teach and uphold the doctrine of " salva- tion by grace," he found to be difficult, and he terminated a pastorate of twenty-two months on April 14th, 1874. How far the commercial depression (began on Septem- ber 17th, 1873) affected his people in sustaining ordi- nances, cannot be stated, but, from different causes, they had become " men of like passions with others " in the re- ligious communities by which they were surrounded. Con- sequently, after his departure they had supplies for above three years. Among these, one of the Methodist persua- sion, the Rev. J. A. Bartlett, became attractive, and was in- stalled on July 5th, 1877. He was (in his way) a pro- gressive with the youth and the less informed part of the congregation. New methods, more attractive than preach- ing "the unsearchable riches of Christ," were employed to allure sinners into "the kingdom," and, in a few months, those whose hearts " trembled for the ark of God " had (after much trouble) to invoke the Presbytery for the pre- servation of their ecclesiastical existence. Men in the ministry are at times " held highly in love," not so much " for their work's sake " as for inferior con- siderations. So it was here by the inexperienced, the gay IN NEW ENGLAND. 435 and thoughtless ; and the struggle was not short. Still it was terminated by his dismission by the Presbytery on August 31st, 1879. But not until they had " bitten and devoured one another," and became extensively "con- sumed." For, in 1881, his name does not appear on the roll of the denomination, while the congregation, reduced to a membership of 52, is vacant. Among the variations which occurred during the first half of this quarter of a century, we have to note the ar- rival of the Rev. James Blair Dunn in Boston. He had in New York entered the ministry (according to the Rev. Dr, Baird of his own Synod) at first among the Methodists. He was a ready speaker on temperance subjects, was re- ceived b}^ the New School Presbyterians, and in their con- nection had before 1868 officiated in New York city. The congregation in Boston gathered by the Rev. A. S. Muir, as in connection with the Canadian portion of the Free Church of Scotland, and cared for by the Rev. John Ross and the Rev. Wm. McLaren, since 1858 had from " the Old School party " enjoyed as pastors and stated sup- ply the Rev. Messrs. Magill, Bixby and De Lancy, and it was now vacant. A Rev. Mr. Cochrane, then resident in New Jersey, was wilUng (it was said) to serve them, but took exceptions to the debt of twenty-five thousand dol- lars, at that time resting on their church estate (purchased from the Unitarians by the Rev. Mr. Magill), and it is said recommended his friend to (as they were for years called) " the Beach Street church people." Although he had on previous occasions visited them, his permanent services began with September, 1868. A Mr. Weston had been successful in walking from Maine to Chicago, and from this walk, by drawing an allegory, the preacher as- tonished his hearers, and with eacn succeeding Sabbath "still the wonder grew," until before the equinox he had become the man of their choice. The Londonderry Presbytery had long held one of its stated meetings on the last Wednesday in October, but in order to expedite a call and settlement, by examining and admitting this gentleman, for a certificate of official standing was not then a sufficient passport from the New to the Old School division, that court was convoked to meet in Boston before the first day of said month. 436 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM Of the members from the rural districts, the moderator, the Rev. Mr. House, of Londonderry, and the Rev. Dr. Allen, from Marblehead, attended. A working force was improvised by calling to their aid some three or more pas- tors from the orthodox churches of the city. Dr. Allen was a Calvinist, " a master in Israel," and Mr. House in- sisted that he should examine the candidate. This duty fell officially on the moderator, who, but too fairly, represented the shrivelled court by asking as a first question, " Mr. D. Are there more Gods than one ? " This and the next one were answered satisfactorily. But '' the decrees " disturbed their harmony, and " the special act of providence " in the twelfth question in the New England primer being to some of them a " foolish and an unlearned question, gendered strife." The applicant was a master of tact, and as two consider- ations pressed upon his mind, the fear that he might be interrogated through the book, and that his suspense might last till " the going down of the sun," he of the de- baters began to ask questions. This flank movement pro- tected him, but it did not stay their sectarian rancor. " Did all mankind fall in Adam's first transgression ? " when by him answered aroused in some of them "the wrath of man." They " waxed valiant in fight." This could not be controlled when it was asked, " Wherein con- sists the sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell ? " Polemic " New England theology " against Calvinism, with the aid of the opinions of the New School Presbyterian ap- plicant, made their " anger fierce." " Brotherly love," even of the type of " Joab and Amasa," and the quasi Presby- tery now "shook hands and parted." For when the question was reached, "What is the misery of that estate whereinto man fell ?'^' it was no longer, " Blest be the tie that binds," but the termination of their associated work. They fell "out by the way," and separated. With this question unanswered, the applicant was admitted. The combatants ceased before they had completed " the first man Adam " and the history of his covenant. " The second man, the Lord from heaven," although it was supposed that as a Presbytery they had constituted by his " power " and " in his name,' they did not reach. The electing love of God in Christ Jesus, his person, of- IN NEW ENGLAND. 437 fices and work, and the application of "his redemption to men by the Holy Spirit were not overtaken. The applicant afterwards gave " the conclusion of the matter " to the late Rev. John Brash in this way : " They began by asking me if there were more Gods than one ? and left me in a state of misery. In this condition they admitted me, and I am a good Old School Presbyterian." This farcical procedure shewed how far a part of the actors " had learned Christ," how far they had " been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus," how competent or otherwise a majority of them were to "take care of the house of God," and just to what a degree the charity of the last half of the nineteenth century will subserve or maintain '* sound doctrine," promote the salvation of souls and the glory of Jehovah. If historical truth did not demand it, gladly would I say, " Publish it not in the streets of Askelon." Thus admitted to Presbytery and placed in charge of the congregation, he spread himself out in eclectic style. Be- side the one hundred and ten members brought there by the Rev. Mr. Bixby from the Pine street orthodox church, and outlying Presbyterians gathered in by his predeces- sors, colonial agitations providentially favored him. The confederation of the provinces forming Canada was ex- ceedingly disagreeable to many persons, especially in Nova Scotia. They by it believed their prosperity to be retarded, and large numbers in the morning of manhood and womanhood left their Presbyterian homes, and came to Boston. Having (in man}^ cases) no well-informed conscientious views of " truth " and " sound doctrine," much less of " a pure offering " of the appointed praise to God in worship, the name Presbyterian was to them too generally enough, while they were well entertained with a teacher in "gown and bands," and associated with a large compound congre- gation " rejoicing at the sound of the organ." He praised the people for their gifts in prayer. He arranged prayer- meetings for the junior men and women in juxtaposition of place and time, so that when their devotions were ended, they readily met one another. Beside this, a committee were employed to see the ladies home. For a Mr. Philip, who had left his betrothed in 488 HISTORY OF' PRESBYTERIANISM Scotland, this duty of continued escort lost its charms. He would not " be won by the conversation of " the ladies, and he left them. This pastor entered the eclectic ecclesiastical field so freely in his arrangements under the Presbyterian name, that in addressing his people once on a convivial occasion, the Rev. Mr. Angier, then supply of the South Boston Presbyterian Church, said to them, " You here in Beach street, are substantially Presbyterians; you are part or- thodox Congregationalists, and you have adopted the best parts of Methodism. This makes you a strong church, and that is what you are." According to rules noted by a Mr. Roe, which he adopted, "the pastor considered himself the executive of- ficer and leader of the church, and every member, either as officer or private, had something to do." The work was arranged in twelve departments, and the numerical increase was very great. In three years (according to Mr. Roe) the church had added to its roll the names of six hundred and fifty persons. His process of reception was easy. " How do you feel^ Mr. A. ? " answered all purposes in one case. His require- ments for admission became not a little simplified after the reunion of the New and Old School parties, on No- vember 12th, 1869, when an "assent to a creed" was no longer considered to be necessary, excepting for ministers, elders and deacons. If this had been the manner of the Old School before the reunion, the church rolls of his predecessors might have been much larger. He also employed the press to advantage, not only by inserting on Saturday, under some odd designation, the topic for Sabbath, but as one of his elders was on an ed- itorial staff, a scholarly presentation of his subject was very generally given on Monday. Beyond all this ability in ecclesiastical administration, his financial skill was su- perior. Here he was "the executive officer and leader of the church " also. Under his plastic hand the finances increased from about $2,000 previously, so as to secure to him in three years $5,000 per annum. " Riding the whirlwind " of prosperity was, however, easier than " directing the storm " which it raised. In co- IN NEW ENGLAND. 439 operation with him, men of substance bought a church es- tate on Springfield street, over which (as in " Beach Street church ") he endeavored to " consider himself the exec- utive officer and leader." Men are creatures of opinion, and others did not thus view the enterprise. The loss of the helm became a heavy strain on his am- bition ; his " strength became weakened in the way," and with his phj^sician (Dr. W.) he made his first tour for re- cuperation to Cape Breton. As " nothing succeeds like success," not a few ministers in that region consigned their members to his care, and to him in autumn they came by scores. This process was (during another summer) re- peated with success. The increase of his charge from all these appliances was decidedly very great. So much so, that an intelligent Calvinist, from Belfast, told the writer, " We are getting in large numbers, if there was ony way to feed them." He had not a few who were ready to " say amen at his giving of thanks," but one of these, who gave more de- monstrative evidence than others (boldly declaring that *' Mr. D. was the man, every sermon which he preached converted a soul "), after a few years thus extolling his pastor, was immersed. Not content with the duties of the pastorate, in imita- tion of the Rev. Charles Spurgeon, he opened a theologi- cal seminary. Assuming the position of president, from the Rev. Dr. Hodge's Lectures as a text-book, he gave his weekly pre- lections. The Rev. Soltau F. Calhoun, then of Lowell, filled the chair of languages, and the Rev. Mr. Gardner, of Jamaica Plains, as a third professor, supplemented all needed instruction not given by the othei^s. Three pupils sat " at the feet of these three doctors of the law." One of these, trained (near d'Alsace) under a parental roof, where family worship was maintained, " evening, and morning and at noon," had acted as a preacher among the regular Baptists before he united with this pastor's church. He had also sought licensure from the First Boston Pres- bytery. But as they required the equivalent of a course of study at a college, he withdrew, and not knowing that " there is no royal road to geometry," he sought it here. Work, church work, Bible reading, services of song and 440 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM lay preaching were now in vogue extensively, as substitutes for " the work of the ministr}^," and he thought to transcend these by a course of study at Beach street. The others also were men " desiring a good work, the office of a bishop." The grace of novelty gradually wore of, and as the professors found only toil in the enterprise, it was abandoned. Mr. A. resumed his " craft " as a car- ver, Mr. M. his " occupation " as a carpenter, and Mr. W. was afterwards settled as a minister in a Free-will Baptist congregation in South Boston ! To make so much inculcation effective, Calvinistic books were entrusted by the business superintendent of the Board of Publication at Philadelphia to a Mr. F. W. Walsh, who attempted (it would almost seem ) " to beard the lion in his den," by exposing them for sale in a part of the " Wesleyan Association Building" in Boston. "Ar- minianism had," a century before, " become respectable" in New England, and now in its geometrical ratio, amidst its varied ramifications and products on the common mind, this enterprise could be but a little more hopeful, than the case of the winter traveller on the uninhabited prairie, when he strikes his last match to kindle brush to keep himself from perishing. Beside Mr. W. a saleswoman was employed, wages ran on, the sales did not become extensive, and the enterprise, like almost any other instrumentality Avhich, there, would bring men to a knowledge of " the truth as it is in Jesus, was chilled off.* Mr. W. seems to have been a failure, and when his stock was scattered, the manuscript records of former Presbyteries, lodged there by the thoughtless custodian, were lost. One volume of them was afterwards discovered and restored by a clergyman of the Baptist persuasion. Beside this volume (as their clerk informed me) they have no records anterior to 1869. This were an irretrievable loss, if said minutes had not been copied. Novelty, agitation, sociables, receptions, concerts, pic- nics. Roe's arrangements and sensationalism had now been invoked ; but, not having the abiding character of doctrinal truth, they ''waxed old." With the pastorate, the semi- *]N. B. — ^The books of that Board can there still be obtained at the Congregationalist House on Beacon street. IN NEW ENGLAND. 