Hollis, N.H. 
 
 One Hundred Fiftieth 
 
 Anniversary 
 Congregational Church 
 
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 ONE HUNDRED FIFTIETH 
 
 ANNIVERSARY 
 
 CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH 
 
 H0LLIS, N. H. 
 

 
 A BRIEF HISTORY 
 
 
 OF THE 
 
 CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH 
 
 HOLLIS, IT. 1H. 
 
 SKETCHES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 SUNDAY-SCHOOL AND THE CHOIR 
 
 AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 PRESENTED AT THE ONE HUNDRED FIFTIETH ANNIVER- 
 SARY OF THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH,' 
 
 KPRIL 20. 1S93. 
 
 BRISTOL, N. H.: 
 PRINTED BY R. W. MUSGROVE. 
 
 1893. 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 At the annual meeting of the church, December 29, 1892, a 
 committee, consisting of the pastor, Dea. E. J. Colburn, Wil- 
 bert P. Farley, Mrs. Charlotte M. Farley, and Mrs. Ellen H. 
 Lovejoy, were appointed to take into consideration the mat- 
 ter of the public observance of the one hundred fiftieth anni- 
 versary of the organization of the church and the settlement 
 of the first minister in town. If in their judgment it was 
 deemed advisable to celebrate the occasion, they were empow- 
 ered to make all necessary arrangements therefor, including 
 the appointment of committees. Deciding that it was best to 
 observe the day, they appointed Cyrus F. Burge, Charles S. 
 Spaulding, and Mrs. Sarah Farley a Historical Committee ; 
 Albert H. Richardson, a Committee on Entertainment, with 
 authority to choose needed assistants, and Silas M. Spald- 
 ing and Mrs. Louisa D. Spalding a Committee on an Old Time 
 Exhibition. 
 
 The necessary arrangements being completed, we came 
 together April 20, 1893, at the town hall, at 10 1-2 a. m., 
 where three hours were very pleasantly spent in social reun- 
 ion, a dinner to which upwards of three hundred fifty sat 
 down, and in viewing the collection of old-time relics. 
 These consisted, in part, of a pew and a portion of the pulpit 
 taken from the meeting-house before its change in 1849, a 
 portion of the communion set in use before 1831, the original 
 charter of the town, table articles in use by the first settler 
 and by the first minister, a flax and a spinning wheel, a tin 
 kitchen and a baker, a gun carried at the battle of Bunker 
 Hill, ancient books and documents, etc. 
 
At i 1-2 p. m., we adjourned to the church, where the fol- 
 lowing programme was carried out : — 
 Hymn, — " Come every pious heart." 
 Scripture reading, by Rev. A. J. McGown. 
 Prayer, by Rev. Daniel E. Adams.* 
 Anthem. 
 
 Historical address, — Rev. S. L. Gerould. 
 Anthem. 
 
 Sketch of the Sunday-school, — Dea. E. J. Colburn. 
 Anthem. 
 
 Sketch of the choir, — Dexter Greenwood. 
 Reminiscences, — Dea. Henry G. Little, of Grinnell, Iowa. 
 Hymn, — "O God, beneath Thy guiding hand." 
 Benediction. 
 
 *A great-great-grandson of the first ministe r. 
 
HISTORICAL ADDRESS 
 
 BY REV. SAMUEL h. GEROULD, PASTOR OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 It is almost presumptious for one at this day, and especially 
 for one who has had a residence in the place for only seven 
 years, to attempt to present anything that is new in the line 
 of local history. A town that has produced a painstaking 
 historian like Samuel T. Worcester can furnish few facts of 
 interest that have not already been recorded by him. So to- 
 day one can uu little more than to rehearse, for the sake of 
 the younger generation, what he has so well expressed in his 
 "History of Hollis," and to glean, here and there, some 
 trifling incidents from fields that he passed lightly over. 
 
 The first information we have of this town is the granting, 
 by the province of Massachusetts in 1661, of eight hundred 
 acres of what is now a part of its territory to the widow and 
 second son of Thomas Flint, in consideration of services ren- 
 dered by him as a magistrate. From this family we get a 
 name for a hill, pond and brook in this place. 
 
 Previous to the time of this grant, the territory now in- 
 cluded within the boundaries of Hollis had been the home of 
 certain Indian tribes. The Nissitissets lived in the western, 
 or hilly, part of the town, in the neighborhood of Birch hill, 
 which in early times was called Nissitisset hill. The Pene- 
 chucks had their home in the northeastern part of the town, 
 in the neighborhood of the pond now bearing their name, as 
 this afforded them an abundance of fish. The Auke-cun-sicks 
 were in the south-eastern part of the town, in the vicinity 
 of Runnell's bridge, with headquarters near Flint's hill. 
 
What we now call Hollis, by the Indians and by the first 
 whites that came into the region, was called Nissitisset, a 
 word meaning, according to some, " two rivers," and accord- 
 ing to others " a turkey." 
 
 A serious distemper, resembling the old-fashioned ' ' putrid 
 sore throat," had raged among the Indians in 1613, which 
 almost destroyed some of the tribes, and broke the warlike 
 spirit of all. 
 
 Let us go back in our imagination one hundred fifty 
 years, and try to get some idea of the place, and the condi- 
 tion of things here at that time. It was then called West 
 Dunstable, and included all that part of the present town 
 west of the Nashua river, Flint's pond, Muddy brook, and the 
 line continuing north to the Souhegan river ; all that part of 
 Amherst and of the east part of Milford south of that river ; 
 and nearly all of Brookliue. The town of Dunstable, which 
 was chartered October 16, 1673, of which this was a parish, 
 included, besides what I have named, all of the present towns 
 of Nashua, Dunstable and Hudson, and parts of Pepperell, 
 Townsend, Tyngsboro', Litchfield, and Pelham. This parish 
 received its charter December 28, 1739. It was then sup- 
 posed that all this territory was in the province of Massachu- 
 setts, which, accordingly, gave the above-named charters. 
 
 It was invariably stipulated in all the charters given at that 
 date that the people should " take due care from time to time 
 to be constantly provided with a learned, able, and orthodox 
 minister;" and precincts, or parishes, were given the same 
 powers, and charged with the same duties in this respect as 
 towns. The occasion for the seeking of this parish charter 
 was the fact that none of the people lived nearer to a meeting- 
 house than seven miles, and some of them were ten miles dis- 
 tant, and that if they went to their own meeting they had to 
 pass over a ferry the greater part of the year. And this "ferry," 
 you must know, instead of being a boat, was the back of a 
 trusty horse, which swam the river when he could not find a 
 foothold. Their meeting-house was situated near the state 
 
line, south of the present city hall of Nashua, it being the first 
 church in Dunstable. 
 
 From this you will see something of the interest of the first 
 settlers in the worship of God, and this interest was manifest- 
 ed as much by those who were not members of the church as 
 by those who were. They recognized their dependence on 
 God, and the necessity of recognizing Him, and of keeping 
 up the institutions of religion, if they would secure their own 
 prosperity. 
 
 Instead of the roads we now have, there were only bridle 
 paths, and but few of these. Not until 1780 was there a vehi- 
 cle in town for the conveyance of people ; if they travelled, 
 they must do so on foot, on horseback, or be drawn by oxen 
 in a cart or on a sled. This was then a wilderness, except for 
 the few settlements made here and there, inhabited by wild 
 beasts and rattlesnakes, over which the hunting Indian occa- 
 sionally roamed, or came to fish in the ponds. There was 
 nothing whatever to betoken the present situation. 
 
 Peter Powers, then but twenty-two years old, had come 
 here in the summer of 1730, and made a clearing, and built a 
 log house, on a spot a few rods west of Marcellus J. Powers's, 
 on land now owned by Dr. Frank Bell. Into this home, in 
 January, 1731, he brought his wife, twenty-one years old, 
 with their two little children. He was the first permanent 
 settler, although a Caleb Frye had squatted, as a trapper, for 
 a brief period, two or three years before, in the neighborhood 
 of the north school-house. 
 
 Think of this youthful couple, in this little clearing, with 
 their infant children, their nearest neighbor — if Frye had then 
 left the parts — ten miles distant by the nearest bridle path ! 
 With wmat courage and will must they have been animated 
 to have settled here under these circumstances. 
 
 In the summer of 1732 Eleazer Flagg came here, locating 
 in the south part of the town. The third settler was Thomas 
 Dinsmore, who made his home east of the road, and a little 
 below the present house of John Coburn. And so one fol- 
 
8 
 
 lowed another until, at the date of the organization of the 
 church, there were twenty-nine families in the little settle- 
 ment; the thirtieth, Jonathan L,ovejoy, coming in that very 
 day. 
 
 It would be interesting if we could positively know the 
 motives that led our fathers to settle in this wilderness ; but 
 in the absence of knowledge we can infer that it was that 
 spirit which has led so many of the sturdy sons of New Eng- 
 land to settle on the Western prairies, and that to-day is 
 bringing so many from foreign lands to these shores. It was, 
 in part, a spirit of enterprise arising from a desire to improve 
 their situation. But for that spirit, we should all be living in 
 congested centers, and there would still be large areas of wil- 
 derness in our country. 
 
 We must also remember that these townships were granted 
 on the condition that the proprietors should secure settlers to 
 occupy the land. The grants being made, skillful talkers 
 were sent into the older settlements to persuade the people 
 that it would be for their advantage to take up this new land. 
 Glowing accounts of the attractiveness of the place, and the 
 productiveness of the soil, were given; the representations 
 being of such a nature that any but a perfectly contented per- 
 son — and how few such there are even to-day — would be led 
 to believe that he could greatly improve his situation by the 
 change. The methods taken were probably not unlike 
 those taken to-day to boom some new place on the Pacific 
 coast, and with a similar result. 
 
 We must remember that at the period of which we are 
 speaking, and for a long time afterwards, it was the town, or 
 parish, and not the church, that acted in all matters relating 
 to the erection of meeting-houses and the support of the min- 
 istry. Before a church was organized in any place, the town 
 through its appointed officers, provided preaching as often as it 
 was able to do so. But it could hardly be expected that an infant 
 settlement of twenty or thirty families could support a minis- 
 ter without outside assistance ; and at that time there were 
 
no missionary societies to help. By the parish charter, here- 
 tofore mentioned, West Dunstable was allowed to assess two 
 pence per acre annually on all non-resident land, for a period 
 of five years, for the purpose of building a meeting-house and 
 maintaining public worship. This would have yielded them 
 a sum equivalent to about $1,380. 
 
 It is not strange that there was some controversy as to the 
 location of a meeting-house. The people in the west part of 
 the town wanted it on Proctor hill. Other places were also 
 proposed. A vote was passed at the first parish meeting to 
 erect it on the land near where John Coburn's house now 
 stands, but this was soon after reconsidered. In 1741 the 
 first house, 22 x 20 x 9, was built on the spot where this stands. 
 Its site and the adjoining burying-ground were given by 
 Abraham Taylor, who lived a few rods south-west of Charles 
 B. Richardson's blacksmith shop. Whether the house was 
 built of hewn logs, or of sawed lumber, is not certain. A saw 
 mill had been erected two years before not far from the Hay- 
 den Brothers' mill, which may have furnished the lumber. It 
 is probable, too, that there was another saw-mill in the south- 
 western part of the town, built in 1740 or 1741, near where the 
 Sullivan house was burned a few years since. This may 
 have furnished the lumber. 
 
 That our thrifty fathers did not need any missionary society 
 to help them is made evident by an unanimous vote passed in 
 March, 1740, "That Peter Powers and Abraham Taylor 
 should have all the taxes coming from non-resident proprie- 
 tors on condition that they bind themselves to maintain and 
 constantly support preaching for the term of five years, and 
 erect a meeting-house, pay off the debts of the parish arising 
 from their being set off from Dunstable, and in getting timber 
 for a bridge across the Nashua river, also to pay for some 
 back preaching by Mr. Underwood." Not unlikely there are 
 parishes of the present day that would be glad to avail them- 
 selves of a similar opportunity. 
 
 But they were soon doomed to meet a great disappointment. 
 
The same year in which the meeting-house was built, the state 
 line was re-surveyed, and it was found that West Dunstable was 
 no longer in Massachusetts, but in New Hampshire. By this 
 decision, not only was their corporate existence lost, but their 
 expectation of having their expenses paid by non-resident 
 taxes was lost also. Consequently they sought frcm New 
 Hampshire what till now they supposed they had obtained 
 from Massachusetts. But New Hampshire was not disposed 
 to be so liberal. They asked for a fish, and were given a 
 stone, — in having that part of Dunstable north of the state 
 line, and west of the Merrimack river, organized into a " dis- 
 trict" for the collection of province taxes only. But though 
 cast down by this bitter disappointment, they were not de- 
 stroyed. They continued to go through the form of holding 
 meetings, electing officers, and assessing taxes for the support 
 of worship as before. They had preaching as they were able 
 to secure it with their limited means ; a Joseph Underwood, a 
 Richard Pattershall and a John Towle, or Fowle, being 
 among those employed. And it would seem that quite a 
 large proportion of the expense of this preaching, as well as 
 of building the first and second meeting-houses, was secured 
 afterward from the non-resident tax, quite a part of which 
 they shrewdly managed to collect. 
 
 The sterling character of the people is shown by the fact 
 that, though they had no corporate existence, they were de- 
 termined not to be without the gospel. At a public meeting, 
 held January 17, 1743, they came together by common con- 
 sent and in their individual capacity, and voted to call Daniel 
 Emerson, of Reading, Mass., to become their pastor. They 
 fixed the salary and made all the arrangements for his settle- 
 ment and maintenance ; and then, that it might be impossible 
 to take advantage of their situation to evade future responsi- 
 bility, forty-three persons signed the call and the agreement, 
 making it as good as a promissory note. Some of these names, 
 however, must have been of minors, as, on the morning of Mr. 
 Emerson's settlement, there were but twenty-nine families in 
 town. 
 
II 
 
 In those days, besides the annual salary, it was customary 
 to give a new minister what was called a "settlement," it 
 being either a sum of money, or land, or both. To Mr. 
 Emerson was given forty acres of laud near the church, and 
 what would be equal to $333. His annual salary was gradu- 
 ated, being at first $171, and finally $239.40, also thirty cords 
 of wood. After the incorporation of the town, April 3, 1746, 
 it assumed his support, and year by year voted the sum agreed 
 upon by those signing the call, thereby relieving them from 
 their obligation. 
 
