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HISTORY OF PRINCETON,
WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS ;
CIVIL AND ECCLESIASTICAL; a
Mm its ^M MtlmM in 1730,
TO AFBIL 18S2.
By
JEREMIAH LYPORD HANAEORD.

" Those matters which possess a natural interest to a particular neighbor
hood, from association with familiar names and places, should be of interest
to every one, who seeks, in the experience of the past, for that wisdom which
may be derived from a knowledge of what those who lived before us liave
done or suffered — wherein they have erred and in what respects they have
judged rightly."

WORCESTER:
BUCKINGHAja WEBB, PRINTER.
1852.

PREFACE.

In the foUowing pages the author has aimed to present a
brief, yet distinct statement, of the prominent events in the
history of the town of Princeton. Particular attention has
been directed to the various trials, toils, and hardships of the
early settlers, — to the spirited resolutions and acts of the
citizens in the period of the revolution, — to the difficulties
that presented themselves in the organization of our federal
government, as far as they had to do with the acts of the
people, — to the ecclesiastical history, — and to tracing the
progress of the town in its march of prosperity through the
period of years which have rolled onward since the first
settlement. Throughout the composition, he has confined
himself almost exclusively to fotds — having his eye upon the
original documents — which, so far as he is capable of judging
himself, have been presented with entire impartiality. The
work was commenced and prosecuted with an ardent desire to
benefit and interest, not only the citizens of this town, but also
those of the adjoining towns, and of the State generally. It is
true that this is a local history ; yet the reminiscences of events
that have transpired in this vicinity, anecdotes of men who have
lived here, the record of their manners and habits, all constitute
a tributary stream to the general current of our country's histo
ry. "All history should be, and American history in particular
must be, the history of the people. Not an account of the pro
ceedings of a court, of the operations of a government only
but of what the people have been doing in villages, and com-

munities, and families. Here things lie at the foundation of na
tional character and sentiments, and consequently of national
events. We are carried by this means behirid the scenes, or
rather into the scenes, of private history, and shown what are
really the secret springs of public history."
The volume we have thus drawn up, makes no pretensions
to attractiveness, otherwise than the nature of the subject, and
the facts exhibited, may be attractive.
Many things worthy to be perpetuated, have, no doubt, for the
want of information, been omitted ; accuracy, however, has been
the constant aim of the author. Materials have been collected
from sources as various as can be readily imagined by individ
uals who have not attempted a similar work, — the most of which
it will not be thought necessary to specify particularly. The
Town Books, Church and Society Records, and various Publi
cations, were of course, carefully examined. Many of the
facts here presented, were obtained from a History of Princeton,
written sorae years since by Charles Theodore Russell, Esq., to
whom we would here publicly acknowledge our indebtedness.
We are also particularly indebted fo several of the aged peo
ple whom we have consulted.
That this, our effort has many imperfections, and some slight
inaccuracies, is extremely probable ; yet we dismiss it, to those
for whom it was compiled, with the hope that it may prove to
be interesting and profitable to them. The Author,
Princeton, April 1, 1852.

CONTENTS.

CIVIL AFFAIRS.
CHAPTER I.
General History— Purchase of the Indians^-Proprietors' Petition— Order of
General Court — Division of the Twelve miles' Square of the Indian Pur
chase — Rutland East Wiug — Watertown Farms — First Settlement — Loss
of Robert Keyes' Daughter — Incorporation of the District — Dr. Harvey —
Pirst Town Meeting— First Roads  9
CHAPTER II.
Character of the First Settlers — Their Ancestry — Increase of Population —
Province Lands — Land granted by the General Court to the First settled
Minister — Petition to be Incorporated as a Town — Act of Incorporation —
Opposition of the Town to the addition of Territory — First Representa
tive—Boundary  34
CHAPTER III.
American Revolution — First expression of the town in relation to revolutionary
measures — Resolutions^Committee of Correspondence — Alarm — Prepara
tions for War — Instructions to Representative — Declaration of Rights —
Bounty to the Minute Men — The citizens leave their homes for the Con
test — Trouble with Rev. Mr. Fuller^Declaration of Independence — Regu
lation of the currency — War terminated  31
CHAPTER IV.
Insurrection — Distress of the People— County Convention — Instructions to
Col. Sargent — Grievances-^Courts suspended — Capt. Gkile at the Court
House — Court of Sessions interrupted— Preparations of Government —
Daniel Shays — Forces.of Insurgents— Insurgents occupy the Court House —
Consultation of the Insurgents — The Retreat— Gen. Lincoln's Army —
Termination of the Rebellion — Henry Gale  53