441 nary and book-store, beside (for a season) a parochial reading-room on his hands, he became great, and to re- cuperate, if not to become greater, he must travel. Hav- ing previously persuaded his General Assembly, that he was the fit representative man of their denomination beyond any other, to appear before similar church courts in North Britain and Ireland, and the equal of the Rev. Dr. Cuyler, " whose praise is in all the churches," he, early in March, 1872, proceeded to Europe, Africa and Asia. By weekly paying communications to a good paper in Boston, and, of course, his expenses to and from Great Britain borne by those who sent him, his expenditures were not severe. In the meantime he garnered enough of the " Footsteps of St. Paul " to form many a popular dis- course after his return. One difficulty had in the previ- ous year crossed his path. Some persons, familiar with the writings of the late Rev. R. M. McCheyne, thought they could trace an anal- ogy bordering on identity, between a manual of that au- thor and one published by this pastor over his own name. Some of those embarked in the Springfield Street church enterprise were credited with this discovery. They had now refused his counsel, and went the length to say, that in that church they " must have an educated man." From his mission he returned in time to aid in making a most advantageous sale of the Beach Street church estate. At some twelve dollars, or so, per each foot square, it brought $115,000. By applying to a judge of the "Supreme Court in Chambers," he sanctioned the sale and gave to the city a title, while the city attorney de- clared, that in no other way, as Presbyterians, could they give a reliable deed. The debt of $25,000 was now re- moved, and the city afterwards sold the part not taken to widen the street, for less than five dollars per foot square. " Up town " had been the idea with him, so that he might allure the dwellers in the " Back Bay " mansions to be- come Presbyterians. The " Court in Chambers," when it created for the city a title to the church site, sanctioned their occupancy by the congregation of a selected lot. The new building must have a capacity for two thousand sitters, or it would not please the pastor. After keeping 442 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM him at bay for a year, during which time they hired a Baptist church, their house was finally constructed to seat twelve hundred and forty persons, leaving a lot unoccu- pied. Entering the market with ninety thousand dollars, and having the material, stone, brick, iron and wood con- tained in their former edifice to use, they ought to have completed a house large enough for anything there under the Presbyterian name, but it was otherwise. The struc- ture has four gables and on each of the north and west ones he placed a massive stone cross, while the steeple was carried up to the summit of the roof and remains a monument of higher aspirations, even far above the in- tended one hundred and sixty feet of spire. Among " Bos- ton notions " you can, in Boylston street, buy " religious goods." "Religious goods" must, in order to glorify God and save souls, be exposed to use under " religious light," and they cannot all be placed in one market. Some of them must be put in position, before they are consecrated and enjoyed religiousl}^; such as vestries (2 Kings x. 22), altars, organs, holy water, baldachins and bells. Nearly all others, probably, may be found at the counter. " Religious light" is costly, yet two large windows from the street, not unlike " extravasated blood," were put, one in the north and one in the west wall. " In one are em- blems of the Lamb, Bible, Cross and Crown, Alpha and Omega, and two fine figures of Matthew and Mark ; in the other, the emblems are the Cup, Anchor, Dove, /. H. S.j and the other evangelists." The old Unitarian " organ became essentially new by new adornments, frescoed pipes, greater capacit}^ and en- largement." All this was " dedicated " on January 5th, 1877. Failing to see Presbyterian scriptural simplicity in these decorations, the people allowed him to extensively use his own means in the purchase. This chafed him anew, v/hile twenty thousand dollars more had to be borrowed to pay up till 1876, the date cut on the house-corner. On a second mortgage six thousand dollars additional were obtained, while fifteen hundred dollars, to cover a " float- ing " debt, had the endorsement of one of the deacons (a man of substance) on the note of the committee. The in- terest of this the deacon ceased to pay, by having the un- IN NEW ENGLAND. 443 occupied portion of the church lot sold for two thousand dollars. This relieved him, but it only reduced the ar- rearages claimed to fifteen hundred dollars. " The bless- edness they spoke of," and the " plucking out of eyes to give to " him in former years (Gal. iv. 15), were now float- ing into the past. Removals from the city, although numerous, were not the only cause of decrease in his numbers. Popery drew back, perhaps, but one of those taken from her fold ; the other two persuasions, of Presbyterians a few, while the Methodists, the Episcopalians, and several of the Congre- gationalist species, such as the Orthodox, Baptists, Ply- mouth Brethren and Unitarians came each in for a share. Trips to Florida were now of no permanent avail. Dis- appointnient was upon him, and his health failed in the day of trial. He had undertaken a twenty-five thousand dollar enterprise on September 1st, 1868, and had now to succumb to the crop produced by the seed sown by his own hand. To his Assembly, in May, 1878, he reported a church membership of 1,100; to the same court, in 1879, he re- ported 610, and on September 28th, 1879, he preached to , them his farewell discourse. Tact, even when aided by modern inventions, in professedly proclaiming the gospel, will not, without "the doctrine of God our Saviour," faith- fully preached, be owned by the Holy Spirit in applying "the redemption purchased by Christ" to immortal souls. In so far, as he " preached the word," his ministry was blessed and successful. Of the "shady side" I say nothing, and only further state, that, in 1869, he engineered a new Presbytery into existence. The old historic one, Londonderry, having ex- isted (off and on) about 124 years at the above date, he, and those associated with him, were pleased to have called the Presbytery of Boston. The Synod having, jurisdiction over the Presbytery to which the Rev. Robert Annan and the Federal Street church belonged in 1785, had, on July 11th, 1854, consti- tuted the Boston Presbytery. It might not have been to eclipse the first, that the second one held its stated meet- ings on the same day of the same month, which had for years been chosen by the other. " Peradventure, it was 444 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM an oversight." How much increase of spiritual volume and power, Presbyterianism and " the truth as it is in Jesus," received through it in those eleven years by his instrumentality, I do not profess to say. The reader, for himself, can determine. On June 4th, 1880, the Rev. W. Brenton Greene, Jr., was ordained and installed as his successor. The salary was razeed to $2,000 per annum, and the church (notwith- standing the increase of its debt) when vacant rolled up numbers, reporting in May, 1880, 688 members, or an in- crease of seventy-eight over the last year of the pastor's ministrations. While all the Rev. Mr. Greene's antecedents were most favorable, and his future is very promising, yet his case shews a lack of judgment but too often witnessed in call- ing a pastor. Instead of (in this large congregation) selecting one who from years of previous study and inurement to worry, could *" endure hardness," the inexperience of youth was chosen for the forefront of the hottest battle, and whether, from the continued reaction of the '' Tabernacle," the turgid state of the previous pastor's roll (if purged) from removals or deaths, notwithstanding the admission of thirty-four on examination, and fifty by certificate (a fine increase) his return to his assembly in May, 1881, was only 402, or 286 less than at his induction. These results would there indicate the faithful preaching of " the truth as it is in Jesus," and not the " prophesying of smooth things." Windham, N. H. On June 2d, 1868, the Rev. Joseph Lanman was ordained over this church. He was not par- ticularly successful, and the relation was dissolved on February 6th, 1872. The Rev. Charles Packard was installed on April 29th, 1873, and died on February 20th, 1881, leaving a widow and three children. The church, during its existence of one hundred and thirty-nine A^ears, has had eight pastors, and he was the fifth who has died among that people. Fifty -three were added to the church during his min- istry. As a pastor he was faithful. The four elders re- turn to the Assembly a roll of 136. In his days of upward and onward the Rev. J. B. Dunn IN NEW ENGLAND. 445 had a station opened in Lynn, Mass. His ambition was to " hive off a church even^ year." The enterprise was not successful. Neither was one of a similar kind commenced in Jamaica Plains, where the Rev. Abraham S. Gardiner preached for a time. He, Rev. Mr. Gardiner, then ren^oved to Reading, Mass., and preached some seven times in 1872, and in autumn, on request, took charge of the new enterprise. At its or- ganization, the church consisted of twenty members. The Rev. Mr. Gardiner was then chosen pastor, and in- stalled on May 7th, 1873. Their " society " was incorpor- ated in June. An edifice was begun in October, and it was dedicated on February 26th, 1874. In August, 1875, the pastor resigned. About the 1st of September, 1875, Mr. P. M. McDonald was invited to supply the pulpit. On September 3d, 1871, a prayer-meeting in the Gaelic language was begun in the lecture hall of the United Presbyterian Church in Boston by a Mr. Ewen McDougall, assisted by others, which was very beneficial to scores in the city, who but imperfectly understood preaching in English. This prospered for years, and as it was the mother tongue of Mr. McDonald, when he came to Reading, he took these people under his care. When he was ordained, he was installed pastor of the church in Reading and of the chapel in Boston (nine miles apart) on June 15th, 1876. The meeting-house in Reading cost six thousand dollars, the lot and one thousand w^ere given by Mr. B. Boyce, and the pastor, by giving five hundred himself, was enabled by exertion to see the whole amount paid. The attendance at the chapel on Sabbath evenings has in- creased yearly, and when the meeting-house rented from the German Reformed Church became too small, they removed in 1881 into the church in Springfield street, for- merly (for a season) occupied by the congregation gath- ered by the Rev. John H. Munroe, now pastor of the Cen- tral Church, Philadelphia. The pastor reports from Read- ing a membership of 152. East Boston. The Rev. M. A. De Pew, who was installed July 11th, 1867, resigned, and his resignation was accepted July 12th, 1869. The Rev. E. P. Ackerman was called on 446 HISTORY OP PRESBYTERIANISM the same day, but his health so failed that he could not accept, and he left in about two months. On January 19th, 1870, the Rev. Dr. James Richards was called. He was installed on February 9th, 1870, and his resignation was accepted on February 5th, 1872. After these fitful chancres, Divine Providence next sent to this congregation the Rev. Edward Annan, a faithful man, and much blessed his ministry. The field was a good one, and it was well tilled. During his years of labor here (for he had been previously pastor of a church in Halifax, Nova Scotia), his health tailed, and as he saw his own " strength weakened in the way," to the .utmost of his ability he "ceased not to warn every one" to be "readv." From April 2d, 1872, he "occupied" till January 10th, 1878, when in the midtime of man's allotted days he entered into rest. Churches are directed to remember and follow the faith of those who have spoken to them the word of God, but where " an Athenian democracy " permeates the religious mind, this is not easily done. This people had now^ to look for another pastor, and while hundreds of excellent men in the denomination are " standing idle in the market," apparently from the want of a judicious arrange- * ment, the supply and demand are not properly at all times brought into contact. Hence even those of another persuasion may step in, as did Bartlett in Newburyport, and obtain the confidence of a people. So many who are not pastors desire labor, that an agency is kept in Boston to meet supply and de- mand,' and on an application here the Rev. F. E. Mars- ton, of the State persuasion, was obtained. He preached "another gospel" from Annan, but the children (it was said) liked him. He obtained a call on October 1st, and was installed on the 14th of that month in 1878. In May, 1881, he reports a roll of 260 members. Springfield Street church, Boston. As has been stated, some active men connected with Beach street congregation in January, 1870, purchased the Congregational church on this street, then not occupied. In it, on the 3d day of February, 1870, the third church of the Reunited order was organized. While they fully IN NEW ENGLAND. 447 appreciated the activity of the pastor of Beach street, they aimed to have here pulpit talent of an high order, and carrying forward their purpose, a merchant on business in Britain went over to Ireland, and hearing the Rev. John H. Munroe, on his report, when returned, this congregation extended to him a call to their pastorate. This he accepted, and while he brought to the position unexceptionable fitness, it was at an early day discovered that there was too little suitable material in his field of labor, and the future there was not bright with inducements for him to remain in Boston. After making " full proof of his ministry " there for sixteen months, he accepted a call in Philadelphia. This congregation had also the services of the Eev. Dr. Wm. A. McCorkle for some time, and did not expire from the want of talent in the pulpit, but from the mental and social nature of its surroundings, connected with the fact that but a few of the hearers could appreciate tlie talent which they enjoyed in the house of prayer. It was at best a redundancy. South Boston. After the failure of Claybaugh in this ward, the Rev. John Brash labored in it for a season, and when he left Presbytery appointed the Rev. George Clark (pastor of East Boston) as moderator of session. He was informed by a man of promise, who became a failure, that if the United Presbyterians placed another man there, he would hire a hall and establish an opposition. The men employed as above became extensively assimilated to their surroundings, and the field was dropped. As there were not a few Presbyterians resident in that part of the city who found it inconvenient to attend any of the churches in the city proper, a hall was hired, and the Rev. L. H. Angier labored for years as supply. After the church was organized, they extended a call to the Rev. Dr. Wm. M. Baker, who labored among them some years. His subsistence was not superabundant among them, and eventually separation came. They also undertook the enterprise of building a place of worship, in which they ought to have been liberally aided by their de- nomination, but it was not so. Having a few men of busi- ness and of substance, they obtained as pastor the Rev. Wm. H. Sybrandt, who for years has occupied faithfully, and returns a roll of 112 members in May, 1881. 