THE
HISTORY OF ROWLEY,
ANCIENTLY INCLUDING
BRADFORD,
BOXFORD, AND
FROM
THE YEAR 1639 TO THE PRESENT TIME.
By THOMAS GAGE.
WITH AN
ADDRESS,
DELIVERED
SEPTEMBER 5, 1839,
AT THE
CELEBRATIOX OF THE SECOND CENTENIAL
ANNIVERSARY
OF ITS
SETTLEMENT.
By REV.
JAMES BRADFORD.
FERDINAND ANDREW'VS.
1840.
Entered
according to Act of Congress, in the year 1840, by
THOMAS GAGE,
in the
Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.
Electronic Version Prepared by
Dr. Ted
Hildebrandt 3/12/2002
FOLS0M,
WELLS, AND THURSTON,
PRINTERS
TO THE UNIVERSITY.
PREFACE.
THE early history of every town furnishes
many
incidents worth preserving. Some of
them may be
uninteresting to strangers; but to
native
inhabitants, descendants of the Pilgrim
Fathers,
they all have an interest. To preserve
such facts
and incidents as are supposed to be
more
particularly interesting to the descendants
of the first
settlers of the ancient town of
ley, is the
object of the following pages.
The 5th day of September, 1839, having
been
set apart,
in pursuance of a vote of the town, for
the purpose
of celebrating the second centennial
anniversary
of its settlement, such material facts
were
collected, as were judged proper to be in-
corporated
into addresses to be delivered on the
occasion. The address, by the Rev. Mr. Brad-
ford, (which
makes a part of this volume,) and
another by
Thomas E. Payson, Esquire, were
delivered,
the latter of which related to the civil
history of
the town, which it was very desirable
to have
printed, and a request was accordingly
iv PREFACE.
made for
this purpose, with which Mr. Payson
did not
think best to comply.*
There having been much information
collected
at that
time, and since, relating to the early his-
tory of the
place, it was the wish of the inhab-
itants of
the town that something, in addition to
the Address
of Mr. Bradford, might be published;
and they
having, by vote, granted to the Com-
piler of the
ensuing sheets the exclusive right of
publishing
this work, he, with diffidence in his
ability for
undertaking it, consented to comply
with their
desires.
It may, perhaps, be proper to add, that,
in its
compilation,
the records and files of ancient pa-
pers, of the
Colonial, Provincial, and State Gov-
ernments of
registry of
deeds and of probate, records of the
towns,
parishes, churches, and societies of an-
cient
Rowley, have all been examined with as
much care
and attention as time would permit;
as also the
works of various ancient historians,
as Winthrop,
Johnson, Hubbard, Mather, Lech-
ford,
Josselyn, Massachusetts Historical Collec-
tions, with
other ancient and modern works.
* The
following communication is his reply to the request.
"
"To
Willard Holbrook, Thomas Gage, and Joshua Jewett.
"Gentlemen, -- The expression of your
thanks for my address
on the 5th
ultimo, has been received, together with your polite request
for a copy
for publication. Please accept my thanks
for the same;
but I must
respectfully decline having the address published.
"Yours, &c. THOMAS E. PAYSON."
PREFACE. v
Having thus done what he could to bring
out
from the
rubbish of years, the historical memen-
tos of his
native place, he now presents the col-
lection of
them, with his sincere desire, that it
may not be
unacceptable to his townsmen and
friends, and
that it may, in some measure, be, to
the present
and succeeding generations, as an
eminence,
from which they may be enabled to
look back
upon the generations of their ances-
tors, who
have already acted their parts upon
life's
stage; -- even to that time, when the ven-
erable
were engaged
in erecting log-houses for their
shelter from
the storm, in the midst of the then
dense forest
which covered the ground, where
the pleasant
Before we proceed to the work it is
thought
best to
notice some of the measures adopted by
the town,
relative to their Centennial Celebra-
tion, and
also to annex thereto the order of
exercises
for that celebration.
At a meeting of the inhabitants, held
April
2, 1839, it
was voted, That they will set apart
some day,
during the present year, for the pur-
pose of
celebrating the second centennial anni-
versary of
the settlement of the town; and that
the Rev.
Willard Holbrook, Joshua Jewett, Thom-
as Gage,
Thomas Payson, Amos Saunders, Thom-
vi PREFACE.
as How
Daniel N. Prime, Edward Smith, Rich-
ard Kimball,
Benjamin H. Smith, Oliver Blackin-
ton, and
Nathaniel Mighill, be a committee, with
instructions,
to respectfully invite the inhabitants
of
us until
lately,) to join with us in the celebration,
requesting
them to appoint a committee of their
own
citizens, to join with the committee of this
town in
making all necessary arrangements for
the
celebration; and as the towns of
and Boxford
were originally a part of Rowley,
to invite
the inhabitants of those towns, also, to
join in the
celebration. The committee were
further
instructed to compile, or cause to be
compiled
from early history, from the records of
the State,
county, and town, and from the rec-
ords of the
several ancient churches, once or
now
belonging to the town of
all other
available sources, all such matters and
facts,
connected with the settlement and history
of the town,
as they may think proper; and to
procure some
suitable person, to select there-
from such
material matters and facts as he may
deem most
interesting and suitable to be incor-
porated into
an address, to be by him delivered
on the
occasion. The committee were instruct-
ed to
appoint a day for the celebration, and to
make all
necessary arrangements for the occa-
sion. They subsequently appointed Thursday,
PREFACE. vii
the 5th day
of September for the celebration, and
invited the
Rev. James Bradford, of
and Thomas
E. Payson, Esquire, of
deliver each
an address on that day. They ac-
cepted the
invitation, and performed the duty as-
signed them.
ORDER OF EXERCISES.
1. VOLUNTARY.
By the Band.
2. ANTHEM.
" Praise the Lord." -- COMER.
3. READING OF THE SCRIPTURE.
BY REV. ISAAC BRAMAN.
[From a Bible printed in 1611.]
4. SINGING.
BY THE CHOIR.
[A portion
of the 107th Psalm, as turned into metre, and
set to a
tune in a singing-book printed in 1604.
To be
read, line
by line, as by Deacons in days of yore.
The
reading by
Deacon JOSHUA JEWETT.]
1 Give thanks unto the Lord our God,
for gracious is hee :
And that his mercie hath no ende,
all mortall men may see.
2 Such as the Lord redeemed hath,
with thanks should praise his name;
and show how they fro --
foes were freed,
and how he wrought the same.
viii PREFACE.
3 Hee gathered them foorth of the lands,
that lay so far about :
From East to West, fro -- North to South,
His hand did find them out.
7 And by that way that was most right,
Hee led them like a guide :
That they might to a citie goe,
and there also abide.
37 That they may sow their pleasant land,
and
vineyards also plant:
To yeeld them fruit of
such encrease,
as none may seem to want.
38 They multiply exceedingly,
the Lord doth bless them so ;
Who doth also their brute beasts make,
numbers great to grow.
5. PRAYER.
BY REV. WILLARD HOLBROOK.
6. ORIGINAL ODE.
BY DANIEL N. PRIME, OF ROWLEY.
Supreme, eternal God,
Who sits enthroned above,
By whose Almighty power,
The wheels of nature move;
Oh! wilt Thou deign this day to hear,
Our grateful song and humble prayer.
When in the days old,
The fathers of our race
From persecution fled,
To seek a resting place;
Where they in peace might worship Thee,
From cruel priests and tyrants free.
PREFACE. ix
Then Thy protecting hand
Did guide them safely o'er,
Whilst they the ocean crossed,
To this then desert shore;
And
Safely arrived on freedom's land.
Two hundred times our earth
Has run its annual round,
Since on this pleasant plain,
A safe retreat they found;
And on this spot a church did raise,
And dedicate it to Thy praise.
And ever since that hour,
Here have Thy temples stood,
Here have our fathers met,
To praise the living God!
Whose boundless power and matchless grace,
Created and sustains our race.
And now may we their sons,
While in thy courts this day,
With grateful hearts adore,
With contrite spirits pray;
That He who was our fathers' friend,
Their children here would still defend.
Through future ages may
Our sons and daughters join,
With cheerful heart and
voice,
In worship so divine;
Here Lord remain and bless our race,
Through every age till time shall cease.
7.
ECCLESIASTICAL ADDRESS.
BY REV. JAMES BRADFORD, OF
x PREFACE.
8. ANTHEM.
" Glory be to God on High," --
MOZART.
9. CIVIL ADDRESS.
BY THOMAS
E. PAYSON, ESQ. OF
10.
ORIGINAL ODE.
AIR-- "From
BY HON. GEORGE LUNT, OF
Come, pour to lofty numbers,
Your voices in the strain,
Let every heart that slumbers,
Awake to joy again.
The golden dawn returning,
Shall bid our bosoms glow,
For that in heaven burning,
Two hundred years ago.
That day whose wondrous story,
Our fathers oft have told;
That day whose deepening glory
Let age on age unfold,--
When hoary sire and childhood,
And youths in virgin glow,
Stood underneath the wildwood,
Two hundred years ago.
