i i jr 
 
 p:cclksiastical historv 
 
 CITV OF WORCESTER 
 
 Rv ^HARi.Kis K^Il^K■^ s, T I-: \- b:xs. 
 
 [RP.I'RI>TF.1) from TIIK IIISIORV ok WORCESTER COINIV, MASSArHUSKTT.S.] 
 

 In Eiicnaugo 
 Amer. Ant. 3oo> 
 
 25 Jl 1907 
 
 ''/^^na i 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF WORCESTER. 
 
 A HISTORY of any New Enghmd town without an 
 ecclesiastical chapter would surely be like the play 
 of Hamlet with the jiart of Hamlet left out. For a 
 city of eighty thousand inhabitants, with fifty 
 churches and fifleeo denominations, and a history 
 covering two centuries, such a chapter ought of right 
 to occupy ii large space. But this the |«lan of the 
 present work altogether forbids. Only a very con- 
 densed outline of what might well fill a volume can 
 here be given. It must needs be a somewhat bald 
 narration. Outline sketches admit of neither shad- 
 ing nor color. Under such limitations this writing 
 must proceed. 
 
 At the outset two methods of treatment presented 
 themselves. One was the chronological method ; 
 the other was the topical. By the latter method all 
 that is U> be saiil of one denomination would be pre- 
 sented by itself; the topic would be exhausted be- 
 fore another was touched. Beginning with the 
 Trinitarian Congregationalists, for example, we should 
 treat of all the churches of that <jrder before pm- 
 teeiiing with the next. And although the other 
 method may have its advantages, and, indeed, has 
 been adopted by some writers, this, on the whole, 
 seemed to be the preferable method. It has this im- 
 |iortant advantage, that the origin and growth of 
 each denomination can be viewed consecutively and 
 apart frmi others. Acxonlingly, this method will be 
 pur8Ue<I in the present hintory. Without further 
 preface, I begin with the 
 
 Tkinitakian CosoREiiATiosAUinti—Firtl or Old 
 •Soutli Church. — The first permanent settlement in 
 Worcenter began on the IJlsl of October, I7l:(. 
 Nearly fifty years before, wteps had been taken towards 
 this end and tcm|Hirary settlements had been begun; 
 but Iwfore fwil was set upon the soil a provision waa 
 made " that u gomi minister of ( rod's word be placed 
 there." This provision wils first reali/.ed in the year 
 171'J, when the Kev. Andrew Oardner was ordained 
 as the fiml minister of the Cospel settled in WorciM- 
 ter. Before this, however, the people had been wont 
 l". assemble regularly for public worshi|. in llieir 
 
 dwelling-houses, and notably in that of Gershom 
 Rice, who was the first to open his house fur the pur- 
 pose. Soon the dwelling-house became too strait, 
 and in 1717 a small meeting-house of logs was built. 
 It stood at the corner of Franklin and Green Streets, 
 just southeast of the Common. This served its pur- 
 pose until 17iy, when a more spacious edifice was 
 erected on the site thenceforward occupied by the 
 Old .South for one hundred and sixty-eight years. 
 Meanwhile a church had been constituted — perhaps 
 self-constituted — with Daniel Heywood and Nathan- 
 iel Moore for its first deacons. This occurred soon 
 after the permanent settlement. The precise date of 
 this imjiortant beginning is not known, but Whitney 
 ("History of Worcester County') thinks that all 
 probabilities point to the year 1719. This, then, 
 .seems to have been the year when the church was 
 organized, the meeting-house built and the first min- 
 ister settled. 
 
 The ministry of Mr. Gardner was not a liajjpy one. 
 He Wius addicted to deer-hunting and practical jokes, 
 and, naturally, wjis accused of remissness in the dis- 
 charge of his duties. His people on their part ne- 
 glected to pay his small stipend of perhaps £40, and 
 also the "gratuity '' of £(iO, which they had voted to 
 give him. Dissatisfaction increa.sed ; some left his 
 preaching. The General Court having been appealed 
 to in vain, an ecclesiastical council was at length 
 convened, in 8e|itember, 1721, to take the matter in 
 hand. After long delay by the council, on the 3l8t 
 of October, 1722, Mr. Gardner was dismissed from 
 his charge. It is said his errors were more of the 
 head than of the heart. He was generous, some- 
 times without regard to conseiiiience.s. This instance 
 has been preserved : " A poor parishioner having 
 solicited aid in circumstances of di.slress, Mr. Gard- 
 ner gave away his only pair of shoes for his relief; 
 anri, as this was done on .Saturday, appearnl the next 
 day in his stockings at the desk to perform the morn- 
 ing service, anil in the evening officiated in borrowed 
 slippers a world l4io wide for his slender members." 
 Mr. (iarilner was a native of Brooklirie and agradu- 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF WORfESTER. 
 
 ate of Harvard in the class of 1712. It was thought 
 worthy of mention that, in conformity with the cus- 
 tom of the time, his name was placed last in the roll 
 of his class, as indicating the relative social position 
 of his parents. For the same reason Abraham Lin- 
 coln's name would have stood at the foot of his class 
 had he been college bred. The subsequent history 
 of Mr. Gardner did not improve his reputation. In- 
 stalled as the first minister of Lunenburg in 1728, 
 and dismissed in 1731 " because he was unworthy,"' 
 he retired to a town in the Connecticut Valley, and 
 there died at an advanced age. After a period of 
 preaching without settlement by the Rev. Shearjashub 
 Bourne, the Rev. Thomas White and others, on the 
 10th of February, 1725, a call was given to the Rev. 
 Isaac Burr, and on the l.Sth of October following he 
 was ordained as the second minister. A long and 
 quiet ministry followed. His relations with the peo- 
 ple were cordial, and the latter were forward and gen- 
 erous in his support. When the paper money of the 
 ]jeriod became depreciated they took care that his 
 salary should not suffer. During his ministry a 
 memorable event wiis the arrival in Worcester, Octo- 
 ber 14, 1740, of George Whitefield, accompanied by 
 Gov. Belcher. On the next day the famous evan- 
 gelist " preached on the Common to some thousands," 
 as he wrote in his diary. Nothing appears to show 
 that this visit was otherwi.se than welcome to Mr. 
 Burr. And yet, the forces then .set in motion had 
 their ultimate issue in his dismission. It seems the 
 Rev. David Hall, of Sutton, "a follower of White- 
 field," found Mr. Burr too backward in the new 
 Whitefield movement. Though he preached re- 
 peatedly "in private houses" in Worcester with Air. 
 Burr's consent, yet he was moved to write down in 
 his diary that the latter "seemed not well pleased.'' 
 At length Mr. Burr refused his consent to further 
 preaching by his Sutton brother, whereupon the lat- 
 ter was led to express the fear that the Worcester 
 minister was " too much a stranger to the power of 
 godliness." In truth, a Wliiterield party had been 
 formed in Worcester, and Mr. Burr wa.s found not to 
 be of the number. Alienation naturally arose, and 
 the growing trouble impaired his health. So, in 
 about four years after Whitefield's advent, a mutual 
 council was convened, and \inder its advice Mr. Burr 
 was dismissed in March. 174"). Lincoln ("History of 
 Worcester," p. 146) says that he was the son of the 
 Hon. Peter Burr, the father of Pre-sident Burr, of 
 Princeton College, and consequently grandfather of 
 Aaron Burr, Vice-President of the United States. 
 But this is an error. It appears from evidence in the 
 probate office at Hartford, Conn., that he w!ia the son 
 of Thomas Burr, of that city, and therefore not of 
 the Aaron Burr lineage. He was born in 1698, and 
 graduated at Yale in 1717. His death occurred at 
 Windsor, about 1751. No portraiture of his person 
 or mind survives ; no characteristic anecdote is of 
 record, and nothing testifies of his ministry save its 
 
 continuance for a fifth of a century in a generally 
 peaceful way. The town next made choice of Na- 
 thaniel (iardner, a graduate of Harvard in 17.S9; he, 
 however, declined the call. Nearly two years elapsed 
 before the settlement of the next minister. In this 
 interval a covenant ' was adopted and subscribed by 
 fifty members of the church. Doubtless there was a 
 covenant of some sort when the church was first or- 
 ganized, but what it was, and how it compared with 
 this new one, we have no means of knowing. If it 
 was a " half-way covenant" after the fashion of that 
 day, it must have differed materially from this one of 
 1746. 
 
 After Mr. Gardner many candidates were heard : 
 but at last the choice lay between the Rev. Thaddeus 
 Maccaity, of Boston, and the Rev. .Jonathan May- 
 hew, of Martha's Vineyard. Each was to preach 
 four Sabbaths in succession, and on the Sabbath be- 
 fore the day of election both were to preach. After 
 this competitive trial the choice by a very large ma- 
 jority fell on Mr. Maccarty, and Worcester missed the 
 chance of having the famous divine of the Revolu- 
 tion among the number of its ministers. Mr. Mac- 
 carty was installed on the 10th of June, 1747. The 
 sermon on the occasion was preached by himself, for 
 which unusual step he offered ingenious reasons in 
 the introduction. Besides the pecuniary provision 
 for his support, a house with about two acres of 
 land on the Common southeast from the meeting- 
 house wiis purchased for a parsonage. In 1765 this 
 property was conveyed in fee to Mr. Maccarty by the 
 town. Nearly fifty years after, in a suit by the Rev. 
 Samuel Austin, I). I)., in behalf of the parish, the 
 property was recovered back from the tenant claim- 
 ing under a conveyance by the executors of the de- 
 ceased minister. The estate, however, was afterwards 
 relinquished by the parish. The ministry of Mr. 
 Maccarty was of nearly forty years' duration. In the 
 course of it occurred the Revolutionary War, bring- 
 ing severe trials ; and at the close protracted sickness 
 kept liini out of the pulpit. He liveil greatly re- 
 spected and died deeply lamented on the 20th of 
 July, 1784, at the age of sixty-three years. His min- 
 istry was the longest of all which the First Church 
 enjoyed during the first one hundred and seventy 
 years. Mr. Maccarty was fall, slender and thin, with 
 a black, penetrating eye, which a<lded to his effective- 
 ness in speaking.- 
 
 1 To be fuuiid in Lincoln'^ " History of Worcenter." 
 
 - A faint Ii)ienes8 ol liiin survives on u pooriy-i>ainteil canviis in the 
 )io.ssession of Mrs. Mury P. Dunn, one of liis lineal ilescendanLs. His 
 remains were btirietl in the cemetery then on tlie Common, at a spot 
 just soutli of and very near tlie Soldiers* Monument. In 1848 all tlie 
 gruveslones in the cemetery were laid Hat, each t>ver its respective 
 grave, and buried beneath the turf, and Mr. Marcarty's uinong the 
 rest. A description of the emblems on his headstone, together with its 
 inscriptions, is given in Barton's '* Kpitaplis." The inscriptions were 
 copied upon a mural tablet erected in the Old South by Dwight Foster 
 (brother of Mrs. l>uun), late a justice of the Supreme Court of Ma.tsa- 
 cl)u»etts. The tablet will have an appropriate place upon the wall of 
 the New Old Suuth. 
 
ECCLESIASTICAI, TIISTORY OF WORCESTKH. 
 
 " As a preacher he was solemn, loud, searching and 
 rousing," saiil a contemiMirary clerical brother. Pres- 
 ident John Adams, in his early years a resident of 
 Worcester, wrote to Dr. Bancroft that " Mr. ALac- 
 carty, though a Calvinist, was no bigot." In the 
 course of his ministry, Mr. Maccarty published eight 
 occasiiinal sermons ; .several others may be found in 
 DoctorSmalley's " Worcester l'uli«it." From these pos- 
 terity may judge something of his doctrine, which 
 was sound, and something of his style, which was 
 not claasical. During his sickness and after his de- 
 cease a young man appeared in his pulpit whose 
 preaching was destined to be the occasion, if not the 
 cause, of a lusting division in the First I*arisli. Of 
 this an account will be given under aiu)ther head. 
 Durini; the controversy which arose, no minister was 
 culled ; then, in 17SG, the Kev. Daniel Story was 
 railed, accepted the call and went on preaching, 
 without being ordained, for about two years, when 
 the call was re-called. It had been discovered, that 
 he, too, entertained Arminian sentiments. Having 
 thus received his congr in Worcester, Mr. .Story went 
 into Ohio as chaplain of the c<)ni|)any which founded 
 Marietta, the centennial of which was celebrated in 
 I88ii, a distinguished citizen of Worcester (Senator 
 Hoar) having a leading part therein. Mr. Story was 
 an uncle of Joseph Story, the eminent justice of the 
 Supreme Court of the United States. He was born 
 in Boston on the li'.Uh of July, 17r)li, was a grad'jate 
 of Dartmouth in tlie class of I7S0 and died at Mari- 
 etta in 1.SU4. 
 
 The settlement rif the ne.xt minister, Dr. .Vustin, 
 in the last ile<.ade of the century, was the beginning 
 of a new order of things. Before proceeding with 
 its history let us look at the way of public worship 
 in the First (,'liurch during the period then closing. 
 As elsewhere, the principal parts of the service were 
 praying and preaching; singing and reading the 
 ^^cripture lesson were subordinate ; and, indeed, thi.s 
 last did not become a part of the service until near 
 the middle of the century. I'nder date of Sejilem- 
 ber .•{, 1749, the church record recites that the " laud- 
 able custom was very unanimously come into by the 
 church at one of their meetings some time before." 
 In this matter the Worcester church was not behind 
 others, since the custom " was not introdmeil into 
 New Kngland " until that period. Singing had been 
 a part of the .service from the beginning. At first it 
 was congregational, primitive and rude. The minis- 
 ter read the first line of a psalm and the congrega- 
 tion wing it. Then the eldest deacon " lined " the 
 rest, arirl "singing and remling went on alternately." 
 There was neither chorister nor choir nor set tune, 
 but ca<'h one sang to please himself. This was Ihe 
 "usual way," so-called. In 172t; an attempt was 
 made to substitute the " ruleable way." A vote of 
 the town was passed to that cflcia, but the deacons 
 resisted, and Ihi- "usual way " still prevailed. The 
 unmelodions custom whs too strongly entreuche<l. ' 
 
 Forty-three years went by and a generation had 
 died ofl' before another attempt to change it was 
 made. Then, in May, 17ti',*, came a modest propo- 
 sition to invite "a ijualified individual" to leail. 
 A bolder stroke followed in March, 1770, when three 
 men were designated by name "to sit in the elders' 
 seat and lead," and by a unanimous vote a fourth 
 was chosen to "assist." Here was our modern quar- 
 tette, .so far as the old-time .sense of pro|(ricty would 
 allow. The next .stei) was taken in 1778 by providing 
 seats exclusively for the singers. Six years after, on 
 the 5th of August, 1779, the town struck the final 
 blow by adopting these votes : That the singers sit 
 in the front seats of the front gallery ; that they be 
 rei|ue.ste<l to take said seats and carry on the sing- 
 ing ; and that the psalm be not " lined," Neverthe- 
 less, ou the ne.\t Sabbath the venerable eldest deacon 
 rose and began to " line " the psalm. The singers, 
 from tlieir new " coign of vantage," began to sing ; 
 the deacon raised his voice, the singers raised theirs ; 
 it was an unequal strife, and the deacon "retired from 
 the meeting-liou.se in tears." This was the end of the 
 " usual way '' of singing in Worcester. From that 
 time onward the ruleable way prevai'ed without op- 
 position. 
 
 The first book in use was the " Bay I'salm Book," ' 
 as improved by President Dunster, of Harvard Col- 
 lege. This held the ground until 17i'il, and was then 
 displaccil by the version of Tate and Brady, " with 
 an Appendix of Scriptural Hymns by Dr. Watts." 
 The exact date when this book came into use was on 
 the 2yth of November in that year. It continued in 
 use until the settlement of Dr. .\u.stin, and then, on 
 the 20th of .lanuary, 1790, gave way to "Watts' 
 I'salms and Hymns and S|)iritual Songs." The ver- 
 sion of Sternh'dd and Hopkins wiis never used 
 in the church in this town," says Lincoln.- This 
 version was the one in use under royal authority 
 by the Church of England, and was bound up with 
 its " Book of Common Prayer." Perhaps it was be- 
 cause of thit that the New Kngland churches chose 
 to have a" Psalm Book "of their own — a book free 
 front all complicity with an established church. 
 
 I TliiM itiuHt riiiiiijiiit unil mn-Hl uf Ifuukii wiut tliu lli-Ht mik- uvcr iirllilftl 
 111 Ainrricfi. Itii (nif, wliolo iiiiil oiil^' tillu wiiH " Tlio whutu litHjkit of 
 (niulliirii Inllliriiny traimlnti'il Into KiikHxIi Mutli', WluriMiiHo In prvllxuil 
 u 4liiti.'uunio (It'cluriiiK iHit uiily llii' luwfiiliifH, but uI-mi tliu iioi-Mia>- nf 
 (he licuvmily OnlliiHiict'it vf ((liiKiiiK S^-rliifiiru I'niiliiiH in tliu Cliiircliira nf 
 
 • JikI. Iiniirihlnl HHc)," In lil;l(; Hutu wuri', iui)h Dr. Tin ui I'rliito, 
 
 " iie«r tlilrly niliilMtoni " In Nrw KtiKliirnl w liu liuil iMHin iHluriiti'il In Ilii* 
 Knf(ll<*li unhi^rifltlfM. TIkwi •livllii'H wli-i-lpil .<nl of (lii'lr niinitxT "Uim 
 ll-t. Mr. Kl.hiirU MiiUuM, lliii Ituv. .Mr. 'niuiiiiix WiliI iinil llin ll.<v. Mr. 
 .lolin KIlut," tt* itri'piiri! m new vunilon of Uit- I'wtlnm fur l\w um, ,4 tliii 
 Ni'W KnKl'inil i:liiirrtii.f<. Tli« prlntlnK "f tin- work won ln-gnn In KVlli 
 uikI coinploUHl In ICHU. Till* wiuilhn " IIa)' I'lUiliniluuk." A nhiKluruii)', 
 U<iirintj; Uio Iniiirlnl of llic iMt-nAinvil yi*Hr, In Iruftsun'il iu tlin Iruii miFu 
 >il lUv Anntrlciin Anll'|uiirian .Soclolv, In WiircMlnr It U iMrniollinHii 
 wlU u{ It rvry nir* Ixxtk tliut It In wurtli ItN wclKlit In gulil. In Is7ti m 
 I'Mpyur thlalxHik ImliinglnK |i> tin' cxlali' uf tlin IiiIk Dr. Nntlinnlnl It. 
 SlinrllrIT, wan *,)I<1 by uiictlun In ll*>^lun TorftlMint imiillioniinnil iind tlriy 
 'lolUn Tltv Won filler ciipy wkIkIih iitntt oniicra. Tin- piku p«ti<l for llio 
 ll<i«lou copy, tiiuroforu, wim niurt> than n1\ tlnit<« IU wi'l^'li' i-' ' ■ 
 
 • MS. Nuivi In Llli. of Anlh|. Sue. 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF WORCESTEK. 
 
 To illustrate the several versions and furnish a 
 means of comparison the first veree of the first psalm 
 from each is subjoined. 
 
 From the Bay Psai.m-Book uf 1040. 
 
 O Bk'Hsed man tlmt in tU' advice 
 
 uf wielded doth nut walk : 
 nor stand in sinners way, nor sit 
 
 in cluiyre of scornfull folic. 
 
 From Dunstku's Improved Bay Psalm-Book of 16?S0. 
 
 <J Blessed man that walks uotin 
 
 th' advice of wicked men, 
 Nor staudeth iu tliesinnei-s way 
 
 nor Bcuruei-:! seat sits in. 
 
 From Tate and Brauy, Okioinal Kpition, .\nno 1700. 
 
 Happy the Man whom ill Advice 
 
 From Virtue ne'er withdrew, 
 Who ne'er with Sinnei'S stood nor »at 
 
 Amongst the scotting Crew. 
 
 From Tate anu Brai>y, with Appendix by Watts, Anno 1751. 
 How blest is he who ne'er consents 
 
 by ill Advice to walk 
 Nor stands iu Siuuers Ways ; nor sits 
 
 where Men profanely talk I 
 
 From Sternhold and Hopkins, London, 164s. 
 The man is blest that hath not bent 
 
 to wicked read his eare : 
 Nor led his life as sinners do, 
 
 nor sate in scoruera chaire. 
 
 After six years of waiting the First Parish at length 
 secured the most di.stiiiguished among all its minis- 
 ters. On the 29th of (September, 1790, the Rev. 
 Samuel Austin, D.D., of iNew Haven, was duly in- 
 stalled in the vacant pulpit. His first considerable 
 step was to clear up and reinvigorate the doctrinal 
 basis of the church. A new creed and covenant were 
 adopted, whereby its orthodoxy was conformed to the 
 strictest type. All the subsequent activities of Dr. 
 .\ustin had tliis type for their basis. He devoted 
 himself to the investigation of theological questions. 
 He prepared ami published the first complete edition 
 of the works of the elder Jonathan Edwards. He 
 was one of the founders of the General Association 
 of Massachusi^tts, and also of the Massachusetts 
 Home Missionary Society. He wiis often called to 
 sit in councils on diflicult case.s. He was a man of 
 strong convictions and plain speech. On public 
 affairs he preached with great freedom. His fast-day 
 sermons were notable. Several were published. The 
 one preached on tlie 28d of July, LSI 2, during the 
 war, caused much agitation. He therel'ore published 
 it, with this upon its title-page: "Published from the 
 press by the desire of some who heard it and liked 
 it; by the desire of some who heard it and did nol 
 like it; and by the desire of others who did not hear 
 it, but imagine they should not have liked it if they 
 had." 
 
 At the end of twenty-five years he became presi- 
 dent of the IJniveisity of Vermont, but,,because oC 
 the suit already mentioned, remained nominal pastor 
 of the First Parish till 1S18. Resigning the college 
 
 presidency in 1821, he became pastor of a small 
 church in Newport, R. I., once the charge of the 
 famous divine. Dr. Samuel Hopkins. This, too, he 
 resigned in 1825, and tlieu returned to Worcester, 
 preaching occasionally in Millbury. By and by the 
 death of an adopted son, physical disesise and pecu- 
 niary losses brought on mental disturbance. Like 
 the poet Cowper, he became a religious monomaniac. 
 The darkness of despair settled down upon him. For 
 some four years he remained in this state of gloom. 
 Near the end, light at intervals broke through the 
 cloud. He died on the 4th of December, 1830, in the 
 seventy-first year of iiis age. He was a man of com- 
 manding stature, of dignified carriage, austere yet 
 affable on near approach, and " with a smile like 
 a sunbeam breaking through the clouds." As a 
 pl'eacher he was remarkable for power and pathos, 
 and of eminent gifts in devotional exercises. The 
 impress of his character was deep and abiding. Of 
 his publications, Lincoln ("History") gives a list of 
 thirty-three, with their titles. 
 
 The successor of Dr. Austin was the Rev. Charles 
 A. Goodrich. He was ordained as colleague pastor 
 on the 9th of October, 1816, and became sole pastor 
 by the formal dismission of Dr. Austin in 1818. His 
 ministry was short but fruitful of a spiritual harvest, 
 about eighty new confessors oeing added to the church 
 in one year. But it was a ministry full of trouble 
 also. Beginning as a young man of twenty-six years, 
 he found himself confronted at the outset with the 
 opposition of a leading person both in the parish and 
 in the town. Though this person was not himself of 
 the church, yet some of his family were; and the com- 
 bined influence of all caused the diaft'ection to spread. 
 Attempts at reconciliation were made and failed. It 
 became evident that either the minister or the disaf- 
 fected must leave. The former was too strongly in- 
 trenched to be ousted, and the latter perforce ac- 
 cepted the alternative. For a time they resorted to 
 other communions while retaining connection with 
 their own church. Presently, they sought release 
 from this bond. Some asked for dismission and re- 
 commendation. Several were dismissed but not re- 
 commended. Gouncils were resorted to and counter- 
 councils were held, with the usual results of ex parte 
 proceedings. Each party in turn was sustained. At 
 last a council constituted the disaflected, with others, 
 into a new church, the history of which, under the 
 name of the Galvinist or Central Church, will be given 
 in its proper place. A war of pamplilets followed, 
 able and exhaustive on both sides; and to them the 
 reader must be remitted for further and fuller details 
 of the unhappy controvei'sy. This church quarrel 
 w:i3 the most serious that ever atllicted any church of 
 any communion in the town. Ill health compelled 
 Mr. Goodrich to lay down his charge on the 14th of 
 November, 1820, and the same cause prevented him 
 from resuming the pastoral oflice. For the rest of 
 his life he devoted himself to literary pursuits. He 
 
K(TLKSTASTI(\I. lIlSTcmV OF WORCKSTEK 
 
 became a mnker of books; his school histories were in 
 their ibiy greatly in vogue, and of one more than one 
 huii<ire<l tbousunil copies were printed. A list of his 
 principal works is to be found in the "Worcester 
 I'ulpit." 
 
 The sixth pastor of the Old .South and the next 
 after NJr. (iiHidrich was the Rev. Anctius Fk'vil Hull, 
 liorn at Woodbridge, Conn., in 17.SS, grailuatcd in 
 18"I7 at Vale, where he was a tutur for six years, he 
 wa-s orilained and settletl at Worcester on the Tld o( 
 May, I.^L'I. He came to his new calling with a high 
 reputation both im a scholar and as a teacher. Ill 
 health, however, kept him down, and after a protracted 
 .-ickness he died in office on the 17th of May, 1826. 
 His virtues asa man and aniinister were celebrated by 
 his contemporary neighbor, l)r. Nelson, in a funeral 
 sermon. He was eminently social, simple, retined, 
 charming in conversation and "a welcome friend to 
 the poor." A i|uarter of a century alter his death 
 men often spoke of him "with kindling emotion." 
 His church attested their affection by erecting to his 
 memory a monument inscribed all over with elaborate 
 encomium. In 1827 the church and parish united in 
 a cjill to the Rev. Rodney A. Miller. The call was 
 accepted and he wjus ordained on the 7th of June in 
 that year. For nearly seventeen years he remained 
 pastor ol the church. During this periotl more than 
 four hundred were added to its communion. At 
 length dillerences arose between Mr. Miller and mem- 
 bers of the church and parish ; in conse<iueiice, a mu- 
 tual council wa.s called and the result of its advice 
 was the dismission of Mr. Miller. For many years 
 after, he continued to reside in Worcester, but in the 
 end returned to Troy, N. V.. his native place, where he 
 died at an ailvanced age. Mr. Miller wits the first presi- 
 dent of the first Temperance As.sociation e\cr formed 
 in Worcester. For some years he was one of the 
 overseers of Harvard I'niversity and had a zeal for 
 the rectification of its theological standards. 
 
 .\ series of seven p:Lstorates followed that of Mr. 
 .Miller. The first was that of the Rev. George Phil- 
 lips Smith, a graduate of Amherst in 1H3'>. He was 
 instjilled on the IDth of March, 184.1, and died at 
 Salem, while in office, (m the ;'.d of September, 18.52. 
 His ministry was a happy and successful one. Fol- 
 lowing him came the Rev. Horace James, a gra<luale 
 of Yale in 1840, who wiis installed »n the Hti of Feb- 
 ruary, I8A:',. .Mr. .lanicH was full of devotion to bis 
 charge, but when the Civil War broke out, devotion to 
 his country overbore the former and issued in his ap- 
 pointment as chaplain of the Twcnty-liftli Rcgimcnl 
 of Miui.-uichnselts Volunteers, and his consei|Uent dis- 
 mission from his pastoral charge. This event occurred 
 >>n the 8th of January, \>^l',:i, ami his death on the !lth 
 of June, 187o. Rev. Kdward Ashley Walker, who 
 had been ordained chaplain of the First Connecticut 
 Heavy .\rtillery in .Inne, I8i;i, was installed as Mr. 
 .lami-s' succcs.sor on the 2d of July, I8ti!!. Like some 
 of his predecessors, he was compelled by ill health to 
 
 retire altogether from the ministry. His doath oc- 
 curred on the 10th of .\pril, ISOil. Uiiiing his min- 
 istry, September 22, 1803, the one hundredth anni- 
 versary of the bnihling of the Old South meeting- 
 house w!is elaborately commemorated. .\t the meet- 
 ing-house the Hon. Ira M. Barton made an introduc- 
 tory address, and Leonard Bacon, I). 1)., of New 
 Haven, gave a historical discoui-se; while at Mechan- 
 ics Hall, ill the after part of the day, much reminis- 
 cent discoursing wius had. The old meeting-house, a 
 typical specimen of New England church architecture 
 of the hist century, with its elegant slender spire and 
 faithful weathercock, was suffered to remain for nearly 
 a quarter of a century longer before its demolition in 
 August, 1887, under a municipal decree. 
 