448 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM Beside the English-speaking people, occasionally Ger- mans are collected into Presbyterian churches. One of this nationality has for years existed in Lawrence, Massa- chusetts, and in May, 1881, their ])astor, the Rev. Augustus H. Hager, presents a roll of 127 members, having during the year 1880 had an increase of fifteen. In Loivell Presbyterianism has had vicissitudes. After the fiilse pretenses of the Rev. John Robertson in 1868, the Rev. Soltau F. Calhoun supplied the station here for some time in 1870-72. But his services were not acceptable to all his hearers. They were more fortunate with his successor, the Rev. Robert Court. They years ago purchased a place of wor- ship, and as there is no other Presbyterian church in the city, they are prosperous. He returns a roll of 170 mem- bers, with an increase of twenty-six in 1880. In Providence, R. 1. As we have seen in the last quarter of a century— 1843-1868— the " Old School party " occu- pied for years. Since the reunion they have advanced — have built a church, and have had ministerial labor. The Gothic contagion, so prevalent in New England, of build- ing God and his people out of doors, they have not es- caped. The beam out of the wall or timber cries, "Debt, debt. Pay what thou owest." To them the Rev. J. Dickson came and became initiated fully in the labor and worry incident to the work of a Presbyterian clerg3^man in New England. A few years of such a peculiar position were enough. After his departure, the Rev. Thomas Parry served them in the gospel for some years. Not only the fluctuating character of the Presbyterian population in this, as in other cities in New England, im- peded progress in the work of the kingdom, but, it is be- lieved, that of those indebted to those forces which unify the Scotch in Scotland, viz., the Psalms and Shorter Cate- chism, not a few have changed their colors and enlisted under other banners. Social life has its forces as well as the gospel. The Rev. George W. Morrill has not yet had oppor- tunity to there " make full proof of his ministry." The elders return from this vacancy a roll of 150 members in 1881. IN NEW ENGLAND. 449 New Boston, N. iJ.— At this date, 1868-1881, the Rev. Frank H. Allen is pastor, and returns a roll of 137 mem- bers. Bedford, K H. — Vacant; in May, 1881, the nine elders return a roll of 141. From South Ryegate, Vt. — Vacant ; the six elders return a roll of 107. Litchfield has one elder who returns a roll of 16, and re- ports two adult baptisms during the last year. By the generosity of some person they have an annuity, and can obtain supplies for a part of the time. Total members reported by Presbytery of Boston, in Mav, 1881, 2,687. Total in the seven churches reported in Connecticut in 1881, 1,127. Total, 3,814. Connecticut. — As we have seen, " three of the congrega- tions, formed more recently in this State, have ceased to exist, and a fourth has joined another ecclesiastical body.'* Yet, in entering on this quarter of a century we have en- couraging continuations. As successor to the Rev. Dr. Adams in Thompsonville, the Rev. Henry Ward Lee was installed on July 13th, 1869. Nothing unusual marked his incumbency, and he was dismissed on December 20th, 1873. During these short vacancies no stated supply was en- gaged ; they were filled weekly, and on July 20th, 1874, the Rev. Frederic Shepard Barnum was installed. Al- though Po})ery has control over a large percentage of the population, and other denominations have societies in the village, 3'et the working force in this church is efficient, for tliey had, in 1881, a membership of 244. Of the Presbyterian church in Hartford we have seen the history for seventeen years. They now (1868) occupy a chapel at the cost of $17,000. Between July 12th, 1869, and May 17th, 1870, they erected, in so far, an edifice, leaving the tower unfinished. " The building is of Connecticut granite, with trimmings of Ohio and Portland stone, and in an area of above 7,000 square feet (or 123 by 57 feet), the audience room will seat about 600 people. With an organ at $2,800, the total cost of the lot and buildings (so f^ir as finished) was, when opened, $67,948.62 " (or about $113 for each sitting). That perpetual motion, " the prince of the power of the air," 29 450 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM while they were occupying "a plain, comfortable brick building, capable of seating some 750 people, and well adapted to the wants of the congregation," i)erhaps had notliing to do with this enterprise, of changing it for a seating capacity of about 600. Here pride did not " come before destruction," but before trouble. " Contention (was now) meddled with." The courts, ecclesiastical and civil, were invoked. The "Athen- ian democracy was in the mould of the society " by pew patronage. The pastor, being a Pcnnsylvanian, supposed that the property of a Presbyterian congregation should (as is the case generally out of New England) be under the control of the churcl) ; but trustees, appointed by its members, in an organized capacity, the State did not here recognize. The pew parish (or society) and its a})pointees, not trus- tees or deacons, chosen by the elders and other members of a church, must shut or open " the doors of the house of God." Tlie pastor, in common with other Presbyterians, profoundly ignorant of the fact, had to "come to the knowledge of the truth " in this bitter way, in which not less than "seven suits have been instituted," and, "in March, 1877, the trustees Avere sustained by mandamus.'^ It is not easy to estimate the loss suffered by " pure and undefiled religion " through these unfortunate proceedings by which Presbyterianism has here l>een " wounded in the house of her friends." Still, the pastor continues, the church increases, and in 1881 he reports a roll of 280 members. In Stamford, New School, the Rev. Alexander S. Twom- bly, on April 30th, 1868, entered as pastor, and continued in office till Mav 1st, 1872, followed by the Pvev. Evert van Slyke, April 23d, 1873, who officiated till October 6th, 1875. The present pastor, Rev. Richard P. H. Vail, was installed on May 11th, 1876, and to his assembly, in 1881, reported a membership of 297. In Bridgeport^ Old School, the Rev. Horace S. Hinsdale resigned his charge on October 4th, 1877. His successor, the Rev. Henry A. Davenport, w^as installed February 14th, 1878. In 1881, to the Assembly, he reported a member- ship of 198. In Darienj New School, the pastor, the Rev. James W. IN NEW ENGLAND. 451 Coleman, installed March 4th, 1864, resigned his pastorate January 4th, 1874. Membership, in 1881, 40. On July 7th, 1881, the Rev. E. P. Cleaveland was ordained and in- stalled pastor, Huguenot Memorial church, 37. The First Presbyterian church of A^ew Haven was organ- ized b}^ the Presbytery of Westchester, March 11th, 1873. This year began a vast financial embarrassment, and it became necessary on this account to abandon the enter- prise. By the same court the church was dissolved on January 19th, 1875. At Greemvich, Fairfield county, thirty-two persons with- drew from the Second Congregational Society of the town, and they were, on April 26th, 1881, by the Presbytery of Westchester, organized as a church. They have since elected the Rev. Rollin A. Sawyer, D. D., as their pastor. Membership, May, 1881, 31. 1868-1881— U. P. Church of Boston— Hopes diminishing— Build or abandon — Two other branches — Want of success — Xew poetry ad- vised— The cure — Any could find their position — Inducements to abandon were realities — Hindrances — The flock — Resolved (D. V.) to build — Lot — Church and two dwellings erected — Favorable inter- positions— Trustees of the Assembly — Reincorporated — Powers — Con- gregation prospered — Interest and debt— 1873, commercial depression — Churches pray — Lindell and the organ — "Musical pioneer" — In- crease of Popery in Boston — The organ-loft divides — Not satisfactory — Moody — His tabernacle — His services — A religious lady's view of Sankey — An unsettling tendency — Moody's "talk" — Newman Hall's estimate of Moody's results — Seed sown in four places — Resnlts — Two days' attendance in orthodox churches — No supposed aids wanting — The pioneer Presbyterian church suflfered — Yet it stood the shock — Doctrine taught — Versions — Garnering — No surplus veneration — Our debt — Its consequences — Some had no sympathy — A goodly price — This tried people — Trustees and Boards to report in 1880 — Their plans and report — Pastor must go and pay debts — Or the sale might become a fact — Double toil — An optimist — The congregation aston- ished— None asked him to resign — Did so June 29th — Licensed June 28th, 1830 — Progressives now to adopt new methods — Congregation had been prospering — Force spent — Never disabled for duty — He must now stop — Relation dissolved — Not to disturb he removed — His course of pastoral life unusual — Nothing popular — Only the riches of Christ and the word of God — This the Spirit honors— At the end of thirty-four years he leaves one priest and two Unitarian doctors in Boston who were there before him — He must go, for the increase was less than some other years — This not so — His disadvantages — His success — Boasting excluded — Divine appointment reigns — Rev. John Hood — Installed — Thompsonville — A pastor settled— Set off by Synod 452 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM to New York Presbyter v — East Boston — Kev. G. M. Clarke — Trouble came — fie sowed seeds of discord — Tlie clnirch roll — East Boston and Hartford dissolved by Presbvtery in 1873 — Providence — Rev. J. P. Robb — Released — Mr. M.S. McCord called — Ordained and installed — An intelligent people — He makes lull proof — Roll — Fall River — Rev. J. R. Kyle — Had for a time competition — An Asyium — Rev. J. H. TurnbuU — Installed — Roll increased — Wilkinsonville — Rev. P. Y. Smith — Continues pastor — His roll — Whitinsville—'Rev. R. Hark- ness — The })eople not peaceable — He left — The church dissolved — Reorganized — Mr. James L. Thompson called, ordained and in- stalled— The church prospering — His roll — Lawrence — Rev. John Hogg — Successful — In harmony with the "dissenters" of 1867, in the McCune case — McCune's changes — Tried by church courts — Leaves Presbyterianism — Becomes orthoilox in IVxas — As "acting pastor'- — "Dissenters" — Who sympathized with McCune — In some views — Overtures — On the psalms — To pave the way for organs — Tunes prepared — Children "clamour for sprightly music" — Accom- modated— With fragments called "Bible Songs" — Actions and opin- ions— "A very serious error" — The demand met — Overture to paVe the way for organs — Mr. Hogg insubordinate — Mr. A. G. McCoy's view of the church — Rev. John A. Burns faithful — Dr. McAyeal — His view of versions — His roll — If^ains were taken — The old version would be most efiective — Presbytery of Vermont — Barnet — Rev. John Seivice pastor — Vacant — Rev. R. X. Hammond — Installed — Con- tinues— Roll — Ryejate — Rev. A. Y. Houston pastor till 1875 — Rev. J. R. Clapperton installed — Released — His roll — Greensboro — Vacant long — Rev. A. S. Stewart installed — His resignation — Vacant — Roll — To complete we require information— None would then be unno- ticed— A supposition — The whole membership and adherents — Others careless — Thousands with other persuasions — Men of Israel help — Who will care for their souls? Boston. — As the United Presbj^terian congregation of Boston entered on this quarter of a centur}^ they found their hope of recovering their property diminishing, and the alternative was presented, build an house for public worship, or abandon the field. They had, in twenty-two years, entered their seventh hired hall and paid nearly ten thousand dollars for rent. It is doubtful if any other congregation in the city w^ould have shewn equal steadfastness to principle under so many disadvantages and discouragements. Two other branches of the Presbyterian family were now competing in the field, and in two divisions (in East and South Boston) they had had more than one experiment of their own " progres- sive" element in the U. P. Church, and their want of suc- cess, just as they became assimilated to their surround- ings, in doctrine and worship. IN NEW ENGLAND. 453 Pastor and people were continually urged to become more popular ; if not to obtain an organ, at least to adopt new poetry to please the floating population; to remember that " the days of the catechism " and the psalms were past; to say nothing against any error, or corrupt system, at the risk of being branded as bigots. The cure for all this, however, was to teach the people "the first principles of the oracles of God," and to shew, that we had not " ap- pointed any new thing contrary to what he had com- manded;" in short, to keep pure and entire all such "reli- gious worship and ordinances as God has appointed in his word." Consequently, if any were dissatisfied they could find their position in one of the varied fields of dogma, lying between " sound doctrine " and the opinions of the advocates of " advanced thought." Still, the inducements to abandon the field were reali- ties. The fluctuating character of the people especially, who in many cases only remained long enough to procure the means to carry them elsewhere, Wius truly discourag- ing. In this way there can be traced into sixteen States of the Union, the difterent Provinces of Canada, to Aus- tralia, to Mexico, to St. John's, Antigua, to Ireland, to London, to Berwick upon Tweed, to Glasgow, to Paisley, to Perth and elsewhere, individuals, who for a season wor- shipped with us ; while others, indebted to Presbyterian training for their moral character, the basis of their use- fulness and material prosperity, when they became no- ticed for their possessions, were in some cases induced to place themselves with the more rich and gay. Where such persons were parents, their daughters readily " went out to see the daughters of the land," and their sons easily " pleased themselves with the children of strangers," in- stead of seeking "the plighted partners of their future lives " among their own persuasion. Among the hindrances to " the work of the ministry " here, as elsewhere, mixed marriages were not the least. In all such cases, as a rule, it is believed that proper parental training "gains much harm and loss." At times the children, for whom, before God, angels and men, parents, by vows, acknowledged their responsibility at "the judgment-seat of Christ," were allured by some other denomination. 