The frowning forest o'er them, --
The savage foe around, --
And all the hope before them
Within their strong hearts bound,
Yet pilgrims, worn and weary,
They hailed with grateful glow
A desert home so dreary,
Two hundred years ago.
When danger's need was sorest
They called on Him to save,
PREFACE. xi
By whom they broke the forest,
And bade the harvests wave;
Across the wintry ocean,
Or 'mid the fiercer foe,
He calmed each wild commotion
Two hundred years ago.
Their graves are all around
us,
In venerable age;
Their pleasant homes surround
us,
A goodly heritage; --
Yet warmer let each bosom
Its manly thanks bestow
For Freedom's flower, in
blossom
Two hundred years ago.
11. PRAYER.
BY REV. BENJAMIN GRAFTON.
12. CLOSING ANTHEM.
II Hallelujah to the Father." --
BEETHOVEN.
ORDER OF
PROCESSION, &c..
The following is the order in which the
procession formed
upon the
common, at eleven o'clock, A. M., and thence pro-
ceeded to
the Congregational Meeting-house, under escort
of a
volunteer company of young men belonging to the
town,
commanded by Capt. Nathaniel Perley.
Music by
Aid. Chief Marshal (mounted). Aid.
Escort.
Marshal.
President and Vice-Presidents of the Day.
Marshal. Orators and Officiating Clergymen. Marshal.
xii PREFACE.
Town Officers.
Marshal. Invited Guests. Marshal.
Committee of Arrangements.
Clergymen.
Marshal.
National and State Officers.
Marshal. Soldiers of the Revolution (in
carriages). Marshal.
Marshal.
Marshal.
Strangers and Citizens generally.
Marshal.
After the services of the Church, the
invited guests and
subscribers
to the dinner formed a procession under the
same escort,
and proceeded to a substantial pavilion, erected
for tile
purpose upon the common, where from three hun-
dred and
fifty to four hundred gentlemen and ladies partook
of a dinner
prepared by Edward Smith and John B. Savory,
Esquires. Grace was said at the table by Rev.
David T.
Kimball, of
After the cloth was removed, various
sentiments were
offered, and
addresses made, suited to the occasion.
The publisher was called to act as
President of the Day,
assisted by
Brigadier-General Solomon Low, (who also
acted as
Chief Marshal,) Joshua Jewett, and Thomas
Payson,
Esquires, as Vice-Presidents.
The pavilion was one hundred und sixty,
feet long by
twenty-five
feet in width, which was, under the direction of
Horatio G.
Somerby of
evergreens,
pictures, and national banners, blended and
woven
together by the ladies in an enchanting man-
ner. The church, in which the public exercises of
the
day were
performed, was, by the same gentleman, beau-
tifully
ornamented in a style that reflected much credit
on his taste
and fancy. A broad platform was erect-
ed around
the house, for the accommodation of such as
PREFACE. xiii
could not
obtain seats within, and the lover windows so dis-
posed of, as
to give those without an opportunity of hearing.
Many antique relics were displayed. In the procession
was an
elderly gentleman, with an old lady of eighty-six
mounted on a
pillion, both in full dress of olden time, not
omitting the
cocked hat and powdered wig; also, two young
ladies, one
dressed in a full wedding suit, made and worn
on the
bridal day of another lady, more than one hundred
years before;
the other in a full wedding-dress of about
seventy
years' standing. A man, well acquainted
with the
manners and
customs of the American Indians, in full In-
dian
costume, carrying the pipe and armour of the late
Black Hawk, an Indian chief, was in the procession,
and
excited the
curiosity or many. In front of the
pulpit, in
the
meeting-house, was displayed an old weather vane, made
of a thin
plate of iron, with the figures, 1697, cut through
it. This was the date of the second meeting-house
built
in Rowley,
upon the steeple of which, it buffeted many a
storm, and
sprung to every wind that blew for more than
half a
century. In the pavilion were displayed
various ar-
ticles
wrought by the Indians, some very ancient books
brought from
piece of
embroidery of curious workmanship, wrought by
Sarah
Phillips; (daughter of the Rev. Samuel Phillips, the
second
minister of Rowley,) more than one hundred and
sixty years
ago, attracted much attention, and is now owned
by Miss
Hannah Perley, the said Sarah Phillips being
grandmother
to the said Hannah's grandfather; and it is
hoped the
same will be preserved, and shown at the next
centennial
celebration in Rowley. A large armed
chair,
with a set
of heavy leather-bottomed chairs, supposed to
have been
brought from
town, was
used at the late centennial dinner.
Is it not desirable, that the events of
this memorable fes-
tival should
be collected and preserved, and transmitted to
xiv PREFACE.
our
descendants, to those who shall occupy our place when
another
century shall have passed away? Could we
have
found any
written or printed account of the doings of our
Fathers one
hundred years ago, at a first Centennial Obser-
vance of the
settlement of the town, with what pleasure
and
satisfaction should we have read it, and alluded to it
in this
celebration. But alas, none is found;
for none ex-
ists. We should therefore consider ourselves
obliged by
duty to see
to it, that a third Centennial epoch shall not be
without some
account of the doings of the second. And
may the
laudable doings of the town, in getting up and sus-
taining this
celebration, be a precedent for all coming time.
Some of the regular sentiments or toasts
above alluded
to, given
out by Amory Holbrook as Toast-Master, with a
few of the
volunteer sentiments, here follow, viz.
1st.
The memory of our Fathers, -- Next to their holy
religion,
the richest legacy which they have left us.
2d.
The Reverend Ezekiel Rogers, -- Eminent for piety,
for wisdom,
and for learning, --one of the earliest benefac-
tors of
the
brightest glories of
3d. The Reverend Samuel Phillips. -- As
founders of our
public
schools, as patrons of our benevolent and religious
institutions,
as the brightest examples of private charity and
public
beneficence, we honor his descendants to this day.
6th.
Rogers, Phillips, and Payson, -- Choice stones in
the temple
of righteousness; future generations shall rise up
and call
them blessed.
9th.
The day foe celebrate, -- Sacred to the great and
good of
other times; we will tell their wonderful story to
our children,
that they may transmit it again to theirs.
Volunteer.
By the Honorable Caleb Cushing of New-
buryport. "The foundation stones of
tutions, -- Religion,
eternal in
their influence upon all the sons of the Pilgrims.
PREFACE. xv
By a Lady. "The Mothers, Wives, and
Daughters of
our Puritan
ancestors. -- May their bright examples, in
sustaining Religion,
after, and
carefully followed by their happy descendants."
Interesting
speeches were made by the Honorable Caleb
Cushing, the
Honorable Stephen C. Phillips, of
P. Hale,
Esquire, of
Hampshire,
and by various other persons.
Communications from various invited guests,
who could
not make it
convenient to attend, were read by the Toast
Master. Among others, one from his Excellency, Edward
Everett,
Governor of the Commonwealth, Hon.
Josiah
Quincy, L.
L. D., President of
Daniel A.
White, Judge of Probate for
Hon.
Leverett SaltonstaIl, of
Hon. George
Lunt, of
Osgood, of
The address by Thomas E. Payson, Esquire,
on the civil
history of
the town, followed that by Mr. Bradford.
In the
introduction
of which, Mr. Payson very correctly observed,
that the
history of the
history of
the church; and, of course, his broadest ground
had been
previously gone over; but (as was justly remarked
at the time
by one or his hearers) "he executed his task in
excellent
style, and wrought up his materials with the hand
of a
master. Chaste, elegant, and graceful in
its compo-
sition, the
delivery was worthy of the style and the subject.
The oration
gave evidence of fine taste, and of talents of no
common
order. It was matter of regret, that
want of time
obliged him
to omit a part of his address."
The compiler of this work had a great
desire, that Mr.
Payson's
address should make a part thereof, and go down
to posterity
with it. But Mr. Payson was of opinion,
that,
what of
civil history he had, in detached parcels, incorpo-
rated into
his address, would not very much abridge the
xvi PREFACE
labor of
writing a history of the town, and therefore thought
it best to
withhold the copy.
On the evening of the day following the
celebration, one
hundred and
sixty young ladies and gentlemen formed a pic-
nic party,
and partook of a supper in the pavilion, pro-
vided by the
aforenamed Smith and Savory, after which they
proceeded to
the completion of what they considered the
unfinished
business of the celebration.
The invitation to the citizens of
ed by them
in town-meeting, April 8, 1839, when they ap-
pointed the
Rev. Isaac Braman, Solomon Ne1son, Amos J.
Tenney,
George Spofford, Jereiniah Jewett, Ira Stickney,
David
Mighill, Jeremiah Russell, and Benjamin Winter, a
committee,
to join with the committee of Rowley in making
arrangements
for the celebration. A majority of this
com-
mitttee met
several times with the committee of Rowley, and
very
cordially cooperated with them in making their ar-
rangments;
which cooperation they continued till a subse-
quent
meeting of the town of
that town,
by vote, declined making an appropriation for
defraying
any part of the expense of the celebration; after
which the
committee of that town thought it proper for
them to omit
further action on the subject. Upon
their
withdrawal,
the committee or Rowley, by vote, extended an
invitation,
with a request, to the committee of
to
Coiltiilue to act with them as before.
