F 74 
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 ^>!?J 
 
 A DISCOURSE 
 
 
 V 
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE ESTABLISHMENT 
 
 OF 
 
 THE FIRST PARISH IN CARLISLE, 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 DKl.nKh'EI) IN THE FIKST PAKISH CHUKCH, CAliLlSLE, MASS., 
 OX SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 187!). 
 
 BY REA\ JAMES J. TWISS. 
 
 K. 
 
 LO WEX^I^ : 
 
 .STONE, I'.ACIIKLI.KK .V I.I VINtlSTOX, PRINTKK.S, No. 18 .JACKSON ST., FISKE'S HLOCK. 
 
 IRTO. 
 
 'm^-i' 
 
 
A DISCOURSE 
 
 UI'ON 
 
 THE IIJSTOIIV OF TIIK ESTABLISHMENT 
 
 OF 
 
 THE FIRST PARISH IN CARLISLE, 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 l)i;i,l\EKED IN TIIK FIJtST I'AIMSII ClirKCll. ( A 1;1.IS1,E, MASS., 
 ON SINDAV. KKHia AKV l.'.:. l><7;t. 
 
 BY Jl¥A\ JAMES J. TWISS. 
 
 STONK, liACIIKIJ.KK A- 1,1 VINCSI'l >N, I'KI NTl'.llS, No. IH .lACKSOX ST., FISKK'S lU.OCK. 
 
 187!). 
 
'01 
 
 J 
 
 (' x I T '■ \ 
 
 I 
 
DISCOURSE. 
 
 " Woniau, believe nie.Mlie hour eonietli, when ye shall neither worship in this 
 
 monntiiin, nor yet at .Icrnsaleni. worshiii the Katlier lint the honr eometli, 
 
 and now is, when the trne worsliipjiers shall worship the Father in si)irit and in 
 truth." — John iv: iM— L'.!. 
 
 In the sjiirit of tliese words tlie Pilo^fiiu fathers of New 
 Enghuid cnine to these shores, more tlmii two et'iiliiries :igo. 
 Denied freedom of speeeli, and perseeuted for o])iiiioirs sake, 
 they fled from their native Land, and fonnd a liome :ind country 
 on this eontinent. They knew tliat God was not necessarily 
 worshijtped, exclusively, in any one jjlace ; th.at no longer ;it 
 Mount (^erizim or in Jerusalem must the devout believer offer 
 the expression of liis reverence and love; l)ut that wheresoever 
 the sincere worshi]>per sliould siii'iiify, in sj»irit iind in truth, his 
 desire to adore God, there would God he accessible to him. 
 
 And our fathers did not come to this land to promote their 
 niateritU welfare. At least, they were sure that a supcrstiuct iirc 
 of temporal )>rosperit v, to be permanent, must ri'sti upon the 
 foundation of relin'ion. And so the minister was one of tin; 
 coloiiv, as essentially so, as tlie farmer, or tlie meeliauic, or the 
 doctoi-. The church was one of tlu' first institutious estaltlished 
 in tlie community or town. Indee(l, in a (H'rtain sense, it com- 
 prehended all others; for the sanction and snp]»ort of tlu' 
 ministci- and church were necessary to the success of any enter- 
 prise. Whatever tiiey condemned, w;us generally shoit-li\ cd. 
 Whatever tliey a|>])roved was pretty sure to succeed. 
 
 Tlie motive, then, which, as ;i general thing, impelled our Pil- 
 grim fathers to cross tlie ocean and build liere a Jiome, was the 
 desire "to secure a jdaee to worship God according to the <liet;ites 
 of their o\\ n consciences, free from the molestations and ])i'rsecu- 
 tions they liad experienced in Kngland ; free, too, from the un- 
 congenial surrotindings, the irregular habits of life, the strange 
 and uncouth language, the licentiousness of youth, t he manifold 
 
temptations, and tlic neglect of the ol)servance of tlie Lord's day 
 as a Sabbath, Avhich tliey had so hiniented in Ilolhind." They 
 were not mere adventnrers. They did not come to acquire 
 wealth, or social, or ])olitical distinction. They came in 
 obedience to the dictates of the Christian religion, and by 
 the direction of Divine Providence, to build here a Ch'ristian 
 Church, which should embody more of Christ's truth than 
 any then known to the world, and, without lieing aware 
 of it, to prepare for a more ample and varied a})[)lication of this 
 truth among men. 
 
 Very truly, therefore, does another say : "We can not be 
 too often reminded that it was the Christian religion which 
 effected the first ]>ermanent settlement in New England. All 
 other motives had failed. Commerce, the fisheries, the hojie of 
 discovering mines, the ambition of founding colonies, all had 
 been tried, and all had failed. But the Pilgrims asked of God, 
 and he gave them the heathen for their iidieritance, and the 
 uttermost j»arts of the earth for their possession." 
 
 Whoever reads the history of New England will observe 
 that this truth has been confirmed in the settlement of most, if 
 not all the older towns, the date of which, reaches back a century 
 or more. It Avill be found that the church Avas the nucleus 
 around which clustered the new community, and for the exist- 
 ence of wUich the new community had l)eci)me an organi/A'd 
 l)ody. If the church did not auticipate the town ; neither did the 
 town antici]>ate tlie church. The existence of the former was 
 never conceived .save as being the location of the latter. The 
 establishment of the two was almost simultaneous. 
 
 Such, then, were the circumstances under Avhich, substantial- 
 ly, the parish here rejiresented to-day came into existence, one 
 liundred and twenty years ago. I say substantially the }>arish, 
 for the first meeting-house for public worship ever erected in 
 this town, was built in 17C)0 or '01, and was placed very near the 
 spot occupied by the temj)le in which we are now assembled. 
 
 One of your older citizens, himself more familiar with the 
 early history of the town than most of us, caused to be printed in 
 the local newspaper, little less than one year since, a statement 
 of a few facts of which I very gratefully avail myself, and 
 from which it appears that " on the first day of July, 1758, 
 Timothy Wilkins, of Concord, in the County of Middlesex, and 
 His Majesty's Province of Massachusetts Bay, moved there- 
 unto, as he quaintly informs us, by 'the love and regard he had 
 
for tlic |>iililic w orsliip of ( ioil, .•iiid 1 he ^'ood of his iinhors inul 
 ft'llow-cicturi's,' (Iccdcd Miid coiivcyt'd to John (Ji-cl-m and t'k'vrii 
 others of CoiU'oi-d, TIioiikis S|i;d(liii^ and {\\v o(ht'r.s of ClK'hiis- 
 ford, and .lames Xiekles of IliHerica, a lot of hnid, for tlie '• Coii- 
 venanev of hnildiuii' ■'' iiieetinii-house for the pulilie \vorslii]» t»f 
 God, and otlier |iul(lie usc's.' Tliis Land is (he space snrroundino- 
 tliis (liiii'cli, iiiehidinL;' tiial whieh it stands on, and what is 
 ealk'd, ' tiie Coninion/ '' 
 
 Here, then, the first Christian ehiirrh, in what, was after- 
 wai'ds (^arlisle, lint tiien Coneord, was erected. Its dimensions 
 were linmhU', bnt am|>h' enonuh for the nundier of those who 
 desired, fi-om week to week, to gather thei-ein. 
 