454 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM Other inducements to abandon the field were not want- ing, but "the flock" belonged to the Master, and although neither rich, nor numerous, they were not only valuable as the professed followers of the Saviour, but they formed a nucleus for future fellowship for those who might, like many of themselves, yet come to the city. Here we were met by the fact, that it was hopeless for those then and there in fellowship to attempt the enter- prise alone. Still, we resolved (D. V.) to ask aid and to build. On September 1st, 1868, an eligible site was bought, and in due time a building, including two dwellings, was erected. The house, with a seating capacit}" for five hun- dred, was opened for public worship on February 6th, 1870, and although under debt, the church prospered so far as it was possible, when the pastor had very often to go abroad to seek aid, while he ought to have been " in- stant in season and out of season " in his Master's work at home. Many were the favorable interpositions of Divine Provi- dence seen in completing the enterprise, and affording to the congregation a quiet resting place on Sabbath. While, under the ruling of Chief- Justice Shaw, trustees chosen by a Presbyterian congregation were incapable of holding and enjoying estate for their denominational use in Massa- chusetts, the only safe course was to invoke the official service of the trustees of the General Assembl}' of the United Presbyterian Church of North America. This aid the Board (afraid of " inconvenience ") at first refused to give, but, after explanation, in them, as a body incorpo- rated by the Legislature of Pennsylvania, the title vested ; and when it was discovered that their agency, as a foreign corporation, was inoperative, on proper application being made by the pastor, said board were re-incorporated by the General Court of Massachusetts, and authorized to hold, for religious use, in the State, property to the amount of three hundred thousand dollars. The congregation con- tinued to prosper. The Sabbath-school, though not large, was viewed as an aid, and but on one occasion in the his- tory of the church was there a communion season observed without some increase. Order was maintained and disci- pline was but seldom demanded. IN NEW ENGLAND. 455 To meet the interest and reduce the debt required vigil- ance. Consequently, when the commercial depression of 1873 occurred, the congregation became unequal to the burden, and had to obtain increased assistance from the Assembly. At this time the "churches of Jesus Christ," in the city and the country, all but those which sung psalms, were "rejoicing at the sound of the organ," and one of the " craftsmen " desired us to purchase. As history should be impartial, I here present a vindication, by one of those most familiar with the manner in which instrumental entertainments promote the glory of God in the salvation of lost sinners, and if any other lover of " things without life-giving sound " can produce more cogent arguments for their adoption and use, let him do so. " Boston, December 2Sd, 1873. " Dear Sir : — Being special agent in getting up Bartlett and Horsford's Choir Directory, your reply to their request was handed to me on last Sunday, in which I read some curious objections to the use of the organ in the house of worship, and if not offensive, I would wish to advance my opinion regarding your objections. Knowing scarce any- thing of the doctrine of Presbyterianism, save a little in- sight of the history of its origin and founder, I shall take up my points from your own statements, viz., that you adopt the Bible alone as authority in matters of faith. "This I judge from the fact that you abrogate tlie use of organs because it is not mentioned in the Bible. How, then, do j^ou digest thirtieth verse, chapter twentieth, and twenty-fifth verse, chapter twenty-first of St. John ? Here we are told that Jesus did many other things, which if written all, the world could not contain the books. " Who in your church, with a faculty for appreciating the sublimity of God, with only ordinary musical taste will not say on hearing the beautiful strains of the church or- gan, ' It is heavenly ? ' Hence its sacred influence. "In 2 Chron. verses 12th and 13th, we are told the Levites had lifted up their voices with trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music to the praise of the Lord. "The harp is mentioned in 1 Chron. xxv. 36, and has been seen in mortal visions of heaven. Rev. v. 8. That 456 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM ' the Jews will not hire a man to do secular work on the Sabbath day ' may be true, as is also that they persecuted and sought to slay Jesus because he had cured the man of thirty years' ' infirmity ' on the Sabbath da}- . It was also in this day that Jesus went out with his apostles into the corn-field to pluck corn, which elicited their indignation, followed by a reproof from him for their blindness concern- ing the day. If Calvin and Knox instituted as strict observ- ance of the Lord's day as this doctrine of no instrumental music, fitly may the words of the Son of God apply to them, * Know ye that the Sabbath Avas made for man, not man for the Sabbath.' It is a day for good works. Is it not good to assist in producing that music which inspires the souls of the faithful with Christian fortitude, as the martial strains of a national anthem on the battle-field urges the soldier to victory ? There remains still the most serious moral objection in your eyes, its concomitance with the beads and holy water of the Romish church. These out- ward forms of catholicity appear very ridiculous to us sceptics, stoics and cynics, but -so also might it appear in the present age of the progress of civilization, if Jesus Christ appeared to-day in our midst and healed the blindness of our soul by ointment made from his spittle and the dust of the earth. Perhaps in a crisis of said ' progress,' the application of the water of the river Jor- dan may be termed or deemed an absurdity. Congrega- tion a Hsts do not base their belief on antagonism to the Catholic Papal church, but regard them as fellow-laborers in the vineyard (hear Rev. Mr. Wright's views, Berkeley street), and in judging for themselves, rejoice in every con- formity with that church to which you owe the history and preservation of Christianity from its origin to the six- teenth centurv. "Very respectfully, " W. M. Lindell." Having thus for the instruction of the reader presented the "opinion"' ex cathedra of this "special agent in getting up choir directories," it may not be amiss to let the ^^Musical Pioneer (N. Y.") for June, 1865," speak on the homage paid to " the sublimity of God" by "extraordinary musical taste." A more correct judgment can be then formed of the IN NEW ENGLAND. 457 " heavenly character " and " sacred influence " of the organ in " turning men from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God." " In the country churches, where the memhers of the choir are usually members of the congregation, it is a ratvi thing for any of the singers to leave before the service is over; but among the singers in city churches — in the fashionable well-paid quartette — it is a frequent practice." " In Episcopal churclies particularly, -where, in the morn- ing service no hymn is sung after the sermon, it is almost the rule for the choir to sneak out, one after another, as soon as the text is given out. The soprano will first gather up her skirts, perhaps bend her head a little, so as to avoid the notice of the congregation, and step gingerly out of the organ loft, not unfreqaently, however, sweeping down a few books or upsetting a chair, in spite of all her care. The basso, having no skirts to impede his progress, darts out a few minutes after. The alto and tenor follow, unless, in- deed, they prefer to remain and have a quiet little flirtation together during sermon time. The organist, having to play the concluding voluntary (now the postlude), groans in- wardly because he is thus debarred the privilege of flight. And how seldom is it, even during the time that they are in the house of prayer, that these singers pay the least at- tention to the service ! From frivolous gossip, from piquant and amusing, and often unkind criticisms of other singers, or of each other, they jump up, scuffle round to find their places in their books, and, without thinking for a moment of the holy words they are to use, join in ascriptions of praise, which, under the circumstances, are really simple mockery. ' We praise thee, 0 God ; we acknowledge thee to be the Ijord ' they sing with meaningless disregard of the import of those noble phrases. ' They praise him with their lips, but their heart is far from him.' From mere thoughtlessness. Sabbath after Sabbath, they break that commandment which says, ' Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.' They forget that the Lord will not hold tlK^m guiltless that take his name in vain, and for all this ' inspiring the souls of the faithful with Chris- tian fortitude,' they are well paid." According to " the Rev. Mr. Wright's views," as pre- sented by Mr. Lindell, Congregationalists " rejoice in every 458 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM conibrmity with that church," and it will not now take more than a prophet's ken to see that, in not above fifty years, the New England metropolis, thirty-five years ago "the Mount Zion of the whole earth " (so said Dr. King), may, by the superior " faculty for appreciating the sublim- ity of God '' possessed by '' the Papal Church," become the most intensely Irish " Catholic " city on the continent. In 1843 Boston proper was reported to have three churches of that denomination. In less than forty years these have increased to above one score, exclusive of the largest cathedral and the most capacious residence for an archbishop in the land. Who will not say that this has been accomplished more by "the beautiful strains of the church organ," "appreciating the sublimity of God," than (to say nothing of, by an open Bible) by all the beads and other appliances of that " mother church " of fellow-labor- ers with the Rev. Mr. Wright. Jerusalem may not have been, nor be, the only city of which "the Romans (may) come and take away both the place and nation." While the " organ loft," in the full performance of its functions, divided the attention of congregations with the desk, denominational growth among the evangelical churches was not in Boston in these years satisfactory. Large cities had been visited and aroused in Great Britain and Ireland by "Moody, Sankey, and the American organ," and there were not wanting men of substance to provide for them here in due time a " Tabernacle," having a platform accommodating about one thousand persons and a hall furnished with 5,940 chairs. On January 25th, 1877, this was opened. From night to night, for months, the utterances of this energetic man, " mighty in the Scrip- tures," reverberated throughout the building, filled to its utmost capacity, while others could not enter. And then, if those who made the concourse of sweet sounds had each individually " a faculty for appreciating the sublimity of God with only ordinar}^ musical taste," the presence and intonations of two organs there and then must have been (by the logic of Mr. Lindell) doubly " heavenly." These " sacred influences," produced by the singing and playing of an Arminian " master of song," ended on Sab- bath, May 27th, when the earnest man gave to his converts a charge to unite with whatever societ}^ might seem good IN NEW ENGLAND. 459 to them individually, but to take care that they did not differ with one another, for said he, " Mr. Sankey and I have labored together for five years, and I can appeal to him when I say we have never differed seriously, while I am a Calvinist and he is an Arminian." Mr. Sankey (a native of Western Pennsylvania; has a majestic presence and a countenance differing in many points from the aver- age man of those by whom he was then surrounded. This attracted the attention of at least one of the religious ladies on the platform, who, when the Assembly Avas dis- missed, addressed the pastor of " the Old South " thus : *' Dr. Manning, I have heard something new to-night." " Quite probable," said he, " what was it? " Answer. — '* I always thought Mr. Sankey had a very Oriental cast of countenance. Now I know how to account for it, for he is an Armenian!" The Doctor was innocent enough to tell this at the laying of a corner-stone (to about one thousand people) the next day. On February 10th, 1878, Messrs. Whittle and McGarra- han resumed exercises in the Tabernacle, and on March 8d, 10th and 17th Mr. Moody officiated, closing his labors in the structure by a temperance meeting on the 22d. However profitable his " forcible " arguments and " riglit words " might have been (as they doubtless were) to many, upon " the work of the ministry," the long excitement had an unsettling tendency. No clock can always strike ten, eleven and twelve. The average must come down to one as often as strike twelve, and pastors felt this. This is not all. "Action and reac- tion are equal " and often inseparable. In such cases seed is sown by the wayside, on rocks and among thorns, as well as on the good (prepared) ground, and the results corre- spond. Those who " brought forth fruit with patience " continue. But the effectiveness of the pulpit was not in- creased. " The work of the ministry " was less appre- ciated, and the house of prayer gradually more forsaken in the coming months. » While it is not believed that the churches of the Baptist and Methodist orders were more permanently revived than were those of the orthodox Congregation alists in the city proper — within two years, in 1880, the attendance was enumerated on an average of two Sabbaths in the most 460 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM propitious church-going month, February, and in the ten orthodox churches, with a seating capacity of above 10,000, there worshipped 3,683 persons, while the Rev. J. B. Dunn returned in 1878 to his Assembly 1,100, and in 1879, 610 members. Nothing of the supposed aids in converting sinners — preludes, hymns, choirs, organs, services of song and post- ludes — were wanting in these churches. They were all abreast of "the times," rejoicing in the light of the last quarter of the nineteenth century, as they preached their " New England theology," yet, Mr. Moody's " overflow " meetings two years before, after the " Tabernacle " was filled, in neighboring churches, at times, did not come much, if any, short of the now stated weekly attendance in the ten churches. " Mr. Moody indulged in a ' talk to ministers ' not long since at a Northfield convocation. Among other things, he advised them not to 'talk by the yard.' It was, perhaps, good advice. It might not be impertinent, however, to suggest to Mr. Moody that it is not precisely in the line of his calling to lecture the preachers. " The character of his own ' talk ' does not prove his right to act in that capacity, and if he were put in the place of a pastor who preaches two or three times a week and does a man's work besides, he would learn pretty quickly his unfitness for acting as an impromptu professor of pas- toral theology. " Nobody likes to say a word against the revivalistic work that was so popular a year or two ago, and that is yet, to a certain extent, depended on ; but facts in regard to it should neither be denied nor withheld. One of the most earnest men in London is the Rev. Newman Hall. He is also a man ready to take hold of any reasonable method of helping in the work of the kingdom, and will not be blamed by any one with being restrained by prejudice from acknowledgment of a good cause. He has been re- peating recently what he said some time since respecting the results of the work of Messrs. Moody and Sankey fn London — that it was not permanently of great value. " Thus, speaking of the effect of it in connection with the admission of church members, he says: 'I hailed that visit, took part in it, assisted in the " inquiry room," and oc- IN NEW ENGLAND. 