Notwithstanding that town declined making
an appro-
priation in
their corporate capacity, yet some of the citizens
thereof
contributed liberally to the object, and took a lively
interest in
helping forward the celebration, and aided by
their
personal services.
The compiler acknowledges himself to have
been greatly
obliged by
various persons in the contribution of matter for
this
work. To tile Rev. Joseph B. Felt, of
David
Puisifer, 3d, Esq., of
ments are
due.
PREFACE. xvii
The
Secretary of the Commonwealth, the Register of
Deeds and of
Probate in
taining
ancient and rare books, have all manifested great
politeness
in permitting the compiler to have free access to
the records
and books in their respective care.
" Man, through all ages of revolving
time,
Unchanging man, in every varying clime,
Deems his own land of every land the
pride,
Beloved by Heaven o'er all the world
beside."
CONTENTS.
Page
MR.
BRADFORD'S ADDRESS, . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
(Appendix to Address.)
Ezekiel
Samuel
Phillips, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Samuel
Shepard, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 74
Jeremiah
Shepard, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 75
Edward
Payson, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 77
Jedidiah
Jewett, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. .
84
John
Blydenburgh, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . 85
Ebenezer
Bradford, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 88
Willard
Holbrook, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. .
89
Deacons in
James
Chandler, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 91
Isaac
Braman, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 94
Deacons in
Ministers
and Deacons of Byfield Parish, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
George
Leslie, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . .
98
Gilbert T.
Wil1iams, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 100
HISTORY OF ROWLEY.
Rogers and
his Company, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
House Lot
laid out, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . 123
Names of
First Settlers, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . 130
CONTENTS. xix
Other House
Lots laid out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
132
Town
Boundaries, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 134
Counties
first formed, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . 136
Military
Matters, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 137
By-Laws, . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 138
Other
Settlers to 1700,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 145
Gorton and
others, "Blasphemous Enemies," &c. " . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 149
Hog-Island
Marshes laid out, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Well keeping
of the Sabbath, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Freemen's
Oath, &c. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 153
Governors,
how elected, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
New Charter,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 167
Witchcraft,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 168
Indian
Hostilities and Military Matters, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Eastern
Indians, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 192
Goodrich
Family killed by Indians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Military
Officers appointed, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
203
French War
of 1744, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 205
Massacre of
French War,
continued, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 223
Peace with
Stamp Act,
and Troubles with
Whig
Covenant, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . 233
Recantations
of Tories, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 234
Letters from
Causes of
War, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 243
Revolutionary
War, Constitution adopted, &c. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Expense of
the War, and Men furnished by Rowley, . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Shays's
Insurrection, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 293
Soldiers
detached, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 301
Address to
President Adams, Resolves, &c. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
War of 1812,
309 First Parish, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
New Rowley,
or Second Parish, first settled, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Byfield
Parish, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . 329
Division of
Land with
xx CONTENTS.
Division of
Land among the Parishes, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Merrimack
Lands, first settled, laid out, &c. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Indian
Purchase, Deeds, &c. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 371
Town Clerks,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . 382
Representatives,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 383
Graduates, .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 385
Physicians,.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 390
Schools,. .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . 392
Population,.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 397
Taxes and
Valuations,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . 398
Statistics
of Boots and Shoes made, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
Town
Paupers, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . 405
Votes for
Governor since 1780, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
Mills, . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . 410
Hills,
Ponds, &c. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . 414
Earthquakes,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 415
Dark Day,. .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 417
Remarkable
Preservation, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 424
Destruction
by Fire, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 427
Burial
Grounds, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . 428
Deaths by
Casualty, &c. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . 433
Genealogical
Register, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 438
People of
Color, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 462
Post-Offices
and Post-Roads, &c. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
Old and New
Style, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466
Annexations,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . 467
Various
Items, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . 468
To the Rev.
JAMES BRADFORD.
DEAR SIR,
The undersigned, in behalf of the Committee
of Arrangements for
celebrating
the Second Centennial Anniversary of the settlement of
Rowley,
hereby express their thanks for your very acceptable Address,
delivered
yesterday, and respectfully request of you a copy for publi-
cation.
Signed, WILLARD HOLBROOK,
THOMAS GAGE.
JOSHUA JEWETT.
Rowley, September 6th, 1839.
To the Rev.
WILLARD HOLBROOK, THOMAS GAGE, Esquire, and
Deacon JOSHUA JEWETT, acting in behalf of
the Committee of Ar-
rangements for celebrating the Second
Centennial Anniversary of
the settlement of Rowley.
GENTLEMEN,
Your
communication, expressing your thanks for, and approbation
of, the
Address, which I had the honor of delivering here on the 5th
instant, and
requesting a copy for the press, I have received with
satisfaction. In compliance with your request, I submit the
manu-
script to
your disposal, earnestly desiring, that whatever of excel-
lence there
is in it, may be for the perpetuity of the hallowed institu-
tions of our
holy religion, among the inhabitants of this ancient town,
during all
coming time.
Accept, Gentlemen, for yourselves, and the
respected committee,
in whose
behalf you act, my most cordial thanks for the kind recep-
tion and
very generous treatment I have received among you.
Very respectfully your townsman and friend,
JAMES BRADFORD.
Rowley, 6th
September, 1839.
ADDRESS.
IN the history of every people are events
of peculiar
notoriety,
which latest posterity is disposed fondly to
cherish, and
which may be commemorated with great
propriety,
pleasure, and profit. The parts of
history,
which
usually, if not invariably, please and instruct
us most, are
those which exhibit to us illustrious per-
sons, in
perilous situations, retaining their integrity,
conducting
themselves with wisdom in the prosecution
of important
objects, and overcoming great difficulties,
by untiring
patience, unyielding fortitude, and unshaken
trust in
God; and crowned, at length, with victory over
all
opposition, and the smiles of approving Heaven.
To the inhabitants of
this
Commonwealth, it would seem, that no subject could
be
presented, that would claim deeper attention, and
take
stronger hold on the heart, than the history of God's
wonderful
dispensations towards their forefathers, and
particularly
their Puritan and Pilgrim forefathers.
To
their
self-denial, their wisdom, their constancy, their la-
bors, their
valor, their perseverance, privations, piety,
and prayers,
we owe, under God, and our posterity to
the latest
generation will owe, the possession of privi-
leges, civil
and religious, surpassing those of any other
people upon
earth.
4 ADDRESS.
To call to mind the virtues of those who
have gone
before us,
to impress more deeply upon the heart a
sense of the
exalted privileges we enjoy, and, above all,
to fill and
expand our soul with grateful emotions to him
from whom
all good comes, is, I apprehend, the lau-
dable object
of our meeting here, to-day, to celebrate
this second
centennial anniversary of the settlement of
this town.
How admirable are the operations of Divine
Provi-
dence! In how delightful, and yet how astonishing a
manner, does
God often accomplish the purposes he
wisely and
graciously determines! Infinite in
holiness,
he proposes
the best ends, and, infinite in wisdom, he
attains
these ends in the best manner; often by means
even which
seem to have a most contrary tendency.
It
is God's
high prerogative to bring good out of evil,
and, with
untarnished purity and inscrutable wisdom, to
make the
wrath of man even to accomplish his purposes
of mercy,
and erect monuments of praise to his name.
Empire,
learning, and religion, in ages gone by, have
been moving
onward from east to west, and this conti-
nent is
their last western stage; the vast Pacific, which
bounds our
country towards the setting sun, will bound
their
further progress in this direction.
Here, in this
extensive
territory, on this broad and elevated stage,
had God
doubtless designed to exhibit a wonderful dis-
play of his
wisdom, power, and truth, through the agen-
cy of a
people raised up for that very purpose.
But by
what
instrumentality was this mighty work to be com-
menced? It was through the mysterious instrumentality
of persecution! Yes, it was the crushing, grinding in-
fluence of
the persecutor's hand, both in church and
state, which
was made instrumental, in the wonder-work-
ADDRESS. 5
ing
providence of God, in peopling this our land with
godly and
learned men, and of rearing our goodly fabrics
of freedom,
piety, and literature, the blessings of which
are to
descend to countless myriads yet unborn, both
here and in
distant regions of the earth.
As the settlement of this town was made by
those
who fled
hither from the privations and persecutions ex-
perienced at
home; especially as the church was here
organized,
and the gospel ministry here commenced, by
the
Puritans, and sustained, for a long time, by those di-
rectly
descended from the Puritan fathers, there surely
will be a
propriety, on this occasion, in briefly tracing
the events
which led them from privileges, kindred, and
home, to
seek an asylum in this then inhospitable and
solitary
region.
The
Apostles,
was as pure as the materials of which it was
constituted
would permit. But, through the perverse-
ness of
human nature, it eventually became deeply cor-
rupted, both
in faith and practice. This corruption,
in
the
fourteenth century after Christ, was great indeed;
but at the
close of the fifteenth, and in the commence-
ment of the
sixteenth, it became extreme and intolerable.
