F 20 \ P2?:?r W 1891 THE First Baptist Church — IN — RARIS5 NIAINE. centennial E:xercl3es ON Thursday, October ist, 1891, REV. A. P. WEDGE, Pastor. Glass / Book tr CENTENNIAL First Baptist Church PARIS, iVIAINE, Observed October ist, 1891 PARIS, MAINE: J'RINTED AT THK OXFORD DEMOCRAT OFFICE, 1S92. S%1 CONTENTS. Page. Prefatory Note, - -- - - - - 5 Order of Exercises, -..----y Address of Welcome, - - -- - - y Historical Discourse, . . . . . "v'-ii ()riginal Hvmn, .--.---yy Afternoon Session, ------- yc) Poem, "The Old Church on the Hill," - - 79 Evening Session, --.-.-.y:^ Errata, --------- S6 -I PREFATORY NOTE. At the regular conference meeting of the First Baptist Church in Paris, Jan. 31st, 1S91, it was voted that the church celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of its forma- tion, and the pastor was appointed a committee of one to make preliminary arrangements. On May 17th it was decided to observe the centennial on Thursday, Oct. ist, this date being preferable for many reasons to Nov. iSth, the actual birthday of the church. At the same meeting, (May 17,) S. M. King and L. B. Merrill were added to the committee of arrangements. Rev. H. C. Estes, D. D., of Leicester, Mass., a former pastor of the church, was invited to deliver the historical discourse, and Hon. Geo. F. Emery of Portland, to write the centennial hymn. At a meeting of the church on Saturday, Oct. 3rd, it was voted to request of Dr. Estes his manuscript for publi- cation. In accordance with the action of the church, the exer- cises were held on the appointed day. The sun rose Thursday morning, Oct. ist, on one of those beautiful autumn days which no season and no clime can excel, — bright and fair, neither cool nor hot, with no cloud in the sky and just a touch of haze in the distance. People came in early, several driving a distance of nearly PREFATORY NOTE. fifty miles, and others coming a still longer distance by rail. The large audience room of the meeting-house was well filled at all of the meetings. A great deal was crowded into one day's exercises, and the sentiment of the people was well expressed by one who, though not a member of this church nor an active participant in the tlay's exercises, said, " I have enjoyed every minute of this livelong day." The fioral decorations of the church were simple Init ver\- beautiful. The pulpit alcove was arched in evergreen and autumn leaves, and several handsome bouquets were placed about the stand. One of the floral tributes, which l^ore the word '•'• Rest," was inscribed, " To the memory of Milo and Nancy Hathaway." ORDER OF EXERCISES, Thiursday jVIorniog. lo O'clock. 1. Organ Prelude and Doxology. 2. Invocation. Rev. T. J. Ramsdem,. 3. Responsive Reading, 91st Psalm. 4. Prayer. Rev. S. D. Richardson. 5. Address of Welcome. By the Pastor. 6. Anthem, " Be Joyful in the Lord." 7. Historical Discourse. Rev. H. C. Estes, D. D. 8. Centennial Hymn. Thitarsday Afternoon. 2 O'clock. 1. Anthem. 2. Prayer. Rev. B. L. Whitman. 3. Addresses. Rev W. H. S. Ventres. Rev. H. C. Estes, D. D. Rev. H. S. Burrage, D. D. Rev. a. T. Dunn, D. D. V. Richard Foss. 4. Original Poem. Hon. Geo. F. Emery 5. Anthem. 6. Benediction. Rev. N. G. French. ,•) ORDER OF EXERCISES. Ttitarsday Evening. 7 O'clock. AXTHEM. Scripture. Re\'. A. G. Fnz. Prayer. Rev. A. T. Dunn, D. D. 4. Address. Rev. B. L. Whit.max. 5. Anthe.m. 6. Benediction. By the PastDf the Baptist church in Methuen. In his later life, he often spoke of impressions which he had received from his mother's religious instructions, and from her pray- ers for him, in her room, her hand sometimes laid upon his head as in an act of consecration. But when he was twelve years old his mother died ; and a few years later his father followed her to the silent land. 44 CENTENNIAL OF THE In his early years, he was fond of study, and he wished much to get a thorough education ; but the way was barred. He was apprenticed to learn the trade of a house-carpenter in Windham, N. H. There, for three years, he was under unchristian influences ; and when he returned to Methuen, at the age of twenty-one, — though strictly decorous and upright in his outward life and conduct, he was destitute of religious faith and of religious interest. So two years passed ; and then, on his tv/enty-fourth birthday, he found himself suddenly and unaccountably interested in the matter of his soul's salvation. He felt that he was a sinner, and that he needed a Savior. Not at once, but after a time, and after many an inward struggle, he found deliverance, peace, and joy, in Christ the Savior ; and he found it while in his closet, — praying. No sooner did he find himself "a new creature" in Christ, than he found that he had been taken possession of by a spirit of consecration to Christ. But he was careful to test his views and feelings by the word of God. He made a careful study of the New Testament, that he might learn from it what Christ required of him ; and hav- ing assured himself as to his duty, he offered himself as a candidate for membership in the Baptist church in Methuen, and was baptized on Sunday, the 6th of November, 1831. Immediately after his baptism, he felt a strong, inward urging to give himself, in some way, specially to the service of Christ, and the welfare of his fellowmen ; though not yet had he felt that it was his duty to preach the gospel. Therefore, to fit himself for some more eftective service in whatsoever field the Lord might call him to labor, he went, in January, to the Literary Institution at New Hampton, and studied there somewhat more than two years. Then he entered the Newton Theological Institution in 1834, too^^ the full three years' course, and was graduated with his class in 1837. From Newton he went at once to Farmington, and preached there six Sundays. He received a call to settle as pastor of the church, but declined it. He attended the meet- FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF PARIS. 45 ing of the State Convention, held that year in October at Bath, and there he was urged by some, who knew the needs of this field, to visit Paris. Without doing so, however, he returned to Methuen. But he could not rest. What he had heard of this field so weighed upon his mind, that he turned back, took the journey from Methuen, and came here to see the field for himself, and learn, if he could, whether the Lord had some work for him to do here, or not. He preached here two Sundays, — and visited somewhat among the people. He saw little that was inviting. He saw that certainly there was a field here for labor, possibly, with God's blessing, a field for usefulness. He decided to labor here, at least for a season. The people were singularly drawn to him, and he was encouraged by their manifest readiness to work. In December they gave him a call to settle as pastor. But in his wisdom he saw that some things could be better done before than after his acceptance of their call. Therefore, in that matter, he counselled delay. In the winter, plans were made to build a new meeting-house, and he thought he saw the promise of a better day. In April the call was renewed, and accepted ; and on Wednes- day, the 27th of June, 1838, he was ordained. The ordi- nation service was held in this new house, though it was unfinished ; only boarded, and prepared with floor and seats for the occasion. The ordination sermon was preached by the new pastor's friend and for one year fellow-student at New- ton, the Rev. Alvan Felch of New Gloucester. The ordain- ing prayer was offered by Elder Hooper. The charge was given by Rev. John Tripp of Hebron, then seventy-seven years old, and in the fortieth year of his pastorate there. The address to the churcli was given by Rev. Reuben Mil- ner of Norway. The day of the ordination was just forty, three years and two days after the ordination of Elder Hooper, who then and there by the imposition of hands, transferred his office to his successor. The record in the church books says : '•The services were deeply interesting & impressive; to see our aged Elder, who had been the pastor of this church 46 CENTENNIAL OF THE for more than forty years, laying his hands on the candidate & imploring the Divine blessing to rest on his successor, was really an impressive season." His whole ministry, like that of his predecessor, was spent with this church. His term of service was longer than that of any other pastor since Elder Hooper, — though it was only one-third as long as his. He was a man of note in many ways. He had a fine physique ; was tall and of good proportions ; and till the beginning of the end, he had such uncommon health and strength that he was not kept from meeting on the Sabbath a single day after his conversion ; and in all the years of his active life one would have selected him as one of those most assured of length of days, and the crown of age. But suddenly, in January, 1852, his eyes became abnormally sensitive to the light, and soon his whole nervous system was so affected that he was compelled to cease from his work. His last public service was on the 15th of February in that year, when, with eyes closely band- aged so as entirely to exclude the light he attended the fun- eral of his friend, Mr. Thomas Clark, and according to his record of "funerals" spoke from the text, i Cor. XV, 53 : " This corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." In May he sought relief from eminent oculists in Boston, Dr. Reynolds and others, but in vain. In September he resigned his office as pastor or the church ; and his resignation was unwillingly and sor- rowfully, but of necessity, accepted. In December his dis- ease reached such a point that not only light, but noise and movement, though slight, caused pain, often excruciating, as if he had been made " Tremblingly alive all o'er, To smart and agonize at every pore." So passed the days, and weeks, and months, and years, till the third year had fully come, and then on the 12th day of January, 1855, he ceased to be mortal. But though his dissolution was preceded by so much of suffering his mind had shown its superiorit}' over it, and he had been a con- FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF PARIS. 