i^pfisipipiifiiiiiiiiip^^^^ 
 
 
I LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, % 
 
 I Shelf -^^J^^t-^^- I 
 
 ^ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
 

31 ^ouvenxx. 
 
?6. 
 
Jl ^oxtvcxxiv 
 
 OF THE 
 
 gfs inception, g^ottstrucfton, 
 anb '^ebicciiioxx 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PRINTED FOR, 
 
 HEZEKIAH CONANT 
 
 BOSTON 
 
 Forbes Lithograph Manufacturing Company 
 
 1893 
 
14 
 
TO THE 
 
 ^e^cenbanU of "glogcr gonant, 
 
 THE FIRST PILGRIM PURITAN AND FIRST GOVERNOR 
 OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY, 
 
 "§^21^ ^ook is most respectfwCC^? §nscrt6e6. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 When this book was commenced I had no 
 thought beyond making a small souvenir of the 
 dedication of the Conant Memorial Church; but 
 as I worked at the compilation, the history of 
 the church in Dudley seemed as interesting to me 
 as the record of my ancestors; and as building 
 the church and trying to provide for the preach- 
 ing of the Gospel was practically a part of the 
 town's business in the time of those early settlers, 
 it is not easy to say much about them and have 
 their work not well understood. I judged also 
 that the historical sermon of Rev. Mr. Francis 
 would be acceptable, even if seasoned slightly 
 with the religious dogmas of that day, inasmuch 
 as it gives a great deal of the early history of 
 the locality in a very clear and concise manner. 
 In the history of the first church, I have made 
 copies from the old records of the town as the 
 best form in which to preserve it. 
 
 I have been unable to find any record of the 
 action of the Church in reference to the building 
 of the edifice destroyed in 1890, but suppose that 
 it was built largely by a committee of the town 
 
 / 
 
viii PREFACE. 
 
 and Church Society, and not a little by private 
 enterprise, aided by money obtained by sub- 
 scriptions. I have no doubt that some records 
 were made at the time, but not being cared for 
 directly by the Church or town, they were left 
 in private hands, and may have become lost or 
 destroyed. In these later days the writer believes 
 that denominational lines are less sharply defined, 
 and it is his hope that pure Christianity, untram- 
 melled by exacting and uncertain creeds, will 
 eventually become more and more developed, 
 and the life and conduct of individuals be accepted 
 as the best evidence that their hearts arc made 
 right, and their calling and election sure; and 
 more than that, they will be able to act on 
 the assumption, and show to mankind the 
 path to a higher life, and the way to a better 
 
 world. 
 
 HEZEKIAH CONANT. 
 
 Pawtucket, R.I., 1893. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Dedication v 
 
 Preface vii 
 
 The Conant Memorial Church i 
 
 Laying of the Corner-stone 9 
 
 Consecration of the Bell 19 
 
 Description of the New Church 35 
 
 Programme of Exercises at the Dedication, and 
 
 Anthems 33 
 
 Dedication of the New Edifice 37 
 
 Chairman's Address 3S 
 
 Conant Hymn opp. 39 
 
 Poem 40 
 
 Historic Address 45 
 
 Letter of Presentation 56 
 
 Afternoon Exercises 63 
 
 Names and Addresses of Members of the Conant 
 
 Family invited to attend the Dedication . 64 
 
 Copy of a Discourse by Rev. James H. Francis . 69 
 
 Extracts from Dudley Town Records .... 94 
 
 Records of the Conant Family 115 
 
 Records of the Healy Family 129 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 /portrait, Hezekiah Conant Frontispiece 
 
 v/ Main Street before the Fire .... ofp. page i 
 
 V Old Church, 1S24-1S90 " 5 
 
 - Interior, Second Church 
 
 •/The Corner-stone ' ^^ 
 
 y Scene at laying of the Corner-stone, 
 
 October 16, 1S90 " ^3 
 
 •^ New Church ^3 
 
 V Conant Memorial Tablet " -*^ 
 
 ^ Knight Memorial Tablet " 27 
 
 n/ Interior, Conant Memorial Church . . " 3^ 
 
 ^ Interior, Conant Memorial Church . . " 33 
 
 / Conant Memorial Window " 37 
 
 / Portrait, Judge Chester C. Conant . . " 3^ 
 
 i Portrait, Thomas Conant, Escl- .... " 40 
 
 V Portrait, Frederick Odell Conant . . " 45 
 ^ Portrait, Sylvia Ferguson Conant . . " 61 
 
 V Main Street, since Fire of 1S90 ... " 64 
 
 V House of William Carter, in which the 
 
 First Dudley Town Meeting was held, 
 
 IN 1732 ■>-> 
 
 ■ Floor Plan of First Church, showing 
 Location of Pews, from Old Town 
 
 " 10^ 
 
 Records ^ 
 
"i^^c gonanf ^ilcntortaf §&uxc^. 
 

THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 O 
 
 N Tuesday afternoon, June 3, 1890, the 
 town was thrown into great excitement by 
 the discovery that the old Congregational Church 
 was on fire, and that there was great danger that 
 the whole of the property on Dudley Hill would 
 be swept away by the devouring element if help 
 from Webster was not forthcoming. It was the 
 laro-est fire the town of Dudley ever suffered. 
 Flames were discovered issuing from the roof of 
 the church, just below the bell-deck, by some of 
 the students of Nichols Academy, about two 
 o'clock. The alarm was given, and the citizens 
 and pupils of the Academy began at once to fight 
 the fire. When first seen, the blaze was but small. 
 Meanwhile the fire on the roof was spreading 
 rapidly. As soon as ladders could be procured, 
 and spliced together, they were raised to the roof 
 and efforts made to quench the flame by means 
 of extinguishers; but for some unknown reason 
 only one could be made to work, and that could 
 not be reloaded. This method was abandoned, 
 and the slow process of passing water up thirty 
 feet of ladder commenced. A hole was cut in the 
 
3 THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 steeple, that water could be carried upstairs and 
 passed to men on the roof. For a time it seemed 
 that the flames were getting under control; but 
 they were at work in the steeple, above the roof, 
 and suddenly blazed out near the bell, spreading 
 above and below, until steeple and roof were one 
 seething mass of flames; then the fire got the 
 mastery, and the church was doomed. Help had 
 been called for from Webster, and now the people 
 were anxious, for the sparks were flying over the 
 hill in great clouds, setting fire to roofs on the 
 adjacent houses. The eftbrts of those fighting 
 the fire were directed to keeping it back from 
 the houses, and prevent spreading. The first to 
 take fire from the church was the Pratt house, 
 occupied by Thomas M. Larned, and owned by 
 H. Conant, who had purchased it only a little 
 more than a year before, and then the Morris 
 house, occupied b}^ the Misses Jewett; both of 
 these buildings, with their barns, were completely 
 consumed. 
 
 Most of the furniture was removed from the 
 houses, and tools and wagons from the barns, and 
 then the buildings were abandoned to the flames. 
 The house and barn leased by the Misses Jewett 
 were a few rods further north, — the barn being 
 the most exposed, — and every exertion was made 
 to save them, but all was unavailing. The store, 
 
THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 3 
 
 dwelling-house, and barn of Moses Barnes, lying 
 next to the Morris house, were much exposed; 
 the furniture was removed from the house, wet 
 carpets spread on the roof and gable of the store, 
 and water poured on all the roofs. The chances 
 were ten to one in favor of the fire, and it seemed 
 that the street north of the church must go; but 
 before the flames could spread further, the fire 
 department of Webster arrived, and quickly had 
 them under control, saving the Barnes property. 
 Considerable difficulty was experienced in finding 
 sufficient water, as wells and cisterns were quickly 
 exhausted; but these made up in number what 
 they lacked in size. Nearly every building north 
 of the church was several times on fire. Across 
 the street also the buildings suffered. The old 
 Bemis store and the Methodist Church were on 
 fire, and in considerable danger, but a stream 
 from the steamer put it out. The efforts of the 
 firemen were rewarded by confining the fire-loss 
 to the church and the houses and barns before 
 mentioned. 
 
 The run of the Webster fire department, with a 
 steamer, a hose company, and the hook and ladder 
 company, was one of the best pieces of work ever 
 accomplished by it. The two and a half miles to 
 the fire were covered in just twenty-eight minutes 
 from the time the alarm was telegraphed from the 
 
4 THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 Academy telegraph office. When the firemen and 
 their apparatus reached the church, they were 
 obliged to keep shifting from well to cistern, as 
 one after another was drained, in this way fight- 
 ing the fiames under great disadvantage, but soon 
 obtaining control of them. 
 
 The fire is supposed to have started from sparks 
 from a tinman's stove. Extensive repairs were 
 being made in and around the church, and two 
 workmen were attending to some tin work in a 
 part of the belfry, both unconscious of the fire 
 burning a few feet below them. They were 
 apprised of their danger, and barely escaped be- 
 fore the belfry and roof were all ablaze. When 
 first seen, the flame on the roof was but little 
 larger than a man's hand. The alarm was first 
 given by Frank Nichols and Henry Barnes, two 
 Nichols Academy students, who were at the well 
 after water. The church and Academy bells were 
 rung, the former until the rope burned off. As 
 soon as the fire was found to be serious, the call 
 for aid was telegraphed to Webster, and the fire 
 company quickly responded. 
 
 The spire remained until the last. The bell fell 
 upon the granite steps and into the basement, 
 where it was found broken after the fire. Most 
 of the smaller pieces of the bell were taken by 
 some of the former worshippers as relics, but the 
 
Old eHui^cH 
 
 DUILT jol-^ —Bv/RNED 18.90. 
 
THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 5 
 
 larger were recast in small bells and lacquered 
 for souvenir paper-weights. 
 
 It is, however, a very ill wind that blows 
 nobody good ; and this is agreeably enforced in 
 the calamity on Dudley Hill, for no sooner was 
 the church in Dudley burned than the people 
 commenced to make arrangements for building 
 anew. A snug sum was alread}' in the treasury, 
 placed there to pay the cost of repairing the old 
 edifice. Each day letters were received contain- 
 ing expressions of sympathy and generous offers 
 to assist in rebuilding. A meeting was appointed 
 for Monday night, June 9th, in Washington Hall; 
 but another agency had been at work. Sunday 
 morning, as the congregation rose to receive the 
 benediction, Hezekiah W. Williams stepped for- 
 ward and read the following letter: — 
 
 Pawtucket, R.I. , June 5, 1890. 
 To H. W. Williams, Esq.., Dudley, Mass. 
 
 My Dear Sir., — The old Dudley Church is gone, — gone 
 up in a chariot of fire and smoke. I felt sad when I heard of 
 it, as if an old friend had departed this life, never more to 
 be seen by us here. Although I might truthfully say that 
 I sympathize with the Dudley people in their great loss, yet 
 I feel it as much a bereavement to myself as to them. I 
 have many recollections associated with the old structure, 
 extending over the last half-century, and among them the 
 periodical " fixing up," repainting, whitewashing, repairing, 
 
6 777^ CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 alterations, additions, and subtractions, to say nothing of 
 divisions which those events vs^ere a^Dt to cause among the 
 congregation. I presume enough money has been spent from 
 time to time, which, if it could be put together, would build 
 a new and much better structure than the people of Dudley 
 ever dreamed of. But the old building still remained ; its tall 
 spire was useful as a landmark, and a very convenient point 
 of reference, visible as it was at a great distance in every 
 direction ; but the framework of the church building was not 
 of the highest order. It was constitutionally weak, and of 
 course the high winds of winter beating upon the tall steeple 
 would make the building sway and rack its joints, causing 
 the plastering of the walls to crack, and thus to a great 
 degree baffle the attempts made from time to time to have 
 them look neat and nice. 
 
 In short, the old church made a better impression upon the 
 beholder from an outside point of view than from the interior, 
 and it was more to be respected as a landmark than as a 
 comfortable building for use as a place to i^eceive divine 
 instruction. And it may be that in this case the cloud has 
 a silver lining, and I am disposed not to consider it so great 
 a calamity. At any rate, it gives me pleasure to have an 
 opportunity to ofler to erect at my own expense a new church 
 for the use of the Dudley Congregational Church and Society, 
 as follows : 
 
 I hereb}' ofler to erect a new church building, the 
 walls to be of brick, the roof to be slated, the tower 
 to have a suitable bell and clock ; the interior to be 
 complete as to pews and pulpit, and furnished with 
 efficient modern heating and ventilating appliances, 
 and to have the same seating capacity as the old 
 church, but with a smaller room beneath for a vestry 
 for use of the Sunday-school and for conference meet- 
 ings ; and when complete to give it to the Dudley 
 
THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 7 
 
 Congregational Church and Society, and their suc- 
 cessors, by formal deed, reserving a right to myself 
 and heirs to one pew free from tax, and a privilege to 
 put in a memorial window, or tablet, as I may choose, 
 to perpetuate the memory of my family and ancestors. 
 I will commence to have plans and specifications 
 drawn as soon as the Church and Society signify their 
 acceptance of this offer, but I would not like to do it 
 against the wishes of any reputable member of the 
 body. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 H. CONANT. 
 
 Monday evening, in Washington Hall, the offer 
 was accepted, and a committee of three appointed 
 to draft a letter of thanks to Mr. Conant for his 
 timely gift. Motions were made to pay the church 
 debt of about four hundred and fifty dollars with 
 the money subscribed, and another committee 
 appointed to learn the wishes of the subscribers. 
 It was stated that the representatives of insurance 
 companies remarked that they were sorry to draw 
 their checks for only a thousand dollars apiece. 
 All having agreed to leave the two thousand 
 dollars insurance for a sort of nest-egg if possi- 
 ble, the meeting adjourned to Tuesday evening, 
 June 17th. 
 
^m?ing of t^e @orner=§fone. 
 
LAYING OF THE CORNER-STONE. 
 
 The corner-stone of the new church was laid 
 on Thursday, October i6, 1890, at half-past one. 
 Some two hundred and fifty of the inhabitants of 
 Dudley and neighboring towns, with a company 
 from Pawtucket, R.I., assembled to witness the 
 event. The Doxology was sung, prayer was 
 offered, by Rev. H. A. Blake of Webster, and the 
 sealed copper box was placed by Mr. Conant in 
 its receptacle under the corner-stone. Rev. T. C. 
 Richards, the pastor of the Dudley Church, read 
 a list of the contents of the box, as follows: "Copy 
 of letter of H. Conant to H. W. Williams and 
 reply of the Church Committee; copy of a dis- 
 course delivered on Fast Day, April 9, 1835, ^y 
 Rev. James H. Francis, one of the former pastors 
 of the old church, and containing an historical 
 sketch of the town of Dudley; current manuals of 
 the Congregational churches of Dudley, Oxford, 
 and Webster; annual report of officers of the 
 town of Oxford; Tax Book, 1890, of the town of 
 Lincoln, R.I.; report of officers of the town of 
 Dudley; report of town of Webster; Tax Book, 
 1890, of the city of Pawtucket, R.I.; current daily 
 and weekly papers, — Boston 'Journal,' Boston 
 ' Herald,' New York ' Tribune,' Worcester ' Spy,' 
 
12 THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 ' Harper's Weekly'; copy of the Webster 'Times' 
 containing article on destruction of the old church; 
 lists of officers for 1890 of the towns of Webster 
 and Southbridge; photograph of the old church; 
 officers and members of the Dudley Church and 
 Society, 1890; photograph of the Conant family; 
 a collection of United States coins of 1890, and a 
 quarter eagle of 1878; piece of bell of old church; 
 photograph of Mr. Conant's summer residence at 
 Dudley; a ten-cent Government scrip of 1863; 
 one dollar United States silver certificate; postage 
 stamps." 
 
 The members of the Conant family and the 
 pastor of the church laid the mortar, and the 
 corner-stone was lowered to place and declared 
 by Mr. Conant duly laid. After the benediction 
 by Rev. Alexander McGregor of Pawtucket, Mr. 
 Conant's pastor, the company adjourned to the 
 Alumni Hall. In the hall, after singing ''How 
 Firm a Foundation," Mr. Conant introduced Charles 
 F. Wilcox of Providence, the architect, who, by 
 the aid of plans and a sketch, explained the style 
 and details of the proposed new edifice. 
 
 Mr. Conant then read the following address, to 
 which the response of general applause was 
 given: — 
 
 My Dear Friends of Dudley and Vicinity, — It is 
 proper for me to say a few words on this occasion. As you 
 know, I have pledged my word that I will erect at my own 
 

THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 13 
 
 expense this church of which the laying of the corner-stone 
 to-day is an earnest of that promise. Though practically of 
 no more importance than the foundations already in, and 
 materials gathered on the ground in readiness, yet it is marked 
 by these ceremonies, and is therefore a proper and fitting 
 time for saying what I do. As my ancestors were among the 
 early settlers in this town, and their ashes are in its soil, 
 it is but natural that I should desire to erect some sort of 
 memorial to perpetuate their memory, that the generations to 
 come may know about them, and that their history might be 
 preserved. 
 
 The destruction of the former church by fire last June gave 
 me an opportunity which I have acted upon. Obtaining con- 
 sent of the Church and Society, I have procured designs from 
 several diflerent architects, decided upon present plans, have 
 entered into contracts for labor and material, and men are 
 already at work, materials are arriving, and the erection of the 
 structure is fully assured. If any one may say that in doing 
 this I am selfish, and am seeking self-glorification, I shall have 
 nothing to apologize for. I shall admit that I have taken 
 advantage of the financial helplessness of this Church and 
 Society to promote my scheme, call it selfishness if you will. 
 We are not asked to divest ourselves of regard for ourselves or 
 our household. For I cannot help seeing that Christianity 
 itself appeals to man's higher selfishness for his consideration 
 that he may be persuaded to enter the service of God, for there 
 the reward is greater and more enduring, and full of joy, 
 peace, and happiness than any other course can bring. In 
 this case, in addition to the preservation of the history of my 
 family, I am putting in the hands of the people of Dudley a 
 useful structure, a convenient place of worship, and a house 
 where they can sit sheltered from chilling winds or tailing rain 
 or scorching sun, and listen to such religious instruction as the 
 
14 THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 people may receive from teachers and preachers elected by 
 them from time to time for that purpose. The human mind 
 needs such religious instruction, and in the erection of this 
 building I take satisfaction in placing in their hands the means 
 of providing themselves with this acknowledged necessity, in 
 a more comfortable and satisfactory shape, I trust, than the 
 old structure could possibly have furnished ; whether or not 
 in this I am fulfilling a high duty, is a matter in which the 
 responsibility comes upon myself alone. 
 
 In placing any conditions ujoon the gift, I feel that I have 
 not wisdom enough to say what doctrine should be taught, or 
 what forms or ceremonies practised. Yet I must admit that I 
 have listened to many and many a sermon, heard the eloquence 
 of learned divines, have seen the religious ceremonies of civi- 
 lized communities, and many times have tried to learn what 
 was the direct and immediate efl^ect, and must confess my 
 inability to have clearly seen always a sanctifying result. But 
 there are some things which do commend themselves to 
 thoughtful minds as elements of Christianity, at least so it 
 seems to me, among which is a disposition to promote peace 
 on earth and good-will among men. 
 
 Those who lived in this town a half-century ago can remem- 
 ber well the bitterness engendered here by different religious 
 opinions prevailing ; but in thinking over the matter, while I 
 cannot say but what they were all sincere, yet there was an 
 element of crudeness and barbarity in it, and I hope these 
 conditions will never again recur. In looking back I can 
 see that the men of to-day who are prominent and resj^ected 
 citizens cannot claim that they owe their present position 
 entirely to the religious instruction of their early youth as it 
 was delivered from the pulpit. All the minister can do, it 
 seems to me, is to present new forms of truth to his congre- 
 gation on the Sabbath, earnestly study to be able to present 
 
THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH, 15 
 
 new ideas to the people, subjects of thought for them to 
 mentally digest and assimilate, and thus promote mental and 
 spiritual growth. He should be a man of education and of 
 a chai-acter that will command the respect of the community, 
 and he should consider that the higher type of Christianity 
 cannot flourish where ignorance prevails. Science and Chris- 
 tianity should go hand In hand. 
 
 The day for dogmatic teaching has passed, I trust, and, so 
 far as an intelligent congregation is concerned, has no more 
 effect than the sound of whistling wind or howling storm. 
 God has given us brains and books. His sun shines upon the 
 wicked as well as the good, and the rain falls on the just and 
 the unjust. Let us thank Him for all His goodness. It is in 
 this manner He gives to the people of Dudley this new temple 
 for His service, and on them falls the responsibility that it will 
 be used in a way that will best serve His purpose, and bring 
 honor to the community and respect for the religion it pro- 
 fesses. I certainly shall feel rewarded if I can ever see that 
 this memorial of mine shall prove to be such a useful and 
 beneficial structure, and the teachings of those who minister 
 here in sacred things will influence the community to a higher 
 tone of religious thought, and promote peace, good-will, and 
 brotherly love. 
 
Consecration of t^e "gScff. 
 
THE CONSECRATION OF THE BELL. 
 
 On Tuesday, September 29, 1891, occurred a 
 pleasant ceremony, incidental to the building of 
 the church. A few friends of Hezekiah Conant, 
 desiring to show their appreciation of him and of 
 his generosity, raised about twelve hundred dollars, 
 and an order was given F. Fuller of Providence 
 for a bell in F, which was completed and ready to 
 be raised from the entrance floor to its final posi- 
 tion in the tower on that morning. A special car 
 attached to the morning train leaving Providence 
 at ten minutes past nine at Pawtucket took aboard 
 Gen. Olney Arnold, ex-Gov. A. H. Littlefield, 
 Lieut.-Gov. H. A. Stearns, and others, with their 
 ladies, who all enjoyed a pleasant trip to Webster, 
 and thence to Dudley Hill by carriages. 
 
 The people of the parish had assembled in 
 goodly numbers, and at once elected Governor 
 Littlefield as moderator of the meeting. Prayer 
 was offered by Rev. Mr. Richards, pastor of the 
 church. A hymn was sung by the company, 
 following which the moderator delivered a very 
 happy address on bells, their origin, uses, and 
 benefits, closing with the following quotation: — 
 
 " To call the fold to church in time, we chime ; 
 When joy and mirth are on the wing, we ring ; 
 When we lament a departed soul, we toll." 
 
20 THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 William H. Park then presented the bell to the 
 Church Society, and read the following: — 
 
 To THE First Congregational Church and Society, 
 Dudley, Mass., — We, the undersigned, friends of Hezekiah 
 Conant, being desirous of testifying our appreciation of his 
 generosity in the erection for your use of the beautiful house of 
 worship now approaching completion, and with a desire to 
 help on the good work, beg to present a bell, which we trust 
 may for many years call you and your children to the house of 
 God, and we also hope that its tones may sei"ve to keep in 
 perpetual remembrance our mutual friend, who has done so 
 much for the town of Dudley. 
 