The Pope had
not only assumed the authority in spiritual
matters
belonging to God alone, but, in worldly matters
also; had
declared himself the sovereign of the whole
earth, and
endeavoured to sustain his pretensions by
measures the
most presumptuous, absurd, oppressive,
and
cruel. John Wickliffe, of
1360, and
soon after, his martyred pupils in
Jerome of
Prague and John Huss, seem first to have
arisen
against the dominant usurpations of the Romish
church,
sowing the seeds of the subsequent reformation,
6 ADDRESS.
and thus
preparing the way for future reformers.
But,
in 1517, the
undaunted Martin Luther, of
about the
same time, Zuinglius, of
celebrated
Melancthon, made a vigorous and successful
onset upon
the extravagant superstitions then prevalent.
This, with
what followed by men of like feelings, as
Calvin,
Knox, Cranmer, and others, aroused the dor-
mant energies
of the palsied world, opened the way for
complete
emancipation from the shackles of popish dom-
ination, and
led to the establishment of the church in
the order
and purity of the gospel. This was the
com-
mencement of
what is called, by way of eminence, the
Reformation.
But this was opposed, as it appeared in
influence he
possessed. In 1547, he was succeeded by
his son, the
amiable, sagacious, and virtuous Edward the
Sixth, a
firm friend and efficient supporter of the Refor-
mation. He had just put in operation the wisest plans
to eradicate
from his dominions the sordid fictions of
popery, and
establish, in their place, the pure doctrines
and
practices of Christianity, when death removed him,
after a
reign of but six years. Mary, the sister
of Ed-
ward,
succeeded him. Her natural temper was
tyran-
nical and
cruel, almost beyond conception; and she was
madly
zealous for the Romish cause.
Persecution, in
its most
barbarous and horrid forms, was employed
against all
who acceded not to her wishes, or attempted
in the least
to favor the Reformation. It was under
her
cruel reign,
that the eminent John Rogers, the first of
many who
suffered death at the stake for their adherence
to truth and
duty, was burnt at
the
reformers were driven to the continent, and took
refuge in
ADDRESS. 7
But this
reign of terror, blood, and death was short,
having
continued but about five years, being happily end-
ed in 1558,
by the death of Mary, and the accession of
her
half-sister, Elizabeth, to the throne.
But
though more
mild in her natural temperament, as well as
in the
exercise of her authority, having delivered her
people from
the thraldom of
form of
religious doctrine and ecclesiastical government,
which now
exists in
here to many
of the tenets of popery, and many of its
superstitious
and idolatrous forms. Having the supreme
power over
all ecclesiastical and spiritual matters by an
act of
Parliament, and obtained a law to enforce an uni-
formity of doctrines and ceremonies throughout the
realm, and
established the High Court of Commission for
the
punishing of all who refused to comply with the act
of
conformity, it is easy to perceive to what wretched
straits the
friends of pure religion were now subjected,
under her
reign even. On the accession of this
queen to
the throne, many
of those who had been exiles in foreign
lands, from
the cruelties of Mary, returned to their native
country;
and, bringing back with them enlarged views of
ecclesiastical
discipline and divine worship, became very
zealous,
with others of like sentiments, for a more per-
fect
reformation in the Church of England, and for dis-
burdening
the services of religion from all the innova-
tions and
impositions of popery. Hence, by way of
re-
proach, they
were denominated Puritans ; and hence,
also, many
were summoned before the Court of Commis-
sion, and
questioned, reproved, threatened, and com-
manded to
comply with the ceremonies appointed by
law. But the Puritans uniformly declared, that, in
their
sincerest
belief, a compliance would be a violation of
8 ADDRESS.
their duty
to God, and begged to remain unmolested while
they
disturbed not the public peace. But no
favor was
shown
them. A large number of ministers, many
of
them of the
most learned, pious, and popular, were de-
prived of
their functions, separated from their families,
confined in
common prisons, and subjected to privations
and
penalties which reduced them to poverty.
Under King James the First, who came to
the British
throne in
1603, and who was educated in the Reformed
Church of
Scotland, the Puritans expected relief from
oppression. But in this they were disappointed. James
embraced,
and rigorously adhered to, the same principles
which had
been adopted by
the same
cruel methods to support them. The only
considerable
favor the Puritans could obtain of him was
a translation
of the Bible, which is now in use, and
which was
done in 1611; a copy of which, bearing that
date, is now
in possession of the descendants of the
first
settlers of this town, and was brought here by them
from their
native land.
No light beaming upon the Puritans from
any quarter,
they began
to conceive the design, of seeking abroad
that
religious freedom which they could not have at
home. At first, individuals and single families
emi-
grated to
ernment
interposed, and prohibited, by proclamation, all
departures. But the Puritans were not longer to be
confined by
the chains of tyranny; through privations,
and toils,
and sufferings unparalleled, they urged their
way; and,
eventually, a Mr. John Robinson, with his
people,
secured a retreat in
mained, with
others that joined them, about eleven
years; when,
by the desire to be freed from many in-
ADDRESS. 9
conveniences
to which they were subjected, and by the
more
powerful motive, the hope of laying a foundation
for the extensive advancement of the Redeemer's king-
dom in these then wild and inhospitable
regions, they
were induced
to remove to
company at
sailed on
the 6th of September, 1620, and, on the 10th
of November,
arrived at
December,
1620, landed, with their effects, at
one hundred
and one souls. In 1621, their number was
increased by
the addition of thirty-five of their friends
and
associates from
In 1628, Mr. Endecott, who may be
considered the
founder of
hundred,
landed at, and commenced the settlement of,
June, 1629,
three hundred more arrived at the same
place. The next year, 1630, Mr. John Winthrop,
having been
constituted governor of the colony, and his
suit, with
fifteen hundred settlers, came over; some of
whom sat
down at
Indeed,
every year produced additions to the colony till
1640. At that time civil war broke out at home, and
emigrations
ceased. From 1620 to 1640, a term of
twenty
years, it is computed, that the number of emi-
grants to
this country amounted to four thousand fami-
lies, or about twenty-one thousand
British subjects,
among whom
were many persons of great learning, emi-
nent piety,
and high distinction; many in easy, and
others in
affluent, circumstances.
Among the later emigrants were those, who,
two hun-
dred years
ago, sat down in this place, and here reared,
and
fostered, and handed down to posterity, the inesti-
mable
institutions of religion and learning.
10 ADDRESS.
The Rev. Ezekiel Rogers, who was at the
head of
this
settlement, was the first minister of the town.
He
was born in
the
eminently pious and learned divine, Rev. Richard
childhood
and early youth, our Mr. Rogers was distin-
guished for
genius, discernment, and learning. At
the
age of
twenty he was graduated, at the university at
bridge, as master
of arts. Till about this time in life,
he himself
says, in the preamble of his will, "I made
but ill use
of my knowledge, and lived in a formal pro-
fession of
religion. The Lord was pleased, by occa-
sion of a
sore sickness, which was likely to be death, to
make me see
the worth and need of Christ, and to take
such hold of
him, as that I could never let him go to
this hour;
whereby I am now encouraged to bequeath
and commit
my soul into his hands, who hath redeemed
it, and my
body to the earth, since he will give me,
with these
eyes, to see my Redeemer." Having
fin-
ished his
education, he became chaplain in the pious,
learned, and
accomplished family of Sir Francis Barring-
ton, of
preaching,
at this early time of life even, were attend-
ed with such
powerful strains of oratory, that his min-
istry was
very acceptable, much frequented, and re-
markably
successful. After five or six years,
profit-
ably and
usefully spent in this family, Sir Francis be-
stowed upon
Mr. Rogers the benefice of Rowley, in
inent
usefulness, for seventeen years.
At length, un-
willing to conform,
he was suspended, and was induced
to seek a
retreat from oppression and persecution, and
the
privilege of worshipping God according to the dic-
ADDRESS. 11
tates of his
own conscience, in this land of the Pilgrims;
or, as he
himself tells the tale, "for refusing to read
that
accursed book that allowed sports on God's holy
Sabbath, or
Lord's day, I was suspended, and, by it
and other
sad signs of the times, driven, with many of
my hearers,
into
in this
country with many respectable families of his
"and
most of them of good estate," in the autumn of
1638. He commenced the settlement of this place, in
April, 1639,
with sixty families, who labored in common
about five
years; but the act of incorporation was not
had till the
4th of September following. On the 3d
of December,
1639, Mr. Rogers was installed pastor
over the
church, which was, probably, at that time or-
ganized; for
we are informed, in the words of the histo-
rian, under
this date, that "they," that is, the professed
friends of
Christ then here, "renewed their church
covenant,
and their call of Mr. Rogers to the office of
pastor,
according to the course of other churches";
and it
appears, that Thomas Mighill and Maximilian
Jewett were,
at the same time, appointed deacons.