47 queror through Christ who strengthened him. Often in his paroxysms of pain he said, "O Lamb of God, be thou my pattern ! " Often he spoke of inward peace and joy — "unutterable and inexpressible." Once he said, "The apostle's vision of a rainbow round about the throne could not exceed some views of the heavenly world that have been presented to my mind. An artist would joyfully spend ten thousand years to represent such glory." When his physi- cian told him that his last day on earth had come, " he ex- claimed : Blessed, blessed news! Welcome, everlasting life.'' The last words which he spoke were, " Ease in death, ease in death. — Peace, peace, peace. — Amen, Amen!" Such was the passing of Caleb Bailey Davis. But though his life was ended thus early and untimely, his labor in the ministry had not been in vain. It had been fruitful in good results. In the first years of his ministry, there had been a cheering growth of religious interest among the people, many conversions, and large additions to the church. There had also been enlargement in other ways ; growth in the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus ; an expansion of Christian sympathy and Christian benevolence, in active co-operation with the great Christian enterprises of the age ; and a work of benevolence that provoked very many, and all this under circumstances, often adverse and threatening. At the time of his settlement, several members either refused to act or dissented from the action, but with hardlv an ex- ception, they soon ceased from their dissent, and acted cor- dially with the church. Peculiar as was the field and the work to be done in it, he was peculiarly adapted to the field and the work, and the time in which he was called to do it. Calm, deliberate, and always self-possessed, thoughtful, patient, and persistent, gentle and yet firm, endowed by nature with a large measure of good sense and sensibility, well trained and cultivated in the schools, never rash or in too much haste to act, but straight- forward and tenacious of his purpose, when once it had been formed ; wise to see what in any case needed to be done, judicious in choosing and determining what it was best to do, 48 CENTENNIAL OF THE and skillful in adapting means to ends to gain his end, when once he had decided on it ; always devout and reverent, yet never wanting in the grace of genial manner ; kind, courteous, and gentlemanly in all his intercourse with men, a singular sense of propriety, decorum, and order showing itself in whatsoever he said or did, he seems to have been especially raised up, called, qualified, and sent to do the work which needed to be done here in Paris ; to take up the work into which he entered, when and where Elder Hooper left it ; to set in order the things that were wanting, to change what needed to be changed, to lead the church up into a true and hearty sympathy with the Christian spirit of the age, and the various enterprises of Education, Temperance, Missions, and all that pertains to benevolence, reform, and progress ; and all this he did so quietly, so silently, so imperceptibly, as to cause no jar or discord, but the change seemed more like growth than the revolution which it was. Very delicate, dif- ficult and important, was the work which he had to do, but in the good providence of God, when the hour had come, the man was ready, and he was here. His influence was felt for good, not only in this church and town, but in all the region round about, in the churches of the Association, in the counsels of the Baptist State Con- vention and the State Missionary Society, and in the Board of Trustees of Waterville College, of which he was a mem- ber from 1842 till his death. Particularly, his influence was for good in behalf of the cause of Temperance. When he came to Paris the reform had sterling friends and advocates, in many towns, but in none was it strong, and in many it had not yet gained a foothold. Here in Paris, what has well been called " the powerful influence of Elder Hooper" was against it, as was the influence of many leading members of the church, but, with singular wisdom, tact, and courage, Mr. Davis threw his influence in favor of the cause, spoke for it here and in other towns, and did not a little to hasten that triumph of the reform in Maine, which he lived to see. As a student he was diligent, careful, thorough. His Hebrew Bible and his Greek Testament, he kept close at FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF PARIS. 49 hand and in daily use, and in general literature, and the nat- ural sciences, his aim was to keep himself abreast of the times, so that his opinions should command the respect of his people. As a preacher, his sermons were distinguished for sim- plicity, plainness, directness, and adaptation to his hearers' needs ; for careful discrimination, exact and proper state- ment, richness and fullness of Christian thought, and that grace which, because it tends so much to win upon the heart, and promote spirituality of mind, devoutness of soul, and righteousness of life, is sometimes called " unction." He was not a brilliant or dazzling preacher ; he used but little gesture ; but he was sweet-voiced and charming in his deliberate utterance, and all his words tended to inform the understanding, enlarge the heart, exalt one's aspirations, and make the life better. Few sermons exceeded his in their power to make clear, distinct and lasting impressions on the mind, — the understanding and the memory. Of the ser- mons which I heard him preach in the years from 1S38 to 1S51, the text, and theme, and leading thoughts of each were fixed in my mind, as by some photographic process ; and the sermons of no other preacher heard in those years, are more distinctly remembered, and only a few so well. His views of Christian trpth were not one-sided or nar- row, but broad and many-sided. Instead of carrying any doctrine to an extreme, his aim was to hold it in its proper place, and view it in its proper relations and proportions, neither magnifying nor minifying, nor distorting any truth. So he held and preached the truths held and insisted on by opposing parties, by Predestinarian and Freewill Baptists, — and he avoided their errors. '' The Balancings of Truth" was the subject of a sermon which he preached before the State Convention in 1845, from the text, — Psalm CXIX, 12S: — "I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way." That published sermon is a good illustration of the even balance of his mind in its doctrinal position, and in regard to the teachings ot the Bible. In it, after a vivid statement of the contrarieties 50 CENTENNIAL OF THE and oppositions of doctrine in the Christian world, he said : " Whence these Babel dialects, these Ishmaelite theorems? Come they not from this cause : — the Christian world has not esteemed all the divine precepts concerning all things to be right; nor has it hated every false way? The complete- ness of revelation has been violated. The Bible has been cut into fragments, and each separate part constructed into a system by itself. The fullness of scriptural truth, its beautiful proportions, its just balances, its placing one thing over against another in lovely agreement, have been forgot- ten. Good men, in their zeal to elevate and defend a favor- ite doctrine, have been incautious in their treatment of other equally important doctrines. The theological radius has been used for the diameter, the small segment for an entire circle. Principles, expansive as infinity, have been cramped, and forced into occasions of contention ; and principles, local and temporary in their design have been distended, to include the centre and circumference of Christian faith." From this fundamental view of the truth, as that which, Milton says, " came once into the world with her divine mas- ter, and was a perfect shape most glorious to look on," but which, since " he ascended, and his apostles after him were laid asleep," has been dismembered ; " hewed into a thousand pieces," and "scattered to the four winds;" from this fundamental view of the Bible, as teaching a consistent and harmonious system of divine truth, when all its precepts concerning all things are allowed their proper weight, — Mr. Davis led the church into an enlarged conception of Chris- tian truth, and brought it into harmony with the churches of the denomination, holding the views of Andrew Fuller of England, Caleb Blood of Portland, Thomas Green of Yar- mouth, John Tripp of Hebron, and John Haines of Nor- way, and the New Hampshire Declaration of the Faith held by the Baptist churches. In his personal character there was a grace of blended wisdom and devoutness, such as is commonly called saintli- ness. It is such as reminds one readily of Fenelon and Leighton. All who knew him well seem to have been im- FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF PARIS. 