 J. M. Addeman. Charles H. Smith. 
 
 Olney Arnold. Jude Taylor. 
 
 Henry F. Barrows. George M. Thornton. 
 
 Sarah Blodgett. William E. Tolman. 
 
 E. R. Bullock. Winslow Upton. 
 
 H. N. Daggett. William E. Wilson. 
 
 Samuel Foster. George Bion Allen. 
 
 Darius L. Goff. John A. Arnold. 
 
 Lyman B. Goff. E. G. Blodgett. 
 
 Lyman T. Goff. W. H. Forbes. 
 
 James H. Kingman. Charles L. Knight. 
 
 A. H. Littlefield. Samuel D. Knight. 
 
 Mrs. D. G. Littlefield. Fred. R. Mason. 
 
 Charles Matteson. Charles E. Pervear. 
 
 Charles P. Moies. E. A. Perrin. 
 
 William H. Park. H. A. Stearns. 
 
 C. E. Peirce. E. L. Freeman. 
 
 Charles Sisson. L. B. Darling. 
 
 The bell was very appropriately accepted in 
 behalf of the Society by Rev. Mr. Richards, and 
 a congratulatory address in a humorous and happy 
 vein was delivered by Rev. Alexander McGregor 
 of Pawtucket. The bell was raised to the tower, 
 
THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 21 
 
 and soon its sound rang over the hills and vales 
 of Dudley town. 
 
 Short speeches were then delivered by Lieut.- 
 Gov. Stearns and General Arnold. The choir sano- 
 "Chime of the Bells." A vote of thanks was 
 extended to Mr. Park, to which he very modestly 
 responded, not forgetting the assistance which 
 came from the contributors. The inscription on 
 the bell is, " Presented to the First Congregational 
 Church and Society of Dudley by friends of 
 Hezekiah Conant, 1891." Mr. Conant and his 
 family then entertained the company at his sum- 
 mer home until the time for departure, late in the 
 afternoon. 
 
^'^'--•'■'-^, 
 
pc^cripfion of t^e ^cw @^urc^. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW CHURCH. 
 
 The new church is located on the site of the 
 old one, which was of wood, erected in 1823, and 
 destroyed by fire on the 3d of June, 1890. This 
 structure is built of brick, with underpinning and 
 basement of native granite, and trimmings of 
 brownstone. It is in the Romanesque style of 
 architecture, seventy feet in length, and forty-four 
 feet in width, with transepts, each five by thirty- 
 four feet, and a tower in the centre of the front 
 facade sixteen feet square and seventy-eight feet 
 high, terminating in round turrets at the four 
 corners, each three and one-half feet in diameter, 
 and between which is the bell story, opening by 
 a double arch on each side of the tower. Above 
 this opening is a lookout, guarded by wrought iron 
 railings, and reached by a winding iron staircase 
 from the bell deck. Below the bell story is a 
 clock with four dials, each seven feet in diameter. 
 This clock is of excellent workmanship, and has 
 two interacting pendulums and other improvements 
 invented by H. Conant. Cut in a stone band, fol- 
 lowing the arch over the front entrance, are the 
 words, "Behold the Tabernacle of God is with 
 
26 THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 Men," and in a round panel at either side of the 
 arch the dates "1732" and "1890." 
 
 The principal entrance to the edifice is through 
 a vestibule to a hall in the tower, twelve feet 
 square, which is also entered from the left through 
 a staircase hall connecting with the basement, and 
 from which a door opens to a carriage porch, six- 
 teen feet square, at the southeast angle of the 
 building. At the right of the main entrance hall 
 is a staircase leading to the gallery, which extends 
 across the east end of the audience room. From 
 the entrance hall two doors open to the audience 
 room, between which doors, on the wall facing the 
 entrance, is a bronze tablet. (See opposite page.) 
 
 The audience room is forty-four feet by fifty- 
 one feet, with walls fourteen feet high above the 
 floor, with an open trussed roof thirty-four feet 
 high in the centre. It is lighted by an elegant 
 stained glass window in each transept, with smaller 
 windows at the sides, and a beautiful and appro- 
 priate memorial triple window back of the pulpit. 
 This window represents Roger Conant, the immi- 
 grant ancestor of the donor of the church, preventing 
 a fight between Capt. Miles Standish and Captain 
 Hewes, over the latter's taking possession with his 
 men of a certain fishing stage belonging to the 
 Plymouth Colony. This incident is noted at con- 
 siderable length in " The Landing at Cape Anne," 
 

 [HE SERVICE? OF-G 
 
 reAtrsEOF^CHMsa 
 
 _!^^^ .THE^sPSOMOTlt)N*^O^SClj 
 ^^^jrJf^TOTW^ifeSr INTERESTS^ 
 
 ^^rrivAs ERECtED BY HEZEKlAHlScfftANT. 
 
 AND rS GIVEN^BYBIM TO fSl^ ■ 
 : y- FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCft 
 ;- . " ANIX SOCIEn'iOF DUDLEY . IN TRUS T . - 
 
 C- : : .- "^■-•- ^ X MONUMENT ""^'-"^ • :. ^?- 
 
 TO PERPETUATE THf MEMORY OF HIS ANCESTORS i 
 
 A TRIBUTE OF AFFECTION. TO^HIS^PARENTS. 
 
 HERVEYANmDOLLY €GNANT. 
 
 WHO -W-ERE BORN . LIVED AND LIE BURIED 
 
 IN THIS TOWNv:^ 
 
 A COMFORTABLE HOUSE 
 
 FOR-TBE PEOPLE OF THE VICINIXY TO ASSEMBLE IN 
 
 FOR WORSHIP, FOR RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION . 
 
 AND FOR SOCIAL. BENEVOLENT AND 
 
 -.^... . SCIENTIFIC PURPOSES. . % 
 
'■^^ ~ —■ . » ^ 
 
 \"? ^ >: 
 
 ^^''^S^^fe^^^ 
 
THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 27 
 
 by John Wingate Thornton, published in 1854. 
 Roger Conant was governor, 1624-28, of this 
 colony, the first permanent colon}^ on the territory 
 of the Massachusetts Company. 
 
 On the audience-room wall, between the entrance 
 doors, and beneath the gallery, is a bronze tablet 
 in memory of Mrs. Conant's father and mother. 
 (See opposite page.) 
 
 The walls of the entrance hall and audience 
 room are panelled four and one-half feet high, and 
 the wall back of the pulpit is panelled seven and 
 one-half feet high, rising to ten feet under the 
 memorial window. There is also a light wooden 
 cornice at the springing of the roof trusses. The 
 woodwork is of whitewood, except the trusses, 
 which are of hard pine, and all is stained dark, 
 with decoration upon the trusses representing in- 
 laid work, and the panels behind the pulpit relieved 
 by a chain border in gold. The walls and ceiling 
 are decorated in plain tints, with simple borders. 
 At each side of the arch which spans the pulpit 
 platform is a smaller arch. Under the right arch 
 are the organ and choir platform, and the left arch 
 is closed by a wall which bears in plain letters the 
 Beatitudes, and behind which is the pastor's room, 
 from which a door opens upon the platform, and 
 stairs connect it with the basement. The pews 
 in the audience room are of oak, and will 
 
28 THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 accommodate three hundred upon the floor, and 
 eighty-five in the gallery. 
 
 In the basement is a Sunday-school room, thirty 
 and one-half feet by thirty-four and one-half feet, 
 from which a smaller room, fifteen and one-half 
 feet by thirty and one-half feet, and a class-room, 
 twelve feet by thirteen feet, are separated by roll- 
 ing partitions. There are also a class-room, eleven 
 feet by twelve feet; a kitchen, nine feet by ten 
 feet, with pantry, cooking range, and sink; and 
 furnace and coal rooms. 
 
 The building was designed by C. F. Wilcox, 
 architect, of Providence. The granite work was 
 done by Woodbury & Lamson of Oxford; and 
 brickwork and plastering by George F. Hall of 
 Dudley; the carpenter work by C. A. Vaughan of 
 Worcester; the stained glass and decorations were 
 designed and executed by the Tiffany Glass and 
 Decorating Company of New York; the heating 
 apparatus by L. White & Son of Oxford ; the light- 
 ing fixtures by C. H. McKenney & Co. of Boston; 
 the clock was made by the E. Howard Watch and 
 Clock Company of Boston; the pews and pulpit 
 furniture by the Globe Furniture Company of 
 Northville, Mich.; and the bell, which was cast 
 by F. Fuller of Providence, was a gift to the 
 Church by a number of personal friends of Mr. 
 Conant. 
 
THE CON ANT MEiMORIAL CHURCH. 29 
 
 The organ is a very fine instrument, having been 
 built especially for this church by the old organ 
 firm of Hook & Hastings, Boston. It has two 
 manuals and a pedal, each representing a division 
 of the instrument, known as the swell, the great 
 and pedal organ. The casing is of antique oak, 
 and the front is elaborately decorated and hand- 
 somely finished. It is valuable in the church as 
 an aid to the choir and congregation in their 
 devotional music. 
 
^ebication of f^e ^ero (^bifice. 
 
DEDICATION PROGRAMME. 
 
 MORNING SERVICES AT 12 O'CLOCK. 
 
 I Organ Volmitary, Offertiore hi G . . . Lee/ebre Wely. 
 
 3 opening Anthem, "God is our (Refuge" . ■ Morrison. 
 
 _5 Invocation I . . . ^ev. H. W. Conant, 
 
 4 (Reading of the Scriptures ) 
 
 ^ Somervt'lle, Mass. 
 
 K Address by the Chairman . . Hon. Chester C. Conant, 
 Greenfield, Mass. 
 
 6 Hymn, "0 Thou Whose Own Vast Temple stands," Conant, 
 
 ' Music composed for the occasion. 
 
 7 Address and Toem Thomas Conant, Esq., 
 
 OskaTva, Canada. 
 
 8 A Short History of the Conant Family, Fred. 0. Conant, Esq. 
 g Anthem, "How ^Beautiful on the Mountains," The Choir. 
 
 lo Letter of "Presentation H. Conant. 
 
 II Gloria Tatri ^^^ ^^^''^• 
 
 12, (Response, Accepting the Edifice . . Rev. T C. Richards. 
 
 13 Prayer of Consecration . . . Rev. Alexander McGregor, 
 ■^ ^ ■' Pa-wtucket, R.I. 
 
 14 Anthem, "Hark! hark! My Soul" . . . The Choir. 
 
 ij (Doxology, "Praise God from Whom," etc.. Congregation. 
 
 i6 (Benediction. 
 
 ij Organ Postlude, "Hallelujah Chortis" . . . .Handel. 
 
 AFTERNOON SERVICES AT 2.30 O'CLOCK. 
 
 I Organ, Andante movement from Fifth Symphony, (Beethoven. 
 3 Anthem, "0 Thou to Whom in Ancient Time," Morrison. 
 
 3 Invocation and Lord's Prayer . . Rev. E. S. Tingley, 
 -^ Milford, Mass. 
 
 4 Responsive (Reading of Scripture . Rev. T. T. Filmer, 
 ^ Webster, Mass. 
 
 5" Hymn. 
 
 6 Address ^^■^'- ^ H Pettibone, 
 
 Southbridge, Mass. 
 
 7 Address '^^'^- ^- ^- ^''^^'^^' 
 
 Boston, Mass. 
 
 8 Anthem, "In Heavenly Love abiding." 
 
 o Address Prof A. T Perry, 
 
 ■^ Hartford, Conn. 
 
 lo ThankOffering, Tenor Solo— "Fear not Ye,OIsrael," (Buck. 
 
 II (Dedicatory Prayer (Rev. H A. Blake, 
 
 Webster, Mass. 
 12, Hyr/in. 13 Benediction. 14 Organ Postlude. 
 
34 THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 ANTHEMS FOR MORNING SERVICE. 
 
 ANTHEM I. 
 
 God is our refuge, our refuge and strength, a present help in time 
 of trouble, therefore will not we fear. 
 
 Though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried 
 into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be 
 troubled ; 
 
 Though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof, the Lord of 
 Hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge. 
 
 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of our 
 God, 
 
 The holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the 
 midst of her, she shall not be moved, God shall help her, and that 
 right early. 
 
 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved; He uttered His 
 voice, the earth melted. 
 
 Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolation He hath made 
 in all the earth. He maketh war to cease. He breaketh the bow, and 
 cutteth the spear in sunder. He burneth the chariot in the fire. 
 
 Be still, and know that I am God ; behold the wonders of the Lord, 
 the triumph of His deeds record; behold that stream, His written 
 Word. Our refuge is Jacob's God. Amen. 
 
 ANTHEM n. 
 
 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messengers that 
 bring good tidings of good, that publish salvation, that say unto Zion, 
 Thy God reigneth, that publish peace. 
 
 ANTHEM in. 
 
 Hark ! hark ! my soul : angelic songs are swelling 
 O'er earth's green fields, and ocean's wave-beat shore; 
 
 How sweet the truth those blessed strains are telling, 
 Of that new life when sin shall be no more ! 
 
 Refrain — Angels of Jesus, angels of light. 
 
 Singing to welcome the pilgrims of the night. 
 
THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 Onward we go, for still we hear them singing, 
 Come weary souls, for Jesus bids jou come; 
 
 And through the dark its echoes sweetly ringing, 
 The music of the Gospel leads us home. 
 
 Refrain — Angels of Jesus, etc. 
 
 Far, far away, like bells at evening pealing. 
 The voice of Jesus sounds o'er land and sea; 
 
 And laden souls by thousands meekly stealing. 
 Kind Shepherd, turn their weary steps to thee. 
 
 Refrain — Angels of Jesus, etc. 
 
 Rest comes at length, though life be long and dreary; 
 
 The day must dawn, and darksome night be past; 
 All journeys end, in welcome to the weary. 
 
 And heaven, the heart's true home, will come at last. 
 
 Refrain — Angels of Jesus, etc. 
 
 Angels, sing on ! your faithful watclies keeping; 
 
 Sing on sweet fragments of the songs above. 
 Till morning's ]oy shall end the night of weeping, 
 
 And life's long shadows break in cloudless love. 
 
 Refrain — Angels of Jesus, etc. 
 
 03 
 
36 THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 ANTHEMS FOR AFTERNOON SERVICE. 
 
 ANTHEM I. 
 
 O Thou, to Whom in ancient time 
 
 The lyres of Hebrew bards were strung, 
 
 Whom kings adored in songs sublime, 
 
 And prophets praised with glowing tongue, 
 
 To Thee, to Thee shall all flesh come. 
 
 As did the kings in ancient time 
 
 Adore Thee in their songs sublime ; 
 
 So I in fervent, gladsome strain 
 
 Will praise and bless Thy holy name; 
 
 To Thee at last, in every clime, 
 
 Shall temples rise, and praise be sung. 
 
 ANTHEM H. 
 
 In heavenly love abiding, no change my heart shall fear, 
 And safe is such confiding, for nothing changes here; 
 The storm may roar without me, my heart may low be laid. 
 But God is round about me, and can I be dismayed? 
 
 Wherever He may guide me, no want shall turn me back, 
 My Shepherd is beside me, and nothing can I lack. 
 His wisdom ever waketh ; His sight is never dim; 
 He knows the way He taketh, and I will walk with Him. 
 
 Green pastures are before me, which yet I have not seen ; 
 
 Bright skies will soon be o'er me, where darkest clouds have been. 
 
 My hope I cannot measure, my path to life is free. 
 
 My Saviour has my treasure, and He will walk with me. 
 
 TENOR SOLO. 
 
 Behold ! there shall be a day when the watchman upon the mountain 
 top shall cry aloud: Arise ye! get ye up unto Mount Zion, unto the 
 Lord your God, for thus saith the Lord. 
 
 Fear ye not, O Israel, neither be thou still dismayed; refrain thy 
 voice from weeping, and thine 6368 from tears, for I, the Lord, am with 
 thee, and will save thee. 
 
 I have loved thee with everlasting love, and have redeemed thee. 
 
 Why criest thou in thine aifliction .'' why mournest thou in nightly 
 watches.? I have redeemed thee; therefore thus saith the Lord. 
 
 Sing ye aloud with gladness, thy mourning is turned to joy ; I, even 
 I, have redeemed thee; be glad and rejoice. 
 
 Thy sorrows are ended, and great shall be thy peace; rejoice and be 
 glad. 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 A BRIGHT, cold day was Thursday, the day set 
 apart for dedication of the church built by 
 Hezekiah Conant of Pawtucket, R.I., for the Con- 
 gregational Church and Society of Dudley. 
 
 At the exercises there was a large attendance, 
 the new church being filled to its utmost. Among 
 those present were people from all over the States, 
 and some thirty-five members of the Conant family, 
 including Revs. H. W. Conant of Somerville, 
 Mass., and Charles A. Conant of Voorheesville, 
 N.Y. ; Harlan Page Conant of Mount Vernon, N.H. ; 
 James S. and Deacon William H. Conant of Boston, 
 Mass.; Nathaniel Conant of Brookline, Mass.; 
 Edward D. Conant of Newton Centre, Mass.; 
 Harrison J. Conant of Worcester, Mass.; Henry S. 
 Bunton of Hyde Park, Mass.; John A. Conant of 
 Willimantic, Conn.; Luman E. Conant of Waltham, 
 Mass.; George M. Thornton of Pawtucket, R.I.; 
 Thomas Conant, Esq., of Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, 
 poet of the day; Judge Chester Cook Conant, and 
 his daughters Martha and Charlotte Conant, of 
 Greenfield, Mass.; Mrs. Lucy C. Conant; Fred. 
 
38 THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 Odell Conant of Portland, Me., historian of the 
 family; Henry N. Leavens of Boston, Mass.; also 
 Rev. Charles L. Goodell; William H. Forbes of 
 Boston, Mass.; Rev. Alexander McGregor; Eben 
 McGregor of Pawtucket; Mrs. D. G. Littlefield. 
 
 The ceremonies of the day commenced at twelve 
 o'clock by the organ voluntary, followed by the 
 anthem, " God is our Refuge," by a quartette from 
 Pawtucket, consisting of Miss Alice Wentworth, 
 soprano; Miss Ada Byron Coombs, contralto; Fred. 
 S. Gardner, tenor; C. PI. Bos worth, basso; with 
 John F. Adams as organist, under whose direction 
 the selections were rendered, to the delight of 
 all who listened to the programme. After the 
 invocation and reading of the Scriptures by 
 Rev. H. W. Conant, Mr. H. Conant introduced 
 Judge Chester C. Conant, who, as chairman of the 
 day's proceedings, read the following address of 
 welcome: — 
 
 Brethren and Friends, — In the name of the generous 
 benefactor, who has erected this costly and beautiful structure 
 for the worship of Almighty God, we welcome you to-day to 
 the services of this auspicious occasion. 
 
 We congratulate this parish and this historic town in the 
 possession of this beautiful building, so perfect and so well 
 equipped in all its parts. And we rejoice that there is a man 
 amongst us who thus out of his liberal heart, in his love to 
 God and his fellow-men, gives his gifts himself, and acts as 
 his own executor. 
 
JUDGE CHESTER C. CONANT. 
 
J^SSSJStPS", C-J^B 
 
 j/^ :^.C orja-T^i-, /S9/ ■ 
 
 ^ ^^^ i j;^j | ::;qj; f,.ir. Wk;m 
 
 1. O thou, whose own vast temple stands, 
 
 Built over earth and sea, 
 Accept the walls that human hands 
 Have raised to worship thee ! 
 
 2. Lord, Irom thine inmost glory send, 
 
 Within these courts to bide. 
 The peace that dwelleth without end. 
 Serenely by thy side ! 
 
 3. May erring minds that worship here 
 
 Be taught the better way ; 
 And they who mourn, and they who fear. 
 Be strengthened as they pray. 
 
 4. May faith grow firm, and love grow warm. 
 
 And pure devotion rise, 
 While round these hallowed walls the storm 
 Ol earth-born passion dies. 
 
 IVilllam Cullen Bryant. 1K35. 
 
THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 39 
 
 And we of the Conant name also especially rejoice that his 
 name is Conant, that he descended from that godly man, that 
 peacemaker of the colony, the first citizen and the first gov- 
 ernor of Salem, Roger Conant, the immigrant. 
 
 We do well to honor the memory of such men in these 
 latter days, to place in prominence enduring memorials of the 
 greatness and true nobility of their lives and characters. 
 
 Who can measure the good influences of the life and 
 example of such a man as Roger Conant, and those like him 
 and with him, in moulding the moral character of New 
 England? Her God-fearing men, her progressive ideas in 
 business and mechanics, the influence of her schools and 
 colleges, now pervade every part of the country. From 
 Lexington and Bunker Hill to Gettysburg and Appomattox, 
 her sons, true to their principles, have never failed to stand 
 for freedom and progress, and when occasions required, to 
 even suffer and die for them. 
 
 Let this memorial stand for generations yet to come as an 
 honorable token of our veneration and our love for all that 
 was good and noble in their lives and character. 
 
 The 113-11-111 " O Thou Whose Own Vast Temple 
 stands" was sung to music composed for the 
 occasion by Mrs. Samuel Morris Conant. 
 
 " ' In a certain sense all men are historians.' 
 '■ History is the essence of innumerable biog- 
 raphies,' says Carlyle. ' History casts its shadow 
 far into the land of song.' Song and story, story 
 and song, together preserve the record of the 
 deeds of the fathers, their noble daring, their 
 heroic suffering, and their glorious success. 
 
40 THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 " I am happy to introduce to you, as the poet of 
 this occasion, a true descendant of Roger Conant, 
 the immigrant, who is also a loyal subject of the 
 Queen of Great Britain, who is respected and 
 beloved for her many virtues by all Americans, — 
 Thomas Conant, Esq., of Oshawa, Canada." 
 
 THE POET'S ADDRESS. 
 
 Mr. Chairman, Fei.low Conants, Ladies and Gentle- 
 men, — In the past I may have not been particulai-ly proud to 
 be a Conant, — to-day I am, and I hope the pleasure you 
 derive from meeting me is as great as is mine in meeting you. 
 
 Proud, I say, I am of the Conants, for evidently they have 
 been and are a sturdy race, and to-day at this " gathering o' 
 the clans " the heart of every Conant must swell v^ith pride 
 when he thinks he has descended from the immigrant Roger 
 and such sterling English stock. 
 