461 casionally preached in connection with it. Some of the services were held in Surrey Chapel, yet out of a member- ship of one thousand three hundred, we have not three who are the fruits of that mission.'" (^'United Presbyte- rian,'' Pittsburgh, Sept. Sth, 1881.) In the meantime, while amidst these surroundings the pioneer Presbyterian church in the city suffered not a little by the popular agitation for years, still duty said, " Be steadfast and immovable, and "the New England Primer " and its inculcations, under " the good will of him who dwelt in the bush," stood the shock. In teaching the doctrine of this manual for above thirty years, the matter of praise in this church had ever been "the Book of Psalms appointed by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland " in 1650, even after change came in their own denomination and the " revised " psalms were in order. The old version had " a gnarled vigor " ( Choate) which the others have not, and never can have, and could be committed to memory for night enjoyment, or for blind- ness, for journeying or for the bed of sickness and death, while the other, as cast into the mould and peculiar metres of the varied sectarian hymns, has, excepting in removing a few obsolete words and improving some defective rhyme, weakened the sense, destroyed the dignity and beauty of the old version, without adding to its faithfulness, by sub- stituting a depleted and impoverished English for their standard text. It has been the attainment of many for their spiritual profit to let this portion of " the word of Christ dwell in them richly." Now, but few persons will undertake to say, " Thy word I in my heart have hid," by garnering in their memories "the words which the Holy Ghost teacheth " as they are here set forth, revised, and increased by "the multiplied versions of man's taste." Consequently, their numbers (above three hundred) must be reduced, or the coming generation, finding the same metres in modern poetry, will have for the revisions and new versions no surplus of ven- eration nor love, and enter other folds. Our debt and its consequences. Our people, being nearly all employes, obtaining small wages, and,, in cases, long out of employment, found themselves unable to con- tend with the debt. Some at leasts among the progressive r 462 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM party in the denomination, had for the enterprise no sym- pathy, and proposed to have the Assembly sell out the substance, employ it on spots in the West, and give the money, toil and prayers of the poor here to the winds, so far as our " displaying a banner for the truth " in Boston (the second commercial city of the nation) was concerned. As a certain field was valued at a goodly price, so, while the property cost $40,000, more or less, they could sell it at least for $30,000, pa}^ the debt and clear (beside receiving back the aid already given by the Board of Church Exten- sion) $10,000 to $12,000. The existence of this tried peo- ple as a Christian church, and the salvation of souls here now and in the future, were secondary matters in such minds. To maturely consider the case, in 1879 the Boards of Church Extension and Home Missions were associated with the trustees to report in 1880. As only three or four of these persons (twenty-six in number) had ever seen the field or the property, the others must judge all matters by a distant western standard. The pastor desired to have an assistant, and, taking this into account, this joint commit- tee reported to the Assembly that he be recommended to resign, and if he did so the Board of Church Extension was in three years to pay one-half of the debt, the Com- mittee of Home Missions to supply the preaching for five years, or until a pastor was settled, while with the rents of the dwellings (about S600 per annum, exclusive of taxes) the congregation were in five years to pay the remaining debt. Of this recommendation to be reported in May, the pas- tor was informed on April 22d. This he must do, beside removing some hundreds of dol- lars of a floating debt and paying the architect's bill of $750, or the sale of the estate by the sheriff might become a fact. After twelve years of double toil he might say, " Save me from ni}^ friends ! " But, as an optimist, he " knew that the heavens do rule." This committee recommended to him to call a meeting of his Presbytery to receive his resignation in May. After considering the case he, in eleven days, replied, that, as the ecclesiastical year of the Assembly commenced with July, he would await the stated meeting of Presbytery on IN NEW ENGLAND. 463 the 29th day of June. This he did to complete his fifty years, as he was licensed to preach the gospel on June 28th, 1830. When he had to inform his congregation that he must stop, so that " a new man with new methods " might step in, a thunderbolt out of a clear sky could not have astonished them more. No " roots of bitterness were troubling " them. Neither the church, the pastor, nor the Presbytery asked for this change, nor thought of it, but in the above way the debt (it was supposed) could be more than paid, while the progressives would control the field. When one, who had been for thirty-nine years a pastor, said, "How can you endure this? it would break me down," the reply was, we must ''glory in tribulations." This had to be done. The elders had been for months thanking God for the prosperity of the congregation, and as the commotions of 1877-78 had spent their force, hope was in the ascendant. The pastor now must shut his mouth. This was to him the "lamentation and for a lamentation " the woe of " preaching not the gospel " under the " necessity." The Presbytery took their own time in dissolving the relation, and they declared the pulpit vacant on July 18th, the pastor (after gathering his church in fourteen months) having been installed on July 18th, 1847. Lest he might in any way be a disturbing element in the prosperity of the congregation, he soon afterwards re- moved from the bounds.* To moderns his course of pas- toral life appeared to be suicidal. Nothing popular, no hymns, no organs, no choirs, no preludes, no postludes, nothing sensational, simply " preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ " and singing " psalms," to keep a church alive in the ver}^ focus of " advanced thought," immedi- ately beside the temples of Theodore Parker and Thomas Paine ! But God honors his own word. In the last twenty-seven years the pastor saw above twenty Presbyterian ministers leave the city, while the mutations of those of other de- nominations were superabundant. Father Fitton and the * For the toil of twelve years and private funds invested, he was allowed annually the amount now paid by the sexton, for the inferior one of the two dwellings in the church estate. 464 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM Unitarian Doctors Bartol and Freeman Clarke, were the only ones left by him there, who were officiating in Bos- ton on May 20th, 1846. During the last year of his pastoral relation the aggre- gate average increase of membership in the denomination was only 2.55 per cent., while his was 13.76 per cent. To this extent God was pleased to " work by him," (Acts XV. 12.) While the ten orthodox ministers of the city, in preach- ing " New England theology," had (according to the Rev. Dr. Ouyler) an increase in all, in 1879-80, of twenty mem- bers, the Calvinistic preacher keeping " the faith " of the New England Primer, ignoring all "things without life- giving sound," and using only "the Book of Psalms" (Luke XX. 42) in Divine worship, was honored by the Master with a numerical increase, beyond deaths and re- movals, of nineteen souls. "Boasting is," by Calvinism, "excluded," yet, it is law- ful to say, "What hath God wrought." Divine appoint- ment reigns in his service and worship. Hence, to promote his own glory, he honors his own appointed instrumentali- ties exclusively. To all others and their " new methods," he says, "W'ho hath required this at your hand." (Is. 1. 11, 12.) In answer to their call the Rev. John Hood, formerly of West Hebron, New York, was installed pastor of this congregation on September 7th, A. d. 1881. In May their roll was 147, it, owing to the varied supply, being reduced 11 in the year. During this period, 1868-1881, Thomsonville^ Ct., sus- tained ordinances, and on October 28th, 1873, Mr. Clarke McCracken was ordained and installed pastor. This rela- tion still pleasantly continues, and for convenience, some 3^ears since, at their own request, as pastor and people, they were by Synod dismissed to the First U. P. Presby- tery of New York. Between these dates East Boston run its course. On October 8th, 1868, a call made by them for the Rev. George M. Clarke, formerly of Nova Scotia, was sustained. He was installed, and much promise seemed to be in the en- joyment of his services for a season. But he could not be limited to the use of the Book of Psalms in his pulpit IN NEW ENGLAND. 465 duties. He i-)roved to be so much attached to " para- phrases " that trouble came, and on July 17th, 1870, he resigned and went to Canada. The congregation were in good working order. One generous adherent aided them fiscally very much, and did much for the congregation when vacant, but it was in vain. The pastor had sowed seeds of discord, which could not be rooted up, and after some supply for months, the church roll was l:)y Presbytery deposited with its own clerk, who was authorized to give certificates to those entitled to them. After years of delay, on April. 11th, 1873, finding both East Boston and the station at Hartford, Ct., hopeless, Presbytery officially dissolved these organizations. In Providence, R. /., the Rev. John P. Robb had officiated as pastor \\\\ the U. P. church) from April 27th, 1860, until 1874, when he was, on January 2d, released. After varied candidates had teen heard, the congrega- tion called Mr. M. S. McCord, who was ordained and in- stalled on December 29th, 1874. With the morning of manhood upon him, a willing and intelligent people around him, in one of our most prosperous manufacturing and commercial cities, he continues to " make full proof of his ministry," and returns a roll of 215 members. The ministry of the Rev. Joshua R. Kyle was (notwith- standing a want of attachment to the principles of the de- nomination) continued from April, a. d. 1867, until Sep- tember 8th, 1875, when he was dismissed from Fall River. During part of this time he had competition, for the Second Roston Presbytery, on October 9th, 1872, " ap- pointed committees to organize churches in Reading, Fall River and Providence whenever the way seems open," and to this city the Rev. Soltau F. Calhoun, from Lowell, soon afterwards came. By this movement an asylum was opened for seme who had difficulties to brood over, but from it no permanent good came. A year passed, and on September 5th, 1876, the Rev. J. H. Turnbull was installed as pastor. In this, the first cotton manufacturing city in New England, for a genera- tion Presbyterians have abounded, and in a. d. 1880 the church roll was increased nine, while it stands in a. d. 1881 at 169. In Wilkinsonville the Rev. P. Y. Smith was reported at 30 46C HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM the end of the last quarter of a century as pastor. There he still continues, as a county officer, superintending its educational interests, and, as pastor of tlie U. P. church, "taking heed to the flock." In his limited field he re- turns a roll of 92 in a. d. 1881. In Whitinsville, Mass., the Rev. Robert Harkness preached from January 8th, 1873, till April 22d, 1874, when, not finding congenial surroundings, he left. Not so much, or perhaps at all, from any fault of his, l)ut from belligerent manifestations among the people. After re- ceiving his resignation. Presbytery dissolved the church. It was re-organized on December 30th, 1874, and had various supplies until Mr. James L. Thompson was or- dained and installed there on June 11th, 1878. Consider- ing the limited extent of the field, they are prospering in all things, and his roll numbers 88 members in a. d. 1881. In Lawrence the Rev. John Hogg, as pastor, officiated from April 7th, 1869, till November 23d, 1875. He was successful in gathering the people, and, with them, in ex- changing the small meeting-house for a new one with modern conveniences. In his mind the lust of numbers obtained a preponderance over his attachment to the prin- ciples of his church, as he found himself increasingly in harmony with those who had entered their " dissent " in the Assembly of 1867 in the McCune case. That man (McCune) had, while a student, imbibed Con- gregationalism, and the Monongahela A. R. Presbytery declined, on April 12th, 1854, to license him. He was, however, quietly licensed on December 25th, b}^ the First A. R. Presbytery of Ohio, and ordained without charge by that court in January, 1856. He organized a mission church in Cincinnati, to which he preached until July, 1867. He was brought into the church courts in 1866 for a work, which he published on church fellowship, and the case having been appealed to the General Assembly of- 1867, it was then decided that he was guilty of "holding and defending serious and fundamental error on the sub- ject of church fellowship." He then united with the Presbyterian church, organized a non-denominational church in the above-named city, wdiich resulted in his trial before the Presbytery of Cincinnati; and although IN NEW ENGLAND. 467 not convicted of positive error, it shewed his true views, and he transferred his relations accordinfijly. Espousing the " sufficiently divine " ecclesiastical polity which origi- nated at Salern, Mass., on August 6th, 1629, he occu])ics at Dallas, Texas, as an "acting pastor" {Congregational Year Book, 1881) to 23 members. From the " decrees " of the Assembly in his case, there were " dissenters " who sympathized with him in some of his progressive views. None of these were found among men of experience, and " the spirit of the age " demanding innovation, the church has hardly })een recently a year without the agitation produced by " overtures." Psalmody was tossed like a weaver's shuttle. Revisions, new ver- sions, psalters, selections sent down and reported up from year to year, did not increase obedience to the Divine in- junctions, "Take heed to the doctrine," "feed the flock." As a natural sequence to agitation about the matter of praise came the manner of rendering it, and in 1876 an overture was demanded to eliminate from the avowed principles of the church, sec. 5, art. 2, chap. 3, of her Di- rectory for Worship. While, in 1876, this did not obtain the necessary two-thirds vote to send it down, yet it marked the progressive force of the " dissenters," as it stood 86 for change to 74 for "letting well enough alone." New versions of the Psalms were prepared, not for psalm tunes, but for such tunes as were popular among the varied forms- of human hymns, 10,000 of which tunes (according to Fitz) have perished in New England, all the offspring of modern tastes. As domestic insubordination aug- mented, as family worship became of less importance, children and youth came to the front and " clamoured for sprightly music." To this, " the spirit of the land," she must yield, and to make the hope of the church, her children, steadfast United Presbyterians, they must be supplied with the "rub-a- dub " applied to portions of God's word. As the " 138 versions, embracing 117 psalms," in addition to the former version, making in all 301 songs, were obviously too numerous for children to become acquainted with them, and especially to learn them as portions of Divine truth ; so 150 selections must be made, and " what God had joined together man must put asunder," and call the frag- 468 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM ments " Bible Songs." Of the General Assembly of 1881, but one man, a ruling elder (it is said), had been a mem- ber of the preceding one. Consequently the action of 1879, which opened this flood-gate of childish doing, was not fully approved by the Assembly of 1880, and while they could not stop the " sprightly music " which had been written or selected for these " songs," and was scat- tered by thousands of copies prematurely among the churches, they appointed a committee of five to report in the case. One of these was the leading musician who had for years led on the "clamour" (as he called it), and in reporting with his compeer, said : 1." It was in an emi- nent degree such a book as the Assembly ordered. 