 The ostensilth- ]inr|Hise of linildini;' a new ehui'cli, and 
 estahlishinn' a new religions society in this locality, was hinted at 
 by the graiit<n- of the laml referred to. With himself and his 
 iieiii'hhoi-s there was a feeling' that the ehurch(>s at Concord, at 
 Chelmsford, at Hillerica and at Acton, were so remote as to 
 t)eeasioii ti'reat iiicon\ cnience to those who desii-ed to attend 
 divine service from this re<;-i()ii. Unt before this time, as ai){)ears 
 from tlie records, strenuous l)ut unsuccessful efforts liad bi'en 
 made to accomjilish the same I'csidt. 
 
 In 1740 the subject of ori;aiii/,ini;' a new town from parts of 
 Concord, Billerica, (lielmsfoi-d and Acton, bey'an to be an'itated, 
 and was contiinied fi'oni tinu' to time, the aforesaid towns, 
 iiowever, refusing to give their consent, until 17^)4, when Concord 
 allowed a portion of her own tei'ritory, on the northern boundary, 
 to be ('(instituted a district, called Cai'lisle. Greater convenience 
 for attending pidtlic religi(Uis worshi]i w as the reason assigned 
 for tliis movement. 
 
 lint the wa\' seemed not to lie free from ditticidties even 
 thougli till' mother-town had gi'anteil the desire of hei' importu- 
 nate and restless child ; foi- after a three years' strugi^le to agree 
 u|)Ou a location for a cliurch, holding moi-e than twenty district 
 meetings, Ix'sides calling in the aid of sexcral committees, and 
 tinallv invoking the assistance of the(u'neral Court, the people 
 bccanu' discouraged, ]>etitione(l to lie, and were, restored once 
 more to the maternal cMubrace. 
 
 As the ditlicultv to select a location for a church would 
 seem to have been the rock on which the efforts of the people to 
 establisli a new parish wei"e wrecked, the danger was subse(|uent- 
 Iv avoided by the geiierousdiear1e(I Wilkins, who deedi-d to 
 certain men, as trustees, a tract of laml which hencetorth tor a 
 
6 
 
 century — and may I not say, for all time to come? — was to lie the 
 spot whereon should stand a temj)le dedicated to the worship 
 of God. 
 
 The first church erected in this town was not only humble 
 in dimensions but "rude in appearanc." It Avas but a rough- 
 boarded structure, destitute of clapboards, innocent of 'paint, 
 and fui-nishcd only with benches for seats, in which condition 
 it remained for twenty years. And yet, religious services were 
 held in it constantly on Sundays during all this time, though 
 there was no settled pastor — not even an organized church. 
 " Often," it is said, " did its rude walls resound to the bold, 
 zealous, imjiassioned and enthusiastic words of Rev. Daniel 
 Bliss, of Concord, one of the most distinguished clergymen of 
 his day. And once in August, 1764, the celebrated Whitfield, 
 from its south doorsteps, preached to an audience far too large 
 to be accommodated within. And from its portals, as tradition 
 declares, on the morning of the 19th of Aj)ril, 1775, nineteen 
 men, called together from the neighboring hamlets l)y the drum 
 of Timothy Wilkins and the horn of James Kemp, started for 
 Concord, under the direction of Lieut, James Russell and Samuel 
 Heald, to join in the fight at the old North Bridge, and to 
 pursxxe the retreating foe back to Boston," 
 
 About the time this (the first) church was erected, the peace 
 of the New England churches began to be disturbed by the views 
 and feelings which Mr. Whitfield, the eloquent divine who had" 
 then recently arrived from England, caused very Avidely to ])revail. 
 
 For several years the work of devising and adojiting a 
 uniform system of church government and discii)line throughout 
 New England, had engaged the attt'ntion of the ministers and 
 people. And "this work," says the historian of Chelmsford, 
 Rev. Wilkes Allen, "had just been accoin])lished by the wisdom 
 and perseverance of the fathers of the New England cliui-ches, 
 which had enjoyed l>ut a short peace, when a host of mushroom 
 exhorters and lay preachers, who owed their origin to Mr. 
 Whitfield, sprung up and made inroads u}>on tlie })eace and 
 order of Christian societies and churches. From his (Mr. 
 Whitfield's) example, powerful eloquence, and infiammatory 
 zeal, many settled ministers were induced to i)lay the Bi^ho]) in 
 another's diocess ; and many illiterate persons to assume the 
 oftice of itinerating ])reachers." 
 
 The church in Chelmsford seems to have been sjiecially dis- 
 turbed by these influences, "Many members," it is said, " Avere 
 
seduced from the siin|ilicity ;ind (ii-dci- of tlic l!,-os|k'I, 1o tlie gi-cat 
 o-rief of their l)retlireii and of tlieir stated ])astor," llev. ]Mr. 
 Bridge. At onetime " no h'ss than fifteen |>ei-sons were called 
 before the church to answer to the charge of disordei-l\- conduct 
 and violation of covenant engagements, in going after vagi-ant 
 ])reaclicrs and lay exhortcrs.'" And it was of a number of this 
 class of jx'rsons who re(|uestcd to be dismissed fidui the Cliclms- 
 foi'd church, that they might unite with others in forming a 
 church in Carlisle, that Mr. Jiridge declared: "• 'J'wentv years 
 have I been grieved with that generation. 1 uInc my most* 
 hearty consent to tln'ii- dismission.'"" 
 
 It would seem that those mIio constituted the original 
 members of this parish, or religious association of men and 
 women — those who worshipjx'd for twenty years in the first 
 chui-ch in tliis town — sympathizcMl laigcly with the \ lews and 
 policy of Mr. Whitfield, between whom and Rev, Mi'. IJliss, of 
 Concord, there was also, I infer, an agreement of ojjiiuon. 
 