 You must kindly let me premise my remarks and poem, 
 and tell 3^ou frankly that I am the only British Conant in 
 America to-day from old Roger ; and if my forefather did fight 
 for the King during the Revolution, I am pleased to know that 
 he did so from honest conviction, and that he had the manli- 
 ness to stand up and out for such convictions, when it must 
 have been a great thing to do to stem the tide when the great 
 majority of the inhabitants of the colonies were on the other 
 side. 
 
 Yes, he voluntarily left houses and lands, when the war 
 terminated, and came to Canada in 17S6, then an unbroken 
 wilderness. 
 
 It shows his sturdy character, at any rate. Family tradition 
 tells me he brought his wife and family from this great State 
 of Massachusetts, througli the wilds of New York, by an ox 
 
THOMAS CONANT, ESQ. 
 
THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 41 
 
 team and wagon, and on to Niagara, fording the streams at 
 their mouths where they debouch, and following the tortuous 
 shores of Lake Ontario, past the site of the present beautiful 
 city of Toronto, and down the shore to Oshawa, where he built 
 his cabin, October, 1786, beside a beaver meadow, that he 
 might cut the hay growing thereon for his oxen during the 
 approaching winter, and take salmon from the stream for food 
 for himself and family. 
 
 Hence I am Canadian and British, and I can, I am sure, 
 indulge in the hope, after a total separation of both branches 
 of the family for one hundred and three years, that no Conant 
 here to-day within sound of my voice will harbor any unkind 
 feelings towards me on that score. You love your country, 
 and I esteem you for it, and surely you will accord to me the 
 like privilege of loving mine and honoring our Queen, the 
 irreproachable Victoria. 
 
 E7Z passant^ every Conant here to-day must feel it away 
 down deep in his heart that our friend Hezekiah Conant has 
 done us all honor. 
 
 While he has honored himself he has honored us as a clan, 
 — I use the Scotch word, for I know none better, — and I feel 
 a debt of gratitude to him for so signally and yet unostenta- 
 tiously presenang the family name from in any manner drop- 
 ping into oblivion. 
 
 To Mr. F. O. Conant of Portland we must all feel deeply 
 grateful, for had he never spent seven long years in unravelling 
 the skein of our family history we certainly would not have 
 known each other this day, nor would we have had this most 
 pleasant meeting. 
 
 And now for my poem ; since charity, you all acknowledge, 
 must cover a vast multitude of sin, so must you let poetic 
 license cover all the defects of my poem. 
 
 I have done mv best : no man can do more. 
 
42 THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 I am happy to meet, jou, mj kindred and friends, 
 
 And your welcome is pleasant to me ; 
 I being the only Canadian branch 
 
 Of our wide-spreading family tree. 
 
 In looking along our ancestral line, 
 
 I find much honor and fame 
 Has been won by the Conants in ages past, 
 
 That for one I am proud of the name. 
 
 Our English forefathers were sturdy and brave 
 
 On the platform, in pulpit, or fight; 
 They were found in the van, and struggled and fought 
 
 For what they conceived to be right. 
 
 Two hundred and sixty-eight j'cars ago 
 
 Brave Roger came over the sea, 
 And by him from the Old to this Western world 
 
 Was transplanted our family tree. 
 
 He came seeking liberty, fortune, and fame. 
 
 That he came of right good stock 
 He proved by his life, for no worthier man 
 
 Ever landed on Plymouth Rock. 
 
 From him have descended all Conants to-day 
 
 Who inhabit this Western sphere. 
 They're a pretty large family, too, I should think, 
 
 From their representatives here. 
 
 When the great Revolution swept over the land. 
 
 And men were determined to sever 
 The links that bound them to Britain so long. 
 
 And to be independent forever; 
 
 When our forefathers diftered, as honest men will, 
 And were found on each side in the fray. 
 
 Some fought with the patriots, some with the King, 
 But the patriots carried the day. 
 
 You may ask on which side I think was the right, 
 
 But of course I should not like to saj' ; 
 To be loyal is good, to love freedom is grand, 
 
 And perhaps the right carried the day. 
 
 No doubt, there was tyranny, taxes, and laws 
 
 Too hard for the people to bear; 
 Yet /am proud that my forefather fought for the King, 
 
 Tho' I might not if I had been there. 
 
THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. .13 
 
 lie proved he was honest in -what he professed, 
 
 For when the great struggle was o'er, 
 He followed his flag far awav to the North, 
 
 Till he reached the Ontario shore. 
 
 His one yoke of oxen drew all he possessed. 
 
 As he went on his trackless way; 
 The " North Star" his guide in the darkness of night, 
 
 A " blaze" on the trees in the day. 
 
 The snarl of the panther, the howl of the Avolf, 
 
 Or tread of deadlier foe, 
 Gave warnings of danger and perils unseen. 
 
 Yet he pressed on his way onward, when lo! 
 
 A sound like the noise of a battle afar. 
 
 He heard with a wondering ear, 
 And the farther he went the louder it grew, 
 
 Until wonder was changing to fear; 
 
 Till at last he stood at Niagara's brink, 
 
 Where resistless the waters flow. 
 And with thunderous sound leap from rocks above 
 
 To the rocks in the gulf below. 
 
 Down the river he crossed, rejoiced he had braved 
 
 The dangerous, pathless track; 
 For there waved from the staff of Fort St. George 
 
 His flag, the old Union Jack. 
 
 The King gave a home to all loyalists then. 
 
 As in old Rome they used to do ; 
 So they gave him a grant of the public land 
 
 Because he had been loyal and true. 
 
 Thus / come from the land of the maple leaf. 
 
 And you'll not think me less if in thought 
 And deed I am true to the flag of St. George, 
 
 For which my brave ancestor fought. 
 
 And I love your flag of the stripes and the stars. 
 
 For I know that around the world 
 It is known as the emblem of freedom and hope 
 
 Wherever it has been unfurled. 
 
 Like two loving sisters, then, let us agree 
 
 With each other to be honest and true ; 
 We're neighbors, with each a great work to perform, 
 
 And there's plenty of land for t~Mo. 
 
44 THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 I know by that book on the sacred desk, 
 By your prayers, and the hymns you sing, 
 
 Tho' in some things we difter, we all of us bow 
 To the one great Heavenly King. 
 
 I am proud as I stand in this temple of God 
 (Though a Conant unknown to fame), 
 
 That this beautiful temple was conceived and built 
 By one of my kindred and name. 
 
 Long, long may he live, and when he is dead 
 
 Of him shall the story be told, 
 That he lived for his neighbors, and glorified God, 
 
 Like good Hezekiah of old. 
 
 May we all learn a lesson to work while we live. 
 
 So when we are under the sod 
 Our memory may honor not only the name, 
 
 But our kindred, our countrj', and God. 
 
 Chairman Conant then introduced Mr. Frederick 
 Odeli Conant as follows : " Every man constructs 
 his own biography; but it often happens that the 
 essence of the story of true and noble lives is lost 
 because the only record of them is written on the 
 memory of friends, who soon in their turn must 
 pass away. 
 
 " We are fortunate in having with us to-day one 
 who has with untiring diligence gathered materials 
 and published a most valuable and interesting 
 history of the Conant family. 
 
 " Every member of the Conant clan is under 
 lasting obligation to him. 
 
 " I have the honor of introducing Frederick Odell 
 Conant of Portland, Me., who will now address 
 you." 
 
^ 
 
 N 
 
 FREDERICK ODELL CONANT. 
 
THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 45 
 
 Mr. Frederick O. Conant, the family historian, 
 responded with the foHowing address: — 
 
 THE HISTORIC ADDRESS. 
 Ladies and Gentlemen, — When Mr. Conant asked me 
 if I would not prepare an historical sketch of the Conant 
 family for this occasion, I hardly knew what to say. My 
 inclinations prompted me to help him if possible, both from a 
 certain feeling of family pride, and a desire to do everything 
 in my power to aid one who has done so much for the family 
 name and every community with which he has been connected ; 
 but, like most of the family, it is almost impossible for me to 
 face an audience, even though I know it has nothing but a 
 feeling of kindness to one who bears the name of Conant. 
 
 Whatever disinclination I had was not that I thought the 
 subject barren, for I am proud of the family name, to which 
 this noble gift of our friend adds new lustre. On the other 
 hand, I feel that the subject needs an orator to do it justice. 
 Not that our family has produced such an array of noted names 
 as some other families, as, for instance, the Adamses, Sher- 
 mans, or Quincys ; but rather on account of the many lessons 
 which, under an able hand, might be drawn from the history 
 of an old New England family like ours, composed of individ- 
 uals of a general high character, and who have been pioneers 
 in every State in New England since its founding, almost three 
 hundred years ago. The family Is made up of good, substan- 
 tial, honest people, and hard workers, not the brilliant and 
 frothy kind who are always getting themselves talked about. 
 A prominent characteristic of the family, if I understand its 
 make-up, is a modest, retiring disposition. 
 
 Its members are pioneers, formers, merchants, manufacturers, 
 occasionally a minister of the Gospel or physician, but very 
 
46 THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 few lawyers or public men, and each performs his chosen part 
 well. No one of the family name has been elected to Con- 
 gress, governor of a State, or even mayor of a city, so far as 
 I know, — a fact that would be hard to duplicate in any other 
 old New England family. The Joneses, Smiths, Browns, and 
 Robinsons have all furnished their mayor, governor, or repre- 
 sentative in Congress ; but we have not, and I claim it as a 
 mark of distinction and proof of my previous remark, that 
 a retiring disposition is a characteristic of our tribe, for none 
 of us are willing to acknowledge any lack of ability to furnish 
 governors, or even presidents. 
 
 As proof that as a family we do not lack ability, I will 
 bring as evidence an article in a recent number of the 
 " Century Magazine," by Henry Cabot Lodge, on the " Dis- 
 tribution of Ability in the United States." He says that 
 " Appleton's Encyclopaedia of American Biography" contains 
 the names of 14,243 Americans who have risen above the 
 general level, which would be one in 7,000 of the 100,000,000 
 souls who have been born in the United States since its first 
 settlement. Not over 3,500 Conants have gone to help make 
 this 100,000,000, and as five of the names are included in the 
 14,243, the famil}' has produced ten times its proportion of the 
 ability of the United States, which is certainly a remarkable 
 showing. Many people know little and care less about their 
 ancestry, or so profess ; with them I have no sympathy. I 
 cannot but feel that any eflbrt to preserve the remembrance of 
 the worthy lives of our ancestors is praiseworthy. 
 
 Macaulay has well said, "A people which takes no pride 
 in the achievements of remote ancestors will never achieve 
 anything worthy of remembrance by remote descendants." 
 
 No one liberally educated denies or underrates the value of 
 genealogical investigation. A lifetime devoted to the prepa- 
 ration of the history of a nation, or years to the history of some 
 
THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 47 
 
 noble life, is not thought ill-spent, but many forget that the 
 true history of any community is only that of the individuals 
 composing it. A good fomily genealogy is only a series of 
 condensed biographies, less interesting perhaps, but no less 
 valuable, than more pretentious works. A carefully prepared 
 and well written history of an old New England family aftbrds 
 us a good view of the character and habits of our people for 
 two hundred and fifty years. The earlier generations possessed 
 much in moral quality in which the present generation is 
 deficient. Their industrious, religious, and conscientious lives, 
 if presented to their posterity, will exert an influence for good. 
 We may well confess an honest family pride, not that our 
 ancestors arose to any great prominence in national affairs, but 
 because from the days of Roger Conant, the sturdy Puritan, to 
 the present time, so far as we know, they have borne them- 
 selves in a true and upright manner, having the fear of God 
 in their eyes, and serving well their day and generation ; and 
 if for no other reason, from the fact that they helped to lay the 
 foundation of the most free, most prosperous, and most pro- 
 gressive nation on earth. 
 
 It is a singular coincidence that the two most noted mem- 
 bers which the family has produced, — I refer to Dr. John 
 Conant, vIce-Chancellor of Oxford University at the time of 
 the restoration of Charles II., and the Rev. Dr. T. J. Conant, 
 who has recently died In Brooklyn, N.Y.,— both excelled in the 
 same field. Dr. John Conant is said to have been one of the 
 best scholars of his day in the Oriental languages, and distin- 
 guished in biblical study. Dr. Conant of Brooklyn for years 
 before his death devoted his time to the study of the languages 
 of the Bible, and was one of the American committee for 
 the revision of the Old Testament, co-operating with the 
 convocation of Canterbury, England. 
 
 The characteristic modesty of the family is to be noticed in 
 Dr. John Conant. In 1654 he succeeded Dr. Hoyle as Regius 
 
4S THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 Professor of Divinity at Oxford, in which capacity he deHvered 
 a series of lectures which eminent churchmen importuned him 
 without success to pubHsh. Nor could he be induced to 
 publish any of the sermons, orations, etc., which he delivered 
 before the university. Long after his death, however, six 
 volumes of his sermons were published. Liberality and charity 
 were also prominent in Dr. Conant, and displayed at an early 
 age. On the death of his father, which occurred in 163S, 
 when he was thirty years of age, and with no other support 
 than his fellowship in Exeter College, being left the larger 
 part of the estate, he at once turned it over to his younger 
 brother, who had married young, and had a large family to 
 support. From his life it appears that during the three years 
 he held the living at Abergeley, in Denbeigh shire, he retained 
 but £149 out of £360 which he received, devoting the rest to 
 charity ; and that during his residence at Northampton, a 
 period of about twenty years, he constantly bore the expense 
 of the schooling of from tv^^enty to forty poor children. In 
 this connection I may also mention the gifts of John Conant of 
 Jaflrey, N.H., who during his life gave upward of $25,000 to 
 the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and Mechanics' 
 Arts, and at his death left $40,000 more to the college, and a 
 larger amount to other good objects, including $12,000 to 
 New London Academy; and the name of Edwin Conant of 
 Worcester, who recently died, making Harvard College his 
 residuary legatee, by which the college will soon come in 
 possession of $75,000 or $80,000, which is to be devoted to 
 a new building. 
 
 Our family name is a very ancient one ; to trace its origin 
 we must go back to the days of mythology and hero-worship. 
 In form it is a true patronymic, not adapted from the occu- 
 pation of its wearer, as were such names as Butler, Clark, 
 Farmer, Miller, and vSmith in comparatively recent times. 
 
THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 49 
 
 The name is a Celtic name in its remote origin. In its present 
 form it has existed in Devonshire, England, for about seven 
 hundred years. The early form of the name was Cynan or 
 Conan, which is to be found among the Welsh, Gaels, and 
 Britons at about the beginning of the Christian era. Seven 
 saints of the name are inentioned in the mythology of Donegal. 
 In Irish mythology Con is represented as the god of Valor, son 
 of Diancect, the god of the powers of healing ; also as a 
 descendant of Milesius, and the one hundred and tenth king of 
 Ireland. The name of the present division of Ireland, Con- 
 naught, signifies the land possessed by the descendants of Con. 
 In the year 38S a British prince, Conan Meriadec, led an army 
 into France against the Roman emperor Theodosius, and, 
 being defeated at the battle of Aquiliea, fled across France to 
 Armorica, where he settled with his followers, and from these 
 British invaders the country took the name Little Brittany. 
 This Conan founded the ducal family which ruled Brittany till 
 the fifteenth century. 
 
 No claim is made that we are descended from this family ; 
 but from the fact that they held land in Devonshire at about 
 the beginning of the twelfth century, and that our name can 
 be traced back in Devonshire to within a short time of that 
 period, it seems possible that we may be derived from some 
 branch of that ancient family ; at any rate, there is the interest 
 arising from the similarity of names. 
 
 The authentic genealogy of our family begins with John 
 Conant, who, it is stated, was "descended from ingenuous 
 parents of Gittisham near Honiton, whose ancestors for many 
 generations had been fixed there." He was born about the 
 time of the Reformation. During his youth the example of 
 Luther's followers in Germany was spreading in England. 
 
 In 1537 translations of the Bible were first placed in every 
 church ; images were torn down as leading to superstition. 
 
50 THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 and the shrines of the saints robbed of their treasures. In 
 1539 occurred the dissolution of the monasteries by King 
 Henry VIII. A curious old deed on parchment, dated 1531, is 
 now in my possession, by which the abbot of the monastery of 
 Dunkswell grants a tenement in Gittisham to John Conant, Jr., 
 son of John and Isabella Conant, and his sons Nicholas and 
 John. Probably the son John was father of our John Conant, 
 who removed from Gittisham to East Budleigh, a few miles 
 away, and about fourteen miles from Exeter, the capital of 
 the county. Devonshire, the old home of our family, is one 
 of the most picturesque parts of England, lying in the south- 
 western part of the island, bordered on the south by the Eng- 
 lish Channel. It is rich in natural scenery and in antiquarian 
 remains. Extensive parts of the interior are covered by moors 
 and lofty hills. The coast is formed by craggy rocks and bold 
 headlands, between which many streams flow through rich 
 valleys into the sea. 
 
 The name of only one of the sons of John Conant has been 
 preserved, Richard, who was father of Roger, who came to 
 America. Both John and Richard served as church wardens of 
 the parish of East Budleigh, which is rendered famous as being 
 the birthplace of Sir Walter Raleigh. Richard married Agnes 
 Clarke, daughter of John Clarke, the principal merchant of 
 Colyton, a neighboring parish. They had a family of six sons 
 and two daughters. One of the sons, John, was sent to Oxford 
 University, and became a fellow of Exeter College, bachelor 
 of divinity, and minister of the Church of England. During 
 the quarrel between Charles I. and his subjects, he took sides 
 with the Puritans, and was appointed by Parliament one of 
 the assembly of divines which met at Westminster in July, 
 1643. This assembly drew up the Confession of Faith, longer 
 and shorter Catechisms, and Directory of Worship, which are 
 still in use by Presbyterians and Congregaliunalists in Eng- 
 
THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 51 
 
 land, and acknowledged by the American churches. In 1643 
 he preached a sermon before Parliament, which was printed, 
 and is the first printed work by a Conant of which I am 
 aware. 
 
 Another son, Robert, was father of the Dr. John Conant 
 already mentioned. From him descended Nathaniel Conant, 
 a barrister-at-law, magistrate of the celebrated Bow-street 
 police court in London. Nathaniel was knighted by King 
 George III. in 1S13. His grandson, Edward N. Conant of 
 Lyndon Hall, County Rutland, England, was high sherifl' of the 
 county, and in 1SS5 chairman of the Court of Qiiarter Sessions. 
 The younger sons of Richard and Agnes Conant, Christopher 
 and Roger, went to London about 1609, or when the elder 
 came of age. This date is fixed by the records of the Grocers' 
 Company, one of the great merchant guilds of London, to one 
 of the members of which, Thomas Allen by name, Christopher 
 was apprenticed. After serving an apprenticeship of seven 
 years he was admitted a freeman of London on March 14, 161 6. 
 In 1620 Roger signed the bond of his brother John, for the first- 
 fruits of the living of Lymington, and styles himself a " salter 
 of the parish of St. Lawrence Jewry," which clearly indicates 
 that he had become free of the company, for in those days of 
 punctilious observance of form and ceremony he would not 
 have assumed any title to which he had not a good right. 
 The fact that he was accepted as surety for a bond indicates 
 that he had prospered. We know nothing more of their life 
 in London beyond the fact that both were married during their 
 residence there, Roger married, in 161 S, Sarah Horton, and 
 to them there were born two children, both of whom died 
 young. Their other children were all born in this country. 
 The time of their residence in London saw the beginning of 
 the trouble between King James I. and his Parliament and 
 subjects. A large number of the latter believed that too many 
 
53 THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 of the old forms of worship had been preserved in the Church 
 as established by Qiieen Elizabeth, and that these led to super- 
 stition. This party were termed Puritans. They were espe- 
 cially strong in the well-to-do middle class. It is evident from 
 his subsequent position that Roger Conant ranked with the 
 Puritans. His relations, so far as we know them, were with 
 that party. His brother was prominent in their councils, and 
 his four nephews, all ministers of the Church, were Puritans. 
 With such sympathies, it is not strange that he early decided 
 to seek a new hom.e in the wilds of America, where freedom 
 of conscience was possible, and the principles of self-government 
 were even then instilling themselves into men's minds. But 
 what a contrast between the life of mankind at the time of the 
 Pilgrims, as they were called, who arrived on the first three 
 vessels, and now ! Then the world was ignorant of steam, 
 electricity, all the principles of chemistry, the barometer, ther- 
 mometer, the pendulum, and so many things we now deem 
 essential to every-day life. The principles of medical science 
 were little known, and charms and incantations were common 
 in the treatment of disease. 
 
 In 1633 the ship "Ann" arrived at Plymouth, it being the 
 third vessel, bringing ninety-six passengers, of whom Christopher 
 Conant is named as one. Among the other passengers were 
 Master John Oldham, his wife, and eight others not mentioned 
 by nam.e, who came at their own expense, — " particulars" they 
 are called to distinguish them from the colonists who came at 
 the general charge of the company in England. Roger Conant 
 was undoubtedly one of the unnamed eight, as in a petition he 
 fixes the date of his arrival as in 1633. 
 
 All track of Christopher is soon lost. In 1631 he sei-vcd on 
 the jury in the first trial for murder in the infant colony, which 
 is the last record of him to be found. He may have returned 
 to England, or fill an unmarked grave on the ancient Burying 
 Hill at Plymouth. 
 
THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 53 
 
 Roger Conant, after a short stay at Plymouth and Nantasket, 
 removed to Cape Ann to take charge of a colony planted by 
 the Dorchester Company, under the leadership of Rev. John 
 White, who knew of him through his brother, Rev. John 
 Conant of Lymington, England. Hubbard, the early historian 
 of New England, who knew Roger well, calls him " a pious, 
 sober, and prudent gentleman," and from all that is known 
 of him this statement cannot be doubted. The Dorchester 
 adventurers lost about three thousand pounds by their attempt 
 at Cape Ann ; and on the discovery by Roger Conant of a more 
 suitable location at Salem, the colony removed there in 1626, 
 Roger Conant building the first house in Salem, and remain- 
 ing in charge of the affairs of the company until the arrival of 
 Governor Endlcott in September, 162S. The removal from 
 Cape Ann to Salem marks the real beginning of the Massachu- 
 setts Colony. The old Dorchester adventurers had become 
 discouraged with their losses, and most of them had withdrawn 
 from the company. A large part of the colonists decided on 
 a removal to Virginia ; but Roger Conant could not be induced 
 to abandon the venture, and it was arranged that Rev. John 
 White, chief among the old adventurers, should procure a 
 charter for the new company, with the understanding that the 
 management should remain in the hands of Roger Conant. 
 The new charter was procured ; but the new members of the 
 company selected John Endicott as agent, and soon after he 
 was duly commissioned governor. The question whether 
 Conant or Endicott is entitled to be called first governor of 
 Massachusetts has created considerable discussion among anti- 
 quarians, but in my mind the question whether he was com- 
 missioned governor or not need not trouble us. The fact is 
 that he was the head of the colony which was the beginning 
 of Massachusetts Colony for about three years before Endicott 
 arrived, and if he did hold the place by royal commission, it 
 
54 THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 must have been by common consent of his companions, which 
 we, as good citizens of this republic, should regard as a higher 
 title than any to be conferred by royal power or chartered 
 authority. About 1637 he removed from Salem proper to that 
 part of the town now Beverly, settling on his part of a grant 
 of one thousand acres. Here he remained till his death, which 
 occurred in 1679. During his residence in Salem and Beverly 
 he was almost constantly occupied in town alTairs, as select- 
 man, representative to the General Court of Massachusetts in 
 1634, one of the justices of the Court of Qiiarter Sessions, dele- 
 gate to ordinations, etc., and enjoyed the companionship and 
 friendship of many whose names are still held in honor among 
 us, both on account of their own deeds and the prominence of 
 their descendants. Among these the names of Dodge, Haw- 
 thorne, Endicott, Palfrey, Parkman, Winthrop, and Woodbury 
 are best known. From Roger Conant probably nine-tenths of 
 those bearing the name in this country are descended. One 
 other immigrant, George Conant, ^vho came to Plymouth about 
 1730, is known to have left descendants, and there were possibly 
 others, but of this I am not sure. 
 
 From Beverly the family spread, at first to the neighboring 
 towns of Essex County, then, as the Indians were driven back 
 before the advancing waves of civilization, to the interior towns 
 of Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New 
 York. About the middle of the last century, Josiah Conant, 
 great-grandfather of Mr. Hezekiah Conant, removed from 
 Beverly to Dudley ; his brother Nathaniel, my great-grand- 
 father, at the same time removing to Alfred, Me. 
 
 After the Revolution, one branch of the family, which is 
 represented by the poet of the day, settled in Canada. Mem- 
 bers of the family were among the early settlers of the great 
 Western States of Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan. Some went 
 with the Forty-niners to the gold-fields of California, and one 
 
THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 55 
 
 went to the silver mines of Mexico, where his descendants still 
 
 remain. 
 
 The name has been honorably connected with some of the 
 grand events of American history. The name of Roger Conant 
 is inseparably linked with the history of the early settlement of 
 Massachusetts. It was with Col. William Conant of Charles- 
 town that Paul Revere planned showing the signal lanterns 
 from the steeple of the North Church to give warning of the 
 march of the British on Concord. Abner Hosmer, son of 
 Martha Conant and Deacon Jonathan Hosmer of Acton, was 
 killed on Concord Green the next day, April 19, 1775, one of 
 the first victims on the altar of American freedom. 
 
 The proportion of men which the family furnished to the 
 Revolutionary Army is no less remarkable than the record as 
 to ability shown. The population of the colonies at the time 
 of the Revolution was about three millions. The only estimate 
 of the total enrolment of the Continental Army which I can 
 find, and this includes duplication of names, sets the number 
 at 320,000, or about one in ten of the total population. Accord- 
 ing to a careful count, I find there were living, in 1780, one 
 hundred and fifty-two male Conants between the ages of fifteen 
 and eighty years, and there were not over four hundred men, 
 women, and children together. If the family had furnished its 
 proper proportion of one in ten, thirty-six or thirty-eight men 
 would have entered the Continental Army, instead of which I 
 find there were no less than seventy-seven, or one in five of its 
 total number. 
 
 I have not been able to obtain as complete records of soldiers 
 in the Rebellion as of Revolutionary soldiers, but have found 
 the names of ninety-four Conants who served in the Union 
 Army, which is probably as good a proportion as any family 
 furnished, for it must be remembered that the Union Army 
 contained a large foreign element. Forty of the name have 
 graduated from American colleges. 
 
56 THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 Our annals may not have been illumined by many person- 
 alities of meteoric bi'illiancy, but I think we may be awarded 
 with truthfulness the general high standard which I claimed at 
 first. If we would outdo our ancestors we have but to fix 
 our minds on a high aim, and live up to the family motto, 
 Conanti riihil est difficile. 
 
 The anthem, " How Beautiful are the Moun- 
 tains," was then sung by the choir, and the letter 
 of presentation of the church edifice of the First 
 Congregational Church and Society of Dudley by 
 the donor, Hezekiah Conant, was then read by 
 his son, Samuel M. Conant, and was received 
 with evidence of the warmest appreciation. 
 
 THE DONOR'S LETTER. 
 
 To THE First Congregational Church and Society of 
 Dudley, Mass. 
 
 My Dear Friends., — On the 5th of June, 1S90, I wrote a 
 letter proposing to build a church for you in place of the 
 structure which unhappily had been destroyed by fire on the 
 3d of that month. I encumbered that proposition with certain 
 conditions, named at the time ; and I also added that the edifice 
 should have a bell and clock in its tower, that it should have 
 pulpit and pews, heating and ventilating apparatus, and nice 
 rooms in the basement. To-day that promise is fulfilled ; the 
 structure is complete in a satisfactory and workman-like manner, 
 from turret to foundation stone. If the workmen have in any 
 way slighted the work, it is a deception that is practised upon 
 me ; at any rate, to-day the structure looks all right, and, as 
 such, I take pleasure in handing the possession over to you, for 
 
THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 57 
 
 whom it is intended ; that you may hold it forever, as a trust, 
 for the use of the people of this vicinity as a comfortable 
 meeting-house, a pleasant place for the Sabbath worship, and 
 any other assemblages for which it may properly be used. In 
 the nature of things, I cannot see that you can hold it in any 
 other manner than in trust for yourselves and the community. 
 To that end I recommend that you elect a board of trustees, 
 who will represent you as holders of the property, they to see 
 it is properly cared for, and not subjected to an unreasonable 
 wear or improper neglect. 
 
 In addition to all that I promised you, I have added an 
 
 organ from one of the best makers in the country, and I think 
 
 you will find it a pleasant-toned instrument, and a help to your 
 
 devotions. I have also furnished the seats with cushions and 
 
 carpets all alike, so that the poor and the rich shall have equal 
 
 comfort as they listen to the word of God as expounded from 
 
 the pulpit. Perhaps the farmer, tired in the summer season 
 
 with the gathering of his hay and crops, can sit and rest with 
 
 more comfort, and be better prepared in mind by the relief to 
 
 the weary body. The building which this replaces had a 
 
 predecessor which used to be called the "old church," and 
 
 I used to be told that no means for artificial heat were ever 
 
 put into it. In the coldest days of winter the rugged Puritans 
 
 used to sit through the morning, afternoon, and probably 
 
 evening ser\aces with no artificial heat, though I might qualify 
 
 a little by saying that some of the ladies of the well-to-do 
 
 farmers had little foot-stoves, and sometimes a hot stone or 
 
 jug of hot water brought from home served to cheer the 
 
 more delicate ones, but even these were not in abundant 
 
 supply. To-day in this building I believe that all can be 
 
 made comfortable in the coldest days of winter, and even 
 
 delicate ladies can enjoy the day's service without a hot brick 
 
 or patent foot-stove. 
 
58 THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 There is another attachment to the structure that was 
 not promised in my letter of June 5th referred to, and 
 that is the carriage-porch at the southeast entrance. There 
 are but few churches in the land so furnished, and it is 
 almost a novel feature ; yet in a stormy day or in a down- 
 pouring rain its convenience will be apparent, and its use- 
 fulness admitted. 
 
 The memorial window, representing Roger Conant sepa- 
 rating the combatants, is appropriate and not objectionable, it 
 seems to me, and I prefer it to any picture of celestial beings. 
 It represents an event in history, and it also shows a character- 
 istic of that eminent person. I do not know that he was 
 strictly a Puritan, yet he was a religious man, and a person 
 who commanded the confidence and respect of the community 
 in which he lived, and his character has no stain. And 
 though he never was canonized by any ecclesiastical authority, 
 yet when he prevented this quarrel he certainly was entitled to 
 the reward promised by Christ himself, who said, " Blessed 
 are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of 
 God." 
 
 The tablet in the vestibule, I trust, will be acceptable, 
 because I try thereby to express my intentions regarding the 
 pui-pose of the structure. Perhaps it may meet the eye of 
 some person who believes that there is a natural antagonism 
 between religion and science, and I feel that a word or two 
 here by me may not be inappropriate. Whether my duty 
 before me is towards God or my fellow-men, whether the 
 means to accomplish a grand result are placed in my hands by 
 my Creator or my fellow-creatures, I cannot do otherwise than 
 to act as a steward. If it is for a business which requires 
 capital, then it is my duty to invest that capital, using my best 
 judgment to do it in the interest of Him who has thus 
 endowed me. So, in the construction of a building like this, 
 
THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 59 
 
 I do it, not to promote any particular sect or creed, but to 
 accomplish some benefit to the world which God created. To 
 that end I devote the means which He has placed in my 
 hands. In no other way do I think I can so much promote 
 His glory. It is an axiom that ignorance is the mother of 
 crime : so Christianity will become more and more refined 
 and acceptable, the more intelligent and educated the com- 
 munity becomes. There is no gainsaying the fact that 
 Christianity and science must go hand in hand. "Mercy 
 and Truth must meet together; Righteousness and Peace 
 will kiss each other." I certainly expect the students of 
 Nichols Academy will be benefited by their attendance 
 here upon divine sen'ice, and will here hold their annual 
 exercises at the close of the academical year, as was their 
 custom in the old structure, the victim of last year's 
 conflagration. 
 
 I am not a theologian, but I have lived long enough in the 
 world to see, or at least believe, that every man has a mission 
 to fulfil. He is endowed by his Creator with certain faculties 
 of brain and muscle. He has a faculty to think, to observe, 
 and reason. The preacher should carefully consider this, and, 
 when he is called upon to give religious instruction, do his 
 best to make the truths appear reasonable to his hearers. I 
 believe the farmer is called to his farm, the manufacturer to 
 his factory, the mechanician, the carpenter, and builder to 
 their constructions, the doctor, lawyer, preacher, and teacher 
 each to his profession, and they will each win a reward in 
 proportion as they have been of service to the world. The 
 man wdio tills the land and delves in the soil is doing what he 
 can to supply the world with food ; drink has to be provided 
 by the construction of water-supply, which requires toil and 
 skill ; the naked must be clothed by the manufacturer ; coal and 
 iron must be mined, every necessity be obtained, and the 
 
6o THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 wheels of the raih'oads and the steamboats must be turned in 
 its distribution. In short, there is, to my mind, also a great 
 Scriptural warrant for the prosecution of the business of the 
 world, of agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, and all 
 their adjuncts and appliances ; and I believe that he who 
 honestl}^ pursues the line of business that God has called him 
 to, however insignificant and lowly, and is useful in the world, 
 and faithfully does his duty, will at last hear the grand enco- 
 mium, " Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom 
 prepared for you from the foundation of the world : for I 
 was hungry, and ye gave me meat : I was thirsty, and ye gave 
 me drink : I was a stranger, and ye took me in : naked, and ye 
 clothed me : sick, and ye visited me : in prison, and ye came 
 unto me." They have toiled and suffered to feed, clothe, and 
 shelter God's creatures, and relieve suffering humanity, and 
 have at last come up before the great Judge of all the earth. 
 Their hands are clean and their hearts are pure ; their faith is 
 good, but, unable to show it otherwise than by their works, it 
 will be, as with Abraham of old, counted unto them for 
 righteousness. 
 
 This building might have been so constructed as to add con- 
 siderably to its cost, and it might have been built for less 
 money. But as it stands to-day it is the outcome of the com- 
 bined judgment of the donor and his architect. They think it 
 will make a very satisfactory memorial, and a church good 
 enough for a small village and parish like this of Dudley 
 Centre. It is not so inflammable as the old building, and I 
 trust it will stand for centuries to come, and that it will also be 
 the means of grace to many an anxious and weary soul, and 
 that your children and their children's children will enjoy its 
 shelter, and here listen to the truth of Christianity when 
 refined by the influence of another hundred years of American 
 civilization. 
 
y -^w* ■ * 
 
 t^ 
 
 SYLVIA FERGUSON CONANT. 
 
THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 6i 
 
 Here the congregation was requested to rise 
 while the following was said: — 
 
 I now have the pleasure of placing in your hands the keys 
 of the edifice, and committing the care of it to your hands. I 
 trust that you will bear in mind that unto whom much is 
 given, of them shall be much required. The possession of 
 this structure adds to your facilities for doing good, enables 
 you to be of more use to your fellow-creatures, and adds 
 to your responsibilities. It will require some thought and 
 good judgment to properly perform your duty, yet I think 
 you are, and will continue to be, for yourselves and successors 
 in time to come, endowed by your Creator with sufficient 
 wisdom for this trust. I feel that in this I have used discre- 
 tion and my best judgment, and I can only add the hope that 
 God's blessing will be on this memorial, on this church, this 
 town, and all that dwell within its borders. 
 
 An appropriate response, accepting the edifice 
 in behalf of the Church and Society, was made 
 by Rev. T. C. Richards. The prayer of conse- 
 cration was made by Rev. Alexander McGregor 
 of Pawtucket, R.I., and the anthem, " Hark! hark! 
 my Soul," was sung by the choir. At this point 
 a part not in the printed programme took place. 
 An infant grand-daughter of the donor of the 
 church, a daughter of Samuel M. Conant, was 
 baptized under the name of Sylvia Ferguson 
 Conant, by the pastor. Rev. Mr. Richards, and 
 the fontal bowl was presented to the new 
 
62 THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 church in her name. The forenoon's exercises 
 were closed with Doxology and benediction by 
 Rev. T. C. Richards. 
 
 At one P.M., all those present were invited to 
 a dinner set in Academy Hall, at which two 
 sittings were required to accommodate the 
 large numbers. About thirty-five members of 
 the Conant family, by special invitation, dined 
 with Hezekiah Conant at his spacious and 
 palatial mansion, where a very interesting social 
 time was enjoyed. 
 
THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 63 
 
 THE AFTERNOON EXERCISES. 
 
 The afternoon services in the church, begin- 
 ning at half-past two, were opened with an 
 " Andante Movement from the Fifth Symphony " 
 (Beethoven), on the organ, followed by the 
 anthem, " O Thou to Whom in Ancient Time " 
 (Morrison), sung by the same quartette as of 
 the morning; invocation and Lord's Prayer, by 
 Rev. E. S. Tingley, former pastor; responsive 
 reading of Scripture, by Rev. T. T. Filmer of 
 Webster; addresses by Rev. C. H. Pettibone 
 of Southbridge, Rev. C. L. Goodell of Boston, 
 and Rev. Prof. A. L. Perry of Hartford, Conn.; 
 anthem, "In Heavenly Love abiding," by the 
 choir; dedication prayer by Rev. H. A. Blake 
 of Webster; thank offering, tenor solo, "Fear 
 not Ye, O Israel" (Buck), hymn and benediction 
 brought the day's great work to a close. 
 
 Extended notices were given these exer- 
 cises by the following newspapers, all of date 
 December 18, 1891: Webster " Times," Worcester 
 "Spy," Worcester "Telegram," Boston "Daily 
 Globe," Pawtucket "Evening Times," "The 
 Evening Reporter" (Woonsocket, R.I.), "Evening 
 Telegram" (Providence). 
 
64 THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 Lists of members of the Conant family invited 
 to attend the dedication of the " Conant Memorial 
 Church," with addresses. 
 
 Conant, Alban Jasper, New York, 51 West loth St. 
 
 Conant, Albert, Boston, 73 Union St. 
 
 Conant, Albert Francis, Brookline, Mass., Kent St. 
 
 Conant, Alonzo G., Pepperell, Mass. 
 
 Conant, Charles Albion, Rev., Voorheesville, Albany 
 County, N.Y. 
 
 Conant, Charles F., Westfield, Union County, N.J., 
 P.O. Box 3S3. 
 
 Conant, Chester Cook, Hon., Greenfield, Mass. 
 
 Conant, Edward Davis, Newton Centre, Mass. 
 
 Conant, Edward W., Oldtown, Maine. 
 
 Conant, Ernest Lee, New York, 33 Nassau St. 
 
 Conant, Eugene F., Denver, Col. 
 
 Conant, Eugene H., Camden, N.Y. 
 
 Conant, Frank H., New York, care Navy Yard. 
 
 Conant, Fred. Odell, Portland, Me., 139 Park St. 
 
 Conant, George F., Camden, N.Y. 
 
 Conant, George H., New York, 43 West Broadway. 
 
 Conant, Hamilton S., Providence, R.I. 
 
 Conant, Harlan Page, Boston, 73 Union St., resi- 
 dence Mount Vernon, N.H. 
 
 Conant, Harrison, J., Worcester, Mass., 556 Main St. 
 
 Conant, Harry Armitage, Hon., Monroe, Mich. 
 
 Conant, Henry Washington, Rev., Somerville, Mass., 
 
 247 Highland Ave. 
 Conant, James Scott, Boston, 3 Franklin St. 
 Conant, John A., Willimantic, Conn. 
 Conant, John Shubael, Princeton, N.J. 
 
THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 65 
 
 CoNANT, Lewis S., Boston, care The N. Ward Company. 
 CoNANT, Lucy C, Mrs., Cambridge, Mass. 
 CoNANT, LuMAN E., Waltham, Mass. 
 CoNANT, Marshall, La Cross, Wis. 
 CoNANT, Nathaniel, Brookline, Mass. 
 CoNANT, Robert Warren, M.D., Chicago, 4743 Ken- 
 wood Ave. 
 CoNANT, Silas, Acton, Mass. 
 
 CoNANT, Thomas, Esq., Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. 
 CoNANT, Thomas Oakes, New York, care U.S. Assay 
 Office. 
 
 CoNANT, William Cowper, New York, P.O. Box 3059. 
 CoNANT, William Henry, Portland, Me., care Portland 
 & Rochester Railway. 
 
 Conant, William Henry, Dea., Boston, 16 Washington 
 St., residence Mount Vernon, N.H. 
 
 Bunton, Henry S., Hyde Park, Mass. 
 
 Church, William Conant, New York, 240 Broadway. 
 
 Coleman, Caryl, New York, care The Tiffany G. & D. Co. 
 
 Foster, George Craigie, New York, 7 West 29th St. 
 
 Galloupe, Charles W., Boston, 35 Devonshire St. 
 
 GiDDiNGS, Edward Leech, Boston, 105 Devonshire St. 
 
 Hitchcock, D. W., Mrs., Boston. 
 
 Lewis, Alvah Conant, Brooklyn, N.Y. 
 
 Morse, L. Foster, Roxbury, Mass., 225 Humboldt Ave. 
 
 Rodenbough, T. F., Gen., New York, i East 55th St. 
 
 Storrs, Richard Salter, Rev., D.D., Brooklyn, N.Y. 
 
 Tracy, John Martin, Greenwich, Conn. 
 
@op)? of a ^i^cour^c 
 
 DELIVERED ON FAST-DAY, APRIL 9, 1S35, CONTAINING AN HISTORICAL 
 SKETCH OF THE TOWN OF DUDLEY, MASS., 
 
 BY REV. JAMES H. FRANCIS. 
 
DISCOURSE, 
 
 Ps. Lxxviii. 5, 6, 7. — " For he established a testimony in Jacob, and 
 appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers that 
 they should make them known to their children; that the gener- 
 ation to come might know them, even the children which should be 
 born ; who should arise and declare them to their children ; that 
 they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, 
 but keep his commandments." 
 
 It is both interesting and useful to learn the history of any 
 people; especially to trace out their origin, and ascertain 
 those early events and transactions which peculiarly influence 
 their future character and destiny. The early history of Greece 
 and Rome, and of our own remote ancestors on the sea-begirt 
 isle, though involved in obscurity and mingled with fable, we 
 peruse with deep interest. The origin and progress to 
 national existence of that people to whom the Scripture quoted 
 pertains, are traced with distinctness and authentically recorded. 
 Their history was written under the guidance of divine inspi- 
 ration. And herein do we find, not only an unqualified recog- 
 nition of a divine, providential agency in the common current 
 of events, but a record of extraordinary and mighty deeds 
 performed by the Lord their God, for their deliverance and 
 protection, for their prosperity and welfare when obedient, for 
 their chastisement when undutiful. The Psalmist, in accord- 
 ance with the design of Jehovah, would perpetuate tlie 
 remembrance of these mighty acts, that those who should 
 successively arise might set their hope in God and keep His 
 
70 THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 commandments. Therefore did he often make them the 
 theme of those inspired songs which from age to age were 
 to be celebrated in the sanctuary. 
 
 The early history of our nation, of this American Israel, 
 though presenting no instances of miraculous interposition, is 
 yet most worthy of attention and remembrance, as evincing 
 conspicuously the superintending agency of divine Providence, 
 no less than noble and worthy traits of human character. 
 And, as in histoiy usually, a general view enlists our feelings 
 less than individual incidents ; so there is increased, rather than 
 diminished, interest in descending from the relation which 
 respects a country to that pertaining to a particular com- 
 munity, especially if it be the one of our nativity or permanent 
 abode. It is my intention at this time to present, according to 
 the best available sources of information, a concise relation of 
 the most important events and transactions pertaining to the 
 settlement and subsequent history of this town. 
 