 .After Mr. Walker's dismission the Rev. Royal B. 
 Stratlon was installed on the 2d of .laiinary, 18(J7. 
 Serious disability, more or less impairing his useful- 
 ness, led to his dismission on the 2'>th of April, 1872. 
 His death occurred in this city on the 24th of .Janu- 
 ary, 1875. On the 21st of :\Iay following Rev. Wil- 
 liam M. Parry, of Nottingham. Kiigland. received a 
 unanimous call to the pastorate. He practically ac- 
 cepted the call and performed his duties as acting 
 pastor, but was never installed. On November .3, 
 1873. he " resigned," but the resignation, taking the 
 church by "surprise," was not accepted. On the 
 Uth of December it was withdrawn, hut on the 4th 
 of Jamiary following he preached his farewell ser- 
 mon. His preaching had been both dramatic and 
 eccentric and conseijuently had drawn crowded houses. 
 Leaving the Old South, he drew after him nearly 
 one hundred and fifty of its communicants, and to- 
 gether they at once proceeded to organize a new 
 church ill Mechanics Hall by the name of the Taber- 
 nacle Church. Without loss of time a Congrega- 
 tional Council was convened for the purpose of recog- 
 nizing the church and installing Mr. Parry as its 
 pa.stor. The council received the church into fellow- 
 ship but refused to install Mr. Parry. The chiireh 
 then proceeiled to violate the principle of the fellow- 
 ship, to which it hail just been admitted, by an auto- 
 cratic installation. The services on the occiusion 
 were performed by lay members of the church ; and 
 in that fashion Mr. Parry became the first and, as it 
 proved, the only pastor of the Tabernacle Church in 
 Worcester. Church and pastor bolh came to a 
 speedy end. Mr. Parry suddenly died in his chair 
 while making a call upon two of his female parish- 
 ioners, and the church, already grown disgusted and 
 disintegrated by his gross and increasing eccentrici- 
 ties, vanished into the inane. 
 
 To return to the Old South : The Rev. Nathaniel 
 Mighill, a graduate of Amherst in I8li0, was installed 
 as Mr. Stratlon's successor, September 2.'>, 187.'). The 
 fate of 80 many of his predcceasors overtook him 
 also, and hceause of ill health he was dismissed on 
 the l.')lh of June, 1877. Then followed the Rev. 
 Louis Bcvier Voorhces a graduate of Princeton in 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF WORCESTER. 
 
 1867. After occupying the pulpit for six months, a 
 nearly unanimous call led to his installation on the 
 same day on which liis ]>redecessor was dismissed. 
 But neither iu this instance did a change of ministers 
 secure the church against the fate whicli so inveter- 
 ately pursued its chosen pastors. After preaching for 
 a time Mr. Voorhees was compelled to relinquish his 
 charge, but his formal dismission did not take place 
 till the 5th of May, 1880, when his 8Ucces.sor, the 
 Rev. Joseph F. Lovering, was installed as the four- 
 teenth pastor of the church and so remained. 
 
 A question had long been in issue between the city 
 and the First Parish touching their respective estates 
 in the land occupied by the Old South. The city 
 claimed the land and wished to remove the building, 
 and the parish resisted tlie claim and wished to pre- 
 serve the building. Things remained in this condi- 
 tion until 1885, when the city obtained from the 
 legislature authority to take all the title and interest 
 of the parish. In May, 1886, the city council voted 
 to take under the act. Thereupon the parish made 
 an overture to the city towards an agreement upon ! 
 the amount of damages. The city having declined to 
 entertain the overture, the parish then proceeded, 
 under the provisions of the act, to ask the Superior 
 Court for the appointment of commissioners to award 
 damages ; and this was done. The case came on to 
 be heard in July, 1887, when the city solicitor, 
 Frank P. Goulding, appeared for the city, and Sena- 
 tor George F. Hoar for the parish. An exhaustive 
 preparation and all the legal learning and skill of the 
 respective advocates went into the case. After weeks 
 of deliberation the commissioners brought in an 
 award of $148,400. The city refused to pay the 
 award, and under the act claimed a trial by jury. A 
 compromise followed resulting in the payment of 
 $115,395.25. With this money the parish pur- 
 chased a lot on the corner of Main and Wel- 
 lington Streets, and proceeded to erect thereon a 
 church worthy of its history and rank as the Firs! 
 Parisli in the city of Worcester. The corner-stone 
 was laid on the 4tli of .July, 1888, and the exterior 
 walls, of red sandstone throughout, were substantially 
 completed by the end of the year. It is, without 
 doubt, the most imposing church edifice in the city. 
 A massive central tower, forty feet square and rising 
 on four square marble ])illars to the height of one 
 hundred and thirty-six feet above the pavement, i> 
 the dominating feature. Another feature, appealinj; 
 to a different sentiment, is the low belfry at thi 
 northeast corner, of architecture curious and fine, in 
 which is suspended, as Ihe sole relic connecting new 
 and old, the bell (cast in 1802) that swung for eighty- 
 five years in the old belfry on the Common. A par- 
 ish-house at the rear, adding to the mass and architec- 
 tural completeness of the whole structure, contains a 
 variety and abundance of spacious apartments suited 
 to all the multiplied and multiplying re<iuirements of 
 modern church life. The cost of this New Old South 
 
 at its completion is reckoned at one hundrc<l and 
 forty thousand dollars. 
 
 The Calvinist or Central Church. — The second 
 church of this order was first named the Calvinist 
 Church. It was an outcome, but not an outgrowth, 
 of the First Church. As we have already seen, the 
 settlement of Mr. Goodrich resulted in a serious dis- 
 ail'ection towards his ministry. Among the disaf- 
 fected and aggrieved were Deacon David IJichards, 
 his wife and eight others. In their extremity these 
 persons summoned a council (the third) to advise 
 tliem in the i)remises. This council was convened 
 on the 16th of August, 1820, and having heard the 
 case and approved a Confession of Faith and a Cove- 
 nant which had been presented, proceeded on the 
 17th to constitute the applicants into a separate 
 church under the name of the Calvinist Church in 
 Worcester. It is worthy of note that the moderator 
 of this council was the Rev. Nathaniel Emmons, 
 D.D. For a certain length of time the new church 
 maintained public worship in private places. The 
 house of its first deacon, David Richards, seems to 
 have been the first and principal place of worship. 
 This house stood near the site recently purchased by 
 the United States for the new post-oflBce building. 
 In this private way, without any pastor or parish, 
 the church held itself together until 1822. In that 
 year "articles of association" looking towards a par- 
 ish organization were drawn up and signed. The 
 first signature was that of Daniel Waldo, under date 
 of April od ; others of the same date followed, and 
 within the next nine years more than two hundred 
 and sixty others were added. On the first Sunday 
 following, April 3, 1822, regular public worship was 
 commenced in the court-house. This continued until 
 October 13, 1823, when the society took possession 
 of its meeting-house, which had been erected by Mr. 
 Waldo at a cost of fourteen thousand dollars. The 
 sermon at the dedication of this house was preached 
 by Dr. Austin, who was in sympathy with the new 
 church. In the next year the property was conveyed 
 to trustees for the use of the church and society. 
 Early iu 1825 the organization was perfected by the 
 incorporation of the Calvinist Society. Meanwhile, 
 on the I5th of April, 1823, the Rev. Loammi Ives 
 Hoadly, wlio had supplied preaching for the pre- 
 vious year, was ordained as the first pastor. His 
 ministry was embarrassed by the unhappy relations 
 whicli continued between this church and the Old 
 South, but still went on with increasing success until 
 a severe sickness brought it to a close. His dismis- 
 sion, by a vote of the church, took place on the 19th 
 of May, 1829. Recovering in a measure, he engaged 
 in various activities, — as pastor again for a brief 
 period, editor of The Spirit of the rUgrims, assistant 
 editor of the " Comprehensive Commentary," teacher 
 and farmer. His last residence was in Northfield, 
 Conn., his native place, and there he died quite re- 
 cently at the great age of ninety-one, having outlived 
 
ECCLRSIASTICM, IIISToHV OF WOROKSTER 
 
 •:> 
 
 all his successors in the pulpit of the Calvinist 
 Church hut the last two. 
 
 liuriup Mr. HoaiUy's ministry Mr. Waldo made a 
 further addition of five thousand dollars to the re- 
 sources ot" the society. Its growth continued un- 
 checked, and in 18.30, and again in 1832, the church 
 editice was variously enlarged and improved. This 
 prosperity wits due, in no small degree, to the popu- 
 lar ministry of the Rev. .lohn S. C Abbot, who 
 became the successor of Mr. Hoadly ou the 2Sth of 
 January, 1830. During live years Mr. Abbot con- 
 tinued to go in and out among his people with great 
 acceptance. While discharging his jiastoral duties, 
 he found time to write and publish two books which 
 made his name known in both hemispheres. These 
 were "The Mother at Home" and "The Child at 
 Home," the former of which has been translated and 
 published in nearly all the languages of modern 
 Europe. In 1835 Mr. Abbot asked and obtained a 
 dismission on account of ill health. After recupera- 
 tion by a year of travel in Europe, he spent the 
 remainder of his verj- active life in various pursuits, 
 hut Itecame known to the wide world chieHy as the 
 author of many popular books. Mr. Abbot was 
 born in Brunswick, Me., and graduated at Bowdoin 
 in ISJii. He died at Fair Haven, Conn., on the 17th 
 of June, 1877. His successor was the Kev. Uavid 
 I'eabody, who was installed in 1835 within si-x 
 months after the pulpit had become vacant. His 
 ministry was short and much interrupted by ill 
 health. In the year following his settlement, under 
 the advice of his physicians, he sailed for the 
 .South, where he spent the winter. A temporary 
 improvement enabled him to resume his pastoral 
 duties in Worcester. But the attack on his lungs 
 —for that was his malady — again enforced cessa- 
 tion from pulpit labor. He imfiroved the time 
 in travel. Arriving in Hanover the day after com- 
 mencement, he learned to his aurjirise that he had 
 been appointed Prcifessnr of Rlietiiric in Darlmoulli 
 tJollege, his a/mn mitUi: This, taken with the state 
 of his health, determined his course. He obtained a 
 dismission from his pastoral charge and in October, 
 18;}M, entered upon the duties of his new office. His 
 tenure of this, however, was brief. Mis death occurred 
 on the 17th of October, IH.'irt, after one year of college 
 service much interrupted by illness. The career of 
 I'rofewtor I'eabody was as brilliant as it was brief 
 His intellectual powers were of a high order. His 
 mentiil discipline was thorough, his Heholarsliip line. 
 His character wa-< " a rare combination of strength 
 and lovelinciMi." With a figure and face of nninly 
 beauty and a rich and mellow voii'e, he stoo<l before 
 his people in the pulpit a preacher of singular at- 
 irnctions. His memory long continued to be fragrant 
 in Worce»ter. 
 
 The next paxtor of the Central Cliuri-b was the 
 Rev. Seth Swcelser. Hi^ pa.ntorati- covt-red a period 
 of forty years. It began on the I'.Hh of Oecember, 
 
 1838, and ended with his decea-se, in 1878. During 
 this period, in 1845, occurred the death of Daniel 
 Waldo, in a large sense the founder of the society. 
 In his will he continued to remember it for good by 
 devising to it, in connection with the church, a valu- 
 able real estate upon which stood the chapel of the 
 society and a dwelling-house. In 1858 occurred the 
 first interruption to the prevailing harmony. Until 
 then the expenses had been defrayed by a ta.x on the 
 polls and estates of the members. Under a new 
 statute the expenses were raised by an assessment on 
 the pews. This change caused the withdrawal of a 
 considerable number of rich and influential members. 
 Rut the vital forces of the body soon healed the breach 
 and supplied new strength. Forty additional pews 
 were provided to help bear the burden of the new tax. 
 Dr. Sweetser was not a magnetic preacher ; he had 
 not the gift oratorical, but bis compositions for the 
 pulpit were of rare finish. He [lublished occasional 
 sermons which amply repaiil perusal. On the death 
 of President Lincoln he gave a iliscourse which had 
 no superior, whether of puljjit or platform, in the whole 
 range of productions called forth by that event. It 
 was sought for from distant cities and the edition was 
 exhausted before the demand was supplied. In his 
 last years Dr. Sweetser's health declined until he was 
 at length compelled to surrender the pulpit. But 
 church and parish were unwilling to sunder the lie 
 which had bound them so long together, and though 
 his service ceased, his support (not his salary) was 
 meiisurably continueil until his death. Dr. Sweetser 
 was born at Newburyport in 1807 and graduated at 
 Harvard in 1827. For a time he was a tutor in the 
 university, ami in after years a member of the Board 
 of Overseers. He sustained the same relation to An- 
 dover f^eminary. Of the Polytechnic Institute in 
 Worcester he was an original corporator and trustee, 
 and to it he gave bis best thought and work. Of the 
 city hcwiiaan unobtrusive leading citizen, and among 
 th(^ clergy of the State he was a power. The bases of 
 his intlucnce were wisdom and reserve. 
 
 On the 19th of November, 1874, the Rev. Henry E. 
 Barnes, a graduate of Yale in 18()0, was installed as 
 junior i>astor. On the 3d of May, 187(), alter a year 
 and a half of service, he was dismissed, and soon set- 
 tled in Haverhill, Mass., where a large measure id' 
 success rewardeil his labors. For nearly two years 
 the pulpit was su|>plied by candidates and quasi-can- 
 dates. Many were called, but few chosen. Then the 
 Rev. Daniel .Merriman, a graduate of Williams Cr)l- 
 lege, united all voices in calling him to the vacant 
 place. The call was acce|)ted,and in l'"ebruary, 1878, 
 he W1U4 iuHlalled, the Rev. Dr. Richard S. .Storrs, of 
 Brooklyn, N. Y., preaching the sermon. Within a 
 month came the death of Dr. Sweetser. In no long 
 time after, the subject of building a new church be- 
 gan to be agitated, and foremost in the agitation was 
 the new pastor. A conditiinial Hubscrl|ilion was set on 
 foot and the re<|uired amount was provided for ; but the 
 
10 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF WORCESTER. 
 
 enterprise developed antagonisms, wliich, in the inter- 
 est of peace, made it necessary and certain that one 
 party or the other should and would withdraw. Accord- 
 ingly, four-fifths of the trustees, all but one of the dea- 
 cons, the men whose money had been chiefly relied uu, 
 and a large Isody of others, old and young, quietly left 
 their church home of a generation, voluntarily sur- 
 rendered all the property and dispersed themselves 
 among the other churches. But Providence, " from 
 seeming evil still educinfi; good," inspired the crip- 
 pled church with courage to arise and build, and the 
 result was one of the most beautiful churches in the 
 city or elsewhere. It stands as a conspicuous monu- 
 ment of the recuperative power of a Christian democ- 
 racy under adverse conditions. At its completion no 
 root of bitterness remained to bear evil fruit, and 
 those who withdrew and those who remained sat 
 amicably side by side at the dedication of the new 
 house. Its beauties were afterwards celebrated by 
 the graceful pen of Prof Churchill in the Andover 
 Review. 
 
 Tlie Union Church. — In the autumn of IX'.'A a few 
 young men, chiefly from the Old South Church, con- 
 spicuous among whom was Ichabod Washburn, laid 
 their plans for a new church. The need of it had 
 been felt for several years, and it seemed to them that 
 the time to act had fully come. Accordingly, the 
 preliminary steps were taken, and on the 11th of 
 March, 1835, they were duly incorporated under the 
 name and style of the " Proprietors of the Union 
 Meeting-house." At a meeting held in December of 
 the same year it was voted that the name of the new 
 church should be " The Union Church." In January, 
 1836, Articles of P'aith and a Covenant were unani- 
 mously adopted, and on the 3d of February follow- 
 ing a council constituted the new church with the 
 customary formalities. On the 5th of March the 
 society held its first meeting, and on the 6th of July 
 its new house of worship was dedicated. It was a 
 plain brick structure of !•<• feet by 54, situated on 
 Front Street, opposite the historic Common. Made 
 more commodious iu 1845-46, it was superseded in 
 1880 by a more beautiful but not more spacious edi- 
 fice erected on the same site. The first pastor of the 
 Union Church was the Rev. Jonathan E. Woodbridge. 
 His installation took place on the 24lh of November, 
 1836. His ministry began when the anti-slavery 
 movement was burning its way through the churches. 
 Union Church did not escape. Mr. Woodbridge took 
 one side and the society took the other on the ques- 
 tion of opening the church to anti-slavery lectures. 
 On the 19th of January, 1838, the society, by a vote 
 of forty-five to twelve, decided to open the house to 
 the famous anti-slavery agitators, .James G. liirncy 
 and Henry B. Stanton. Mr. Woodbridge thereupon 
 promptly tendered his resignation, and on the 2d of 
 February the society as promptly accepted it, and 
 called a council to dissolve the relation between them. 
 The first call to this pastorate, though unanimous on 
 
 the part of church and parish, had been declined 
 by Mr. Woodbridge. Upon a second and more urgent 
 call he had consented to come, only to discover in 
 one short year that he and his people could never 
 agree on the great divisive question of the day. His 
 dismission took place on the 14th of February. After 
 leaving Worcester he became more widely known 
 to the churches as editor of the New Eufjland Puri- 
 tan, afterwards made one with the Boston Recorder 
 under the name of the Puritan Recorder. The second 
 pastor of the Union Church was the Rev. Elam 
 Smalley, who was installed on the 19th of September. 
 1838. For nine years previous he had been associate 
 pastor with the Rev. Nathaniel Emmons, D.l)., of 
 Franklin. Doubtless he had profited by such a long 
 association with that remarkable divine, but no two 
 persons could be more unlike in their mental charac- 
 teristics. Reasoning, so eminently characteristic of 
 the Franklin doctor, was not Dr. Smalley 's forte or 
 aspiration. He sought rather to edify by pleasing. 
 If he did not prophesy smooth things, he yet prophe- 
 sied iu a smooth way. What he aimed at he accom- 
 plished. The church was built up, and his ministry 
 of fifteen years was a success. The society testified 
 its appreciation by repeated additions to his salary. 
 In due time he was decorated with the doctorate of 
 divinity. After seven years the meeting-house was 
 altered so as to secure one hundred additional sittings, 
 while Deacon Ichabod Washburn at his own cost 
 provided a vestry and Sunday-school room in the 
 basement. In 1844 the society accepted from the 
 " Proprietors of the Union Meeting-house '' a deed of 
 all their corporate property and assumed all their 
 corporate liabilities. On the 8th of May, 1854, Dr. 
 Smalley asked a dismission, in order " to enter another 
 field of labor." The request was granted, and he 
 shortly after became the pastor of the Third Street 
 Presbyterian Church in Troy, N. Y., and there, on the 
 30th of July, 1858, he died. In 1851 he published 
 "The Worcester Pulpit, with Notices Biographical 
 and Historical." The plan of the work included a 
 sketch of each church and pastor in each denomina- 
 tion, with specimen sermons. It is a valuable source 
 of information touching tlie churches of Worcester. 
 The Rev. J. W. Wellman, a graduate and afterwards 
 a trustee of Dartmouth, was the next choice of Union 
 Church. He justified their choice by declining the 
 call t'rom a sense of duty to the obscurer church of 
 which he was then the pastor. Dr. Wellman at a 
 later day became conspicuous as the only trustee of 
 Andover Theological Seminary who resisted the " new 
 departure." Failing to secure him, the church next 
 extended a call to the Rev. Ebenezer Cutler, of St. 
 Albans, Vt. The call was accepted and the pastor- 
 elect was installed on the 6th of September, 1855. 
 At the same time a subscription for a pastor's library 
 was set on foot which resulted in a substantial sum 
 for that essential but much-neglected furnishing of a 
 ' church. In 1859 began a series ofetibrts, continuing 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OK WORCESTER. 
 
 11 
 
 through several years, for either the enlargement of 
 the old or the building of a new house of worship. 
 Votes were passed to mortgage, to sell the old house, 
 to examine sites, to build a new house, to raise money 
 by subscri|>tii>n. An abiding feeling that the church 
 was not well housed for doing its most effective work 
 lay at the bottom of these spasmodic etforts. But out 
 of it all the chief thing realized at the time was only 
 a small addition to the rear for the organ and choir. 
 The new church was still in the future. Dr. Cutler 
 continued his ministry with growing reputation until 
 18().">, when he w:is elected president of Vermont Uni- 
 versity. This called fcirth an urgent appeal from his 
 people not to leave them, and he consequently de- 
 clined the flattering oti'er. Shortly after, he received 
 a tender of the Professorship of Ecclesiastical History 
 in Hartford Theological Seminary, but this also he 
 promptly put aside without waiting for it to take for- 
 mal shape. In the autumn of 1874 he initiated tin- 
 proceedings which resulted in the organization of the 
 Worcester Congregational Club, of which he became 
 the first president. The subsequent history of the 
 club amply vindicated itself an<l him. In the winter 
 of 1877 a bronchial trouble compelled him to seek 
 relief in other climates. First going to Florida, and 
 in the summer to Europe, he w.is absent from his 
 pulpit until the following October, when he resumed 
 preaching, though not fully recovered. Early in 
 1878, under stress of circumstancea, he finally resigned 
 his pulpit, retaining, however, his office. The pas- 
 toral relation was notdiasolved until the 11th of Octo- 
 ber, 1880, just before the installation of his successor. 
 The council, in dismissing him, made mention of his 
 "wide usefulness ' and "profound scholarship," and 
 gave him the name of "a Christian man without fear 
 and without reproach." He continued to worship 
 with the Union Church which subsofpiently testified 
 its affection and esteem by honoring 'him with the 
 title of pmtnr emeritus. 
 
 For nearly two years the Rev. George H. Gould. 
 L).D., supplied the pulpit in connection with the 
 teslingof candidates by preaching. During this period 
 the new church, so long de«ire<l and so long delayed, 
 was erected on the old site'. As already remarked, it 
 was a more beautiful though less capacious edifice 
 than the old one. The cost was thirty-seven thousand 
 five hundreil dollars. A new organ of fine quality 
 and appearance added to the attractions. The dedi- 
 cation of the house took place on Sunday, the luth 
 day of (Jctober, IHXO, on which occasion the sermon 
 wa* preached by the Kev. Henry -A. Stimson, the 
 pastor-eh^ct. On the Mth, Mr. Stimson wiw duly 
 installed. He was a graduate of Yale, and came 
 to his new charge from a highly successful ministry 
 in Minneapolis. His ministry in Woni-sler wan dis- 
 tiiiguishc-d by n-markably energetic parochial work. 
 The young were especially soon made to feel of how 
 much church work they, too, were capable. 'I"he print- 
 ing-prtwi wan brought into play, and a Sunday bulletin 
 
 was issued every week. The service of song was 
 extended and enriched. And by the plan of free 
 seats on Sunday evenings the poor had the gospel 
 preached to them. Large congregations rewarded 
 these efforts, large additions to thechurch followed. In 
 the midst of, perhaps because of, this marked success 
 Dr. Stimson received a call from the church in St. 
 Louis of which the lamented Dr. Constans L. Goodell 
 had been pastor, and he decided it to be his duty to 
 accept the call. His dismission, much to the sorrow 
 of his people, took place in June, 1886. The present 
 pastor, Rev. William V. W. Davis, was installed as 
 his successor on the 1.3th of April, 1887. He was a 
 graduate of Andierst in the class of 1873, had his 
 first settlement in Manchester, N. H., and was called 
 to Worcester from the Euclid Avenue Presbyterian 
 Church in Cleveland, Ohio. Within the first year of 
 his ministry one hundred members were added to 
 the chundi. The present nienibersliip is live hundred 
 and thirty-four. 
 
 Salem Street Church. — This church wa.s the result of 
 a joint contribution of men and means from the ()ld 
 South the Calvinist and the Union Churches. The 
 rapid growth of the city from 1840 to 1848 had im- 
 pressed the pastors and brethren of those churches 
 with a conviction that the time had come for the 
 organization of a fourth church of their way. Meas- 
 ures were accordingly taken in 1847 for the erection 
 of a church edifice. Meanwhile the persons enlisted 
 in the new enterprise held ])relimiiiary meetings, 
 adopted a creed and covenant, and on the Mth of 
 June, 184.'^, were recognized as a church" in a formal 
 manner. ( >f the one hundred and thirty rthree who 
 constituted the membership, eighty went out from 
 the Union Church, thirty from the Calvinist Church 
 and the rest mostly from the Olil South. The new 
 church had its place of worship in the city hall until 
 the llith of December, 1848, when the new house, 
 which had been erected on Salem Street, was dedi- 
 cated. The cost was somewhat less than twenty- 
 eight thousand dollars ; the money was collected out 
 of the three spon.sorial churches. On the day fol- 
 lowing the dedication occurred the ordination of the 
 Rev. (ieorgc Hushnell, and his installation as the 
 first pastor of the church. The sermon on this occa- 
 sion was preached by his brother, the Rev. Horace 
 Hushnell, D.D. Mr. Hushnell was a graduate of 
 Yale in 1842, and had his theological education at 
 Auburn and .New Haven. He prosecuted his minis- 
 try with great satisfaction to liis parishioners for nine 
 years, and then found it prudent, because of impaired 
 health, to withdraw from pastoral labor. Ity accept- 
 ing the position of superintendent of public schools 
 in Worcester he hoped to regain his health. How- 
 ever, after nearly a year of this labor it seemed e.vpe- 
 dient to lay down his pastoral charge, and he was 
 accordingly ilismisseil on the ■J7tli of .January, l.'S.'iK. 
 Prior to this date the church hail taken action at 
 snudry times to provide a new pastor. On the 2.Sd 
 
12 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF WOKCESTEE. 
 
 of June, 1857, a vote was passed by a small majority 
 to call the Rev. Merrill Richardson, of Terryville, Ct. ; 
 then at the same meeting the matter was indefinitely 
 postponed. On the 9th of November, by a nearly 
 unanimous vote, a call was extended to the Rev. Eli 
 Thuraton, of Fall River, which, however, was de- 
 clined by him. On the 21st of December the church 
 again voted to call Mr. Richardson, and the society 
 concurred in the call. To this action, however, there 
 was serious (ii)i>osition, which found expression before 
 the council convened to install him. The council, 
 nevertheless, while giving respectful heed to the re- 
 monstrants, of whom there were forty-eight, pro- 
 ceeded with the business before them, and on the 27th 
 of .January, 1858, Mr. Richardson was installed as 
 pastor of the Salem Street Church. After this un- 
 toward beginning he went forward with his ministry 
 for twelve years. Then, on the 27th of September, 
 1870, he was dismissed at his own request, because 
 his eyes had failed him for purposes of study. " When 
 he came there was a storm, but when he went away 
 there was a clear sky." In two months after, he was 
 settled over the New England ('ongregational Church 
 in the city of New York ; and in two years after that 
 he became pastor of the church in Milford, Mass. 
 His death occurred in December, 1870. It was said: 
 " He gave the church uniting power, and a certain 
 healthiness of spiritual life." It was said again: 
 " He was a warrior and a child ; he was rough and 
 gentle." And again it was said : " He sought to pro- 
 duce everywhere the peace of God in Jesus Christ." 
 But it was a:lso said by the late Judge Chapin, a 
 leader of the Unitarians and at one time president 
 of the American Unitarian Convention : " Mr. Rich- 
 ardson is a good enough Unitarian for me." These 
 testimonies are all to be considered in forming an 
 estimate of the minister who won the Salem Street 
 pulpit with so much difficulty, but who, having won 
 it, kept it undisturbed till he chose to give it up. 
 