51 pressed and awed by it. When he died, his brethren of the State Convention, speaking through the chairman of their committee, the Rev. Samuel L. Caldwell, D. D., said: "All his qualities and all his acquirements were distilled into a sort of Christian wisdom. And wisdom, graced with a ge- nial humor, mollified by love, dignified into piety, energized into constant activity. Christian wisdom was his forward characteristic." But his spirituality of mind and hisdevout- ness were as striking as was his wisdom. The spiritual mind, as distinguished from the unspiritual, was eminently his. He was a man who walked with God. He lived in intimate communion with God. He had a well trodden pathway to the throne of grace. He had his set times for his devotions, when he withdrew to his closet, and having shut the door, gave himself unreservedly to the reading of the Bible, meditation and prayer. Fasting-days he kept as a means of grace for himself; and he kept them as strictly and conscientiously as if he had been one of the Puritans of the olden time. On each alternate Friday, it was his custom to abstain entirely from food,* and to spend the day in his room " reading the Bible and the most searching religious books, and in meditation and prayer." Also, it was his custom nightly to rise from his bed, at midnight, and not only kneeling, but prostrating himself upon the floor — give himself for a time to prayer. After his decease, it was said that, during his whole ministry, he was never known, under ordinary circumstances, to fail of doing this for a single night. But of his fastings and prayer he made no parade or boast ; no more than if in another land or age he had anointed his head and washed his face that he might not appear unto men to fast. Of his closet transactions he * " Fasting, when it is in order to prayer, mu9t be a total abstinence from all meat, or else an abatement of the quality ; for the help wliich fasting does to prayer cannot be served by changing flesh into fish, or milk-meats into dry diet, but by turning much into little or little into none at all, during the time of sol- emn or extraordinary prayer. * * * All fasting, for whatsoever end it be undertaken, must be done without any opinion of the necessity of the thing itself, without censuring others, with all humility, in order to the proper end." — The whole works of the Right Rev. Jeremy Taylor, D. D., in Ten Volumes. Vol. Ill, pages 168, 169, i. e.. Holy Living, Chap. IV, Sec. V. 52 CEXTEXXIAL OF THE did not speak to men in public or to his friends in private, because he knew that to speak of them, and pubHsh them, would be to profane them, and make them worse than use- less. But their influence upon him could not be hidden. It must be manifest, as the communion of Moses with God on Sinai made his face to shine, when he came down from the mount, though he knew it not. Humble, self distrust- ful, unpretentious, as he was, he made those with whom he came in contact feel that he was a man of unusual sanctity, — not sanctimoniousness, — for there was no trace of pre- tense or cant about him ; but unaftected, genuine sanctity. " Do you know Mr. Davis, of Paris.?" I once said to the Rev. Zabdiel Bradford of Yarmouth. "Know him," he replied, "yes, he is the holiest man on this earth." I learn- ed afterwards that they had been classmates at Newton ; and that his answer to my question had been dictated by his acquaintance with him there, and in the six following years. After his death, another classmate in the Institution at New- ton, the Rev. William H. Shailer, D. D., prepared and published in his paper, the Zion's Advocate, an extended biographical sketch of Mr. Davis, with analyses of his character, as a man ; as a Christian ; as a preacher ; and as a pastor ; the six articles filling nearly eleven columns of the paper. Those tributes to his memory were sincere, dis- criminating, and hearty in their delineation and commen- dation of his excellence ; and they show like a wreath of Immortelles placed by a friend upon his coffin. In one of those articles, Dr. Shailer said : — " Our own impression is, that he deserves to be ranked among the most devoted and pious men that our country has produced ; " and in another he said : " Beyond almost any man we ever knew, he answered Cowper's description of a good preacher : ' Simple, grave, siucere; In doctrine uncorrupt; in language plain, And plain in manner; decent, solemn, chaste. And natural in gesture; much impressed Himself, as conscious of his awful charge. And anxious mainly that the tlock he feeds May feel it too; adectionatc in look And tender in address, as well becomes A messenger of grace to guilty men.' " FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF PARIS. 53 It was my fortune to meet him occasionally in his later ministry, and I never left his presence without feeling that the interview, whether longer or shorter, had been one of positive benefit to myself, or without an increased respect and admiration for him whose acquaintance and memory I never ceased to prize ; and the mention of whose name any- where is to me " as ointment poured forth." The next and third pastor of the church was Adam Wil- son, D. D. He was born in Topsham on the loth of Febru- ary, 1794. He was fitted for college at Hebron Academy ; and was graduated from Bowdoin College in 1819. In the first year of his college course, he was an earnest religious inquirer ; and before his graduation he made his profession of religion, and was baptized by Rev. Henry Kendall. After his graduation he studied theology with William Staughton, D. D., of Philadelphia, and he was ordained as an evangelist at Topsham, on the 13th of December, 1820. In the early part of 1822, he began to preacli in Wiscasset, where he continued nearly three years. He afterwards preached several years in New Gloucester and Turner ; and he was the first pastor of the church in Turner. In 1828 he established the Zion's Advocate ; and he conducted it as Editor and Proprietor till 1S38, when he become pastor of the First church in Bangor. There he remained nearly four years. Then he was again pastor of the church in Turner two years. In 1844 he again took charge of his paper, — the Zion's Advocate, which he conducted till 1850, — when he became pastor of the church in Hebron, three years ; and then, after the resignation of Mr. Davis, he was pastor of this church from 1852 to 1857, ^^^ years. After resigning his ofiice here, he made his home in Waterville, supplying des- titute churches, and doing much missionary work in the State ; till within a few weeks of his death, which was on the i6th of January, 1871 ; — fifty years and thirty-four days from the day of his ordination. He was a man of remark- able physical vigor, such that when he was three score and sixteen years old it seemed almost literally true that, '' His eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated." He vvas 54 CENTENNIAL OF THE a good scholar, when there were but few educated men in our ministry ; and he kept his scholarly habits to the end of his days. He was a sound, instructive preacher of the gos- pel ; — an eagle-eyed editor of a religious paper ; and a suc- cessful man of business, all in one. He made his influence felt strongly in favor of education and every other good cause, from first to last. During the long period of forty- two years, — from 1828 till his death, — he was one of the Trustees of Waterville College and Colby University ; and he was President of our Maine Baptist Education Society, when he died. As a preacher he lacked the grace and bril- liancy which make some preachers famous, — for a day ; but he had those sterling qualities which give lasting influence for good, by informing the understanding and quickening the conscience. He preached the gospel as a gospel of sal- vation for lost men through Christ, and as a gospel whose natural fruit is righteousness of life. This twofold character of the gospel formed the burden of his sermon preached at my own ordination in Auburn ; and in his preaching to his own people he insisted upon good works, or morality, as if not Calvin, but he, had first said, " We never dream, either of a faith destitute of good works, or of a justification unat- tended by them." So good was his influence, and so good in so many ways, that it has been said that " probably to no one man is the present prosperity of the Baptist denomina- tion in the State of Maine more due than to the subject of this sketch," * Dr. Wilson. To me he was so well known that when, in another State, I learned of his death, I spoke of him to my congregation, and said that modest, unassum- ing, and unambitious as he was, he had been one of the most influential men of all our New England ministry ; and now I am glad to say that it was well that his ministry of five years duration here, followed, and added its good influ- ence, to the ministry of his warm friend, and beloved fellow laborer, Caleb B. Davis. *Tlie Baptist Encycloptt'ilia. ' * * Editeilby William Cathcart, D. U., pages 1256 and 1257. FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF PARIS. 55 Dr. Wilson's successor, and the fourth pastor of the church, was William Hosmer Shailer Ventres. He was born in Haddam, Conn., on the 3rd of October, 1S32. He was fitted for college in the High School at Brookline, Mass. ; and was graduated from Harvard College in 1S55 ; and from the Newton Theological Institution in 1858. He first came to Paris in February, 1858. He came again in the following April, intending to preach two Sundays ; but the religious interest then developing, led him to remain several weeks, so that practically he had charge of the pulpit from that time. He was ordained in Portland, on Thursday, the 8th of the following July. At his ordination, the sermon was preached by William H. Shailer, D. D. ; the prayer of ordination was offered by Rev. Thomas B. Ripley ; and the charge was given by Rev. George W. Bosworth. He was pastor of the church eight years and four months ; resigning and closing his labors the last Sunday in October, 1866. On leaving Paris, he at once become pastor of the church in Hyde Park, Mass. The next and fifth pastor was William Henry Walker. He entered upon his work here in 1S67, and closed it in 1870. He was born in Lexington, Mass., June ist, 1824. He was converted when eighteen years old ; was baptized . by the Rev. William Leverett ; and was soon led to feel that the work of the ministry was his appointed work. He was fitted for college at Phillips Academy, Exeter, N. H. ; and then he studied two years, — 1850 and 1851, — in Brown University. He then took the full course in the Newton Theological Institution ; and was graduated with his class in 1855. On the 8th of August, in that year, he was ordain- ed in Westboro, Mass. He was pastor at Westboro three years; at Natick, three years; at South Gardner, three years ; at Hampton Falls, N. H., three years ; here in Paris, three years ; at Greenville, N. H., three years; at Warner, N. H., eight years ; at Edgarton, Mass., four years ; and at North Leverett two years. He died suddenly at North Lev- erett, just as he was leaving his house to visit a sick parishioner, on Sunday, the 37th of November, 1S87. The text of his 56 CENTENNIAL OF THE last sermon was Phil. Ill, 8 ; — last clause, " That