 The earliest notice of this region of country which I have 
 been able to find, is one connected with an account of opera- 
 tions in behalf of the religious welfare of the Indians. To 
 diffuse over these original tenants of our soil the salutary 
 influence of the Gospel, was a prominent object in view of 
 the benevolent . . . who first emigrated to this western world. 
 Says one historian, " The conversion of the Indians was none 
 of the least motives that persuaded many of the inhabitants of 
 New England to transport themselves thither." In labors for 
 this object the names of Eliot and Mayhew are distinguished. 
 By their efforts, in connection with others, was the Bible trans- 
 lated into the Indian language, many of the natives religiously 
 instructed, churches formed among them, and at many loca- 
 tions throughout the colony were meetings established where 
 they assembled to worship God and sanctify the Sabbath. At 
 length a magistrate was appohited to superintend the concerns 
 
THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 71 
 
 of the praying Indians., as they were called. The first person 
 selected for this office was Daniel Gookin, in 1656. There 
 were several which were then called old towns of praying- 
 Indians, as Natick, Hassemamessit (now Grafton), Magunkee- 
 quag (now Hopkinton), and others. There were several, 
 also, which were denominated 7iew towns of praying Indians. 
 These were all more distant than the others from Boston. 
 Among the latter were included, under difterent names, 
 Oxford, Woodstock, and Dudley. These began to hearken to 
 the Gospel about 1670. Oxford (called Munchuge) contained 
 twelve families. " About five miles distant from this place," 
 says Gookin, in his account given 1674, " is Chabanakong- 
 kamun " ; or, as it has been since differently spelled and 
 pronounced, Shawgunagunkawa. Such was the euphonic 
 Indian name for this town. The description continues : "It 
 hath its denomination from a very great pond, five or six miles 
 long, that borders upon the south end of it. This village is 
 fifty-five miles west by south from Boston ; there are in it nine 
 families. The people are of a sober deportment, and better 
 instructed in the worship of God than any of the new praying 
 towns. Their teacher's name is Joseph, who is one of the 
 church of Hassemamessit (Grafton), a sober, pious, and 
 ingenious person, and speaks English well, and is well read in 
 the Scriptures." The native here spoken of as a Christian 
 and teacher of the Indians dwelling in this settlement, was the 
 first who resided among them as a religious instructor. He 
 came about two years previous to the above account: i.e., in 
 1672. Gookin further represents his as then a " new planta- 
 tion, well accommodated with upland and meadows." The 
 Indians residing here were of the Nipmuck tribe, whose ruler 
 was Wattasacompanum, and are represented to have been, 
 after King Philip's War, tributary to a sachem whose resi- 
 dence was sometimes at the place where Bristol, R.I., now is. 
 
73 THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 and at others where is at present the town of Middleborough. 
 "At this settlement," adds the writer above named, in his 
 remarks concerning these ancient proprietors of your soil, 
 " dwells an Indian called Black James, who, about a year 
 since (1673), was constituted a constable of all the new pray- 
 ing towns. He is a person that hath approved himself diligent 
 and courageous, faithful and zealous to suppress sin." 
 
 In a letter of the celebrated Indian missionary, Eliot, con- 
 tained in the Historical Collections under date of 1684, Cha- 
 banakongkamun is mentioned as one of the stated places 
 where the Indians met "to worship God and sanctify the 
 Sabbath," after King Philip's War. This war, the most 
 rancorous and destructive that ever occurred betw^een the 
 whites and the aborigines, commenced in 1675, and ended in 
 1676 with the death of that shrewd and distinguished chief. 
 From the above remark of Eliot it would seem that this con- 
 test, though for the time most bloody, and involving a large 
 portion of the Indians, did not obliterate the impressions of 
 truth previously made on those rude sons of the forest who 
 occupied this spot. Yet I may add, it appears in the event to 
 have been the same with them as with others of their race 
 who have enjoyed the instructions of the Gospel, — no very 
 permanent influence was thereby exerted on them, especially as 
 a community or tribe, however it may have been with indi- 
 viduals. Their habits and manner of life were not essentially 
 changed. In records subsequently pertaining to the Church 
 here, I find no instance of an Indian admitted to a full com- 
 munion, and the names of only three who were admitted, as it 
 was then termed, to own the covenant. The tribe now, as 
 you well know, has dwindled to the merest remnant. 
 
 This brief account of the ancient tenants of your soil I will 
 close with an anecdote related in Hutchinson's history, which 
 shows that the race who have succeeded them do not surpass 
 
THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 73 
 
 them at least in longevity. " In 1734, August 25, a Nipmuck 
 Indian, John Quittumug, went to Boston and was entertained 
 there by gentlemen who accounted him a great prodigy. Forty 
 years before he had been remarked as an old Indian, and must 
 have been above one hundred and twelve years of age ; for he 
 constantly affirmed that in the year 1630, upon a message from 
 the English that they were in want of corn, soon after their 
 an'ival, he went with his father to Boston, and carried from 
 his country one and one-half bushels of corn all the way on 
 his back ; that then there was but one cellar begun in Boston, 
 and this somewhere near the Common. At the time of the 
 last journey, nearly one hundred 3'ears after the other, he was 
 in good health, his understanding and memory entire, and he 
 travelled ten miles a day." He lived, it is said, near the town 
 of Woodstock, probably in this town. " In 1686, many 
 inhabitants of Roxbury," Hutchinson remarks, "pitched upon 
 a tract of land to settle u|)on, which was bounded upon the south 
 by Woodward and Saffi-ey's line, and it was granted to them by 
 the Massachusetts government, and took the name of Wood- 
 stock." Grants were also made to particular persons near this 
 line. How early grants were made or any white persons came 
 to reside within the original limits of Dudley, I have not 
 means to determine. It is, however, quite certain that none 
 settled here during a considerable period subsequent to the 
 above date relative to Woodstock, 1686. One statement I 
 have seen, probably derived from tradition, dates the first 
 settlement in 1720. It is probable that individuals came here 
 as early as tliat. No families, however, it would seem, could 
 have been located here until some time afterward. Deeds of 
 land are found dated as early as 1725. Tradition says that 
 Abigail Corbin, the daughter of James Corbin, was the first 
 white person born in this town, and that Joseph Healey, the 
 father of the present Major Lemuel Healey, was the first white 
 
74 THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 male birth. According to their family record, he was born 
 June 1 6, 1729, and it is said but a few days after the other. 
 The families of Edmunds and Newell, that were from Roxbury 
 in this State, probably came some little time previous to 
 Mr. Healey. The latter was from Newton. 
 
 In 1732, June ist, this settlement was incorporated as a 
 town. In the preamble to the act of incorporation, the reasons 
 are thus stated: "Whereas, there are many inhabitants 
 already settled on a tract of land lying between the towns of 
 Woodstock and Oxford, who, together with others on the 
 southwest part of Oxford, are very remote from a?ty place 
 of the public worship of God, are very conveniently situated 
 for a township, and have petitioned," etc. The name of 
 Dudley was given to it, manifestly out of regard to two men 
 who owned tracts of land there, Paul and William Dudley, 
 members of a distinguished family in the early period of the 
 Commonwealth. The order for the first town meeting, issued 
 by the House of Representatives, runs thus: "That Joseph 
 Edmunds, one of the principal inhabitants of the town of 
 Dudley, in the county of Worcester, be directed and empow- 
 ered to notify," etc. This first meeting for the appointment of 
 officers was held on the twentieth of the same month in which 
 the act of incorporation was passed, and Joseph Edmunds was 
 chosen moderator, — also first selectman; James Corbin, Sr., 
 second selectman ; Ebenezer Edmunds, the third ; George 
 Robinson, the fourth; John Lillie, the fifth, and also town 
 clerk. The meeting was held at the dwelling-house of 
 William Carter. In two days after this a meeting was notified 
 for the express purpose of devising measures to obtain a 
 minister of the Gospel. Thus early did the object of provid- 
 ing for themselves and their children the institutions of religion 
 engage the fathers of this town. At that meeting, held on the 
 29th of the same June, the selectmen were authorized to 
 
THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 75 
 
 employ a religious teacher for one year. " Voted also, that 
 William Carter's house be the place of meeting for publick 
 worship." There were other votes indicative somewhat of the 
 customs of those times; one that "Jonathan Newell be the 
 man to set the psalm at public worship"; another, "that 
 Joseph Pepper be the man to read the psalm" (/.^., to read 
 it line by line as they sang). At the next town meeting in 
 September following, it was determined "to send to their 
 Honors, Judge Dudley, Colonel Dudley, and Colonel Fitch to 
 see if they would do anything to aid in settling a minister, and 
 building a meeting-house." This application resulted in the 
 gift from the Dudleys of one hundred acres of land lying east- 
 ward of William Carter's, and one hundred pounds in money. 
 At another meeting in November, this gift was by a vote 
 accepted, and at the same time Mr. Isaac Richardson was 
 chosen to settle with them in the ministry. The day and the 
 council and the place (which was Mr. Joshua Healey's house) 
 for his ordination were agreed on, but some difficulties arose, 
 and after several fruitless attempts to remove them, he left. 
 Sundry meetings having been held in relation to building a 
 house of worship, it was finally, January 30, 1736, determined 
 " to place it on Joshua Pegin's old field, provided the land 
 could be procured for that purpose, and also enough for a 
 training-field and burying-ground." On the following March, 
 the town voted to accept four acres, for these purposes, of the 
 original proprietors, " on the top of Joshua Pegin's hill," and 
 also to perform the conditions, viz. : " to allow the Indians 
 a convenient seat or seats in our meeting-house when it was 
 up." The spot here denoted is that on which this house of 
 worship now stands. It was then contemplated having the 
 burying-ground connected with the plot for the meeting-house, 
 as was usual in those early days of New England, but this was 
 found to be undesirable, because the earth near the surface 
 
^6 THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 was so entirely saturated with water. One grave, it is said, 
 after the excavation, filled before the burial took place. This 
 was the grave of James Scott, killed by the fall of a tree, the 
 first white person interred in Dudley. James Corbin, Joseph 
 Pepper, Clement Corbin, and William Carter purchased the 
 land where the old burying-ground in the centre now is, and 
 for this purpose. The oldest place in town is said to be that 
 near the Quinebaug River. The meeting-house was voted to be 
 fifty feet long and forty wide. It was raised on the 33d of 
 October, 1734, a little more than two years after the town was 
 incorporated. The next year the citizens of the town assem- 
 bled, voted to concur with the Church in observing the loth of 
 April as a day of fasting and prayer with reference to settling 
 a minister. On this day, Mr. Pearly Howe of Killingly, 
 Conn., was chosen to be their pastor, "by a great majority," 
 it is recorded, " of both Church and town." He was ordained 
 on the 1 2th of June, 1735. Those requested to attend as 
 the ordaining council, were the Rev. Messrs. Williams of 
 Pomfret, Conn., Campbell of Oxford, Troop of Woodstock, 
 Peabody of Natick, Cabot of Thompson, and Walter of 
 Roxbury. 
 
 To schools there was not as early and prompt attention here 
 as was usual with the fathers of New England. The first 
 appropriation for schools fi-om the public treasury was in 
 1739. The amount was twenty pounds. Forty pounds also 
 were voted to build a schoolhouse, which was to be erected 
 on the public plot already purchased. Little, however, was 
 immediately done in accordance with these provisions. 
 It appears that no school was sustained here until i743) 
 when the town record notices a Mr. May as having kept 
 one during the previous winter. In subsequent years, grants 
 of money were not infrequently made for this important 
 object. 
 
THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 77 
 
 Difficulties now arose in respect to Mr. Howe, which, after 
 serious efforts to heal them and retain him, resulted in his 
 dismission in 1743. Not long after this, however, he was 
 settled in Killingly, Conn. In May, 1744, the town by vote 
 concurred with the Church in appointing, in the language of 
 the record, a day of solemn fasting and prayer to God for 
 counsel and direction in the great and important affair of 
 calling and settling a minister. Subsequently, JMr. Charles 
 Gleason of Brookline, Mass., was invited to settle. He was 
 ordained here in October, 1744. 
 
 The Church in Dudley was doubtless organized in 1732- 
 But there are found no church records of date prior to that to 
 which we have now brought the history of the town, — i744* 
 The first records pertaining exclusively to the Church now in 
 our possession, were commenced by Mr. Gleason. In these 
 nothing is contained respecting the previous concerns of the 
 Church. The first mention of the Church in the town records 
 is under date of April 23, 1733. Thus, though it is certain 
 one then existed here, when it was organized does not, as to 
 the precise time, appear. The Rev. Mr. Johnson, in a brief 
 statistical account in the town-book, dates it in 1732. He had 
 means, probabl}', of determining this point, which we have 
 not, and may be relied on as correct. It is not improbable 
 that the Church was formed while the affair was pending in 
 respect to Mr. Richardson, the first person selected, as already 
 observed, for pastor. In the first doings of the town, in rela- 
 tion to his settlement, there is no recognition of the doings of 
 the Church, which, according to New England usage in such 
 cases, was an irregularity. In the calling of a minister, the 
 Church had uniformly acted first, and then the town or 
 Society concurred or not, as they saw fit. The reason why 
 the proceeding was not in this manner in the instance before 
 us tnay have been that no Church had been regularly organ- 
 
78 THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 ized. However that was, there is in the town records notice 
 of a meeting of the Church at the time above mentioned, 
 April 35, 1733, at which Mr. Richardson was chosen to be 
 pastor, and the time appointed for his ordination ; and there 
 being on the same day a meeting of the town, they voted con- 
 currence with the Church, though the town had previously 
 acted on the same points. Thus they adopted, and subse- 
 quently followed, the custom, in this particular, of Congrega- 
 tional Churches in New England. 
 
 How many or who were the original members of the 
 Church, or what number was added during the ministry of 
 Mr. Howe, as no church records of that period are extant, I 
 have no means of determining. The ministry of Mr. Gleason 
 was a protracted one of nearly forty-six years, until his death 
 in May, 1790, at the age of seventy-five. 
 
 In December, 1790, Rev. Joshua Johnson, having been 
 dismissed from North Woodstock, was installed in Dudley. 
 He left the pastoral office here in 17965 in May. Afterward 
 he was located as an instructor and preacher in Whitestown, 
 N.Y. From the last date there was an interval of three years, 
 during which there was no settled minister. 
 
 In June, 1799, Mr. Abiel Williams of Raynham, Mass., 
 was ordained in this place to the work of the ministry. He 
 was dismissed in March, 1S31. 
 
 In August following, on the twenty-fourth day, the present 
 pastor was ordained. 
 
 The first deacons of the Church in Dudley appear, from the 
 mention of their names on the town record, to have been 
 Joseph Edmunds and Benjamin Conant. In 1745, Jonathan 
 Newell was chosen; 1763, Jacob Bradbury; 1770, Abijah 
 Newell and Edward Davis, brother of the present General 
 Davis of Oxford ; 1773, Jason Phipps ; 1795, Jonathan Bacon ; 
 1S13, William Healey ; 1820, Simpson Earned; and in 1S33, 
 
THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 79 
 
 the present officiating deacons (Abner Perry and Charles 
 Carpenter) were appointed to their office. 
 
 The number received into full communion with the Church 
 during the ministry of Mr. Gleason was one hundred and 
 forty-five ; during that of Mr. Johnson and till Mr. Williams, 
 forty-eight; during that of Mr. Williams, about one hundred 
 and ninety ; since that time, fifty-three. 
 
 The baptisms during Mr. Gleason's time were eight hundred 
 and fifty-seven ; by Mr. Johnson, seventy-nine ; by Mr. 
 Williams, two hundi'ed and nineteen. 
 
 The practice, formerly somewhat general in New England, 
 was adopted by the Church in Dudley, of permitting persons 
 who did not consider themselves truly pious, to take the cove- 
 nant, as it was termed, that their children might be baptized. 
 This scheme was sometimes denominated the half-way cove- 
 7iant. It consisted in a public profession of belief in the 
 doctrines of Christianity, and a promise to assume the obliga- 
 tions and perform the duties implied, whenever they felt pre- 
 pared to do it. In a formula adopted by this Church since 
 Mr. Gleason's day, the article in respect to this practice runs 
 thus : "And when peculiar circumstances require, we do 
 profess it our duty to admit persons to covenant and their 
 children to baptism, who, through a tenderness of conscience, 
 and for want of sufficient light, may think themselves unable 
 to come to the Lord's Supper, and who shall engage to come 
 forward so soon as by divine grace they find their difficulties 
 removed." Whatever plausibility and seeming advantages may 
 have attended this usage, yet is it not only without any 
 warrant from Scripture, but experience has fully proved it to 
 be detrimental to the purity of the Church and to the pros- 
 perity of vital godliness. It was continued here during Mr. 
 Gleason's ministry. None appear to have been received in 
 this manner after his day ; at least, none are thus recorded, 
 
So THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 though in the covenant subsequently adopted the practice was 
 recognized as valid. The number of members of this descrip- 
 tion, as found on Mr. Gleason's record, is one hundred and 
 twenty. 
 
 Another usage, both of this and other Congregational 
 Churches formerly, was that of requiring persons, upon their 
 admission, to confess (if having been guilty) certain more 
 flagrant sins. This was done away with during the ministry 
 of Mr. Johnson. At a Church meeting, February i, 1796: 
 "Voted unanimously, that the ancient practice in this Church 
 of requiring and making public confessions of offences, by 
 persons not in Church membership, before the congregation, is 
 suspended, and that no record hereafter be made of any person 
 making their peace with this Church." 
 
 In the time of Mr. Gleason, the Lord's Supper was admin- 
 istered once in two months. Early in the ministry of Mr. 
 Johnson, it was resolved "That there be but five communion 
 days in each year." The former practice, however, which has 
 obtained to the present time, was probably soon afterward 
 revived. 
 
 The confession of faith and covenant now in use were intro- 
 duced by Mr. Johnson, that which had been previously used 
 being lost. 
 
 What, anterior to this, was the method adopted in ascer- 
 taining the qualifications of those desirous of admission to the 
 Church, does not appear. It may have been here, as it is 
 known to have been in other cases, that the pastor alone 
 attended to the examination, as far as any was instituted. 
 But in 1796 it was determined that "every person desirous of 
 joining in full communion with this Church, previous to their 
 being admitted, shall attend at a Church meeting to be 
 appointed, in order that the candidate may give satisfaction to 
 the Church concerning his qualifications, when every member 
 
THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. Si 
 
 shall have the liberty of asking the candidate such questions as 
 they may judge proper." The method now practised, you 
 know, is that of examination by a committee of several indi- 
 viduals appointed by the Church from time to time, as a stand- 
 ing committee for this express object. Perhaps a still further 
 improvement would be to have such a meeting as was formerly 
 held after this examination by the committee. In respect to 
 admission to the Church, I tind in the records a resolution of 
 some importance passed in 1820 : " That whenever any person 
 or persons shall wish to become members of this Church, and 
 cannot feel it their duty to give up their children in baptism, 
 that if the persons can satisfy this Church as to their experi- 
 ence of religion, and that their objections in bringing forward 
 their children to baptism are real conscientious scruples, and 
 shall satisfy this Church that they are so, then they may be 
 admitted to the fellowship of this Church." 
 
 It appears that there were in town, quite early after its 
 settlement, persons differing from the Congregationalists in 
 religious sentiments. Under date of 1744, the year of Mr. 
 Gleason's ordination, a certificate was presented to the town 
 clerk with the names of Joseph Wakefield, Benjamin Putney, 
 Paul Robinson, Silas Robinson, and Jonathan Putney, as 
 members of the Baptist Church, and with those of Francis 
 Curtis, John Curtis, and William Wakefield, who attended the 
 Baptist meeting, — signed Jonathan Marsh, clerk of the Baptist 
 Church, James Coats, brother of the Church. The design of 
 this certificate was to exempt these individuals from the assess- 
 ment of the general tax for religious purposes. With them 
 probably originated the Baptist Church and Society in Webster, 
 which was then the eastern section of Dudley. The method 
 of raising money for ecclesiastical uses at that day in New 
 England was almost invariably by a tax levied on property. 
 This was the method originally pursued here, though it was 
 
83 THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 long since relinquished, doubtless on account of the difficulties 
 arising from diversities in religious opinions and practice. In 
 1756, there was a vote of the town to exempt the Baptists 
 from paying the assessment for the support of the Gospel. A 
 similar exemption was granted in 1792 to all who did not 
 belong to the Congregational denomination. It appears that 
 the annual expenses had not been fully met, that debt had 
 accumulated somewhat at the close of Mr. Gleason's ministry 
 in 1 790, and a portion of the inhabitants were unwilling to be 
 considered as belonging to this, which was then regarded as 
 the standitig order. Dissent from it had commenced here 
 much earlier than in most other towns in the Commonwealth. 
 The number that usually assembled for public worship was 
 small ; and after Mr. Gleason's death disagreement arose 
 between his heirs and the people in relation to his pecuniary 
 claims. Difficulties similar to these existed during the six 
 years of Mr. Johnson's continuance here, though for aught 
 that appears, his was, in other respects, a happy and useful 
 ministry. The appropriations for his support were made out 
 in part by a tax and partly by subscription. After he left in 
 1796, effort was made to unite those who were disposed to 
 maintain public worship as Congregationalists, and, as such, 
 formed themselves into a society, adopting cei-tain articles by 
 which they should be i-egulated. This instrument received 
 the signature of seventy of the citizens. To them, as a 
 Society, the town relinquished all their right to the meeting- 
 house, except for the purpose of public meetings for town 
 business. In a short time the Society obtained an act of 
 incorporation by which they were constituted The First Con- 
 gregational Society in Dudley., making all the inhabitants 
 who usually met with said Society for public worship, and 
 who did not belong to any other religious society, subject to 
 all the burdens and entitled to all the privileges of the same ; 
 
THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 83 
 
 and John Chamberlain was directed to call the first meeting 
 by issuing his warrant to some principal member of the 
 Society. On the loth of July, 1797, pursuant to a warrant 
 issued to David Nichols, the Society met and chose the neces- 
 sary officers. 
 
 The meeting-house, which had not been entirely finished, 
 was now altered and repaired ; new pews were made, and in 
 June, 1798, they were rented for three years at $382.50 per 
 annum. They were rented in a similar manner at successive 
 periods until 1820. Thus it appears that the method of con- 
 ducting ecclesiastical affairs, established generally by the first 
 settlers of New England, was in some respects here early 
 changed. In some few towns in the State even now the 
 Congregational Society is bounded chiefly by geographical 
 lines, almost all within them belong to it, and their expendi- 
 tures, as formerly, are defrayed by a tax assessed according to 
 property. 
 
 Others than the Baptists, differing from those who first 
 settled here, have, for a considerable period, composed a part 
 of this population. The first Universalist meeting held within 
 your limits was in an unfinished dwelling-house near the 
 Centre (A. Tufts now owns and occupies it), in the year 
 1792 or 1793. This was about twenty years after Universal- 
 ism was imported into the country from England in the 
 person of John Murray, and less than twice the same period 
 from the time when this scheme took somewhat the form of a 
 system, and universal salvation as a leading doctrine of the 
 Bible was first proclaimed to the world by James Relly. The 
 second meeting here of those who were disposed to favor this 
 new sect was held, perhaps, within a year of the preceding. 
 It was attended at the meeting-house chiefly by persons from 
 the neighboring towns, where this transatlantic heresy had 
 even then, it seems, gained considerable currency. Persons 
 
84 THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 are now living among us who have heard Murray himself 
 preach at Oxford. Indeed, this founder of the sect in our 
 country died in Boston, 1815, only twenty years ago. Thus 
 it appears that Universalism is an exotic of recent growth. 
 Subsequent to this second meeting, none was held for the 
 purpose of inculcating it here for a long period. Yet the 
 seeds of error which had been sown did not die. The first 
 academy designed especially to mature and cultivate it was 
 erected about 181 6. During this time and somewhat previ- 
 ously, there were occasional appointments for this object at 
 the dwelling-house of the individual who was the principal 
 agent in building it. The designs of this individual and those 
 associated with him, in respect to the diffusion of this new 
 doctrine, to which the academy was to be made subservient, 
 were, in a measure, frustrated by the burning of this edifice. 
 Constructed and fitted up as a place for instruction, not only in 
 literature and science, but also in religion, — universal religion, 
 — it caught fire, and was consumed just on the eve of its com- 
 pletion. And, although another was erelong erected, bearing 
 the appellation of the original projector, it has only, in a very 
 limited degree, if at all, subserved, and failed entirely to 
 accomplish, the object which he intended. 
 