 At the time of the organization of this chureh there were in 
 this state forty-seven other churches, all but three of them, 
 and these Presbyterian, being of the "standing order," as 
 the Congregational church was then called. Thirty-one of 
 these were in the south-eastern part of the state — Dover being 
 the first organized ; ten were in this neighborhood ; in what 
 is now Cheshire county there were three ; and lying about 
 Concord there were a like number. Daniel Wilkins was the 
 pastor at Amherst, William Davidson at Deny, Nathaniel 
 Merrill at Hudson, David McGregore at Londonderry, Joshua 
 Tufts at Litchfield, Abner Bailey at Salem, and Josiah Swan 
 at Dunstable or Nashua. 
 
 We speak of this as the anniversary of the organization of 
 the church, and yet there is no proof that it was organized 
 April 30, 1743; it is quite possible that it may have been a 
 year or two earlier, but in the absence of proof to the contrary 
 it is assumed to have been on the date of the ordination and 
 installation of the first minister. 
 
 We come now to that great day, truly a " red letter day " 
 in the history of Hollis, one hundred fifty years ago. From 
 their log houses the people began to come together at an early 
 hour, men, women and children, down to the youngest in the 
 household. The men had work enough to do in clearing 
 their farms and in providing necessary food, but they were 
 deeply interested in the occasion that called them together. 
 They came on horseback or on foot from all parts of the town, 
 
and doubtless there were many from old Dunstable, from Am- 
 herst, from Groton, and from other places. I venture to say 
 that unless a person was physically disabled all the inhabi- 
 tants of the town were present. The men probably brought 
 their guns, for there were prowling bands of Indians around, 
 and they must be on their guard. One, with loaded musket, 
 stood outside, while the others crowded into the little church, 
 which was less than two thirds the size of our present vestry. 
 In those days the front seats were the places of honor, and the 
 people sought these rather than those in the rear. They were 
 all curious to see their youthful minister, then twenty-seven 
 years old, and the dignified council of ministers gathered 
 around him. 
 
 The records are silent as to the number and composition of 
 the council called to ordain and install him, but it is probable 
 that all the neighboring ministers were present as well as 
 some from a distance. The sermon was preached by Rev. 
 Wm. Hobby of Reading, Mass., from the text 2 Cor. 8: 23, 
 last clause — " The glory of Christ; " the sermon being an ar- 
 gument showing that the minister is the glory of Christ. The 
 sermon was printed in Boston in 1743, and a copy of it is still 
 in existence. 
 
 The people of that day had no newspapers, and almost no 
 books ; a half dozen volumes would have been considered a 
 large family library. Having so little reading they were fond 
 of listening to long sermons, which gave them food for thought 
 and conversation. It is said of another church that when its 
 minister cut down his two sermons from an hour and a half 
 to an hour, some of the brethren of the church came to labor 
 with him on account of his indolence. 
 
 Mr. Emerson was not married when he settled here. Dur- 
 ing the summer after his ordination he built his first house, 
 which was burned April 11, 1744. Its location is in doubt, 
 but it is supposed to have been on the lot now occupied by 
 Mrs. Hannah Rideout. Mr. Emerson brought his bride to 
 town in the autumn of 1744, and so it is presumed he rebuilt 
 his house the previous summer. 
 
13 
 
 His first sermon was preached from Acts 10: 29 — "I ask, 
 therefore, for what intent ye have sent for me?" The first 
 sacrament of the Lord's Supper was observed June 5, 1743, 
 and the day was memorable, also, as the occasion of the fun- 
 eral of Abraham Taylor, who had given the land for the 
 church and the burying ground, and who was the first adult 
 to be buried in the cemetery. Two years after, or July 31, 
 1745, the church covenant was "renewed" and signed by ten 
 persons besides the pastor. It is significant that no woman's 
 name is appended to the list. As indicating something of the 
 changes wrought by time this covenant is here given : — 
 
 "We, whose names are underwritten (being the second 
 church in Dunstable) , do covenant with the Lord and with 
 one another, and do solemnly bind ourselves before the Lord 
 and his people, that we will, through Christ's strengthening 
 of us, walk after the Lord in all his ways, as he hath traced 
 them out in his word. 
 
 " 1 st. We avouch the Lord Jehovah to be our God, and give 
 up ourselves with our seed after us in their several genera- 
 tions to be his people, and that in the sincerity and truth of 
 our hearts. 
 
 ' ' 2nd. We give up ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ to be 
 ruled and guided by him in the matters of his worship, and 
 in our whole conversation acknowledging him, not only our 
 alone Saviour, but also our King, to rule in and over us, as 
 well as our prophet and teacher by his word and Spirit ; ac- 
 cordingly we vholly disclaim our own righteousness in point 
 of justification, cleaving unto him for righteousness, life, grace 
 and glory. 
 
 " 3d. We promise, by the help of Christ, to walk with our 
 brethren and sisters of the church in the spirit of love, watch- 
 ing over them, and caring for them, avoiding all jealousies, 
 suspicions, backbitings, censurings, quarrelings, and secret 
 risings of the heart against them ; forgiving and forbearing, 
 and yet seasonably admonishing and restoring them with the 
 
spirit of meekness, who, through infirmity, have been over- 
 taken in a fault. 
 
 " 4th. We will not be forward in church meetings to show 
 our gifts and parts in speaking ; nor endeavor to disgrace our 
 brethren by discovering their failings, but attend an orderly 
 call before we speak, doing nothing to the offence of the 
 church, but in all things endeavoring our own and our broth- 
 ers' edification. 
 
 ' ' 5th. We further promise to study how we may advance the 
 gospel and kingdom of Christ so that we may gain them that 
 are without, and settle peace among ourselves, and seek the 
 peace of all the churches, not putting a stumbling block be- 
 fore any, but shunning the very appearance of evil. 
 
 "6th. We promise to demean ourselves obediently in all 
 lawful things toward those God has or shall place over us in 
 church or commonwealth. 
 
 ' ' 7th. We resolve in the same strength to approve ourselves 
 in our particular callings, shunning idleness; nor will we op- 
 press any we deal with ; also promising, as we are able, to 
 teach our children and servants the good knowledge of the 
 Ivord, and to fulfill all relative duties prescribed in God's 
 word, that all ours may learn to fear and serve the L,ord with 
 ourselves." 
 
 The church records do not show that any articles of faith 
 or creed were introduced during Mr. Emerson's ministry, or 
 until 1805, though it is probable that assent to something of 
 the kind was required. 
 
 It is to be regretted that no records of the action of the 
 church were made from 1758 to 1792, consequently much of 
 the history of this period is lost. As to the membership, all 
 we know is that ten males signed the covenant in 1745, and 
 forty-seven members voted on a certain question in 1755. As 
 in those days females never voted, and as there must have 
 been as many women as men, the church must have num- 
 bered not less than twenty in July, 1745, and not less than one 
 hundred in 1755. At the close of Mr. Emerson's ministry 
 the number had increased to two hundred. 
 
15 
 
 The first minister was hardly settled before it became evi- 
 dent that the meeting-house was too small to accommodate the 
 increasing population. So, again, before they had a charter, 
 the people unanimously voted Sept. 6, 1745, to build a house 
 50x44x23. They began at once to prepare the materials, but 
 as the town received its charter April 3, 1746, it was thought 
 best to make their action legal, so the previous vote was formal- 
 ly affirmed, June 13, 1746. Before the house was raised, 
 however, considerable opposition to its location had manifested 
 itself on the part of the inhabitants of the west part of the 
 town, which is now in Brookline. They did their best to 
 have it built on Proctor hill, but were not able to change the 
 location. 
 
 The house was raised Aug. 13, 1746, though it was two 
 years before it was ready for the pews. " Pew ground," as 
 it was called, was then sold, and those who bought were re- 
 quired to build their own pews, which the husband and 
 wife, and probably small children, were permitted to occupy 
 together. There were twenty of these pews arranged around 
 the building next the walls, and only those paying the largest 
 taxes could occupy them. The rest of the men and women 
 and the older children occupied long seats in the center of 
 the house, and in the galleries, the men being on the west 
 and the women on the east side of the house. The pulpit did 
 not co ne until 1749, and the porches not until 1772. We 
 find that the town agreed to pay eighteen shillings annually 
 for the care of the house, but it was careful to provide that 
 unless the work was done acceptably nothing should be paid. 
 I wonder if a janitor to-day could be found who w r ould risk 
 his salary on an agreement to satisfy everybody. 
 
 The town's first minister is characterized as being in his 
 youth remarkable for his alertness and fondness for skating 
 and wrestling. Graduating at Harvard in 1739, he remained 
 there for some months as college butler. While in college he 
 was said to have been very fond of gay pleasures, until his 
 attention was turned to the subject of religion by the preach- 
 
i6 
 
 ing of George Whitefield in the autumn of 1740. Like many 
 others at that time he followed Mr. Whitefield from place to 
 place. He received into his own strong, ardent, impulsive 
 nature the influence of this mighty man of God. The preach- 
 ing of Whitefield introduced a more liberal element into the 
 theology of that day, and his adherants were known as !' New 
 Lights." When Mr. Emerson had been settled a short time 
 he became known as a prominent " New Light," and this had 
 the effect of alienating from him some of his brethren in the 
 ministry. Notwithstanding this, he became a kind of bishop 
 for the region round about, no man in southern New Hamp- 
 shire being more extensively known, or his influence more 
 powerfully felt than his. The chief excellencies of his preach- 
 ing were said to be his "sound doctrine, deep feeling and 
 zeal, at times almost overwhelming." Through his influence 
 many of the young men of his parish were persuaded to enter 
 the ministry. 
 
 His interest in public affairs is shown by his acceptance in 
 1755, and again in 1758, of a commission as chaplain in regi- 
 ments commanded respectively by Colonel Joseph Blanchard 
 of Dunstable and Colonel John Hart of Portsmouth, which 
 marched against the French and Indians. On each occasion 
 he was absent about six months. As letting us into the inner 
 life of the man, I give you the contents of one of his letters to 
 his wife, written in 1755 from Crown Point, N. Y., and brought 
 to Hollis, according to tradition, by his faithful dog, which 
 he had taken with him for the purpose. The original of the 
 letter is still in existence* in this town. 
 
 Lake George, Sept. 19, 1755. 
 My Dear Wife : — If you could by a window look into my heart I 
 believe you would find that you posssessed as much of me as ever 
 woman did of any man's heart on earth. I fear I spend too much time 
 in thinking about you. My children are very dear to me you know, 
 and blessed be God we have such pleasant ones, but you do outweigh 
 them all. I hope God is and has been the health of your countenance 
 
 With Mrs. Levi Abbot, a great-granddaughter. 
 
I? 
 
 and your God. I hope to see you, dearest of mortal creatures, before 
 October is out if God will. I hope you and I shall be resigned to God's 
 will in our absence, and be better fitted and prepared to live his praise 
 together than ever we were. I wish I may be enabled to be as kind a 
 husband as ever lived. I know you do deserve to be treated well, let 
 my conduct be what it will. I can see many mistakes in my behaviour. 
 I wish I may, but durst not promise to, conduct better, knowing I am 
 nothing. My dear, I still thank you for your love, tenderness, and 
 dutifulness constantly exercised toward me ever since I knew you. I 
 pray the God of our fathers may bless you and our dear little ones. 
 I hope you all are in health. I am very well, better than I have been 
 this three years last past. When I wrote you last I was not so well, 
 but getting better. I eat heartily in the morning. I hope you will be 
 directed how to manage affairs. I hope to be at home soon enough to 
 get winter beef. If you want anything don't spare for family necessa- 
 ries. I have written to Bro. Emerson* to assist you. I wish you all 
 the blessings of the Mediator's grace, and hope and pray God to make 
 up my absence to you in the more abundant effusions of his Holy 
 Spirit on you and family. O my dear, like apprentices I reckon by 
 days, 'tis long, long since I saw you. I commend you to God who is 
 able to keep you from falling, and fill you with all good, but if you do 
 want to see me as I do you, I pity you from my heart. My .love to 
 you aud children. Daniel Emerson. 
 
 During Mr. Emerson's ministry what was called the " Half 
 Way Covenant" was in use in this church. It was voted, 
 April 8, 1748, "to admit persons to take the covenant upon 
 them without coming to full communion." This was an ar- 
 rangement by which persons who were not church members, 
 if they owned or accepted the covenant of the church, had 
 the privilege of presenting their children for baptism, a privi- 
 lege as much prized by our fathers as it is disregarded by their 
 children. The practice grew out of a law in the Massachu- 
 setts and New Haven colonies, years before, by which only 
 baptized persons could hold office. This was offensive to 
 many, as by it their children would be excluded from office, 
 and so this compromise was made, which wrought much mis- 
 chief in the churches. The practice continued long after the 
 cause for its adoption ceased to exist, and was in vogue here 
 
 *Probably Rev. Joseph Emerson of Pepperell, Mass., a brother of Mrs. Daniel Emerson. 
 
until July r8, 1794, when it was "voted, to repeal a vote 
 formerly passed to admit parents to offer their children in 
 baptism on confessing the covenant without coming to full 
 communion." 
 
 In 1764 Rev. Peter Powers, who may be called a son of the 
 town, though he was two years old when his youthful parents 
 settled here, having previously been a minister for a few years 
 in Lisbon, Ct., went to Newbury, Vt., where there was an 
 infant settlement, and organized a church, composed of mem- 
 bers on both sides of the Connecticut river. He was invited 
 to the pastorate and accepted the call. As there were no 
 churches in that neighborhood, and so it would be inconven- 
 ient to convene a council, the church voted that the installa- 
 tion should be "down country," and appointed one of its 
 members to represent them. Accordingly the council, com- 
 posed of representatives of the churches in Groton, Harap- 
 stead, Hollis, Pepperell and Salem, met here, more than a 
 hundred miles distant, and on Feb. 27, 1765, he was installed, 
 the candidate preaching his own installation sermon. - 
 
 As some of our citizen soldiers in the French and Indian 
 wars were making their way north, passing through the valley 
 of the Pemigewasset, it would seem that they became enam- 
 oured with its broad and productive meadows. This and the 
 spirit of emigration that brought our fathers to this place, 
 caused eight men from this town to go through the wilderness 
 in 1762 to what is now Plymouth, where they made a settle- 
 ment. Others went the next spring and after, until about 
 forty of our citizens had made themselves homes in that place. 
 As illustrating the hardships of the journey when these men 
 took their families, I quote from a statement by a son of Cap- 
 tain Jotham Cummings, one of these early settlers, as found 
 in Mr. Hazen's "Historical Discourse at the Centennial An- 
 niversary of the church in Plymouth." 
 