2. For 14,000 copies had been sold in five months. 3. It would be an aid if used. 4. Any change would involve great expense in the purchase of new music. 5. It would produce confusion and look like trifling." The majority reported : " The principle of selections is ' a very serious error.' 1. It is subversive of our position. 2. It involves the rejection of a portion of the psalms, as unsuitable to be used in the Sabbath-school. 3. It is an assumption that the Book of Psalms is not suited to be a system of praise for children. 4. Its tendency is to exclude the Book of Psalms from the church in a few years, and 5. Is a mutilation of God's book of praise." The Assembly authorized the Board of Publication to publish " Bible Songs " to meet the demand, said " no farther action on this matter is necessary at the present tmie," and overtured, " Shall section five, article two, chapter three of the Directory for Worship be repealed? '•' This section forbids the use of instrumental music in di- vine worship. A certain class of men must be popular, and this innovation Mr. Hogg did not discountenance in Lawrence, as an organ, in opposition to the authority of the church, has been for years used there. He resigned in November, 1875. Among the supplies who officiated there afterwards was Mr. Albert G. McCoy. It was believed that an unanimous call would have been extended to him, and when asked privately as to the appearance of the congregation, he an- swered, "It is a Presbyterian congregation, and a good one, but where the ' United Presbyterian ' comes in 1 can-; IN NEW ENGLAND. 469 not sec." Among supply subsequently sent was the Rev. John Auld Burns. His health was not good, yet he was installed on August 4th, 1876. While using medical means, he succumbed to " Bright's disease," and as the taper of life grew shorter, he " preached as a dying man to dying men." Instead of trifling with modern themes, supposed to be " abreast of the times," he digested " Ambrose looking unto Jesus," and to that people preached the gospel with all the grace of novelty. They were interested and edified, but his end came on March 28th, 1878. The Rev. Robert A. McAyeal, D. D., was admitted to the pastorate of this church on January 21st, 1879. He not only possesses great ability, guided by above twenty years of experience, but is decidedly " abreast of the times," and is as progressive as the law of his limitation will allow him to be. Employing " Bible Songs " (with the organ looking on, if not joining in), he has one hundred and fifty-six scholars in his Sabbath school. That the old version of the psalms were best to be used, he does not believe, but affirms that in order to gather United Presby- terians into the church in New England, the " new ver- sion " must be used. With this opinion his returns do not correspond. In 1880 his number on the roll was 200; in 1881 it was 181. This may be to some extent owing to removals for employment, but in all United Presbyterian churches in the seaboard cities, the "gnarled vigor" of the Scotch ver- sion (wherever due pains are taken to explain the divine origin, appointment and meaning of the psalms) is most effective. " The words which the Holy Ghost teacheth " savor more of " the simplicity of Christ " than do the same words diff'used or contracted through the enticing words of man's wisdom in imitation of modern poetry. United Presbyteman Presbytery of Vermont. In Barnet the Rev. John Service labored from i868 till March 8th, 1877. They were then vacant until February 19th, 1879, when the Rev. Robert N. Hammond was ordained and installed pastor. In May, 1881, his roll stood at 139. In Ryegate the Rev. Alexander Y. Houston was installed February 13th, 1873, and was pastor till February, 1875. On June 10th, 1876, the Rev. James R. Clapperton was in- 470 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM stalled, and was released 'on July 3d, 1881, leaving a roll of ninety-seven. Greensboro had only the uncertain subsistence of sup- plies for several years until October 23d, 1878, when Mr. Albert S. Stewart was ordained and installed. On Jan- uary 17th, 1881, he resigned. They are still vacant. Roll in May, 1881, fifty-nine. Such is our representation of the United Presbyterian Church of North America in New England in 1881. The condition of the churches in this peculiar region is attract- ing the attention of thinking men. They see "the gold becoming dim," and some of them are virtually saying, "Consider of it, take advice, and ypeak your minds." Hence (among others) Prof. George P. Fisher contributes a most suggestive article to the North American Review for October on " The Elements of Puritanism," on which the editor of the Evangelical Repository (of the United Presby- terian Church) is constrained to say: " The introduction to the essay describes the changes which have taken place in the matter of praise and the manner of rendering it during the last century. If it was not a matter of history, the accuracy of which cannot be questioned, it would be hard to believe that New England only a century ago was so sound, sober and conservative in its religious doctrines and modes of worship as it un- doubtedly was. Marking as we do, not only with sur- prise, but with a degree of sadness, these great changes, the question at once arises in the mind, are we not following rapidly in the wake of New England ? " We trust we will not be regarded as unduly conserva- tive if we express the earnest hope that even in ecclesiasti- cal changes which affect only the outward forms of wor- ship, we will not press too rapidly in the footsteps of the New England Puritans. We think there are but few of our people who do not feel that the supposed progress of Puritanism in New England has been retrogression." To this editor the writer would say, provoke your brother editors of our other United Presbyterian periodi- cals to " ponder the path of their feet," and to them sing the Canadian boat-song — " Row, brothers, row, for the rapids are near." IN NEW ENGLAND. 471 To complete our survey, we require full information from Peacham, Craftsbur}^, Topsham, West Barnet, and perhaps other places in Vermont, where there are members of the Reformed persuasion, but after earnest requests and patient waiting, replies to inquiries have not been obtained. If they had been, the field (New England, it is believed) would be fully represented, and but little, if anything, of Presbyterianism have been left unnoticed. So to approximate the number and prosperity of these unknown churches, I suppose them to contain probably 200 members — possibly, with Ryegate and South Barnet, 400 members in all, so that in a population of 4,100,000 the whole membership under the general name will be in the Reunited Church, 3,814; in the United Presbyterian Church, 892; in the Reformed churches in Boston, 313, making probably in all about 5,400 members, and of the population some ten or fifteen thousand souls. Beside these, it is believed there are nearly as many other Presbyterians in the region who are careless and un- cared for — who have become indifferent about their souls' salvation, to say nothing of the thousands who have united with other persuasions. In view of their condition, their prospects and their doom, they may say, " Men of Israel, help." This plea and petition are intensified by the fact that others are daily coming, and will in future pour into her commercial towns. Who will care for their souls ? Will no man ? 1868-1881 — Reformed Presbyterian — Wm. Graham in Boston — Increase slow, but more permanent — Hired halls — Presbyterians suffer less in them in Boston than elsewhere — Began to build in 1873, and under their own roof February 15th, 1874 — Aid called for — Their edifice costly — As Presbyterians they could not hold or enjoy under State law — Tlieir numbers now — Division — Second Reformed Presbyterian Church in Bos- ton—Never a station— Rev. D. McFall installed July 11th, 1873— They purchased a church estate title — Self-supporting — They were un- noticed— Travestied in the Daily Neivs and by the Sun as a ''queer religious sect" — Above the average amount of pulpit power — Rev. E. D. Winslow, who ridicules them, himself a forger and a villain — Some men their sins follow after — Boston as a field for these queer folk, and their success looks like "the burning bush" — A curious fact — He led the court for wisdom — They are now owned extensively by the head of the church in maintaining the Calvinism of the Puritans. 472 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM We have noticed the gathering of a Reformed Presbyte- rian Church in Boston, and its organization on July 12th, 1854. From the 12th of July, 1860, the Rev. Wm. Graham as pastor "took heed to the flock." The increase was of necessity slow, but this contributed to permanency. In common with others, this people worshipped in hired halls, but in Boston (it is believed) a new church enter- prise will suffer less in such places than in any other city known to the writer. There exists no air of sacredness about such a place, and floating persons will occasionally venture in. Still changes from place to place tax attach- ment to principle, and a permanent house of worship be- comes a necessity. This pastor and his people began to build a church in August, 1873, and on February 15th, 1874, they com- menced public worship under their own roof. This in- cessantly taxed their energies, and they had to call ex- tensively on others for aid. In such enterprises much is economized by having the assistance of mechanical skill at hand to determine values, and in their case nothing or but little was in this way saved. Their spacious church edifice was costly, still they have been able, in the face of great disadvan- tages, to retain it. In common with all other Presbyte- rians, they could not hold and enjoy their church estate in Massachusetts by a board of trustees, and their tenure is provided for otherwise. By being "steadfast and un- movable," they are now able under the divine blessing to grow, having " an active membership of two hundred and nine (209), with seventeen others sustaining to them a nominal relation, but whom they do not count." We are not, however, to suppose that for twenty-seven j^ears this congregation have had only unbroken repose in their associated fellowship. It was otherwise. Individ- uals from other " strait sects " uniting with them, intro- duced their shades of opinion, and a congregation hived out of the original one, in which separation the dislike of persons and unwillingness to associate with them was prob- ably more in force than any change of doctrinal opinion. "The Second Boston Reformed Presbyterian congregation '* was organized by commission of the New York Presbytery on November 21st, 1871. It was never a mission station, IN NEW ENGLAND. 473 but always a self-supporting congregation, originally of thirty members. As a vacancy they were supplied by the Rev. T. iVE. Elder, of Dayton, Pa., and others under the ap- pointment of their Presbyter}^ On May 18th, 1871, the Rev. David McFall was settled at Oil City, Pa., and on re- ceiving a call, was translated to Boston and installed on July 11th, 1873. In abandoning hired halls they had some advantage, as they were enabled in October, 1879, to purchase at a low price a good church edifice, one built by and for years owned by the orthodox, from which the occupants had hived to fill the empty seats protfered to them under the ministry of the successor of the late Rev. E. N. Kirk, D. D. Here also title must vest in individuals, for as Presby- terians, to say nothing of their want of citizenship, they could not as a church hold or enjoy real estate in Boston, for the worship of God. As they were self-supporting when only thirty strong, they are not less so now when they number one hundred and four active members. Be- fore noticing their growth amidst their surroundings, it must be observed that by the hymn-singing community they were unnoticed and unknown. Hence a Boston paper, the Daily News, in 1872, with the New York Sun, thus travesties them : " There is a queer religious sect in St. Louis, called among themselves by the honored name of Covenanters — to which they doubtless have no right — although not so designated in the list of churches given in the City Direc- tory. Its members are not allowed to exercise the right of suffrage; but there is nothing in their belief to prevent them from holding office when they are afforded the op- portunity, and several of them enjoy snug positions under the city and county governments. A member who marries outside of the pale of the church is at once excommuni- cated. Recently a son of one of the most prominent lead- ers of the faith came of age, and celebrated his accession to the dignity of manhood b}^ voting, like a good citizen, at the next election. Whereupon the church took action, and cast him from among them as unworthy of fellowship. But an elder, who was shortly afterward proven guilty of gross immorality, was permitted to retain both his mem- bership and his office." — N. Y. Sun. 474 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM That any man should publish a paper in New York, where some of much above the average amount of pulpit power has been and is wielded by Doctors of Divinity be- longing to this " queer religious sect," and ignore them be- cause a cent a liner reports them tlius, only shews how far such professed elevators of human character as editors are qualified for the position they assume. Beyond this we must look at the light cast on the Covenanters in Boston in this scrap, copied by the immaculate Rev. E. D. Wins- low, a Methodist preaciier, who, on Sabbath, January 9th, 1876, after inculcating Arminianism in Auburndale, Mass., left his Daily News and fled for Holland, where, if once reached, no extradition treaty would return him to be "proven guilty of gross immorality." Into the account must be here taken, however, his belief in " falling from grace," which he might recover again, as he was a forger (it was published) only to the extent of two hundred thousand dollars. " Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after." When we look at Boston as a field, where only " ten per cent, of the population are Protestant evangelical," and then at this " queer religious sect " preaching Calvinism and singing " Rouse," it appears very much as if " the angel of the Lord were in the midst of the bush," especially as it not only is not consumed, but grows. It is also a curious fact that the oldest pastor of this " queer religious sect " in Boston should be, as he probably is, the only Pres- byterian minister in Massachusetts who has with prayer, opened the Supreme Court of a State in which, from the first, " an Athenian democracy was in its mould," and yet be unknown to or ignored by the press of the cities. His residence is opposite to the court house of Middlesex county in East Cambridge, and as another at the appointed time did not appear, ou request, he led the court, bar and jury to the throne of grace in prayer, that wisdom might descend upon " the powers that be." On his part here there was no intense bigotr}^ although he belongs to that " queer religious sect " which are now owned more exten- sively in Boston by the Head of the church than any other in maintaining the Calvinism of the Pilgrims and Puritans, which in former generations made New England " a praise in the earth." IN NEW ENGLAND. 