 Previous to 1S19, some few individuals attached or favorable 
 to the Methodist denomination resided here. But they seldom, 
 if ever, assembled by themselves for religious worship. At 
 the pei-iod above named, however, during the prevalence of a 
 general religious excitement, they not only mingled with the 
 Congregationalists in their frequent convocations, but held 
 meetings of their own appointment. Thus commenced their 
 efforts and operations among this people as a separate denomi- 
 nation. 
 
 In respect to the physicians who have practised in town, 
 though I am not able to state the time when they commenced 
 
THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 85 
 
 or terminated severally their professional careers, I can 
 mention their names in the order, I believe, in which they 
 succeeded one another. The first, according to the records 
 which I have had opportiinit}' to examine, was William 
 Stimpson from Reading ; the second was John Day ; the third 
 was Doctor Walden ; the fourth, Doctor Lillie ; the fifth, John 
 Eliot Eaton. To him succeeded the present practitioner. 
 Dr. Samuel P. Knight. Previous to Doctor Eaton, and prob- 
 ably during the early part of his course, a son of the Rev. Mr. 
 Gleason pursued to some little extent here the medical pro- 
 fession, and also a man by the name of James Walcot. This 
 town has hitherto sustained a character for health and lon- 
 gevity equal, probably, to any other in the State, superior 
 certainl}' to some in the vicinity. 
 
 In the year 1S19, there prevailed among this people, as 
 in many other parts of our land, an vmcommon religious 
 interest. The attention of numbers, previously estranged from 
 God and the way of life, was turned to the things of their 
 everlasting peace. They sought the Lord and found Him, and 
 shared in the ineffable benefits of His grace. Large accessions 
 were made to the Church ; and, as many of you can remember 
 far better than I can describe, Zion was made to rejoice with 
 thanksgiving and praise to her Lord and King. And precious 
 fruits of that interesting season of merciful visitation are still 
 witnessed in our midst, though some who were then numbered 
 with the people of God have turned back, and walk no more 
 with them. 
 
 A result of that, similar to results which have followed 
 other revivals of religion, was the alienation of some farther 
 than before from evangelical doctrines and the institutions of 
 the Gospel. Citizens, who until this time had retained the 
 Puritan habit of a regular attendance at the house of God on 
 the Sabbath, now, being offended, began to decline, and 
 
86 THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 erelong became open opposers of truth and godliness. Men 
 who do not love the truth may associate with those who do in 
 what pertains to the exterior of religion, in observing the 
 ceremonials of worship and the forms of divine institutions ; 
 but when the light of truth is clearly exhibited, and its power 
 is made to tell on the heart and conscience, when the claims 
 of duty are vividly presented and urged as immediately obliga- 
 tory on every impenitent, disobedient subject of God's govern- 
 ment, many oftentimes turn away and close every avenue of 
 their minds against the light. It was so in primitive ages 
 under the preaching of Christ and His apostles. It has been 
 so ever since, when, with their spirit and manner, truth and 
 duty have been proclaimed to guilty men. This is by no 
 means to be laid to the charge of the Gospel of Christ. That 
 numbers are offended at revivals of religion and often become 
 hardened thereby, is no argument against them ; certainly as 
 far as they are not marred by human imperfection. It is the 
 fault only of those who will not hear the truth, who will not 
 yield to the self-denying duties of godliness, who love dark- 
 ness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. 
 
 The revival of 1819 appears to have been the first instance 
 of a similar deep, pei-vading religious interest among the 
 people of this town. 
 
 There was also an unusual attention to religion here in 
 1837, though far less general than on the former occasion. 
 
 More than ordinary interest on this momentous subject 
 prevailed among you likewise in the autumn of 1831. That 
 is the year distinguished as the first in which protracted meet- 
 ings were generally held. Commencing in the State of New 
 York, the example was soon followed extensively in our coun- 
 try, attended with important and salutary results. Such a 
 meeting was held here in November of the year last named. 
 In the course of several months subsequent to this, about thirty 
 individuals were gathered into the Church. 
 
THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 87 
 
 I have thus presented a brief sketch of the most important 
 events and transactions pertaining to the place of your resi- 
 dence, as far as I have been able to learn them. I might have 
 been more full and particular in my relation, but this would 
 have surpassed the limits I have assigned to myself of a single 
 discourse. 
 
 In reviewing these events and transactions occasion is fur- 
 nished for profitable reflection. History affords instruction, 
 interesting and valuable. It is my intention, however, to 
 detain you with but a very few suggestions. 
 
 Were I disposed, for the purpose of correction and improve- 
 ment (if such might at all be the result), to dwell at all on 
 what appear to be defects and errors in the manner in which 
 affairs here have been conducted in times past, I should select 
 as one topic the want of early, careful, and persevering atten- 
 tion to schools. There does seem to be in this respect, 
 certainly, when compared with the practice of New England 
 generally, quite a deficienc)'. But I will not enlarge on this 
 particular, will not arraign those who sleep in the dust at the 
 bar of our judgment. Probably they had reasons for the 
 course they pursued which we do not see, nor can easily 
 appreciate. Let that pass. Only would I say, let their pos- 
 terity look to this concern, involving very greatly their welfare 
 as individuals and as a community, with unsleeping vigilance 
 and a fostering care. 
 
 Another thing which would not escape our notice, were we 
 disposed to animadvert on the deficiencies of the past, is the 
 neglect to meet fully and promptly the annual pecuniary 
 demands made upon the members of this Society. An observ- 
 ance of the precept would doubtless be as salutary, if it is not 
 as obligatory, on communities as on individuals, — "to owe 
 no man anything." A neglect of it usually operates to distract 
 and paralyze. A delinquency of this kind has unquestionably 
 
88 THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 tended to deter those otherwise desirous of a religious connec- 
 tion here, and diminish the congregation. 
 
 But, notwithstanding their defects, there is still very much 
 reason for respect and gratitude to those who preceded you 
 as progenitors, and as members of this community, for that 
 degree of elevation of character which they possessed, for the 
 enlightened views they entertained, for all the solicitude they 
 felt and care taken to establish and continue to you the institu- 
 tions of education and religion, to secure and perpetuate your 
 well-being, temporal and eternal. It was characteristic of the 
 fathers of New England that, in all their important plans and 
 labors, they had a special and most laudable distinguished 
 regard for the welfare of their posterity. And to them, as our 
 ancestors, it is due that we cherish a very grateful and venerated 
 remembrance of them. Yet far more cause have we for grati- 
 tude to God, that in His wise and benevolent arrangements 
 we are descendants of such men, that His good providence 
 has prepared for us so goodly a heritage, that our allotment 
 is cast in this favored land, and in this peculiarly favored 
 part of it. Though, in accordance with the appointment and 
 the appropriate duties of this day, fasting, humiliation, and 
 penitence may well be exercised for mis-improvement of 
 our distinguished birthright, yet ought we also to present 
 our very grateful acknowledgments to our heavenly Bene- 
 factor for these superior advantages. His peculiar favor 
 shown us hitherto should not only awaken our gratitude, but 
 afford strong encouragement for continual unshaken confi- 
 dence in His kind and righteous providence. A review and 
 contemplation of events in respect to the fathers of New 
 Eno-land, and to your own ancestors, is suited to impress the 
 mind with a sense of the truth, that the Most High exercises 
 a superintending, controlling agency in human affairs, that He 
 " ruleth in the kingdom of men and giveth it to whomsoever 
 
THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 89 
 
 he will " ; suited to teach us the wisdom of obedience to 
 God and of trust in Him. May you so learn these instructions 
 of His providence, and both by precept and practice so declare 
 them " to your children, that you and they shall set your hope 
 in God and not forget his works, but keep his command- 
 ments." 
 
 The state of things, both in a political and religious point 
 of view, is now considerably changed from what it was in the 
 earlier periods of our country and town. There is certainly 
 in some respects more intelligence, a wider range of thought. 
 Having been longer away from that monarchical influence 
 where one or a few assume the right to dictate, in things moral 
 as well as civil, to the many, our citizens take more latitude 
 and freedom in forming and expressing, and consequently 
 entertain more diverse, opinions. Mind comes more in colli- 
 sion with mind, eliciting intellectual effort, and occasioning — 
 while the cause of truth is, on the whole, advanced — the 
 introduction and propagation of many errors. This were to 
 be expected from the genius of our political institutions of 
 religion, or aid in their support. She, the daughter of the 
 skies, is left to her own resources, her own inherent purity, 
 excellence, and heaven-born energy to sustain her course. 
 Appearing in her native loveliness, and shedding around her 
 sacred, holy influences, she deigns to employ those only who 
 are attracted by her celestial form and have imbibed her spirit, 
 only willing and voluntary coadjutors. On all such she calls 
 with earnest voice to arm themselves with her peculiar 
 weapons of defence and aggression, — those of truth and love, 
 — to gird on the entire panoply of the Gospel and prepare for 
 the contest. For there is little question that more severe 
 conflicts are to be maintained — conflicts between truth and 
 error — than have ever yet been witnessed, before the former 
 will, as it is destined to, become universally triumphant. Let 
 
90 THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 those, therefore, who love the truth and desire its prevalence, 
 laying aside their unimportant diflerences, unite their energies 
 to advance this holy cause. Let them employ only the 
 weapons of light and love with skill and efficiency and perse- 
 verance, trusting in God, and they will prevail. As errors 
 and vices are attacked, the opposition of their abettors will be 
 called forth. But let the friends of truth and righteousness 
 only be united, steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the 
 work of the Lord, and certain success awaits them ; their 
 efforts will eventually be crowned with results which will 
 gladden earth and heaven. 
 
§.xtxact^ 
 
 FROM RECORDS OF THE TOWN OF DUDLEY. 
 
EXTRACTS FROM RECORDS OF THE 
 TOWN OF DUDLEY. 
 
 The act incorporating the town of Dudley was 
 accepted b}^ the people, June i, 1732. The act of 
 incorporation passed by the General Court of the 
 Massachusetts Bay is the first entry on the town 
 records, and is as follows: — 
 
 "An Act for making a new town in the County of 
 Worcester called by the name of Dudley. 
 
 Whereas, there are many inhabitants already settled on a 
 tract of land lying between the towns of Woodstock and 
 Oxford in the county of Worcester who, together with others 
 on the southwest part of Oxford are very remote from any 
 place of the Public Worship of God, are conveniently situated 
 for a township and have petitioned this Court to be erected 
 into a separate township, accordingly, — 
 
 Be it enacted by his Excellency the Governor, Council 
 and Representatives in General Court assembled, and by 
 the authorit}^ of the same, that all the lands lying within the 
 bounds following, viz, : — The Colony or Patent line and the 
 township of Woodstock on the south, the grant made to 
 Medfield on the west, the land of Mr. Pumpillions on the 
 north unto the farm belonging to Paul Dudley, Esquire, and 
 by the same partly on the east until it comes to Stony river, 
 and by said river to the brook coming out of Chaubunagunga- 
 maug pond and out of said pond to the Colony or Patent line, 
 — be and hereby are constituted into a distinct and separate 
 
94 THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 township by the name of Dudley, and that the inhabitants of 
 the said township be vested with the powers, privileges, 
 immunities, that the inhabitants of any town of this province 
 by law are or ought to be vested with. 
 
 Provided and be it further enacted that nothing in this act 
 contained shall excuse or free any of the lands or inhabitants 
 that have been taxed by the town of Oxford according to the 
 order of this Court, from paying all past dues but that they 
 and their lands be subjected to pay their town, county and 
 ministerial rates and taxes in the same manner as they would 
 have been if this act had never been made. 
 
 Passed by the Representatives and in Council and consented 
 to by the Governor. 
 
 Copy examined, t tir o > 
 
 ^ ■^ J. vViLLARD, beery. 
 
 This is a true copy of this act, 
 
 John Lillie, Town Clerk." 
 
 In the House of Representatives, June i, 1732. Ordered 
 that Joseph Edmunds, one of the principal inhabitants of the 
 town of Dudley in the county of Worcester, be directed and 
 empowered to notify and summon the inhabitants of said town 
 of Dudley qualified for voters, to assemble and meet together 
 sometime in the month of June current for the choosing of 
 town officers to stand until the next annual election according to 
 law, any law, usage or custom to the contrary notwithstanding. 
 
 Sent up for concurrence, t r\ 01 
 
 ^ ' J. (^yiNCY, Speaker. 
 
 In Council June i, 1732. Read and consented to, 
 
 J. WiLLARD, Secr'y. 
 
 In Council, Jvme i, 1732. Consented to, 
 
 J. Belcher. 
 
 True Copy, Examined, 
 
 J. WiLLARD, vSecr'y. 
 
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THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 95 
 
 The first town meeting was held at the house 
 of William Carter, on June 20, 1732. The town 
 officers chosen were as follows: — 
 
 Selectmen. Joseph Edmunds, James Corbin, Ebenezer 
 Edmunds, George Robinson, John LilHe. 
 
 Town Clerk. John Lillie. 
 
 Constable. Joseph Putney. 
 
 Surveyors of Highways. Samuel Newell, William Carter. 
 
 Fence Viewers. Joshua Healey, Clement Corbin. 
 
 Tithing-men. Benjamin Conant, Jonathan Newell. 
 
 Hog reeves. David Sandrick, Joseph Wakefield. 
 
 Field Drivers. James Corbin, Jr., Ebenezer Bacon. 
 
 Town Treasurer. Jonathan Newell. 
 All were duly sworn according to law. 
 
 A second town meeting was held on the 29th ol 
 June, 1732, of which the following is a verbatim 
 report: — 
 
 " June the 29, 1732. At a meeting in Dudley at the house of 
 William Carter in said town at 12 of the clock, chosen Mod- 
 erator for the same James Corbin, sen. 
 
 1 Voted to hire a minister for a year. 
 
 2 Voted to raise the money to pay the minister upon polls 
 and improved lands and stock. 
 
 3 Voted that Wm. Carter's house be the house for to meet 
 in to hear the Gospel preached in. 
 
 4 Voted that select men shall provide the minister for this 
 term. 
 
 5 Voted that the select men shall provide the place to 
 board the minister at. 
 
 6 Voted that Jonathan Newell be the man to set the psalm 
 at public worship. 
 
96 THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 7 Voted that Joseph Pepper be the man to read the psahn, 
 
 8 Voted that Wm, Carter's barn yard be the pound for this 
 current year. 
 
 9 Voted that William Carter be the pound keeper, provided 
 the select men do provide him a lock." 
 
 The next town meeting was held on September 
 iith, at 12 o'clock, at which it was voted, — 
 
 To send two men to their honors namely Judge Dudley and 
 Colonel Dudley and Colonel Fitch to see whether these gentle- 
 men will do any thing towards our settling of a minister and 
 building of a meeting house. 
 
 3 Voted that Joseph Edmunds and George Robinson be the 
 men to treat with these gentlemen for the town in this affair. 
 
 3 Voted that Samuel Newell's house be the house to meet 
 in on the Sabbath when it is removed from William Carter's. 
 
 4 Voted that our town meetings be warned from time to 
 come by setting up a notification on our public meeting 
 house. 
 
 November 29, 1732, it was in a town meeting, — 
 
 4 Voted that the north side of the Indian land near William 
 Carter's land be the place to set the meeting house on. 
 
 6 Voted and chose the Reverend Mr. Isaac Richardson for 
 a gospel minister to settle in said town. 
 
 7 Voted by the inhabitants of said town that they will give 
 to their minister [we mean the person above expressed in 
 accepting our call] a settlement of one hundred and fifty pounds 
 money together with a lot of land of one hundred acres given 
 by the honorable William Dudley, Esq., for that use to the 
 
 town. 
 
 8 Voted by the said inhabitants that Mr. Isaac Richardson 
 accepting of this offer according to this choice shall have a 
 
THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 97 
 
 salary or yearly reward for his labor in the gospel, viz : For 
 the first year eighty pounds; for the second, eighty-five 
 pounds ; and so adding five pounds yearly until it rise to an 
 hundred pounds money yearly. 
 
 9 Voted that the select men namely Joseph Edmunds 
 James Corbin Ebenezer Edmunds George Robinson John 
 Lillie together wath Jonathan Hobbs Benjamin Conant Joseph 
 Putney be a committee to present their votes to Mr. Isaac 
 Richardson and to make their return to the inhabitants above 
 said. 
 
 Answering a petition of the town the General Court, under 
 date of Dec. 14, 1732, allowed the selectmen of said town to 
 levy and assess a tax of two pence " a acer" on one hundred 
 on all the lands lying within the said township [the Indian 
 lands excepted] , for the full space of five years next ensuing, 
 for paying the ministerial and other charges arising therein. 
 
 At a meeting held Feb. 36, 1732-3, at the house of Samuel 
 Newell, the town voted to give Rev Mr Isaac Richardson 
 twenty five cords of wood, cut and carted to his house, yearly, 
 in addition to salary before named. Also, that the ordination 
 of Rev. Mr. Richardson be referred to the last Wednesday 
 in August next ensuing, and that the inhabitants raise the sum 
 of £25 to defray expenses of such ordination. Also, " that 
 Joshua Heleys hous be the hous to have the ordainaition in 
 and Mr Joseph Edmunds hous to be the hous to provid for 
 the minesters and meshoners which com to atend upon the 
 ordanaitoon." Also, "that the reverend Mr Fisk of Kil- 
 lingly, the reved Mr Williams of Pomfret the Revd Mr 
 Jackson of Woborn the Revd Mr Combell of Oxford the 
 Revd IMr Throop of Woodstock the Revd Mr Cobbot of 
 Thomson the Revd Mr Printee of Hassanamiseco ware 
 chosen by the Town to assist at the ordainaiton of the 
 Revernd Mr Isaac Richardson." 
 
98 THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 Wan-ant Mar. 12, 1733. . . . " to se wether or no the 
 town will grant Mr Morris request namely to move the meet- 
 ing house place to the top of the south part of the Indian 
 hill." "To se which of the two days which the town hass 
 all redy pickt upon for the ordination of the reverend mr Isaac 
 Richardson shall be the day for the ordination, it being in 
 controversie namely wether the first wensday in June or the 
 Last wenday in August." 
 
 " March ye 20 our anewell town meeting asembled at the 
 house of William Cartel's." 
 
 Moderator chosen for the sd meeting Mr James Corbin 
 senior. 
 
 1 Voted sleet man ^ Joseph Edmunds, ^Ebenezer Edmunds, 
 ^Benj* Conant, ■* Richard kider, ^Joshua healy. 
 
 2 Voted Benja Conant town clerk for the year insuing. 
 
 14 Voted that the first Wensday in June next be the day for 
 the ordaination of the reverend Mr Isaac Richardson. 
 
 15 Voted that the eighteenth day of April next be the day 
 for our privit fast in this place. 
 
 Meeting April 23, 1733. 
 
 4 Voted that the charg of the ordaination of the reverend 
 Mr Isaac Richardson be defrayed by a rate. 
 
 Dudley, April 23, 1733. At a meeting of the church regu- 
 larly convened at the house of Joseph Putneys on sd day, — 
 
 1 Voted and chose Mr. Jonathan hobs moderrater for sd 
 meeting. 
 
 2 Voted and chose Benja" Conant dark for sd meeting. 
 
 3 Voted and chose the reverend mr Isaac Richardson to be 
 our minister in the gospel in sd town. 
 
 4 Voted that the day for ordaination of the reverend mr 
 Isaac Richardson be on the first wensday in June next. 
 
 5 Voted and chose Joseph putney, Joseph Sebin and 
 Benja" Conant be the persons to present the churchs vote to 
 
THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 99 
 
 the reverend mr Isaac Richardson which vote of the church 
 being imeadeitly presented to the town to se weather the town 
 would comply with the churchs vote for the ordaination which 
 accordingly they voted concurd with the vote of the church 
 that the first wensday in June next be the day for the ordaina- 
 tion of the reverend mr Isaac Richardson. 
 Dudley, August 23, 1733- 
 
 2 Voted in answer to mr Richardsons request signefing he 
 was no ways obliged to the town as to his seteling with them. 
 
 3 Voted that the town will maintain preaching for the 
 futuer. 
 
 Dudley, September 4, 1733. 
 
 2 Voted and chose captain Ebenezer Edmunds to se to 
 procure a minister to preach the gospel to us and Likewise 
 to go to the honourble judge Dudleys to se whate incourig- 
 ment there honours will give us towards our building a meeting 
 house. 
 
 3 Voted that sixty pounds money shall be raised upon the 
 inhabitance of sd town to pay what the town is now in dept 
 and to defray the charge of preaching and other nesesary chargs 
 from this time till march next insueing. 
 
 [Evidently a skip in town records here, warrant of i6 Oct., 1733, 
 succeeded by report of meeting held 30 Jan., I733-4-] 
 
 Meeting assembled at dwelling of William Carter on 30 
 January, 1733-4 
 
 2 Voted that if these honourable gentlemen namly judge 
 Dudley and cornol Dudley will procur us land at a reasonable 
 rate for to set our meeting house on in Joshua pegins old field 
 were there is a small walnut tree marked with a heap of stons 
 a little to ye est of it and land convenient for a burying place 
 and a traning field by the same then our last votes for the 
 placeing our meeting house is reconsidered but if we cant 
 obtain the land we expect for the aforesd uses then the vote 
 
loo THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 at our last meeting for setting our meeting house on William 
 Carters land is to re main as it was. 
 
 4 Voted that the town will build a meeting house five and 
 forty feet long and forty feet wide. 
 
 8 Voted that cap Ebenezer Edmonds M' Georg robuson, 
 insign Clement Corbin mr Samuel Newell, mr thomas cheney, 
 be a committee to carry on the work of our meeting house. 
 
 Meeting Maixh 4, 1734, at house of William Carters. 
 
 4 Voted Benja" Conant the second select man for ye year 
 insuing. 
 
 8 Voted Benja Conant town clerk for the year insuing, 
 continued. 
 
 Meeting March 13, 1734, at the dwelling house of William 
 Carters. 
 