 "My mother rode through from Hollis on horseback, 
 brought a child on her lap, and baggage, which contained all 
 her furniture to keep house with. Their sufferings for a few 
 
19 
 
 of the first years were distressing. They had to go to the 
 meadows and pull wild onions, and fry them in the fat of bear 
 meat, to subsist upon, without a morsel of bread. My father, 
 with others, went to Concord on snovvshoes, with hand-sleds, 
 and hauled up three bushels of corn meal each ; and for a 
 number of years — as late as the Revolutionary war — I well re- 
 member how good a piece of bread tasted after being without 
 it for three weeks. In the night the woods would resound 
 with the howling and fighting of wolves and other furious an- 
 imals; and, what was worse, alarms would frequently come 
 down that the French and Indians were coming down upon 
 us from Canada. I remember well, that on one sabbath they 
 had got down as far as Haverhill, and were hourly expected 
 here. Every man who had a gun carried it to the meeting 
 house, where were assembled the women and children, to 
 seek protection in the sanctuary. Though not five years 
 old, I walked beside my mother, with an infant in her arms, 
 three miles to attend meeting, most of the way in the woods." 
 
 These early settlers came back to Hollis to spend the first 
 and second winters, before taking their families, and here, 
 before their return in the second spring, April 16, 1764, the 
 church in Plymouth was organized, and for the same reason 
 that Rev. Peter Powers was installed over the church in New- 
 bury in this place. 
 
 If any of us are ever tempted to feel that the old days were 
 better than these, we have but to read the early records of our 
 churches to have the illusion vanish. Probably they were 
 more strict in the observance of the sabbath, and in attend- 
 ance on sabbath worship, but quarrelling, intemperance and 
 licentiousness were exceedingly common. A considerable 
 part of the early records is taken up with the trials of these 
 various offenders. The records of this church show a good 
 many transactions of this kind. It is to be said to the credit 
 of those accused, however, that in most instances they con- 
 fessed their sin, asked forgiveness, and were restored to the 
 fellowship of the church. Suppressing names and dates, let 
 
20 
 
 me give you two of these confessions as a sample of many, 
 both of them being from women : — 
 
 " Being sensible that I have indulged in a sinful use of ar- 
 dent spirits, tending to an intemperate habit, I feel it to be 
 my duty and privilege to confess my fault to God and to this 
 church, resolving by divine grace to repent and reform, and 
 asking the forgiveness of the church. I request their prayers 
 for me, that through Christ I may obtain forgiveness of this 
 and all other sins, and be enabled in future to live soberly, 
 righteously, and godly in Jesus Christ, and by a well-ordered 
 life and conversation evidence repentance, love and a new 
 obedience." 
 
 "Christian friends: — I now appear before you to acknowl- 
 edge my offence in departing from the path of virtue and holi- 
 ness, in particular for a breach of the seventh commandment, 
 for which I hope I truly repent, and humbly ask the forgive- 
 ness of "this church and restoration to your fellowship, prayers, 
 and reproofs." 
 
 The fact is worth recording that Amos Kendall, whose 
 early home was near Salmon brook in Dunstable, and who 
 was once the Fourth Auditor of the United States Treasury, 
 and afterward Postmaster General, under Jackson and Van 
 Buren, and was such a benefactor to the deaf and dumb of 
 the country, was baptized by Mr. Emerson in this church 
 Aug. 16, 1787. 
 
 Mr. Emerson's interest in the young was manifested in his 
 organizing them into an association that differed little from 
 the Endeavor Societies of to-day, except that its membership 
 was confined to young men. The date of the organization is 
 lost, but it must have been before the Revolutionary war, and 
 from the names appended to its articles it would appear to 
 have been in existence many years after. The articles of 
 association, signed by forty-eight persons, thirteen of whom 
 were soldiers in the Revolutionary war, will be found on pp. 
 243, 244 of "History of Hollis." * 
 
 * A similar Association had been previously organized about 1767, in Reading, Mass. 
 Mr. Emerson's native place. 
 
21 
 
 It would appear that there were revival refreshings in 1766, 
 1772, 1 78 1 and 17SS-9, and very likely at other times. From 
 the fact that so man}- had died, or emigrated to Plymouth or 
 elsewhere, and that the church numbered about two hundred 
 at the close of Mr. Emerson's ministry, it would seem that he 
 was a faithful "fisher of men." 
 
 But the time came when the good man found the burdens 
 of the parish and church too much for him. Whether he 
 asked a release, or the people first proposed a colleague, is 
 not known. The church voted, May 7, 1792, "That it is 
 their desire to settle a minister in this town with our Rever- 
 end pastor Daniel Emerson, as soon as God in his providence 
 may direct. Voted, to lay the above vote before the town, 
 to see if it is their desire to join with us in settling a minister 
 as above, and if the said town agree with us, then to desire 
 this town to join with us in setting apart a day for fasting, 
 humiliation and prayer to Almighty God for direction in this 
 important affair." 
 
 As a result of this Mr. Eli Smith, who had previously re- 
 fused a call to Pelham (Samuel Worcester, a native of this 
 town having a little before received and refused a call to the 
 same church), accepted a call to the pastorate of this church, 
 and was ordained and installed Nov. 27, 1793, Mr. Emerson 
 remaining senior pastor until his death, Sept. 30, 1801. The 
 churches invited on this occasion were Belchertown, Dracut, 
 Franklin, Medway, Townsend, Pepperell, all of Massachu- 
 setts, and New Ipswich. Why the adjoining churches in this 
 state were not called it is not easy to explain. 
 
 Mr. Smith in temperament was the very opposite of Mr. 
 Emerson, but he gave himself with equal earnestness to his 
 work, and he made his impress for good upon the town. 
 Prof. Ralph Emerson, in his funeral discourse, says of him 
 that ' ' He was endowed by nature with a most ardent temper- 
 ament. Activity was his life. His sensibilities like his per- 
 ceptions, were as quick as the lightnings flash." His thirty- 
 seven years labor here were blessed with numerous revivals. 
 
22 
 
 Previous to the year 1800 about one hundred had united with 
 the church. In the years 1801 and 1802 there was a remark- 
 able work of grace, the most powerful the church ever en- 
 joyed, from which about one hundred fifty came into the 
 church. Regarding this revival the church records contain 
 the following : — 
 
 " In the latter part of the year 1801 there were indications 
 of a reviving spirit in the church. Christians were animated, 
 and were led to trim their lamps and prepare for the coming 
 of the bridegroom. Their desires enlarged, and their hearts 
 expanded, while they raised the petition, 'O Lord, revive thy 
 work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years re- 
 member mercy.' And when the blessing came it exceeded 
 the most sanguine expectations. The heavens were opened, 
 as it were, and the Spirit was poured down in large measure. 
 The promise of God was abundantly verified, ' I will pour 
 water on him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground. 
 I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon 
 thine offspring, and they shall spring up as among the grass, 
 as willows by the water courses.' The Spirit was not con- 
 fined in his operations to any one class, or to any one part of 
 the town ; all classes were awakened, and every neighborhood 
 was visited. Opposition retired before the power of God's 
 grace ; the voice of caviling was hushed, and the sneer of 
 the scornful was abashed. Sinners in Zion trembled, and 
 fearfuluess surprised the hypocrite. The voice of those who 
 were wont to ridicule was either changed into that of love and 
 gratitude, or was hushed in wonder and astonishment. This 
 was truly a Pentecostal season, and the church was seen com- 
 ing up out of the wilderness leaning on the arm of the Be- 
 loved." 
 
 In 181 1 and again in 18 17 there were other interesting re- 
 vivals, but none of those which followed were as powerful as 
 the one just described. 
 
 In this connection I may as well speak of the method of 
 conducting revival meetings in those days. Instead of send- 
 
23 
 
 ing for an evangelist, neighboring pastors were called in, and 
 the> T held what was called a "protracted meeting." Three 
 or more sermons a day were preached by as many persons, 
 the meetings beginning in the morning and continuing all 
 day, for several days. Then " inquiry meetings " were held, 
 weekly or oftener, together with such extra meetings as the 
 pastor himself felt able to conduct. To these inquiry meet- 
 ings were invited all who were anxious about their spiritual 
 condition, and it often occurred that the decision to attend 
 was the turning point in one's life. 
 
 It was during the ministry of Mr. Smith, or in 1801, that 
 the Philanthropic Society was organized, although it was not 
 chartered until 1814. Its object was to secure a foundation 
 for the perpetual support of the gospel in this place. But its 
 history is so well set forth in the town history that it needs 
 only to be mentioned in this place. It now has invested funds 
 to the amount of $5,965. 
 
 Shortly after the great revival of 1 801-2, the people began 
 to feel the need of better church accommodations, which re- 
 sulted in the building of the present house, though not as we 
 now see it. The master workman was Nathan Holt, who 
 lived where Mr. Isaac Vandyke now resides. During its 
 erection parts of the old house were moved across the common 
 to the school house, standing where Warren Colburn's house 
 now is, and set up against its front door ; and here the Sun- 
 day services were held until the house was completed, the 
 women seated in the school house, the men in the temporary 
 building at the door, the minister standing in the doorway. 
 The report of the building committee is still in existence, from 
 which it appears that its total cost was $7,049.35. The pews 
 sold for $8,416.35, besides those unsold valued at $568. The 
 excess of receipts over cost was returned to those who had 
 bought pews, in proportion to the amount they had paid. 
 The house was originally painted yellow or straw color, so 
 that when afterward painted white, the yellow would show 
 through for a long time. The front porch for many years 
 bore the gilt sign, "Built 1804." 
 
24 
 
 It is worthy of note that we have one with us to-day who 
 remembers the raising of this meeting house, the venerable 
 John Coburn. He also remembers the old house, and on one 
 occasion riding to the service within with his grandfather, 
 Lemuel Hardy, his grandmother, Hannah (Jewett) Hardy, 
 on a pillion behind, and himself a child of three years of age 
 in front. 
 
 In 1 8,1 2 the General Association of New Hampshire met in 
 this place, it being its fourth annual meeting. At that time 
 the New Hampshire Bible Society was organized, which has 
 done so much for the dissemination of the word of God in this 
 state and elsewhere, and which was served for upward of forty 
 years so faithfully by its agent, Dea. William Gilbert Brown, a 
 native of this place. The seventy-fifth anniversary of this so- 
 ciety was held here in September, 1887. 
 
 As indicating the sterling character of the young women of 
 those times, and what they were thinking about, we have to 
 record the organization, Nov. 9, 1814, of the "Female Chari- 
 table and Reading Society," which has survived the changes 
 of the years, and come down to the present day. Its first re- 
 cords are extant, and from them I give you the preamble : — 
 
 " We, the undersigned, feeling the importance of improving 
 our minds in useful and religious knowledge, of cultivating 
 friendly and benevolent affections, and contributing our mites 
 to objects of charity, do hereby form ourselves into a society 
 for the purpose of reading useful and religious books, and 
 conversing upon the same ; likewise devoting the reading 
 hours to some useful and benevolent employment, and in that 
 manner endeavor to make ourselves more valuable members 
 of society and better qualified to support that religion which 
 is the basis of all virtue and happiness." 
 
 From the "Rules," which follow, it would appear that 
 there was reading by each person in turn, in alphabetical or- 
 der, for fifteen minutes, and then a few moments spent in con- 
 versation on what had been read, before the next reader took 
 her turn. Thirty-eight names are signed to this document, 
 
25 
 
 only one of whom is known to be living to-day, Catherine 
 H. Smith, now Mrs. Rev. Darwin Adams. 
 
 Bnt what did they read ? In those days there were no 
 stories such as we have, and had there been, it would have 
 been thought a waste of time, if not a sin, to read them. 
 Oct. 19, 1817, the names of thirty-nine volumes are recorded 
 as having been read since the organization, and these are some 
 of them: "Essay on Doing Good," "History of Redemp- 
 tion," a poem, "Mason on Self Knowledge," " Flavel on 
 Keeping the Heart," "Scott's Force of Truth," etc. We 
 can hardly think of persons who read books like these en- 
 gaging in gossip or small talk of any kind ; they were think- 
 ing on higher themes. 
 
 But while reading, and conversing about their reading, their 
 busy fingers were at work, sewing and knitting. As now, 
 boxes were sent to need}* missionaries, and clothing and sup- 
 plies were furnished young men fitting for the ministry, 
 Dartmouth College and Andover Theological Seminary shar- 
 ing with other institutions in these gifts. It would seem that 
 cravats were then an important part of a young man's outfit, 
 for there are frequent records of gifts of these. In 18 17 it is 
 recorded, "Made a collection of $1.14, which was expended 
 for six cravats. These, together with twelve pair of feeting 
 were sent to Andover." At the next meeting they "pieced 
 and quilted a bed quilt for a poor woman," presumably of 
 Hollis. Donations of yarn and of wool, which they spun, are 
 recorded. In 1821 a very valuable box was sent to the Brain- 
 ard Mission among the Cherokee Indians in south eastern 
 Tennessee, the letter which accompanied it being recorded. 
 
 Since 1833 the records show that the ladies have contributed 
 over $1,500 for the work of the society, and that over seventy 
 barrels and boxes have been sent to home and foreign mis- 
 sionaries, amounting in value to ^4,443.24, besides the help 
 that has been furnished needy ones at home. 
 