 Mr. Wliitfiehl, ^yllile in college at Oxford, England, united 
 with John Wesley, the father of Methodism, and with several 
 other students, in the formation of a society which had for its 
 purpose, not so much the ])rosecution of their studies as the 
 promotion of their religious ijn])rovement, Wesley and Whitfield 
 especially being impatient Avith the religious indifference and 
 coldness of the established church. To acc(>niplish the end in 
 view, the young men lived by rule and held fre(|ui'nt meetings 
 for devotional j)urposes, thus exciting the ridicule of their 
 fellow-students, and at length i-eceiving the name of Methodists. 
 
 This society came finally to nund)er al)out fifteen members, 
 and religion soon constituted the soh^ business of their meetings. 
 They regularly visited the prisoners and the sick, and fasted on 
 Wednesdays and Fridays. Of course their religious zeal was 
 increased, and they gi-ew more and more impatient with the 
 indifference of the church to which they belonge(l, until they 
 practically withdrew themselves from that communion. Whit- 
 field and Wesley soon became ])opular ])reachei-s with tlie 
 masses, and drew^ crowds wherever they went. 
 
 In the course of time Wliitfiehl, having bi-en denied the use 
 of j)ul])its in which he had l)efore preaclied, resorted to the 
 open air, an<l thus introduced field-] )reaching, addressing many 
 thousands with great success. Wesley di<l not at first a)>proye 
 of the new method, but tinalh' ac<juiesced, and the two men pro- 
 ducetl a womlerful sensation. 
 
But tliey were not destined to continue together. In 1740, 
 a sejjaration took place between them, Mr. Whitfield having 
 become a decided and ardent Calvinist ; Mr. Wesley, an equally 
 warm supporter of Armenian doctrines. 
 
 Mr. Whitfield continued to preach to immense crowds of 
 peojtle, Avho were greatly wrought upon by his eloquence, fervor 
 and novel ideas concerning j)ersonal religion. So far from re- 
 straining the enthusiasm awakened by his eloquence among the 
 })eo})le, he encouraged it, and thus condemned the more moderate 
 'and reserved methods practiced by other religious sects. Mr. 
 Whitfield journeyed back and forth between England and America 
 several times during his life. 
 
 Somewhere about 1757 he landed in Boston, and commenced 
 to travel and ))reach throughout New England. And it was 
 not far from this time, I infer, that the agitation was at its height 
 which so disturbed the Clielmsford church, and pi-obably affected 
 more or less other churches in this region. The advocates of the 
 new and exciting methods of religious worship were styled New 
 Lights; and the people in this vicinity seemed to have been 
 early infected with the mania. 
 
 That all those who originally worslii])ped in the humble 
 First Cliurch of this town were dissatisfied with the administra- 
 tion of the Gospel in the several churches to which they pre- 
 viously belonged, is not certain. Indeed, such could not have 
 been the case ; for at that time the pastor of the Concord 
 church. Rev, Mr. Bliss, was, as I understand, in full sympathy 
 with Mr. Whitfield, and of course none of his peoj)le who shared 
 the same sentiments would desire to withdraw from his fold 
 because they failed to be edified by his ministry. But this was 
 the cause of the desire to withdraw from the Clielmsford church 
 on the part of " that generation " which had, for twenty years, 
 so deeply grieved the soul of good Mr. Bridge, the pastor. They 
 claimed that they were not edified by Mr. Bridge's ministry, and 
 desired to unite with other and kindred spirits, in establishing a 
 church in Carlisle, 
 
 Mr. Bridge regarded with decided aversion the methods of 
 the so-called New Lights, and probably did not fail to express his 
 feelings Avith marked emphasis. Besides, so far as the- people 
 that constituted the original parish in this town sympathized 
 with Mr. Whitfield and Mr. Bliss, the Concord minister, in 
 theological views, they Avere Calvinists. So that probably the 
 religious services that Avere held in the First Church in this town, 
 
for the first twenty years at'tcr it was erected, were cliietly 
 Cnlviiiistic in doctrine. Therefore, it is also ]u-ol»alih' that tlie 
 malcontents of the Chelmsford cliurch were (Jalvinistit^ in doe- 
 ti'ine ; and this distnrhed jNIi-. Brido-e (|nite as much as did the 
 new forms and methods ot' reliuioiis worship introduced hv 
 Whittield and his com]»eers; for the histoi'ian of Chelmsford 
 informs us that Mr. l^ridu'e's a\ci-sion towards Cah inists, or 
 Hopkinsiaiis, was so intense that he couhl hardly treat them 
 with civility when he met them. 
 
 The ])resent genei'ation, in this vicinity, can have hut a faint 
 idea of the excitement tiiat attended the new foi'ins of worshijt 
 to which I have referred. A descrij)tion of th(^ manner of the 
 preaching of Mr. Bliss, tlu' C^»ncol•d minister, and its effect, lias 
 been handed to me, which is said to have originally a|i])eai-ed in 
 the Jjoston J'Jrenin;/ Post, IMarch 14, 174o, ami to have been 
 Avritten by one who heard him. "He began," says the writer, 
 "in low, moderate strains, and went on for sometime in the 
 same manner; but towards the (do.s<-' of his sermon he l)egan to 
 raise his voice and to use many extravagant gestures; and then 
 began a considerable groaning amongst his auditors, perceiving 
 which, he raised his voice still higher, and the congregation was 
 in the utmost confusion. Some were crying out in the most 
 doleful accents, some howling, some singing, others laughing, 
 and Mr. Bliss still roaring at them to come to CMirist, they 
 answering, 'I Mill,' 'I will,' 'I 'im eoming,' 'I am coming.' " 
 
 We can well imagine, perhaps, how such an exciting, 
 boisterous, undignified mode of -worship Avould inijiress many of 
 tlie staid, circumspect ami conservative of our fathers, who 
 believed in letting their moderation be known unto all men. 
 
 Nevertheless, for twenty years the Fii-st Cliurch in this 
 town was occupied by those who deemed it their pri\ ilege to 
 cherish and ex])ress sucdi convictions ot" religious tiaith, and in 
 that wav as to them sei'me(l t(» be approved of (Jod. And 
 while their views of doctrine, and tln'ir methods of worsliip may 
 not, in all j-es[)ects, commend themselves to the judgment of 
 their descendants, we may not doubt their siiu-erity in desiring 
 to l)ecome the true disciples of their Divine Master. 
 
 It is probable that religious services were conducted in the 
 First Cliurch during the first twenty years after its erection, 
 chiefly l)y those ])ersons whom jMr. Allen, the Chelmsford liisto- 
 rian, denominates "mushroom exhorters ami lay preachers." 
 