The
number of
which the church was first constituted, in the
absence of
all records, cannot be determined. But
if
sixty
families, meriting the eminent appellation of "god-
ly," had taken up their abode here, it
will not be ex-
travagant to
suppose, that there were one hundred and
fifty members at the commencement, probably
more.*
* The particulars of the organization of the
church, the installation of Mr.
Rogers, the
number of members of which the church was first
constituted,
numbers added, &c., cannot be stated; for, if they were
recorded in
church records, those records were lost by the fire which
consumed the
dwelling of Mr. Rogers, near the close of his life.
12 ADDRESS.
Mr. Rogers
had an annual salary of sixty pounds.
The
first
meeting-house was probably built in 1639; so emi-
nent were
the Puritans, and so eminent are their genuine
descendants,
to make the attainment of a place of Wor-
ship the
object of their first concern. I say, probably
in
1639; for, early in the year
following, mention is
made of it
in an order of the General Court; and the
site of it
was the very spot, or near it, where the present
congregational
meeting-house now stands. Mr. Rogers
was a man of
undoubted and ardent piety, sound learn-
ing, zealous
and persevering in his efforts to advance the
cause of
truth and holiness, and, for a considerable por-
tion of his
life, at least, of great influence.
Strong and
ardent in
his passions, he was sometimes hurried from
the straight
line of Christian duty; but such was his hu-
mility, that
he was always ready to acknowledge his er-
rors and
retrace his steps. His praise was in all
the
churches
about him, but especially in his own; where
his
preaching, consisting peculiarly of the doctrines "of
regeneration,
and union to the Lord
Jesus Christ by
faith," was eminently successful. "In the management
of these
points," says Cotton Mather, "he had a no-
table
faculty of penetrating into the souls of his hearers,
and
manifesting the very secrets of their hearts.
His
prayers and
sermons would make such lively representa-
tions of the
thoughts then working in the minds of his
people, that
it would amaze them to see their own con-
dition so
exactly represented. And his occasional
dis-
courses with
his people, especially with the young ones
among them,
and, most of all, with such as had been, by
their
deceased parents, recommended unto his watchful
care, were
marvellously profitable. He was a tree
of
knowledge,
but so laden with fruit, that he stooped for
ADDRESS, 13
the very
children to pick off the apples ready to drop
into their
mouths. Sometimes they would come to his
house, a
dozen in an evening; and, calling them up into
his study,
one by one, he would examine them, how
they walked
with God? How they spent their time?
What good
books they read? Whether they prayed
without
ceasing? And he would therewithal
admonish
them to take
heed of such temptations and corruptions,
as he
thought most endangered them. And if any
dif-
ferences had
fallen out among his people, he would forth-
with send
for them, to lay before him the reason of their
differences;
and such was his interest in them, that he
usually
healed and stopped all their little contentions,
before they
could break out into any open flames."
It
is said,
that a traveller, passing through town, inquired
of him, "Are you, Sir, the person who serves
here?"
To whom he
replied, "I am, Sir, the person who rules
here."
So prominent and commanding were his
talents, that
he was
persuaded, in addition to his labors on the Sab-
bath, to
give a lecture once in two weeks, for the benefit
of the
inhabitants of other towns, as well as of his own
which was
well attended, and with great satisfaction and
profit. But on account of this increased labor,
a col-
league was
settled to assist him.* In the latter
part of
his life,
Mr. Rogers was subjected to many calamities.
As Cotton
Mather says, "The rest of this good man's
time in the
world was winter; he saw more nights than
* It is not
known how long the lecture, commenced by Mr. Rogers,
was
continued; but a monthly lecture, holden on the first Wednesday
of each
month was early established, and regularly sustained until
since the
commencement of the present century.
14 ADDRESS.
days." The wife of his youth, who accompanied
him"
from
expiration
of about ten years. A second
wife, the
daughter of
the Rev. John Wilson, the first minister of
to the
grave. He married a third wife, widow of
Thomas
Barker, who survived him about seventeen
years; but
the very night of this marriage, July 16th,
1651, his
dwelling-house, with all his goods, the church
records, and
the library he brought with him from Eng-
land, was
consumed by fire. Soon after these
events, a
fall from
his horse so injured his right arm, that it was
ever after
useless. All these distressing
calamities befell
this man of
God in rapid succession, and within four or
five years,
which, it might well be supposed, with the
infirmities
incident to advanced life, would utterly break
down his
spirits, and paralyze all future efforts.
But
such were
not their effects. He sustained them
with
Christian
fortitude and resignation. His house was
re-
built; his
library replenished; his left hand was substi-
tuted for
the right; his ministerial labors were continued;
and his
heart was still set on doing good, and promoting
the honor of
God. After a lingering illness, he died,
January 23d,
1660 -1, in the seventieth year of his age,
and the
twenty-second of his ministry in Rowley.
His
remains were
interred in the grave-yard in this vicinity.
But
"the tardy justice of the age" did not erect a
monument to
at the
expense of this parish,
By his will, bearing date, April 17th,
1660, Mr.
and town of
carry on the
ministry for ever, " on condition they should
ADDRESS. 15
pay Ezekiel
Rogers, a son of his kinsman, Nathaniel
This
condition was complied with at the expense of
more than
half the value of all the lands. A due
pro-
portion of
this legacy was received by the west parish,
and about
half of Byfield, then belonging to Rowley,
when they
were incorporated as separate societies.
The
property now
possessed by this parish, in virtue of
this clause
of Mr. Rogers's will, is estimated at about
$2,000. The value of other lands of the parish, pos-
sessed from
different sources, is about $ 2,600. Mr.
ary institution
of the kind in our country, founded
in 1638, the
year of his arrival in
principal
part of his library; and, further, to the church
and town of
use of which he had bequeathed to his wife, on
con-
dition, that
they "maintain two teaching elders," that
is, a pastor
and colleague, "in the church for ever";
allowing
four years for the settling of an elder from
time to
time, as vacancies occurred, by death or other-
wise; not
doing this, the whole was to be forfeited
to
plied with,
about 1700, during the ministry of Mr. Pay-
son,
thirty-nine years after Mr. Rogers's death; and the
College
claimed, and eventually received, the legacy
about 1734. The whole estate was estimated at about
L 1536, so
that, in fact, Mr. Rogers was no incon-
siderable
donor to that ancient and honorable institution.
(Appendix,
A. 1.)
Mr. John Miller, one of the first
settlers of the town,
was a
minister of the gospel, and an assistant of Mr.
16 ADDRESS.
was
designated, with two others, in 1641, by the elders,
at a meeting
in
ginia.
This service he declined, and was soon after
settled in
moved to
The second pastor of this church was the
Rev. Samuel
Phillips,
the eldest son of the Rev. George Phillips,
who was a
native of the county of
and educated
there at the
was an
eminently learned, pious, devoted, and success-
ful
preacher, at Boxford,
Phillips was
born in 1625. The father, unwilling to
conform,
came to
throp, in
1630, bringing with him his son Samuel, then
about five
years old, and became the first minister of
in 1664, was
deeply lamented by the church in Water-
town, who
manifested their great respect for him by edu-
cating this
son, Samuel, who, in 1650, was graduated
at
here,
colleague pastor with the Rev. Mr. Rogers, in
the twelfth
year of Mr. Rogers's ministry, and ten
years before
his death, with a salary of from £ 50 to
£ 90 yearly,
according to the expense of living. In
the
autumn of
the same year in which he was ordained, he
married
Sarah, daughter of Samuel Appleton of
* After Mr. Miller, Mr. Rogers was
assisted in the ministry by
Mr. John
Brock, a native of
in 1620, and
came to this country when about seventeen years of age.
He was
graduated at Harvard in 1646, commenced preaching here in
1648 and
left for the Isle of Shoals about 1650.
In 1662 he re-
turned, and
was settled at
eight years.
ADDRESS. 17
of honorable
descent. They had a numerous family;
six sons and
five daughters. Mr. Phillips was highly
esteemed for
his piety and talents, which were of no
common
order, and was eminently useful both at home
and
abroad. He officiated, repeatedly, at
the great pub-
lic
anniversaries, which put in requisition the abilities of
the first
men in the
it is not
known, that any of his productions were printed,
yet it is on
record, that, in 1675, he preached before
the Ancient
and Honorable Artillery Company, and, in
1678, before
the General Court of the Commonwealth.
From 1666,
about fifteen years after Mr. Phillips's set-
tlement, to
the time of his death, including thirty years,
ninety-three persons were added to the church; fifty-
four of them in four several years, viz. in
1669, 1684,
1685, and
1695. After Mr. Rogers's death, and
during
Mr.
Phillips's ministry, Samuel Brocklebank, William
Tenney, John
Pearson, Ezekiel Jewett, and John
Trumble, were appointed deacons in this church. When
the town
first became possessed of a meeting-house bell,
is not
known; but the earliest mention of one is in
1658,
towards the close of Mr. Rogers's ministry, which
was
suspended upon a frame, erected to receive it, near
the
meeting-house. In 1695, the year before
Mr. Phil-
lips's
death, the town voted to build a new meeting-
house,
forty-six feet by forty-four, which was completed,
November
7th, 1697. On the 22d of April, 1696,
Mr.