 In 1 82 1 a bell was procured by private subscription, the 
 list, on parchment, being still in existence. Its cost was 
 
26 
 
 $57°-36> given by one hundred sixty individuals. This bell 
 was unfortunately cracked some thirty years after, and the 
 present bell obtained, which is said not to be nearly so sweet 
 toned as the former one.* Until the bell was procured the 
 town had depended for some years for its time on a clock, 
 with a dial of about three and a half feet in diameter, on the 
 gable end of Dea. Enos Hardy's barn, across the road from 
 where Sullivan E. Kimball now lives. This had a bell, in 
 form like the bells of house clocks but much larger, so that 
 its striking could be heard at a distance of half a mile or more. 
 This clock was made by Abijah Gould, whose home was hard 
 by, and who was a famous maker of clocks in the early part of 
 the century. Whether the people of this town were ever 
 called to church by a drum or horn, as was the custom in many 
 places, is not known, but it is probable that during Mr. Em- 
 erson's ministry the beating of the bass drum was the call to 
 the house of God. 
 
 As showing the custom in other places, it seems that Hav- 
 erhill, Mass., once voted "that Abraham Tyler blow his horn 
 half an hour before meeting on the Lord's day and on lecture 
 days, and have one pound of pork per annum from each fam- 
 ily, for the same." In Westfield, Mass., a man was paid 
 twenty-five shillings a year to beat the drum to call people to 
 meeting. In 1816 the first bell in Sullivan county was pro- 
 cured, and so great was the interest in it that people went 
 from far and near to see and hear it, so that it soon got the 
 name of the " Meriden idol." 
 
 One who was present when the first bell was raised says : 
 " The ropes were handled by an old sea captain from ' Brim- 
 stone Corner.' They drank, they cursed, they quarreled; 
 indeed it was the mouth of hell. Bad as is the world to-day, 
 it is better now than then." Another says, "Just before the 
 bell was raised Parson Smith came out of his house, across 
 the common, and in earnest prayer dedicated the bell to 
 God's service." 
 
 *It is said that the crack in the old bell was afterward sawed out, and that the bell is 
 now in use on one of the churches in the neighborhood of Boston. 
 
2 7 
 
 We must remember that in those days there was no method 
 of heating the meeting houses. How our fathers could sit 
 through those long services without a fire is not easy for us to 
 understand. There were those who advocated stoves, but 
 this was fought by a few with all their powers, as an innova- 
 tion of the devil designed to lull into religious indifference. 
 Our grandmothers, however, did not propose to suffer more 
 than was necessary if their lords did, and so they provided 
 themselves with "foot stoves," a little tin box, perforated 
 on the sides and top, and guarded with wooden cleats, in which 
 was placed a dish of coals. But it would seem that the men 
 looked upon this little indulgence with an unfavorable eye, 
 as the town at one time voted to confiscate any that might be 
 left in the meeting house. It was not until Dec. 28, 1830, 
 that the town, at a special meeting, voted to permit indi- 
 viduals to place stoves in the house, and appointed a com- 
 mittee to locate them. 
 
 The year 1826 was memorable throughout New England on 
 account of the temperance revival that swept over it, sometimes 
 known as the " Washingtonian movement." There had been 
 something of a temperance sentiment aroused before this time ; 
 for thirty years the people had been slowly opening their eyes. 
 Among its early advocates in this town were Jesse Worcester 
 and Thomas Cummings. But it was not until 1820 that total 
 abstinence was publicly advocated ; previously the effort had 
 been to prevent the too free use of strong drink. This tem- 
 perance revival reached Hollis, and its first society was organ- 
 ized in 1827. Thomas Cummings was its president for many 
 years. The early records were lost, it is supposed, in the 
 burning of the house of Hon. Benj. M. Farley in 1857. If 
 this was like most other temperance organizations of the day 
 it did not call for the disuse of cider, wine or malt liquors ; 
 indeed some of the most earnest workers at that time advoca- 
 ted the use of wine as a preventive of intemperance. 
 
 In November, 1831, the church adopted the following: 
 ' ' Believing that the drinking of distilled spirits is not only 
 
2S 
 
 unnecessary but injurious, that such use of them is the cause 
 of forming intemperate habits, and that while continued the 
 evils of intemperance can never be prevented, and believing 
 also that intemperance is the cause of a large portion of the 
 pauperism and crime which fills our prisons and almshouses, 
 and that much of the wretchedness of individuals and families 
 in all classes of society may be traced to that use ; and believ- 
 ing furthermore that the use of distilled spirits is a great 
 hinderance to the progress of the spiritual good of our fellow- 
 men, therefore, resolved, 
 
 i — That as a church we view with deep regret the preva- 
 lence of intemperance in the community. 
 
 2 — That we heartily approve of the efforts which have been 
 made, and are now making, to remedy the evils of it, and pro- 
 mote temperance, 
 
 3 — That as professed Christians we are in duty bound to 
 throw all our influence on the side of those who are engaged 
 in this laudable and humane enterprise 
 
 4 — That it be earnestly recommended to the members of this 
 church to abstain from the use of distilled spirits, except as a 
 medicine. 
 
 5 — That the making a public profession of religion be con- 
 sidered a pledge to the community of entire abstinence from 
 the use of them, except as above specified ; and also an ex- 
 pression of a determination to discountenance in all suitable 
 ways the use of them in the community." 
 
 Another interesting movement had been going on in the 
 churches of New England for a good many years. I refer to 
 the agitation for the entire separation of church and state. 
 Many were coming to believe that the church or congrega- 
 tion, and not the town, should support the ministry, it being 
 a plea for the voluntary principle. Many good men resisted 
 it, believing it would be fraught with danger. But it made its 
 way in spite of opposition, though it was not until March n, 
 1830, that action was taken which severed this church from the 
 town, by the organization of "The Evangelical Congrega- 
 
29 
 
 tional Church and Society in Hollis."* The word "church " 
 has. however, never been used since the first in the warrants 
 for the meetings. 
 
 In the year 1830, having passed his three-score years and 
 ten, it was thought best that Mr. Smith should be relieved by 
 the settlement of a colleague. Whether this movement be- 
 gan with him or with the church, the records are silent, al- 
 though the presumption is that it was the church, as it is re- 
 corded, Sept. 6, 1830, that the question being asked in church 
 meeting, " Is it your pleasure that Rev. Eli Smith shall re- 
 tain his pastoral relation to you as senior pastor after a col- 
 league shall be settled ? Voted in the affirmative, nineteen 
 brothers for, six against; thirty sisters for, none against." 
 After a pastoral charge of thirty-seven years this vote reveals 
 the hold he had upon the hearts of the people. But Mr. Smith 
 evidently thought it better to sever his pastoral relations with 
 the church, and accordingly this was done by the advice of 
 the council which installed Rev. David Perry, who came to 
 them as a pastor, from the church in Cambridgeport, Mass. 
 
 Mr. Perry was a faithful and earnest minister, and his work 
 was blessed not only by the addition of upwards of one hun- 
 dred fifty to the church, but by bringing about many improve- 
 ments, and getting the church into a better working condi- 
 tion. The church adopted, Nov. 25, 183 1, a new Confession 
 of Faith and Covenant, and on May 5, 1837, Rules for the 
 Practice and Discipline of the church, both of which were 
 printed. This Confession of Faith is virtually the same as 
 the one adopted and printed in 1805, but the Covenant was 
 materially changed. 
 
 For some time it had been the custom to have eight com- 
 munion services in the year, but in 1S31 the church voted to 
 observe them on the first Sabbath of each alternate month. 
 This, however, was so strongly opposed that the next year 
 they returned to the original number, holding them on the 
 first Sabbaths of January, April, July and October, and the 
 
 *The state legislature passed a law July 3, 1827, permitting the separation of the church 
 from the town. 
 
3Q 
 
 third Sabbaths of February, May, August and November. 
 In 1834 they were reduced to six, and were held on the same 
 date as now, and took the place of the afternoon service. 
 
 In January, 1836, was organized the " Hollis Benevolent 
 Association," its object being to furnish aid to the various 
 charitable religious organizations of the day. It must be re- 
 membered that in those days it was considered almost sacre- 
 ligious to raise money on the Lord's day, even for the most 
 worthy purpose, as it savored too much of the world ; hence 
 all contributions were made by personal solicitation during 
 the week. When the practice of Sunday contributions was 
 introduced here it is related of one man, with more zeal than 
 wisdom, that he attempted to upset the arrangement by up- 
 setting the hat that was being passed, and scattering the con- 
 tents upon the floor, much to the chagrin of the friends, but 
 to the amusement of the opponents, of the new method. 
 
 It would be interesting if we could know just how much the 
 church has given for benevolent objects away from home, but 
 no data is at hand to furnish this information. It is found, 
 however, that since 1853 at least $14,285.00 has been contrib- 
 uted. In this connection and as showing the interest of the 
 fathers in foreign missions at an early date, it is worth men- 
 tioning that Henry Obookiah, a native Sandwich Islander 
 who had come to this country for instruction long before a mis- 
 sion was established there, spent some time in town, probably 
 about 1815 or 1816. His presence and anxiety to carry the 
 gospel to his own people, must have stimulated the interest of 
 this people in missions. 
 
 When prayer meetings were first introduced it is impossible 
 to say. We find soon after Mr. Perry's coming that the 
 church voted to observe a prayer meeting on the first Wednes- 
 day afternoon of every month, at 2 o'clock. But it is certain 
 that Mr. Smith held prayer and conference meetings on Sun- 
 day evenings at the center school house, and a mid-week 
 meeting at his own house for a long time ; also school house 
 meetings on Sundays and week days as they seemed to be de- 
 
3i 
 
 manded, with "lectures" at regular intervals. It is also 
 probable that at one time "sunrise prayer meetings" were 
 held, but on what occasions, or for how long a period, it is 
 impossible to say. 
 
 During Mr. Perry's ministry a " Maternal Association" was 
 organized, it being a mothers' meeting for prayer for, and 
 mutual aid in training their children. And in this connec- 
 tion I may speak of the women's prayer meetings held during 
 Mr. Smith's pastorate, at first with Madame Emerson, and 
 after her death with Mrs. Smith. Once a year it was their cus- 
 tom to spend a whole day together in fasting and prayer. 
 How many years these meetings were kept up it is not known. 
 In those days it was regarded as a great impropriety for a 
 woman to speak in any meeting where men were present, but 
 it appears that one of the sisters of this church felt called upon 
 to exhort, and being forbidden by Mr. Perry she asked for let- 
 ters and was dismissed to a church where she could enjoy this 
 privilege. 
 
 In 1837 the question of providing a vestry was agitated, 
 and the church went so far as to purchase a lot containing 
 twenty-two hundred fifty feet, just east of the meeting house, 
 but for some reason the contract was thrown up on an agree- 
 ment that the land should go into the common. 
 
 One custom prevailed at this time that had come down 
 through a good many years, that would strike the young peo- 
 ple of to-day as exceedingly unique. Every intention of 
 marriage must be published three times in church before this 
 parties could wed. Some time before the sermon the town 
 clerk would arise, and in distinct tones announce, " Marriage 
 is intended between John Smith and Sarah Jones." This 
 custom certainly had a tendency to prevent hasty and illy-con- 
 sidered marriages. Whenever a death occurred, the follow- 
 ing Sabbath the members of the stricken household would all 
 l»e at church to hear the minister read a note they had already 
 placed in his hands, to the effect that, "George Brown hav- 
 ing departed this life, the afflicted family ask the prayers of 
 
32 
 
 this congregation that the event may be sanctified to their 
 spiritual good." When a child was born, a similar note of 
 thanksgiving for a safe delivery and for the birth of a child 
 was sometimes read from the pulpit. 
 
 After eleven years of faithful service Mr. Perry felt that his 
 work here was done, and so in 1842 he resigned. It was im- 
 possible for a man of such strong convictions and such a keen 
 sense of duty not to offend some. Notwithstanding this the 
 majority of people thoroughly appreciated the man and his 
 work, and felt that he had left behind an imperishable influ- 
 ence for good. 
 
 Mr. Charles Lord, who was graduated from Andover Semi- 
 nary that year, was then called, but declined. He went west, 
 where he labored twelve years, and then returned to Massachu- 
 setts for further work, where he died in 1872. 
 
 In 1843 Mr. James Aiken, then one year out of the semi- 
 nary, became your pastor. Though the church was unani- 
 mous in its call, a portion of the society was opposed to his 
 coming, eighteen members signing a protest against it. Con- 
 sequently his ministry was not as harmonious as one should 
 be. He failed to unite the people, and opposition increased 
 rather than otherwise, causing him to resign in 1848. He 
 was a man of fine appearance, from a family noted for its mu- 
 sical abilities. Mr. Aiken was himself an excellent singer, 
 and had taught singing considerably before coming here. 
 During his five years with us he did not a little to awaken 
 interest in sacred music, and he is remembered to-day more 
 from what he did in this line than for anything else. 
 
 Mr. Matthew D. Gordon, a native of Scotland, followed him 
 in 1849, but as his health was infirm his stop with the people 
 covered only a little more than three years. 
 
 For some years previous to his coming the question had 
 been agitated of making a change in the meeting house, so as 
 to render it somewhat more modern in style. The town by a 
 deed of Nov. 22, 1849, relinquished to the society the owner- 
 ship of so much as was needed for religious purposes, and al- 
 
33 
 
 lowed certain alterations to be made. The house was turned 
 one quarter around, so the west side faced the south, where 
 it was extended so as to include the belfry, which before had 
 been a porch as well. The porches, formerly on the south 
 and east, and the galleries, were removed, a floor was laid on 
 a level with the former galleries so as to make two stories, a 
 gallery was built for the singers in the south end, — it being 
 the form in which we now see it. This involved an expense, 
 including the appraisal of the old pews, of $7,059.98. This 
 was raised by selling the stock at $10 per share to prospective 
 pew-holders and others, and this stock was received as so 
 much toward a new pew. The sum of $6,000 was thus taken 
 in stock. The new pews were appraised to cover the cost, 
 and the choice being sold at auction, $955.25 was received, 
 which was used in carpeting and upholstering. 
 
 Soon after, or in June, 1852, the house since occupied as a 
 parsonage, was bought by a syndicate of eighteen persons, 
 the property being divided into forty shares. These shares 
 were gradually given to. or bought by, the society, or came 
 into the possession of Dea. Noah Farley, who afterward gave 
 them to the society, so that in 1879 it became the sole owner. 
 The original cost of the house, including repairs to fit it for 
 the occupancy of your ministers, was $2,470. 
 