10 
 
 At lengtli, however, the efforts of the people to obtain an 
 act from the Legislature, incorjjorating them into a town, having 
 been successful, the time had arrived for the partially finished 
 church edifice to pass into the hands of new proprietors; and 
 accordingly the town, by some act of the trustees not of record, 
 received from them (they having held it till now) the title to 
 the land and the building. This occurred in 1780, the year in 
 Avhich the town Avas incorporated ; and it was in this church 
 that the first town meeting was held. 
 
 From this ])eriod there began to be apparent a new aspect 
 of things. The j)eople were no longer citizens of several differ- 
 ent municipalities, but they Avere fellow-townsmen, having the 
 same interest in the material, social, intellectual and spiritual 
 welfare of themselves and their descendants. All things must 
 now be surely done "decently and in order," however irregular 
 may have been past proceedings in respect of religious and civil 
 affairs. 
 
 It might have been expected that but little time Avould 
 elapse before a Christian church would be estal)lished, since, in 
 the language of the day, a '■'■meeting-house,'''' however incomplete, 
 had been placed in possession of the ncAvly incorporated town. 
 Therefore Ave learn that on the "28tli of Febi-uary, 1781, the First 
 Congregational C'hurch of Carlisle Avas duly established, and that 
 on the 7th of Novend)er, succeeding, Kev. Paul Litchfield, the 
 first minister of the town, was ordained. 
 
 And these services occurred in the first church edifice, 
 Avliich had been recently clapboarded, painted and tAventy-four 
 l^CAVS jnit in on the loAver floor. Subsequently, "in 1793, further 
 imi^rovements Avere made, including the erection of a pul]>it, and 
 nineteen peAvs, Avliich Avere placed in the gallery." "And here for 
 the first thirty years of his long ministry," to quote the language 
 of the friend already referred to, " were Mr. Litchfield's eai-nest 
 words of reproof, warning and encouragement echoed fioni the 
 qxiaint old sounding-board suspended over the pulpit." 
 
 In those days it was customary to settle a minister for life. 
 And so another custom prevailed which seemed to belong to, or 
 was a part of, the rule of life-settlements. Hence we learn that 
 Avhen Mr. Litchfield Avas called to be the minister of the town, it 
 was stipulated that he should receive a salary of £80 per annum, 
 and in addition to that £150 as a settlement, all in silver money. 
 And this custom of giving the new minister, at the commence- 
 ment of his term of service, settled, as it Avas supi)Osed, for life, a 
 
11 
 
 sum of money, oi' oilier |>i-o|)('i't\' exclusive of his sal;n'\-, was as 
 liH'iiefal as iIk' rule of life-settlements. Tin* amount tiius i;i'ante(l 
 varied of course according fo cii'ciimstances. I su|i]iosc that, 
 £150 in ^li'. Litchlii'ld's day nii^ht liaxc amountc(l to a sinu not 
 far from ^i'){)i\ of oui- money. And as the |)urchasin<j; power of a 
 (hiHai- was mueli <;-reat('r tlien than now, the ''settk'ment " of Mr. 
 I>itchfield may he considt'red as liaviiiiJ!' heeii (juitc <i,'enerous. In 
 a(hlition to the t'SO sahiry in sih'ei' money, it was also sti|Mdatc(l 
 thai the minister sliould i-eccive twenty-six coi-ds of wood an- 
 nually, and that one liorse and two cows should I)e maintained 
 for him until lie was so situated as to maintain them himself, 
 which, at the exi>ii'at ion of three years, ha\inn' ]Mircliased a farm, 
 lie was ahle to do. 
 
 Mr. Litchfield was ordaine(l N(»vend)er 7, ITSl. The P]ccle- 
 siastienl Council on the occasion was constituted of ]»astors and 
 deleg'ates from the churches in ]>illerica, Be(|ford, Concord, .\c- 
 toii, Ashliy, Franklin (the eminent Dr. Emmons was the ])astor of 
 that church). Situate, Abington, Medway, North Church (New- 
 huryport), St'cond Church in Salem — twelvi' in all. Rev. Sanuu'l 
 S|ii'inu-, of Newhuryjiort, ])reached the ordination sermon. 
 
 It seems a little singular that the chui'ches in Chelmsford, 
 in Wi'stford and in Littleton were not re|»resente<l on this occa- 
 sion, it is to he presuiiu'(l that they were not in\ite(l. And if 
 so, we can imagine the reason in the case of the Chelmsford 
 church, for I suppose the memhers of the First Congregational 
 Chui'ch of Carlisle followe<l in the line of docti'ine tliosi' who 
 erected and worshipped in the ohi first meeting-house, before the 
 incorpoi-atioii of the town. And thai, as I lia\"e said, was Cahin- 
 isni (U' Ilopkinsianism. A church I'epresenl ing sucli theological 
 views would not, therefore, he likely to en joy the sympat hy of 
 the (/helmsford pastor, IJev. Mv. Jjridge, notwithstanding 
 several of the nu'udx'rs of his own chui'ch had exj)ressed a dt'sii-e 
 to l)e dismissed, that tlu'V might help constitute the new church 
 in Carlisle. Indeed, the\ had left his commuinon because he ili<l 
 not believe and teach Cal\inism, oi' Ilopkinsianism. If was 
 not pi-obable, therefore, that he would lie invited to help oi'dain 
 a man who would be selected liy such a chui'ch as theii- pastoi'. 
 And that Mr. Litchfield was a Calvinist is conct'ded. lie co- 
 incided in all points, it is said, with the system of theology then 
 known as IIo])kiiisianism — a form (if the most rigid Calvinism, as 
 taught by Dr. Samuel Hopkins, who pii'ached fur many years in 
 Newport, R. I. 
 
 LofC. 
 