 On the 8lh of March, 1871, the Rev. Charles M. 
 Lamson, of North Bridgewater, received a unanimous 
 call from both church and parish. In his letter of 
 acceptance he said that he viewed it as " a call to a 
 work rather than to a place," and in this spirit he pros- 
 ecuted his ministry. His installation took place on 
 the 3d of May. In .June he was api)ointed chairman 
 of a committee to revise the church standards and to 
 prepare a now manual. On May 1, 1872, the creed 
 as re-written by the committee was reported and 
 unanimously adopted. It would be a just description 
 to say that it was the old creed liberated from the old 
 straitness, ami some might think front the old straight- 
 ness, even. Entire harmony and deepening aftection 
 between Mr. Lamson and his people, increasing in- 
 fluence within the city and widening reputiition 
 without, marked his ministry from the beginning to 
 the end. After more than fourteen years of service 
 he felt admonished by the state of his health to ask 
 a dismission. Very sorrowfully his people yielded to 
 
 his wish, and on the 28th of September, 188tj, his dis- 
 mission was declared in a result of council, which 
 expressed in tones of rare encomium the appreciation 
 of his clerical brethren. After a year and more the 
 Rev. Isaac J. Lansing, of Brooklyn, N. Y., was called 
 to the vacant pulpit. The call was unanimous, save 
 for a single vote. Mr. Lansing was a minister of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. He wiis content with 
 its doctrines, but dissatisfied with its polity. He dis- 
 liked its three years' limitation of ministerial labor. 
 He preferred the Congregational permanency. The 
 call to Salem Street was opportune and he at once 
 signified his acceptance. The installation took place 
 on the 11th of November, 188i;. The loss of Jlr. Lam- 
 son, and the loss of members because of that loss 
 and also because of their nearness to other churches 
 had greatly reduced the prosperity of the Salem 
 Street Church. To the work of its recovery and en- 
 largement Mr. Lansing brought all his methodist 
 energy and forth-putting. He devised liberal things, 
 all of which, however, he could not at once bring to 
 pass. But a debt of five thousand dollars was paid 
 otr, and the meeting-house was renovated and re- 
 .seated at an expense of about eight thousand dollars 
 more. Once more it was filled with an old-time con- 
 gregation. In August, 1888, a unique departure was 
 initiated. At its own motion and its own cost, with- 
 out aid from the parish treasury, the church deter- 
 mined to provide an assistant minister for service 
 over and above and outside of the pastor's proper 
 work. This plan was carried into effect on the 18th 
 of October, by the engagement of the Rev. William 
 W. Sleeper. Several definite lines of activity were 
 contemplated. The new minister, a thoroughly edu- 
 cated musician, was to take in hand the musical train- 
 ing of the congregation. He was to have a large 
 Bible-class of the young men. He was to act as a 
 missionary in the highways and hedges. And he was 
 to do service at funerals and minister consolation to 
 such as had no pastor to call upon. At the opening 
 of the year 1889 this new and varied work was in suc- 
 cessful progress; while, as an important reinforcement 
 for its more pronounced success, the church had in 
 that year secured the services of Prof. Benjamin D. 
 Allen, who for thirty-four years had been the organist 
 of Union Church. 
 
 Summer Street Mmioii Chapel. — This church had its 
 origin in the benevolent heart of Ichabod Washburn. 
 To provide " the benefits of moral and religious in- 
 struction and restraint for a pretty numerous class of 
 persons, living in Worcester," was his aim. Accord- 
 ingly he had erected, at his own exjiense, and caused 
 to be dedicated in the spring of 1855, a Mission 
 Chapel on Summer Street in that city. At the same 
 time he made provision for the free ministry of the 
 gospel to all who should resort to the chapel for such 
 a privilege. The first minister employed in this ser- 
 vice was the Rev. William T. Sleeper, then the city 
 missionarv. His term of service closed with the close 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF WORCESTER. 
 
 1:5 
 
 of the year IS06. Rev. Samuel Souther, a graduate 
 of Dartmouth in 1842, followed him and remained 
 until I.StiS, when he enlisted as a i>riv:ite in the army 
 of the Union and gave up his life on the haltle-field. 
 Under his ministry an Industrial School was organ- 
 ized in Decemlier, 18i>7. In 1SG4 tlie Rev. Henry T. | 
 Cheever, a graduate of Bowdoin in 1834, succeeded 
 to the ministry of the .Mission Chapel. Through his 
 inspiration 11 movement was begun for the formation 
 of a church, and on December 2.'i, lSi>4, eighteen 
 persons constituted themselves the " Church of the 
 Summer Street Mi&sion Chapel," by the adoption of 
 a Confession of Faith and a Covenant and the elec- 
 tion of deacons and a clerk. On the 22d of .Tanuary, 
 18G0, the church wa.s received into the fellowshii) of 
 the churches by public "services of recognition held 
 by a council in Union Church. On the 3d of April 1 
 the church " constituted itself a religious society " or 
 parish, " according to the statutes of the Common- 
 wealth, under the name of "The Society of the Sum- 
 mer Street Jlission Chapel." In March, 18t>t5, Deacon 
 Wtishburn e.xecuted his will and made ample provi- 
 sion therein for the perpetual maintenance of this 
 charitable foundation. The Mission Chapel estate 
 was devised to the Union Society, in trust, " for the 
 purposes and trusts declared in the will, and no 
 other." In addition, the sum of twenty thousand 
 dollars was given for defraying the expenses of main- 
 taining a minister and public worship, and a further 
 sum of tive thousand dollars to maintain the Indus- 
 trial School connected therewith. By the decease of 
 Deacon Washburn on the 30th of December, 18G8, 
 these gifts became operative. Mr. Cheever continued 
 to be the minister of the Mission Chapel until the 
 1st of April, 1873, when Mr. Sleeper was a|ipoinleii 
 to his ])lace by the joint action of two deacons of 
 the Union Church and two of the Mission Chapel 
 Church, in accordance with the provisions of the 
 will. On tlie 2t)lh of .January, ]88i!, the trustees 
 voted that it was expedient to sell the Summer Street 
 property and locate the church elsewhere. This 
 action was in harmony with the views and wishes of 
 the Mission t'burch and its minister. But it was 
 strenuously resisted by the former minister, Mr. 
 Cheever, and by the widow of Deacon Washburn, 
 on the ground that it was in violation of the letter 
 and intent of liis will and in defeasance of the obji'ct 
 which he had at heart, 'i'he question went up to the 
 Supreme Court by petition of the trustees for leave 
 to sell and was decided in their favor.' The founder 
 of this im|iortatit charity begati his life in Worcester | 
 as a workman for daily wagc-s. At the close of his 
 life he left an estjite of more than half a million of 
 dollars nccumulated by his own industry ami rare | 
 sagacity. The bulk of thi« great wealth he devoted 
 
 < Th« writar ta anlhentlcally InformM OtU ft I* titr imrpow of Mra. | 
 Waaliljiim to contnat (Ite Mte at tli* prosier Uitif^ un <Im> ifr'xiiifl tlinl 
 iiieb mI« would d««troy "tli9 uitlAmrntArv tifti ••f ilii. Indtmirlnl 
 Ocbnol un lh> Mialon Cliaivl " 
 
 to the good uf his fellow-men. All along the path- 
 way of his life he was setting up monuments of liis 
 niiniilicence, while his testamentary gifts for .school 
 anil church and hospital far exceeded those of his 
 life-time or those of any previous benefactor of the 
 city. 
 
 Plymouth Clittrrh. — The beginning of this church 
 was in 18(li). More than twenty years had passed since 
 the last (Inirch of this faith an<i order had been organ- 
 ized. In that time the city had grown from sixteen 
 thousand to forty thousand inhabitants. The churches 
 were crowded ; it had become difficult to obtain seats; 
 some, even, through failure to do so, had gone into 
 the Methodist fold. Under these circumstances, 
 fifteen young men met together in a private room to 
 confer respecting a new church. They had acted 
 together in the Voung .Men's Christian Association, 
 had thus become acquainted with each other, and said 
 it would be a good thing if they could have a Young 
 Men's Christian As.sociation church. They formed a 
 nucleus around which other young men gathered. 
 .Soon the circle ol' interested persons widened and 
 came to include older men and men of substance. 
 Then the enteri)rise rapidly gathered headway. The 
 first meeting was held on the 15th of April, 18G9. On 
 the 29th it was announced that Mechanics Hall had 
 been secured for i)ul)lic worship during one year. 
 Forthwith a subscription of three thousand three 
 hundred and forty dollars Wius made by sixty-three 
 persons to defray the current expenses; and within a 
 week or two the sum was raised to about three thou- 
 sand eight hundred dollars. A Sunday .school em- 
 bracing more than three hundred was at once begun, 
 and on the second Sunday in May public worship was 
 held in Mechanics Hall with preaching by Rev. Dr. 
 IC. B. Webb of Boston. On the same evening a meet- 
 ing was held to take measures for organizing a church. 
 A committee was charged with the duty of preparing 
 and |iresenling a creed and covenant. When the time 
 came for action thereon difliculties were encountered. 
 .\mong others, the Rev. George Allen, who had pro- 
 posed to become a member of the church, rose and 
 gave his voice against the adoption of any creed what- 
 ever. Failing to convince the meeting he recalled 
 his letter of recommendation and witlidrew from any 
 further connection with the enterprise. At a subse- 
 quent meeting the articles of the creed jis reported 
 were largely changed and then adopted. The question 
 of a name came up. Edward A. Ooodnow, the largest 
 giver, and nmny others were in favor of making it a 
 free church. Mr. ( iomlnow, therefore, moved that the 
 name be the " Free ( 'ongregational ('hiircli," atid to 
 make it free he subsequently subscribed one thousand 
 live hundred dollars a year to pay for the ball. His 
 aitsociates, however, were not yet prepared for the 
 meiwurc, and instead of that name voted that the 
 name be "Sixth ("ongregational ('hiirch." Meiinwbile, 
 a society had been organi/.ed by the name of the I'lyni- 
 onlb Socictv, and the church afterwards made its 
 
14 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF WORCESTER. 
 
 own name conform to that. On the 7th of July a 
 council assembled in the Old South meeting-house to 
 assist in organizing and recognizing the new church. 
 With a recommendation to amend the 4th article of 
 the creed they proceeded to the performance of their 
 functions. Of the one hundred and ninety- four 
 persons proposing to be of the church, one hundred 
 and twent}'-seven were then present and were duly 
 constituted the Sixth Congregational Church. A 
 week later fifty-one of the remainder were received 
 into the membership. Four deacons having been 
 elected; and a communion and baptismal service 
 having been presented by Mr. Goodnow and his wife, 
 Catherine B. (loodnow, on the 5th of September the 
 church celebrated its first communion. From that 
 time onward a great variety of preachers occupied the 
 pulpit until April, 1S70, when the Rev. Nelson Millard, 
 of Brooklyn, N. Y., received a call to become the 
 pastor. The call was declined on the ground that 
 continuous preaching in so large a hall would cause 
 too serious a strain on the physical powers of the 
 preacher. On the 2Gth of October a unanimous call 
 was declined by the Rev. William J. Tucker, now the 
 distinguished professor at Andover, perhaps for the 
 same reason. A practically unanimous call of the 
 Rev. B. F. Hamilton met with the same fate. Mean- 
 while the future pastor of Plymouth Church, the Rev. 
 George W. Phillips, of Columbus, Ohio, had been 
 heard in its pulpit for the first time at Christmas in 
 1870. After this experience had been repeated at 
 intervals through the following year, he accepted a 
 call and was installed on the 28th of December, 1871. 
 A condition of his acceptance wa.s that the society 
 should build a church edifice. Accordingly funds and 
 a site were the next things in order. In April, 1872, 
 the site was fixed by a vote to build on the ground 
 where the church now stands. This action split 
 church and parish in two. The soreness of the wound 
 however, was soon assuaged, and both halves continued 
 to live as two wholes with a two-fol<l prosperity and 
 usefulness. F'ifty-six members received a peaceable 
 dismission and straightway with others proceeded to 
 organize a church in the more southern part of the 
 city. The load became heavier on Plymouth Church 
 but the sturdy shoulders under it did not succumb. 
 On the 2(Jth of April, 1873, the corner-stone was laid ; 
 on the 19th of April, 1874, the chapel was dedicated 
 for use; and on the 2S)th of April, 1873, the entire 
 edifice was done and dedicated. It is a structure of 
 granite, witli perhaps a larger seating capacity than 
 that of any other church in the city, having seats for 
 the comfortable accommodation of fourteen hundred 
 persons. Its cost, including recent decorative imjirove- 
 ments, has somewhat exceeded one hundred and fifty 
 thousaud dollars. In 1881 sixty-six thousand dollars 
 of this cost still rested as a debt upon the Plymouth 
 property and people. It was determined to obtain 
 relief from the incubus by effecting, if possible, a 
 large reduction f>f this debt. Suddenly, in the rnonlli 
 
 of April, Edward Kimball, of Chicago, the good 
 genius of debt-burdened churches, appeared before 
 the congregation to assist. While the matter was 
 thus in hand, Kdward A. ffoodnow sent in a written 
 proposition that if the debt were not merely reduced 
 but extinguished he would make a gift to Plymouth 
 of an organ and a chime, each to cost five thousand 
 dollars. Under this incentive, coupled with Mr. Kim- 
 ball's inspiration, the elliirt was redoubled, the debt 
 was extinguished, and chime and organ were put in 
 place, at a cost to the giver of nearly eleven thousand 
 dollars. The chime was made a memorial of his 
 deceased wife, for whom the chu rch had before held a 
 special commemorative service, by the inscription on 
 the principal bell — In AFemoriam Cciherine B. G'oothwic. 
 After a successful pastorate of more than fourteen 
 years Dr. Phillips, at his own request, w:i.s dismissed 
 on the 10th day of May, 1880, and immediately settled 
 as pastor of the important church in Rutland, Vt. 
 On the 30th of June, in the same year, Plymouth 
 Church and Society extended a unanimous call to the 
 Rev. Arthur Little, D.I)., of Chicago. The call was 
 declined, and the church remained without a pastor 
 until April 7, 1887, when the Rev. Charles Wadsworlh, 
 Jr., of Philadelphia, was installed. In May of the 
 next year he resigned his office on the ground that he 
 had accepted a call to a Presbyterian (Uiurcli in fSan 
 Francisco. The church was quite unreconciled to 
 this sudden bereavement, but yielded to it under 
 protest. However, the council called to dissolve the 
 tie advised against it. This led to a reconsideration 
 which resulted in a cordial re-establishment of the old 
 relation. As the year 1888 wore on, however, the 
 church was admonished by the failing health of its 
 reinstated pastor that if it would keeji him something 
 must be done for his relief. Accordingly, in .lanuary, 
 1889, the parish voted to have, and provide for, a 
 pastor's assistant. In this matter the Ladies' Benevo- 
 lent Society had taken the initiative by assuming an 
 obligation to pay one-half of whatever salary the 
 parish should fix upon. By way of further relief, the 
 pastor's annual vacation was doubled and a large 
 , addition made to his salary. In making these anxious 
 and liberal provisions Plymouth Church felt justified 
 1 by the magnitude of the work upon its hands. With 
 i the costliest church edifice of its order in the city 
 1 and the largest church membership and no church 
 debt and a constituency " rich and increased in goods," 
 ' it was in a position both to devise and to execute 
 
 liberal things. 
 j Piedmont Congregational Churrh. — In the sketch 
 of Plymouth Church it was stated that fifty-six 
 members of that body were dismissed for the (lurpose 
 of forming a church in the soiitbern part of the city. 
 This w;is the origin of Piedmont Church. The first 
 steps were taken at an informal meeting held on the 
 3(1 of May, 1872. On the 10th of the same month it 
 was resolved to organize a parish and purchase a lot 
 on the corner of Main and Piedmont Streets. On the 
 
ECCLKSIASTK'AI- HFSTOHY OF WOKCKSTKU 
 
 15 
 
 Kith the lot had been purchased and fifty-nine per- 
 :ionB hail signed an agreement to become a religious 
 society. On the 23d the associates assembled under 
 a warrant and organized the society according to law. 
 On the ;^nth the name of " Piedmont Congregational 
 Church " was adopted. The corporate name, how- 
 ever, roiuinued to be the "Seventh Congregational 
 Church in Worcester." On the tith ol' June by-laws 
 were adopted whereby " any person '' proposed and 
 elected by the major vote might become a member of 
 the society. On the 14th the first subscription was 
 made among those present at the meeting, and a sum 
 of lifteen thousand dollars was pledged. Plans were 
 adopted .\ugust 2.'!d, and by September "ilUh the sub- 
 scription had increased to twenty-four thousand dol- 
 lars. >[eantime, on the '2d of June, the first public 
 religious service had been held in the Main 
 .Street Baptist Church. In the same place a 
 council was organized, on the 18th of .Sejitem- 
 ber following, for the purpose of constituting the 
 church. The confes-sion of faith, covenant and 
 all preliminaries being found satisfactory, the church 
 was duly constituted by the council. The sermon 
 was preached by the Kev. George H. (Jould, D.l)., 
 who remained as acting |>astor fri>m that date until 
 1S77. In < )ctober ground was broken for tlie ilinrch 
 foundation, which, by contract, wius to be linished by 
 the Ist of June, 1873. In ilue time the basement was 
 completed and occupied for public worship during 
 the period in which the superstructure was being 
 finished. < >n the 1st of February, 1877, the audi- 
 torium was ready for occupation. It has a seating 
 capacity of one thousand one hundred and twenty. 
 The building is one of the largest church edifices in 
 the city, and through improvements, chiefly of a 
 ilecorative character made in 1888 at a cost of ten 
 tliuiisand ilollars, is one of the most attractive. The 
 original cnst of lanil and construction lias been set at 
 one liundri-d and thirty thousaml dollars. A fine 
 organ, the gift of Clinton M. Dyer and wife, was 
 place<l io the organ-loft in 1884, at a cost, incluilinga 
 complete apparatus for blowing it by water-power, of 
 about si.x lliousan<l five hundred rlollars. With the 
 completion of the building came the first and only 
 pastor, Kev. havid O. .Mears, D.I)., who was installed 
 on the .">d of .Inly, 1877. Under his ministry church 
 and parish kept pace with the most progressive. His 
 reputation went abroad beyontl Worcester, so that 
 several doors were opened to him elsewhere. In I8S.'J 
 he was invited to lake the pr<'sidency of Iowa Col- 
 lege. This, after careful consideration, he declined 
 lu he did also the pastorales of several liiiportaiit 
 churchei to which he had been invited. 
 
 /'ark Congregatioital C'/mrrh. — The beginning of 
 this church wat a Sabbath -school gathereil by a 
 woman. To (.ydia .\. (^tiddings the praise is iliie. 
 .Moiig with and reinforcing her activity came that of 
 the city missionary, the Kev. Albert iSryaiit, This 
 was in the autumn of 1884. I'resentlv a council ail- 
 
 vised the establishment of a church and measures 
 were taken accordingly. In May, 188'i, the first ser- 
 mon wa-s preached in .\gricultural Hall by the Kev. 
 J. V. Lovering, pastor of the Old South. The labor- 
 ing oar was now placed in the bands of the Rev. Dr. 
 .\. K. P. Perkins, a resident minister without charge. 
 Pliroiigli his eflicient labors, with those of his coml- 
 Jutors, such progress was made that in the summer of 
 188tj.a commodious chapel had been erected, and on 
 the 26th of September was dedicated. The land for 
 the site, on the corner of Kim and Russell Streets, 
 was the gift of David Whltcomb. Including this, 
 the whole cost was about nine thousand dollars. 
 The title of the properly is In the City Missionary So- 
 ciety. On the 24tli of February, 1887, the church 
 was constituted and at the same time the Rev. George 
 S. Pelton, formerly of Omaha, was installed as its 
 first pastor. At first a Society was organized on the 
 old double-headed plan ; but after nearly one year of 
 church life passed in tliis way Park Church took 
 advantage of the general law for the incorporation of 
 churches enacted in 1887, and on the 17th of Janu- 
 ary, 1888, took on corporate powers and became 
 itself a parish. Both men and women were named 
 among the corporators, and both were made responsi- 
 ble for the "government of the body" so far as they 
 were '' legal voters.'' The aim was to make impossi- 
 ble the old-time antagonism of church and parish. 
 This the .scheme assured. But just as under the old 
 Congregational way, so now, there still remained two 
 bodies In Park Church — a spiritual body independent 
 of law aii<l an artificial body subject to law. 
 
 Pilgrim Conf/regntioiia/ Cliurcli. — The origin of 
 this church was in marked contrast with that of the 
 Plymouth and Piednumt Churches. While they 
 sprang into existence as it were fiill-giown and dis- 
 played masculine vigor from the first. Pilgrim Church 
 had a childhood. It wa.s, in a sense, the child of the 
 City Mlssuinary Society. That society e.\plorcd the 
 ground and prepare<l the way and supplied the first 
 preaching. Because of llial society it came to exist 
 when and where it did. Ii first became visible in 
 the form of a diminutive Sunday-school, at No. (j 
 Hancock Street, on the PUli of .May, 1883. Mrs. 
 Fannie M. Bond, a city iiilssioiiary, had gathered a 
 little flock, ami Mrs. Faiinic II. .Migliill, whose warm 
 co-operation had been secured, opened her doors for 
 Its reception. At this first meeting exactly ten 
 .schedars were present, of whom five had never before 
 been in a Sunday scliocd. By the Sth of July the 
 ten had become a crowd and Woiidland street school- 
 house was secured for Its accommodatiiui. In live 
 years it had grown to nearly six hundred members. 
 (Jn the 1st of July, 1884, the school received the gift 
 of a lot of land from .Mr. F. B. Knowles, of Pied- 
 mont Church, and Mrs. Helen ( '. Knowles, of rnioii 
 ('liiirch. The same persons, with others, contributed 
 money fur the building of a chapel which was lin- 
 ished and occupied on the 2r>tli of .lanuary, 1880. 
 
16 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF WORCESTER. 
 
 Wlien completed it was the first of six houses of 
 worship now (1888) standing between Piedmont 
 Street and New Worcester. On the 16th of Novem- 
 ber, 1884, the Rev. Charies M. iSouthgate began pas- ' 
 toral worlc. He was a graduate of Yale in the class ! 
 of 1861), and came to Worcester from a pastorate of 
 nine years with the Congregational Church in Ded- i 
 ham. Under tlie fresh impulse imparted by him the i 
 enterprise went rajiidly I'orward in the way of its en- j 
 largenient and consummation. On tlie 19th of i 
 March, 1885, the church, embracing eighty-eight 
 members, was organized, and at the same time the 
 pastor was installed. On the 19th of August, 1887, 
 ground was broken for the new church edifice, and 
 on the 1st of July, 1888, it was dedicated. It .stands 
 on the corner of Main and (Jardner Streets, is one of 
 the most attractive churches in tlie city, and, with the 
 other property, is valued at one hundred and ten 
 thousand dollars. The auditorium has more tlian 
 one thousand and fifty sittings, while the rooms de- 
 voted to the Sunday school accommodate more than 
 six hundred person.s. The sociely connected with 
 this cliurcli was incorporated on tlie 13tli of April, 
 1885. The by-laws provide that all male adult mem- 
 bers of the church shall, and "any" adult members 
 may, become members of the society. 
 
 Three things distinguish this from other Congrega- 
 tional Churches, and probably from all other churches 
 in the city. The first is, the (^liurch and parish 
 status. By requiring adult male members of the 
 church to become members of the parish and mem- 
 bers of the parish to be members of the church, it 
 was designed, as in Park Church, among other things, 
 to make antagonism between the two bodies impossi- 
 ble. One further thing seems essential to the com- 
 plete success of this i)lan, and that is, to require all 
 female, as well as male, adult members of the church 
 to become members also of the parish. Without this, 
 antagonism, however improbable, is nevertheless 
 I)os3ible. The second distinguishing thing is the 
 unique and admirable provision for the accommoda- 
 tion of the Sunday school. A spacious primary 
 room, parlor and ten separate class-rooms have been 
 so arranged that each can be shut off from the rest 
 during the study of the lesson and then all thrown 
 into one again for the general exercises. The third 
 thing is the provision for the secular side of this 
 church organization. The first chapel was moved to 
 one side, named Pilgrim Hall, and fitted up with 
 rooms for a gymnasium, carpenter's shop, boys' read- 
 ing room, hall for social purposes and a kitchen. In 
 this Hall the healthful secular life of Pilgrim Church 
 goes on through all the secular days of the week. 
 The membership of this church at the close of the 
 year (1888) was two hundred and fifty. 
 
 Church of the Covenant, — This church is an anom- 
 aly of Congregationalism. At present it is tripartite, 
 but it may become quadrupartite and indefinitely 
 more. Under one church organization there are thus 
 
 far three " sections," each in a different part of the 
 city. The names of these are, the Houghton Street 
 Section, South Worcester Section and Lake View 
 Section. Eich section is an inchoate church, having 
 some, but not all the powers of a Congregational 
 Church. The peculiar organization grew out of the 
 needs of the chapel congregations in charge of the 
 City Missionary Society. Upon the incorporation of 
 this society, in 1883, the congregations at South Wor- 
 cester and Lake View came un<ler its care. On the 
 lilth of ()ctol)er, 1884, it organized a Sunday school 
 in the neighborhood of Houghton Street, and on the 
 15th of October, 1885, dedicated the Houghton Street 
 Chapel. In the chapel a council assembled on the 
 10th of December following to organize the church. 
 .Vt an adjourned meeting of the council held in the 
 vestry of Piymouth Church, on the 22d of December, 
 the business in hand wa-s completed by the public re- 
 cognition of the Church of the Covenant. Li .lanu- 
 ary, 188G, there were forty communicants in all the 
 sections, of whom more than one half were in the 
 Houghton Street Section. 
 
 Due provision was made for the practical working 
 of this anomalous church. It was placed under the 
 "pastoral care'' of the City Missionary Society, with 
 the city mi.s.sionary, Rev. Albert Bryant, for its pastor. 
 Each section was to manage its own sectional att'airs. 
 The pastor of the church was to be the pastor of the 
 section and preside at all its meetings. He was to 
 perform all pastoral, pulpit and sacramental duties 
 for each separately. There was to be a secretary of 
 the section and a clerk of the church, the former of 
 whom was to transmit his record of sectional doings 
 to the latter for permanent record. Each section was 
 to elect one deacon or more, and the sectional deacons 
 were collectively to be the deacons of the church. 
 Any section might admit and dismiss members of its 
 own body, but the duty of issuing letters of dismis- 
 sion and recommendation was laid upon the clerk. 
 The discipline of its own members was placed exclu- 
 sively in the hands of the section, as though it were 
 an independent church. Matters of interest common 
 to all the sections were referred to a general advisory 
 board. This was to consist of the pastor, standing 
 committees of the sections and two representatives of 
 the City Missionary Society chosen annually. By 
 this board the clerk of the church was to be annually 
 elected. If the church was to be represented in any 
 ecclesiastical body, each section was to take its turn 
 in appointing the representative. Finally, the whole 
 church and each section were to hold separate annual 
 meetings. The title to all the property was vested in 
 the City Missionary Society. After a trial of several 
 years the working of the plan fully met the expecta- 
 tion of its authoi's. At the close of the year 1888 
 the membershii) had increased to sixty, more thair 
 half of which still belonged to the Houghton Street 
 Section. 
 
 Presbytkrians. — In the year 1718 about one hun- 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF WOHCESTKK. 
 
 17 
 
 dreii lamilies of Scotch desceut and Presbyterian 
 principles emigrated to this coiiritry Croin the mirth 
 of Ireland, l^^anding at Boston, they dispersed to 
 various points in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. 
 A part eame to Worcester, and in the next year 
 gathered a church after tlie Presbyterian way. A 
 minister. Rev. Edward Fitzgerald, accouipanieil them 
 ami preached to them tor some months. Their place 
 of worship was at first in the garrison-house, then 
 recently built, near the junction of the Boston and 
 Lancaster roads. Very soon they began to build a 
 house of worship for themselves ; but while it was in 
 the process of erection " a body of the inhabitants 
 iisseinbled by night and demolished the structure." 
 Discouraged by this unwarrantable opposition, they 
 nuide no further attempt to build a sanctuary. Hut 
 the church continued to hold on its way for some 
 years. For awhile they worshipped with the Congre- 
 gational rluirch, nearly ei|ualling them in numbers; 
 but, failing in this way to secure any preaching of 
 their own kind, they withdrew and again became 
 separate with the Kev. William .lohnson its their 
 minister. While supporting him, however, they were 
 also compelled by law to contribute their share to the 
 support of the church of the "st^mding order.'" From 
 this burden they, in 17HG, asked but failed to be re- 
 lieved. In the end, by successive removals and other- 
 wise, this first Presbyterian Church in Worcester 
 gradually vanished out of existence, and for nearly 
 one hundred and fifty years no further attempt was 
 made in that direction. Conspicuous among this 
 early company of Scotch Presbyterians was William 
 < 'aldwell, who very soon went from Worcester with 
 his family and became the founder of the town of 
 Barre. He lived to be one hundred years old, lacking 
 one year. His grandson, William Caldwell, became 
 the sheritVof Worcester County — " the mode) sheriff,'' 
 as Governor Lincoln styled him. An ancest<>r of 
 (ieneral tieorge B. McClellan was also among these 
 early Presbyterians o{ Worcester. 
 
 After the long interval already mentioned a second 
 Presbyterian church was constituted. The first 
 meeting for this purpose was held on the 2l8t of Feb- 
 ruary, I88ii, and on the first Sunday in April follow- 
 ing public worship was inaugurated. The church was 
 formally organized by the Presbytery of Bostiin on 
 the first Sunilay in September. ISKti, with fiirty-eight 
 members and the Kev. .J. H. Kalston as acting p:ustor. 
 Mr. Ralston was a graduate of Alleghany Seminary, 
 afterwards was in Kansas for seven years as a home 
 mi.HHionary, ami was <-alled to Worcester from that 
 distant field of labor. The place of worshi[) for this 
 church is a hall in the building of the Young Men's 
 ('hristian Association. 
 