I may win Christ." Of all the pastors of this church, he is the only one whom I never saw, but the uniform testimony of those who knew him well, in his different fields of labor, shows that he was a good, faithful, trustworthy man ; a devoted and faithful minister of Christ ; a plain, simple, scriptural preacher of the gospel ; and a kind, sympathizing, and helpful pastor ; one whose steadfast aim in life was to do good to his fellowmen, and who, when he left the world, left to his friends who survived him, a good name, and a grateful memory. Mr. Walker's successor was Albert Aaron Ford. He was born in Boston, Mass., August 25th, 1840. He was educated in the public schools of Cambridge, Mass. ; at Phillips Academy, Andover ; and in the Newton Theolog- ical Institution, from which he was graduated with the class of 1870. On the 2nd of November, in that year, he was ordained here as pastor of the church. The ordination ser- mon was preached by Sumner R. Mason, D. D., of Cam- bridge, Mass. ; the ordaining prayer was offered by Rev. A. K. P. Small ; and the charge was given by Adam Wilson, D. D. At the end of two years from his ordination, he tend- ered his resignation, and closed his labors on the 2nd of November, 1S72. He was afterwards settled as pastor at Belfast, three years ; at Tennant's Harbor, — in St. George, two years ; and at Waldoborough, four years. Then, fail- ing health compelled his resignation, and his withdrawal from the active work of the ministry, in 1884. From that time, he gradually declined till his death at Kent's Hill, on the 2nd of June, 18S7. Before he entered upon his course . of study for the ministry, he was a practical printer of sin- gular good taste and skill ; and he sacrificed much that was promising in his business prospects when he decided to become a preacher of the gospel. But having made that decision, he did not look back. He was a diligent and faithful student ; a clear and vigorous thinker ; and an unaf- fected and earnest preacher. He was a man of marked sim- plicity of mind and character; frank, honest and straight- FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF PARIS. 57 forward ; true to the core ; unselfish and thoroughly devoted to his work ; clinging to it even in bodily weakness and decay. He was devout in spirit ; fervent in prayer ; tender in his sympathies ; and pure in heart. He was one who might have said without reproach, " I believed, and there- fore have I spoken ;" and when he died many felt that he had won his Master's welcome: "Well done, good and faithful servant." In recognition of his attainments as a scholar, the honorary degree of Master of Arts was conferred upon him by Colby University, in 1S79. In the next month after Mr. Ford's resignation I received and accepted a call to the pastorate. I entered upon my work here on the first of January, 1873 ; and closed it with the month of June, 1883. The next pastor was James Edward Cochrane. He was born in Monmouth, July 4th, 1854. After having attended the common schools in Monmouth and Easton, he studied three years in the VVaterville Classical Institute: — was graduated from Colby University in iSSo; and from the Rochester Theological Seminary, in 1SS3. — He was licensed to preach by the church in Easton in 1873 ; — and he was ordained at Mariaville, on the 5th of August, 1S79. ^^ entered upon his labors as pastor of this church, on the first of September, 1883 ; and closed them on the first of August, 1SS6. On the 14th of the next October, he sailed from Boston for Missionary work in Burma. His successor, and the ninth pastor, was Gideon Mayo. He was born in the town of Eden, Hancock County, No- vember 23rd, 1846. He was educated iii the common schools of that town ; at the State Normal School, Castine ; and at the Newton Theological Institution, — two years, 1883 and 1S84. He was licensed to preach by the church in Eden, in September, 1883. He was ordained at Brooklin, on the 2nd of September, 1884. After a pastorate of three years there, he was called to this field, where he was pastor of this church, and also of the church at South Paris, two years, from 1S87 to 1889. Then he resigned, and became pastor of the church in Harrington. 5S CENTENNIAL OF THE The present pastor, Arthur Pearl Wedge, was ordained here on the 7th of November, 1889. The ordination ser- mon was preached by the Rev. William C. Barrows ; and the ordaining prayer was offered by the Rev. C. W. Potter of Litchfield, Conn., — a grandfather of the candidate. From what has now been said, it appears that, of the ten persons who have held the office of pastor in this church, four, — the first, second, sixth, and last, — have been ordained here ; — the first in Mr. Jackson's barn, before the first meet- ing-house was built; the others in this house. It also ap- pears that the church has had a settled pastor full ninety- four of the one hundred years of its history. Three years, 'seven months and seven days passed between the organiza- tion of the church, and the ordination of Elder Hooper, — but he had been laboring here seven months and nineteen days at the time when he was ordained. Since that time, the pastorate has been vacant, not more than thirty months, counting them all. But in not a few of those months, the pulpit was supplied by the same person who was soon set- tled as pastor. It was so supplied, as we have seen, by Mr. Ventres, during the four months before his ordination. Also, in the interim of eleven months between the resigna- tion of Mr. Cochrane and the settlement of Mr. Mayo, the pulpit was supplied from November 14th, 1SS6, till June 26th, 1887, — a period of seven and a half months, by the Rev. William C. Barrows, who received and declined a hearty call to the pastorate, and who says that the months spent with the people in Paris, "• were months of peculiar pleasure and satisfaction." — Other churches, in their his- tory of a hundred years, may have had fewer pastors, but very few have had a settled pastor more of the time. The first pastor of the church. Elder Hooper, was twice married. His first wife was Miss Sally Merrill of New Gloucester. She was born December 5th, 1778. They were married in 1797, and she died of consumption, on the 19th of April, iSo3. His second wife was Mrs. Betsy Hubbard, widow of Reuben Hubbard, and daughter of Benjamin Stowell of Worcester, Mass. She first came FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF PARIS. 59 into the town of Pai-is, in 17S4. They were married, November iSth, 1S03, and she died, April ist, 1853. The other nine ministers of the church have all been helped in their ministry, by wives whose names are in the book of life, and who are all now living. Seventeen persons have served the church in the office of Deacon. Their names, with their terms of service, are as follows, viz. : — *John Willis, * William Parsons, * Stephen Chase, * Daniel Fobes, * Josiah Smith, * Joseph Lindsey, 1791-1S12 1797-1S06 1S05-1S30 1806-1814 1811-1830 1817-1824 Benjamin Chandler, M. D., 1824-1827 * Isaac Mann, * Luke Chase, * Thomas Stevens, * Joel B. Thayer, * Levi Thayer, Austin Chase, Henry F. Morton, * William Rice, Alexander Edwards, Carroll R. King, 1826-1838 I 829-1 839 1839-1865 I 839- I 874 1854-1875 1 854- 1 874 1874-1885 1875-1891 1885- 1S91 Dea. Willis was one of those who having " served well as deacons, gain to themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus." He was a devout man and his house, at the north-west corner of the Common, was very near the sanctuary. Like some of the first deacons of the church at Jerusalem, he became a preacher of the word ; and as such he will be spoken of in his place with the ministers, who have been raised up in the church, or have proceeded from it. Dea. Parsons lived in Norway, and was one of the early settlers of that town. He was there, and began to fell trees on the lot, of which he made his farm, in 1787, if not in 6o CENTENNIAL OF THE 17S6. According to a tax-list dated " November th 7, 1794," he then paid a higher tax than any other of the inhabitants, with the single exception of Henry Rust. He was one of the seven persons dismissed to form the church in Norway in 1806; and he was the first deacon of that church. He was twice a delegate from this church to the Association ; and eleven times from the church in Norway. As a man, and as an officer he had the respect of all. He died on the 8th of January, 1S45, aged eighty-five years. Dea. Stephen Chase lived in Woodstock, at a place nearly ten miles distant from this village. He was one of the early settlers of that town ; moving into it with his fam- ily in i8o3. During all the time that he lived in the town he was " its foremost man." He was the trusted and effi- cient Agent of the Proprietors of the township for the sale of their lands ; the first Justice of Peace ; and the first rep- resentative of town in the Legislature. He was baptized in Woodstock by Elder John Tripp, of Hebron, on the 22nd of October, 1S04.* Extracts from a diary kept by him in the years from 1801 to 1S06 have been published; — and under the above date of his baptism, he says, " Went to meeting at Luther Whitman's and was baptized, together with three others." Under date of " 1S05 * * * June 9th," he says, "Went to meeting at Mr. Swan's and heard Elder Hooper. Went to the water, and saw my wife and Merrill Chase's wife and Calvin Cole baptized." Often he speaks of going to meeting at difl'erent places, and hearing, — sometimes Elder Tripp, sometimes Deacon Willis, and sometimes Elder Hooper, preach. — Sometimes he says "Went to Paris and heard Mr. Hooper;" — sometimes, "Went to a church meeting at Paris," and several times, "Elder Hooper preached here." From this we see as " in a mirror, darkly," the scattered condition of the church in those years ; the work of its minister ; — and the thirst of the * " About the last of October, 1S04," Elder Tripp visiteil the people in Little's Gnint, afterwards Wooilstock; and in his Journal he made this record: — "I preached and attended conference with tliem, and baptized four persons."