475 In Vermont Since 1868, at Ryegate, the Rev. James M. Beattie continues to officiate acceptably, seeing the pleasure of the Lord still prospering in his hand. He returns in A. D. 1881 a roll of 69 members ; Rev. J. C. Taylor, East Craftsbury, 69 ; Rev. D. C. Faris, Barnet, 79 ; Rev. J. C. K. Faris, Topsham, 37 ; Rev. W. R. Laird, St. Johnsbury, 63; total, 317 members. Conclusion. If we have done well — Semi-separatists — Calvin — Great persons — A few small accidental points — Their church polity — Presbyterian — In wor- ship— In Europe no opportunity — Before they land they establish civil government — What it was — The governor's message — The con- tract— The reco'rd in the French church in Boston — Thence taken as loot — An account of it — Mr. Scott suggests — Honor due to these Pres- byterians— Their names the acorn — Did not undertake to reform — As the chaplains did — Nor trifle — Elder Brewster — Protecting their homes — In time became assimilated — To the Bay people — To them we revert — Congregationalism — Wliere born — Its nature and tendency — Intolerant — Leavening other denominations — Unsettling fixed truth — Its ''unjustifiable restraints" — Their polity sketched — Koger Wil- liams — Baptists — Quak ers — Papists — Episcopal Methodists — Blas- phemy— Voted the Trinity out — Less aggressive — Adequate inspira- tion— Advanced thought — Success of the chaplains among Episcopal- ians— Restraints on Presbyterianism — New England system the creature of ''circumstances" — Proof — "SuflBciently divine" — Now diffusive — "Tastes" — A germ — A delight to some — Its legitimate de- ductions make an " unknown quantity " — Not all of darkness — IMany among the elect — Systems only — Transmitted from minds — It has swept around the circle — Marriage relation assailed — Divorce — Com- mon— Governor Andrew — Single blessedness-^ — Bare productions — Mormonism — Its origin — Influences — A new inspiration — "Golden tablets" — Smith — Insubordination increasing — As a system built on "circumstances" — It imbues Presbyterianism — Not multiplying the Baints — To the rear — Its pew power — Systematized in New York — In conclusion — Separating ourselves — We should remember the Divine origin of our polity — Its cost to others — Its valuable influences — This is our duty — Let the Presbyterian Church of the future be marked by teaching the word — An imperative necessity — Sabbath school may be uncertain — Worse than useless — "Sunday books" — Superficial ideas — The hope — The parental vow — Its meaning — Acting by proxy — Ignorant — A subterfuge — Answered — The right use of a help so valuable — A unitary influence — Seek to popularize services — Singing — A heathen's view — The farce — Knox and his singers — Application — Depriving the masses — Saddening — Some get music to suit them elsewhere — Mixed multitudes — Such acquisitions — The genuine arti- cle— With these considerations we close — The scene not joyous — After an experiment of two hundred and fifty years — It impairs the force of 476 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM truth — Waxing feeble — Thirty-three Presbyterian congregations — Orthodox, the number of — Loss in 1880 — Descending node — Presby- terianism gravitating also — Said, not intrude — The command is go — Bible not the hold now on the Puritan mind — If they should retire — Probabilities — Factory towns — Fields for labor — Eternally wrong — For any measure of our modern charity — New England must be re- deemed— Duty, not success, is the standard — If it should sow itself with salt — Presbyterianism must show " a more excellent way " — Errorists will not be perpetual, for the dominion under the whole heaven is appropriated to the saints of the Most High, and they shall obey him — Reader, farewell — We must stand in our lots in the end — Let' us keep the faith. Such, then, is our " History of Presbyterianism in New England." "If we have done well and as is fitting the story, it is that which we desired : if slenderly and meanly, it is that which we could attain unto.'' We have seen "semi-separatists" from the Church of England banish themselves to the continent of Europe for "freedom to worship God," and there, after several years, becoming deeply indebted to the " Institutes " of the immortal Cal- vin (and very extensively adopting his " sound doctrine ") for their order of religious and civil liberty. For when the " agents went into England to treat with the Virginia Com- pany and with several great persons about the court, unto them they made evident their agreement with the French Reformed churches (Presbyterian) in all things whatsoever, except in a few small accidental points." (Mag., vol. i., p. 48.) Imbued with these teachings, we see their church polity, before they cross the Atlantic and which they bring with them, m all but " a few small accidental points " purely Presbyterian. Wliile in worship they had substituted for the Episcopal version of Stern hold and Hopkins that of Ainsworth, a minister of their own persuasion, which they continued to use for sixty years in the wilderness, and which they sang by note without reading the line. In Europe they had no opportunity of setting forth their views of civil government, but before they leave the " Mayflower " this was done, and of their action we have two accounts. "November 11th, 1620, Saturday, being thus arrived, they fall on their knees and bless the God of heaven, etc. Before they land, they this day combine into a Body Poll- IN NEW ENGLAND. 477 tick by a solemn contract, to which they set their hands, as the basis of their government in this new found coun- try ; chuse Mr. John Carver, their governor for the first 'year." {Pr. N. E. Chron., p. 73.) "At their first arrival, November 11th, 1620, they did as the light of nature itself directed them, immediately in the harbor sign an Instrument, as a foundation of their future and needful government; wherein declaring themselves the loyal subjects of the Crown of England, they did com- bine into a body politick and solemnly engage submission and obedience to the laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and officers, that from time to time should be thought most convenient for the general good of the colon3\ And they chose Mr. John Carver their governor." {Mag., vol. i., p. 52.) " In 1621, Mr. William Bradford was elected governor, with five assistants, which office, (with the exception of three years by Mr. Winslow and two by Mr. Prince to re- lieve him), he held for thirty-seven years, and died on Mav 9th, 1657, in the sixty-ninth year of his age." {Mag., vol.^i., pp. 113, 114.) " March 23d, 1623, was a yearly court day, the Governor communicates his intelligence (in modern phraseology ' delivers his message ') to the whole company, and asks their advice. They leave it to him, with his assistants and the captain (of their militar}^ Miles Standish), to do as they think most meet." This was in the midst of a war with the Indians. Of the " Contract," or " Instru- ment," and of the yearly transactions of his government, he kept a record, which, a century or so after his death, was conveyed to Boston, and there appropriately de- posited in the French Presb3^terian meeting-house. This fact is brought to notice in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. " The Chamberlain of the city of London, the Hon. Ben- jamin Scott, writes to the Times, saying : " ' In the Bishop of London's library at Fulham, is a manuscript in the handwriting of Governor Bradford, giving a diary of the proceedings of the Pilgrims, contain- ing the Compact or Constitution, out of which arose the federation now termed the United States. It was captured as booty by a soldier from the old French, (Scott says 478 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM German) church in Boston, and forms the '' Book of Gene- sis " of the American Nation.' ' Mr. Scott suggests, that in the midst of our national sorrow, it be presented in thq^ name of the Queen to the United States at the Yorktown Centennial, on October 19th, 1881.'" {Phila. Led., Oct. 6th, 1881.)* So much honor is due to those old psalm-singing Pres- byterian Calvinists, and this '' solemn Co7^^md," Governor Bradford gives us in the following words: " In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign Lord King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc., etc. Having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advance- ment of the Christian faith, and honour of our King and country, a voyao^e to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia; do, by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God, and of one another, covenant and combine ourselves together unto a Civil Body Politick, for our ])etter ordering and preservation, and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. " In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names, at Cape Cod, the 11th of November, in the year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord, King James, of England, France and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Domini 1620. (P. Chron., pp. 84, 85.) " Mr. John Carver, Wm. Bradford, Mr. Edward ^^'ins- low, Mr. William Brewster, Mr. Isaac Allerton, Captain Miles Standish, John Alden. Mr. Samuel Fuller, Mr. Christopher Martin, Mr. William Mullins, Mr. William AVhite, Mr. Richard Warren, John Rowland, Mr. Stephen Hopkins, Edward Tilly, John Tilly, Francis Cook, Thomas Rogers, Thomas Tinker, John Ridgdale, Edward Fuller, * Mr. Scott's suggestion was not acceded to, and in lieu of this, the Americans burnt gunpowder in saluting the British flag at that place on that day. IN NEW ENGLAND. 479 John Turner, Francis Eaton, James Chilton, John Cracks- ton, John Billington, Moses Fletcher, John Goodman, Degory Priest, Thomas Williams, Gilbert Winslow, Ed- mund Margeson, Peter Brown, Richard Britterige, George 8oule, Richard Clarke, Richard Gardiner, John Allerton, Thomas English, Edward Dotey, Edward Leister." 41. " One hundred and one left England. Of these, sixty ■svere women and children. One man died on the passage, and Peregrine White was born in Cape Cod harbor. Ful- ler, Warren and Cook left their wives in Holland or Eng- land, and some left behind them some, and others all their children, who also afterwards came over." (P?-., p. 85.) Sucli was the acorn of Calvinistic Presbyterianism from which the American oak grew. These men did not under- take to reform the Church of England, as the two pioneer chaplains and the Massachusetts Bay Company afterwards did, neither did they trifle with the divinely appointed ordinance of ecclesiastical ordination by the "laying on of" other "hands," instead of those of a lawfully con- stituted " Presbytery." Elder William Brewster, a chief father in their Israel for nearly forty years, while he " labored in word and doc- trine," " never assumed to administer the sacraments." " When they were unsupplied with a regular ministry, he preached to his people powerfully and profitably twice every Sabbath, and many were converted to God by his faithful ministry." While he was an ordained ruling elder, he would never act the peculiar part of an ordained minister. The seals of the covenant of grace he would not dispense. This duty he left to be performed by " a regu- larly ordained ministry." This peo^^le, coming from Ley- den in three successive emigrations, protecting their homes from savage men, as tillers of the soil, and occupiers in a limited commerce in their three counties, after two or three generations became extensivel}^ assimilated to those who followed them by thousands to the Bay, for religion and commerce. They had no alternative. To these we now revert, and here find the origin, nature and tendency of Congregationalism. Born at Salem, Massachusetts, on August 6th, 1629, bred under an Athen- ian democracy at Boston. Confederated in its theocracy 480 HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANTSM with " the King of Kings," intolerant of other Christian persuasions, while it had or has its own civil power to control their church property or persons, and now leavening other denominations with its modern New England theol- ogy, and extensively unsettling the foundations of fixed religious truth, not'^only in its own cradle, under its own banner, but increasingly under both Presbyterianism and Prelacy. So palpable have these things been, that a President of Amherst College, in 1850, has before the Legislature on January 2d, put on record this apology: " Whatever un- justifiable restraints on liberty of conscience may have been imposed by our zealous, yet erring fathers, it is the glory of our Commonwealth, that no such impositions have been, for a long time, tolerated. All are free to wor- ship God as they choose, provided, they demean them- selves peaceably, and infringe not the equal rights of others." The reader must rememberiritual au- thority extends oidy to the membership of the churcli and to none else. " Do not ye judge them that are within ? But them that are v/ithout God judgeth." Pi-esbyterians, with this authority and these instructions (among the other, "all things which I have commanded you "), " turned the inhabited eartii up-side down." But when Christ was bronglit into con- nection with (or under the patronage) of Ciiesar, and his church was ostensibly aided by civil government, her "gold became dim." Then, in due time, moderators of church courts, and pastors in cities began to " lord it over God's heritage," instead of being *' feeders " of, and "ensamples to the flock." Hence (says Vicar Stackhouse) " But though the bishops of the primitive church were all invested witjj the same oUice and au- thority, yet, in process of time and as Christianity increased, it was found necessary to enlarge the Episcopal ])ow*er, and, there- fore, as before, there w^as a bishop in every great city, so now, an archbisho]) was placed in every metropolis. AVhen Chris- tianity overspread tlie Roman empire, there sprang up another superior branch of the Episcopal office, primates and patriarchs, who had jurisdiction over several provinces. "To understand this, it is requisite to know, that wdien the Christian faitli was fully settled in the world, it was determined to model the external government of the church, as near as might be, to the civil government .of tlie emi)ire, which was divided into tliirteen dioceses, and these containing about one hundred and twenty provinces, and every province several cities, as in every city there was a magistrate, so was there also a bishop, 494 APPENDICES. whose jurisdiction was of like extent." (Body of Divinitv, P. 746;Ecl. J.oiKlon, 1729.) AVe have here, then, the full development of prelaev, from its unity in the Vatican (from tiie thnteen diocesesi down to tlie sinjj^le parish, all in coml)ination ; and as the system is not ob- tained from (nor in liainiony vvitii) '* the oracles ot God," but drawn from the structure and extent of the IJoman Euii)ire ; so, not only the s(^pai-atists and "semi-separatists." but the non- confoimists withdrew from full fellowship with the Church of Eui^dand, its Protestant representation. And we come now to the '' rist of Congregationalism in New Eno-land." '' For one hundred and ten years after the discovery of Amer- ica, no Euioi)eans but Spaniards had made any settlements on its soil. To the crown of their country (in 1493) the Pope was pleased to give the sole title to all lands lying above one hundred leagues west of the Azores, and such was the ignoj-ance in Eu- rope that the multitude thought he had a right to do so, " In the meantime, for some eighty years, England, Scotland, Ireland, France and the Xetheilands were so fully engaged with their own internal broils al)out religion, as well as mutual wars on this and on other accounts, that they had neither i)ower nor leisure lo attend to foreign settlements. During this time it is believed, that from Florida to Greenland there was not one resident European family. But after 1598, these nations sent out men to fish jind trade, and afterwards to settle as colonies— the French to Canada and Acadia, the Englisli to Newfound- land, Bermuda and Virginia." [Pr. N. E. Chron., ]>. 