12 
 
 The church coinniciiced with ten men and t went v-f our 
 women, thirteen of wlioni liad |ire\'iously helonu'ed to the eliurcli 
 in Concord. I have not had the means of learning l)y liow many 
 this uuml)er was increased by profession or by letter before the 
 division took ]ilace in the church, which occurred sul)se(]-uently 
 to Mr. Litchfield's death. I suppose the church could never have 
 been called large, though undoubtedly earnest in the work of 
 Christian culture and the promotion of the spread of what the 
 members regarded as Christian theology. They were interested, 
 we Biay believe, in the services of their pastor, Mr. Litchfield, 
 who, it is said, was considered by his contemporaries a deej) 
 thinker and a strong controversialist. His friend, Dr. Church, of 
 Pelham, N. H., who knew him wadl, and fully sympathized in 
 his rigid theological opinions, declared in a sermon delivered at 
 the funeral of Mr. Litchfield, that "he ])ossessed a strong discrim- 
 inating mind, and was fond of deep thought; that the ablest 
 works on theology were his favorite study ; that his views of the 
 essential doctrines of the Bible were distinct and well arranged 
 in his mind ; and that he had the talent of jtresenting these 
 doctrines with ])lainness and force. Who," continued Dr. 
 Church, " could hear him without knowing tlie leading sentiments 
 of his creed? When did he give an uncertain sound? How 
 much did his devotional discussions enforce his exhortations to 
 repent, to believe in Christ and obey the divine command?" 
 
 This testimony of his life-long friend and clerical brother, to 
 the sincerity and plainness of Mr. Litchfield's communications 
 from the pulpit, would seem to confirm the statement of a hear-* 
 er who was a constant attendant upon his ministry, and who 
 said tliat "he seldom delivered a sermon in which he did not 
 laud Calvinism, Hopkinsianism and condemn Antinominism, Ar- 
 minianism and Unitai-ianism." It is said that he believed 
 in a millennium and that it Avonld take place, or commence, 
 al)Out 18G6. 
 
 Uj) to the ^Gth of May, 1810, there was no convenience for 
 suspending a bell in connection with the church, and a })roject 
 for building a belfry and ])r()curing a bell had for some time been 
 agitated by the people. But on the day mentioned the church 
 was struck by lightning and entirely consumed. 
 
 " Ten days after the destruction of the old church, a town- 
 meeting was held on the common, at which it was voted to pro- 
 ceed without delay, to adopt the necessary preliminary measures 
 for erectincc a meetino^-house." 
 
18 
 
 Siil)s('((uciifl V (he ii('ccss:ii-y funds were ))r()\i(]('(l, tlic locu- 
 tion nuTi'cd u|kiii, . -111(1 a liiiildiiiL:; (•(iiniiiitlcc, cut ntstc(| with full 
 |M)wcrs, was chosen. That cominittcc was c()ni|>(»scd of Asa 
 Parlin, Tiioiiias llcald and Xatlian (Jrccn, Ji-. The i-csidt of 
 those efforts was the religious teiii|de in which we are now 
 assembled. As is known, oriuiiially the aiidieiuH'-rooin of this 
 church included tlie entire space of the inside of tiie house; 
 that is, what is now called Union Hall, beneath this room, was 
 the lower floor of the church, containing forty-four pews, while 
 the gallery, which I su{)]iose was on a level with the floor of 
 this room, an<l extended around three sides of tlu' l)uilding, con- 
 tained sixteen ])ew^s, one of which on the left liand side, Ix'hind 
 the dooi-, being reserved for the benefit of colored ])eople, whicdi 
 shows that the fathers Avere not entirely free from what has 
 sometimes been called " colorphobia/' This church was dedicated 
 on the second Sunday -in December, 1811, the religious services 
 being conducted by the pastor, Rev. Mr. Tiitchheld. 
 
 In 1852 this church w^as remodeled within and thoroughly 
 repaired without. A floor was laid across, at tlu' lieight of the 
 galleries, from side to side, which left the hall below- and this 
 room above, an improvement which lias commended itself to the 
 judgment and convenience of the parish, and village, and town. 
 The cost of these im])rovements w^•ls, T am told, about $1200, 
 which was earned and solicited by the "Ladies' Union," an asso- 
 ciation of ladies connected with the parish. The persons who 
 acted as a c(»mmittee to obtain these subscriptions were Mi's. 
 •Irene G. Wheat, Mrs. B. F. Heald and Mrs. Fanny Taylor and 
 others. 
 
 In 18(>8 the old spire which, from its exposure to the winds 
 and storms of nearly sixty years, "was thought unsafe, and the 
 present syminetrical one was substituted."" Last year, the out- 
 side of the church was very thiu-oughly re-])ainted; and now there 
 are few places of religious worship in thi' country towns which 
 l)resent a more comely and stately a])j)earance than does this old 
 and reveiH'd temple, built nearly seventy years ago. 
 
 The first indication of aiiy difference of religious sentiment 
 among the members of the ))arish, or the citizens of the town, 
 was observed when arrangements canu' to be made for the 
 funeral of I\Ir. Litchfleld, wdio died in November, 1827. A com- 
 mittee ap])ointed by tlie town desired that llev. Dr. Kipley, of 
 Concord, Rev. Messrs. Allen, of Chelmsford, and Whitman, of 
 Billei-ica, might be invited to take ]»art in the funeral services; 
 
14 
 
 but Deacon Jacol)s and those whom he re})vesente(l objected, 
 because they felt, it was said, that if those ministers were invited 
 they Avould necessarily expect to occupy and sj)eak from the 
 pulpit, which those who sympathized with Mr. Litchfield's theo- 
 logical views were unwilling to sanction, as Messrs. Kipley, Allen 
 and Whitman Avere pronounced Unitarians. I su})pose it may 
 have been thought also, that if Mr. Litchfield had inade the 
 arrangements himself for liis own funeral before his death, he 
 would have excluded the Unitarian ministers. A majority of 
 the town, however, seemed to dissent from the ground taken by 
 Deacon Jacobs and those whom he rej)resented. But if I am 
 correct in my a])prehension, the latter party succeeded in carry- 
 ing out their plans concerning the funeral arrangements. Never- 
 theless, it caused a wound which subsequently was irritated by a 
 vote of the majority of the members of the chui'ch as against the 
 citizens of the town, to take the custody of the church pro})erty 
 nut of the hands of Deacon Green, who sympathized with the 
 town, and placing it in possession of Deacon Jacobs. 
 