 I'SITAKIA.V CoSHKEHATloS AI.IHIV— I-irtl Unila- 
 ritin i'hurrh. — For about three-f|uarterH of a century 
 one church and one parish Hunice<l for the inhabitants 
 of Worce»ter. Then the "Second i'arish in the town 
 of VS'iircetter '' wx* organized. 'I'liat was ami still 
 
 remains its corporate name, although the organiza- 
 tion is commonly known as the First Unitarian 
 Church. The genesis of the new body came about 
 on this wise: The Rev. Mr. Maccarty, after a long 
 and peaceful ministry with the First Church, had 
 grown old, fallen sick and become unable to preach. 
 .V young man about thirty years old, Mr. Aaron 
 Bancroft, was found to take his place in the pulpit. 
 .After he had preached for eight Sundays, Mr. Mac- 
 carty had so far recovered as to be able to resume 
 his |iulpit, and Mr. Bancroft went away. In the next 
 year the aged nunister died and Mr. Bancroft was 
 again called in. This time his preaching caused 
 commotion. Ditlerences of opinion sprang up; the 
 parish l)ecame divideil, the peace of the town was 
 disturbed and social intercourse interrupted. A sec- 
 ond time Mr. Bancroft went away. Then the town — 
 not the church — improved the opportunity to vote in 
 town-meeting '" that there be a day set apart for fast- 
 ing and piayer in this town for calling on the Divine 
 assistance for the re-establishment of the gospel min- 
 istry in this place." The town adjourned its meeting 
 for one week, and then, four days before the one 
 appointed for the fast, voted to have " Mr. Haven" 
 preach four Sundays and after him Mr. Bancroft four. 
 This arrangement lirought Mr. I'ancroft's first .Sunday 
 on th(; 10th of Jaiuiary, 17S.">. The date is significant. 
 Three days later, without waiting to bear him on ihe 
 remaining three Sundays, his admirers to the number 
 of fifty-four signed and presented a petition for the 
 town — not the church — to take action looking 
 towards his settlement as Mr. Maccarty's successor. 
 In the town-meeting held in response to this peti- 
 tion on the 1st of March, they moved this remarkable 
 proposition: "That the town agree to settle Mr. Ban- 
 croft in the work of the gospel ministry, and such 
 other person as may be agreeable to and chosen 
 solely by those who are <lesirous of hearing further, 
 and the .settlement and salaries of both to be at the 
 expense of the Town at large."' The record says 
 that " there was some debate." It adds that it 
 passed in the negative. Defeated on this point, the 
 petitioners then moved for leave to form a religious so- 
 ciety over which .Mr. Bancroft might be settle<I. This, 
 too, passed in the negative. They then proceeded to 
 take what the town had refused, with all Its financial 
 conseipiences. A voluntary association was formed, 
 a covenant adopted and a church orgaui/eil. Of 
 the sixty-seven associates, only two men and fimr 
 women had been communicants. But these, even, 
 not having been dismissed from any other church fi)r 
 the purpose, were not competent, according to usage, 
 to fi»rm the new one. A novel expeilient was devised 
 to meet this novel situaliim. A public " lecture'" 
 was appointed, at which the covenant was rea<l and 
 explained and then signed by all who chose to. In 
 this way the rlinrcli connected with the Second Parish 
 was constituted. I'nlilii- worship begati on the third 
 Snnilay of .March In the court-house, with preach- 
 
18 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF WORCESTER. 
 
 iDg by Mr. Bancroft. On the 7tli of June he con- 
 .sented to become the minister of the new society, and 
 on the 1st day of February, 1786, he was ordained. 
 Only two ministers of the vicinage could be found to 
 assist, the rest coining from Boston, Salem and Cam- 
 bridge. After mucli difficulty and delay the new 
 parish was duly incorporated on the 13th of Novem- 
 ber, 1787. It was a poll and not a territorial parish, 
 and was tlie first of the kind in Massachusetts outside 
 of Boston. Here some notice may fitly be taken of 
 what seems not to have arrested the attention of any 
 previous writer. By the ancient law of Massachusetts 
 the method of choosing and settling a minister was 
 after tliis manner : the church first made choice ; then 
 the parish — i.e., town — concurred or non-concurred. 
 Unless there had been church action there was no 
 place for parish action. This law, originating in 1692i 
 continued down througli the last century and was in 
 force when the Constitution of the Commonwealth 
 was adopted. Tliat instrument contained two provis- 
 ions bearing on the matter in hand : first, parishes 
 were given the e.vcliisive right of electing their public 
 teachers ; and second, all the laws theretofore in 
 force were declared to " remain and be in full force 
 until altered or repealed by the legislature ; such 
 parts only excepted as are repugnant to the rights 
 and liberties contained in this Constitution." Now, 
 on the one hand, the law of 1692 giving to the church 
 first and the ])arish afterwards the right of election 
 never wa-s repealed ; but, on the other hand, that law 
 was repugnant to the " e.i:clusive right" of election 
 given to parishes. And this appears to have been the 
 legal status at the date of Mr. Bancroft's candidacy 
 in 1785. The right of the churcli to any voice in the 
 election of its minister had been simply annihilated. 
 Whether this was known and fully understood at 
 that time may well he doubted. Nevertheless, tlie 
 business about Mr. Bancroft went forward precisely 
 as though it was understood. The first and only 
 resort was to the parish. The parish alone took 
 action ; the church took none. So far as its records 
 show, Mr. Bancroft Wiis not a candidate before that 
 body. His name, even, does not appear on its records. 
 The scheme to make him the minister of the First Par- 
 ish manifestly originated outside the church and was 
 carried on outside. And however much it turmoiled 
 the town, it neither rent nor hardly ru filed the church- 
 This view is supported by the fact, already stated, 
 that only six communicants were found in the new 
 movement. After the Bancroft party had withdrawn 
 the First Church and Parish resumed their ancient 
 relations and proceeded to elect Mr. Story as their 
 minister by the rule of 1()92 ; the church choosing 
 and the parish concurring. The same course was 
 pursued in the subsequent election of Dr. Austin. 
 And this would seem to show that the procedure in 
 Mr. Bancroft's case was accidental and exceptional, 
 and not in the way of using the new power conferred 
 on parishes by the new Constitution. 
 
 A house of worship for the Second Parish was the 
 next essential thing. With much self-denial on the 
 part of both parish and pastor — the latter relinquish- 
 ing one-third of his salary — a building was erected, 
 and on the 1st day of January, 1792, was dedicated. 
 The modest edifice, shorn of its bell-tower and con- 
 verted into a school-house, still stands on the spot 
 where it was first placed, at the north end of Summer 
 Street. Once installed in its pulpit. Dr. Bancroft for 
 many years pursued the even tenor of his way, mak- 
 ing many friends and no enemies, and by his virtues 
 and writings building up a great and solid reputation. 
 After forty-one years a colleague was provided, and 
 on the 28th of March, 1827, the Rev. Alonzo Hill 
 was ordained to that office. In 1829 the old meeting- 
 house was deserted for a new and more spacious one 
 built of brick on the site occupied by the present edifice. 
 On the 19th of August, 1839, Dr. Bancroft departed 
 this life at the age of nearly eighty-four. He began 
 his preaching in Worcester as an avowed Arminian. 
 He was also from the first, as he said, an Arian, but 
 not an avowed one. At first he forebore to preach the 
 Arian or Unitarian doctrine " because," in his own 
 word?, " the people were not able to bear it." When, 
 thirty-six years after, he preached a course of contro- 
 versial sermons in advocacy of that doctrine, he 
 found they were able to bear it, as they evinced 
 by asking for their ])ublication. Curiously enough, 
 one of these old sermons, on the " Annihilation of 
 the Incorrigibly Wicked," places the Unitarian 
 divine squarely by the side of the late rector of 
 orthodox " All Saints." ' The volume called forth a 
 high encomium from President John Adams. "Your 
 twenty-nine sermons," he wrote, " have expressed the 
 result of all my reading, experience and reflections 
 in a manner more satisfactory to me than I could 
 have done in the best days of my strength." Besides 
 this volume and the best " Life of Washington" in 
 the day of it. Dr. Bancroft was the author of thirty- 
 four other i)nblications, chiefly sermons. In the 
 " Worcester Pulpit" his character was drawn by the 
 "orthodox" author of that work, with fit expansions 
 and illustrations, as that of a benevolent, candid, 
 brave, discreet, much-enduring and conscientious 
 minister and man. His face, which art has made 
 familiar in many places, has all the attractions of the 
 ideal saintly pastor. 
 
 On the death of Dr. Bancroft, his colleague. Dr. 
 Hill, became sole pastor, and so remained for more 
 than thirty-one years. On the 29th of August, 1849, 
 the church was destroyed by fire. Three days after 
 the society began to build anew, and on the 26th of 
 March, 1821, dedicated the |)resent church edifice. 
 While the bo<ly of the building is in the plain 
 rectangular style of that day, the spire is a model of 
 architectural beauty. In the pulpit of this church 
 
 1 Cumpare Dr. IJiincroft's twenty-seventh sermon witL Dr. Uuntiog- 
 iloirs "Conditioiml Immortality," publistied more tban bulf u reutury 
 after. 
 
ECCLKSrASTKAl, IIIST(»i;V OF W(»i;rFSTRi: 
 
 lf> 
 
 Dr. Hill coni]ilete<I his ministry of more than forty- 
 ihree years. At the end ot" forty years from his 
 ordination he preached u liistorioil discourse, wlierein 
 may be found much interesting information touchin); 
 the Second Parish and his own ministry. His death oc- 
 curreil February 1, 1871. Dr. Hill was a man of rare 
 beni);nity ; his face was a benediction. As a colleague 
 he lived in entire harmony with hi> senior, and as sole 
 pastor he pcrpctnatid :ill amiable traditions. For 
 nearly a ctntury the Second Parish nourished under 
 the two pastorates in an atmosphere of peace, diffused 
 by the personal iuHuence of the two pastors. The 
 third minister of the parish was the Ixev. Kdward 
 II. Hall. He had been installed Jts the colleairiic of 
 l>r. Hill on the HUh of February, ISiiO, ami succeeded 
 as sole pastor at the decease of the latter in 1871. 
 Mr. Hall closed his ministry of thirteen years to ac- 
 cept the charge of the I'nitarian Church in Cam- 
 bridge. He had so endeared himself to his parish- 
 ioners that with unfeigned regret they yielded to the 
 separatiiin. He had continued and re-enl'orccd the 
 trailitional amenities of the Second Parish ministry. 
 He had approved himself " a scholar, and a ripe and 
 good one." As a thinker he had pushed his way 
 among the deep problems of thought, beyond what 
 wiLs commonly known of him. In the literature of 
 art he was so much at home that many outside, as well 
 as within his own parish, gladly came for instruction 
 to the art lectures which he gave on several occasions. 
 A broad and fine culture, coupled with a liberal faith, 
 appeared to express the ideal towards which he con- 
 tinually aspired. .\nd so, his transfer to the univer- 
 sity town was a lit recognition of his iispirations and 
 growth in that direction. 
 
 A vacancy of about three years was terminated by 
 the installation of the Rev. Austin S. (tarvcr, in 
 IHST.. 
 
 ChuTih of lite I'nily. — Si.xty years after the forma- 
 tion of Ihc First L'nitariaa Church proceedings lur a 
 second were initiated. .\t the close i>f service in the 
 afternoon of June liS, I.S44, some persons, at the re- ' 
 i|ucst of eleven members of the Second Parish, tarried 
 to hold a conference on the subject. In August a 
 committee reported in favor of a new Unitarian s(>ciety. 
 I hi the 2.Sth of that month a meeting was held at 
 which it was voted " to procure funds to pay for 
 preaching, to hire a preacher, and to procure a place 
 in which to hold religious worship, also to procure 
 subscriptions of funds to build a church." Forthwith 
 Hubxcriptions were opened, a building fund inaugu- 
 rated, the present lot on Kim Street purchaseil, and 
 early in the spring of IHI-'i the erection of a church 
 e<lificc begun. On the 2)>tli of .lanuary in the same 
 year the (irst religious service was conducted by the \ 
 Kev. Dr. Jumes Thompson, of Karrc, in a hall over 
 the Clarendon Harris book-store. On the J7th of , 
 November, after the necessary preliminaries, the 
 "Second Tnilarian Society in Worcester" became a 
 body corporate under that name an<l style. The ' 
 
 number of corporators was forty-one, among whom 
 were Pliny Merrick and Henjamii\ F. Thomas, after- 
 wards justices of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts. 
 On the 7th of February, ]H-l(>, the parish adopted the 
 following, which is ils only by-law: " Any person 
 signing his name to a certificate in a book kept by 
 the clerk for thai purpose, signifying his intention to 
 do so, shall thereby become a member of this parish." 
 At the same meeting, by regular action on an article 
 which had been put into the warrant, the parish 
 voted that it-s name should be the " Church of the 
 Unity." lint it does not appear that anything was 
 ever done to legalize this change of name. < >n the 
 10th of February, l,St(;, tlie Kev. FMward Kverett 
 Hale was unanimously invileilto become the minister 
 of the parish. On the 2oth of At)ril occurred the 
 dedication of the church, and on the 'i)>th the in- 
 stallation of the minister. The dedicatory sermon — 
 a remarkable one — was preached by the Hev. Orville 
 Dewey, l).l).. and that of the installation by the Rev. 
 Samuel Lotbrop, l).l). No church was ever formed 
 in connection with this parish, no creed or covenant 
 ever adopted, no deacons elected. Hut, in semblance 
 of church order, on the 2")thof May, 184ii, the parish, 
 at a meeting duly warned, adopted these resolutions : 
 " That a committee bedirccted lo make the necessary 
 arrangements for the administration of the ordinances 
 of religion : That this church has united lor all means 
 and purposes of Christian fellowship: Thcrelbre, that 
 an invitation be given to all persons present to par- 
 take with us of the Lord's Supper." This action 
 marked the striking departure from the First I'nitar- 
 ian Church, which from the beginning had a church 
 organization with a covenant, diaconate and solemn 
 admission to membership. The ministry of Dr. Hale 
 continued for ten years. He then, June 3(1, 185(5, 
 resigned his office, not because of any dissatisfaction, 
 but because he had received a call to Boston, where he 
 would have leisure for study which the constant 
 dral't for sermon-writing in Worcester would not 
 allow. His parishioners were dismayed at this threat- 
 ened calamity and earnestly sought, but were unable 
 to avert it. The brilliant career of Dr. Hale since he 
 sundered this tie is known to all the world. Nine 
 nionths went byliefore action was taken to provide 
 his successor. On the I'.'thof April, IS.')?, from among 
 several who had been nominated in the parish meet- 
 ing, the i)arish by a major vote invited the Rev. 
 George M. Rartol, of Lancaster to accept the vacant 
 place. Mr. liartol declined the call anil the parish 
 went on without a minister for a year and eight 
 months longer, when, December L'L', IS.'iS, the Rev. 
 Rush R. Shippen was installed. In .Inly, 1.S71, Mr. 
 Shipper! resigned to take office im Becretary of the 
 American Unitarian Association. In n printed dis- 
 counie .Mr, .>>hlppen said : " We observe the Ccnn- 
 munion ils a Memorial Service mdy." Under his 
 ministrv, in IS(;,'i, the church edifice was enlarged by 
 the addition of forty-si.x pews nl a cost of five thousand 
 
2n 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF WORCESTER. 
 
 dollars. After nearly two years the Rev. Henry 
 Blanchard wa-s installed on the 4th of May, 1873. I 
 Mr. Blancharil came into the pari.sh from among the 
 Universalists, and when he left returned into that fold. 
 But while with the Church of the Unity, he sought, 
 in a printed letter addressed to his parishioners, to 
 define more e.xactly their dogmatic position by this 
 utterance : " We stand for liberty of thought and 
 Christianity. _ We define this latter, in the words of 
 Noah Webster, to be ' the system of precepts and 
 doctrines taught by Jesus Christ.' We learn these 
 from the words of the teacher as they are taught in 
 the New Testament." Mr. Blanchard's resignation 
 was dated March 4, 1S80, and wits accepted to take 
 effect on the 1st of April following. The Rev. Roland 
 A. Wood, by birth an Englishman, was installed as 
 his succes.sor on the 1st of June, 1881. On the 14th 
 of September, 1884, he resigned his office, and on the 
 l.st of January, 1885, the resignation took effect. A 
 year elapsed before another minister was settled ; 
 during this interval extensive improvements were 
 made upon the church edifice by the construction of 
 parish rooms and a general application of decorative 
 art. The cost of this outlay was fifteen thousand 
 dollars. Tn this renovated and attractive edifice the 
 Rev. Calvin Stebbins was installed as the fifth 
 minister of the Church of the Unity in January, 1886. 
 
 In the autumn of 18S8 Mr. Stebbins and other 
 Unitarians began a mission of that order near New 
 Worcester. By the 27th of January, 1889, the enter- \ 
 prise had made such progress that measures were 
 then adopted for the organization of the third Unitar- 
 ian Society in Worcester. .Vt that date every pros- 
 pect favored the consummation of the plan. 
 
 Baptists — First liapiiif (Church. — .Tames Wilson 
 was the founder of the Baptist Societies in Worces- 
 ter. He was a layman who came here from England, 
 bringing his Baptist principles with him. On his 
 arrival he found no one in Worcester like minded 
 with himself save two old persons and Dr. John 
 (ircen, who soon disappeared, leaving him alone. 
 Trinitarian Congregationalism and Unitarian Con- 
 gregationalism were in complete possession of the j 
 ground, with two doughty doctors of divinity to 
 maintain it against all comers. Hul Jlr. Wilson was 
 neither dismayed, nor converted, nor driven away 
 He had a great staying quality, and because of it the 
 Baptist idea at last took root and fiourished. From 
 1795, the year of his coming, until the constitution ol ; 
 the First Baptist (^hurch, in 1812, he kept the faith, 
 occasionally had meetings for religious worship in 
 his dwelling-house, and did what he could to nourisb 
 the seed be had planted. In time an association wa^ 
 formed, occasional preaching was had and the Cen- 
 tre School-house was rented for Sunday service. 
 "Opposition applied the spice." On the 28th ol 
 September, 1812, the Rev. Wdliam Benlley was em- 
 ployed on a salary; on the 9th of December "the 
 Baptist Church in Worcester" was constituted. It 
 
 was composed of twenty-eight members, equally di- 
 vided between the sexes. The first pastor was in- 
 stalled on the same day. Mr. Wilson became one of 
 the deacons, and probably the first. He had long 
 before won the respect and confidence of his fellow- 
 townsmen, so that, in 1801, he had been made the 
 postmaster of Worcester, and he so continued until 
 his removal to Ohio, in 1833. The creed of the 
 church is given at length in Lincoln's " History." 
 In the year 1813 the first meeting-house was begun 
 and completed, and on the 23d of December was 
 dedicated. It stood on the site of the present build- 
 ing. Mr. Bentley remained in charge until the 31st 
 of .lune, 1813, when he asked and obtained a dis- 
 mission. On the 3d of November, in the same year, 
 the Rev. Jonathan Going accepted a call to the va- 
 cant pulpit. He remained till .Tanuary, 1832, when, 
 at his own request, he, too, was dismissed. The rea- 
 son which he assigned for this step was, " that he 
 might devote himself to the interests of home mis- 
 sions, especially in the valley of the Mississippi." 
 He had visited the AVest the year before, and had 
 come back greatly pressed in spirit to go to its helji. 
 Dr. Going was a remarkable man. He had been edu- 
 cated beyond many of his Baptist brethren, while his 
 natural powers were of a superior order. In advance 
 of his contemporaries he had a vision of the wonder- 
 ful future of the great Western valley, and deter- 
 mined to do his part in giving it a set towards the 
 right. Without loss of time the Rev. Frederic A. 
 Willard stepped into the pulpit left vacant by Dr. 
 Going. He was a graduate of Amherst in the class 
 of 18215. The year before coming to Worcester he 
 had received, but declined, an appointment to the 
 profe.s.sorship of chemistry in Waterville College. 
 Having remained with the Worcester church till 
 July 30, 1835, he then resigned, to become later the 
 pastor of the First Baptist Church in Newton. He 
 was succeeded, on the 27th of October, by the Rev. 
 .Jonathan Aldrich, who, after seeing the church en- 
 larged, by the addition of two hundred and eighteen 
 members, took his dismission in May, 1838. In 
 I April of the following year the Rev. Samuel B. 
 Swaim became the pastor, and so remained for more 
 than fifteen years. He was a graduate of Brown 
 University in the class of 1830; in 1835 he had ac- 
 cepted a professorship of theology in Granville Col- 
 lege, which the poverty of the college had not al- 
 i lowed him to retain. His ministry was one of great 
 power. Under it the church "attained its highest 
 numerical, social and financial condition." His 
 death, at the age of fifty-five years, was felt to be 
 nothing less than a calamity. In 1855 the Rev. J. D. 
 E. Jones became the next pastor. After holding his 
 office during four years he resigned it, in 1859, to be- 
 I come superintendent of public schools. He was suc- 
 ceeded by the Rev. Lemuel Mo.ss, on the 14th of Au- 
 ' gust, 1860. Remaining until the 25th of July, 1864, 
 I he then resigned his pulpit. Dr. Moss subsequently 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF WORCESTER. 
 
 21 
 
 became presideut of Indiana iState University. On 
 the first Saliballi in April, ISi;"), the Rev. H. K. 
 Pervear cntereil upon his duties its the next pastor ol 
 this church. On the last day of the year 1S72 his 
 pastorate came to an end, and on the 1st day ol 
 April, 1S7;{, the Rev. U. D. Marshall began his la- 
 bors as the ninth pasl^ir of the First Baptist Church. 
 After a service of fourteen years Dr. Marshall rc" 
 .signed his otlice on the last ."^abbath in March, 1887. 
 His successor, the Rev. George 0. Craft, was in- 
 ducted into otlice in January, 1888. 
 
 The iirescnt church was erected in the time of Mr. 
 .'Vldrich. mi the site of the original buihiing, which 
 had been dcstrnyed by fire. It was a larger and liner 
 building than the first, and from time to lime under- 
 went important iniprovenients, the latest of which, 
 ill 1888, involved uu e.xpenditurc of nine thousaiul 
 dollars. 
 
 Sfcon'l HaptUt Church. — This was a colony from 
 the First Church, it was constituted on the 28th 
 day of December, 1841, with ninety-eight members, 
 ol whom eighty-nine were from the parent church. 
 In one year one hundred more were added. The 
 first preacher was the Rev. John Jennings, and the 
 first place of worship was the Town Hall, wlicrc 
 religious service- continued to be held till the close 
 of 184:i. On the 4th of January, 1844, the new 
 hou^e of worship on I'lea>anl Street was dedicated. 
 No society was organized; the busiue.-^s of the body 
 wa» tran.sactcd by the church, which was the owner 
 of the property. The Rev. Mr. Jennings had be- 
 come the pallor early in 1842, and he resigned 
 hi- charge uii the 27th of November, 1840, aflci 
 nearly eight years of -iicce.ssful >crvice. His >ucces- 
 sor was the Rev. Charles K. Colver who accepted a 
 call to the pastorate on the 14th of April, 18.'iii. 
 After four years of service failure of healtli obliged 
 bim to resign hi.- [ilace. The next pastor wa- the 
 Rev. Daniel W. Faiince, who entered upon hi- duties 
 nil the I-t of September, 18.'i4. 
 
 In the year I8.'»i! the house of worship was repaired 
 and remodeled "at a large expense." The front was 
 rebuilt because of the change in the street grade; the 
 .Htyle of architecture was altered and a tower added. 
 In IStiO Dr. Faiiiice tendered hi- resignation, to take 
 effect on the ^oth of April. On the lltb of .liiiic 
 following the Rev. .1. .1. Tucker accepted a call to 
 the pastorate, but alter a service of fifteen months 
 felt compelled, by the force of circumstances, to re- 
 sign his place on the •'!i>th of September, ISGI. For 
 nearly a year the church wax without a pastor; then 
 it wiL- fortunate in -ecnriiig the Hcrvire« of the Rev. 
 David Weston. Having acccpt<'<l a call some weeks 
 before, he was duly ordained in August, 18ti2, as the 
 fifth panlor of the i'lcasant Street Church. Dr. 
 WeHtoii fulfilled his office with great Hiitiafaction to 
 the people of his charge for more than eight yeari<, 
 and then, on the 2.'>tli nf November, 1870, laid it 
 down " to engage in another sphere of lalHir." The 
 
 church, in a series of tender resolutions, bore its \.e»- 
 tiniiiiiy to bim as "a ript* scholar, skillful scrmonizer 
 and .sound theologian." 
 
 Two ministers in succession were now called, but 
 both declined the call, tin the 7th of June, 1872, 
 the Rev. I. R. Wheelock received a call, accepted it 
 on the IDth of .hily, and was ordained on the 1st of 
 .Vugust. After nearly three yt'ars his resignation 
 was accepted on the 28tli of March, 187.">. He was 
 fiillowed by the Rev. Sullivan S. Holmau, who was 
 installed on the Kith of June of the same year. 
 Having accepted a call to another field of labor, Mr. 
 Holmaii otli'ted his resignation, which was accepted 
 on the lOih of March, 1.SS2, " with feelings of sor- 
 row." Six iniinths alter Rev. J. S. James, of Allen- 
 town, I'a., received and declined a call. On the 7tli 
 of December following the Rev. Henry F. Lane ac- 
 cepted a unanimous call, and on the first Sunday in 
 .lanuary, ISSS, entered upon his new ministry. On 
 the 1st day of March, 1888, his term of service was 
 terminated, by the joint action of ]mstor and people, 
 after five years of uninterrupted harmony. On the 
 27th of June the Rev. H. J. White accepted a call 
 which had been given on the Gth of that month. 
 
 Main Street Baptixl Church. — This was a second 
 colony from the First Baptist ('hurcb. In .lune, 
 18')2, a petition by Eli Thayer and fifteen others was 
 presented to that church, expressing a desire to form 
 a third Baptist Church. They declared their readi- 
 ness to begin at once, and dutifully asked for the 
 support and ajiproval of the mother church. The 
 maternal .sanction was promptly and cordially 
 granted; the City Hall was at once engaged, and 
 there, in .luly, the Rev. Dr. Sharp, of Boston, 
 preached the first sermon for the new colony. Pub- 
 lic worshifi was maintained in the same place until 
 November, when the place of meeting was trans- 
 feireil to Brinlcy Hall. There a Sunday school wii- 
 organi/.ed, and there preaching by the Rev. S. S. (fit- 
 ting was continued through the winter. In the even- 
 ing of February 2ii, 18515, a parish organization was 
 duly perfected under the name of the "Third Bap- 
 tist Society in Worcester." The business was done 
 in the law-ollice of I'rancis Waylainl, .Ir., umler a 
 warrant issued by Isaac Davis. ( »n Sunday, the next 
 day, a committee was a|ipoinlcd to prepare Articles 
 of Faith and a Covenant with a view to a church 
 organization. (Jn the iltli of March what were known 
 as the "New Hampshire Articles of Faith" and 
 "(,'oveiiaiil " were adopted, a clerk was chosen, and 
 the church constituted with thirty-three members. ,\l 
 the -ame time the Rev. William H. I''. Hansel was 
 chosen (o be the pastor ; but the call he declined. 
 
 On the l8ihof .May the society voted to build a 
 chapel at the corner of ]<eicester (now Hcrinon) and 
 Main Streets. On the 2;{d of June the recognition 
 of the new church took place with a Herinon by the 
 Rev. Dr Idc, of .'s|iringfielil. In the course of the 
 year the chapel wiut completed at a cost, including 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF WORCESTER. 
 
 that of land and furnishing, of *64G1.17. On the 
 first Sunday in January, 1804, it was occupied for the 
 first time for public worship. On the ]8th of Sep- 
 tember foHowinjr Mr. H. L. Waylaiul was unanimously 
 called to the pastorate. In accepting the call he re- 
 linquished two hundred dollars of the moderate sal- 
 ary which had been voted to him, as a contribution 
 to the expenses of the society. On the 1st of 
 November occurred his ordination, President Way- 
 land preaching the sermon. On the 12th of Febru- 
 ary, 1850, plans tor a church edifice were adopted 
 and a building committee chosen. Early in May 
 ground was broken ; in the course of the year the 
 hou.se was finished, and on the second Sunday in 
 January, 1806, was occupied for public worship. The 
 whole property, including church, chapel, land and 
 furnishing, had cost S20, 174.01. 
 