— The MaasachiLsetts Baptist Missionary Magazine, Vol. 1, p. IXi. FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF PARIS. 6l people for his ministrations. In 1S25, Dea. Chase moved from Woodstock to Lincohi ;* and afterwards he was dis- missed, with others, to form the church in that town. Daniel Fobes of Bridgewater, Mass., was born Febru- ary 1 2th, 1742. In 1769 he married Hannah Standish, who was a great grand-daughter of the famous Capt. Miles Standish of our early New England history. She was born at Captain's Hill, in Duxbury, Mass., March 22nd, 1746. He came to Paris, November 2nd, 1802 ; having already bought land for his farm adjoining Elder Hooper's. Four years later he was chosen Deacon of the church. He died in 1814, leaving a good name, and the example of a good and faithful life. His widow lived till 1839, when, on the 13th of January, her funeral was attended by Mr. Davis, the serm6n being preached by Elder Hooper. Dea. Lindsey was born in Marblehead, Mass., on the 7th of February, 17S0. He came to Paris with his family, in 1814. He lived here in the village ; at one time in the house now occupied by Mrs. Arabella Carter. He was a man of much strength and excellence of character ; an efficient officer of the church ; and universally respected. He used often to have prayer meetings at his house, and to lead them himself. On one occasion, some one whom he had asked to speak declined, for the reason that he was " cold." At once Dea. Lindsey said, " If you are cold in body, draw near to the fire ; if you are cold in spirit, draw near to God in prayer." He was one of the delegates to the Association, in 1817, and in each of the five following years. In the autumn of 1824, he removed from Paris to Athens, in the county of Somerset ; and there he died on the 9th of .Sep- tember, 1826. Dea. Chandler, better known perhaps as Dr. Chandler, was born in Duxbury, Mass., in 1782. He came to Paris and settled as a practicing physician in this village, in 1806 ; and he continued in practice here till the close of his life. He represented the town in the Legislature at Boston in * See " History of Woodstock, Me. * * * By William B. Lai)hani," pages .V), 51; — and Ajipendix, pages 273-3J1. 62 CENTENNIAL OF THE 1818 and 1819 ; — with Elder Hooper he was a member of the Convention which framed the Constitution of the State of Maine in 1820; and he was Judge of Probate from 1S20 till his death in 1827. He left a good reputation as an un- assuming, amiable, and upright man ; as an intelligent and useful citizen ; as a skilful and beloved physician ; and a faithful member and officer of the church. Dea. Mann was a man of good natural abilities and strong religious convictions. Like all his predecessors in the office which he held, — with the single exception of the first, — he began his term of service, and ended it, — in the ministry of Elder Hooper ; and he is the last of whom this can be said. He resigned his office in 1S38 ; and died in 1858, at the age of seventy-four years. Dea. Luke Chase was born in Sutton, Mass., May 15th, 1782. It is said that he found Christ precious to him as the Savior, and became one of his true disciples, when nine vears old. After reaching his majority, he lived several years, in Barre, Mass. ; and while tliere was deacon of a church. He came to Paris in 1826; and, in the next year, he settled on the farm on which he lived till the end of his life, and which is now occupied by his son Dea. Austin Chase. He died on the 25th of September, 1839; ^'^ days after the close of the meeting of the Association held with this church that year. He was a good man, faithful to his trust as a Christian, as a Christian parent, as a member of the church, and as one of its officers ; and, when he died, his pastor said of him, " He died as a Christian could wish to die." Dea. Stevens was born in this town, November 13th, iSoi, and his whole life was passed in the town, first, after his maturity, on Stearns Hill, and later at South Paris. He died there on the 26th of November, 1865 ; and he was the first person whose burial was in the new cemetery. — He was a quiet, unostentatious man, of good executive ability, and a good Christian influence. He is now spoken of as "■ Dea. Stevens of blessed memory." Dea. Levi Thayer was born October 23rd, i793i hi a FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF PARIS. 63 part of Buckfield, afterwards annexed to Paris. He first settled in Buckfield, but soon removed to Paris, and remained here till the close of his life, having the respect, esteem and confidence of all who knew him. He died on the 5th of June, 1875. Dea. Joel B. Thayer was born in Buckfield, on the 9th of April, 1799. He was converted in early life; received into the fellowship of this church by letter in 1839 ' — '^"'^ chosen deacon the same year. When he resigned his office, after thirty-five years of service, the church unanimously voted him the title of " honorary deacon," during the remainder of his life ; and the same honor was conferred upon Dea. Austin Chase, who resigned his office at the same time. Dea. Thayer lived to complete his fourscore years ; and died on the 14th of June, 1S80. He was a man of much activity and energy, wisdom and prudence ; one who managed his own business well, — on Christian principles; and who managed his own religious life, and the affairs of the church, on business principles, being " diligent in busi- ness ; fervent in spirit ; serving the Lord." As such he had the respect of all who knew him. Dea. Rice was born in Gorham, March loth, 1814. He was converted in early life ; and he joined the Baptist church in Buxton, in 1S29, when he was baptized by the Rev. Dr. Adam Wilson, who was then the acting pastor of that church. In 1852, by letter from the church in Hartford, he united with the church in Hebron, and received the hand of fellowship from its pastor, Dr. Wilson. On the i6th of March, 1856, he united with this church, and, for the third time, received the hand of fellowship from Dr. Wilson, who was then the pastor of the church. Early in the present year, he received his dismission to the church in South Paris, where he resided; and he died there on the 21st of last month ; only ten days ago. He was a man of good sense and sound judgment ; singularly devout in spirit ; strict in the discharge of duty, both to the church and the world ; and worthy of his companionship with those who filled his office, and passed to their reward, before him. 64 CENTENNIAL OF THE Six persons have served in the office of church clerk. Their names with their terms of service have been as fol- lows : — * Levi Jackson, 1791-1799. * James Hooper, 1799-1S29. *Luke Chase, 1829-1839. Austin Chase, 1839-1845. * Ebenezer Thayer, 1845-1857. Samuel M. King, 1857 • The members of this church residing in Paris, have never been subjected to the burdens and oppressions, from which our brethren in other places often suffered in their early his- tory. But an exemption certificate was once given by Elder Hooper to one of our members residing in Norway ; and it shows plainly the difference between this and other towns in this regard, — or between our own and other times, before the Baptist doctrine of Soul-liberty gained its ascendency, and became part of the law of the land. The certificate to which reference is made, is as follows, viz. : " This certifies to whom it may concern that John Par- sons of Norway joined the Baptist church of Christ in Paris in the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-six, and has and does now attend public worship with us. JAMES HOOPER, Minister. JOHN WILLIS, I ^ LEMUEL JACKSON, l^^'^'"'"^'^- Paris, June the 6 A. D. iSoi." An effort has been made to ascertain the whole number of members connected with the church in the century since its organization. This has been done by a careful exami- nation and tabulation of the statistics of the church given in the Minutes of the Associations with which it has been con- nected, and showing the numbers received by baptism, by letter, and by experience, year by year, since, in 1792, it was received into the Bowdoinham Association with twenty- one members. Adding to that number, the numbers since received, by baptism, by letter, and by experience, — but FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF PARIS. 65 not including those who have been restored, — it appears that the total membership of the church has been seven hun- dred and three. Of this number, two hundred and seventy- eight have been dismissed ; seventy-nine have been excluded ; one hundred and eighty-one have died ; and seven have been dropped from the roll as entirely un- known, because they had removed from town, ceased to report themselves to the church, and left no sign or trace by which we might learn whether they were living or deceased. The present number of members is eighty-eight. But this showing leaves seventy members un- accounted for ; some of whom perhaps were dismissed, in e.arly times, though no record was made of their dismission, — and others may have moved away, and dropped silently out of the knowledge of the church, in the years before a list of its members was carefully prepared and kept. Such a list was first prepared by Mr. Davis, at the beginning of his ministry ; and, in preparing it, he had the help of Elder Hooper and others ; some of the constituent members of the church being then alive. At the end of his list, Mr. Davis wrote these words: "• Whole number, April lo, 183S, is 146; males 46, females, 100. Many of them scattered, & their places and conduct unknown." In that and the next five years, Mr. Davis baptized one hundred and eleven per- sons ; and, in 1843, the membership of the church was increased to two hundred and one, the largest number ever connected with it at one time. Of the present members of the church, eleven have been members more than fifty years. Five of them were mem- bers when Mr. Davis' list was prepared ; and six of them were added later. — Their names, with the date and man- ner of their admission to the church, are as follows : — Mrs. Susan Mathews, Baptism, 1S25. " Mary Mathews, " 1830- Dea. Austin Chase, "■ 1831. Mrs. Lucy Chase, " 'S37. " Louisa Griffin Davis Thayer, Letter, 183S. " Polly Faunce Thayer, " " 66 CENTENNIAL OF THE Mrs. Submit Shurtleft' Stevens, Baptism, ^^39- " Abigail Hooper, " 1S40. " Mary Sturtevant Daniels, " " Miss Emeline Daniels, " " " Harriet Briggs, " " In the course of its history the church has had several seasons of general religious interest and large ingathering ; and only ten years have passed without some additions, by letter or baptism if not both. In 1794 the additions were 6 " 1795 " " " 8 " 1796 " " " 8 " 179S " " "• 7 " 1S05 " " " 10 '' 1S06 " '' '' II " 1814 " " " 20 " 1816 " " "- 13 " 1S17 " " "- 29 " 1S18 "■ "■ " 16 " 1825 " " "■ 64 " 1830 " " " 10 " 1831 " " " 52 " 1838 "■ "■ "■ 13 " 1839 " " " 27 " 1840 '' " '' 50 " 1843 " " " 31 '■'■ 1856 '' "■ " 17 " 1857 " " " 16 " 1858 " " " 19 " 1859 " " " II n JS7-5 '. " " 12 Trials and troubles the church has had, — some sharp as thorns or brambles. Our experience has taught us the meaning of Christ's words: "• It must needs be that ofiences come." They have come here in the forms of misbelief and of misconduct. Sometimes it has needed all the wisdom and all the grace of the church to know what to do, and how to do it ; but very seldom lias it had occasion to deal FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF PARIS. 