 On December 31, 1827, almost immediately after the death 
 of Mr. Litchfield, the town chose a commi'ttee to procure sup- 
 ]»lies for the pulpit. That committee consisted of one mend)er 
 of the church and two ])ersons outside tlie church, Avho were not 
 in sym])atliy with the extreme Calvinistic, TTopkinsiaii theological 
 views of at least a majority of the churcli, but were regarded as 
 being liberal or Unitarian in th'eir sentiments. Nevertheless, the 
 two liberals on tlie committee for the supply of the pulpit, de- 
 ferred to the wislies of tlie one jiiember of the cliurch, and so-* 
 called Orthodox ministers were therefore employed from Sunday 
 to Sunday during the year. And the same committee were 
 cliosen the following year, and the same class of ministers was 
 employed in the same way as those of the previous year, u]» to 
 June 0th, when the churcli extended a call to Rev. Jose])h Clary. 
 Mr. Clary fully sympathized with the late Mr. Litchfield in his 
 theological views, but was considered an indifferent jtreacher. 
 For these or some other reasons the town, l)y a vote of t\\'enty 
 yeas to fifty-one nays, non-concurred w^ith the church in tliis 
 call. And this, I suppose, was the signal for an emphatic protest 
 by the majority of the church against the now obviously growing 
 opposite religious sentiments among the majority of the })arish 
 or town, which ]n-otest took tlie form of a witlidrawal from the 
 parish by the method of, as it was called, " signing off " — being 
 released by their own recpiest from all pecuniary obligations to 
 
15 
 
 su|>|»(>rt fcliLjioiis worsliip in lliis town, .•iml niso iliscouncct iiitj 
 tlicmsclvt'S tVoiii tlic cliiircli, .•it'tcr wliicli tlicy iiiiilcd witli tlic 
 S()-c;ilK'(l Oi-tlidddv (liurcli and Society in Concoi-d. 
 
 As it lias Itccn said : '' In tlic cai'licr jicriod of New Kii^land 
 Conii'reo-ationalisni, tlic clnii'di as distinct fi'oni the asscnildv 
 of worshippers — or the parish or town, as tlie case iniiilit he — 
 took tlie h'ad in all matters peiMaininLi' '" pnhlic woi'ship, the call 
 and settlement of jtastoi's, the determination of the conditions of 
 coniinunion, the nse of ordinances, and indetMl pi'cttv mucli 
 everythini:; hnt the raisim;' and appropi'iation of money." 
 
 '^riie parish or town did, h<)We\('r, exei'cise its pi-ei'oi!,\at i\e 
 when it chost' to do so, of dissenting fi-om the action of the 
 church, especially in callini;,' and decidinij,' t]:e amount of the 
 settiement and salai'y of a |»astoi-. Thus this tow n, or the first 
 ])arisli, voted not t<) concur with the church in callinii' lit'V- -'Mr. 
 Clary to he its pastor, w hei'enpon the dissatisfied meml>ers of tlu^ 
 cliurcli seceded 
 
 8ul)se(|ueiitly they I'l'titioiu'd for tlu' use of the church in 
 which to hold reliL;'ious services wlien not in use hy the town, hut 
 the tow n was disincljnecl to Lirant the re(|uest, or at least it does 
 not ap])ear that tlie town acte(l upon the suliject. 
 
 On tlie (jth of June, IS-J'.I, the town voted to call llev. 
 Ephi'aim Randall to he the ])astor; hut hefore the call was coiii- 
 luuuieatcd to him he had accepte(l one extended to him fi-om 
 West ford. 
 
 On the 2Sth of Decemher, lS"21t, the ])arish chose a commit- 
 tee to ])etition tlie General Court for an act of iiicoi'pcu-ation ; 
 lint upon iiupiirv it was found to he nnnecessary — that the 
 ]iarisli or socii'tv M'ould he a le^'al hodv whenever it should he 
 dispose<l to se\'er its connection with tlu' t(»wn and nianai;'e all 
 its affairs within itself; and so the suhject was never eari-ie(I to 
 the Legislature. 
 
 A eommittee was also elioseii at this time (at a meetinu', I 
 sui)))<)se, of the pai'ish which of course ijieluded the citizens of 
 tlie town, clnireli niemhers and others) to ohtain the ehureli 
 records, and consider what should he done conci'mim;" Deacon 
 Jacohs's assertion that he had none — that is, had no church 
 reeoi'ds in his ])ossessioii. Deacon Jacohs, however, suhsecpiently 
 j)roduced the chiii-ch rt'cords in town-meetiiiu\ hut in a mutilated 
 condition; wlu'i'eiipon it was \-oted to take no further action 
 ill the matter. In IS'29, Novemher Li'Jnd, it was uiianimously 
 voted hy the parish to j^ive Rev. Stejiln'ii Hull a call, the contract 
 
16 
 
 between himself and the parish to he annulled hy either ])arty 
 upon giving six niontlis' notice to that effect. The call was ac- 
 cepted, and the installation occurred December 29th succeeding. 
 Rev. Dr. Ripley, of Concord, j^resided at the council, and Rev. 
 Dr. Eaton, of Boxford, preached the sermon. This union of 
 pastor and people continued vmtil November 29, 1834, when the 
 parish gave the required six months' notice that it desired to 
 annul the contract with Mr. Hull, whose term of service, there- 
 fore, expired on the first day of June, 1835. Rev. Mr. Capron 
 then su})plied the pulpit for several months, when Mr. George 
 W. Stacy received and accepted a call to become the jiastor, and 
 was ordained May 4th, 1836. Rev. Dr. Ripley, of Concord, pre- 
 sided over the council, and Rev. Adin Ballon, of Mendon, )»reach- 
 ed the sermon. He was dismissed at his own request, April 18, 
 1839, and now resides in Milford, Mass. 
 
 Mr. Stacy was the last minister ordained or installed over 
 this parish, all others who have statedly } (reached here being 
 simply acting jiastors, whose engagements were renewed annually. 
 Rev. J. T. Powers occupied the pulpit during eight years, but 
 at two dift'erent periods of time. He was succeeded at the close 
 of his first term of preaching service by Rev. J. T. Smith, now 
 of Tyngsboro'. Other ministei'S have supplied the pulpit for 
 various periods of time — some for a few months, others for a 
 brief period of years. The present speaker has preached from 
 tliis pulpit on Sunday afternoons for a little less than three years". 
 
 The parish was organized as a separate body from the town 
 on March 5, 1832. There are now living but five of the original 
 members — William Green, William Farrar, Paul Forbush, B. F. 
 Heald and Stephen Taylor. Dr. John Nelson was the first parish 
 clerk, B. F. Heald succeeded him the next year, and continued to 
 hold the office, with the exception of five or six years till 1877. 
 William Green has held the ofiice of treasurer of the parish for 
 over twenty years. 
 