 Rev. Pliny B. Day, whose genial face is still remembered 
 by so many, was installed by the same council that dismissed 
 Mr. Gordon. He came at a time when the church was ripe 
 for better things ; the work of preparation had been done, and 
 the harvest was ready for reaping. A revival of great power 
 began almost immediately, from which about fifty came into 
 the church. This was followed by another extensive out- 
 pouring of the spirit in 1858, which brought about seventy- 
 five more into the church, many of whom are with us still. 
 This work began with meetings in the Bailey district, which 
 was formerly regarded as the stronghold of religion in the 
 town. Many of you will remember the earnestness of Dea. 
 Isaac Farley at that time, his going about from house to house 
 to plead with men to be reconciled to God, and when he was 
 
34 
 
 rebuffed, kneeling on the doorstep as he went out, and pray- 
 ing for the inmates as though the}- had been his own children. 
 During Dr. Day's ministry upwards of two hundred were 
 brought into the church, though this does not tell the whole 
 story of his work. Impressions were made, unseen influences 
 for good started, that since have ripened into nobler, purer, 
 living. He will long be remembered as the genial gentleman, 
 the sympathizing friend, the faithful pastor, and the earnest 
 preacher. He did much for the schools while here, being al- 
 most continuously one of the school committee. He was 
 loved by all his people as few pastors are loved. As his miu- 
 isty covered the period of the civil war he did not a little to 
 instill principles of patriotism in the minds of his people. 
 The esteem with which he was held was evinced in the plac- 
 ing a tablet to his memory at the left of the pulpit where he 
 had so long and faithfully proclaimed the gospel. It was a 
 sad day for this people, July 6, 1869, when Dr. Day was 
 called to his reward. Not only this town, but many others, 
 mourned his loss. Faithful counsellor that he was, he was 
 often called on to give advice to those out of town. In 1863 
 he was placed on the Board of Trustees of Dartmouth College, 
 though not a graduate of that institution ; from it he received 
 the degree of D. D. in 1865. 
 
 The year following Dr. Day's death, or in 1S70, Rev. John 
 L. Merrill was called to the pastorate but declined. He is 
 now the pastor of the church in Newbury, Vt., whose first 
 minister, Rev. Peter Powers, was from this town. A few 
 months after Mr. Merrill declined, in the same year, came Mr. 
 Laird, a faithful and earnest preacher, and wonderfully gifted 
 in prayer. Soon after he came the Confession of Faith and 
 Covenant of the church was revised, and with a catalogue of 
 the members in 1831 and those since joining, was printed. 
 During Mr. Laird's ministry of four years about forty were 
 brought into the church. It appears that his situation here 
 in some respects was not agreeable, for in December, 1872, 
 he resigned, but by advice of a mutual council he remained. 
 He renewed his resignation in December, 1873, but before it 
 
35 
 
 was acted upon he was taken with the illness that terminated 
 in his death Aug. 20, 1874. The tender love of his people, 
 their loyalty and faithfulness to him during his last days, 
 stand recorded on the records of the church, as are the words 
 of appreciation that came from the stricken members of his 
 own household. During his long illness his pulpit was sup- 
 plied gratuitously, for the benefit of his family, by the Hollis 
 Association. His last sermon was a former one repeated by 
 request from 1 John 3. 2 : — "Beloved, now are we the sons 
 of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we 
 know that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we 
 shall see him as he is." 
 
 In 1875 Rev. Walter Rice, now of Agawam, Mass., was 
 called, but declined. Then came Rev. Hiram L. Kelsey, who 
 before had been connected with the Methodist denomination. 
 Sixty-six persons united with the church during his ministry. 
 He is so well remembered by most of you that I will not stop 
 to characterize him except to say that he excelled in his pul- 
 pit and social powers, and had more of what might be called 
 the evangelistic methods than, perhaps, any other minister 
 you ever had. He was dismissed in February, 1879. 
 
 In July following, Mr. Barker B. Sherman, just from the 
 Seminary, and now pastor at Chelsea, Vt., was invited to be- 
 come your pastor but did not accept. 
 
 After candidating about a year , Rev. Darius B. Scott was 
 installed. Twenty-eight were added to the church during the 
 five years he was here. During his pastorate, in 1883, the 
 meeting house was thoroughly repaired and renovated, the 
 organ moved from the gallery to its present position, the house 
 newly frescoed, and the seats upholstered, all at an expense 
 of about $2,000. On the occasion of the first communion 
 after returning to the house, the first Sabbath in Novem- 
 ber, a beautiful plated communion set was presented by 
 Miss Sarah Conant,. a member of the church, since de- 
 ceased, and a grand-daughter of Dea. Josiah Conant, one of 
 the early deacons of the church. This took the place of a 
 britannia set that had been in use since October, 1831, costing 
 
36 
 
 at the time $31.75. By a vote of the church the old set was 
 given in 1886, to a missionary church in Nebraska, and by 
 that church was divided with two others, so that it is now 
 used by three churches. In this connection I would say that 
 the two cups with handles now in use are of solid silver, and 
 were given by Dea. William Emerson, at some date not yet 
 ascertained. The set in use previous to 1831 is understood 
 to have been distributed among members of the church, and 
 a part of it is still in existence. 
 
 Mr. Scott left in December, 18S4, and for fourteen months 
 the church was without a pastor. How many candidates 
 ascended the pulpit stairs during that time is not recorded, 
 but their number was legion. Among these Rev. Frederick 
 W. Ernst, now principal of Dow Academy, Frauconia, was 
 called, but declined to accept. 
 
 Your present pastor came in 1886. The Young People's 
 Society of Christian Endeavor was organized May 9, 18S7, 
 and a new church manual was adopted the following year. 
 Evangelistic meetings conducted by Rev. Messrs. Nathan H. 
 Harriman and Robert F. True, were held in the summer of 
 1889, resulting in the bringing of about sixty into the church. 
 Windows were placed in the church in 1890 in memorial of 
 Rev. Daniel Emerson, Rev. Eli Smith, Rev. David Perry , 
 Rev. James and Mrs. L,aura G. L,aird, Dea. Phillips and Mrs. 
 Dorothy Wood, Deacons Josiah and Abel Conant, Jonathan 
 T. Wright, Mrs. Rebecca Butterfield, and in the vestibule, 
 furnished by the town, of Peter Powers and Abraham Taylor, 
 and Captains Reuben Dow and Nathan Ames. 
 
 We now have hastily run over the one hundred fifty years 
 of our church history. Much of interest there is of which 
 there has been no time to speak ; much more, too, that never 
 can be recorded in the annals of earth. Who is able to reck- 
 on the prayers and tears, the sweet influences for good, and 
 even those other influences which have tended in the opposite 
 direction, but all of which have been recorded in God's book 
 of remembrance, and which shall be revealed by him when- 
 ever it seems good to him? Our fathers labored and we have 
 
37 
 
 entered into their labors. They have fallen asleep, leaving 
 with us the work to carry on. We shall soon be with them, 
 so that what we do we must do quickly. The two hundredth 
 anniversary will soon be here, and at that time, for most of 
 us the things that now seem of greatest importance will as- 
 sume very small proportions, and things we now are apt to 
 neglect will seem to be of most consequence. God grant that 
 we may transmit to our children this heritage of our fathers, 
 not only "without spot or wrinkle," but that by our labors 
 we may add to its beauty and lustre, so that as they gather 
 fifty years from to-day, they may be able to say of us that we 
 have done well for Christ's sake. 
 
PASTORS OF THE CHURCH 
 
 Daniel Emerson, ordained April 20, 1743 ; died Sept. 30, 1801. 
 Eli Smith, ordained Nov. 27, 1793; dismissed Feb. 23, 1831. 
 David Perry, installed Feb. 23, 1831 ; dismissed June 13, 1842. 
 James Aiken, ordained Aug. 30, 1843 ; dismissed July 3, 1848. 
 Matthew D. Gordon, installed Mar. 21, 1849; dismissed July 
 
 7, 1852. 
 Pliny B. Day, D. D., installed July 7, 1852 ; died July 6, 1869. 
 James Laird, installed May 25, 1870; died Aug. 20, 1874. 
 Hiram L. Kelsey, installed June 1, 1875; dismissed Feb. 24, 
 
 1878.. 
 Darius B. Scott, installed Sept. 25, 1879; dismissed Dec. 23, 
 
 1884. 
 Samuel L,. Gerould, installed April 14, 1886. 
 
 MINISTERS RAISED IN HOEEIS. 
 The towns mentioned are the places of ministerial labor. 
 
 Peter Powers, b. Nov. 29, 1728; Newent, Conn., Newbury* 
 Vt., Deer Isle, Me.; d. May 13, 1800. 
 
 Josiah Goodhue, b. , 1729; Dunstable, Mass., Putney, 
 
 Vt.; d. Nov. 14, 1797. 
 
 Henry Cummings, D. D., b. Sept. 16, 1739; Billerica, Mass.; 
 d. Sept. 5, 1823. 
 
 Noah Worcester, D. D., b. Nov. 28, 1758; Thornton, Salis- 
 bury, editor and writer; d. Oct. 31, 1837. 
 
 Joseph Wheat, b. July 18, 1759; Grafton; d. Oct. 28, 1837. 
 
 Joseph Emerson, b. Sept. 28, 1759; licensed but never or- 
 dained; d. July 27, 1781. 
 
39 
 
 Josiah Burge, b. April 15, 1766; licensed but never ordained ; 
 
 d. Mar. 24, 1790. 
 Leonard Worcester, b. Jan. 1, 1767; Peacham, Vt., etc; d. 
 
 May 28, 1846. 
 Thomas Worcester, b. Nov. 22, 1768; Salisbury, etc.; d. 
 
 Dec. 24, 1831. 
 David Smith, b. Sept. 48, 1769; Temple, Me., Meredith; 
 
 d. Aug. 18, 1824. 
 Samuel Worcester, D. D., b. Nov. 1, 1770; Fitchburg, Mass., 
 
 Salem, Mass., Secretary A. B. C. F. M.; d. June 7, 1821. 
 Daniel Emerson, Jr., b. July 15, 1771 ; Dartmouth, Mass.; 
 
 d. Nov. 16, 1808. 
 David Brown, b. April, 4, 1773; evangelist; d. unknown. 
 Abel Farley, b. July 17, 1773; Manchester, Vt., Goshen, 
 
 Mass.; d. Mar. 22, 1S17. 
 David Jewett, b. Aug. 16, 1773; Rockport, Mass.; d. July 16, 
 
 1 84 1. 
 Joseph Emerson, 2nd, b. Oct. 13, 1777; Beverly, Mass., By- 
 field, Mass., Saugus, Mass., Weathersfield, Conn.; d. 
 
 May 13. 1833. 
 Mighill Blood, b. Dec. 13, 1777; Bucksport, Me.; d. April 6, 
 
 1852. 
 Stephen Farley, Jr., b. Oct. 24, 1779; Claremont, Atkinson ; 
 
 d. Sept. 20, 1851. 
 Caleb J. Tenney, D. D., b. May 3, 1780; Newport, R. I., 
 
 Weathersfield, Conn., Agent Am. Col. Soc; d. Sept. 28, 
 
 1847. 
 Fifield Holt, b. Mar. 27,1784; Bloomfield, Me.; d. Nov. 15, 
 
 1830. 
 Grant Powers, b. Mar. 31, 1784; Haverhill, Goshen, Conn.; 
 
 d. April 10, 1841. 
 Daniel Kendrick, b. Mar. 30, 1785; Pittston, Me.; d. Mar. 
 
 14, 1868. 
 Eli Smith, b. July 16, 1787; Frankfort, Ky., Paris, Ky.; d. 
 
 Oct. 23, 1839. 
 Ralph Emerson, D. D., b. Aug. iS, 1787; Norfolk, Conn., 
 
40 
 
 Professor Andover Theological Seminary; d. May 20, 
 1863. 
 
 Samuel Ambrose, b. ; Sutton, Home Missionary; d. 
 
 May 30, 1830. 
 
 Leonard Jewett, b. Oct. 2, 1787; Home Missionary in New 
 York and New Hampshire, Temple; d. Feb. 16, 1862. 
 
 William P. Kendrick, b. Jan. 20, 1794; Home Missionary in 
 New York, Bristol, 111.; d. Nov. 5, 1854. 
 
 Jacob Hardy, b. Nov. 14, 1795; Strong, Me.; d. Mar. 1, 1833. 
 
 David P. Smith, b. Sept. 20, 1795; Sandwich, Parsonfield, 
 Greenfield; d. Oct. 11, 1850. 
 
 Solomon Hardy, b. Sept. 27, 1796; Home Missionary in Illi- 
 nois and Massachusetts; d. Sept. 18, 1842. 
 
 Taylor G. Worcester, b. April 6, 1799; licensed but not or- 
 dained ; d. Sept. 7, 1879. 
 
 Eli N. Sawtell, D. D., b. Sept. 8, 1799 ; Louisville, Ky.; agent 
 American Seaman Friend Society, Havre, France, Sara- 
 toga, N. Y.; d. April 6, 1885. 
 
 Luther Smith, b. Aug. 11, 1800; Zanesville, O. 
 
 Phillips Wood, b. July 12, 1S01 ; Bloutsville, Tenn., Piqua, 
 O.; d. June 11, 1856. 
 
 Henry A. Worcester, b. Sept. 22, 1802 ; Abington, Mass., 
 Portland, Me.; d. May 24, 1841. 
 
 Joseph Emerson, b. Sept. 4, 1S08; Agent and Secretary Be- 
 nevolent Societies, Rockford, 111.; d. July 21, 1885. 
 
 Henry H. Saunderson, b. Sept. 1, 1810; Ludlow, Vt., Wall- 
 ingford, Vt., Charlestown, Swanzey ; d. Jan. 25, 1890. 
 
 Thomas A. Farley, b. July 8, 18 13, ; died immediately after 
 graduating, Aug. 26, 1841. 
 