 After a highly successful ministry <if seven years 
 the resignation of Mr. Waylaud was accepted, with 
 much regret, on the 4th of October, 18C1. A week 
 before he had left his home to enter the service of 
 the Republic as chaplain of the Seventh Connecticut 
 Volunteers. P\>r twenty-eight months he continued 
 in that service; then became successively a home 
 missionary in Tennessee, a teacher in two Western 
 colleges, an editor in Philadelphia. On the first 
 Sunday in May, ]8ti2, his Successor, Rev. Joseph 
 Banvard entered upon the duties of his office. On 
 the 15th of February, 1864, the i>arish voted to 
 change its name, and take the name of the " Main 
 Street Baptist Society,'' and at the same time took 
 measures to obtain the legislative sanction thereto. 
 Dr. Banvard having resigned after a ministry of 
 nearly four years, adhered to his purpose against the 
 earnest wishes of the church expressed in its vote of 
 March 9, 1866. The church then elected as his suc- 
 cessor the Rev. George B. Gow, in recognition of 
 whom public services were had on the 18th of April, 
 1867. 
 
 In the next year an attempt was made to introduce 
 the system of free seats ; but, though the church 
 adopted a vote affirming it to be " unscrii)tural and 
 unchristian to rent seats,'' and offering to sustain the 
 society in abolishing rentals, the latter body was' 
 found to be not then prepared for the innovation. In 
 1872 Mr. Gow's resignation was accepted, to take 
 effect on the last Sunday in October. His successor 
 was the Rev. F. W. Bakcman, who, after a psistorate 
 of about three years and three months, terminated 
 the same on the 1st of July, 1876. After an interval 
 of sixteen months the Rev. George E. Horr became 
 the fifth pastor of the church. He entered upon the 
 duties of his office on the 4th of November, 1877, 
 with services of recognition on the 20th. Before the 
 close of this year the chapel was enlarged and im- 
 proved at a cost of $4829.40. 
 
 On the 2d of November, 1879, the twenty-fifth an- 
 niversary of the ordination of the first pastor. Rev. 
 Dr. II. L. Wayland, was appropriately observed. A 
 
 discourse full of interesting reminiscences was deliv- 
 ered by Dr. Wayland, and afterwards printed by re- 
 quest. In honor of him it was voted, about this 
 time, " that the bell to be placed on the tower bear 
 the inscription, Wiu/Zund ManoriaL" By a change 
 in the by-laws on the 10th of February, 1881, no 
 person was thereafter to be admitted to membership 
 in the parish who was not already a member of the 
 church. On the 24th of October in the same year 
 the resignation of j\lr. Horr was accepted ; and on 
 the 3d of October in the next year, by a vote of 
 thirty-nine to three, the Rev. Henry A. Rogers, of 
 Montpelier, V't., was called to the pastorate. 
 
 In 1883 an act was con.suramated by the parish that 
 was, perha[)s, without precedent. Acting upon the 
 written opinion of the Hon. Peter ('. Bacon, LL.D., 
 the Nestor of the Worcester bar, the parish, at a 
 meeting held on the 24th of April and 8th of May, 
 under a warrant drawn by Mr. Bacou, transferred, in 
 the way of gift, its meeting-house and all its other 
 property, real and personal, to the deacons, " for the 
 use of the church." In the warrant wa.s an article 
 " to see if the society would take any action in re- 
 gard to dissolving the society." No formal action 
 was taken under this article. After provision had 
 been made for transferring the property it was 
 " voted to adjourn without day." No meeting of the 
 parish was ever held after that, and evidently it wa.s 
 assumed that the parish was " dissolved." But to all 
 appearance the " Main Street Baptist Society" still 
 lives and has a name to live. 
 
 Mr. Rogers continued his ministry with the Main 
 Street Church until 1886, when a growing disagree- 
 ment between him and certain of the membership, 
 and also within the membership itself, culminated in 
 the summary dismi.ssion of himself and fifty-six 
 others on the 27th of October, " for the purpose of 
 forming a Baptist church in the south part of the 
 city." At the same time the pastor gave in his res- 
 ignation, to take effect on the 31st. On the next day 
 it was unanimously accepted. On the 19lh of De- 
 cember the Main Street Church proposed a mutual 
 council to the "South Baptist (Jhurch," but the over- 
 ture was declined. On the 3l8t of January, 1887, 
 Professor C. R. Newton was employed to supply the 
 pulpit as acting pjistor. This continued until the 23d 
 of September, when the Rev. Charles H. Pendleton 
 was duly installed. 
 
 Dewey Strrrt Baptist Church. — As in many other 
 cases, a Sunday-school was the beginning of this 
 church. It was organized in the Mason Street 
 school-house on the first Sunday in August, 1867. 
 Mr. L. M. Sargent and other laymen from the First 
 Baptist Church were the original movers in the en- 
 terprise. For several years Joseph H. Walker, mem- 
 ber of Congress elect, was its superintendent. Under 
 his efficient administration the school prospered so 
 greatly that more ample accommodations were 
 speedily called for. This led to the building of the 
 
KrcLEsiASTiCAi. HISTOID or \\ni!rp:sTRR 
 
 chapel on Dewey Street. The lot on which it wii« 
 erecteil wiis the juint pil\ of tlie hue Jmlge Francis 
 H. Dewey iiiul .lo.-e|>li Masi>n, V^q. Iiuhidinf: tills 
 land, valued at $7M, the cost ol" tlie property wiL< 
 $4,570. Of this sura, ?!l(M>() was the gift of Mr. Walk- 
 er. The dedication of the chapel took place on the 
 8lh of Fehrnary, 1872, and from that date it was oc- 
 cupied for the Sunday school and religious services. 
 The church was organized on the Sth "f .luly in the 
 same year with a membership of twenty-eight. Its 
 first p:istor was .Mr. Sargent, the laymim to whose 
 zeal and eHiciency the church had owed its origin. 
 During five years of devoted service he had approved 
 himself in that and other ways, worthy of recognition 
 as one among the clerical brethren. Accordingly, on 
 the 2il of May, 1S72, he was called to the ministry of 
 the Dewey .Street congregation. This was two months 
 before the church had been formed. On the -iith of 
 September it was recognized by a council convened 
 in the chapel, and at the same time Mr. Sargent was 
 ordained to the work of the ministry and installed as 
 pastor of the church, flis ministry was brief. On 
 account of ill health he resigned on the 2d of May, 
 1873. At the close of his term of service the mem- 
 bership of the church had increased to forty-four 
 persons. The next pastor was the Rev. D. F. Lam- 
 son. Coming on the 1st of July, 1873, and remain- 
 ing nine and a half years, he left, on the Ist of .fanu- 
 ary, 1882, a church embracing ninety-tivc members. 
 His successor, Rev. B. H. Lane, entered on his office 
 on the Ist of June, 1882, and vacated it on the loth of 
 October, 1884. On the 10th of the same month the 
 Rev. D. H. Stoddard assumed the office. CJrowing 
 congregations and consequent prosperity soon made 
 apparent the inadc'iuacy of the chapel accommoda- 
 tions. -Mr. .'"todilanl therefore took in hand the busi- 
 nens of building a church edifice; and the Baptist 
 City Mi8.<<ion Board, seeing the importance of the field 
 and its manifest needs, cordially co-operated with Mr. 
 Stfiddard in his scheme of church-building. With 
 the aid of #7,(«Kt from this source, more land was 
 bought and a commoilious edifice, with " perfect ven- 
 tilation," was erected at a cost of *14,S44. The value 
 of the enlarged lot was reckoned at :j'2,0<lO additional. 
 On Thanksgiving day in 188tJ the vestry was first oc- 
 cupied, and on the 13lh of .lanuary, 1887, the com- 
 pleted building Wiis dedicated. The property is held 
 by trustees, there being no parish organization. The 
 seats are free and the current e.xpenses are paid by 
 weekly contributions. At the close of the year 1888 
 the membership of the church was one hundred and 
 forty-seven. 
 
 Lincoln H/nare Jiapliit Churrh. — This church grew 
 from very feeble beginnings. Sunday schools had 
 been begun and discontinued ; only occa.-<ional preach- 
 ing ha<l been had. .Material rcMources were limited 
 and lack of courage prevaile*!. .Many years elapsed 
 before the decisive step of forrniog a church was 
 taken. There came a time.at last, when some of the 
 
 waiting ones " heard a call from God to go forward," 
 and on the 4th of .\pril, 18S1, the church was organ- 
 ized. The original membership consiste<l of thirty- 
 one |>ersons, largely from the PleiL-iaiit Street Church. 
 Public services of recognition were held oti the ne.xt 
 day in accordance with the vote of council. Through 
 the summer following preaching was sujiplied by the 
 Rev. D. F. Lanison, of the Dewey Street Church. In 
 October the Rev. J. .1. Miller entered upon his work 
 as the first |)astor. Till then public worship had been 
 conducted in a hall; bul the new pjistor made it his 
 first business to provide a church edifice. To his un- 
 wearied endeavors and personal influence it was owing 
 that the enterprise was successful. In May, 1882, a 
 building-lot on Highland Street near Lincoln Square 
 was purchased and a substantial edifice of brick and 
 stone of excellent architectural design was erected. 
 The lower part of the house was occupied for relig- 
 ious services on the 8th of July, 1883. On the 10th 
 of June, 1884, the dedication of the complete build- 
 ing look place. The cost of land, building and fur- 
 niture was about thirty thousand dollars. Of this 
 amount .loseph II. Walker, of the Main Street liaj)- 
 tist (.'hurch, was the largest contributor, (iifts also 
 were made by friends outside the Baptist fold. "The 
 property is held and controlled by the church through 
 its aiipointed officers." The seats are free and current 
 expenses are met by weekly olt'erings. In 1888 the 
 membership was three hundred and seventy. 
 
 ismth Biipfint C/iurch. — The inception of this 
 youngest of the Baptist Churches was as early as 1883, 
 and was due to the Rev. Henry A. Rogers, then re- 
 cently installed as jtastor of the Main Street Baptist 
 (Church. Mr. Rogers believed in " missions," and had 
 passed much of his life in setting them on foot. Im- 
 mediately on beginning work in Worcester he took 
 note of the fact that the whole section lying south of 
 the Main Street Church was without any kind of 
 Baptist organization. He therefore proposed to his 
 own church the establishment of a' mission in that 
 (piarter. The proposal met with little encourage- 
 ment. Then he began a mission at his own charge. 
 One day in .lune, 18H3, he was casually introduced 
 to a young Frenchman named Isaac B. Le Claire. 
 This man had led an abandoned life, had been a 
 Roman Catholic, and not very long before had been 
 converted to the Baptist faith and was now living a 
 sober life. A brief interview emled in his being em- 
 ployed by Mr. Rogers as a colporteur. He at once 
 went to work holding meetings in school-houses and 
 private houses. The results of his work proved him 
 to be the right man in the right place; and, indeed, 
 his subsequent career in a far wider field showed 
 that he had a remarkable fitness for his work. His 
 immediate success in South Worcester was such that 
 by August the .Main Street Church felt con8traine<l to 
 assume the charge of the mission. By the winter of 
 1884, every available place of meeting had become so 
 crowded that Le Claire was moved to ask for the build- 
 
2-t 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORl" OF AVORCESTER. 
 
 ing of u chapel ; his request was promptly heeded, 
 and the chapel at Jamesville was the result. Ail this 
 was preparatory for the South Church scheme. The 
 first suggestion lor a chapel on the site which it after- 
 wards occupied was made in January, 1884, at a 
 prayer-meeting in the house of William A. Norton. 
 In February Mr. Rogers urged the new chapel upon 
 his people, expres.sing with much detail the reasons 
 for the enterprise. After a time the Baptist City Mis- 
 sion Board became possessed, as not before, with the 
 mission idea and adopted a comprehensive plan for 
 the city, including the South Worcester Mission. On 
 the 14th of September, 188G, the Board took measures 
 to secure the lot already mentioned, on the corner of 
 Main and Gates Streets. On the 1st of October the 
 Main Street Church, at a very large meeting of eighty- 
 one members, unanimously voted in favor of the 
 South Church enterprise. In view of this action, the 
 board on the 19th made over all claim to the lot in 
 favor of the South Church. On the 21st a large 
 number of the Main Street Church agreed together 
 to ask letters of dismission for the purpose of organ- 
 izing the South Church. On the 27th, at a covenant 
 and business meeting of the Main Street Church, 
 where one hundred and thirty persons were present, 
 of whom not less than one hundred and twenty were, 
 by estimation, of the membership, fifty-seven were } 
 dismissed by a large majority vote. But of the fifty- j 
 seven only forty were present at the meeting. On 
 the next day, October 28th, the fifty-seven members, ; 
 including Mr. Rogers, assembled in the chapel on 
 Canterbury Street and were constituted a church by 
 the adoption of Articles of Faith and the election of 
 deacons and clerk. At the same meeting was con- 
 summated the settlement of Mr. Rogers as pastor of 
 the new church. On the 27th of February, 1887, the 
 church was publicly recognized by a council duly con- 
 vened. The Baptist Mission Board, having acquired 
 possession of the old Dewey Street Chapel, conveyed 
 the same to the new organization and it was removed 
 to the lot already described, and there, fronting Clark 
 University, on the 30th of December, 1887, it became 
 the church home of the South Baptist Church. No 
 parish was organized, but the deacons were made 
 trustees, to hold the property for the use of the 
 church, after the method advised by Mr. Bacon in 
 the case of the Main Street Church. Land, chapel 
 and other property cost the South Church .^,000. 
 The membership was one hundred and fifty-seven at 
 the close of the year 1888. 
 
 Methodists. — Methodism made its first approaches 
 for the capture of Worcester after a somewhat strag- 
 gling fashion. In 1790, the Rev. Freeborn Garrettson, 
 " that princely class-leader," as Dr. Dorche.-ter styles 
 him, came to Worcester, looked about town, fell in 
 with Dr. Bancroft, by him was invited to tea, " drew 
 back" because the Unitarian doctor did not tliink it 
 worth while to say grace over the evening cup, and 
 went on his way. Mr. Garrettson tells the story in 
 
 his private diary. The urbane Unitarian doctor was, 
 perhaps, no less devout than his demonstrative Meth- 
 odist brother, but in the seclusion of his own home he 
 chose to order his devotions in his own way. Next 
 after Sir. Garrettson came Bishop Asbury, in 1798, in 
 1805, 1807, 1812 and 1815. But neither he nor any 
 other itinerant found any foothold in Worcester until 
 1823. Then the Rev. John E. Risley came and 
 preached the first Methodist sermon heard in the 
 town. Mr. Risley was travelling the Milford Circuit, 
 embracing eighteen towns. In these he preached 
 two hundred and thirty-five times in one year, but 
 only five of them were in Worcester. These preach- 
 ings were in a school-house at New Worcester, where 
 were the only Methodists in town, and of these only 
 a family or two. Other preachers came in subsequent 
 years, but not until 1831 was any permanent society 
 organized, forty-one years after Garrettson's advent. 
 In June, 1830, the Rev. Dexter S. King had been 
 appointed to this vacant field " to break up new 
 ground." He began at New Worcester where he 
 organized a class. This class was " kept alive" with 
 preaching in the school-house once in two weeks. 
 In 1833, Solomon Parsons joined the class and then 
 began a movement for a society in the centre of the 
 town. The way had been prepared by a young lad 
 named Jonathan L. Estey, who came to town early in 
 1S32 full of zeal to hunt up and consjrt with Meth- 
 odists. He at last found and became a member of 
 the class at New Worcester, and by his zeal so in- 
 fected his associates that in the end Methodist preach- 
 ing was established in the Centre. Early in 1833, a 
 room was hired at the corner of Mechanic and LTnion 
 streets for the use of a Class. There the Rev. William 
 Routledge preached at times ; at other times he 
 preached in the Central Church vestry and in the 
 Baptist Church. In the autumn what was considered 
 a bold step was taken. Eighteen persons, at the 
 head of whom was Solomon Parsons, presented to the 
 town authorities a petition for leave to use the Town 
 Hall for Methodist meetings. Leave was formally 
 granted, and the first Methodist sermon was preached 
 there by the Rev. Ira M. Bidwell. Then the work 
 went on " in the eld Methodist style." " The hall 
 was crowded, and," says Bidwell, " we had a time of 
 power. After this we did not want for a congrega- 
 tion in Worcester." Early in 1834 the Kev. Joseph 
 A. Merrill was appointed by the bishop to this, the 
 Worcester Mission. On the 8th of February thirteen 
 persons were duly organized as the " Methodist Epis- 
 copal Religious Society in the town of Worcester." 
 This was a parish organization, and Dr. Dorchester 
 says the step was taken to obtain relief from taxation 
 in other parishes. But this is a mistake. Prior to 
 1834 the law which would have made this .step neces- 
 sary had been changed. The further history of this 
 organization is now to be pursued as that of the 
 First Methodist or Trinity Church. — In June, 1834, 
 ' the Rev. George Pickering was appointed preacher to 
 
ECCLESIASTrCAL IIISTOIiV OF WORCESTRK. 
 
 tbJR church, but was also charged with duties that 
 I'arrieti him into several of ihc siirrouiidiii}: towns. 
 Meantime, a buard of trustees was appointed ami a 
 lot of laud purchased for a church site. In the first 
 year the membership had grown to one hundred and 
 nine. In 183') the Rev. John T. Burrill was sent to 
 this charge. At Ibis time the anti-slavery fever was 
 at its height, and an incident occurred which inijier- 
 illed the infant church. On the I'ltb of August 
 Rev. Orange Scott, then the presiding elder, under- 
 took to deliver an anti-slavery lecture in the Meth- 
 odist place of worship at the Town Hall. In the 
 midst of his discourse i.,evi Lincoln, Jr., eldest son of 
 the (Jovernor, entered the ball with an Irish accom- 
 plice, advanced to the desk, seized the speaker's man- 
 U8cri|>t and tore it in pieies. At the same time the 
 Irishman laid violent bands on the speaker himself 
 This was done in the presence of an audience " em- 
 bracing many persons who held the highest ofljces in 
 the county and the state." The contemporary account 
 tif the alfair in the llbrc«/i»r .S/<y styled it a " Breach 
 of the Peace." But the notice taken of it by the authori- 
 ties seemed to indicate that the assailed and not the 
 assailants were regarded as the peace-breakers ; for 
 directly after, the selectmen, at the head of wliimi was 
 the late .Indge Merrick, notified the Jlethodist 
 society that if the Town Hall were ever opened again 
 for an ami -slavery meeting their use of it for preach- 
 ing would be forfeited. The society, in its weakness, 
 was intimidated and did not again offend. But it 
 marks the temper of the time that, later on, the 
 couragojus Scott w:i8, by his own brethren, deposed 
 from, or not re-appointed to, the presiding eldership 
 because he would not promise to refrain from anti- 
 slavery lecturing. 
 
 In the autumn of 1831! the erection of a church 
 was begun on the southeast corner of Exchange and 
 Union Streets, completed in March, 1837, and then 
 dedicated. This was the lirst .Methoditt meeting- 
 house in Worcester. The building was in the centre 
 of (lopulation, but also ig the centre of a mudhole. 
 It stood on piles, and was approached by hopping 
 from tuft to tufl of grass across puddles and oo/.e. 
 The Spy of that day took pay for advertising the 
 iledic.-ition of this lowly church, but took no notice 
 whatever of the dedication itself, although it said in 
 every issue that " its oflice was to noise abroad." 
 The church survived all neglect, and, waxing 
 stronger and stronger, in the end erected one of the 
 fini-st church edifices in the city, compelling the 
 homage of the public and the press. 
 
 In 1H37 the Kev. .lame.- Porter came, and remained 
 • >ne year. Allhoiigb a year of general bankruptcy, it 
 wat one of great enlargement for the church. About 
 one hundred and seventy-five probationer* were added 
 to the membership during bis year. Mr. Porter was 
 diicccedcd by the Rev. .lotham Horlon, whose term 
 of service wiut opially brief In May, lH3!t, the 
 church jiroperty wiw legally transferred to a board 
 
 of trustees, in accordance with the Discipline of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. 'I'lie Rev. Moses L. 
 Scudder succeedeil to the jiastorate in this year, to 
 be followed by the Rev. Miner Raymond in 1S41. 
 Mr. Raymond remained two years, showed himself 
 eminent as a preacher, and "made many friends 
 beyond the limits of his own society." This year 
 was made memorable for Worcester Methodism by 
 the meeting of the New England .\nnual Conference 
 in the town for the first time. In 1843 the Rev. 
 Charles K. True, D.D. was assigned to the charge 
 of this church. He was a graduate of Harvard and 
 a Methodist minister of mark. Under him the pro- 
 ject for removing the church to a site near the Com- 
 mon was "renewed." But while they still delayed, 
 it w!is burned to the ground. Then a site w:is speedily 
 purchased and the Park Street Church erected. The 
 Rev. Amos Binney bad become the pastor in 1844, 
 and under him the new church was dedicated on the 
 llUh of August, 1845. It was noteil that Mr. Bin- 
 ney's term of service was very "profitable" finan- 
 cially, since he had carried his people through many 
 embarrassments growing out of the church-buililing. 
 After him came in succession the Rev. Jonathan D. 
 Bridge, Rev. Loranus Crowell, Rev. Nelson E. Cob- 
 leigh. Rev. Z. A. Mudge, Rev. Daniel E. Chapin (a 
 favorite, sent a second time), Rev. Kales H. Newhall, 
 Rev. Chester Eicid, Rev. .lohii H. Twombly, Rev. 
 John W. Dadmun, Rev. John H. Mansfield (whose 
 ministry of three years was very prosperous), and 
 Rev. Charles N. Smith in 18i!8. 
 
 By this time the Park Street church bad become 
 too strait for the congregation. The s<icicly, there- 
 
 I fore, now grown strong in numbers in courage and 
 in resources, deterinineil upon building a new church 
 adequate to its new demands. Accordingly, a site 
 was procured on the corner of Main and Chandler 
 Streets, in the close neighborhood of the new United 
 States Post-Oflice building, and there they erected 
 Trinity Church at a cost, including the land, of one 
 hundred thousand dollars. This crowning church of 
 Methodism in Worcester was dedicated on the 2<'>tli 
 of April, 1871. The Rev. F. W. Mallalicu, D.D. 
 (afterwards bishop), was the first preacher appointed 
 for Trinity after the occupation of the new house. 
 He came in April, 1871, and remained one year. 
 Rev. Ira fi. Bidwell, appointed in 1872, remained 
 three years. Me was followed by Rev. V. A. Cooper, 
 who was appointed to help the church financially 
 as well ns spiritually. In that respect there was no 
 disappointment, as through his agency the debt was 
 reduced by thirty-five thousand dollars in one year. 
 The Rev. A. P. Kendig followed liini in 1877, after 
 whom came in succession Rev. .1. A.Cass, in 187'.l; 
 Rev. C. 8. Rogers, D.D., in 1882; Rev. W. T. Perriii, 
 
 , in 188r,, and Rev. W. 11. Tboniaa, D.D., in 1888. 
 
 1 lAiurel StrffI C/iiirrh. — The selection of Park stri'c^t 
 
 I for the new site of the First Church bad not been 
 satisfactory to all the members. Some thought it 
 
26 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTOKY OF WORCESTER. 
 
 carried the church too far from the centre of popula- 
 tion ; it was too far south. Out of this dissatisfaction 
 grew the Laurel Street Church. This was as far to the 
 north. For a time, however, the new colony had its 
 place of worship on Thomas Street, which was more 
 central. The church was duly organized on the 20th 
 of July, 1S45 ; but it was not until the 27th of February, 
 1849, that the new house on Laurel Street was dedi- 
 cated. The first pastor was the Rev. Richard S. Rust. 
 He was soon elected principal of the New Hampshire 
 Conference Seminary, and after a pastorate of seven 
 months was released from his engagement. The 
 Rev. J. W. Mowry followed, after whom came the 
 Rev. George Dunbar. This pastor was indefatiga- 
 ble in his efforts to secure the erection of the new 
 house of worship. In April, 1849, he was succeeded 
 by the Rev. Francis A. Griswold, after whom came in 
 succession the Rev, Cyrus S. Eastman, Rev. William 
 M. Mann in 18r)0, Rev. David H. Higgins, Rev. Jo- 
 seph W. Lewis in 1853, Mr. Mowry again in 1854, Rev. 
 Henry W. Warren in 1855 (afterwards bishop). Rev. 
 Ichabod Marcy in 1857, Rev. Samuel Kelly in 1858, 
 and Rev. Jefl'ersou Hascall, who had long been favor- 
 ably known as a presiding elder and was with the 
 Laurel Street Church in the latter part of 1801 to 
 fill out the terra of Rev. Joseph C. Cromack, who 
 had been appointed in 1860, but had left in August, 
 1861, to become chaplain of the Nineteenth Regiment 
 of Massachusetts Volunteers. In 1862, Rev. T. W. 
 Lewis was appointed to the charge but left in 186;i 
 to become Superintendent of Methodist Missions in 
 South Carolina, Rev. James Dean completing his 
 term. After him came Rev. M. M. Parkhurst in 
 1864, Rev. Samuel Kelly again in 1805, under whom 
 the church reached its highest prosperity ; Rev. An- 
 gelo Carroll in 1867, under whom the sum of two thou- 
 sand dollars was expended in church improvements; 
 Rev. William Pentecost in 1869, Rev. H. D. Weston 
 in 1872, Rev. William Pentecost again in 1875, Rev. 
 Fayette Nichols in 1878, Rev. Garrett Beekman in 
 1880, under whose ministry "the congregation dou- 
 bled ; " Rev. G. M. Smiley in 1883, continuing three 
 years, in the last of which the fortieth anniversary 
 of the church was celebrated; Rev. Ira G. Ross 
 in 1886, and the Rev. Alonzo Sanderson in 1887. 
 Resides his spiritual work, Mr. Sanderson devoted 
 himself energetically to the improvement of the 
 financial condition of the society, and among other 
 measures established a monthly paper called the 
 Worcester Methodist, from which about fifty dollars a 
 month come into the parish treasury. The value ol 
 the church property, aside from the parsonage, is set 
 at twelve thousand dollars. The raember.-fliip in 1888 
 was about one hundred and thirty-two. 
 
 Third M. E. ( Webster Square) Church. — This church 
 was organized in 1800. Two thirds of its first mem- 
 bers came from Park Street Church. Its first pastor 
 was the Rev. Daniel Dorchester who had also been 
 the chief agent in its organization. In 18.j5 he had 
 
 become a member of the Connecticut Senate where 
 he acted a prominent part in various directions. But 
 in later years Dr. Dorchester became greatly more 
 distinguished as the learned historian and statistician 
 of the Methodist Connection. The first religious ser- 
 vices of this church were held in Union Hall. The 
 membership, at first small, increased more than ten- 
 fold during the first year. Members of other denom- 
 inations in the vicinity took a lively interest in the 
 enterprise and contributed to its maintenance. In 
 1863 the Rev. William Gordon became the pastor. 
 To him succeeded, in due order, Rev. William A. 
 Bramau in 1864, Rev. William Pentecost in 1866, Rev. 
 Edward W. Virgin in 1807, and Rev. Benjamin F. 
 Chase in 1869. This last pastor was in the midst of 
 a work of great spiritual power, when he was sud- 
 denly prostrated by a hemorrhage which, after pro- 
 longed illness, terminated his life. His memory long 
 remained fragrant in the church. After him came 
 the Rev. Charles H. Hanaford, in 1870. Under him 
 the long-agitated subject of church-building assumed 
 definite shape ; contributions came in from members 
 and from others outside, notably from Albert Curtis 
 and the Messrs. Coes, and the house was erected on a 
 fine site purchased long before, and on the 27th of 
 April was duly dedicated. The cost was about 
 $20,000. In 1872 the Rev. Pliny Wood was appointed 
 to the charge. After him came the Rev. Mr. Parsons 
 in 1873, Rev. E. A. Titus in 1875, Rev. V. M. Sim- 
 mons in 1878, Rev. Daniel Richardson in 1879, Rev. 
 J. W. Finn in 1880, Rev. N. Fellows in 1882, Rev. J. 
 O. Knowles in 1883, and Rev. L. W. Staples in 1886, 
 completing his term of three years in 1889. 
 