 The original members of the First Church and parish of this 
 town have long since gone to their heavenly rest, and the ardent 
 feelings and earnest expressions of religious and theological zeal 
 have been succeeded by a greater degree of mutual forbearance 
 and a warmer regard for fraternal intercourse, and a tendency 
 to jilace less stress on speculative opinions and m^re emphasis 
 on right living and true Christian character everywhere in our 
 land. The un])rofitable and impleasant theological controversies 
 of a hundred and even of fifty years ago, have given j^iace to a 
 
17 
 
 broader style of tlioii<;'lit, a iiioi'e friendly ('(uniiarison of \ lews, 
 and a wonderful union of spirit anions;- all reliuious sects. ^\r. 
 Litelifield l)elieved that tlii' millenniuni \\'ould Ix'iiin in ISCiO. I 
 tliiid< it V)egan before tliat time in the reliuious woi-ld, foi- some 
 of tlie tiereest tlieologieal lions have, for a long time, comparative- 
 ly, l)eeu lying down in jx'aee witli Christian lam1)s in this eountry 
 and in Euro])e. \'ears ago, befoi-e 1 removed from Lowell, I 
 heard one of the leading C/alvinist IJaptist ministei-s of this States 
 publicly dechtre tliat he belie\cd tliere wei'e just as good 
 Christians inside the I'nitarian and I niversalist chiii'ches as 
 could be found anywliere. 'Vvwr he adiletl, that he thought, they 
 were Christians in spite of their i-eligioiis doctriiu's ; not as a 
 result of them. Coidd the de\dted fathers of old ha\e thought 
 the same of the Unitarian church h'fty years ago. Dr. Tli])ley and 
 his bi-ethren had l>een welcomed to the funeral of the veni'rable 
 and lionored Hrst minister of Carlisle. T w ill l)e gratefid, how- 
 ever, that such a bh-ssed change has linally been w roiight, and 
 pray that the good work may go on. 
 
 I must not omit to mention good old Deacon Green, of most 
 blessed memory, whom, 1 am assurecl, no one could know without 
 entertaining for him the deepest xcneratioii and hue. Ilis 
 character is well delineated, it is said, in the lines on his tomb- 
 stone, selected by Uev. Mr. Stacy, his }iastoi-, and are as folIoAVs: 
 
 " To .sect or party liis lariic soul 
 Disdained to be coiilincd; 
 Tlie good lie loved of every iiaiiie, 
 And prayed for all niaidsind." 
 
 He held the office of deat-on before, and he still i-emaine(l \\ ithin 
 its fold after, the division in tlie cliurch occuri-ed, until lu' was 
 called to join the church above. 
 
 Among the faithful workers in the jiaiish in the j)ast was 
 Capt. Thomas Green, who not only renu'udieri'd it in his last 
 will and testament, but whose nuuitle has fallen upon those who 
 Avorthily wear it with his name, in the variecl interests of this 
 parish he so loved. And there were t.yrus Ileald, and Benjamin 
 Barret, and Thomas lleald, an<l James W. Wilkins, and Calvin 
 Heald, who were also faithfid, and left a record which should be 
 an inspiration to those who ai'c now on the field of action. 
 
 I liavc referred to the religious, theological and professional 
 character of the first minister of tliis town. Of the personal a])- 
 ])earance of Mr. Litchtield in old age, James fS. IJussell, tt'acher 
 
18 
 
 of matlieiiiaties in the Lowell High School, says : " He was tall, 
 long-limbed, broad but thin chested, with silver hair combed 
 back and hanging gracefully down over his coat-collar. He 
 dressed in a black, broad-skirted, curve-waisted coat, with minis- 
 terial bands or ruffles. He wore a long vest and knee-breeches, 
 with knee-buckles and long black silk hose. His shoes were 
 large, and were also adorned with silver buckles, three inches 
 square ; and crowning all this costume, was a three-cornered 
 hat." We can imagine with what old-time ministerial dignity this 
 man moved about among his neighbors and the citizens of the 
 town, inspiring them not only with respect and veneration, but 
 some of them with awe. 
 
 It has been said that "the gentleman of the old school could 
 not and would not be careless of the least thing that touched his 
 personality. The cut of his clothes was an outward and visible 
 sign of an inward and spiritual grace. His linen must be sj)ot- 
 less, his clothes dirtless, and his boots polished to very effulgence." 
 
 And Avhat was true of gentlemen of the old school in general, 
 was specially true of old school ministers. For "wherever he 
 was, the old school minister never forgot his ministerial dignity." 
 He wasn't a minister in the 2iu]i)it and a horse-jockey or a hu- 
 morist in the street. If he made a joke, it was a stately Avell- 
 weighed joke — conscientiously made — as by one who felt that he 
 must give an account of every idle word, and did not mean for 
 the sake of a roar of laughter to have the balance against him. 
 
 Thesei " old divines walked the earth like noblemen — men 
 who accepted deference as theirs by right" — men who "would 
 rebuke the vulgar if they failed to sho^ them the respect of an 
 uncovered jjresence." And yet, these old school ministers, not- 
 withstanding their vestment of frigid dignity, had great and 
 tender hearts underneath ; and ^\hen the fount was opened, as it 
 often was, love floAved forth in a noble and generous stream. Of 
 the old school ministers S. G. Goodrich, whom some of you re- 
 member as the " Peter Parley " of your childhood days, says : " In 
 manners they were polite, and somewhat assiduous in their 
 stately courtesies. Tliey ' spoke with authority, and not as the 
 scril)es.' The minister of the gosj^el," Mr. Goodrich continues, 
 "was a father, neighbor, friend, citizen — a man in a lal-ge mid 
 generous sense. Manliness meant godliness, and godliness 
 maidiness." 
 
 It seems but an easy and natural transition now to notice 
 briefly the influence of the churches, at the head of which these 
 
1^ 
 
 old scliool iniiiislci's iircsidcd ;is the (d'.'iclcs of (lod. 'I'o the 
 cliurcli rc'lntidiis, tlu'ii, of New Eiiu'laiid in the olden lime, is lo 
 Itc ascribt'd, lai-o-dy, I fliink, the canse of thai which rcndci-s the 
 [K'oplc of this |»oi-tioii of the land so much more |M-os|icrons in all 
 things that pertain to t he liit;hcsf (•i\ ili/.ation than aiipcars any- 
 w here else in tlic lv('|Md»lic. Judge Iloai-, of Concord, vi-i-v a)itly 
 remarked al the first centenary of the North Chui-ch and Society 
 in Salem, in July, ISTl!, that he looked ''sometimes with resjied, 
 sometimes with adniii-at i(jn, upon modern im|)i'o\cinents." Said 
 he: "1 am a fi-iend of Sunday schools, and I lia\c no doulit liut 
 that they do good;- hut there is no Sunday sciiool instiaiction 
 tluit e\-er |>i-0(luces the effect u|p(Ui the lieart and mind of the 
 cliild ; tliat e\('i- trains u|i such nu'ii and \\(unen; that cAci- gives 
 sucli charactei- and sti'ength to the c(Mnmunity, as (h)cs that at- 
 tending cliui'ch fi'om I'arly childhood, Sunday after Sunda\-, with 
 fathei' and mothei', in those old s(|uai'e ]iews — Itetter perhaps than 
 tlie modern oiu's — under the eye of father and nn)ther, and there 
 acquiring the liahit and feeling of i-eyerence, Lefoi'e tlie under- 
 standing can catch tlie import of the long sermon ; and the in- 
 fluence of these associations lias l>een carriecl westward, and thus 
 New P^ngland chai-actei' and intlnence ha\ e l)een diffused across 
 the continent." 
 