Phillips
died, aged seventy-one years, and in the forty-
sixth year
of his ministry.
The descendants of Mr. Phil1ips are among
the most
distinguished
men of our country, especially "by their
civil
stations and munificent patronage of institutions of
learning and
benevolence." The Rev. George
Phillips,
2*
18 ADDRESS.
minister at
Brookhaven,
Mr.
Phillips. The Rev. Samuel Phillips, an
eminent
divine, and
minister at
the sole
founder of the academy in
shire, and
his brother, the Hon. Samuel Phillips of An-
founded and
liberally endowed the academy in that town,
with another
brother, the Hon. William Phillips of Bos-
ton, who
also contributed liberally to the seminary at
Andover,
were all great-grandsons of Mr. Phillips of
this
place. Lieutenant-Governor William
Phillips of
Boston,
"whose name," it is well said, "is mentioned
wherever
Christian munificence is honored," and Lieu-
tenunt-Governor
Samuel Phillips, a member of the Pro-
vincial
Congress in 1775, and an assistant in forming the
constitution
of this Commonwealth in 1780, a man of
ardent, but
humble piety, sound learning, and enlarged
benevolence,
and the Hon. John Phillips of. Boston,
many years President
of the Senate of Massachusetts,
and the
first Mayor of that city, were descendants of the
fourth
generation. The Hon. John Phillips of Ando-
ver, who,
with his mother, Phoebe Phillips, and others
of a like
benevolent spirit, founded the Theological
Seminary in
that town, was a descendant of the fifth
generation from Mr. Phillips of this place. "By such
acts of most
honorable munificence," says the biogra-
pher,
"bave the family, which bears the name of Phil-
lips, proved
to the world, that the blessing of wealth
may fall
into hands which shall employ it to the best of
purposes." There are still in this Commonwealth, and
other
portions of our country, many eminent individuals,
descendants
of the Phillipses, of whom I will only say,
ADDRESS. 19
that, while
they view it an honor to be able to claim an
ancestry so
highly distinguished, they will unquestionably
feel their
obligation to show themselves worthy of it.
(Appendix,
A. 2.)
The third minister of this place
was the Rev. Samuel
Shepard. He was son of the Rev. Thomas Shepard,
who was born
near Northampton in England, November
5th, 1605, a
day rendered memorable in the annals of
the British
nation by the discovery of the well known
powder-plot. Exposed to persecution, on account of
his Puritan
principles, at home, he fled to New England,
and arrived
in 1635, and was soon after settled at Cam-
bridge in
this State. "As a preacher of
evangelical
truth,"
says his biographer, "and as a writer on experi-
mental religion,
he was one of the most distinguished
men of his
time. It was on account of the energy of
his
preaching, and his vigilance in detecting, and zeal in
opposing,
the errors of the day, that, when the founda-
tion of a
college was to be laid, Cambridge, rather than
any other
place, was pitched upon as the seat of the
seminary. He was the patron of learning, and essen-
tially
promoted its interests. He was
distinguished for
his humility
and piety." (Allen. ) It was the son of
such a
Puritan father, who was born, October, 1641, at
Cambridge,
and graduated at Harvard in 1658, that was
settled
here, November 15th, 1665, in the gospel min-
istry, as
colleague with the Rev. Mr. Phillips, thirty-
one years
previous to his death. He married Dorothy,
daughter of
the Rev. Henry Flint, one of the first min-
isters of
Braintree, and left one child, a son. So
far
as any
information remains respecting Mr. Shepard, it
shows, that
he was a man of a most excellent spirit, and
very
precious in the hearts of his people.
But his min-
20 ADDRESS.
istry and
his life were short. He died, April 7th,
1668,
after a
ministry of less than three years, in the twenty-
eighth year
of his age, and twenty-eight years previous
to the
decease of Mr. Phillips. (Appendix, A. 3.)
After Mr. Shepard's decease, the town,
designing to
comply with
the conditions of Mr. Rogers's will, em-
ployed,
besides others, Mr. Samuel Brackenbury, who
assisted Mr.
Phillips two years, and Mr. Jeremiah
Shepard, a
brother of the Rev. Samuel Shepard, more
than three
years, who afterwards preached at Chebacco
parish, in
Ipswich, now Essex, and subsequently was
settled at
Lynn, and died there, June 2d, 1720, aged
seventy-two
years.* (Appendix, A. 4.)
The Rev. Edward Payson was the fourth
settled
minister of
Rowley. He was son of Edward Pay-
son, of
Roxbury, Massachusetts; was born there,
June 20th,
1657, and graduated at Harvard, 1677. !
*It is understood, that this Jeremiah
Shepard was not a member
of any church,
having made no public profession of religion, at the
time he
preached at Rowley and Ipswich, --an extraordinary fact,
indeed, for
those times of puritanical strictness! !
! The
following is a copy of the letter of dismission and recom-
mendation of
Mr. Payson, from the church of Roxbury to the church
of Rowley,
written and signed by that venerable "Apostle of the
Indians,"
the Rev. John Eliot, first pastor of the church at Rox-
bury,
Massachusetts, fifty years after his settlement there, viz.
"9 day, 8 Mo: 1682.
"To the
Rev. Mr. Phillips, pastor of Rowley.
"Reverend and beloved in Jesus Christ.
Divine Providence hav-
ing called
our beloved brother, Mr. Edward Payson, to live and labor
among you,
he desireth a dismission from our communion unto yours,
which we
readily give him with our blessing, beseeching God to
make him a
blessing among you, through Christ Jesus, to "whose
grace and
guidance we commend you, with earnest desires of mutual
prayers; and
so we rest your loving brethren.
JOHN ELIOT,
with the consent of the fraternity of the church at Roxbury."
ADDRESS. 21
It is not
known by whom Mr. Phillips was assisted
during the
four years next following the time that Mr.
Jeremiah
Shepard left in 1676 ; but the town records
show, that
Mr. Payson was first employed in 1680, and
August 17th,
1681, he received a call to settle, no one
objecting,
and was ordained, as colleague with Mr.
Phillips,
October 25th, 1682, about fourteen years pre-
vios to Mr.
Phillips's decease, with £ 100 as a settle-
ment, and a
salary, during Mr. Phillips's life, of between
£ 50 and £
60, and an income as teacher of the Latin
school. After Mr. Phillips's decease his salary was
in-
creased to £
100, and his fuel. Mr. Payson was mar-
ried, November
7th, 1683, to Elizabeth, daughter of
the Rev.
Samuel Phillips. They had a numerous
family
of
children. The names of seventeen are
preserved,
and several
others died in infancy. Tradition says,
they
had twenty
children in all, of whom ten survived Mr.
Payson. In 1724, he buried his first wife; and, in
1726, he
married Madam Elizabeth Appleton, widow
of the Ron.
Samuel Appleton of Ipswich; daughter of
William
Whittingham of Boston, and great-granddaugh-
ter of the
Rev. William Whittingham, who was chosen
pastor of
the first congregational church, since the days
of primitive
Christianity, gathered at
zerland; an
eminent Puritan, who fled from England in
the reign of
Queen Mary, leaving behind him an estate
of £ 1,100
sterling, per annum; thus demonstrating how
much
stronger, in pious minds, are conscientious princi-
ples, than a
love for the riches, honors, and pleasures
of the
world. The descendants of Mr. Payson are
quite
numerous in
this town and elsewhere.* The prayer of
* Mr.
Farmer, in his "Genealogical Register," says, that the late
22 ADDRESS.
the
apostolic Eliot, that God would make Mr. Payson
a blessing
here, seems to
have been answered in his
behalf; for
his labors were evidently made more abun-
dantly
successful among the people, than those of any
other
minister. From the death of Mr.
Phillips, in
1696, about
fourteen years after Mr. Payson's settle-
ment, to the
death of Mr. Payson, in 1732, that is,
during thirty-six
years of his ministry, there were added
to the
church two hundred and seventy-one.
The great-
est
addition, at anyone time, was immediately after the
great
earthquake, on the night following the 29th of Oc-
tober, 1727,
which was sixty. Mr. Payson died, Au-
gust 22d,
1732, in the seventy-sixth year of his age,
and the
forty-ninth or his ministry. It is not
known, that
any
productions of Mr. Payson were committed to the
press,
except a sermon, delivered to his people in 1727,
occasioned
by the great earthquake, founded on Lamen-
tations iii.
41: "Let us lift up our hearts with our
hands unto
God in the heavens." During the
ministry
of Mr.
Payson, Samuel Palmer, Timothy Harris, Hum-
phrey
Hobson, and Joseph Boynton were appointed
deacons in
the church. (Appendix, A.5.)
The Rev. Jedediah Jewett was the fifth
settled min-
ister of
Rowley. He was the son of Jonathan
Jewett
of this
place, and a great grandson of Joseph and Ann
Jewett, who
were among the first settlers of the town.