 Grace Church. — The growth of the city and the in- 
 flux of Methodist families led up to this enterprise. 
 To save these families from wandering into other 
 folds, as well as to help on the religious life of the 
 city, wa.s the burden laid on pious and sagacious 
 Methodists. The decisive push, however, was given 
 by the presiding elder. Dr. Dorchester, in a sermon 
 on the moral condition of our cities preached in Feb- 
 ruary, 1S(!7. This was reinforced by the approval of 
 the Annual Conference in April following. By this 
 body the Rev. J. Oramcl Peck, a graduate of Amherst 
 in 1862, was appointed to the pastoral charge of the 
 society, which had already been organized under the 
 uame of the "Main Street MeUiodist Episco{)al 
 Church." Washburn Hall was secured for Sunday 
 i services and Liiuohi House Hall for other meetings. 
 i Pluck and push ruled from the first. Said Dr. Dor- 
 I Chester: "A more spirited and liberal company of 
 Christians have seldom been united in church fellow- 
 ship." The hall was filled to overflowing; the Sun- 
 day scliool ipiickly became one of the largest in the 
 city; in the first two years the society raised about 
 twenty thousand dollars. Dr. Peck, afterwards dis- 
 tinguished in a wider sphere, was a man of great 
 power, physical endurance, untiring activity and 
 worthv ambition. To him was ascribed in a large de- 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL IIIST(ti;V OF WORCESTER. 
 
 gree the instant success of tliis church enterprise. 
 The edifice was not completed till 1872, under the 
 ministry of his successor, the Rev. Andrew McKeown. 
 The site finally chosen wa.s on Walnut Street instead 
 of Main Street, and the name of Grace Church was 
 substituted for the one first adopted. The cost of the 
 land was ten Ihnusuiid dollars. In .luly, 1871, the 
 vestry was completeil and nccupicd for religious ser- 
 vices. The church was dedicated in January, 1872, 
 with a .sermon by tlie Rev. Dr. Eddy, of Baltimore. 
 The successor of Mr. McKeown was the Rev. .1. O. 
 Knowlcs. He came in 1872 and remained one year, 
 and was then succeeded by the Rev. C. 1). Hills, who 
 remained three years. In lS7t! the Rev. (ieorge S. 
 Chadbourne, afterward presiding elder of the Boston 
 District, was appointed to Grace Church. He occu- 
 pied his term of three years largely in pushing the 
 church through a period of financial embarrassment. 
 That serious business, however, was relieved by the 
 observance, in May, 1877, of the tenth anniversary of 
 the rhurch, when an eloquent sermon wjis preached by 
 Bishop Foster. In 1880 the Rev. ,T. W. .Johnson, an 
 Knglishman.wasuppointed to the charge. His pastor- | 
 ate of two years resulted in securing the warm attach- 
 ment of his people. The Rev. D. H. Ela, D.D., fol- 
 lowed him, and continued in charge till 1885. He 
 was eminent alike in preaching and in jiroviding for 
 the payment of the church debt. His successor, the 
 Rev. George Whittaker, will long be remembered 
 with gratitude for his powerful and successful advo- 
 cacy of the no- license cause in the city. In Septem- 
 ber, 1887, he was calle<l to the presidency of Wiley 
 University, a Southern college, and the church was 
 left to the strange experience of hearing till the next 
 Conference a succession of preachers not appointed 
 by that authority. But in April, 1888, Grace Church 
 resumed its normal condition under the Rev. John 
 (.ialbraith, who was then appointed the minister in 
 charge. 
 
 Coral Street Chitrch.^ln olden time a gentle emi- 
 nence to the sfiutheaat of the "little village of Wor- 
 cester'' bore the Indian name o( Sagalabteol. There, 
 in 1()79, the first white man, Digory Serjent, built 
 his house, and there, in spite of warnings 
 against the red savages, he persisted in living until 
 1702, when a rc-scuing party arrived only to find him 
 lying slain in his dwelling and his family carried into 
 captivity. Sagalabscot remained bare and open till 
 I86'J, when the city began to creep over its slopes and I 
 it was christened Union Hill. The houses soon iiiul- 
 liplieil to such an extent as lo attract the attention f)f 
 the .\Ictlioili»t« to the locality. The Rev. .Mr. .Mc- 
 Keown, of lirace Church, was llic first lo move, and 
 by him well-known laymen of that and other Method- 
 ist churches were enlisted for work there. On the 
 loth of September, 1 87 1, a church lot was purchased 
 un the corner <jf l-'oral and Wiiverly Streets for the 
 sum of seventy-two hundrtil dollars. In the same 
 month open-air Sunday services were held rm the lot 
 
 at five o'clock in the afternoon by the Methodist min- 
 isters of the city. Subscriptions toward the enter- 
 prise of about nine hundred dollars were there ob- 
 tained; through the personal solicitations of Mr. Mc- 
 Keown the amount was increased to about eighteen 
 hundred dollars. In January, 1872, a Sunday school 
 with one hundred and fifty members was organized 
 in Scofield's block at the foot of Coral Street. Teach- 
 ers from other denominations were enlisted, and 
 among the scholars were twenty boys of Roman Cath- 
 olic parentage. Presently, the presiding elder ap- 
 peared on the field, conferred with the committee in 
 charge and decided that the mission should be 
 erected into a regular appointment at the next meet- 
 ing of the Conference. This body assembled in Wor- 
 cester on the 27th of March, when the Rev. S. E. 
 Chase was appointed the first pastor in charge. 
 From that time a regular preaching service was held 
 in the third story of Scofield's block. The first con- 
 gregation consisted of twenty persons. On the 2.'5d ol 
 April various plans and estimates for a church edifice 
 were presented to the committee, and the result was 
 that a contract was closed for a partial completion of 
 the building at a cost of eighty-eight hundred dol- 
 lars. On the 8th of May following the church was 
 organized with eighteen members by Rev. L. Crowell, 
 the presiding elder. Hard work and dark hours be- 
 cause of limited means followed this beginning. But 
 through the zeal and labors, notably of Alpheus 
 Walker and N. H. Clark, the building wa.s completed 
 at a cost of thirteen thousand dollars, and on the liJthof 
 April, 1873, w:is dedicated. In JIarch, 1872, the mis- 
 sion had been named Christ Chapel, liut in January, 
 1883, it received the name of Union Hill M. E. 
 Church. Still another change was made on the 24th 
 of April, 187t), when it assumed the name of Coral 
 Street M. E. Church. Mr. Chase remained in charge 
 for three years and was then succeeded by the Rev. 
 H. D. Weston. In 1875 a vestry was built at a cost of 
 three thousand dollars and dedicated in December of 
 the same year. In the spring of 1878 the Rev. 
 Jesse Wagner was appointed to the charge. His 
 term of service closed in April, 1881, when he was 
 succeedefl by the Rev. Austin F. Ilerrick. About 
 this time serious financial complications threatened 
 the existence of the society. A compromise was at 
 last hapfdly ed'ected, whereby claims to the amount of 
 fifteen thousand dollars were canceled and a solid 
 financial basis securcil. In April, 1883, the Rev. 
 Charles Young came in charge and remained till 
 April, 188d, when the Rev. William I'. Ray became 
 his succ<»sor. 
 
 Ro.MAN (;atii<)I,1(s. — The canal and the railroad 
 were the means of bringing Roman Catholicism into 
 Worcester. First came the digging of the Blackstone 
 Canal from Worcester to Providence; this brought 
 many Irish laborers to Worcester and vicinity. The 
 construction of the Boston and Worcester Railroad 
 followed, bringing many more. Thi-se people and 
 
28 
 
 ECCLESIA8TICAL HLSTORy OF WORCESTER. 
 
 their families naturally desired the kind ot spiritual 
 guidance to which they had heen accustomed. As 
 they found nothing of the kind then in Worcester, 
 they asked Bishop Fenwick, of Boston, to send them 
 a priest. In answer to this application, the bishop 
 sent them the Rev. James Fitton, a recent student of 
 his, then just settled in Hartford, Conn. This led to 
 the inclusion of Worcester in the "missionary cir- 
 cuit" to which Mr. Fitton had also been appointed. 
 He came to Worcester in 1834, and in the spring of 
 that year held the first religious service of the Roman 
 Catholic Church. It was held in the old stone build- 
 ing, still standing, on Front Street near the line of the 
 old Blackstone Canal, the front wall, however, being 
 now of brick. At that time only .six or seven families, 
 embracing about twenty-five persons, were enlisted. 
 In the next year the first Roman Catholic church in 
 Worcester was erected on the site now occupied by 
 
 St. John's Church.— It was named Christ Church, 
 and was a wooden structure thirty-two by sixty-four 
 feet. This sufticed until 1845, when it was removed 
 to make way for St. John's. Christ Church, after its 
 removal, received additions and became the "Catholic 
 Institute." The corner-stone of St. John's Church 
 was laid on the 27th of May, 1845, with imposing 
 ceremonies, under the episcopal supervision of Bishop 
 Fitzpatrick ; and on the 24th of June, 184G, the 
 church was dedicated with still more imposing cere- 
 monies. The dimensions of the building were sixty- 
 five by one hundred and thirty-six feet, and for a long 
 time it was the largest church in the region. The 
 cost was forty thousand dollars. It wi»3 ample for the 
 whole Roman Catholic poiuilation, which at that time 
 embraced only about thirteen hundred souls. Father 
 Fitton, who may well be styled the father of Roman- 
 ism in Worcester, left the town in 1843, and returned 
 to Boston, where he was born, and where later ou he 
 died. He w.as a man of some literary parts and the 
 author of several volumes. The Rev. A. Williamson 
 succeeded Mr. Fitton in October, 1843, and remained 
 till April, 1845, when he resigned because of ill health. 
 His successor was the Rev. Mathew W. Gibson, who 
 was characterized as "a man of great energy and 
 power." He remained in the pastorate till April, 
 175G, and was largely instrumental in building not 
 only St. John's, but also St. Anne's, spoken of further 
 ou. After Father Gibson came the Rev. John Boyce, 
 who had been his predecessor's assistant. He died in 
 1864, while in charge, greatly regretted. He, too, was 
 a writer of merit, "an able writer of fiction," and the 
 author, among other things, of " Paul Peppergrass." 
 His birthplace was Donegal, Ireland, and Maynooth 
 was his alma mater. The Ke\. Patrick T. O'Reilly, 
 D.D., afterwards bishop of the diocese, was the suc- 
 cessor of Father Boyce as pastor of St. John's. From 
 1857 to 1862 he had been the assistant pastor. In the 
 latter year he removed to Boston, whence he returned 
 to become the pastor of the Worcester church. Upon 
 his elevation to the bishopric, in 1870, his assistant, 
 
 the Rev. Thomas Griffin, was appointed to the pastor- 
 ate of St. John's. 
 
 St. Anne's Church. — This church was an offshoot of 
 St. John'.s. Commenced in 1855, it was completed 
 in 1856, under the direction of the Rev. John J. 
 Power, who became its first pastor. He remained 
 such until 1872, when the Rev. Dennis Scannell was 
 i appointed to the place, which he still held in 1888. 
 In 1884-85 came a great enlargement and aggrandize- 
 ment by the erection of "new St. Anne's." The old 
 church was of wood, and the new one of brick and 
 stone. The old one stood on the low level of the un- 
 sightly "meadow," hard by; the new one, placed on 
 a sharp elevation, was made a conspicuous object of 
 admiration for all beholders. The dimensions of the 
 edifice were seventy by one hundred and fifty-seven 
 feet. The auditorium has a capacity for seating 
 one thousand one hundred persons. Twin towers, 
 rising to a lofty hight, form a distinguishing feature 
 of this imposing edifice. It is one of the co.stliest 
 churches in the city. 
 
 St. Paul's Church. — This church was formed on the 
 4th day of July, 18<)9, and on the same day the cor- 
 ner-stone of the superstructure was laid with appro- 
 priate ceremonies. The basement had been com- 
 pleted and served as a place for public worship until 
 July 4, 1874, when the church itself (save the tower) 
 was finished and dedicated. It is a Gothic structure, 
 of cathedral proportions, with a facade of ninety 
 feet in width, and with a length of one hundred and 
 eighty-five feet, and stands upon elevated ground in 
 the heart of the city. It is constructed of granite 
 throughout, and cost two hundred thousand dollars. 
 When its tower shall have been completed, according 
 to theoriginal plan, it will overtop anyother structure 
 in the city. This noble edifice owes its origin and com- 
 pletion to the Rev. John J. Power, D.D., the first and 
 only pastor of St. Paul's, and the vicar-general of the 
 diocese. 
 
 Church of Xotre Dame. — This is the only French 
 Catholic tUinich in Worcester. The fir.st movement 
 toward its establishment was in 1869. Its name in 
 full is " Church of Notre Dame des Canadiens." The 
 first pastor was the Rev. J. J. Primeau. In 1870 the 
 Methodist Church on Park Street was bought for its 
 use ul a cost of thirty-two thousand seven hundred 
 dollars. Here the first .Mass was celebrated in .Fune. 
 1870. At the beginning the church embraced seven- 
 teen hundred and forty-three souls, of whom eleven 
 hundred and fifty-nine were communicants. In 
 eleven years the first number had grown to be forty- 
 three hundred, and the number of communicants to 
 be twenty-five hundred, while in 1884 there were 
 over five thousand souls. In 1880-81 the great in- 
 crease of the congregation required an enlargement 
 of the edifice, and the result was, in effect, a new 
 structure. The plain old building was transformed, 
 by fine architectural touches, into a handsome and 
 spacious edifice, adding much to the surrounding at- 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF WOHCESTEH. 
 
 2'.1 
 
 traclioiisot'tbe historic Common upon which it lront«. 
 The dimensions are fifty-four by one hundred and 
 twenty-eiglit feet ; the cost of the improvements was 
 thirty-five thousand dollars. Tiie pealing of the 
 ange/iis from the massive bell in its tower daily re- 
 minds the city of its existence and the faithful of 
 their duty. .\fter Mr. Primeau's retirement the 
 Rev. Isadore Beaudry became in 1882 the pastor, 
 and in the following year he was succeeded by the 
 Rev. Joseph Brouillet, who was in charge in 1888. 
 
 Besides the church of Xotre Dame, Father Brouillet 
 has charge of several French missions, which he es- 
 tablished after coming to Worcester. The first of 
 these was, — 
 
 Si. Anne's. — This mission was established at South 
 Worcester on the 0th of January, 1886. A house was 
 purchased by Father Brouillet at a cost of five thou- 
 sand dollars, and was converted into a temporary 
 home for the mission. 
 
 ■Si'. Joseph's was established on the 9th of January, 
 1887, at the corner of Wall and Xorfolk Streets, on 
 Oak Hill, where a chapel was built in that year at a 
 cost of sixty-five hundred dollars. Incipient meas- 
 ures have been taken to add to the numlier of these 
 missions. 
 
 When Father Brouillet came in 188.'? he at once 
 proceeded to take a census of the French Catholic 
 population of Worcester, and found it to be eight 
 thousand. According to his careful estimate, this 
 had increased to nine thousand in 1888. Of that 
 number four thousand were communicants. 
 
 Church o/ the Imiii'iculate Conception. — This enter- 
 prise wa.s inaugurated in February, 1872, under Bishop 
 O'Reilly and Rev. Thomas Oriflin, chancellor of 
 the diocese. The church was organized in November, 
 1873 ; the erection of the church edifice was begun in 
 the same year. In the next year the basement was 
 completed and used for worship until December, 1878, 
 when the wholi- superstructure was finished. It was 
 dedicated by Father Power, vicar-general, with a 
 large body of the priesthood a-ssisting. The building 
 is seventy feet wide by one hundred and twenty-four 
 feet long, and has eleven hundred and fifty sittings. 
 The cost was thirty-five thousand dollars. Rev. Rob- 
 ert Walsh became the pastor in 1K74, and has re- 
 mained Hucli ever since. 
 
 Church iif the Sticreil Heart. — This, the sixth Roman 
 Catholic church in chronological order, is located on 
 Cambridge Street, at New Worcester. On the 2(1 of 
 July, 1870, the first exiavations for the building were 
 made; and on the 14tli of .'September following the 
 corner-stone wiii< laid by Bishop O'lteilly. On the 
 '24th of .lanuary, 1HH(|, the parish wni organized, and 
 ut the same time the Rev. Thomas J. Conaty, axsis- 
 lant at St. John's Church, was appointed its first pas- 
 tor. The superstructure was finished, and the base- 
 ment furnished for use on Kasler .Sunday of the simie 
 year. On the 21nt of SepteuibtT, 1884, the ainlilorium 
 was opened for 'public service iin>l the church was 
 
 then dedicated. There are eight hundred sittings in 
 the basement and eight hundred and forty in the 
 auditorium. The Sunday school has a membership 
 of six hundred. The organization of total abstinence 
 Societies in this parish has been made a conspicuous 
 
 ' feature by the pastor. The several societies for 
 young men, young ladies and boys include three 
 hu!uired and fifty members. The cost of the parish 
 property was about eighty thousand dollars. 
 
 t!t. Peter's Church. — 'I'his church stands on the 
 corner of Main and Grand Streets. The corner-stone 
 was laid on Sunday, the 7th of September, 1884, by 
 Bishop O'Reilly, under the sui)ervision of the pastor. 
 Rev. Daniel H. O'Neill. The event was marked by 
 a great military disi)hiy, with a procession of various 
 orders through Main Street. The vicar-general and 
 the chancellor of the diocese were also present assist- 
 
 j ing. The building is of brick, with granite trimmings, 
 seventy feet by one hundred and thirty, with a mas- 
 sive tower, ninety-eight feet high. It has a seating 
 capacity for one thousand, but for the present public 
 worship is held in the basement. 
 St. Stephen's Church. — This church is on Grafton 
 
 I Street, at the corner of Caroline. It was founded in 
 
 ■ 1887, and is the most recently organized church of this 
 
 order. The Rev. R. S. J. Burke was the pastor in 1888. 
 
 The Roman Catholic population of Worcester, 
 
 I other than that of French descent, was supposed to be 
 about twenty-five thousand in the year 1888. 
 
 Episcopalians. — The parishes of the Protestant 
 Episcopal Church in Ma8.sachusetts are organized 
 under a special statute. This provides that the rec- 
 tor or one of the wardens, unless other provision is 
 made in the by-laws, may preside at meetings with 
 ;ill the powers of a moderator; and the wardens, or 
 wardens and vestry, may exercise all the powers ol a 
 standing committee. To secure as much uniformity 
 as possible, the " Convention '' of this church prints 
 with its annual journals, and recommends for adop- 
 tion, a standing form of by-laws for the government 
 of the |)arishes. Among other things this Form pro- 
 s'ides that the wardens shall be communicants and 
 that all otficers shall be baptized men; that the rec- 
 tor, wardens, treasurer, clerk and vestrymen shall 
 constitute "the vestry;" and that the rector shall be 
 chosen by the parish, or by the vestry, when so au- 
 ihorized by the parish. A noticeable leature of this 
 Form, in its latest expression, is, that "any person," 
 subject to the other conditions, may become a mem- 
 ber ol the parish. In earlier editions of the Form tlie 
 words used are "any male person." Provision is 
 (bus made for the admission of women to a parlner- 
 shi)) in the management of Protestant Episcopal par- 
 ishes. This change in the direction of progress con- 
 forms also to the statutes of the Commonwealth. 
 In general but not altogether exact accordance with 
 these provisions, the Protestant Efiiscopal parishrs 
 in Worcester have been organized, 'i'he oldest, and 
 the mother of the ri-st, is the parish of 
 
30 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF WORCESTER. 
 
 All Saints. — The beginnings of the Episcopal 
 Church in Worcester are reported by the late Judge 
 Ira M. Barton in two letters written in the year 1835, 
 but first printed in the year 1888. From this con- 
 temporary and authentic source of information it 
 appears that in the former year Dr. Wainwright vis- 
 ited Worcester " to see as to the practicability of 
 establishing a church here." An arrangement was 
 then made for services in the Central Church, but 
 through a misunderstanding it fell through. This 
 failure was less discouraging tlian the difficulty in 
 finding persons " to sustain the burden." "No such 
 persons have yet offered themselves," wrote Judge 
 Barton under date of October 2d. A little later the 
 prospect had brightened. Under date of December 
 13th he wrote: "Regular church services were, for 
 the first time, held in Worcester to-day." At that 
 first meeting there were present "some sixty people." 
 The preacher on the occasion was the Rev. Thomas 
 H. Vaill, then in deacon's orders only. And now 
 the time had arrived when this enterprise toolc to 
 itself a body and a name by an act of incorporation 
 under the style of the " Proprietors of the Protestant 
 Episcopal Church in Worcester." The act bears 
 date of April 8, 1836, and the incorporators named in 
 the act are Thomas H. Vail), Ira Barton and Edward 
 F. Dixie. The experiment was fairly begun. For 
 six months Mr. Vaill continued his ministrations anil 
 then left " thoroughly discouraged." As the present 
 bishop of Kansas he still lives to look back upon 
 tliis day of small things. Seven years of silence fol- 
 lowed his departure, when, in 1842, services were 
 again begun, never afterwards to be intermitted. On 
 Cliristmas day of that year the Rev. Fernando C. 
 Putnam lield a service iu the chapel on Thomas 
 street belonging to the Central Church. Mr. Put- 
 nam was succeeded by the Rev. Henry Black- 
 aller. 
 
 With Mr. Blackaller as minister in charge, 
 Thomas Bottomly and Charles S. Ellis as wardens 
 and Edwin Eaton as clerk, the first church of thi.s 
 order was well on its foundations. It continued, 
 however, in a low condition until 1844, when the 
 Rev. George T. Chapman, D.D., came and applied 
 his sturdy shoulders to the work of upbuilding. Dr. 
 Chapman had a zeal for his church. Organizing and 
 .assisting churches in various parts had been his self- 
 appointed mission, and now the feeble church in 
 Worcester was to feel the good effects of his help. 
 Coming at Easter, he remained in charge of the parish 
 for two full years. At the end of that time he gave 
 place to the Rev. George H. Clark, who became the 
 first regularly chosen an<l settled rector of All Saints. 
 In January, 1849, Mr. Clark resigned because of ill 
 health, and the Rev. N. T. Bent succeeded to the 
 office. Mr. Bent remained till the spring of 1852, 
 when the Rev. Archibald M. Morrison became the 
 rector. At the end of four years, illness in his family 
 compelled him to lay down his charge. A perio<l of 
 
 three years now elapsed in which All Saints was 
 without a rector. In this time the Rev. William H. 
 Brooks and the Rev. Albert Patterson were the min- 
 isters in charge. But in December, 1859, the Rev. 
 E. W. Hager became the rector, and so remained till 
 August, 1802, when he resigned his place. 
 
 At the close of the year 18()2 began the ministry of 
 the Rev. William R. Huntington, which was destined 
 to change the whole face of things for Episcopacy in 
 Worcester. His ministry of twenty-one years was a 
 period of constant and rapid growth. Dr. Hunting- 
 ton found his Church of All Saints feeble and left it 
 strong. He found it poorly housed and left it rejoic- 
 ing in one of the most beautiful and costly of our 
 churches. He found it solitary and left it the mother 
 of children, born and to be born. And yet, at the 
 close of his ministry, he was moved to say that, " in 
 the whole English-speaking world there is probably 
 not a city of the size of ours in which the Episcopal 
 Church is numerically so weak as ours." That this 
 reproach is now measurably taken away is owing 
 more to his agency and influence than to any other. 
 It was on the 3d of December, 1862, that Dr. Hun- 
 tington was both ordained and inducted in'o the rec- 
 torship of All Saints. His ministry began in the 
 church on Pearl Street which had been erected in 
 1846 after plans drawn by Upjohn of New York. 
 Dr. Huntington described it as " a beautiful specimen 
 of rural architecture." It remained as originally built 
 until 1860, when it was altered to gain additional sit- 
 tings. In the course of twenty-eight years it was four 
 times reconstructed: then, on Easter night, April 7, 
 1874, it was destroyed by fire. This was the signal 
 for removal and enlargement. 
 
 On the 15th of May a committee was empowered to 
 build a church and chapel ; on the 29th of December 
 ground was broken at the corner of Irving and 
 Pleasant Streets; on the 13th of May following the 
 first stone was i>ut in place ; on the 21st of .fuly the 
 corner-stone was laid ; and on the 4th of January, 
 1877, the finished building was consecrated by Bishop 
 Paddock. Church, chapel and parish building are 
 grouped in one capacious structure. All the walls, 
 including bell-tower and spire to the finial, are of red 
 sandstone. The pulpit of the Pearl Street Church, a 
 gift from iMuanuel Church in Boston, rescued from 
 the flames and erected for use in the now church, is a 
 memorial of continuity ; while encrusted in the inte- 
 rior wall of the tower-porch are stone relics of media-- 
 val architectural ornament, given by the dean and 
 chapter of Worcester (England) Cathedral, as a token 
 of" brotherly regard and cluuch unity." 
 
 Having <leclined various calls from ditterent bodies 
 to important ecclesiastical offices, — one, in 1874, to the 
 ottice of bishop— Dr. Huntington at length accepted 
 a call to the rectorship of Grace Church in New York, 
 and in 1883 severed his long connection with All 
 Saints'. By his published writings, by his unwearied 
 fidelity to his parochial charge and by his wise ac- 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF WORCESTER. 
 
 :^.i 
 
 tivity in the Church Conventions, he had come to be 
 :i power in his own coninuininn. 
 
 Shortly alter the termination of |)r. Huntington's 
 serviee, the Rev. Lawrence H. Schwab became the 
 minister in charge. He was succeeded by the Rev. 
 Alexander H. Vinton, who was chosen to be the rec- 
 tor on the 2Sth of April, 1884, and who assumed the 
 office in September tVdlowing. Under bis ministry 
 the prosperity of the parish wa.s continued. The 
 luimber of coniniunicants last reported was about four 
 hundred. 
 
 Parish «J Si. Miit/hac. — In the winter of 1809 a mis- 
 sion chapel fund of $721.21 was raised from a Christmas 
 sale by the women of All Saints. This wjis the germ 
 of the parish of St. Matthew. Additions were made 
 to the fund from time to time, and in 1871 a mission was 
 established at South Worcester. An association of 
 communicants in All Saints was formed, with the 
 rector of that parish as tnistee, and by them an estate 
 was bought at the corner of Southliridge and Wash- 
 burn Streets. t)n this site a chapel was completed in 
 September of the same year, and on St. Matthew's 
 day, February 24, 1875, it w.is opened for public wor- 
 ship. The Rev. John (iregson, assistant minister at 
 All Saints, was made the minister in charge, and heso 
 remained for nearly a year. After him Mr. Thomas 
 Mackay acted ;us lay reader until the following Octo- 
 ber, when the Rev. Thomas A. Robertson si-ssunied 
 the charge and continued in it for a period of nine 
 months. Mr. Mackay then resumed his post, and 
 with other lay readers held services until January 1, 
 1874, when the Rev. Henry .Mackay became the min- 
 i.ifter in charge. This continued until the spring of 
 that year; then the mission was organized with 
 Henry I,. I'arker and .Matthew .T. Whittall as war- 
 dens. The Rev Mr. Mackay remained the minister 
 in charge until .Tuly, 1875. In April, 1870, the Rev. 
 Amos Skeele was called to the rectorship, which he 
 retained for several months; but in April, 1877, the 
 church was agaiti without a rector and Sunday ser- 
 vices were cared for by the Rev. George S. I'aine, of 
 Worcester. To him succeeded the Rev. Ale.xaniler 
 Mackay Smith, assistjint at All Saints, by whom, it 
 was said, "wonderful work was done." .January 1, 
 IX'H, the Rev. (Jeorge K. Osgood became the rector, 
 and in September the church was " renovute<l " and 
 again opened for public worship. .Ml inciindiramcs 
 having been at length removed an<l a dee<l of the lanil 
 given by Humner I'ratt, St. Matthew's Church (or 
 chapel) was consei'rattKl on (^uin<|uagesima Sunday in 
 18H(I. .Mr. Osgood having resigned the rectorship 
 .latiuary 10, IK.SI.on the 8lli of April following the 
 lti-v..l. H. Waterbury became the rector but resigned 
 in November of the same year. He, however, re- 
 maine<l in charge until his death, which occurred in 
 the next spring. In the summer of 18H2 land for a par- 
 ish building was secured no the corner of .Smlbbriilge 
 and Cambridge ."streets, and in the conrse of the season 
 St. Matthew's Hall w:m erected upon it. In August the 
 
 Rev. Henry Hague assumed the charge of St. Mat- 
 thew in connection with that of St. Thomas at Cherry 
 X'alley. In February, 18S8, the number of coniniu- 
 nicants was one hundred and seventy-five, and the 
 value of the parish property $7,500, less an incum- 
 brance of :?l,25l). Thus, from asniall beginning, with 
 a frei|ueiitly changing ministry, this parish had slowly 
 grown lliiougli a period of nineteen years, until it 
 appears to have come to rest on a permanent founda- 
 tion. For its success much was due to the fostering 
 care of Dr. Huntington. 
 