 I pass now^ to say a word of the successors of tlu' tii'st min- 
 ister of this ]iarisli or town. Rey. Mr. Hull had l>een pastor of 
 K)»iscO])al churclies in IJeynliani and Aniesbury, this State, ])re- 
 yiously to his settlement as the ])astor of this ])urisli. Tfe is 
 rej)resented as a gentleman of ])leasing address and an acceptable 
 j)reacher. His want of tact and judgment concerning business 
 affairs, howeyer, sometimes in\'ol\ed him in enibarrassuient and 
 caused his friends to feel much anxiety on his behalf. 
 
 Rey. George Whitenu)re Stacy was, forty years ago, and 
 still is, "an earnest jtreacher, a good worker and a inost zeal- 
 ous reformer."''' This is the \-olunfary testimony of one of the 
 eldei' niend)ers of the pai'ish, who adds: "Tie is one of the l)est 
 men that eyer liyed," to all which we who know him will sin- 
 cerely subscribe. 
 
 Rey. J. T. Rowers is a man of good natural emlownients 
 and of sonu'what extensiyi; genei'al infoianat ion, with not a little 
 origiindity of thought, \vliich enables him often to s])eak in the 
 ])ulj)it with much f<-)rce. His labors in this town (at two differ- 
 ent times) extend oyer a longer period than those of any other 
 minister saye Mr. Litchfield. 
 
20 
 
 liev. J. T. Smith — I am now quoting from the testimony of the 
 }>arish — is a man of the strietest integrity ; an untiring worker for 
 liis parish. Pie wellnigh earned his saLary outside the pulpit in 
 2)aroehial Labors among the peo])le. To all which the first parish 
 of Tyngsboro' can, I am sure, give their hearty confirmation. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Hervey occupied this jtulpit for about two years, 
 tliough I believe he was ecclesiastically connected with the Cal- 
 vinist Baptist Church. Thus was presented the strange anomaly 
 of a Calvinist Baptist minister othciating as acting pastor of a 
 thoroughly liberal Christian society. It is said that he was a 
 pleasant preacher, an amiable man, a Christian gentleman. It is 
 believed that he felt, or knew, there is no difference between 
 good men of all sects — that in all sects ai"e to be found good as 
 well as bad men. 
 
 It is possible that, though T have detained you so long with 
 my imjierfect narrative, there are some things which you ex|)ected 
 I would say, but which you ha^'e not yet heard, and that I would 
 omit some things which you have heard. Perhaps you listened 
 for some person's name that has not yet fallen on your ear ; that 
 other names wei'e more conspicuous in the course of our historic 
 investigations than the case seemed to re({uire. To all these 
 possible hints I can but say that circumstances have not permitted 
 me to make so extensi\'e and critical, and therefore impartial a 
 survey of the ground I have gone o^•er as perhajis a larger op- 
 portunity would have enabled- me to do. I liaA'e, however, iii^ 
 tended to be accurate in statement, true in inference, and catholic 
 or Christian in the treatment of the subject before me and in tiie 
 accom})lishment of the work re(|uired at my hands. 
 
 It but remains to be said, that your church and parisli are not 
 old, as age is reckoned in your mother-town. Concord ; for tin? 
 tirst ])arish in that town began its existence about one hundred 
 and twt'uty-five years before your first church Avas ei'ected, near 
 the s])ot where we are assembled to-day. But the last one hun- 
 dred and twenty years have wrought such changes as the most 
 extravagant and fanciful dreamer could hardly have conjured up 
 in the most fertile of human imaginations. When Timothy 
 Wilkins donated the land for the hrst church in what Avas after- 
 wards the town of C-arlisle, tlie deed was given under the seal of 
 George III. Since then, the few and feeble colonies have become 
 a vast and mighty nation. And the Federal Union, originally 
 composed of thirteen, has been multiplied into thirty-eight States 
 of a consolidated Republic, while three millions of jieople have 
 
21 
 
 incrc'.'ised to a poimlation of forty iiiiUions. Since the iinlc 
 church first began to cclio with religious devotions, two civil w ars 
 have passed over o«r portion of the American Continent, tlirouuh 
 one of which a foreign <'hain that bound us was rent asunder, 
 and by the other a domestic tyrant overthrown. 
 
 And then, what strides liave been taken in the arts of j)eace, 
 in the investigation and results of science, in accomplishing social 
 changes and educational improvements, since the frame of that 
 humble church was raised yonder. What a contrast between the 
 ])ew behind the door, in the gallery of the church, for colored 
 people, and the ofhceof United States Marslial of the District of 
 Columbia, tilled by Frederick Douglass, or the president's chair in 
 the United States Senate occu])ied, in committee of the whole, 
 by the colored Senator from Mississipfti, Mr. Bruce. Socially, 
 the distance between these two events, our fathers would have 
 said, is more than a thousaml years. And so with God a thousand 
 years are but as a day, and a day is as a thousand years. 
 
 Nor have the changes in theology and religious thought been 
 less wonderful and grateful. And no city or town, or village in 
 the land' has been left utterly untouched by their influence. 
 Yours is no exception. The spirit of fraternal regard flows back 
 and forth from those who, though they can not yet fully clasp 
 hands on speculative points of doctrine, do join hearts in the 
 2)rinciple of a sincere and devout love towards God and man. 
 
 Has not the time, therefore, wellnigh arrived when, as at 
 the beginning, the old Congregational Church and Society of 
 Carlisle may I'Uibrace within its ample fold all the ])eople, leaving 
 each one according to the ancient Congregationalism of INfassa- 
 chusetts, to think and write his or her own thoughts, since this 
 form of Congregationalism set sim-erity of belief ami Christian 
 disci])leship above all forms of confession? 
 
 ]\[y Avork is hnished. I leave it with the prayer that God 
 may Idess it to the good of the j»eo]»le of this parish and town. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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