2.) As Hudson, an Englishman, in 1609, in the Dutch East India Company's service, penetrated the British territory, so by the Dutch, settlements were made in Albany and New York in 1614. AVe have seen the Puritan Episcopalians from 1572, in Eng- land, extensively becoming Presbyterians, the only thing else they could, with their Bibles in their hands, become, until they were supiiressed in 1591 by the Star Chamber and High Commis- sion Court ; we have also traced the movements of those who at Plymouth, Mass., in 1620, in almost exact Presbyterial form, sought "A dmrch without a hishop, ^ state without a king." Others follow. In 1627 Governor Dudley and others obtained a patent for that part of Virginia called (since 1614) New Eng- land, under the title of the Massachusetts Bay Company. On June 20th, 1628, Captain John Endicott sailed i'or Neamkeak as agent, to i)repare a way for the patentees. This place, Neamkeak, was selected by a trader, a "Mr. Conant, in 1625, who conceived that in aftertimes it may prove a receptacle for such in England as, on account of religion^ would be willing to settle in these parts of the world and (return- APPENDICES. 495 ing that winter he) ^ives an intimation of it to his friends in EncTland." {Ih., ]>. 157.) To Npamke-ak lie returned in 1626 to hve. This information spread, and was so encouraijin.i? that on Ai^ril 17th, 1()29, the Bev. Messrs. Francis Hi,G:ginson and Samuel Skellon (P^piseojjal ministers), vvitli other colonists, were sent out from England by the company. The former had been silenced for nonconformity. {lb., 182.) Tliey were both men of mark for excellence of character, and to tiiem the germinating and moidding of tiie enterprise in its re- ligious asi)ects were committed by the governor and company. "Before leaving England, ''the great Mr. Hildersham. of Ash- ley," viewing the delicacy as well as the imi)ortance of the en- terprise, " advised these first planters to agree fully ui)on their form of church government before coming into Xew England." Tliey answer, '"We have indeed agreed upon little further tlian this'g^iK'i'al princii)le {lb., ]h 184), tliat tiie reformation of the church vas to be endeavored according to tlie written word of God." To the company's committee these two ministers said, " We [ire of one judgment and fully agreed in the manner how- to exercise our ministry." Tliey were conscientious Episcopalians, and here was the re- ligious germ of the enterprise, viz.: ''the reformation of the church." This the companv and chaplains could not do in England, but tliis they woifld ''endeavor^' to do in America *' according to the written word of God." They agreed upon little further than this, but npon this they were agreed. As to their future " form of church government," before coming to New England, these two ministers, engaged by the iirst planters, had (it would seem) agreed fully npon it, as the two told the committee that they were " agreed and fully of one judgment how to exercise their ministry." On June 24th, 1629, these two (with two other) ministers, the Rev. Messrs. Smith and Bright, arrived, and from Psalms Ixxvi. 2, they called Neamkeak, Salem {Peace). As we know what our Saviour " commanded " Ins apostles, by learning what they have taught his followers in all ages " to ob- serve," so we learn the " general princi])le " ado])ted by these men by what they carried out and established : a new church order, different from both Presbyterianism and Prelacy. For ''July 20th, Governor Endicott," the civil power, not any ec- clesiastical, "sets apart as a day of fasting, prayer, and the trial and choice of a pastor and teacher." On " July 28th Mr. Hig- ginsoii, being desired by the tliirty associates, draws up a con- fession of faith and a covenant." {lb., ]). 190.) " On August 6tli, being Thursday, by the governor's api)ointment " (an officer amenable only to his 'company and to the Biitish Episcopal crown), "after the two ministers had preached, the confession and covenant were read to the assembly, some three hundred in number." To these the thirty willing to begin a chnrcli organi- zation assented, after which '' Mr. Higginson, with three or foiu: 496 APPENDICES. of the gravest " of the thirty members of the "society," perme- ated (as was taken for granted) with the power of '' Presbytery," ''proceeded to the laying on of hands " on Mr. Skeltoii with prayer. This constitutes Mr. Skelton their i)ast()r, and lie stands forth in a r.ew liL>lit. His Episcoi)al ordination is vainped up, and now a new si)ecies of ''tactual succession," "• i)art of iron and pait of clay " is upon him. His was an (and the (irst) American Protestant ordination. "Then Mr. Skel- ton," with others of the thirty, conveys a moiety of " the power of our Lord Jesus Christ " thus obtained, •' by a like ])r()cess to Mr. Higginson, by which lie becomes their teacher." {lb., p. 1S9.) A Mr. Houghton was then ordained as a ruling elder. {!()., p. 190.) "Messrs. Skelton and Higginson havinu- been or- dained by bisho])s in the Church of England, this ordination at Salem was only (they say) to this particular tiock founded on their free election. But as there seems to be a rciXMicd bnposi- Hon of hands, the former, on July 20th, may only signify their previous sei)aration for their solcnm charge ; and this latter of August 6th theii- actual investiture therein." (lb., p. 191.) This is the manner, plare and time in whicli, and at which *' Congregationalism i began to take and; took its rise " and saw the light of day " in New England." It was not European born nor even "seaborn." but born in Salem, Massachusetts — as was Pi-esbyteiianism in Jerusalem, Prelacy in Rome and Protestant Ei)iscoi)acy in London. As to the spot of its birth it was not at" Plymouth Rock," but at "Salem." For commerce, the i)lace was judiciously se- lected by Mr. Conant. It is " on a tongue of land two miles by three-quaiters of one mile, between the North and South rivers, in latitude 42^ 81' 18", in longitude 70^ 53' 53". It has a con- venient and well-])rotected harbor, was extensively commercial, until eclipsed by 13oston in the nineteenth century, has high lit- erary advantages now, some twenty churches, and a population of about twenty-five thousand souls. There and then the third " order " of ecclesiastical polity in Christendom began. This society in Salem, which has been said to be "the first complete church organization ever effected in North America " {Gazetteer),'-'' ih^^v^t Puritan church organized in America" {7>aic/i(?Zf7er), has risen so high tliat for generations the othcial successors of those God-fearing men who ofllciated at her birth, are elevated by the innate nature of Congregationalism to the plane of Unitarianism. Emmanuel, the "I am," has only a name, nothing more, and no place on the original church site. Such is the " Hub " of the all Congregational churches in Amer- ica. After these arrangements were completed. as ''the church professed to exercise discipline ui)on scandalous persons and to no lonrier re\v become respectable, 228. Argyle, N. Y., 250. Antrim, 268, 314, 353, 366. All expediont not advantageous, 274. Abbe la Poitre, 28S. Annan, R., 195, 222, 252, 259, 260, 262. Amherst Asso., a committee to wait on, 295. Annan, D., 195, 222, 272, 273, 278. Albany Syn-d. 314, 315, 327. Assent to her creed required, 342. Adams, llev. John R., 348, 355. Andover, on N. E. Primer, founded, 364. Adams, Rev. Dr. C. \V ., 380. Allen, Rev. Dr. B. R., 384. Adams, Jolin C, Esq.. 396, 397. i\d imantine chain, the, 399. Advent, church of the, 402. A. R. Pres. of Boston constituted, 408. Arnold, Rev. G. C, 420. Adherent, a generous one, 465. "Abreast of the times," 460. Astonished, a congregation, 463. A suicidal course apparently, 463. Balch, the Rev. Mr., 163. Bay colony divided into parishes, 19. Barnet, 321. Blair and Livingston, put back, 21. Baldwi.i, Rev. M., 154. Blackstone, Wm., 17. Boothl-ay. 143, 160, 177. Bradford, town of, 133, 328. Bradford, Governor, 478. Bath Kol, -^28. Boston, 375. Boston calls Murray, 156; Asso., 254, 256. Boston secured against lo8=, 63. Boston Pres. constituted, 109, 111. Boyd, Alex., ordained, 125, 126. Bi>;amy, a case of, 186. Broken state of Pies, in N. E., 269. lirowii, Rev. Jonathan, 290, 313. Barlow, Joel, 294. Bedford, 311, 312, 353. 367. Beattie. Rev J. M., 345, 475. Brainard, Rev. T. G., 348, 355. Bixby, Rev. Mr., 377. Bridgport, Dr. Hewett, Mr. Hinsdale, 384. Boston, a visit to, 389, 390. Bills not filed, 405. Boston Pies., tlie second, 465. Boasting excluded, 464. Burns, Rev. J. A., 469. Brewster, Elder W., 479, Calvin'B Institutes, 3, 1.3, 19. Change, a, in ^'ew York, 133. Craighead, Rev. Thos., 47. Congregations twelve, 150. Church at D. College unites with Pres., 314. Chanrdng, Kev. W. E.,316, 320, 321. Controversy rife. 320. Cornwall, Ct., 327. Church Street Church, 336, 337. Centennial commissionei-s, 190. Chester. N. H., 91, 92. Catechising, 164, Changes rung, 154, Caldwell, John, 104, Convention of 355, 266. Clarke, Rev. G. M., 464. Con\entiun, ecclesiastical, 293. Clarke's wh.irf and street, 22. Congregati-nalism carried to England, 19. Congregationalism rtinfurced, 334. Cromwell, 23. Colony cliaiteis united, 25, Conirover-y, causes of, 188, 189, Coleraine, 119, 12u, 213, 261, 265, 26P, 328. Congregationalism "sufficiently divine," 19. Cotton, Hooker and Stone, arrival of, 17. Cotton, Hooker and Stone obtained a new ordination, 17. Cotton, Hooker and Stone invited to assist in England, 20. Civil action against Pre.i, tlieir office, 13G. Dorrance, Rev. Mr., 12G. Doine.stic worship a vitality, 289. Do Lancy, Rev. R. A., 377. Daren, Rev. .J. W. Coleman, 384. " invision, rock of," 394. Di.scii)line, standard of, lowered, 394. Deed, a, 390. Dunn, Rev. J. B., 456, 460. iJaiia, R. II., Jr., 3ii9, 40U. Dinsniore, James, iAi. Episode, an, 395. I'-ast Boiiton, 375, a.ells. llev. W. ^V., 372, 373. " Eagle Wing," the, ll. Ewer, Rev. N., 14;). Edwards '"out of conceit," 1.3. England preci-ded Scotland, 14. Epi.-icopalians no longer, 19. Ecclesiiustical transition, 16. l.-xpo-sition of Scripture, 164. Ea-ton, 121,122, 124. Elliot, Rev. John, blessed, 220. " Elect's sake" less precious, 289. Endurance for public worship, 324, 325. " Expressive silence," 326. Ely, Dr. Ezra Styles' true declaration, 342. Effervescence jiassed off, 353. East Rustun, 419; U. P., 421, 464, 465. Factorv village, 37S, Fail River, 409-412. " Felt, want, a," 154. French Church, 38, 132, 334. " Faith" of the Pilgrims, 11. Faitli and logic, 200. Fasting, a day of. 236. Federal street, 267. Free-will Baptists condemned, 288. Family worship, 326. Ferrier, Rev. Thos., 346. Government determined, 11. qilmore, Hev., 151, 153, 215. Gray, Me., final meeting at, 217. Grafton Pres., 192; Eastward to, 232. Groton, 208, 258. Growth, eia of, 140. Grace, the means of, enjoyed, 231. Gibson, Rev. Wui., 344. Good Willie, Rev. David, 346. Goodwillie, Rev. Th mas, 346. Gray's, Mi-s. Wm.. guests, 348. George, Rev. B. Y., 374. Gordon, Rev. P , 387, 417. "Globe," the, of Toronto, 395. Gentleman, a, sorry and sworn, 398. Graham, Rev. W , 429, 472. "Genesis of the United States," 478. Hall, Rev. G. M., 389, 423. Harvey, Rev. Jos., 118. Henry, llev. Hugh, 131. Huguenots, 29-32; creed, appendix B. Hampton advised, 296, 296. Houston, Rev. J., 171, 185, 133. Harris, Rev. Mr., at Windham, 313. Hillhouse and expediency, 129, 83, 85. Hayes, Rev. A. A* 348. Hutchinson, Mrs., and the sisters, 18. Hutchi.son, Rev. A., received, 154. Hancock, John, 178. Hebron, N Y., 261. Huntington, sermon on imputation, 273. House, Rev. Wm., 363. Haskell, Rev. T. N., 375, 422. Harvey, Rev. Dr., 379, 380. Ilolbrook, Mass., Congl. church, 380. Hartford, 381, 3s2, 383, 424. Heron, Rev. J. M., 388, 425. Honest confession, an, 387. Hibernian, the, and Scot, 392. Heion, Rev. Dr. Andrew, 416. llolyoke, 418. Harkness, Rev. R., 466. Hood, Rev. J..hn, 464. Hammond. Rev. R. N., 469. Houston, Rev. A. Y., 469. Indi'pendence, declaration of, 171. Irish Pre>bytery and others, 277. JdiahofJ, -.'m. Impediment, an, 392. Imputation, 16. Indemnifications, 75. Inducements, large, 199. Johnston, Rev. W., 128, 130, 89. Jordan back once, 295. Johnston, Rev. N. R., 345. Johnston, Rev. Jiis. G., 375, Johnston, Uev. 11. H., 375, 421, 422. Junkin. Mr. A. C, 418. Jones, Rev. D. B., 419. Kinkaid, Rev. John, 130. Kno-\, John, returned to Scotland, 13. Kirk, address to the, 124. King's, Dr., Mount Zion of the earth, 392. Kyle, Kev. Joshua R., 465. Ken, a prophet's, 458. LeMercier, 36. Londonderry Pres., 132. Londonderry, 79, 275, 363. Lawrence, 423, 424. Long Lane and J. Murray, 156, 163, 158. Long L;ine, petition fronv, 254, 263. Little. John, (34, 05, 69, 73, 75, 316, 403. Lowell, 415; dance, 410-418. Little ordained, 310, 313. Luthrop's, I'.ev. Dr., statement, 405. Litchfield, 314. Lowe, Ji>hn, 189. Lech ford, 21. " Leave t.> withdraw " graciously given, 406. Lawson, Rev. J. R., 429. McArthur, Rev. Jas., 346. Murray, Rev. John, 141, 156, 158, 244-248. Merrill, Rev. N., received, 154. McGregor, Rev. Janies, 76, 77. INDEX. 511 McTipan, John, 1.'6. McGregor, Rt-v. David, 85, 134. Mi I tun, Rev. Mr , 290, 291. Mason, Uev. J. M., massive thoughts of, 302. Milligun, liev. James, ;i44, 345. Muni.liead, Rev. J., 153; "shy of it," 98. McClenuhan, Rev. Wm., 88, 126. McCIeary, Capt. David, 179. Murr.y, Rev. J., 175, 179, 180, 182. Mini.sters suffer, 1H8. Milfurd, Ct., 90. Morrison, John, his history, 130. Morrison, Rev. W., 252, 328, 348. Mansfield, Ct , 327. Moore, Rev. Sol., 328. McGregor, Rev. D., 353. M)ur, Rev. A. S., o75. M