 Parish of fill. John. — This parish was organizinl as 
 part of a broad and long-cherished plan of Dr. 
 Huntington. A scheme of four missions, enibryons 
 (if four churches in ditferent sections of the city, 
 named after the four Fvangelists, was what he had 
 conceived and steadily aimed to realize. St. John's 
 was the second in the order of the plan. It was be- 
 gun by the formation of a Sunday-school, March 11, 
 1883. The first nieeling was held in an upper room 
 on the corner of Lincoln Square and Main l^treet, 
 and the first church service was held by the Rev. 
 Henry Hague, of St. Mattliew's, on the 0th of Jan- 
 uary, 1884. On the 'Jth of March following, the first 
 regular Sunday service was held by the Rev. John 
 .S. IJens, general missionary of the diocese. On the 
 '.)th of March the Rev. Kdward S. Cross began work 
 with the mission, and on the loth of .\|iril took for- 
 mal charge. On the 2l8t of the same month land for 
 a church was bought on Lincoln street; on the IStli 
 of May ground was broken ; and .luly 5th the corner- 
 stone was laid. On the 18th of September, 1884, 
 the parish was organized under the laws of the 
 state. Mr. Cross, the minister in charge, preached 
 his farewell sermon on the ISHh of Octf>lier. and on 
 the 30tb of November, in the same year, the Rev. 
 Francis C. Burgess entered upon his duties as the 
 first rector of the new parish. I'ublic worship in the 
 churtrh was lieM for the fii-st time on Christmas Day. 
 For a time the free church system was tried, but was 
 soon abaniloncd, yet so as in the hope that under 
 more favorable conditions it might he afterwards re- 
 sumed. In the first four months of parish life the 
 average congregation and the number of communi- 
 cants increa.sed lwo-fi>ld. This growth continued 
 until, in 1S87, it was (iiund desirable to enlarge the 
 ebnreh in order to gain more sittings. This was ac- 
 cordingly done, at a cost somewhat exceeding $2tiiM». 
 j In 1888 the money to defray this cost had all been 
 subscribeil and paid, liy this enlargement the whole 
 number of sittings was increased to 308. At the 
 last-named date the cbiireb and land were valued at 
 #I7,(MM), u|ion whirli there rested a debt of ^il.'itlii. 
 The number of communicantN at this time was 2(l*.i. 
 This year witnesseil a new departure for Kpiscopacy 
 in Worcester by the union of SI. John's with the Cen- 
 tral ((/'ongrcgational) Church in the observance of 
 Lent. Services were held alternately in the two 
 cliiircbrs, conducted alternately by the two ministers. 
 
32 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF WORCESTER. 
 
 Clergyuu'ii from abniiid were also brought in to as- 
 sist in this fraternal recognition, of whom chiefly to 
 be mentioned are the Rev. Dr. Phillips Brooks and 
 the Rev. Dr. Samuel Herrick, botli of Boston. If 
 any ill came out of this unwonted fraternization, it 
 was never publicly reported. On the contrary, the 
 continued prosperity of St. John's seemed to bear 
 witness that this new departure was a safe step in 
 the line of progress. 
 
 Parish of St. Mark's Church. — In the order of time 
 this was the third in the scheme of four churches 
 which Dr. Huntington set on foot. But not till some 
 years after he had gone from Worcester did a good 
 opportunity for inaugurating the enterprise present 
 itself. At length the founding of Clark University, 
 in the spring of 1887, became tlie signal for moving. 
 That great educational project causing a marked ad- 
 vance in the jirice of real estate in the quarter selected 
 for St. Mark's Mission, spurred on its friends to make 
 haste and secure a suitable lot for church purposes. 
 The purchase of a lot was the only object of the first 
 meeting, which was in September, 1887; but this 
 very speedily led to the formation of a mission by the 
 name of St. Mark's Mission. A place for meeting 
 was secured, and about October 1st a Sunday-school 
 was opened. Public worship was held for the tirst 
 time on the 23d of October, by the Rev. Alex. H. 
 Vinton, rector of All Saints, other clergymen in and 
 out of the city assisting. After this date the services 
 of the Rev. Thomas W. Nickerson of Rochdale were 
 secured. He continued to officiate until the Easter 
 following, when the Rev. Langdon C. Stewardson 
 took charge of the missio.i. He came fresh from a 
 three years' course of theological study in the uni- 
 versities of Germany, prior to which he had been for 
 five years rector of a church in Webster. " Under 
 his lea(iershi|>,'' says a competent authority, "the 
 mission has made a progress which is believed to be 
 unprecedented in the history of this diocese." The 
 number of communicants, about forty at Easter, had 
 nearly doubled within the next five months. From 
 the beginning the mission was independent and self- 
 reliant. No aid from any outside source was accepted. 
 On the otlicr hand, the mission, in that brief period, 
 had raised out of its own resources the sum of twelve 
 thousand two hundred dollars. With part of this the 
 lot for church and chapel, already spoken of, was 
 purchased on the corner of Main and Freeland Streets. 
 On the Gtli of September, 1888, the corner-stone of the 
 chapel to be erected on this lot was laid, a solid silver 
 trowel, given by Mrs. ICUen Lawson ( iard, wife of its 
 maker, being used in the ceremony. An imposing 
 aspect was given to the occasion. At five o'clock in 
 the afternoon nine clergymen from the city and other 
 |)arts, with Dr. Huntington of New York, the origi- 
 nator of the enter))ri8c, at their head, marched down 
 the street in surplices and took their places by the 
 corner-stone. When the ceremonial act was com- 
 pleted. Dr. Huntington made a brief addre.ss, admir- 
 
 able alike for its substance, expression and tone. 
 " Rarely," said he, " is the building of a church under 
 such assured circumstances. Youhaveamarvelously 
 chosen building site, you are in perfect harmony 
 among yourselves, and your leader you love aijd trust. 
 What more do you want? Is it the money to com- 
 plete the building? That is a very doubtful advan- 
 tage. The very fact that it is lacking is a spur to 
 never-failing eflbrt." Again he said : " We lay this 
 stone in charity. If there are any within the hearing 
 of my voice not of this household of faith " (and there 
 were many) " let them not feel di.srjuieted. We come 
 not as destroyers, but maintainers of peace ; not to 
 divide, but to unite. The Episcopal Church sees in 
 itself a great reconstructing influence. . . . There 
 is one object, one purpose, and that the purpose of 
 building up the kingdom of God." The plan con- 
 templates in its ultimate realization a chapel and 
 church of red sandstone throughout. 
 
 St. Luke's Church, the fourth and only one remain- 
 ing to complete Dr. Huntington's quadrilateral of 
 churches, in his own words uttered at the laying of 
 St. Mark's corner-stone, " bides its time." 
 
 UNivERS.iLlsTS — First Utiiversalist Church. — The 
 first Universalist Society was formed on the 3d day of 
 .lune, 1841, in accordance with the laws of Massachu- 
 setts. So said the Rev. Stephen Presson Landers in 
 his historical address delivered a quarter of a century 
 afterwards. Mr. Landers was the first pastor and had 
 preached his sermon in Brinley Hall on the 2d of May 
 previous. In the summer and autumn ten thousand 
 dollars were subscribed fo'' building a church. The 
 pastor himself subscribed " more than he was worth." 
 A very choice and central site on the corner of Main 
 and Foster streets was bought for a little more than 
 $1.25 a square foot. But " stagnant water " caused 
 delay. In 1842 a further subscription of more than 
 i\ve thousand dollars was added to the former. Then, 
 early in 1843, ground was broken, and on the 22d of 
 November in the same year the house was dedicated 
 with a sermon by the Rev. Dr. Miner, of Boston. On 
 the evening of the same day " was the recognition of 
 our small church,'' wrote tiie historian, and also its 
 first communion with thirty-one participants. The 
 pastorate of Jlr. Landers terminated on the 16th of 
 June, 1844, when he preached Ids farewell sermon. 
 His death occurred at Clinton, N. Y., on the loth of 
 April, 187G, in the sixty-fourth year of his age. On 
 thel2tiiof March, 1845, Rev. Albert t'ase was installed 
 as hia successor. After somewhat more than four 
 years he left his Worcester charge and engaged in 
 secular business of various sorts. He was also settled 
 again for a time as pastor at Hingham, Mass. He 
 died at the age of about seventy on the 29th of 
 December, 1877. It was noted of him, as a mark of 
 great distinction, that he had, while in the Worcester 
 pastorate, "attained to the thirty-third degree, the 
 highest of the Masonic grades in the world." His 
 successor, the Rev. Ohadiah Horsford Tillotson, was 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL IIISTOI'.V OK WOUCKSTKU 
 
 iuatalled on the 27th of June, lS4y. During his 
 pastorate the increase of the rongregation was such 
 as t" require more sittiufps in the cliurch. To secure 
 that end palierics were c<)nstrucle<i in 18^1. Mr. 
 Tillotson preached his farewell sermon on the 3l3t of 
 October, 1852. Meantime he had become a student- 
 at-law and practitioner in the office of .Judge Chapin, 
 of Worcester ; hut finding the pursuit uncongenial, 
 he resumed his former [imfession, to which he devoted 
 himself for the reuuiindcr of his life. On the 19th of 
 June, IStiS, he fell a victim to consumption in the 
 forty -eighth year of his age. His succeasor, coming 
 in April, 18.'>3, was the Rev. John Greenleaf Adams, 
 D.D. After a highly successful pastorate of seven 
 years he gave place to the Rev. Lindley Murniy 
 Kurrington, who. after a year and four months, was 
 compelled to resign because of long-continued illness. 
 His term of service closed on the 1st of .Tanuary, 
 1862. To him succeeded the Rev. Thomas Elliot St. 
 John, who was inducted into office on the Ist of April 
 in that year. With him began a new departure. 
 The church was reorganized by the adoption of a 
 new Declaration of Faith and a Constitution. This 
 had seemed to be necessary l)ecause of changes grow- 
 ing out of " removals, withilrawals and forfeitures." 
 Having put the church on this new footing, Mr. St. 
 ,Iohn closed his tirst pastorate in June of 1866 to be- 
 come the pa.stor of a church in Chicago. After the 
 intervening pa.storate of Rev. Benjamin Franklin 
 Bowles, who came on the 1st of October, 1866, and 
 left December, 1, 1868, Mr. St. .John resumed his old 
 Worcester pulpit on the Ist of February, 1869, and 
 continued to occupy it till April 1, 1879. Within 
 this period the tine new church edifice on Plesmant 
 Street was erected and occupied. .M'ter leaving Wor- 
 cester, Mr. St. .lolin pursued his ministry in various 
 places until the autumn of 1881, when he accepted a 
 call to the Unitarian Church in Haverhill, Miuss. 
 His successor, the Rev. Moses Henry Harris, entered 
 upon his ministry with this church on the -'ith of 
 October, 1.S79. .Mr. Harris was a native of Greene, 
 in tilt State of Maine. He was graduated from the 
 Canton Theological School in 1867, and had his first 
 aettlement in the ministry at Brattleborough, Vt., in 
 1870. From that pastorate of nine years and three 
 months he came to Worcester. In 188.0 the " Win- 
 chester Confession " was adopted by this church :is a 
 Declaration of Faith in place of the Declaration 
 which had been adopted in I8ri2; the Constitution 
 was ali*o amended and the list of membership re- 
 vised. The church then embraced one hundred and 
 fifty-five mirnibers. 
 
 A/l Siuli C'liurrli. — "In the spring of IHH'.i u com- 
 mittee was ap|K)intcd at a nn'ctili(.' of the First I'lil- 
 versalist Church to see if a riHim could be hired at 
 the south part of the city in which Ui open a .Mission 
 Sunday-school for the extension of our church work 
 ill Worcester." This was the beginning of the Sec- 
 ond Univcrsalist (.'liurrh. No suititble room could 
 
 be hired; tluii two friends of the cause, who " could 
 not let the movement die for want of a place, ollered 
 the free use of their rooms." Accordingly, at one of 
 these rooms, in the house of Mrs. Martin Russell, 
 No. 10 May Street, the new school was organized on 
 ;lie afternoon of .lanuary 27, 1884. On the Wednes- 
 day following, a prayer-meeting was inaugurated ; 
 this and preaching by Mr. Harris, of the First Church, 
 wore maintained alternately throughout the winter. 
 The natural result of this devotion to the work was 
 growth; by spring " more room" was found neces- 
 sary and this led up to thought of building. Money 
 was not abundant, and Mrs. Lucy A. Stone, seeing 
 the need, gave the land on which to build a chapel. 
 Another act of encouragement was the gift of one 
 hundred dollars by the sister of a former paslor of 
 the First Church. As the women had been thus 
 active in begiiuiiiig the enterprise, so they were relied 
 upon to carry it forward. Accordingly, '" at a meeting 
 to form a parish held on the Slst of July, 1884," 
 .Mrs. Stone and Mrs. Russell, were appointed to obtain 
 subscriptions for the purpose of building a chapel. 
 The result of their etl'orts was a subscription of one 
 thousand three hundred and two dollars. By the 
 last of October the building was begun and before 
 the cold weather could interrupt was completed. In 
 just one year from the time the Sunday school had 
 been organized the chapel was dedicated. This was 
 on the 27ih of .laiuiary, ISS."). On the 21st of June 
 following the church was duly instituted. During 
 the summer the pulpit was supplied by Rev. Lee H. 
 Fisher, a student at Tufts College. His services proved 
 so acceptable that he was engaged to continue them 
 till the next annual meeting. On the 1st of April, 
 18S6, the Rev. Frederic W. Bailey entered upon his 
 duties as first pastor of All Souls. Mr. Bailey imme- 
 diately set about providing for a church edifice. 
 Through his ellorts the sum of three thousand four 
 hundred dollars was obtained, with which a lot on the 
 corner of Woodland and Norwood Streets was pur- 
 chased, and the same was conveyed to the jiarish on 
 the 20tli of .March, 1H87. How to raise the money for 
 the building of the cbiirch w:us the iie.\t and more 
 pressing t|ue8tion. This was happily solved by Mr. 
 James \. Norcross, of the famous firm of Norcro.ss 
 Brothers, builders, by the gift of fifteen thousand 
 dollars in th<' name of himself and his wife, .Mary Iv. 
 upon three conditions: Ist, That the parish should 
 raise seven thousand otherwise than by incumbrance 
 on the property ; 2d, That a certain room in the pro- 
 posed eilifice Bhould be legally conveyed to Mr. Nor- 
 cross and bis heirs; and ltd. that the Ibllowing in- 
 scriptions should be pliiccil on the front of the edilice : 
 " In iiiemory of our l'°albers and .Mothers who an- in 
 I leaven. (Jur liojie is to meet them in that liravciilv 
 home;" and "All ."^oiils Universnlisl Church Kdi- 
 fice." The e.xacl form of the gift was, " all the 
 hruwnstone rc<|uired for the exterior of All .Souls 
 L'niventalist I'liiirrli cm ami set in place." It was 
 
34 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF WORCESTEK. 
 
 assumed that fifteen thousand dolhirs would cover 
 this expense. Mr. Norcross' proposition was pre- 
 sented on the 9th of November, in a long letter full 
 of details. On the 20th All Souls Parish had a 
 meeting, accepted the proposal, unanimously voted 
 thanks to the donors, and took measures to comply, 
 with the first condition. The proposed building is of 
 uiiiijue design, of bold architecture and studied sim- 
 plicity. The main structure is seventy feet square 
 with a round tower one hundred and fifty feet high 
 on the corner of the streets. The principal audience- 
 room is designed to seat about five hundred per- 
 sons ; other rooms adapted for all modern church re- 
 quirements are embraced within the plan. It will 
 be a central attraction for the important neighbor- 
 hood in that quarter of the city. 
 
 Friends. — "Meeting" and "meeting-house'' are 
 characteristic terms among the Friends. The Prepara- 
 tive, or, as it is called in England, Particular Meeting, is 
 the unit. Several of these constitute a Monthly Meet- 
 ing; these in turn constitute a Quarterly Meeting, and 
 several Quarterly Meetings constitute the Yearly Meet- 
 ing. The Monthly Meeting, which is the lowest cor- 
 porate body, takes and holds property through trus- 
 tees of its own appointing, for the benefit of its Pre- 
 parative constituencies. All meeting-houses are so 
 held. The Preparative Meeting exercises no disci- 
 pline over its members. Discipline is administered 
 by the Monthly Meeting upon an overture or com- 
 plaint from the Preparative Meeting. Any party not 
 satisfied with the discipline dealt out by this body 
 may appeal to the Quarterly Meeting and to the 
 Yearly Meeting in the last resort. There is no sala- 
 ried minister, no sacrament, no set singing, no vot- 
 ing, no business official except a clerk. The clerk 
 is the one important and sufficient official. He re- 
 cords no votes, since there are none to record ; but he 
 " takes the sense" or con.sensu3 of the meeting, and 
 makes a minute of that. This sense he gathers from 
 what any Friend nuiy choose to say at the meeting. 
 Having made his minute, he reads it, and if it is ap- 
 proved it stands as the sense of the meeting; and so 
 standing, it is as binding and absolute as a vote else- 
 where. In this way the clerk himself is made such. 
 In this way one Friend may become an "approved 
 minister" and another, because of bad behavior, 
 may become " disowned." 
 
 From 181(i to 1837 families of Friends residing in 
 Worcester went up to worship at Mulberry Grove, in 
 Leicester. Later on they obtained leave to hold a 
 Particular Meeting in Worcester. The place of meet- 
 ing at first was in a room over Hoyden & Fenno's 
 jewelry store, in Paine's block. But in 184C they 
 built their present meeting-house on land given by 
 .\nthony Cliase and Samuel H. Colton, two leading 
 members of the Society. After this the Mulberry 
 (irove Meeting gradually diminished and finally died 
 out. The Worcester Meeting became a part of Ux- 
 bridge Afonthly Meeting, of which the Uxbridge and 
 
 Northbridge Preparative Meetings were the remain- 
 ing constituent parts. The Uxbridge Monthly Meet- 
 ing is held in the three places just named twelve 
 times a year, five of which are in Worcester. In due 
 gradation, Uxbridge Monthly Meeting belongs to 
 Smithfield (R. I.) Quarterly Meeting, and this to the 
 New England Yearly Meeting, which is now held al- 
 ternately at Newport, E. I., and Portland, Me. 
 
 The Worcester Meeting, though small in numbers, 
 has included some of the best known, most worthy 
 and most prosperous of her citizens. The names of 
 Chase, Colton, Earle, Hadwen, Arnold and others 
 have figured prominently in the past history of the 
 city. Anthony Chase was for a generation the treas- 
 urer of Worcester County ; John Milton Earle was 
 known far and wide as the proprietor and editor of 
 that child and champion of the Revolution, The Mas- 
 nac/iuxetts Spy; Edward Earle becamemayor of the city. 
 But the Friends of Worcester have special reason to 
 remember the name of Timothy K. Earle as one of 
 the three principal benefactors of the Society. Choos- 
 ing to be his own executor, Mr. Earle, shortly before 
 his death, which occurred on the 1st of October, 1881, 
 made a gift of 4v3O00 to Uxbridge Monthly Meet- 
 ing, to be held in trust for the benefit of Worcester 
 Preparative Meeting. The fund was to accumulate 
 for ten years; then the income was to be used for 
 repairs and improvement of the meeting-house. The 
 surplus above what might be used for this purpose, 
 when it should reach the sum of :?200U, was to be set 
 aside as a fund for rebuilding in case of fire. On the 
 other hand, if the meeting should ever come to an 
 end, the deed of gift provided that the fund should 
 be made over to the Friends' New England Boarding- 
 School at Providence. Other gifts from other sources 
 and for other purposes, but of less amounts, are also 
 held in trust for this meeting. The clerk for a quar- 
 ter of a century, first of the Worcester Meeting, and 
 then of the Uxbridge Monthly Meeting, is James G. 
 Arnold, a lineal descendant, through intermediate and 
 unbroken generations of Friends, of Thomas Arnold, 
 the earliest emigrant of the name and faith into the 
 Providence and Rhode Island Plantations. But it must 
 be said that the present prospects of the body do not 
 justify the expectation that the future will be as the 
 past. The number of members reported is about 
 eighty, and this is less than it has been. 
 
 Second Adventists. — The Second Advent move- 
 ment in Worcester was made in anticipation of the 
 fateful loth of February, 184;i. On Thanksgiving 
 Day in 1842 a meeting was held in East City Hall, at 
 which a committee was appointed to secure a hall 
 and hire preachers. Thenceforward, for a period of 
 time, meetings were liekl almost every evening. For 
 a part of the time the " Upper City Hall " was occu- 
 pied as the place of meeting. When the l.'ith of Feb- 
 ruary came and went and the sun continued to rise 
 and set as usual, the time for the world's crisis waa 
 adjourned to a day in April. Disappointment then 
 
ErCLKSIASTICAL HTSToRV OF WORCESTER 
 
 led to further adjournments, but as time wore on 
 and showed no sijin of cominji to an end, the Advent- 
 ists, who had been gathered out i>f ahnost every de- 
 nomination. >;radually consolidated into a regular 
 church organization. For the tirst seven or eight 
 years no records were kept, because it was held to be 
 inconsistent with the fuiidauieiital idea of .Vdventism. 
 The first record appears under the date of .Vpril 14, 
 IS.')!!, jind the first important thing recorded was the 
 one Article of Associatiou. which served as the basis 
 of organization. This was in the nature of both 
 creed aud covenant. "The personal advent aud 
 reigu of Christ on the earth renewed," was the dis- 
 tinguishing belief, and the solemn agreement to be 
 governed by the Bible as the rule of faith and prac- 
 tice was the only covenant. Religious services were 
 held in various halls until the year l$)>ti. when a 
 chapel was built and dedicated. The building was 
 erected on leased land on Central Street, at a cost of 
 $3113.28. The dedication took place on the 14th of 
 June. .V succession of elders ministered to the 
 church until the l.'ith of December, 1870, when 
 Elder 8. G. Mathewson was called to serve " one 
 half the time." He remained in charge till October 
 17, 1875, when he preached his farewell sermon. Of 
 late years preachers have been supplied by a commit- 
 tee chosen for that i)urpose. In ISS.'i the chapel was 
 sold, and a hall for religious services secured in 
 Clark's Block, on Main Street. In 1877 the member- 
 shi|> was one hundred and forty-five, and one hundred 
 and eighty-five in 188S. The amount of money an- 
 nually rai.sed for current expenses and care of the 
 poor of the church exceeds 5^2000, while contributions 
 are made for missions abroad, and particular'y in 
 India. 
 
 Dlscii'LEs OK CllKlsT. — The church of which the 
 lamented Garfield was a minister is an exotic in New 
 England. It had its origin in Western Penn-sylvania 
 and Ea.stern Ohio in the early part of the nineteenth 
 century. Thence it spread through the Southwest 
 and West until, in 1888, the number of ciunmunicanl.'* 
 in the United States was reported to be about sev- 
 en hundred thousand. Six universities, thirty- 
 one colleges and six collegiate institutes provide the 
 denomination with the higher educational facilities, 
 while fifty-tiine mi.ssions in .lapaii, China, India, Tur- 
 key, Africa and .\ustralia, jls well as other missions 
 in various Kurojii-an cuutilrics, attest their zeal in the 
 propagation of their faith. The central principle of 
 the denomination is the union of all < 'hrislians on 
 the basis of the Apostolic (.'hurch with the person of 
 .Icsns Chri.<t as the only object of faith. Hence, dis- 
 carding all sectarian names, they choose to denomi- 
 nate themselves simply " I>isciples of Christ.'' They 
 hold the great cardinal doctrines of the gospel but 
 not in the terminology of the schools. They abjure 
 speculative tenets touching Trinity an<l Unity but 
 adhere to the " form of sounri words" given in the 
 Scriptures eimcerning the Father, the Son and the 
 
 Holy Spirit. Their polity is congregational, but they 
 are not Congrcgationalists. Theirdistingnishing tenet 
 is of baptism, but they are not altogether Baptists. 
 They agree with the Baplisls as to the mode and sub- 
 jects of baptism, but dill'er as to its design. While 
 the Baptists baptize believers because they are for- 
 given, the Disciples baptize them in order to secure 
 the promised forgivenesss. " He that believeth and 
 is baptized shall be saved." The state of salvation 
 follows, not precedes, the baptizing as well as the be- 
 lieving. Ba|)tisni will not save if repentance and 
 faith are wanting. Baptismal regeneration they 
 deny. Baptism is the only form nece.s.sary for admis- 
 sion into the church ; there is no creed nor covenant. 
 No one is excluded from the Ixird's .Supper, and this 
 is observed every l..ord's Day. The New Testament 
 is held to be the sole book of authority ; the Old Tes- 
 tament is helpful, but not now authoritative. 
 
 Only one church of this order exists in Worcester. 
 It was organized on the 5th of August, IStiO, with 
 two elders in charge of its spiritual interests and two 
 deacons in charge of its temporal interests. There 
 was no parish organization, but the church itself was 
 incorporated with trustees annually chosen to hold 
 the property. Their first house of worship was the 
 old Central Chapel on Thomas Street. But the sur- 
 roundings were unfavorable and they fell hampered 
 in their work. They therefore, in September, ISSr), 
 sold that property, and while making ready to build 
 occupied the old Central Church on Main Street as a 
 place of worshij). In the next month they purchased 
 a lot on Main Street opposite King, and there pro- 
 ceeded to erect an attractive church edifice at a cost 
 in all of twenty-three thousand dollars. Its dedica- 
 tion took place on the 12th of September, ISSli. In 
 the twenty-eight years of its existence, the church 
 has had for its ministers, William II. Hughes, Wil- 
 liam liowzee, .Vlanson Wilcox, .1. M. Atwaler, T. 
 \V. Cottingham, Frank N. Calvin and the present 
 minister, I, A. Thayer, who came from New C'astle, 
 Pennsylvania, and began his woVk in Worcester in 
 October, 1887. To none of these do lliey apjdy the 
 epithet Reverend, ;i8 the distinction of clergy aii<l 
 laity is not recognized. In 1888 the membership of 
 the church was three hundred and sevcnly-threc and 
 that of the Sundayschool two hundred and fifty. 
 
 FriKK Baitisth. — Two tenets — free will and free 
 communion — distinguish the Free Baptists from other 
 Baptists. They might perhaps be naineil the Armin- 
 ian Bai>tists and the others the Calvinistic Baptists; 
 but those names would not mark the radical distinc- 
 tion growing out of the terms of communion. 
 Enough that each has chosen its own name; "Bap- 
 tists," pure and simple, ami " Free Baptists." This 
 denomination had its origin in New Hampshire 
 somewhat more than a century ago. Benjamin Kan- 
 dall ha<I been a Congregationalist, afterwaids became 
 a Bu|>tist, and then, by adopting and preaching the 
 doctrines of the freedom of the will ami free eommu- 
 
36 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL HLSTOKY OF WORCKSTEK. 
 
 nion, became the founder of the Free Baptist denom- 
 ination. This was in ITSd. Within the century fol- 
 lowing, churches of this faith multiplied and spread 
 east and west, until now the membership throughout 
 the country is reported to exceed eighty thousand. 
 In the county of Worcester there are three churches, 
 one of which is in the city. The first preliminary 
 meeting here was held at the house of Newell Tyler, 
 on the 1-ith of .September, 1880. Meetings continued 
 to be held at intervals until the 7th of April, 1881, 
 when the church was duly organized with thirty 
 members. It continued to live without parish 
 powers until the 8d of .Vugust, 1887, when by-laws 
 were adopted preparatory to incorporation under 
 Chapter 404 of the Acts of that year. On the Isl 
 day of September following the church became a 
 corporation by the name of the " First Free Baptist 
 Church of Worcester." The Rev. A. J. Eastman, 
 who had been the originator of the movement, was 
 installed on the 7th of April, 1887, as the first pastor. 
 and so continued for one year. The second pastoi' 
 was the Rev. H. Lockhart. His term began on the 
 1st of May, 1883, and terminated on the 1st of March, 
 1887. On the 18th of May following the Rev. D. D. 
 Mitchell became the pastor. The place of worship 
 is " Free Baptist Hall," in Clark's Building, 4il:i 
 Main Street. 
 
 Afeican Chukcues — African Methodist Zion't, 
 Church. — This church was organized in 1846. Its first 
 place of worship was the "Centenary Chapel," which 
 had been erected on Exchange Street in 1840, and 
 which, at a later day, came into the hands of Zion's 
 Church. The house was dedicated for this church 
 in the year of its organization. Rev. Alexander 
 Posey was the first pastor. To him succeeded the 
 Rev. Levin Smith, in 1849. The third and most 
 noteworthy pastor was the Rev. J. A. Mars. In 1854 
 the house was burned in the great tire of that year. 
 In July, 1805, another house was begun, and by the 
 25th of September was completed and dedicated. A 
 large part of the mmiey for this expense was collected 
 by Mr. Mars outside the society. After him came a 
 succession of pastors whose names were not obtained. 
 