 William P. Eastman, b. Sept. 20, 1813 ; New Comerstown, 
 O., Union, O.; d. Oct. 2, 1887. 
 
 Edward Johnson, b. Oct. 13, 1813 ; Missionary Sandwich 
 Islands; d. Sept. 1, 1867. 
 
 Charles Cummings, b. June 7, 1817 ; licensed but never or- 
 dained ; teacher, Medford, Mass. 
 
 Amos F. Shattuck, b. July 9, 1832 ; Home Missionary, Dur- 
 ham, Me., Worcester, Vt., Hatchville, Mass. 
 
SKETCH OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL 
 
 DEACON EXOQH J. COEBURN. 
 
 "The records of the Sunday School connected with the 
 church in Hollis, during- the first years of its existence, have not 
 been preserved, and we do not know the date of its introduc- 
 tion, who its officers were, whether it lived under a constitu- 
 tion or not, there being but very few now living who have any 
 knowledge of the school earlier than 1830. The person 
 who can give the earliest date of its existence is Mrs. Cath- 
 erine IT. Adams, who is a daughter of the late Rev. Eli 
 Smith, now ninety years old and more, who remembers hav- 
 ing a class of six little girls in the gallery of the meeting house 
 in 1820. She remembers her grief at the death of one of 
 these girls in the autumn of that year. Taking this date, we 
 can readily judge that the church in Hollis was among the 
 first to engage in the Sunday school work. 
 
 The work of the school at its beginning, and for twenty 
 years afterward, was the committing and reciting verses of 
 Scripture and the Assembly 's Shorter Catechism. A catechism 
 prepared by Rev. Joseph Emerson, who was a son of Dea. 
 Daniel Emerson, was also used in some of the classes. 
 
 It was the teacher's duty to hear, and make a record of the 
 number of verses recited by each pupil, and at the close of the 
 term in the autumn the pastor, from the desk on the Sabbath, 
 or at a meeting held for that purpose, announced the name 
 and number of verses recited by each pupil. We are told by 
 one of the pupils in those times, that more than sixty years 
 have not effaced the memory of the anxiety of that trying day 
 
42 
 
 when, after having exerted themselves during the season, 
 that they might stand at or near the head, they found them- 
 selves far behind. Some of the pupils succeeded in reciting 
 a remarkable number of verses, which number was published 
 in The Farmer's Cabinet, and attracted wide attention and 
 comment. The sessions of the school were held only during 
 the warmer months of the } r ear, for the first twenty-five years. 
 The school was reorganized about the first of May each year, 
 when new combinations in classes were formed and new 
 teachers chosen. 
 
 The constitution of the present Sunday-school was adopted 
 April 5, 1830, under the name of "The Auxiliary Sabbath 
 School of Hollis," it being auxiliary to the " New Hampshire 
 Sabbath School Union." It continued under this name for 
 thirty-one years, when the " New Hampshire Sabbath School 
 Union" having ceased to exist, its name was changed to 
 " The Sabbath School of the Evangelical Congregational So- 
 ciety of Hollis," which name it retained for twenty-seven 
 years, when, in 1888, the word " Society" was stricken out, 
 and the word " Church " substituted, and so it has remained 
 to the present time. 
 
 The annual meeting for the choice of officers and transac- 
 tion of business was held " at the intermission between 
 services on the day of the annual Fast," and continued to be 
 held on that day until 1851, when, without altering the con- 
 stitution, so far as we know, it was not held until the 17th of 
 June, when it was voted that " The annual meeting be held 
 on the first Monday in May after the Monthly Concert." In 
 1853a vote was passed "that the officers call the annual 
 meeting when they think best," and in 1854 and 1855 the 
 meetings were held during the first week in May. In 1856 a 
 return was made to "Fast day," and continued until 1883, 
 when the constitution was changed to have the annual meet- 
 ing held on the last Sundaj' in December in each year. 
 
 The officers of the school are a president, a secretary, who 
 also acts as treasurer, and for the first forty years acted also 
 as librarian, a superintendent and three directors. In 1870 
 
43 
 
 the constitution was changed, making the librarian a separate 
 officer. 
 
 The first meeting held under the constitution was on the 
 13th of May, 1830, when Capt. Daniel Bailey was chosen pres- 
 ident, Jonathan T. Wright, secretary, treasurer and libra- 
 rian, Ephraim Burge, superintendent, and Capt. William 
 Brown, Isaac Farley and Dea. Thomas Farley, directors. 
 
 The persons who have acted as president are Capt. Daniel 
 Bailey, Dea. Phillips Wood, Thomas Cummings, Dea. Aaron 
 Hardy, Dr. Oliver Scripture, Leonard Willoby, Alpheus 
 Eastman, Dea. Isaac Farley, Rev. Pliny B. Day, D. D., 
 Rev. David Perry, Rev. James Laird, Dea. James D. Hills, 
 Rev. Darius B. Scott, James E. Hills, Dea. Enoch Colburn, 
 and Rev. Samuel L. Gerould. The persons who have acted 
 as secretary, treasurer and librarian combined, are Jonathan 
 T. Wright, who served twenty-four years, Ebenezer T. 
 Wheeler, five years, Dea. Perry M. Farley, ten years, and 
 Dea. Enoch J. Colburn, two years. As secretary and treas- 
 urer alone, Francis A. Lovejoy served three years, Franklin 
 P. Colburn, two years, Edgar J. Patch, three years, Geo. H. 
 Hardy six years, Charles J. Pollock, one year, and Wilbert P. 
 Farley is now on his sixth year. Those who have served as 
 librarians are James C. Hildreth who served four years, Hor- 
 ace Vandyke, three years, Edward L. Hodgman and Cyrus 
 F. Burge, two years each, Albert H. Richardson, Mrs. 
 Isaac W. Pierce, Austin R. Paull, Miss Bertha L. Colburn, 
 Mrs. Amanda A. Swallow and Mrs. Lizzie S. Russell, each 
 one year, and Roger Paull is now on his sixth year. 
 
 The superintendents have been Dea. Ephraim Burge, Dea. 
 William Emerson, Cyrus F. Burge, Edward L. Hodgman, Rev. 
 Darius B. Scott, who each served one year, Benj. G. Searle, 
 Henry Fox, Silas M. Spalding, each two years, Dea. Isaac 
 Farley, Ezra Shedd, Leonard Willoby, William A. Trow, 
 Dea. Perry M. Farley, each three years, Dea. Phillips Wood, 
 four years, Rev. David Perry, Dea. James D. Hills and 
 Henry A. Goodwin, each five years, Dea. Enoch J. Col- 
 burn, six years, and Dexter Greenwood eight years. Edgar 
 
44 
 
 J. Patch served six months, when he removed from town, and 
 Albert H. Richardson one year and six months. 
 
 The qualification for membership in the school at first was, 
 "all who signed the constitution," which was amended in 
 183 i and the words added, "and who pay annually an}- sum 
 for the support of the library," and it so remained for thirty 
 years, when it was changed to "any person who shall attend 
 the school as teacher or pupil for three months may be a 
 member of the school," and it has so remained for thirty-two 
 years. 
 
 The records do not show the numbers attending the school 
 for the first fifty ) T ears, and we have no means of knowing 
 the highest, lowest, or average attendance of those times ; but 
 the votes passed at the annual meeting in 1 83 1 , appointing a com- 
 mittee ' ' to canvass the town and converse with all parents and 
 prevail on them to send their children to the Sabbath School, ' ' 
 and again in 1836, 1839 and 1844 "that there be an effort 
 made to get young people into the Sabbath School," show 
 the efforts that were made for success, though with what re- 
 sult we do not know. 
 
 The average number connected with the school for the last 
 seven years has been two hundred thirty, and the average at- 
 tendance one hundred fourteen. 
 
 The 'need of a library connected with the school was felt at 
 an early date, for we find a catalogue of one hundred twenty- 
 one volumes dated March, 1830, which is the only written 
 item that comes to us of the existence of a school before 1S30. 
 During the earlier years there were committees appointed to 
 canvass the town and solicit donations for the support of, and 
 additions to, the library, and, so far as we know, all money 
 raised in the school or by donations was expended for that 
 purpose. The records show that committees were appointed 
 from time to time to purchase new books and dispose of the 
 old ones. The library at present contains some more than 
 four hundred volumes, most of which are designed for chil- 
 dren and the younger members of the school. 
 
 The method of raising money in the school, for the last 
 
45 
 
 twenty five years, has been by penny boxes and envelopes, 
 which are passed through the school each Sabbath, and the 
 amount raised in this way has averaged during the last seven 
 years $104.60 annually, which is expended in the purchase of 
 books for the library, for the expenses of the school, and for 
 donations to worthy objects that are presented from time to 
 time. 
 
 Question books were first introduced into the school in 
 1843, and continued until the " International Sunday School 
 Lessons " were introduced, soon after they first appeared. 
 
 Those who are now between the ages of sixty and sixty-five 
 will remember a large class of small children, too young to 
 recite verses or attend the regular sessions of the school, 
 who were gathered in the square yellow school-house, then 
 standing at the south-east corner of the common, and were 
 there under the care and instruction of Miss Eliza Jewett and 
 Miss Susan Hale, and were taught to repeat the Lord's 
 prayer, after the teacher, a sentence at a time, and in simple 
 language such as they could understand, were taught the love 
 of God, and how Jesus died for men, and how we should love 
 and obey him. They were helped to understand, and their 
 interest awakened, by large pictures of Jesus on the cross, 
 etc., to illustrate Bible truth and the way of salvation. I per- 
 sonallv remember my mother leading me to the door and en- 
 couraging me to remain, while she attended a Bible class at 
 Rev. Eli Smith's house, where for several years he had a 
 large class of middle aged and elderly ladies. 
 
 In looking over the list of persons who signed the constitu- 
 tion as members of the school in 1830, and a few years later, 
 beginning with Rev. Eli Smith, Dea. Ephraim Burge, Daniel 
 Bailey and so down the list, one must count to the sixty- 
 third name before he will come to one now living. All that 
 was mortal of those first recorded is now resting in our ceme- 
 teries, and what was immortal may be now realizing the 
 value of Sunday-school instruction obtained in this Sunday 
 school. The lesson to be learned by us is, " Be ye therefore 
 ready also : for the son of man cometh at an hour when ye 
 think not." 
 
SKETCH OF THE CHOIR. 
 
 DEXTER GREENWOOD. 
 
 Tradition and observation both warrant us in the declara- 
 tion that singing has held an important place in the worship 
 of a Deity, by all tribes and nations, from the earliest period 
 of history. We have no knowledge of a people who wor- 
 shipped a God or Gods, true or false, with whom music did 
 not have a prominent place. We shall find, as we consider 
 the subject of church music, from the time of the first settlers 
 in New England, to the organization of the church in Hollis, 
 the 150th anniversary of which we to-day celebrate, that our 
 forefathers in Hollis, in this respect, were much like other 
 folks. L,et us for a few moments look at a word picture of 
 the "other folks," and the customs and usages that had be- 
 come so fixed, that their vise-like grip was hard to shake off. 
 The historian says, " They held an unaccountable prejudice 
 against every kind of musical practice during divine service. 
 This prejudice sometimes assumed the proportions of a fan- 
 atical hatred of music, to such a degree that even the simple 
 psalm tune was entirely dropped, and the people became as 
 unmusical as if they had been uncivilized barbarians." 
 "They would even chase the musicians from the organ 
 gallery." 
 
 The Puritans and Dissenters in general confounded music 
 with Popery, and therefore it was banished, not alone from 
 church service but from the home circle, all the music books 
 were destroyed, the organ taken down, and the invention of 
 new tunes was peremptorily forbidden. 
 
 The Pilgrims, who landed at Plymouth in 1620, brought 
 
47 
 
 with' them their psalm tunes, and their hatred of secular 
 music, and this aversion against secular music had much to do 
 in their choice of sacred music. Therefore they used nothing 
 but the Psalter, which they brought over with them. 
 
 The version of the Psalter was made by Henry Ainsworth 
 of Amsterdam. It guided the devotions of the settlers at 
 Plymouth and Salem for many years, but was superseded in 
 most churches, in 1640, by the Bay Psalm book, which was 
 prepared by a New England divine, and published at Cam- 
 bridge, it being the second book published in America. Pre- 
 vious to the year 1690 it is said there were but eight or ten 
 psalm tunes, taken mostly from Ravenscroft's collection, and 
 these were sung in rotation, without any regard to the subject 
 of the preacher. About 1712, John Tufts of Newbury, Mass., 
 published a book of twenty-eight tunes, with rules, " that the 
 tunes might be learned with the greatest ease and speed im- 
 aginable." When it was made known that some had ac- 
 quired the art of learning a tune by note, without having 
 heard it sung, all were amazed, and still more astonished that 
 all could finish the tune together. Thus while the Pilgrims 
 gradually accepted the injunction to "Sing aloud unto God 
 our strength ; make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob," 
 it was a long time before they would accept the teachings of 
 the 92nd Psalm : " It is a good thing to give thanks unto the 
 Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High ; upon 
 an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery ; upon 
 the harp with a solemn sound," and when, in time, these in- 
 novations crept into the church, they shocked the more de- 
 vout members, and brought consternation to the faces of the 
 elect. 
 