 2 Voted and granted by the town one hundred and ten 
 pounds money to defray the charg of preaching and other 
 nesisery chargs for the year insuing at as far as the money 
 will go. 
 
 3 Voted and chose M' James Corbin, M'' William Carter, 
 Mr benja" newell, for a committee to j^i'ovid preaching for the 
 town for the year insuing and also to provid a place to board 
 the minister at. 
 
 4 Voted 3 pounds to Mr William Carter for the use of his 
 house for the year insuing to meet at on the Sabbath and as 
 sd Carter has had the same trouble 3 years past he freely gives 
 the whole to the town which makes nine pound. 
 
 5 Voted that the town adds five foot to the lengeth of our 
 meeting house and to have it two and twenty foot studs. 
 
 6 Voted that our town inhabitance are to work about our 
 meeting house at any sort of work accept a master workman 
 for four shillings and six pence a day and find themselves. 
 
 7 Voted a pair of oxen and cart to work at four shilings 
 a day, 2 shilings for each, refering to the work of our 
 meeting house. 
 
THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. loi 
 
 8 Voted that persons shall be at there work at eight o'clock 
 in the morning. 
 
 9 Voted that the town will now proceed to fall and hew 
 the timber for our meeting house and after planting to draw 
 the timber to gather and after haying to frame and gite it up 
 as soon as may be. 
 
 11 Voted Mr James Corbin, Mr Joseph Edmunds for a 
 commitee to go with Mr Morris up to judge Chandlers con- 
 cerning some land we hope to buy of the Indians for our 
 meeting house and burying place and training field and also 
 fifty acers adjoyning for a pasnaig. 
 
 12 Voted that the town accepted the rode laid out by the 
 selectmen from Mr georg robusons to our proposed meeting 
 house place as it is alraedy markt. 
 
 Meeting Nov. 30, 1733. 
 
 2 Voted to oblige mr Moris in setting our meeting house 
 on the south end of the Indian land on the highest part of it. 
 Meeting Oct. 14, 1734. 
 
 2 Voted that Wensday the 23 day of October instant be 
 the day for the raising of our meeting house. 
 
 3 Voted that the town will come togather on tuesday the 
 22 of this instant at 7 a clock in the morning for the levilling 
 the Sills and do what thay can towards raising the house. 
 
 Meeting Monday 3 March, 1735. 
 
 3 Voted Benja" Conant ye 2 select man. 
 
 7 Voted and continued Benja" Conant town clerk. 
 
 17 Voted by the town and concured with the vote of the 
 church that thirsday ye 22 day of March instant be the day of 
 fasting and j^rayer in order for the choice of a minester to 
 settle with us. 
 
 At a meeting of the inhabitance of the town of Dudley reg- 
 ularly assembled at our meeting house in sd town on thirsday 
 ye tenth day of April 1735. 
 
I03 THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 2 Voted and chose the reverend M'' perlly how to settle 
 with us in the work of the ministry by a great majority both 
 by church and town. 
 
 Following record of the town meeting of date 14 May, i735' 
 is the below, in handwriting of Benjamin Conant, town 
 clerk : — 
 
 "the day of the reverend Mr perley hows ordaination to 
 the work of ye ministry in Dudley was on the 1 3 day of June 
 1735 and the sd Mr howe was the first minister that ever 
 was settled in sd town and the gentlemen that ordained Mr 
 howe to sd work was the reverend Mr troop of Woodstock, 
 the reverend Mr peebody of natick, and the reverend Mr 
 Walter of Roxbury." 
 
 Meeting friday ye tenth day of October 1735. 
 
 2 Voted and grant to defray what charge the town has been 
 at towards our meeting house .... JC3 13-6-2 
 
 Warrant Mar 25, 1737. 
 
 1 To proseed to do something forthere to our meeting house 
 as to build the pullpit, the ministers pew and the body seats, 
 and to chose a commitee to git this work done. 
 
 [At the meeting subsequent this article was voted for with negative 
 result.] 
 
 Meeting friday 18 November 1737. 
 
 2 Voted to procui-e stuff to do something more to our 
 meeting house namly, the pullpit, the body seats, the ministers 
 pue, and deceans seat. 
 
 3 Voted and chose Benja" Conant, William Carter and 
 manasah horsmere for a commitee to procure the above men- 
 tioned stuff for our meeting house and to git the work done as 
 soone as may be with conveniencey. 
 
 Meeting 23 May, 1738. 
 
 3 Voted twenty pounds in addition to the reverend Mr. 
 hows salerry for this year. 
 
THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 103 
 
 4 Voted to the reverend Mr howe a roome in our meeting 
 for a pue perticlerly to himself and family on the same footing 
 that the rest of the roome shall be disposed of. This vote 
 concerning the pue vs^as in answer to Mr hows request. 
 
 5 Voted that those persons which have the roome in the 
 meeting house for the puse shall build the same. 
 
 At a meeting of the inhabitance of the town of Dudley 
 regulerly assembled at our meeting house in sd town on friday 
 the 26th day of January 173S-9. 
 
 3 Voted in answer to the reverend m' hows request that the 
 minestorial pewe shall be built at the west end of the pulpit, 
 adjoning to the pulpit stairs. 
 
 3 Voted to confirm the pews to those persons which have 
 been highst in the chargs according to the formere vote of the 
 town, relating to the pews in our meeting house. 
 
 4 Voted to the honourable cornel Dudley a pewe adjoning 
 to the east end of the pulpit. 
 
 5 Voted to Deacon Edmunds the norwest corner pewe. 
 
 6 Voted to William Carter a pewe adjoining to the east sid 
 the front doore. 
 
 7 Voted to Joshua healy a pewe adjoining to the west sid 
 the front doore. 
 
 8 Voted to Sam" Newell the midle pewe in the north sid of 
 the meeting house east from the pulpit. 
 
 9 Voted to Cap' Edmunds a pewe on the south sid the west 
 doore. 
 
 10 Voted to Esq' Vintin a pewe adjoining on the north sid 
 the east doore. 
 
 1 1 Voted to georg robinson a pewe adjoining on the south 
 sid the east doore. 
 
 12 Voted to clement corbin a pewe adjoining on the north 
 sid the west doore. 
 
 13 Voted to Joseph Scott senier ye pewe adjoining to 
 William Carters. 
 
I04 THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 14 Voted to Ebenezer Bacon a pewe adjoining to Joshua 
 healeys. 
 
 15 Voted to Benja" Conant a pewe in the northeast corner 
 of the meeting house. 
 
 16 Voted to Daniel Corborn senr ye midle pew adjoind to 
 Esq Vintins. 
 
 17 Voted to David Southwick the midle pewe adjoining to 
 Clement Corbins, 
 
 Meeting Feb. 20, 1738-9. 
 
 2 Voted that M' Sam" Morris sen'' shall have that pewe 
 adjoining to the east end of the pullpit upon cornol Dudley 
 refusing the same ; the sd M'' Morris and his heirs are to enjoye 
 the sd pew upon there paying what is behind towards the 
 chargs of our meeting house in proportion to what another has 
 paid that has a pew^e of the like dignity, and also so long as 
 they shall pay towards the chargs of our town, refering to 
 finishing the meeting house and the ministers rate, and if the 
 sd M'' Morris or his heirs shall neglect or refuse to pay theere 
 proportion of the sd chargs then the sd pewe is to return to 
 the town again. M' georg robinson, James Corbin, Joseph 
 putney, Nathan Bemis, Sam" Corbin, paul robinson & Nathan 
 ramsdill these persons above named now at this present meet- 
 ing do hear enter there desent against this vote relating to 
 M' Morrises having a pewe in our meeting house. 
 
 3 Voted to M'' Jonathan newell that pewe adjoining to the 
 west pait of M' Ebenezer bacons. 
 
 Meeting May 22, 1739. 
 
 2 Voted to set the pound upon the northeast corner of the 
 four acres that the meeting house stands on. 
 
 1 Voted to Deacon Joseph Edmunds that pue in the north- 
 west corner of the meeting houe joyning to M' Howes. 
 
 2 Voted to William Carter that pue on east sid of the front 
 doors. 
 
NORTH. 
 
 Worn : 
 
 
 
 e\ 
 
 ri3^fto 
 
 M 
 
 FLOOR PLAN OF FIRST CHURCH, SHOWING LOCATION OF PEWS, FROM OLD TOWN RECORDS. 
 
THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 105 
 
 3 Voted to Joshua Healy that pewe on the west sid of the 
 
 front doors. 
 
 4 Voted to Samuel Newell that midel pue on the east side 
 
 of the pulpit. 
 
 5 Voted to Ebenezer Edmunds that pue on the east side of 
 
 the pulpit. 
 
 6 Voted to John Vinton Esq' that pewe on the Right hand 
 
 of the east doors. 
 
 7 Voted to George Robinson that pue on the south side of 
 
 the east doors. 
 
 8 Voted to Clement Corbin that pue joyning Joshua Healeys 
 on the west side of the front doors. 
 
 9 Voted to Dacon Benjamin Conant that peue on the north- 
 east corner of the meeting house. 
 
 10 Voted to Thomas Cheney that midel pue on the east 
 side of the front doors joyning to M' Carters. 
 
 1 1 Voted to James Corbin that pue on the south side of the 
 west doors. 
 
 1 3 Voted to Jonathan Newell that pue on the north side of 
 
 the west doors. 
 
 13 Voted to Benjamin Newell the midel pue on the 
 north side of the east doors betwen esq Vintons ad Dacon 
 Conants. 
 
 14 Voted to Ebenezer Bacon the midel pue on the north 
 side of the west doors. 
 
 15 Voted to Samuel Corbin that pue on the south side of 
 the east doors joyning to the womens stairs. 
 
 16 Voted to Joseph Putney that pue on the south sid of the 
 west doors betwen James Corbin and the stairs. 
 
 Meeting March 5, 1744. 
 
 23 Voted to have the School house opened two hours a 
 Sabbath Day Noons. 
 
io6 THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 Meeting June ii, 1744. 
 
 2 Voted and chose Mr Charls gleason of Brookline to the 
 work of the gospel ministry in sd town by a great majority of 
 vots 46 vots out of 54. 
 
 Meeting Sept. 13, 1744. 
 
 4 Voted that Mr Jonathan Newell and Mr. Benja" Newell 
 of Dudley shall have that pew that Mr Joseph vScott built in 
 our meeting house, upon the same footing the rest of the pews 
 are disposed of, there paying the first cost in building the 
 same. 
 
 Letter of acceptance from Rev. Chas. Gleason is of date 
 Sept. 13, 1744. 
 
 Meeting Monday May iS, 1747. 
 
 4 Voted 100 pounds old tenor to provide stuff' for our 
 galery stairs and to finish the galery flower and do the brest 
 work of the galery or as fare as the money will go. 
 
 5 Voted and chose esq"" Vinton, insign newell, and Mr 
 Joseph putney for a committee to procure the above sd stuff' 
 and to git sd work Done as soon as they can. 
 
 6 Voted forty shillings old tenor a year to roger Carter for 
 taking care of our meeting house, namly, for opening 3'e 
 doors & sweeping sd house. 
 
 Meeting Sept. 26, 174S. 
 
 5 Voted that every person haveing a window adjoyning to 
 his pew in our meeting house shall maintain the glass of sd 
 window against his pew. 
 
 Meeting Wednesday 20th May 1752. 
 
 6 Voted to build the galler seats. 
 
 7 Voted £13-6-8 lawful money to defray ye charg of build- 
 ing sd seats. 
 
 Meeting 25 Sept. 1754- 
 
 4 Voted 2-0-0 lawful money to defray the charge of sealing 
 up the back sid of our pulpit. 
 
THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 107 
 
 Meeting ist March, 1756. 
 
 25 Voted John Curtis, Philip Corbin, Elijah Dodge, 
 Sam" May and Elishua Corbin for a committee to seat our 
 meeting house and the method to go bj^ is age and estate. 
 
 Meeting March 7, 1757. 
 
 27 Voted to a number of persons the south part of our 
 meeting house in the mens gallery to build a pew, namely, 
 Jonathan Dennis, Joseph Healy, Sam" Eams, Nathaniel 
 Healy, Mark Elwell, Daniel Newel, philip Newell. 
 
 28 Voted to Benja" Morris and Sam" Fairbanks jun' the 
 Southeast corner of our meeting house our the wemans stairs 
 to build them a pew, they not discommoding the stairss nor 
 windows. 
 
 39 Voted to Job Roewe and James Fuller that pew in our 
 meeting house that was Cap* Clement Corbins on the same 
 footing that the others were disposed of, vz : — they to injoy it 
 during there abode in the town and at there leaving ye town 
 sd pew to return to the town again the town paying them the 
 cost of building sd pew. [In letter, dated Killingly, Mar. 7, 
 1 75 1, Benj. Morris and Sam'l Fairbanks, jr., state, " we desire 
 a priviledge of Building a pew over the wemans stairs."] 
 
 Meeting Mar. 5, 1759. 
 
 29 Voted to a number of young men the southwest corner 
 of our meeting house over the mens stairs for to build them a 
 pue at there own cost and charge and whenever the town 
 shall cause to improve it any other way they expect there cost 
 back again. Joseph Upham, David Kider, Lemuel Corbin, 
 Brown Dodge, Eben^ tayler. Tire Vinton, Will" Morris, 
 Stephen Carter. 
 
 Meeting May 24, 1759. 
 
 5 Voted that the young men are not to have the pue which 
 they built in the west gallery of our meeting house. 
 
 6 Voted that the young men are not to have cost for build- 
 ing sd pue. 
 
io8 THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 7 Voted that the sd young men may take away the sd pue 
 when they se cause. 
 
 Meeting Jan. 29, 1760. 
 
 6 Voted and reconsider the vots that were past relating to 
 the pue the young men built in the west gallery of our meet- 
 ing house at meeting in may last. 
 
 7 Voted the pue in the west gallery of our meeting house 
 to the young men that built it, taking out Robert Webster and 
 John Eams, and putting in Lef John Certis Nathaniel jewell 
 and Andrew Coburn jun', they paying sd Webster and Eams 
 there first cost in building, and it is expected that the owners 
 of sd pue will maintain the glasse adjoyning to sd pue as 
 others do. 
 
 Meeting Mar. 3, 1760. 
 
 31 Voted the selectmen as a committee to settle the bounds 
 of our four acrees of land at our meeting house and to measure 
 out y' rev** M' gleasons acree and a half of land on sd four acrees. 
 
 Meeting May 20, 1761. 
 
 2 Voted not to raise money to finish our meeting house. 
 
 Meeting Dec. 29, 1761. 
 
 2 Voted to do something further towards finishing our 
 meeting house. 
 
 3 Voted to shingle the roofe of our meeting house and to 
 claboard y* gable ends. 
 
 4 Voted to finish the inside of our meeting house by lath- 
 ing and plastering the walls and under the great beems. 
 
 6 Voted .£100-0-0 towards finishing our meeting house. 
 Meeting May 20, 1762. 
 
 7 Voted to dispose of those pewes which was M"^ Sam" Cor- 
 bins and M' Job Roewes. 
 
 8 Voted to Mr Philip that pewe un^er the wemans stairs 
 which was M'' Sam" Corbins on the same footing the other 
 pewes were disposed of, he paying y* first cost. 
 
THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 109 
 
 9 Voted to Mr Jacob Chamberline behind the west meeting 
 house doore that was formerly Cap" Clement Corbins on the 
 same footing the other pewes were disposed of, he paying the 
 first cost. 
 
 Meeting Oct. 35, 1762. 
 
 4 Voted to coloor our pulpit the canopee and the crest work 
 of our gallery. 
 
 Warrant Jan. i, 1768. 
 
 2 To see if the town will agee to New Clabord our meet- 
 ing house or any part there of. 
 
 3 To see of Town will a gree to New build the front Door 
 in sd house with a New Cap over the same and to do any thing 
 to the other two Doors as the Town Shall think Necessary. 
 
 4 To See if the Town will vote and agree to make New 
 window fraims and Sashes and Glase the above sd house with 
 24 Squares of Glass in each window 6 by 8 Glass. 
 
 Meeting Jan. 16, 1768. 
 
 2 Vote to New Claboard the body of our meeting house. 
 
 3 Voted to New build the front Doors of our meeting 
 house with a cap over the same and to do what is Necessary 
 to the other Doors of sd house. 
 
 4 Voted not to Glase our meeting house. 
 Meeting May 17, 1768. 
 
 4 Voted to Cholour our meeting house with an orange 
 Cholour. 
 
 Meeting Nov. 10, 1768. 
 
 3 Voted to new Glaze our meeting house. 
 
 4 Voted that any person that puts a new window into our 
 meeting house Shall have the benifit of the old window. 
 
 Meeting May 29, 1769. 
 
 4 Voted that pue in our meeting house to Edward Curtis 
 that was Cap' Paul Robinsons on the south side of the east 
 Door upon the same footing our pews is voted to others. 
 
no THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 Meeting Oct. 17, 1769. 
 
 2 Voted to new paint oiu" meeting house. 
 
 Meeting Mar. 5, 1770. 
 
 46 Voted that pew to Edward & Nath" Davis that was 
 Capt. Eben' Edmunds at the east end of the pulpit in our meet- 
 ing house on the same footing the pews are disposed of to 
 others as Described in the petition. 
 
 Meeting May 19, 1774. 
 
 7 Voted for the town to build the back pews in the 
 Weomens gallary in our meeting. 
 
 Meeting June 30, 1774. 
 
 2 Voted Capt John Curtis, ^°° Wm. Earned and Edward 
 Davis a Committee to Dispose of the pews that are Nuly built 
 in our meeting house back of the weomans gallares to such 
 jDersons as they Shall Judge they belong to. a note : — Set the 
 time when the pew shall be paid for and if not paid for by 
 that time to Dispose of them to others. 
 
 Meeting May 27, 1776. 
 
 7 Voted to Jedidiah Marcy Esq"" that pue in our meeting 
 house that between Vinton and Conant pues on the same foot- 
 ing the other pues are granted to others he paying four pounds 
 lawful money for said pue and Building of it for the Benefit of 
 William Coburn & famaly to be paid to the town. 
 
 Meeting Marct 5, 17S1. 
 
 14 Voted that the five hind seats in our body seats in the 
 meeting house of each side of the broad alley be cut up for to 
 build 8 pews upon the ground.- 
 
 15 Voted to dispose of said pew Spots on the same footing 
 our other pews are Disposed of. 
 
 Dudley, March 19, 17S1. 
 
 ' ' We the Subscribers being appointed by the Town of 
 Dudley as a Committee to Determin who should have the 
 ground or Spots for the Eight pews that the Town at their 
 
THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH, iii 
 
 adjonied meeting the twelfth Day of this Instant March Voted 
 to have build where the five hind seats in our body seats now 
 are ; having considered of the matter Do agree to report as 
 follows, viz : Capt John Curtis & Son, to have one pew Spot, 
 IVI'' Joseph Upham & Sons to have one pew spot, M"' Joseph 
 Healey to have one pew Spot, Capt Benj* Morriss to have one 
 pew Spot, M' John Dalrympbell and AP Simeon Wood to have 
 one pew Spot, M"^ Elijah Gore & M' Ralph Vinton to have 
 one pew Spot, Capt Sam" Healy & Capt John Eddy to 
 have one pew Spot & Capt Lemuel Corbin & M' Moses Jewell 
 to have one pew Spot : and said pews to be build in six 
 months from the above Date and if not the Spots to return to 
 the town, and the seats Shall not be taken up more than one 
 month before the pews are fit to set in and the seats to be the 
 property of the Town : and if any part of Said Seats are 
 profitable towards building the pews the owners of the pews 
 may have them allowing the Town the Value of said seats &c. 
 Nathaniel Healy Edward Davis Jedidiah Marcy Daniel 
 Newell, Committee." 
 
 Meeting Oct. 30, 1786. 
 
 4 Voted to grant Mr Isaac Lees petition to have the half of 
 the pew spot that was granted to Ralph Vinton. 
 
^ccoxb^ of t^e (gonant gfamifp. 
 
RECORDS OF THE CONANT FAMILY.' 
 
 Note. — The dagger (t) sign placed before a name indicates that 
 the person becomes a parent, and refers the reader forward to the next 
 generation of the family, where a more particular description may be 
 found. 
 
 I. ROGER CONANT, the immigrant and ancestor of 
 most of those bearing the name in America, was baptized at 
 All Saints Church, in the parish of East Btidleigh, Devonshire, 
 England, April 9, 1592. He was the youngest of the eight 
 children of Richard and Agnes (Clarke) Conant, " who were 
 esteemed for their exemplary piety." His parents evidently 
 instilled into their youngest son the principles for which they 
 themselves were noted, for during his whole life he bore 
 a character for strict integrity and devotion to principle. 
 Richard Conant was one of the leading men of East Budleigh, 
 a church warden, as was his father before him, and evidently 
 in good circumstances; his wife, Agues Clarke, was the 
 daughter of the leading merchant of Colyton, a neighboring 
 parish. One of their sons was educated at Oxford, and Roger 
 must have received a good education for the times, for he was 
 frequently called upon to survey lands, lay out boundaries, and 
 transact public business. On Jan. 30, 1619-20, Christopher 
 Conant, grocer, and Roger Conant, Salter, both of the parish of 
 St. Lawrence, Jewry, London, signed the Composition Bond 
 of their brother John, for the " first fruits " of the rectory of 
 Lymington. The records of the Salters' Company have been 
 destroyed by fire, so legal evidence cannot be adduced to show 
 
 « For most of the data concerning this family I am indebted to Frederick Odell 
 Conant, M.A., author of" A History and Genealogy of the Conant Family in England 
 and America." 
 
ii6 THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 that Roger Conant was a freeman of that Company ; but the 
 records of the Grocers' Company prove that Christopher 
 Conant was apprenticed in 1609, and admitted to freedom 
 March 14, 1616. The fact that Roger signed this legal docu- 
 ment as " Salter of London," is strong presumptive evidence 
 that he was free of the Salters' Company and a citizen of 
 London. 
 
 He was married in London in November, 16 18, where he 
 went in 1609, probably, and there resided fourteen years, until 
 1623, when he immigrated to New England. The name of the 
 vessel in which he came is not certainly known, but it is 
 extremely probable that it was the "Ann," which arrived at 
 Plymouth about July, 1623, and in which his brother Christo- 
 pher was a passenger. In a petition to the General Court, 
 dated May 28, 1671, he stated that he had been "a planter in 
 New England forty-eight years and upwards," which would 
 fix the date of his arrival early in 1623. In the allotment of 
 land to the passengers of the "Ann," ten acres were allotted 
 to "Mr. Ouldom & those joyned with him," and these may 
 have included, and probably did include, Roger Conant, his 
 wife Sarah, and their son Caleb. The colonists with John 
 Oldham (Mr. Ouldom) were "particulars," that is to say, 
 they came at their own charge, while the " generals" came at 
 the expense of the general stock or Company of Adventurers 
 in England. 
 