67 with gross offences ; — and never has it been compelled to call a council of sister churches to assist it in settling any case of difficulty between its members or for any other pur- pose than to advise and aid in the ordination of its minis- ters. Once the field occupied by the church was wide, very wide. It included not only the town of Paris, but also the towns of Poland, Oxford, Norway, Woodstock, Green- wood, and Hamlin's Grant. But by the formation of churches in those towns, the field has been narrowed, from time to time, till all those towns have ceased to be parts of our territory, and even in this town the field has been so divided that there is now a church at North Paris, and another at South Paris ; and this church is left to occupy the central portion on and around the Hill. In the course of years, nine churches have been formed of members dis- missed wholly or in part from this. Those churches, with the years in which they were formed, and the number of members dismissed from this church to each — so far as is known, are the following : — CHURCHES. FORMED IX MEMBERS DISMISSED. 2nd Buckfield, 1S02, 13 Norway, 1806, 7 Poland, 1S24, 9 Woodstock and Greenwood, 1828, 19 Hamlin's Grant, 1828, 7 Paris and Woodstock, 1829, 22 Lincoln, 1S30, 6 Buckfield Village, 1854, 16 South Paris, 1S85, 19 Six members of the church have become ordained min- isters of the gospel. Three of them have finished their earthly work ; and three are still laboring in the vineyard. Of these, the first to be ordained, was George Ricker. He was born in Somersworth, N. H., on the 19th of Decem- ber, 1 77 1. While yet a young man he came to Buckfield. He was baptized by Elder Hooper, in October, 1799. He began to preach as early as April, 1S02. In that year he 6S CENTENNIAL OF THE was dismissed with others to form the Second Baptist church in Buckfield. He was ordained pastor of that church in 1805, and he continued its pastor five years. Then, in iSio, he removed to Minot, and settled in that part of the town which is now Auburn. There the rest of his ministry and life was spent. He was pastor of the church in East Au- burn forty years. One entry in the records of that church is this: "Elder George Ricker added to the church, Feb. 1810;" — and another is: — "April 23, 1850. Dismissed Elder George Ricker from the pastoral care of the church, at his request." He died on the 9th of February, 1854. He was a good man, kind and genial in his manner, faith- ful in his work, and useful in the ministry. My intercourse with him while I was pastor of the church in East Auburn, as his successor, was only pleasant. John Willis, the next to be ordained, has been already spoken of as one of the constituent members of this church, and its first deacon. He was born in Mid- dleborough, Mass., November 27th, 1754. We do not know when he began to preach ; but, in Dea. Stephen Chase's diary, mention is made of his preaching in Wood- stock in 1804, and he preached at the funeral of one of Elder Hooper's children, in 1806. He was ordained as an evangelist on the 7th of March, 1810. He died suddenly of a ruptured blood-vessel, July 23rd, 181 2. Concerning his character and worth Elder Hooper said: — "He had great knowledge of the Bible, and was a sound predestina- rian, and was able to vindicate the cause of God, and would not yield a hair's-breadth to any man. He was meek and humble, and bear the infirmities of his brethren, beyond any man I ever saw. Brother Willis was the most like his Mas- ter Jesus Christ, of any man 1 ever saw." George Mellen Prentiss King, D. D., was born in Ox- ford, December 12th, 1833; but his parents were residents of this town from almost his first year, as they had been in their early life. He was baptized by Mr. Davis, on the 8th of July, 1S49. He was fitted for college at Hebron Acad- emy ; and was graduated from Waterville College, now FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF PARIS. 69 Colby University, in 1S57. He also studied a year at the New- ton Theological Institution. He was licensed to preach by this church, in 1856; and he was ordained at Farmington, in 1S5S. He was pastor at Farmington one year; at East Providence, R. I., five years ; and afterwards he was Pro- fessor of Rhetoric in the Maryland Agricultural College. In 1867, he entered upon his work as President of Way- land Seminary, Washington, D. C, which, under his admin- istration, has grown to its present position of eminence and influence among the Literary and Theological Institutions, established for the enlightenment and elevation of the colored people of the land. He received his degree of Doctor of Divinity from Colby University, in 1SS6. George Dana Boardman Stevens, — a son of Dea. Thomas Stevens, — was born in this town, September 5th, 1S38. He was baptized by Mr. Ventres, on the iSth of July, 1858. He was graduated from Waterville College, now Colby University, in 1863. From 1S64 till 1S69 he was employed as a teacher at Richland, Wis. ; and from 1869 till 1S71 he was engaged in the same work at Hudson in the same state. He vvas licensed to preach by the church in Richland Cen- tre, 1S70; and he was ordained at Richland Centre, on the 6th of April, 1871. At his ordination the Rev. William H. Brisbane, M. D., was Moderator of the council ; and he offered the ordaining prayer, and also gave the charge to the candidate. Since his ordination he has been settled as pas- tor in Richland, Bloomington, Cassville, and Lancaster ; — and, in connection with his pastorate in those places, he has done much missionary work in neighboring parts of Wis- consin. Otis Bent Rawson was born in Paris, March 33nd, 1836. He was converted when fourteen years old ; and at that time he united with the Methodist church at South Paris. He was educated in the common schools of this town ; in the Paris Hill Academy ; at Bates College ; and in the Boston Theological Seminary. Later his views of Baptism and Church Polity led him to connect himself with the Baptists, and he vvas baptized into the fellowship of this church, by yo CENTEXMAI. OF THE Dr. Wilson, on tlie 5th of June, 1S70. He was licensed to preach on the 2nd of July in that year, and was ordained at Bethel, November 4th, 1871. He was pastor of the church in Bethel four years; in Packersville, Conn., four years; in Fayette, four years; and in Lyme, Conn., one year; and then his earthly work was finished. He died in Lyme, Conn., August 34th, 1S85. — He was one of those men of whom it may be justly said that, " an excellent spirit was in him." He was modest, quiet, and retiring; averse to pub- lic notice, parade, and show ; and one whose qualities of character were substantial and enduring. As a student, he was diligent and thorough ; as a preacher, he was thought- ful, sound, and instructive; as a pastor, he was winning and efficient. In every field where he labored, he was respected and beloved ; and in death he is remembered as a true man, and a good minister of Jesus Christ. Judson Wade Shaw was born in this town, September 6th, 1S33 ; and he was baptized by Mr. Davis, on the 8th of July, 1S49. He was fitted for college at Hebron Acad- emy ; and was graduated from Waterville College, now Colby University, in 1S58. He was Principal of the Acad- emy at North Anson in 1858 and 1859; ^"^' ^'^^" ^^^ engaged in other educational work till 1875. From this church he received a license to preach in 1S64; and in August of the following year, he was dismissed to the First Baptist church in Concord, N. H. In the autumn of 1876, he removed to Boston, and united with the Park Street Con- gregational church in that city. He was a student in the Andover Theological Seminary from 1879 till 1883 ; and in the latter year was licensed to preach by the Andover Asso- ciation. He was ordained and installed pastor of the Con- gregational church in Royalston, Mass., on the 30th of June, 1887. After a pastorate of two years there, he was dis- missed and recommended unanimously by a council of the churches; and since that time he lias been engaged in the work of the "Christian Learners' antl Helpers' Union," whose object is to elevate the education of home and school life morally and religiously. FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF PARIS. Jl Since its organization, the church has been connected with three different associations. In 1792 it joined the Bowdoinham Association, which before its reception was composed of only ten churches. Eighteen years later it was dismissed with twenty-three other churches, to form the Cumberland Association, in 181 1. Then, after another period of eighteen years, it was dismissed with twenty-one other churches to form the Oxford Association in 1S39, and with that body it is still happily connected. Eight times the annual meetings of the associations have been held here ; in the years 1S12, 1S19, 1S28, 1839, ^^55i '866, 1876, and 1885. The earliest known mention of a Sunday School con- nected with the church was in 1S37. In that year, the church, in its letter to the association, said, "We have a Sunday School ;" — and the Sunday School statistics in the Minutes of that year, show that it had nine teachers ; fifty scholars ; and one hundred and fifty volumes in its library. But there had been some Sunday School instruction in this village before that time, almost twenty years before. In 18 1 8, the village school was taught by Miss Nancy Pierce, a sister of the late Judge Josiah Pierce of Gorham, and a very intelligent and devoted Christian woman. At a con- venient hour on Sundays, she met as many of her scholars as she could induce to come together, in the school-room in which she taught during the week ; and there she had a Sunday School with such instruction as was common at that time. But her Sunday School had no connection whatever with the church. Elder Hooper was decidedly opposed to Sunday Schools ; and therefore there was no place for one in this church during his administration. He regarded it as wrong for parents to delegate the religious instruction of their children to others, because God had laid the duty upon them. But some members of the church must have had an interest, and a deep interest, in the vSunday vSchool as an institution which gave promise of doing great good. This is shown by the action of one of the deacons, nine years after Miss Pierce did her good work in the village, and ten 72 CENTENNIAL OP" THE years before the first mention of the Sunday School as exist- ing here. By his will dated "the 2ist of March, A. D. 1S27," Dr. Benjamin Chandler bequeathed a piece of land " containing [his] orchard and tomb, « * * [and] com- prising about four acres, more or less, * # » jq ti^g Calvinistic Baptist church in Paris, and their successors in trust, forever, the income thereof to be expended in the first place in keeping [his] tomb & the fence around it in good repair, and the remainder to be faithfully applied & expend- ed in the instruction & encouragement of a Sunday School on Paris Hill, to teach the children and youth in morality & the religion of Jesus Christ ; said school to be free to all the children in the town of Paris ; the whole of said income to be under the care & direction of a committee, to be chosen by said church annually to consist of not less than three nor more than five, of which committee, the minister if they have any shall be one ex officio. " The use and income of this land with its fine fruit bearing trees, situated hardly half a mile from the Common, has been of great value to the Sun- day School in all the years of its history. With the coming- of Mr. Davis, the attitude of the church towards the Sunday School was at once reversed, so far as it needed to be reversed. By him and others the people were very gen- erally visited from house to house, to enlist their sympathy and co-operation in the Sunday School ; and the church cor- dially adopted it as a part of its appropriate work and means of influence. In 1S40, it reported the " Sabbath School a use- ful means of grace;" and in 1S43, it reported seventeen con- versions in the school. It has always been well organized and efficient in its work ; it has always been quick to adopt new and improved methods of doing its work ; its Teachers' Meetings, — as the seventh pastor can testify from his own experience, — have been of singular interest and profit, — and, through the generous gift of Dr. Chandler, its library has been large and of great value ; in several years reported as containing six hundred or more volumes, and once seven hundred. The church has had, — and now has, — two parsonages. FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF PARIS. 73 The first, consisting of house and stable, with half an acre of land, was the gift of Mr. Thomas Crocker in 1856. The second was the bequest of Mrs. Anna Hamlin Brown. It consists of her fine residence and grounds, — two and one-half acres in extent, — just across the street from the meeting-house. It came into the possession of the church, at her death, on the 13th of May last year. The interest taken bv the church in the various objects of Christian benevolence. — such as Ministerial Education, and Home and Foreign Missions, — deserves no slight notice. It shows verv plainlv the greatness of the change introduced bv the second pastor ; a change amounting, as I have said, to a revolution. I have made diligent and careful search for the facts, but I have found no indication of any interest taken bv the church in any of the great missionary move- ments of the age. — nor any record of any contribution made by it for Missions, till after the close of Elder Hooper's administration. The first acknowledgment that I have found, of monev contributed by the church for Foreign Missions, is in the Missionary Magazine of February, 1839: and it is in these words, '• Paris, a family contribution, per Rev. Caleb B. Davis, $4.00." In the July number of the Magazine for that year, there is a further acknowledgment of $15.61, from •' Paris." From that time till the present, the church has been active, well-organized, and generous, in its benevolent work : not a single year of this last half cent- ury having passed without something attempted and some- thing done, for Home and Foreign Missions, and the various kindred objects of benevolence. — In the fifty-three years passed since the church took hold of this work, its known and reported contributions have risen very steadily, from $19.61 in the first vear, to $352.45 this last year; the aver- age of the whole period has been $128.65 per year ; and the total amount given and reported in all the years is $6,818.50. From what has now been said, the peculiar, controlling spirit of this church, is manifest. For the space of a hun- dred years, it has been a living body, animated and moved by a living spirit. As such it has had its name, its growth. 74 CENTENNIAL OF THE its activity, its influence, its history. VVidely scattered as its members have been, in this and neighboring towns, it has had its spirit of centraHzation, its unity, and its abihty to overcome the difliculties and disadvantages of its position, and to adapt itself and its methods of work and influence to the ever changing times and circumstances of the century, — as its tliree generations of men and women have come upon the stage, and passed away. From time to time it has separated itself from such as were in it but not of it; and so it has maintained its integrity. If its numbers are less than one-half as many as once tliey were, it is because, like a Banyan-tree, it has sent out its offshoots, which have taken root in the region round about, so that now there are seven churches with three hundred and forty-seven members in the field which once it occupied. What this church has been, and what it has done, towards the accomplishment of its mission, in this past century, we iiave now partly seen, — partly, I say, for here as elsewhere, — " 'TIs but a part we see, ami not the wliole." Much of the outward history of this church has been swal- lowed up and lost irrecoverably in the stream of time ; many a precious name and useful life, which you have in mind, as a sacred treasure, has had no mention here to-day ; while the inner experience of the more than seven hundred souls that have been sheltered in this fold, can be unfolded only in that day when the secrets of all hearts shall be revealed ; but what is known and recounted is for our profit that we may be " imitators of them who through fiith and patience inherit the promises." I Iiave spoken of those who have held some offlcial posi- tion in the church, and of its members as a body ; and now 1 would gladly speak particularly of many others, whom you have in mind, not only as among your friends and kin- dred, but as among the saints of God, such as they of whom he said, " They shall be mine in that day when I make up my jewels." But if I begin to speak of them, or to tell their names, where shall I stop .= They once came up with us to FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF PARIS. 75 the house of God, with the multitude that kept holyday ; but they, men and women, young men and maidens, have fallen by the way, and their mortal bodies have been laid tenderly and reverently to rest in our older or newer cem- eteries, or in places far remote ; while their souls are in the Paradise of God. We would clasp their hands, but we see them not ; — we listen for their voices, but we hear them not; and yet the places where once they were, in home or sanctuary, are filled with fragrant memories which they have left behind them. Here, to-day, and often elsewhere, it seems as though we were walking through a flower garden in the night, where, though we see no flowers, the air is filled with perfume, which shows how foir and sweet they are. This church has been very rich in souls worthy of a place in the White Rose of Paradise, which Dante saw displaying " The saintlj host, VVliom Christ in his own blood liad made his bride." To me this day, or I may say this service, is significant of far more than I can tell. To me the occasion presents and unfolds a roll of immense proportions, " the length thereof twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits." To me the house seems filled with shadows more numerous far than you whose faces I see, and the beating of whose hearts I seem to feel. A great cloud of the departed, men and women, who have loved tliis church, prayed for it, and labored for its prosperity, seem to be here, unseen by mortal eye, but rejoicing in our success ; cheering us on to better and better things ; chiding our dull delays, — " Soft rebukes in l)le9sings ende(i, Breathing from their lips of air." If one of them, the second pastor of the church, could now speak to us, how gladly would I stand aside and let him say, in his slow, measured, impressive utterance with just the slightest lisp — "My Christian brethren and friends, — I rejoice greatly in this day ; and I give you the assurance that I cherish for you the most sincere, unabated and abid- ing attachment. From the inmost depths of my soul I love 76 CHN'TENNIAT. OF TIIK you, and I shall never cease to love you. From my heart I bless }ou, and may my God and Savior bless you evermore. But that you may not fail to receive his blessings and be enriched by it, suffer a word of exhortation : — ' My beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.' " Let this pastoral and apostolic exhortation be heeded ; and then this church of Christ on Paris Hill, beautifid for situation be)ond almost any other, between the Atlantic and Pacific seas, shall be as fair in herself as in her situation ; if never large, she will have stability and peace; by her influ- ence she will be a light in the world, shining like a city set upon a hill which cannot be hid ; and she will show what it is to be "built on the foundation of the apostles and proph- ets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone." FIRST BAPTIST CHUIJCH OF PARIS. 