 The organ was unknown in the early churches in this coun- 
 try, therefore efforts were made by the more advanced sec- 
 tions to introduce stringed instruments into the church, to aid 
 and guide the singers to " take the pitch," and keep it. The 
 opposition to the " fiddle " was such, that very grave doubts 
 were entertained as to the possibility of a person being a 
 
4S 
 
 Christian who played the "fiddle." This feeling was so strong 
 and prevalent, that some felt it their duty to remonstrate with 
 a professing Christian who had fallen into this ' ' grievous sin . ' ' 
 This led the spinster, who was a member of Dr. layman 
 Beeeher's church, to interview him, to ascertain the truth of 
 a report that he was playing a fiddle. " Playing a fiddle ! " 
 exclaimed the doctor, ' ' I cannot conceive how such a report 
 could have started, unless it sprang from the fact, that I some- 
 times play the violin." " Well," she replied, " I knew there 
 could be nothing to the story," and departed with the com- 
 forting thought that everything was all right with her pastor. 
 We might cite various instances of the opposition to the intro- 
 duction of stringed instruments in church service, and from 
 the records we find that Hollis church was not exempt from 
 the troublesome question, for question it was, and its settle- 
 ment in those days could only be through the "town-meet- 
 ing," where the two factions could state all the pros and cons 
 and decide by a vote. The opposition to the introduction of 
 the ' ' fiddle ' ' was such that it became a live question in several 
 town-meetings before it was settled, as we learn from an ex- 
 tract from the History of Dunstable, as follows : " Efforts at 
 various times had been made to introduce the bass-viol into 
 the church service, but serious objections were made to it. 
 One called it the L,ord's fiddle, and another said he should 
 get up and dance if it came into the church. At one meeting 
 it was 'voted to suspend the introduction of the bass-viol for 
 the present, on account of an objection made by Lieut. Simeon 
 Cummings,' but on the 20th of March, 1804, the innocent 
 instrument triumphed over all opposition, the church voting 
 that the bass-viol be introduced into the meeting-house on 
 days of public worship, and that those who have skill to use 
 it, bring it and perform on Sabbath days." 
 
 We must now pass from the instrumental to the vocal part 
 of the church worship. This church, from all we can learn, 
 in its efforts to advance, had to stem the tide of the Puritan 
 prejudice against any innovation of the customs of former 
 
49 
 
 times. Just how strong the prejudice was that existed here, 
 we can gather only from the fact that it received the attention 
 of the voters in town-meeting (as most matters relating to 
 church worship did at the time), at least in two different ones, 
 as will be seen by the following taken from the address of the 
 late Samuel T. Worcester, before the Nashua Historical So- 
 ciety in 1872: "At the annual meeting in 1767, the town 
 ' Voted that those persons that have taken pains to instruct 
 themselves in singing, may have the two fore seats below on 
 the men's side.' In 1784 it was voted, 'That twelve feet of 
 the hind body seats below, next the broad aisle, be appropri- 
 ated to the use of singers, on condition that a certain number 
 of them give the glass necessary to repair the windows ; ' and 
 in 17SS it was voted, ' That the ground now occupied by 
 singers shall not be appropriated to any other use and that the 
 singers may be allowed to sing once a day without reading. ' 
 This seems to have been a final and decisive triumph on the 
 part of the choir. Thenceforth it not only received toleration 
 from the town-meeting, but approved recognition as a fitting 
 adjunct of public worship, and a place to sit and stand in the 
 church without the condition to pay for it in mending broken 
 windows. At length, and before the end of the century, the 
 choir was promoted to conspicuous seats fitted up specially 
 for it in the front gallery." For the benefit of the younger 
 portion of this assembly, we will say that the "reading" 
 mentioned above referred to the custom, before hymn books 
 were in general use, of the minister or deacon reading the 
 first two lines of the hymn, when it would be sung, then the 
 next two, and so on until the hymn was finished. It was not 
 long after this period, however, before the psalms and hjmius 
 of Dr. Watts were introduced. 
 
 Just when a choir was formally organized there is no rec- 
 ord, but it is evident the whole question soon culminated in 
 the formation of a choir, which ever after had the responsi- 
 bility of that part of divine worship. Fortunate was the con- 
 gregation which had among its members a man who could 
 give the right key, or " take the sound," as it was sometimes 
 
50 
 
 called, and even then, until the advent of the tuning-fork or 
 stringed instruments, it is safe to say that harmony was not 
 always the most notable part of the performance, for if the 
 " head " man gave the pitch too high or too low, it was liable 
 to result in the mortifying embarrassment of the first or second 
 treble trying to sing beyond the compass of her voice. But 
 this condition of things, as in other cases, was subject to evolu- 
 tion, and the foot-prints of progress were soon manifest by the 
 introduction of stringed instruments, which marked, as it 
 were, a new era. The period that marked the advent of the 
 stove into the meeting-house, was about the same as the ad- 
 mission of stringed instruments, both of which had their ad- 
 vocates and opponents, until about 1830, when the bass-viol 
 and the violin became a very acceptable addition to the church 
 music. Just how much skill was considered requisite to play 
 on these instruments, was, so far as we know, left to the judg- 
 ment of the performer. Among the first, and perhaps the 
 first players on these "fiddles," were Deacon Wm. Emerson 
 on the bass viol, and Alpheus Eastman on the violin, who later 
 became leader and teacher, holding singing schools in Conant 
 Hall. 
 
 In these early days the singing school was welcomed with 
 delight by the young people as a place of resort for the long 
 winter evenings. The schools were free to all, the expenses 
 being paid by those who were interested in having music well 
 sustained in the choir. Then there was no well-lighted hall 
 as now, but they met in some hall or school-house, and each 
 brought his own candle or lamp. Sometimes local talent was 
 employed, but more generally a teacher was employed from a 
 neighboring town, who taught two evenings a week and 
 boarded with the pupils. One afternoon of each week was 
 devoted to the "new beginners, ' ' as they were called, and it was 
 a very trying time to them, for each one was required to rise 
 and fall the musical scale alone, and on their ability to do 
 this correctly they were to be considered capable of becoming 
 singers. The evening sessions were also in contrast to those 
 of the present day. They began promptly at six o'clock and 
 
5i 
 
 closed at nine with an intermission of ten minutes. At the 
 close of these schools there was a grand exhibition, as they 
 called it then, in the church. The school would fill the 
 singers' gallery and extend out into the seats at the side. As 
 there was no means of lighting the church, candles and lamps 
 were placed on the railing in front and on stands farther back, 
 that all might have light. The singers were accompanied by 
 players on the bass and double bass viols with perhaps three 
 or four violins. In the audience room below there was no 
 light, except what reflected from the gallery. At the close of 
 the singing school, the choister would give a general invita- 
 tion to all who were willing, to join the choir and help sustain 
 that part of the worship. This would result many times in 
 the choir gallery being filled to overflowing, and the society 
 would be highly pleased with the addition, but it was gener- 
 ally of short duration, as one by one, they would tire of the 
 responsibility, and the faithful few would be left as before. 
 Thanksgiving and Fast-days received especial attention, the 
 choir rehearsing their anthems of praise or penitence many 
 times, that they might be rendered acceptably to the audience 
 and themselves. 
 
 A very competent successor to Mr. Eastman on the violin 
 was George W. Parker, and on the bass viol Moses Woods, 
 Charles P. Woods, Warren K. Lovejoy and others, for a long- 
 er or shorter period as the case might be. If, for any reason, 
 the players on stringed instruments were absent, the choir was 
 spared the consternation of having to start off without first 
 having been given the fa-sol-la, as it was then given, for they 
 could always depend on the quiet, unostentatious Captain 
 Wright with his tuning fork. It made no difference who got 
 offended or had a cranky fit. He was always at his post, 
 ready to " help boost," as he used to say, and nothing ruffled 
 the equilibrium of his placid disposition, and this he kept up 
 for sixty years, when age compelled him to give his place to 
 younger men. 
 
 A passing word now about the early singers in the Hollis 
 choir is all that time will permit, as they have all passed, we 
 
52 
 
 trust, to join in the song with the " great multitude which no 
 man can number;" but we may mention the families, some of 
 whose members assisted in keeping the Hollis choir up to the 
 equal of any of the rural churches in Hillsboro' County. The 
 names of Sawtelle, Wright, Messer, Gould, Pool, Boynton, 
 Hale, Sanderson, Thayer, Conant, Blood, Holden, Farley. 
 Bradley, Lovejo3 T , Spaulding, Wheeler and others. A member 
 of one of these families, Mr. Edmund Messer, in a recent letter 
 says : " My first recollections of the Hollis choir are of a full 
 membership, with Alpheus Eastman, with his old yellow fiddle, 
 badly played ; nevertheless he was a wonderful leader. By 
 his side stood Aunt Hannah Worcester, tall and prim, and 
 there she stood every Sunday, wet or dry, and led the treble. 
 Hannah Thayer was the sweetest treble singer in Hollis, and 
 Harriet Wood the finest alto. By and by Aunt Hannah 
 Worcester accepted a proposal of marriage with Deacon 
 Thurston of Bedford. Mary Ann Gould took her place in the 
 choir. At the head of the bass, in the front seat next to the 
 leader, stood Ambrose Gould, who kept the store in the vil- 
 lage. He was the finest bass singer in all that region; I never 
 heard a sweeter one. Among the bass singers in the front 
 seat were Leonard Bailey and my father, Benj. Messer, side 
 by side, and later Moses Wood, a strong singer of bass, and 
 also Prescott Hale. Col. Wm. Emerson occupied a seat on 
 the breastworks with his back to the minister, where he played 
 the bass viol. Among the tenors were Elias Conant, John Hale 
 and Noah Jewett; the leader had one of the sweetest voices in 
 town. He was there only occasionally, for rum was too much 
 for him. Stillman Spalding was a good tenor singer. Among 
 the sopranos were Ann Holden, the Hale girls, Nancy and 
 Sally. The Hollis choir in those days was one of the best in 
 all this region. As accompaniments, Augustus Gould and I 
 played flutes. Sometimes a clarionette and occasionally a 
 horn would be heard." 
 
 This already too long narrative would not be complete with- 
 out relating one or more amusing incidents connected with 
 the Hollis choir. Among its early stand-bys has been men- 
 tioned one, familiarly called Aunt Hannah Worcester. Like 
 
53 
 
 a good, sensible woman, she did not marry until her judgment 
 was matured, when she consented to become the second wife 
 of a good deacon. Out of respect for her long and faithful 
 sen-ice in the choir, they felt in duty bound to honor the oc- 
 casion of her nuptials by singing a favorite anthem. Accord- 
 ingly as the happy couple inarched up the broad aisle to the 
 altar, the choir started in with much precision, " I waited pa- 
 tiently, I waited patiently." These words were in turn taken 
 up by the several parts, as in the fugue pieces of the period, 
 until, to say the least, the faces of the large audience wore 
 anything but a sanctimonious look. The choir, sixty. or 
 seventy years ago, numbered all the way from twenty-five to 
 forty members, and very naturally, there would be some who 
 would sing independent of all the rest, for we must remember 
 the choir held no rehearsals of the music to be sung on the 
 Sabbath. 
 
 From 1843 to 1S48 our pastor was the Rev. James Aiken, 
 who was a fine musician. Doubtless the renderings of the 
 choir were many times unsatisfactory to him, but at only one 
 time did he manifest it publicly. That was at a church ser- 
 vice, when there was no instrument played, and the key was 
 taken from the tuning fork, and as was often the case some 
 did not take the correct pitch. After they had finished sing- 
 ing the hymn, he asked them if they would not sing it again, 
 as he could not preach after such singing, which they did, 
 more satisfactorily it is presumed, as he preached his sermon 
 with no farther comment, and wonderful to relate the choir 
 were not offended. 
 
 We must close with a hasty sketch of the choir from 
 the time the first reed instrument (a seraphine) was brought 
 in, about 1S49, by Mr. Win. Trow, who labored zealously for 
 the advancement of the church music for many years. The 
 society eventually purchased the instrument from Mr. Trow, 
 and it was used until the organ now in use was bought, some 
 time during the year 1863, but it was not set up so that there 
 was a formal exhibition of its quality until Feb. 24, 1864, 
 when a large audience assembled and gave it a cordial wel- 
 come, as they listened to the music produced by a profession- 
 
54 
 
 al organist. From 1864 to 1S70 the pay of the organist was 
 voluntarily contributed. Since that time it has been an item 
 in the parish expenses. 
 
 A former pastor, Rev. Mr. Day, upon a stormy Sabbath, 
 would often take a singer by the hand and thank him for the 
 effort he had made to be present, to sustain his or her part 
 of the worship. There were always some in the Hollis choir 
 whose seats were seldom vacant. They felt they had a mis- 
 sion to perform in their part of the service, as truly as the 
 pastor had in the pulpit. For over forty years it has been the 
 custom of the people to invite the choir, or part of them, to 
 render their service at the burial of friends. This, though 
 many times inconvenient to the singers, has strengthened the 
 bond of sympathy between them, and we trust the voice of 
 melody has sometimes soothed their wounded hearts, and 
 drawn them upward to the Father, ' ' who doeth all things 
 well." 
 
 In 1883 the organ was removed from the gallery and placed 
 in its present position back of the pulpit, and the music has 
 been performed by a choir, small in numbers, in comparison 
 with those of former times. Their history and musical achieve- 
 ments we will leave to be related by the future historian at 
 the two hundreth church anniversary. 
 
 May we all, who have sung God's praises in this old Hollis 
 church meet, an unbroken number, before the throne of God 
 and join with the multitude in song, 
 
 " Where nothing jars the eternal harmony ; 
 Love melts each voice, love lifts its accents high, 
 Love beats the time, presides o'er every string. 
 The heavenly orchestra one signal sways ; 
 The sound becomes more sweet, the more it strays 
 Through varying changes, in harmonious maze ; 
 He, who the song inspired, prompts all who sing." 
 
REMINISCENCES. 
 
 Rev. Samuel L. Gerould, Hollis, N . H. 
 
 My Dear Brother : — I thank you for the invitation given 
 me to be with you, at my childhood's home, on the one hun- 
 dred and fiftieth anniversary of the organization of the church. 
 Heart and inclination say, go; but distance and the weight 
 of my four-score years will not permit. I cheerfully comply, 
 however, with your request that I should send a paper for 
 that occasion, speaking of the influence in other parts of the 
 land of those who have gone out from Hollis and its church. 
 I shall confine myself chiefly to those whom I have personally 
 known, and many of whom I found occasion to mention in my 
 letters published last year in the Mollis Times. But let such 
 passages be for the ears of those who did not read the Times. 
 
 Churches, like individuals, have their character and gen- 
 eral bent largely determined by the influences affecting their 
 early years, and the Hollis church is deeply indebted to the 
 life and work of its first pastor, the Rev. Daniel Emerson, 
 whose half century of service stamped upon the church the 
 indelible impress of his own faithful earnestness and pure 
 New England orthodoxy. Converted under Whitfield, his 
 soul was thenceforth fired with a zeal for winning others to 
 Christ, and with a determination to make the very utmost of 
 his own life. His earnest piety was engrafted upon a broad 
 and well balanced mind, and grandly he led his people always 
 toward that which was highest and best. In spite of the 
 hardships of a new settlement and the wars which occurred 
 during his ministry, Pastor Emerson inspired his hearers with 
 an enthusiasm for education, and the young men of his con- 
 
56 
 
 gregation became eager to fit themselves to preach the gospeL 
 It has been said, and undoubtedly with truth, that no town of 
 her population had so many college graduates, and among 
 them so many ministers, as Hollis during the fifty years from 
 1780 to 1830. Let me speak briefly of a few of those minis- 
 ters. 
 