 He did not long remain at Plymouth, owing to a difterence 
 of religious belief between himself and the Pilgrim Fathers. 
 They were Separatists and he a Non-Conformist or Puritan. 
 The ship " Charity " arrived in March, 1624, bringing supplies 
 to the colonists, and also the Rev. John Lyford, a Puritan 
 minister, who was sent , at the Company's expense. Soon, 
 Oldham, leader of the " particulars," and Lyford, who was 
 countenanced by some of the associates in England until they 
 
THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 117 
 
 discovered his true cliaracter, began an intrigue against tlie 
 colonists, wliich ended in tlieir expulsion in July, 1624. 
 Roger Conant joined them soon afterward at Nantasket 
 (Hull), where they had settled, from dislike of the "prin- 
 ciples of rigid separation" which prevailed at Plymouth. 
 Late in the fall of 1625, he took charge of the Cape Ann 
 settlement, as its agent or governor, the location of this 
 settlement being on the west side of what is now Gloucester 
 Harbor, near Stage Head. This point projects a few hundred 
 feet into the sea, and on it may still be seen the remains of a 
 rude fort, now called Stage Fort, but named Fort Conant by 
 its constructors. 
 
 While he was at Cape Ann, a difficulty occurred between 
 Capt. Miles Standish and a Captain Hewes, who had been 
 sent over by Lyford and Oldham's friends, whicli he was 
 instrumental in settling peaceably. The story runs thus : "In 
 one of the fishing voyages about the year 1635, under the 
 charge and command of one Mr. Hewes, employed by some 
 of the west country merchants, there arose a sharp contest 
 between the said Hewes and the people of New Plymouth, 
 about a fishing stage, built the year before about Cape Ann 
 by Plymouth men, but was now, in the absence of the builders, 
 made use of by Mr. Hewes' company, which the other, under 
 the conduct of Captain Standish, very eagerly and peremp- 
 torily demanded; for the company of New Plymouth, having 
 themselves obtained a useless patent for Cape Ann, about the 
 year 1623, sent some of the ships, which their adventurers 
 employed to transport passengers over to them, to make fish 
 there ; for which end they had built a stage there, in the year 
 1624. The dispute grew to be very hot, and high words 
 passed between them, which might have ended in blows, 
 if not in blood and slaughter, had not the prudence and 
 moderation of Roger Conant, at that time there present, and 
 
ii8 THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 Mr. Peirse's interposition, that lay just by with his ship, timely 
 prevented. For Mr. Hewes had barricadoed his company 
 with hogsheads on the stage head, while the demandants stood 
 upon land, and might easily have been cut off; but the ship's 
 crew, by advice, promising to help them to build another, the 
 difference was thereby ended. Captain Standish had been 
 bred a soldier in the Low Countries, and never entered the 
 school of our Saviour Christ, or of John Baptist, his har- 
 binger, or, if he was ever there, had forgot his first lessons : 
 to offer violence to no man, and to part with the cloak rather 
 than needlessly contend for the coat, though taken away with- 
 out order. A little chimney is soon fired ; so was the Plym- 
 outh captain, — a man of very little stature, yet of a very hot 
 and angry temper. The fire of his passion soon kindled, and, 
 blown up into flame by hot words, might easily have consumed 
 all, had it not been seasonably quenched." It is this incident 
 in the life of Roger Conant that has been made the subject of 
 a memorial window in this new edifice. The scene depicted 
 by the painter sh6ws Roger Conant's influence for good 
 among his fellow colonists, as also his Christian forbearance 
 and love of peace. Conant was moderate in his views, toler- 
 ant, mild and conciliatoiy, quiet and unobtrusive, ingenuous 
 and unambitious, preferring the public good to his private 
 interests ; with the passive virtues, he combined great moral 
 courage and an indomitable will. His true courage and sim- 
 plicity of heart and strength of principle eminently qualified 
 him for the conflicts of those rude days of perils, deprivation, 
 and trial. 
 
 In the fall of 1636, Conant, with forty of his associates, 
 removed to Naumkeag (Salem). Here he was frequently 
 called to ofiices of honor and trust by his fellow townsmen 
 and the General Court. He died in Salem, Nov. 19, 1679, in 
 the eighty-eighth year of his age ; the place of his burial is not 
 
THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 119 
 
 known. He married, in the parish of St. Ann's, Blackfriars, 
 London, Nov. 11, 161S, Sarah Horton. Her parentage has 
 not been ascertained; she was living in 1666, but probably 
 died before her husband, as she is not mentioned in his will. 
 Roger and Sarah (Horton) Conant had children: — 
 
 Sarah, liorn about 1619. Died in infancy. 
 
 Caleb, born about 1622. It appears that he came to 
 
 America with his parents, but afterwards returned to Eng- 
 land (probably for an education) , where he died unmarried. 
 t Lot, born about 1624. 
 
 Roger, born 1626. The first white child born 
 
 in Salem. He married and had two children. 
 
 Sarah, born about 162S. Married John Leach. 
 
 Joshua, born about 1630. Married Seeth (Gardner.''). 
 
 Mary, born about 1633. Married John Balch and 
 
 William Dodge. 
 
 Elizabeth, born 16 — . Living in 1679 unmarried. 
 
 Exercise, born Salem, 1637. Married Sarah . 
 
 3. LOT CONANT, third child of Roger and Sarah 
 (Horton) Conant, was born about 1634, either at Nantasket or 
 Cape Ann. He seems to have lived at Marblehead as early as 
 1657 ; was selectman in 1662 ; and in May, 1674, is recorded 
 as one of the one hundred and fourteen householders. On 
 Nov. 20, 1666, his father gave him the homestead at Beverly 
 with thirty-two acres adjoining and seventy-two acres in other 
 parts of the town. On the same day, Lot leased the home- 
 stead with three acres adjoining, composing the southern part 
 of the home farm, to his father and mother for an annual 
 rent of "one Indian corn." About this time, he probably 
 moved to Beverly. He died Sept. 29, 1674, leaving estate 
 inventoried at about =£780. He married Elizabeth Walton, 
 daughter of Rev. William Walton, and they had children : — 
 
I30 THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 Nathaniel, born 1650, July 28. Married Hannah 
 
 Mansfield, 
 t John, born 1652, Dec. 15. 
 
 Lot, born 1657-8, Feb. 16. Married Abigail 
 
 and Elizabeth Pride. 
 
 Elizabeth, born 1660, May 13. 
 
 Mary, born 1662, July 14. Married Andrew 
 
 Burley and Caleb Kimball. 
 Martha, born 1664, Aug. 15. Married Luke 
 
 Perkins. 
 Sarah, born 1666-7, Feb. 19. Married George 
 
 Trow. 
 William, born 1666-7, ^'^' ^9- Married Mary 
 
 Woodbury. 
 Roger, born 1668-9, ^'J^^i- ^o- Married Mary 
 
 Raymond. 
 Rebecca, born i 670-1, Jan. 31. Married Nathaniel 
 
 Raymond. 
 
 3. JOHN CONANT, son of Lot and Elizabeth (Walton) 
 Conant, was born in Beverly, Dec. 15, 1652. He was a 
 farmer and weaver ; residence, Beverly ; served in King 
 Philip's War in the company of Capt. Samuel Appleton ; 
 was admitted to the First Church of Beverly, Aug. 23, 
 1691 ; died Sept. 30, 1724. He married, May 7, 1678, Bithia 
 Mansfield, daughter of Andrew and Bithia Mansfield of Lynn. 
 John and Bithia (Mansfield) Conant had children: — 
 
 Lot, born 1679, . Married Martha 
 
 Cleaves, Susanna Clark, and Mary . 
 
 Elizabeth, born 1681-2, Jan. 14. Married Daniel 
 
 Coburn. 
 
 Bithia, born 1684, Oct. 14. Married Jonathan 
 
 Herrick. 
 
THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 121 
 
 John, born 16S6, July 7. Married Martha 
 
 Dodge and Mary (Lovett) Cressy. 
 
 Deborah, born 16S7-S, Feb. 20. Married John 
 
 Derby. 
 
 Mary, born 16S9, Oct. 20. Died probably un- 
 
 married, 
 t Daniel, born 1694, Nov. 19. 
 
 Rebecca, born 1696, Mar. 29. Married Benajmin 
 
 Cleaves. 
 
 Benjamin, born 169S, Oct. 22. Born in Beverly 
 
 and removed to Dudley about 1728 ; was one of the first 
 settlers of Dudley, and, in 1732, one of its incorporators. 
 He was an active and enterprising citizen, and prominent 
 in the public affairs of the town ; was town clerk for 
 twenty-six years, from 1737 to 1763, and chairman of 
 selectmen for thirteen years, from 1743 to 1756. He 
 was also a deacon of the first church in Dudley. He re- 
 moved to Warwick, Mass., in his old age, and there died 
 Sept. 30, 1767. He married, first, Martha Davidson, 
 and they had children : Lydia, Ezra (frequently men- 
 tioned in the early records of Dudley), Abigail, Benja- 
 min, Ebenezer, John, Asa, Martha, Benjamin. He 
 married, second, vSept. 17, 1746, Lydia Lamb, and they 
 had children : Abijah, Asa, Abigail, Lucy, Jemima. 
 
 Jemima, born 1701, Nov. 9. Married John Batchelder. 
 
 4. DANIEL CON ANT, son of John and Bithia 
 (Mansfield) Conant, was born in Beverly, Nov. 19, 1694, 
 He was a farmer and mason, and lived in Beverly ; was 
 representative from Beverly to the General Court two 
 years. He died 1751. Married, Jan. 23, 1716-17, Lucy 
 Dodge of Ipswich. Daniel and Lucy (Dodge) Conant had 
 children : — 
 
122 THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 Lucy, bom 171S, Apr. 2. Married Samuel Brimble- 
 
 come, Jr. 
 Daniel, Jr., born 
 Mary, born 
 
 Margaret, born 
 Nathaniel, born 
 Hephzibah, born 
 
 elder. 
 I JosiAH, born 
 
 Elizabeth, born 
 Martha, born 
 
 1720, July 19. 
 1722, Apr. 15. 
 1724, June 15. 
 1726, July 23. 
 1729, Oct. 16. 
 
 1732, Nov. 5. 
 1735' Apr. 13. 
 1739' Sept. 27. 
 
 Married Elizabeth Dodge. 
 Married Jonathan Baker. 
 Married Joshua Dodge. 
 Married Abigail Dodge. 
 Married Jonathan Batch- 
 
 Married Nathaniel Cressy. 
 
 5. JOSIAH CONANT, son of Daniel and Lucy (Dodge) 
 Conant, was born in Beverly, Nov. 5, 1732. He removed 
 to Dudley, and there married. May 25, 1757, his cousin 
 Martha, daughter of Deacon Benjamin Conant. Josiah Conant 
 was a farmer, and lived in the north part of the town, near 
 Charlton. It is supposed that he built the house and mill 
 afterwards owned and occupied by his son Josiah. There is 
 no record of his death, but his papers show that between 1793 
 and 1796 he divided his property among his children, and that 
 he was in feeble health ; probably 1 798 or 1 799 was the year 
 of his death. The place of his burial is unknown. Josiah 
 and Martha (Conant) Conant had children : — 
 
 Lucy, born 175S, Oct. 8. Married John White. 
 
 RuFUS, born 1760, Aug. 16. Married Dolly White. 
 
 Lodemia, born 1762, Nov. 12. 
 Hepzibah, born 1767, May 17. 
 t Josiah, born 1770, Sept. 30. 
 Lydia, born 17 — , 
 
 Married Joseph Rich. 
 Married Asa Mann. 
 
 Nothing is known of 
 
 this daughter, save that she was living in 1795, Oct. 5, on 
 which date she signed receipt for her share of her father's 
 estate. 
 
THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 123 
 
 6. JOSIAH CONANT, Jr., son of Josiah and Martha 
 (Conant) Conant, was born in Dudley, Sept. 30, 1770, and 
 died Sept. 16, 1S13. He settled in the northern part of 
 Dudley, afterwards known as Tufts Village, on a farm, and 
 also owned a saw and grist mill, driven by the stream flowing 
 from Baker's Pond. He married Lucy Foskett. After his 
 death, she married Thomas Keith. Josiah, Jr., and Lucy 
 (Foskett) Conant had children : — 
 
 t Hervey, born 1796, June 3. 
 
 Sylvia, born 179S, Aug. S. She married Capt. Lemuel 
 Healy and they had two children, Josiah and Louisa, 
 who at present (1S93) ^^^ living together in Moline, 111., 
 on a blulf overlooking the Mississippi River. 
 
 Josiah, born 1S04, Dec. 7. Married Alice Chaftee, and 
 they had one son, who died young. She later married 
 John Jewett, formerly of the Tufts Manufacturing Com- 
 pany, Dudley. 
 
 7. HERVEY CONANT, son of Josiah, Jr., and Lucy 
 (Foskett) Conant, was born in Dudley, June 3, 1796. He 
 succeeded to his father's farm and mills at the age of seventeen 
 years, managing very successfully until the year 1S23, when he 
 sold out, and engaged in the manufacture of woollen cloth, with 
 Aaron Tufts and others, under the name of the Tufts Manufac- 
 turing Company. They built quite a village in addition to 
 their manufacturing plant, which was embraced in one large 
 building of stone and several smaller buildings, some of stone 
 and some of wood, which were equipped with what was then 
 the best improved machinery. Mr. Tufts was president and 
 treasurer, John Jewett was superintendent, and Mr. Conant 
 secretary and book-keeper of the Company. 
 
 For some unaccountable reason, Mr. Conant withdrew from 
 his position as book-keeper, and opened a general store, after 
 
124 THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 less than five years in that position. He succeeded fairly in 
 business, and at one time had a partner, the firm name being 
 Conant & Fitts. Later this store was destroyed by fire, inflicting 
 a severe loss. It was immediately rebuilt, however, and the busi- 
 ness continued with unflagging energy for several years. The 
 memory of the fire was slowly fading from people's minds, when 
 a second fire destroyed the establishment, making a second and 
 more disastrous loss. He, nevertheless, erected another build- 
 ing, and stocked it, purposing to continue the same business ; 
 but having a favoi^able offer, sold out, and for several years tried 
 hotel-keeping in East Webster, Mass. ; but not prospering in 
 that to his satisfaction, returned to Dudley, and settling on his 
 wife's father's estate, followed farming for a number of years. 
 About 1847, ^^^ removed to Worcester, where one of his sons 
 had settled. His residence in Worcester covered a space of 
 nearly twenty years, but he died ia West Boylston, Mass., on 
 a small estate which he had rented and occupied with his son 
 Josiah, who was a practising homeopathic physician in that 
 place. He was a quiet. Christian gentleman, of an even, 
 gentle disposition, much beloved and respected by all who knew 
 him. Although of more than average abilities, and well quali- 
 fied by education, he did not seek public oflice. He was of a 
 modest, retiring habit, but always ready to do a kind action. 
 Throughout his adult life, he was a consistent member of the 
 Congregational Church. He died May 21, 1S6S. He married 
 first. May 13, 1S19, Dolly Healy, a daughter of Maj. Lemuel 
 and Dolly (Corbin) Healy. She was born Dec. 15, 1796, 
 and died May 22, 1843. Major Healy was a farmer of Dudley, 
 a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and later a major of 
 militia. Hervey Conant married second, Susan Stone of 
 Grantham, N.H., who died in 1S69. Hervey and Dolly 
 (Healy) Conant had children : — 
 
THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 125 
 
 Lucy Foskett, born 1S20, May 24. Died in May, 1S46. 
 She married, May 5, 1S45, Nelson Bennett of Stnrbridge, 
 and they had one child, a danghter, Ellen Lucy Bennett, 
 who married Harrison J. Conant. 
 
 Dolly Healy, born 1821, Dec. 13. Married Raljoh U. 
 Davison, of Brooklyn, Conn., and they had two children: 
 Josiah Davison, wrho died young ; Henry H. Davison, who 
 married, Nov. 28, 1S77, Ida Franklin Crowningshield. 
 
 Samuel Hervey, born 1S25, July 29. Died Oct. 11, 1S50. 
 Unmarried, 
 t Hezekiah, born 1S27, July 28. 
 
 Sylvia, born 1829, Nov. 9. Died aged 6 years. 
 
 Josiah, born 1832, June 2. He attended the 
 
 public schools of Dudley until his twelfth 3'ear, when, his 
 family moving to Worcester, he became a pupil in the high 
 school of that city. After leaving school, he learned the 
 trade of a machinist. In 1851, he went West, where he 
 remained until 1859, when he began the study of medicine 
 with Dr. Green of Boston. During nine months of the 
 War, he assisted in taking care of the sick and wounded 
 soldiers in the hospitals at Washington. He then attended 
 a medical college in Philadelphia, graduating in 1865. 
 After practising a short time in Boston, he settled in 
 West Boylston, Mass., where he resided until the death 
 of his father, then removing to Great Falls, N.H., where 
 he gained a large and successful practice. In tlic spring 
 of 18S1, he was obliged to go South for his health, but 
 received no benefit from the trip, and on his return was 
 obliged to give up his practice ; in July of the same year, 
 he entirely lost the use of his lower limbs from paralysis, 
 and was then confined to his bed and rolling chair. He 
 died in December, 1886. He married, in 1S78, Lucy C. 
 Pratt of South Berwick, Me. ; no issue. 
 
126 THE CONANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 Elizabeth, bom 1S34, Aug. 6. Married George W. 
 
 Adams of Boston, Mass. They reside in Tlionotosassa, 
 near Tampa, Fla. 
 
 8. HEZEKIAH CONANT, son of Hervey and Dolly 
 (Healy) Conant, was born in Dudley, July 28, 1827. Married 
 first, Oct. 4, 1S53, Sarah Williams Earned, daughter of 
 Col. Morris and Elizabeth (Eaton) Earned, born Dec. 8, 
 1839, died July 17, 1855. Married second, November, 1859, 
 Harriet Knight Earned, sister of above, born May 10, 182S, 
 died July 6, 1864. Married third, Dec. 5, 1865, Mary Eaton 
 Knight, daughter of Dr. Samuel P. and Harriet (Eaton) 
 Knight, born Jan. 19, 1834. Hezekiah and Harriet K. 
 (Earned) Conant had children : — 
 
 Samuel Morris, born 1861, Dec. 9. Married, in Ein- 
 coln, R.I., June i, 1887, Nelly Buell Ferguson, and they 
 had children: Roger Ferguson Conant, born April 12, 
 188S; Morris Ferguson Conant, born Oct. 19, 18S9 ; 
 Sylvia Ferguson Conant, born July 27, 1891 ; Harriet 
 Knight Ferguson Conant, born Feb. 2, 1893. 
 
 Edith Adina, born 1863, Sept. 19. Married, Feb. 4, 
 1885, George M. Thornton, and they had children: 
 Edith Thornton, born Nov. 5, 1886; Margery Conant 
 Thornton, born July 2, 188S. 
 
^ecoxb^ of ti^e ^eaft? gtamil^. 
 
RECORDS OF THE HEALY FAMILY. 
 
 I . JOSHUA and Sarah Healy had children : — 
 Joshua, Jr., born 1737, May 6. Married, Dec. 10, 
 
 1749, Sarah Newell, 
 t Joseph, born 1739, June 29. 
 
 Mary, born 1730, July i. Married, Dec. i, 174S, 
 
 Jedediah Marcy. 
 Abigah. (i),born 1733, Dec. 39. Died Aug. 5, 1741. 
 Nathaniel, born 1736, Sept. 3. Died Oct. 5, 1817. 
 
 Married, Sept. 9, 1756, Abigail Carter. 
 Samuel, born 173S, Dec. 9. Married, Jan. 16, 1759, 
 
 Phebe Curtis. 
 Abigail (3), born 1741, Aug. 5. 
 
 3. JOSEPH HEALY, son of Joshua and Sarah 
 
 ( ) Healy, was born June 39, 1739. He married, 
 
 Jan. 3, 1754, Mary Whitman, and they had children: — 
 
 Joseph, jr., born 1754, Aug. 10. Married, Jan. 35, 1790, 
 
 widow Ruth Conant. 
 John, born 1756, Jan. 13. Married, April 30, 
 
 17S0, Elizabeth Dairy mple. 
 Jedediah, born 1757, .Sept. iS. 
 ■f- Lemuel, born 1759, Dec. 26. 
 
 Mary, born 1763, Feb. 13. Married, Dec. 37, 17S7, 
 
 Jason Phipps, Jr. 
 Hezekiah, born 1766, Oct. S. Married, Nov. 14, 179S, 
 
 Becca Corbin. 
 Perley (i), born 1769, Aug. 30. 
 Rhoda, born 1773, Apr. 11. The Dudley, Mass., 
 
 town records note, "June 35, 1796, Thomas Dalrymple 
 
 and Rhoda Healy Intend Marriage." 
 Perley (3), born 1776, July 26. 
 Lucretia, born 177S, Dec. 5. 
 Sophia, born 17S3, July 39. 
 
I30 THE CON ANT MEMORIAL CHURCH. 
 
 3. MAJ. LEMUEL HEALY, son of Joseph and Mary 
 (Whitman) Healy, was born Dec. 26, 1759. Died Sept. 11, 
 1S37. Was a private in the Revolutionary War, enlisting 
 when seventeen years of age ; probably obtained his commis- 
 sion as major from militia service. He married, Jan. 7? i79*-'' 
 Dolly Corbin. She deceased March 24, 1S43. Maj. Lemuel 
 and Dolly (Corbin) Healy had children: — 
 
 Lemuel, Jr. (i), born 1791, Apr. 24. 
 
 Lemuel, Jr. (2), born 1792, Nov. 24. Married, first, 
 
 Dec. 4, 1S17, Sylvia Conant. Married, second, Sept. i, 
 
 1S30, Eliza W^arden. 
 Seraph, born 1794, Nov. 7. 
 
 Dolly, born 1796, Dec. 11. 
 
 1S19, Hervey Conant. 
 Sylvia, born 1799, Jan. 4. 
 
 1519, Benjamin Leavens, Jr. 
 Lucy, born 1801, Aj^r. 14. 
 
 1520, George Waters. 
 Davis, born 1S07, Nov. 30. 
 
 1S33, Zeruiah Williams. 
 
 Married May 13, 
 
 Married May 13, 
 
 Married May 1 1 , 
 
 Married, Jan. 16, 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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