He was
baptized, June 3d, 1705, graduated at Harvard,
1726, and
ordained colleague of Mr. Payson, Novem-
ber 19th,
1729, about three years previous to Mr. Pay-
Rev. Edward
Payson, D. D., of Portland, was a direct descendant of
this Mr.
Payson of Rowley; and so says the "Quarterly Review."
But such is
not the fact. He probably descended from
a brother of
our Mr.
Payson.
ADDRESS. 23
son's death,
with a settlement of £ 300, and a salary of
£ 90, which
was considerably increased in succeeding
years. He married, in 1730, Elizabeth Dummer, daugh-
ter and only
child of Richard Dummer of Newbury.
They had two
children only, a son and a daughter.
His wife
died, April 14th, 1764; and he married, Octo-
ber 29th,
1765, Mrs. Elizabeth Parsons of
Common as
the name is here, there are now none of
Mr. Jewett's
descendants in this town, and but few in
other
places. The Jewetts here descended from
the
same
original stock, but not through him. Mr.
Jewett
was
evidently a faithful parish minister.*
During his
services
here there were added to the church two hun-
dred and
nineteen; ninety-six in two special revivals;
one in 1741
and 1742, and the other in 1764 and 1765.
Several of
Mr. Jewett's sermons were published. The
last he
preached, which was at the ordination of the Rev.
David Tappan
of Newbury, April 18th, 1774, was put to
press. From that service he returned unwell, and
died
on the 8th
of May following, in the forty-fifth year of
his
ministry, aged sixty-nine. Mr. Jewett
was pos-
sessed of considerable
property, much of which came
by his first
wife. This he principally bequeathed to
his
children;
though, with a spirit of generous philanthropy,
and a just
regard to the rights and enjoyments of others,
he provided
for the manumission of his two female
slaves, who
had descended to him from his father-in-
* The
inscription upon his tombstone informs us, that "he was a
skilful,
fervent preacher of the doctrine of God's grace to lost men,
through
Jesus Christ; preached it as a doctrine according to godli-
ness, so as
to teach them, who had believed in God, to maintain good
works. He also took heed to himself; was so pious,
charitable, pru-
dent, and
patient, as to be an example to the flock."
24 ADDRESS.
law Dummer,
and made his estate, in the hands of his
children,
liable for their maintenance, in case of poverty
and need in
their old age. On the death of Mr.
Jewett,
the church
was left destitute of a pastor for the first time
since the
settlement of the town in
1639, a period of
one hundred
and thirty-five years; a
fact, a parallel to
which can be
found but in few, if any, of all our New
England
churches. Before the death of Mr.
Jewett,
Edward
Payson, Francis Pickard, David Bailey, Moses
Clark,
Thomas Mighill, and Jeremiah Jewett, were ap-
pointed
deacons. The parish voted to defray the
ex-
pense of the
funeral of Mr. Jewett, and erect a suitable
monument at
his grave.* In 1747, during the ministry
of Mr.
Jewett, the parish voted to build a new meeting-
house, sixty
feet by forty-two, with a steeple and spire;
this house
was completed in 1749, about fifty years after
the erection
of the last. (Appendix, A. 6.)
For about eight years, next
succeeding Mr. Jewett's
death, the
parish remained destitute of a settled minister,
and in a
restless, divided condition. Within that
period
they
multiplied candidates exceedingly, and for half of
that time
they were incessantly, and at intervals, vio-
lently
agitated, relative to the employment and settle-
ment of a Mr.
John Blydenburgh. (Appendix, A 7.)
The records
show, that but very few individuals were
added to the
church during all that time of turmoil,
strife, and
destitution of the regular administration of the
word and
ordinances.! The good providence of God,
* The first
meeting held by the people as a parish, distinct from the
town, was in
January 1733-4, in the early part of Mr. Jewett's
ministry.
! In this
season of darkness and distraction it was, viz. August,
1777, that
the meeting-house spire was struck with lightning and
ADDRESS. 25
however, did
not leave this ancient church and people
to continued
divisions, contentions, and destitution of a
settled
ministry. All these evils ceased on the
settle-
ment of Rev.
Ebenezer Bradford, as the sixth minister
of the
place. Mr. Bradford was a native of
Canterbury,
Connecticut,
and a lineal descendant of the fifth generation
of William
Bradford, one of the first company of Puritan
emigrants
who arrived, in 1620; the second governor of
Plymouth
Colony, which office was conferred upon
him for
thirty years out of thirty-six, and who was emi-
nently
instrumental in "establishing and preserving the
first colony
in
United
States."* Mr. Bradford was born in
1746,
graduated at
Princeton, New Jersey, in 1773, licensed to
preach
August, 1774, and ordained to the work of the
gospel
ministry by the Presbytery of New York, at a ses-
sion held at
South Hanover, New Jersey, July 13th, 1775. !
Mr. Bradford
preached two years, or more, in Danbury,
Connecticut,
and was there when Danbury was burnt by the
British, in
1777. From the fire and sword of the
enemy,
he fled with
his family and part of his effects, and returned
much
injured. The town's stock of powder was then in the garret
of the
house, but neither that nor the house was ignited. While this
spire was
repairing it was supported by three strong ropes, extending
if; in
different directions to three several trees; one to a tree on much
lower land
than that on which the meeting-house stands.
Upon this
rope Mr.
Moses Jewett, Jun. son of the chairman of the committee
of repairs,
a strong, athletic man, a blacksmith by trade, ascended to
the staging
which was built around the spire, upon which he was re-
ceived, by
the aid of two men, much exhausted.
* Robbins's "Historical
Review."
! The Quarterly Register says Mr.
Bradford's ordination was in
1778; but
the original certificate, now before me, says, as above, Ju-
ly 13th,
1775.
26 ADDRESS.
in season to
preserve his dwelling from the flames already
kindled
within it. Mr. Bradford preached and
adminis-
tered the
ordinances in various parts of the country,
whenever he
was called in providence, without particu-
lar
reference to settlement, and, it is said, with great ac-
ceptance and
eminent success.* October 22d, 1781,
the church
having previously given Mr. Bradford a call,
the parish
voted, two only dissenting, to unite with them;
and
proffered him, as a settlement, real estate valued at
£ .200, and
as a salary £ 100, to be made as good as in
1774, and
twelve cords of wood annually; and August
4th, 1782,
he \Vas here settled. Mr. Bradford was
mar-
ried to
Elizabeth Green, daughter of Rev. Jacob Green,
of Hanover,
New Jersey, and sister of the present venera-
ble Dr.
Ashbel Green, of Philadelphia, April 4th, 1776.
They had
nine children, all of whom survived their fath-
er; though
but four, three sons and one daughter, are
now
living. At the time of Mr. Bradford's
settlement
* Mr.
Bradford was peculiar in appropriating his texts to the circum-
stances. On a journey through this region, he had
stopped and
preached a
Sabbath here. In the midst of the
divisions then existing
about
ministers in the parish, he was permitted to leave without any
arrangement
being made with him for further services.
After he was
gone, it was
found that a very general impression was made in his
favor, and a
committee was despatched. to request his immediate re-
turn. He was overtaken a hundred miles from this,
and was in-
duced at
once to retrace his steps, and appeared before the people on
the
succeeding Sabbath with the text, Acts x. 29, "Therefore
came I unto
you, without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for; I
ask therefore
for what intent ye have sent for me?"
On another occa-
sion, being
appointed by Presbytery to preach in a destitute and very
ungodly
parish, where ministers were often insulted in the desk even,
he took, Job
xxi. 3, "Suffer me that I may speak; and after that I
have spoken,
mock on;" and he had a very silent and attentive au-
dience.
ADDRESS. 27
here, the
church consisted of eighty-three members.
Dur-
ing his
ministry eighty-four were added; twenty-nine of
these as the
fruits of a special revival, which commenced in
1800, and
extended into 1801. Under the particular
in-
struction of
Mr. Bradford, numbers prepared for the minis-
try; and for
a number of years he sustained a school here
of a high
order, first in his own dwelling, and then in a
house he
provided and appropriated for the purpose.
Various
sermons and other productions of Mr. Bradford
were
published. The inscription upon his
tombstone,
which was
erected by the parish, is as follows, viz. "Sa-
cred to the
memory of the Rev. Ebenezer Bradford,
A. M., who
departed this life January 3d, 1801, aged fifty-
five years,
nineteen of which he was pastor of this church.
Possessing a
mind ardent and active, and an eloquence
prompt and
popular, he was distinguished fur the frequen-
cy, the
fervor, and the impression of his religious dis-
courses,
[insisting in them principally on the doctrines of
grace, of
which he was ever a decided advocate]; of
manners
conciliatory, and a mind open to persuasion.
He was, not
withstanding, undaunted by opposition, reso-
lute in his
temper, strong and warm in his emotions and
passions; he
earnestly pressed to the accomplishment of
all his
designs and undertakings. As a husband,
parent,
and friend,
tender, anxious, and true. As a Christian,
sincere and
exemplary. As a pastor, faithful. Such
was the man
whose earthly remains are here deposited,
whose labors
in the vineyard of the Lord were eminently
blessed, who
hath entered into his rest, and whose mem-
ory is
precious."