11 ORIGINAL HYMN. At the close of the historical discourse, tiie following hymn written for the occasion by Hon. Geo. F. Emery of Portland, was sunc to the tunc of '•'• Old Hundred " : t) God, our Father, as we raise With grateful hearts our song of praise, Help us Thy name now to adore, As here did saints in davs of vore. Here altar fires burn brightly still. And, as of old on Zion's hill, Shed forth their light to all around, Who loval to Thee would be fountl. One hundred \ears leave many a trace Of those who run the Christian race, And sought not for the world's renown, But aim'd to win the Heavenly crown. As in this sacred place we sit, We to Thy care to Thee commit The dear old church of ancient days, And to Th3' name be endless praise. L.cfC. AFTERNOON SESSION. The afternoon services were opened at half-past two with prayer by Rev. B. L. Whitman of Portland. The session was devoted to short addresses by ex-pastors and other friends of the church. Rev. W. H. S. Ventres was the first speaker, followed by Dr. Estes. Rev. H. S. Burrage, D. D., editor of Zion's Advocate, Dr. A. T. Dunn, Secretary of the Convention, and Mr. V. Richard Foss, spoke briefly. Hon. George F. Emery then read the following original poem : The Old Church on the Hill. How gladly the plowman wends homeward his wa\', When shadows of twilight have curtain'd the day His wearisome toil is remember'd no more, As greets him the smile at the old cottage door. How surely the voyager, reaching his home, Leaves far in the distance his fancy to roam, When hands grasp him warmly, and heart throbs to heart. And time, neither ocean, no longer friends part. And yet, as glad welcomes again he now hears, A struggle it costs him to stifle his tears, As memories tender come rushing back fast, yo CENTENNIAL OF THE VVitli speed as of lightning from scenes of the past. But joyful are tears when crystal'd by love For friends, now companions of angels above. Conflicting einotions, now joyous and glad, Then followed by feelings quite pensive and sad, Stir hearts that are loyal, as hither they come To visit once more th' ancestral church-home, The church which the fathers here founded on trutb. So dear to the saints in the days of oiu" youth. The \irtues they cherish'd, the seeds they here .sowed. And care and devotion they freely bestowed, A church to establish, as by our Lord taught, And after his model — for so they all thought, Well merit the praise and honor of all. As on this glad day we their service recall. Do any deem language like this quite too strong. And think, in opinions, the fathers were wrong? In one thing, most surely, all must be agreed, These worthies were first here to sow gospel-seed. And did thev not wisely their mission fulfil, B_\- choosing for Zion its site on " The Hill," Whence far in the distance its light could be seen. And where no obstruction could e"er intervene.'' One hundred full years has its history shown, " The church on the Hill" lni:f lighted this town. Nay, far to the South its beneficent rays Ha\e wakened devotion in loud songs of praise. How many new voices God's praises now sing. Attuned to true worship b\- G. M. 1*. King.* "Tis the nature of vines f to expand and spread wide. And stretch out their branches on 'n>ost ev"rv side. *TIie allusion to Dr. King will be generally umlerstooil, l)Ut the memory of Jiis saintt'il mother (a (laughter of the lati' Dea. Prentiss of the South I'aris Con gregational cluirch,) ami of his father, Alonzo, h)ng a pillar in this chinch, im jn-ls me to ailil thai if men are to l)e nieasureil hy the intluence for gooil they exeit personally and through others, the eiiucational work of this, their son among the colored people, plaees his name high up on the roll of fame and use fuhr ss, for which any parents oa' any church, may justly congratulate them selves on a day like this. t. "Speaking of vines, the fa<-t is recallcil that "Father Hooper" was accus lomed very often to pray for "the little vine down at Norway.' Who will venture to say that his ))rayer uttereii in the ears of some present half a century ' ujio luis not been answered in our day? FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF PARIS. 8l This process, howe%'er, withdraws from the roots A portion of sap to support the new shoots. The vine which the fathers here planted and train'd, Like many another some loss has sustained. Yet when the old trunk putteth forth a new shoot, The result is quite often an increase of fruit. So, if in the line of the Master's own will, We bid a God-speed to the church 'neath " The Hill." What pastors and preachers this church has enjoyed, And who in its service have well been employed, One honored among them the tale has well told. Tracing down the long line from the quaint days of old, When Hooper, the Elder, his flock used to feed, And which to the polls, it is said, he did lead.* He always maintain'd what he thought to be right. And battles for country, if needful, could fight. But though self-reliant, no bigot f was he, He claim'd for mankind fullest soul-liberty. To wants of his townsmen he never was blind, And needs of the poor he bore always in mind. The heart of the stranger J he often made glad, And shar'd with him freely the best that he had. * Mr. Hooper was born to lead. In politics, he wan a close follower ol An- drew Jackson, whom in many points he resembled, anil with scarcely an ex- cei)tion the members of bis flock were accustomed to vote as he did. In the church he was absolutely master of the situation. On one occasion when he was desirous of having the singing exceed in style the ordinary standard, after reading the hymn, he addressed the choir in the gallery in this manner: '' Dea con Mann, you needn't sing; you always flat! " t Tlie liberality of Mr. Hooper toward other denominations was well ex- emplified by tlie fact that on one occasion he invited a Universalist minister to preach in his pulpit. I His mode of treatment of his guests at his hos])itable board is well illus- trated by the following incident. Unexi)ectedly to his wife, on "washing day," he invited a stranger to dine with him. The viands spread on the table con- sisted simply of nnish and milk. On being seated, and after saying grace as usual, he remarked to his guest, " You see, sir, we have a frugal rei)ast to-day, but if you are a Christian it is good enough, and if not, it is too good!" He was a man of wonderful tact, and was always ready for any emergency. On one occasion a friend of the writer had a good-natured controversy with him on the merits of Dr. Watts as a poet, whom Mr. Hooper claimed to have been the greatest tliat ever lived. To this opinion his opponent demurred, remarking that " althougl) Watts had composed many excellent hymns, he had written many poor ones, some of which would Ije found as meritorious by reading backwards as forwards." " Exactly so," was the reply, " of what other poet can that be said?" His reading, in the main, was confined to the Bible, Watts' Hymns, and the weekly "Eastern Argus," except that he was accustomed sometimes to borrow "the old Federal Advertiser to see what the devil was about! " CENTENNIAL OF THE The creed of the fathers was of the old type. The day of revisions was not fully ripe. With faith in the power and wisdom of God, The path of John Calvin they carefully trod. Little faith did they cherish in frail mortal man, To aid the promotion of God's sovereign plan. Election by grace was the theme of their song, And doctrines quite kindred they held very strong. Who gave to the church here its formative mould, Its worthy historian has already told. If Hooper, the Elder, was somewhat unique,* With reverence only his name would we speak. The gospel he published he fully believed, And manj' his message with gladness received. The good he accomplished we'll never ignore. For that, real good will endure evermore. About 'thirty-seven a new era came. For tho' the old church did remain quite the same. And holding the Elder in genial esteem. Pastor Davis f establish'd a new regime. His learning and culture and zeal for reform Secur'd for him widelv a welcome most warm. *Asa spcciinei) of tlie uiiiiiueiiesr* of Mr. Hooper, the following may be given a^? an illustration. Before disinis^iug lii-^ congregation on one occasion, he made the following announcement: "Brethren, Christmas will occur this week, Ijut as the Pope and tlie devil have stolen that day from us, my advice is to pay little lieed to it! " t More than forty years of wile observation have added in(;i'eased respect for Mr. Davis. He was a man of eminent piety, and gifted with extraordinary wisdom for the peculiar conditions surrounding him as the successor of Mr. Hooper. His ability as a preacher and writer was liardly second to that of any other in his erally to his support, and some of them co-operated with him cordially in Sunday .S(!hool work, which he was lirst t) inaugurate in this church. We can hardly part company with the memory of Mr. Davis without thinking of her who was his companion and helper iluring his pastorate, Mrs. Thayer, as well as his de- vout an