 African Methodist A'piscopal Bethel Church. — This 
 church was organized in the summer of 1867 in Lin- 
 coln House Hall. Dr. Brown was a leading spirit in 
 the enterprise and continued to manage until a pas- 
 tor was assigned. The original membership of the 
 church was fourteen. The first pastor assigned by 
 the Conference was Rev. Joshua Hale, whose term ol 
 service was two years. After him came in succession 
 twelve pa.stors, whose names were Mr. Johnson, 
 James Madison, Perry Stanford, Ebenezer Williams, 
 Jeremiah B. Hill, Joseph Taylor, Elijah P. Grinage, 
 D. A. Porter, Charles Ackworth, Mr. Grandy, A. W. 
 Whaley, Mr. Thomas and G. B. Lynch. Then in 
 1887, Rev. J. B. Stephens was appoiuted to the 
 charge, which he was keeping at the close of 1888. 
 For a number of years their place of worship was at ' 
 
 the corner of Hanover and Laurel Streets. But in 
 1887 that property was lost and since then their 
 place of worship hiis been at 302 Main Street. The 
 number of communicants in 1888 was twenty-five 
 and the number of families eight. 
 
 The Mount Olive Baptist Church w;is a child of the 
 Worcester Baptist City Mission Board. At first and 
 for some years it was maintained as a mission. But 
 the brethren of the mission having repeatedly asked 
 for organization and recognition as an independent 
 church, the Board at length yielded to their wishes. 
 Accordingly, on the 24th of February, 1885, a coun- 
 cil of the city Baptist Churches convened in the 
 Pleasant Street Church and after due examination of 
 twenty-two persons constituted them a church with 
 the above name. For a long time the Rev. Charles 
 E. Simmons served them in the gospel without com- 
 pensation. Then they set about procuring a pastor. 
 On the 24th of March. 1887, al their request, a coun- 
 cil convened for the pur|>ose of ordaining Hiram 
 Conway, a student in Newton Theological Seminary, 
 to the Mount Olive ministry. His examination hav- 
 ing proved satisfactory, his ordination and recogni- 
 tion as pastor took place on the 29lh in the Pleasant 
 Street Church. In the summer of the .same year 
 hou^e No. 43 John Street, with the connected lot, 
 was purchased and fitted for public worship at a cost 
 of about one thousand dollars. On the 10th of Octo- 
 ber, 1888, a membership of forty-one persons was 
 rejjorted. 
 
 The number of j)ersous of African blood in Wor- 
 cester by the census of 1885 wjis eight hundred and 
 eighty-three; in 1888 ihe number was thought to be 
 about one thousand. 
 
 Chkistadelphian.s. — The Chrisladelphians, or 
 "Brethren of Christ," constitute a small body in Wor- 
 cester. The order had its origin in the year 1832. 
 Its founder was John Thomas, M.D., of New York, 
 who believed and proclaimed that the true teaching 
 of Christ was for the first time discovered in this 
 nineteenth century by himself. Dr. Thomas became 
 an itinerant, and went through the United States and 
 the British Empire publishing his new-found gospel. 
 Disciples were made and are to be found scattered 
 through this country, (Jreat Britain, Australia and 
 India. Their belief will, perhaps, best be seen by 
 what they do not believe. In their own printed words, 
 then, "Christadelphians do not believe in the Trinity, 
 in the co-equality and co-eternity of Jesus with the 
 Deity, in the existence of Jesus before his conception 
 at Nazareth, in the personality of the Holy Spirit, in 
 the personality of the devil, in the immortality of the 
 soul, in the transportation of saints to heaven and 
 sinners to hell after death, in eternal torments, in 
 baby sprinkling and pouring, in infant and idiot 
 salvation, in Sabbatarianism, in salvation by good 
 works apart from the gospel, in salvation without 
 baptism, in the validity of baptism where the gospel 
 was not understood and believed at the time of its 
 
Krri.ESIASTICAI- mSTOllV OF WOKCESTKR. 
 
 administration, iu cunversion apart from the iutolligent 
 ai'preheiisiun of the Word, in the conversion ol' the 
 world by the preaching of the gospel. They do not 
 believe that (he Old Testament has been set aside by 
 the New, but, on the contrary, they base their faith 
 on '-he writings of Moses, the Prophets and the A|)os- 
 tles comprehensively viewed, and reject everything 
 contrary to their teaching." 
 
 To this non-belief they add the belief that " the 
 faith of Christendom is made up of the fables pre- 
 dicted by Paul iu - Timothy 4 : 4, and is entirely 
 subversive of the faith once for all delivered to the 
 saint«." They have no pastors, deacons or paid 
 officers, but in the place of them have "serving 
 brethren, presiding brethren and speaking brethren." 
 
 The first meeting of the " ecclesia " in Worcester 
 was held in Temperance Hall, on Foster Street, in 
 1867. In the beginning there were only twelve mem- 
 bers. This number increased iu a few years to about 
 sixty, then in twelve years fell back to twenty-two. 
 The place of meeting is Reform Club Hall, at 4G0 
 Main Street. The sum of one hundred and fifty 
 dollars covers the current yearly e-tpenses. 
 
 Swedish Chi'ihiies. — By the census of 187"> there 
 were then one hundred and si.xty-si.v Swedes and Nor- 
 wegians in the city of Worcester. In 1888 the num- 
 ber was estimated to be over six thousand. For this 
 rapidly-growing part of the population five churches 
 have already been provided. Two of the.'ie are Method- 
 ist, one is Baptist, one Congregational and one I. ulli- 
 eran. The oldest is the 
 
 Firtt >)wedi»U M. E. Church. — Work was begun 
 among the Swedes in Worcester as early as 1876 by 
 the Rev. Albert Ericson of the M. E. Church. By 
 him a church Wiis organized, to which the Rev. (Jlto 
 Anderson afterwards preached. In the fall of 1879 
 Mr. Ericson removed to Worcester, resumeil his work 
 and remained iu charge till 1882, when he was suc- 
 ceeded by the Rev. D. S. Sorlin. In 1883 a church 
 was erected at (juinaigamond at a cost, including the 
 lot, of six thousand seven hundred dollars, and 
 was dedicated on the .Slst of March, 1884. In the 
 same year the Rev. ('. X. Cederberg w;us appointed 
 assistant preacher and in the year following the pastor 
 in charge. In 1887 the Rev. Albert Haller wax 
 appointed to succeed him. 
 
 The Secowl Swedish M. E. Church was organized on 
 the 9th of .Vpril. ISS-O. This church, a colony from 
 the First, embraced ninety-four members, including 
 twenty-nine on probation. With these came the Rev 
 .Mr. Sorlin, pastor of the First Church, under appoint- 
 niPiit aa paittor of the new organization. On the Ist 
 of ."September, 188.'>, the church took possession of the 
 chapel on ThouKui .'^(reet, which had been purchased 
 from the Christ Church Society for eight tlioUHatnl 
 dollars. By two succe.Hsive additions at a cost of three 
 (liou«and four hundred dollars, a sealing capacity for 
 more thiui five hundred was obtained ; nor was this 
 found to be sufficient. The growth of the society had 
 
 been so rapid that in November, 1888, there was a 
 membership of two hundred and thirty-five. On the 
 29th of May, 1887, the Rev. H. W. Kklund of 
 Stockholm, Sweden, became the pastor in charge. 
 Mis ministry resulted in great spiritual and material 
 enlargement. 
 
 The Siredish Evanijelical Oongregalional Church in 
 Worcester hiis its root in the Free Church movement 
 in Sweden. This movement began about 1869 under 
 Rev. P. Waldenstrom, D.D., who had been a mini.ster 
 of the Lutheran or Slate Church. I'nder his vigorous 
 lead the membership of this Free Church had grown 
 in the course of si.\teen years to be one hundred thou- 
 sand. Some of this communion having emigrated to 
 this country had found a home in Worcester. In May, 
 1880, a few of these people began to meet for prayer 
 and conference on Messenger Hill, while others met 
 at Quinsigamond and elsewhere. In June, Rev. ,\. 
 (i. Nelson, pastor of a Swedish Free Church in Cam- 
 pello, Mass., came by invitation and held several meet- 
 ings. On the loth of August the hall at 386 Main 
 Street, over the Gazette office, was hired for reli- 
 gious services. Some old settees were borrowed frmu 
 the Y. M. C. ,\., while a small yellow table, still pre- 
 served as a memorial of that day of small things, was 
 bought and used for a " pulpit." In this place, on 
 the 6th of September, 1880, the Swedish Free Church 
 was organized, and here, on the 2iiili, Mr. .Vel- 
 son held the first Sunday service. In October the 
 Rev. George Wiberg was called from Iowa to become 
 the first pastor. In .May, 1881, the church, finding the 
 hall on Main .Street too narrow, removed its place of 
 worship to a hall in Warren's Block, near Washington 
 Square. On the 19th of August in the same year 
 a council, finding this Free Church in substantial 
 accord with its own, gave it a conlial welcome to the 
 fellowship of the Congregational Cliurclies. Only one 
 other Swedish Congregational Church then existed in 
 the country, that one being in Iowa. On the 14lh 
 of .January, 1882, a parish was duly organized in the 
 office of Henry L. Parker, Est]., in Flagg's building, 
 under a warrant issued by him. Memliership in the 
 church was made a condition of membership in the 
 parish. In November, 1883, Mr. Wiberg resigned his 
 charge, and on the 1st of December following, Mr. 
 Nelson, the first preacher to the church, became it-s 
 second pastor. Leaving in .hily, I88.'>, he was suc- 
 ceeded by the Rev. Eric Nlllsun, who began his work 
 on the first Sunday in .\ugust of that year and was 
 dismissed on the lilh of December, 1888. At tiie 
 (tame time occurred the installation of the Rev. Karl 
 F. Ohlsson, who had been called from Iledemora, 
 Sweden, to the Worcester church. Its membership 
 wait then two hundred and fifty. 
 
 As early iis I.SS2 this Swedish church enterprise 
 
 had enlisted the lively sympalhies of the (^mgrega- 
 
 tional body of the city, and a movement was then 
 
 initiated to erect a church edifice. Through a build- 
 
 \ ing committee, of which S. R. Iluywood wits chair- 
 
38 
 
 ErOLESTASTTCAr, FTTSTOEY OF WORPESTER. 
 
 mail aiifl G. Henry Whitcomb treasurer, tlie money was 
 raised, a commodious edifice erected on I'rovidence 
 street, near Union R. R. Station, and on the 25th 
 of January, 1885, was dedicated with services by 
 nearly all the Congregational pastors of the city. 
 The cost, including land and furnishing, was nine 
 thousand three hundred and ninety-five dollars, o( 
 which the Swedes contributed one thousand five hun- 
 dred and ninety-five. As they gain financial strength 
 the whole cost will j)robably be assumed by the parish. 
 A most active, efficient and leading person in all 
 this enterprise was Dea. John A. Cornell. He had 
 been a Lutheran aud been urged by his Lutheran 
 pastor in Boston to forward that interest on coming 
 to Worcester. Being, however, converted at one oi 
 Major Whittle's meetings, he had left the Lutherans 
 and united with the Summer Street Church. After- 
 wards he took a dismission from that church to assist 
 in building up the church of his Swedish bretliren. 
 To him both its spiritual and temporal prosperity was 
 largely due. 
 
 The Stveilish Bnplkt Church grew out of a move- 
 ment begun in 1870. In that year Mr. Anderson, a 
 Swede, came from the Union Temple Church in Bcston 
 and united with the First Baptist Church in Worcester. 
 Soon he had a Sunday school class of si.K or eight 
 Swedes. Then he and his countrymen began to hold 
 meetings in the vestry of the First Baptist Church. 
 In 1881, the Swedish Baptist Church was constituted 
 with a body of nine members. The Baptist City 
 -Mission Board now came to their help, and board 
 and church co-operated in hiring a hall for religious 
 services in Clark's Block, now Walker Building. In 
 1882, Rev. Peter A. Hjclm was called ti-om Sweden to 
 the pastorate. He remain(^d till near the close of the 
 year 1888, and was then succeeded by the Rev. L. Kal- 
 berg. The Mission Board had built, in 1855, a chapel 
 on Mulberry Street at a cost, including land, of §9500. 
 Of this amount the church from the first assumed 
 $8000; in the end of 1S88 that body had become so 
 prosperous that it resolved to relieve the board en- 
 tirely. In the same year the membership had in- 
 creaseil to about two hundred and forty. 
 
 The Siccdish Evangelical Luihenin Gef/iscmane Church 
 was organized in 1881. In 1882 the Rev. Charles E. 
 Cesander became the pastor. He was succeeded in 
 1883 by the Rev. Martin J. Englund, who was or- 
 dained on the 17th of June. In the same year the 
 church was erected on Mulberry Street at a cost ol 
 about $15,000. The Rev. Oscar M. Holmgrain was 
 Mr. Englund's successor, being installed in October 
 or November, 1885. The installation of his successor. 
 Rev. S. C!. I^arson, took place in April, 1888. The 
 Augsburg Confession is the basis of tlie church or- 
 ganization. The membership in 1888 was about one 
 hundred and seventy. 
 
 Jews. — Polish Jews began to multiply in Worcester 
 about the year 1874. In 1888 the numberof souls was 
 thought to be not less than five hundred. There are 
 
 among them two incorporated religious societies. The 
 oldest of these made an attempt to become incorpo- 
 rated in 1880, which, through no fault of the society, 
 resulted in failure to obtain what they sought. But 
 I in 1888 the society became a corporate body by the 
 name which it had borne from the first, 
 
 >Sons of Israel. — The method of admission to the 
 synagogue, or church, is by ballot after the candidate 
 has been proposed and jiersonally examined as to his 
 fitness. Five bhuk balls defeat an election. Mem- 
 
 , bership involves an obligation to make certain annual 
 
 ' payments, and secures certain pecuniary advantages 
 touching sickness and burial. A prime reijuisite for 
 membershi]), whether in the outset or in continuance, 
 is financial integrity. This society has had five 
 ministers. The first was M. Metzer who came in 
 
 ! I8S0. After him came M. Touvim in 1882; M. 
 Binkovich in 1884; M. Newman in 1885, and M. 
 Axel S. Jacobson in 1887. In 1888 a synagogue was 
 built on Green Street at a cost of $11,000, including 
 land, and was occupied for religious services in Au- 
 gust of that year. About fifty persons are members 
 of the .synagogue and two hundred belong to the con- 
 gregation. The synagogue possesses three rolls of the 
 five books of Moses written on parchment, the fine.st 
 of which cost $150. 
 The second society is named the 
 Sonx of Abraham. — It became incorporated in 188(3. 
 Besides Polish .lews it eml>raced some of Swedish 
 nationality. Those constituting the society went out 
 from the older body because of lack of agreement on 
 certain matters. But their organization and doctrine 
 and way of the synagogue are the same. In 1888 a 
 synagogue of brick was erected by this society on 
 Plymouth Street, and was to be ready for occupation 
 by the end of that year. The cost of this, with the 
 land, was also about .$11,000. In that year the mem- 
 
 , bership was said to be forty. This synagogue, like 
 the other, is the possessor of several copies of the 
 Torah, or Law of Moses, e.xecuted in the same costly 
 style, and kept in an ark or chest for use in the syna- 
 gogue service. 
 
 I Some half a dozen families of (lerman Jews belong 
 to Worcester.'but have their religious affiliations with 
 Boston. 
 
 AllMKNl.VNs. — The .Vrnienian nation was great and 
 historical centuries before the Christian era. .\s early, 
 perhaps, as any Gentile nation, they received the 
 Christian religion; but not till the opening of the 
 fourth century, and in the year 302, did the Armenian 
 Church begin to be established. To St. (Jregory, the 
 Illuminator, belongs the honor of being its founder, 
 and hence it is distinctively styled the Gregorian 
 Church. Independent alike of the Greek and the 
 Romish Churches, it resembled them in holding a 
 hierarchy and the seven sacraments. This ancient 
 church, through varying fortunes, has come down to 
 our day and still exists in its native seat. An impor- 
 tant city of that country is Harpoot, in the great loop 
 
ECCLEf^IAiiTICAL Hli^TORY OF WORCE.STER. 
 
 39 
 
 made by the river Euphrat«8, and there, early in tlie 
 century, the American Board of Commissioners estab- 
 lished one of their niiusions. In this way the Ar- 
 menians came to have relations with Americans and 
 to have kiiMwlcdge of the United Slates. From Har- 
 poot and vicinity many of them found their way to 
 Worcester. The special attraction for them in this 
 city was the great Washburn & Moen wire establish- 
 ment. They began to be employed in that establish- 
 ment in the year 18S2, and in 1888 there were 
 about two huudred and thirty-six on its pay-roll. 
 This particular set towards Worcester was the means 
 of drawing others who came and engaged in other 
 employments. The whole number in the city was 
 last reported at about five hundred. This is said to 
 be a larger number of Armenians than is to be 
 found, not only in any other place in the United 
 States, but also larger than all those in Boston, New 
 Y'>rlc. Brooklyn and Philadelphia together. 
 
 It w:is an obvious duty to provide for these Asiatic 
 strangers edifying religious instruction. Accordingly, 
 about the beginning of the year 1888, the Rev. H. A. 
 Andrea.sian was invited to come from Harpoot and 
 minister to them in theirown tongue. Mr. Andreasian 
 was a disciple of the .Vmerican missionaries, and had 
 become an evangelical Protestant as towards the Gre- 
 gorian Church. He had been an ordained minister 
 and preacher at Harpoot for twenty-one years. On 
 receiving the call t'rom Worcester he was given leave 
 of absence from his charge in Harpoot for from one 
 to three years. A place for worship was secured in 
 Summer Street Chapel, and there every Sabbath a 
 large portion of the Armenians in Worcester have 
 diligently attended upon his ministry. There is yet 
 no organized church, and the congregation embraces 
 Gregorian as well as Protestant Armenians. The 
 communion of the Lord's Supper is observed four 
 times a year, and to it are invited " all who love the 
 Lord .lesus Christ." The version of the Bible in use 
 is that published by the American Bible Society in 
 the Armenian language. The singing is congrega- 
 tional, conducted by Mr. M. S. T. Nahigian, who 
 came to Worcester almost before any other jVrnieiiian. 
 A serious clruwback upon the future of the .Vrnienians 
 in Worcester is the almost entire absence of .\rmen- 
 ian women, caused by the refusal of the Turkish Gov- 
 ernment to allow them to emigrate. The entire con- 
 gregation on the last Sabbath of the year 1888 con- 
 Hinted of men, and mostly of young men. Mr. An- 
 dreasian regarded this as such a serious matter that 
 lie was determined to discourage the Armenian im- 
 migration, unles4 the women came also. About 
 filtecn hundred dollars a year have been raised among 
 them -elves for church and burial purposes here and 
 contributions to their poor at home. They have 
 manifested their gratitude and a fine sense of the fit- 
 ness of things liy also making a voluntary i:onlril>U' 
 tion of two hundred dollars to ilie fiinds of the City 
 Hospital. 
 
 Germans. — In 1875 the number of persons in 
 Worcester born in Germany was four hundred and 
 three. Thirteen years later the number of this na- 
 tionality was estimated at somewhat more than one 
 thousand. Of these a small portion are of the Koman 
 Catholic faith, but without any separate church or- 
 ganization. The bulk of these are free from all 
 ecclesiastical connection, except — as a leader of this 
 sort put the case — " each is a little church by him- 
 self" Formerly, and froln time to time, the Prot- 
 estant Germans essayed to establish a German 
 church, but with more of failure than of success. 
 In 1S86 Charles H. Stephan, a layman of German 
 birth, came to the city and was much dissatisfied at 
 finding such religious desolation among his country- 
 men. He at once bestirred himself to do what he 
 might to remedy the evil. The result of his efforts 
 was that, on the 30th of November, 1886, a com- 
 pany of Protestant Germans was Ijrouglit together 
 for religious service and worship. This first meet- 
 ing was held in the Swedish Lutheran Church on 
 Mulberry Street. A mission service continued to be 
 held from that time on until April 10, 1888, when a 
 church was organized under the name of the Evan- 
 gelical Lutheran Church. Ten persons became mem- 
 bers by signing the "constitution," and Charles H. 
 Stephan and Walter Lester were elected deacons. 
 The " unchanged " (tKuarta^a) Augsburg Confession 
 was made the basis of the organization. The two 
 sacraments are baptism and the Lord's Supper. Bap- 
 tism is uniformly administered to infants a few days 
 after birth by a ternary pouring of water from the 
 hand upon the infant's brow. The Lord's Supper is 
 administered four times a year, under the imperative 
 rule of the Lutheran Church. In regard to this 
 sacrament, Luther's doctrine of consubstantiation is 
 strictly held by this Worcester church ; the body 
 and blood of Christ are received under and with 
 the bread and wine, but not in the bread and wine 
 transubstantiated, as the Romish Church teaches. 
 The minister of the church is the Rev. F. C. Wurl, 
 of Boston, who serves as a missionary under ap- 
 pointment by the German Home Ml.sslon, at Brook- 
 lyn, N. Y. Preaching is held In the hospitable and 
 catholic Summer Street Chapel every alternate Sun- 
 day, while a Sunday school is maintained every 
 Sunday. The average attendance upon the preach- 
 ing is forty-five and thirty at the Sunday school. 
 
 CiTV M1.S.SIONS.— The Trinitarian Congregatlonal- 
 isls hail for many years maintained an unincoriHirated 
 City .Missiotiary Society. But under the clHcient and 
 stimulating lead of the Rev. Henry A. Stimson, 
 D.D., with the hearty co-operation of others, both 
 clergy and laity, a corporation was legally organized 
 and established, Decendier 10, 18s:t, nmler the name 
 of the Wureester City Missionary Society. 'I'he ob- 
 ject of the society was " to promote religion and mor- 
 ality in the city of Worcester and vicinity by the 
 employment of misslonnrica; the establishment and 
 
40 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF WORCESTER. 
 
 support of churches, Sunday schools, mission sta- 
 tions and chapels for the preaching of the Gospel of 
 Jesus Christ; for the diffusion of Evangelical knowl- 
 edge and for the fostering of such works of benevo- 
 lence as are especially adapted to commend religion 
 to those who undervalue or are ignorant of it." 
 This step rapidly led to a great enlargement of 
 Christian activity and giving in the direction of city 
 missions. Before the incorporation, the sum of $500 
 was about the limit of the fund annually raised for 
 the uses of the society. After the incorporation, as 
 appears by the several annual reports, the amount 
 raised was, in the firot year,' $2778.23 ; in the second 
 year, $3«70.69; in the third year, $3764.81; in the 
 fourth year, $3886.53 ; and in the fifth year, $4006.71. 
 V/ith these means in hand a superintendent and as- 
 sistants were employed, the city was canvassed, mis- 
 sions were established and preaching in them was 
 maintained. Out of all this three organized churches 
 have grown up, one of which speedily took matters 
 into its own hands, became strong and erected one of 
 the finest churches in the city. The Rev. Albert 
 Bryant has been the efficient superintendent from 
 the beginning. At the close of the year 1888 the so- 
 ciety owned three chapels, valued at $16,000. 
 
 In the autumn of 1881, the Baptist Churches took 
 measures for the united prosecution of city mission 
 work. On the 25th of March, 1885, this enterprise 
 took body and form by becoming incorporated under 
 the name of the Worcester Baptist City Mission 
 Boaid. The object of llje association, as declared in 
 the Articles of agreement, was " to promote religion 
 and morality in the city of Worcester and vicinity, 
 tlie establishment and support of churches, Sunday 
 scliools, mission stations and chapels under the gen- 
 eral management of Baptists, the employment of mis- 
 sionaries to labor in said city and vicinity for the 
 furtherance of the above-named objects and the ad- 
 vancement of the cause of evangelical religion." 
 The policy adopted was to have all the Baptist 
 Churches represented in the Board and all con- 
 tribute according to ability. Moreover, it was held 
 to be good policy for each church to have special 
 charge of some one mission, and, if able, to bear all 
 its expenses. The French Mission was reserved 
 from this arrangement and kept under the control of 
 the Board. This mission was organized in 1881, and 
 was placed under the charge of Rev. Gideon Aubin 
 in 1886. Its support, in part, is furnished by the 
 Home Baptist Mission of New York City. Other 
 missions under the charge of this Board are, one at 
 Quinsigamond and one on Canterbury Street, both 
 of which were organized in 1885, and a mission at 
 Adams Square, which was begun in 1886. The 
 amount of property held by the Board and invested 
 principally in three chapels is somewhat le s than 
 $10,000. ' 
 
 In the spring of 1888, a mission of the New Jeru- 
 salem Church, or Sweden borgians, was begun in 
 
 Worcester. Such a mission had been established in 
 1874, had been continued for nearly four years and 
 had then come to an end. The numbers embraced 
 in the new mission did not exceed a score at the 
 close of the year 1888, and were all women. These 
 provided a place of assembly, which is in Walker 
 Building, and there on stated Sundays the Rev. Wil- 
 lard H. Hinkley, of Brookline, Mass., a secretary of 
 the General Convention, ministers to them as :i 
 missionary of the New Church. There is no church 
 organization ; the members belong to.different church- 
 es in Boston and elsewhere. It appears from the 
 New Church "Almanac" for 1889 that the number 
 of societies in America then in "organized existence" 
 was 141 ; the estimated number of " New Church- 
 men," 10,178 ; the number of churches and chapels, 
 82; and the total number of clergy in active service 
 and otherwise, 113. Swedenborg died in 1772. His 
 doctrines were first introduced into America in 
 1784 ; and the first New Jerusalem Church in the 
 United States was organized in 1792, in Baltimore. 
 The first society in Massachusetts was instituted in 
 Boston on the 15th of August, 1818; the whole 
 number in the State in 1888 was nineteen. 
 
 Besides the foregoing, there are various other mis- 
 sions, denominational and undenominational, that 
 are independent and self-supporting. 
 
 In 1888, the total valuation, by the assessors, of 
 church property, exclu.sive of schools, parsonages and 
 other parochial property, was .$1,794,900. This amount 
 was distributed among the several denominations 
 as follows : Trinitarian Congregation alists, $577,300; 
 Roman Catholics, $451,800; Baptists, $193,300; 
 Methodists, .$171,500; Episcopalians, $165,100; Uni- 
 tarian Congregationalists, $98,400 ; Universalists, 
 $69,300 ; Disciples of Christ, $27,600 ; Swedish Lu- 
 therans, $11,500, and the balance among the smaller 
 organizations. The cost of the New Old South, not 
 yet exhibited on the books of the assessors, would 
 increase the total valuation by more than $100,000. 
 The real value of the whole would no doubt exceed 
 $2,000,000. 
 
 Our historical review shows ihat while the largest 
 growth has been in the line of the oldest church, the 
 city has also been greatly hospitable towards other 
 creeds of later advent within its bounds. 
 
 In the preparation of this sketch of the Worcester 
 churchts the following is a partial list of the authori- 
 ties and sources of information which have been con- 
 sulted: Lincoln's " History of Worcester," Lincoln's 
 " Historical Notes " (in manuscript), Smalley's " Wor- 
 cester Pulpit," Bancroft's "Sermons," Austin's "Ser- 
 mon on War of 1812," " Pamphlets on the Goodrich 
 and Waldo Controversy, 1820," et seq.; "Sketches of 
 the Established Church in New England," Hoffman's 
 "Catholic Directory," Hill's "Historical Discourse," 
 " Journal of Convention of Protestant Episcopal 
 Church,'' Dorchester's " Early Methodism in Worces- 
 ter" (in manuscript). Roe's "Beginnings of Method- 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL IIISTOKY OF WORCESTER. 
 
 41 
 
 iam in Worcester" (in manuscript), Green's "Glean- 
 ings from History of Second Parish in Worcester," 
 Davis' " Hiistorical Discourse on Fiftieth Anniversary 
 of First Baptist Church," Wayland's " Sermon on 
 Twenty-fifth Anniversary of his Ordination as Pastorof 
 Main Street Baptist Church," Barton's " Epitaphs," 
 Drake's " American Uiograpiiy," Liturgy of New 
 Jerusalem Church, New Church Almanac; printed 
 manuals of the various churches and societies, manu- 
 script records of same, including records of First 
 Parish at City Hall, and of the church therewith 
 
 connected (Old South) in the last century, in the 
 handwriting of Rev. Mr. Maccarty ; Worcester Spy 
 newspaper, ancient copies of Psalm-books, "Twenty- 
 tilth .\Mnivtrsary E.xcrcises of First Universalist 
 Society," " One Position " of Disciples of Christ, 
 Thayer's "Christian Union." Much information has 
 also been obtained from pastors and other living 
 persons, actors in and having knowledge of what took 
 place. In this way knowledge of what is written 
 about the Swedish, .Vrminian, German and Jewish 
 ecclesiastical matters were chicliy obtained. 
 
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