The parish granted about $110 to defray
the funeral
charges of
Mr. Bradford, including $50 for suitable
attire for
the family. It was during Mr. Bradford's
28 ADDRESS.
ministry, in
1795 and 1796, that considerable repairs
were made
upon the meeting-house, and a porch built at
the south
end of it, through which were stairs leading
to the
gallery. About the-same time it was,
that the old
practice of
repeating the reading of the psalm, or hymn,
line by line
by the deacon, previous to singing, after-
a severe
struggle between the adherents of the ancient
and modern
mode, was entirely abandoned.* Before
Mr.
Bradford's death, George Jewett was appointed a
deacon.
(Appendix, A. 8.) For three years after
Mr.
After
hearing the Rev. David Tullar three or four
months, the
church and parish voted, August 3d, 1803,
to give him
a call, and proffered him a salary of $ 450;
and he was
reinstalled as the seventh settled minister
here,
December 7th, 1803. Mr. Tullar was born
in
Simsbury,
Connecticut, September 22d, 1749, graduat-
ed at Yale,
1774, ordained at Windsor, Vermont, March,
1779, and
installed at Milford, Connecticut, 1784.
In
accordance
with the advice of a mutual council, he was
dismissed
from Rowley, October 17th, 1810, after a
ministry of
about seven years. During his ministry
here,
twenty
persons were added to the church.
Subsequent-
ly he
preached some months at Williamstown in this State,
and received
a call to settle there; then at Bloomfield and
Leroy in New
York for some seven or eight years, when
he returned
to Rowley, and for a number of years supplied
the parish
of Linebrook. When age and infirmity
* This practice of lining the psalm,
or hymn, was not had amongst
our earlier
forefathers; it was introduced into the worshipping assemblies
many years
after the first settlement of the country.
Among those
of the
Plymouth colony it came first into use about 1681, more than
sixty years
after their settlement.
ADDRESS. 29
necessitated
him to discontinue his ministerial labors,
he removed
to Sheffield, in this State, where he deceased
on the 23d
ult., nearly at the close of his ninetieth year.
Mr. Tullar
married, September 24th, 1779, Charity Fel-
lows, of
Sheffield, who is still living in her eighty-second
year; they
had no children. Mr. Tullar was the
first
minister
dismissed from this church and people from the
commencement,
a period of one hundred and seventy-
one years; a decided evidence that whatever may
have
occasionally existed, they have not characteristically
been
given to
division, strife, and change.
For about two years after Mr. Tullar's
dismission, dif-
ferent
candidates were employed. In 1812, James
W.
Tucker
received a call, and became the eighth settled
minister
here. Mr. Tucker was born in Danbury,
Con-
necticut, in
1787, graduated at Yale, 1807, and was or-
dained June
24th, 1812, with a settlement of $ 500, and
an annnal
salary of $ 600. He married Harriet
Atwater,
of New
Haven; their children were four daughters, and
one son. Mr.
Tucker expressed a strong desire to live,
and labor,
and die with this people; but he considered
the salary
of $ 600 insufficient for the support of his
growing
family, and the parish being unwilling to increase
it, he asked
a dismission, which took place June 24th,
1817, just
five years after his settlement.
Twenty-three
persons were
added to the church during his ministry.
Mr. Tucker
died at Springfield, New Jersey, February
11th, 1819,
aged thirty-two years. Mr. Tucker was a
man of
excellent spirit, sound learning, refined taste, and
devoted
piety; and was highly esteemed for his many
and
excellent attainments and virtues, as a Christian and
a pastor.
Soon after the dismission of Mr. Tucker,
the parish
3*
30 ADDRESS.
gave a call
to the Rev. Seth Chapin, which Mr. Chapin
accepted. A mutual council, after hearing parties,
voted that
it was not expedient to proceed to his installa-
tion.
On the 21st of May, 1818, Willard Holbrook
received
a call, and
the proffer of a salary of $ 600, to which he
gave an
affirmative answer. Mr. Holbrook, the
ninth
settled
minister here, and present pastor of the church,
was born in
Uxbridge, Worcester County, Massachu-
setts, April
7th, 1792, graduated at Brown University in
1814, and
ordained here July 22d, 1818. He married
Margaret
Crocker, of Londonderry, New Hampshire,
June 22d,
1819; they have had six children. At the
time of Mr.
Holbrook's settlement, the church consisted
of
eighty-four members; from that period to July last,
twenty-one
years, ninety-nine have been added; fifty-two
of these in
four years, viz, in 1821 nine, in 1827 fourteen,
in 1830 fifteen,
in 1832 fourteen. In July last,
the
church
consisted of ninety-five members; twenty-six only
of whom were
members at the time of Mr. Holbrook's
ordination. The present officiating deacons in the church
are Joshua
Jewett, appointed in 1807, and Nathaniel-
Mighill,
appointed in 1828. The next year after
Mr.
Holbrook's
ordination, the parish repaired the meeting-
house,
taking down the tall spire and building a cupola
in its
stead, and underpinning the house with hewn stone,
all at the
expense of about .$ 1,000.* (Appendix, A
9.)
The whole number of admissions to
this church, from
its
organization down to June last, excepting those who
* A Sabbath school is sustained by this
church and parish, con-
taining
about one hundred and fifty pupils, and a bible class of about
thirty; they
contribute annually to benevolent objects about $ 200.
ADDRESS. 31
may have
been admitted for about twenty-seven years, a
period
including the whole of Mr. Rogers's ministry and
a part of
Mr. Phillips's, of which there are no records, and
any admitted
at different times when the parish has been
vacant, is
estimated at eight hundred and seventy-three.
The whole number of baptisms, from 1666,
about
five years
after the death of Mr. Rogers, to 1782, the
time of Mr.
Bradford's settlement, a period of one hun-
dred and
sixteen years, is two
thousand nine hltndred
and thirty.
From the year 1690, the practice of bap-
tizing the
children of all such as had themselves been
baptized in
their infancy, and were willing to take upon
them what
was denominated "the half way covenant,"
though they
professedly and practically withheld their at-
tendance on
the Lord's Supper, prevailed in this church.
On the
settlement of Mr. Bradford, in 1782, this amazing
absurdity
was abolished, and none but members in full
communion
have since been permitted to bring their
children to
the ordinance of baptism. The whole num-
ber baptized
since this reformation is about three hundred,
making in
all three thousand two hundred and thirty.
In this church, as far back as
information extends, the
ordinance of
the Lord's Supper has been administered
every sixth
Sabbath, which has been invariably preceded
by a lecture
preparatory thereto, on some day, usually
on Friday,
of the previous week.
The
pastors of this ancient church have all been
strictly
evangelical in their sentiments and preaching.
All of them
were men of unquestionable piety, and some
of them
preeminently devoted to Christ and the pro-
motion of
his cause.
The second church in Rowley, now
Georgetown, was
organized
October 4th, 1732, ninety-three years after
32 ADDRESS.
the
organization of the first church, and about one year
after the
parish was incorporated, by the signature of
eighteen
males to a covenant, to which, not long after-
wards,
numbers, both male and female, were added.
The Rev.
James Chandler was the first pastor of this
church. Having received a call, with the proffer of
£ 300
settlement, and £ 110 salary, according to the
value of
money, and twenty cords of wood, he was or-
dained on
the 20th October, 1732. William Fisk and
William
Searle were the first deacons. Mr.
Chandler
was a native
of Andover, born 1706, and graduated at
Harvard,
1728. He married Mary, the daughter of
the
Rev. Moses
Hale, of Byfield. They had no children.
He was a man of sound doctrine,
exemplary life
and
conversation, dignified deportment, and greatly es-
teemed,
generally, by his own people, highly respected
abroad, and
very successful in his ministry. He
died,
April 19th,
1789, aged eighty-three years, and in the
fifty-seventh
year of his ministry, having been in office
longer, by
seven or eight years, than any other minister
of the
town. In-June, 1729, two years before
the
church was
organized, the frame of a meeting-house was
erected by
proprietors, which, probably, was completed
and became
the place of worship not long after. In
1769, a new
meeting-house, fifty-five feet by forty, was
raised, with
a steeple and porch, all in one day.
This
house was
dedicated, September, 1770, and the dedi-
cation
sermon preached, by the eminent Rev. George
Whitefield,
of England, from 1 Kings viii. 11 : "The
glory of the
Lord hath filled the house of the Lord." *
* It is not known for certain, on what day the
dedication sermon
was
preached. Mr. Whitefield preached in
Rowley, September 12
ADDRESS. 33
The funeral
charges of Mr. Chandler were paid by the
parish.
(Appendix, B. 1.)
After Mr. Chandler's death, this church
was desti-
tute of a
pastor more than eight years; and during that
period
sixty-four preachers supplied, for a longer or
shorter
time, three or four of whom received a call to
settle. February 14th, 1797, the parish concurred
with
the church
in calling the Rev. Isaac Braman, with the
proffer of £
200 settlement, and £ 80 salary, and, con-