 The Rev. Grant Powers, a grandson of Captain Peter Pow- 
 ers, was settled over the Congregational church at Haverhill, 
 N. H., in 1 8 15, where he remained a faithful pastor until 
 
 1829, wielding during all those years, as I am told, a mighty 
 influence for good, and recognized as the leading mind among 
 the churches of that vicinity. The same year of his dismissal 
 at Haverhill he was settled in Goshen, Conn., where he re- 
 mained until his death in 184 1. I remember well his appear- 
 ance in Hollis where he delivered the centennial address in 
 
 1830. His health was feeble at the time, and I recall that in 
 the midst of his address he requested the muscians to enter- 
 ain the audience while he secured a few moments rest. 
 
 The Rev. Stephen Farley was ordained pastor of the Con- 
 gregational church in Claremont, N. H., in [806. In 1819 he 
 was at the head of the Atkinson Academy while also supply- 
 ing the church at that place. He was a scholarly man and a 
 good preacher. 
 
 The Rev. Caleb Jewett Tenney, D. D., was born at the 
 Tenney homestead in 1780; was graduated at Dartmouth 
 college in 1801, with first rank and honors in the class of 
 which Daniel Webster was a member. He was ordained pas- 
 tor of the Congregational church in Newport, R. I., in 1804, 
 where he remained for ten years, being dismissed in 18 14. be- 
 cause of ill health. Two years later he was settled over the 
 church in Wethersfield, Conn. , then the most important church 
 in the state. So acceptable were his labors there that, when 
 he lost his voice after twenty years of pastoral work, his 
 church declined to accept his resignation, permitting him for 
 six years to furnish a supply, in the hope that his voice would 
 be restored. He is remembered as an able preacher, a model 
 
57 
 
 pastor, and as one especially gifted with wisdom and skill irt 
 settling difficulties. A near neighbor of my own, an aged min- 
 ister who once resided in Dr. Tenny's family, has given me 
 an illustration of this last trait. Walking one day with Dr. 
 Tenny, they passed a fine residence and the doctor related an 
 incident which occurred when the occupants were the young 
 parents of one little child. The mother only was a professed 
 Christian and she wished the child baptized. The father had 
 leanings towards the Baptist faith and objected. The contro- 
 versy grew sharp, and a coldness divided the hitherto happy 
 couple. They agreed, however, to submit the question to 
 their pastor, Dr. Tenney. "Ah!" he said, after listening 
 patiently and kindly to both sides. "You have never been 
 properly and thoroughly married, or you do not remember 
 the solemn promises you have made to God. Stand up now, 
 and take each other by the hand while I marry you once 
 more. ' ' So deeply were they impressed by the solemn pledges 
 of mutual love and forbearance required in the second mar- 
 riage ceremony, and by the earnest prayer in which their pas- 
 tor laid their difficulties before the L,ord, that there was never 
 after any hint of trouble between them. 
 
 I should not dare to say who has done the most of good 
 of all those who have gone out from Hollis to live lives of use- 
 fulness, but I know of no one who has done more than the 
 Rev. Joseph Emerson, son of Deacon Daniel Emerson. A 
 graduate of Harvard, he was settled at Beverly, Mass., in 
 1803. His vigorous mind and lofty spiritual nature dwelt 
 within a frail body, but his life was one of great activity and 
 effectiveness. After preaching thirteen years at Beverly, 
 where he was deeply loved, he established a female seminary 
 at Byfield, Mass., where he put into telling effect his greatly 
 advanced views respecting the education of women. It is 
 only necessary to say that Miss Grant and Miss Mary Eyon 
 were his pupils and assistant teachers, to bring before you 
 the mighty forces set in action by this gifted son of Hollis. 
 The world can never too highly estimate its debt to Joseph 
 Emerson. His seminary was removed a few years later to 
 
58 
 
 Saugus, near Boston, where Mr. Emerson also gathered a 
 congregation of Methodists, Baptists and Congregationalists, 
 to whom he preached during his residence in that town. It 
 was never my privilege to see and hear him until after the re- 
 moval of his seminary to Wethersfield, Conn., in 1824, where 
 in spite of unceasing physical infirmities, he continued to 
 teach and to preach. His biographer tells us that when his 
 ankles became too weak to support his body, he would some- 
 times preach upon his knees. 
 
 Another Hollis boy who has left his mark upon the thought 
 and life of the nation is Prof. Ralph Emerson, of Andover 
 Theological Seminary, and later, a resident of Rockford, 111. 
 He was a member of the college class of 181 1, at Yale, and 
 his long life was occupied in pastoral work, teaching and au- 
 thorship. He left a large family of children who, with their 
 descendants, have worthily represented this noble Hollis 
 family unto the third and fourth generation. 
 
 In the extreme northwestern part of Hollis dwelt a few 
 godly families, among them those of Deacon Phillips Wood, 
 Solomon Hardy and John Sawtell, and from each of them 
 went out a son into the ministry. Phillips Wood, Jr., emigra- 
 ted to Tennessee, where he beeame a noted Presbyterian min- 
 ister. He has long since gone to his reward, but his child- 
 ren and his children's children are following in the narrow 
 way, while the seeds of truth and righteousness, sown from 
 the old Hollis pulpit and the Christian home to take root in 
 the boyish heart of Philips Wood, still grow and bear fruit in 
 Tennessee, to the glory of God and the blessing of man. 
 
 At Andover, in 1827, the Rev. Solomon Hardy was or- 
 dained for the home missionary work in the distant West. 
 The brief but useful remainder of his life was spent in vari- 
 ous places in Illinois and Massachusetts. 
 
 Young Eli N. Sawtelle went out from his humble home to 
 earn, with his own determined hand, the education of college 
 and theological seminary, which helped to make him the elo- 
 quent and famous preacher he became. After some success- 
 ful years as an evangelist, and then as a Kentucky pastor, he 
 
59 
 
 was- sent to France in the interest of the Seaman's Friend 
 Society, and became pastor of a Seaman's Chapel at Havre. 
 His last years of labor were spent in Saratoga, N. Y., where 
 he preached to a Congregational church which he had 
 organized. 
 
 Two ministers grew up in the family of our good pastor, 
 Rev. Eli Smith. The elder son, who bore his father's Chris- 
 tian name, after his graduation from Dartmouth, in 1809, 
 studied for the ministry in Philadelphia, and was first settled 
 over a Presbyterian church in Frankfort, Ky. Later he 
 preached at Paris, in the same state. It is said of him that 
 his rank in the ministry is inferior to that of no one of his 
 contemporaries in the state. He died at the age of fifty-two. 
 His presence in the Hollis pulpit was always welcome, though 
 some were rather startled by the fire and enthusiasm of his 
 orator}-. 
 
 The Rev. Joseph Emerson, son of Rev. Daniel Emerson, 
 spent a useful life as agent of the American College and Ed- 
 ucation Society, and as a pastor in Rockford, 111., where he 
 was especially successful. He was also for a time District 
 Secretary of the A. B. C. F. M. 
 
 Did time permit, it would be a pleasure to speak at length 
 of many other ministers of the Gospel whose names Hollis 
 should delight to honor, but I can merely name a few of them. 
 There is the Rev. Luther Smith, who lived and preached in 
 Ohio ; the Rev. Henry H. Sanderson, who preached in Michi- 
 gan, Vermont and New Hampshire; the Rev. Edward John- 
 son, who went as a missionary to the Sandwich Islands ; the 
 Rev. W. P. Eastman, whose life-work was preaching in Ohio. 
 Belonging to an earlier date than these are four brothers, all 
 eminent ministers, the Revs. Noah, Leonard, Thomas and 
 Samuel Worcester. All are too well-known to need recalling 
 to your memory, yet, did time permit, I should like to speak 
 of them, as well as of others of the name whose lives belong 
 to later years. 
 
 Hollis has also sent forth a multitude of untitled men and 
 women who have done honorable and noble work in the world. 
 
6o 
 
 It is impossible to mention them all. Some will recall the 
 useful lives of the two daughters of good Deacon Burge. 
 Others may speak of the sons of Cyrus Burge. Some one 
 should mention that the two sons and four daughters of Ralph 
 E. Tenne}% though scattered in distant states, all give evi- 
 dence in their lives of the thoroughness of their early training 
 in the orthodox Christian faith and life, while some of them 
 have been eminent for devoted piety. 
 
 Hollis people will not soon forget Luther Prescott Hubbard, 
 though he left his boyhood's home while yet young. Wher- 
 ever he has lived he has been a pillar in the church of Christ, 
 and his life has been filled with deeds of benevolence. He 
 has served the Seaman's Friend Society of New York as an 
 officer for more than fifty years, and now, at the age of eighty- 
 five, is still its financial agent. 
 
 The large family of Thomas Cummings did their work for 
 God in other fields than Hollis. Charles Cummings was a 
 minister; one daughter was a minister's wife. Deacon Enos 
 Hardy, also, furnished six children for Christian labor in 
 various portions of the Lord's vine) 7 ard. 
 
 Deacon -Thomas Farley's son, Asa, with his good wife, 
 Sibyl Holt Farley, went to Michigan early in the history of its 
 settlement. They lived devout and useful lives. 
 
 Moses Proctor was converted under the preaching of Evan- 
 gelist Eli N. Sawtelle, D. D., about the year 1S27, and was 
 ever after, wherever his lot was cast, a faithful worker for the 
 Master and a pillar of the church. 
 
 Ruth Channing Little was sent out from Hollis by the Ed- 
 ucation Society as a Christian teacher in 1835. She after- 
 ward married the Rev. Edwin H. Nevin, D. D., and her work 
 was for the remainder of her life that of the wife of a college 
 president and a city pastor. 
 
 Two daughters of Pastor Smith became wives of ministers 
 in Maine. 
 
 Miss Mary A. Blood, a Hollis girl, now an earnest Christian 
 woman at the head of the Columbia School of Oratory in 
 Chicago, has a wide sphere of religious influence in connec- 
 
6i 
 
 tion with her teaching. Her readings and recitations are 
 largely of a religious character. I have heard her read the 
 Twenty-third Psalm with thrilling effect, putting new and 
 deeper meaning into the familiar words. It is fortunate that 
 a woman so noble in character, as well as so accomplished in 
 her profession, should have in charge the elocutionary train- 
 ing of a large number of Bible students. At the present time 
 some sixty-five or seventy" are under her instruction, who will 
 devote their lives to missionary work, many of them acting as 
 city missionaries and reading the Bible to the poor and suffer- 
 ing. 
 
 Deacon Phillips Wood, so well known and loved in Hollis, 
 furnished five sons to spread abroad the good influences of an 
 excellent home training. One I have already mentioned. 
 Another settled also in Tennessee as a physician. The re- 
 maining three found homes in Piqua, O., where are now 
 seventeen families of the descendents of Deacon Phillips Wood. 
 Among the adults of these families are thirty-eight members 
 of churches and active workers for the Master. A recent in- 
 cident will illustrate the fact that these children of the Hollis 
 church still retain their Puritan reverence for the Sabbath. 
 A meeting was called, during the winter just past, to consider 
 what might be done to promote a better observance of the 
 Sabbath. One man having said, that though the factories 
 were shut down on Sunday, yet the holy day was used for 
 the weekly cleaning up, another prominent citizen declared 
 himself willing to stake his reputation that those belonging to 
 the Wood family did not so desecrate the day. One of the 
 members of this good family, Mr. C. A. Wood, now an old 
 man, writes me, " I feel thankful for my early Christian train- 
 ing in the old Hollis church." 
 
 As I write, the names of Hollis worthies crow T d into my 
 mind. Ezra Shed came to Illinois in 1852, and, I am told, 
 is one of the ' 'salt of the earth." That was a precious gift from 
 the Hollis church when Aunt Hannah Worcester transferred 
 her membership to the church at Bedford. The same may be 
 said of her niece, another Hannah Worcester, and her five 
 
62 
 
 sisters, daughters of Jesse Worcester, who all went out from 
 the Hollis church to other fields of usefulness. 
 
 George W. Perkins, son of Deacon Perkins, came to Illi- 
 nois about the year 1854, but in 1868 settled in Farragut, la. 
 He is an active worker, assisting in the organization of church 
 and Sunday-school in the new town of Farragut, and giving 
 liberally for their support. For twenty successive years he 
 has been superintendent of that Sunday-school. 
 
 Deacon William G. Brown, for more than forty years the faith- 
 ful agent of the N. H. Bible Society who, in those years, 
 tramped through every town in the state, and who has done 
 more than any other to give the Word of Life to its people, 
 must not be forgotten. 
 
 Nancy Tenney Little was born in Hollis in 1782. Her 
 Christian life early developed into one of earnest consecration. 
 When, in 1836, she removed with her husband and ten child- 
 ren, to the new state of Illinois, she became one of the char- 
 ter members of the church in their new home. Both she and 
 her family have ahvays adhered to the faith taught from the 
 Hollis pulpit. Her husband and all of her children became 
 members of the Congregational church. Her descendants 
 are now scattered from Pennsylvania to Oregon. They are 
 largely working Christians, and many of them have aided in 
 laying broad and deep the foundations of religion, education 
 and good government in the West. 
 
 Those whom I have named in this paper are, doubtless, but 
 a small part of the many children of Hollis who have gone 
 forth to other fields of usefulness, all of them, perhaps, 
 equally worthy of mention. Their record is on high, and 
 there, too, is their reward, but on earth it is seen and will for 
 ages to come be seen that "their works do follow them." 
 
 My earnest wishes and prayers for the prosperity of the 
 Hollis church will cease only when life shall cease. 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 HENRY G. LITTLE. 
 
 Grinnell, Iowa, March 12th, 1893. 
 
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