VI CONTENTS.
CHAPTER V.
Political History — Adoption of the National Constitution — Funeral Honors to
Washinglon— Embargo— Petitions to President Jefferson, and to the Le
gislature of Massachusetts — Opposition to the War with England— Reso
lutions— First Town House— Benefactions of Mr. Boylston — Adoption of
Amendments to the State Constitution — Part of No Town annexed — New
Town House — Proposed Division of the County — Incidents in Local
History.  67
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.
CHAPTER VI.
Introductory Remarks— First Preaching in Town— Attempts to erect a Meet
ing House — Committee to measure the District — Building of Meeting House
— Assignment of Places in Church — Church Music — Church Covenant —
Unsuccessful attempt to settle a Minister — Call to Mr Fuller — His Ordina
tion — Covenant of Admission — First Deacons and Present to the Church —
Complaints against Mr. Fuller — His Reply — Ecclesiastical Council — Mr.
Fuller's Dismiasion — Suit against Town— Biographical Notice of Mr.
Fuller  '81
CHAPTER VII.
Unsuccessful efforts for a re-establishment of the Gospel Ministry — Settlement
of Mr. Crafts — He requests a Dismission^Letter to hira — Rev. Mr. Good
rich — New Meeting House — Mr. Russell's Settlement — Dedication of
Meeting House— Mr. Russell's Dismission— Settlement of Mr. Murdock —
Pirst General Revival of Religion in Town— Church Covenant— Mr, Mur-
dock's Dismission  98
CHAPTER VIII.
Religious Divisions — Attempt to settle Rev. Mr. Clarke — Remonstrance of the
Church — Church has a right to choose its own Pastor — Mr. Clarice's Re
ply to Call — Second effort of the Town to settle Mr. Clarke — His Reply —
Petition circulated through the Tow» — Call of Mutual Council — Its Re
sult—Protest of the Minority — Mr. Clarke's Covenant — Third Call of the
Town to Mr. Clarke — His Reply and Settlement. . . . 113

CHAPTER IX.
Call of Council by the Church— Result— Organization of the Presbyterian
Church— Ruling Elders — Call to Mr. Bond— Accessions to the Church
and Congregation— New Meeting House— Seizure cf Property to pay

CONTENTS. VJl
Ministerial Rates— Seizure of the body— Mr. John H. Brooks carried to
Jail — Suit, Samuel Brooks vs. Town — Mutual Settlement of the Contro
versy — Settlement of Mr. Phillips— Origin of Division — Mr. Clarke's Dis
mission — Biographical Notice — Proposal for a Union— First Parish, and
Mr. Cowles' Settlement and Dismission. ..... 130
CHAPTER X.
Farther Measures for a Union— Call of a Council— Result— Proceeding upon
it— Objections — Votes of First Parish — Votes of Evangelical Society —
Action of Congregational Church — Doings of the Council's Committee —
Sooieties unite — Mr. Phillips at the House of the First Parish— His return
to his former place of labor — Church Meetings  _ 142
CHAPTER XI.
Attempts to effect a Reconciliation — Further examination proffered, with a
plan therefor — Amendment Proposed — Objections to Amendment — CaU of
Exparte Council — Mr. Phillips' letter to the Council — Result of Council —
Mr. Phillips' Dismission — Biographical Notice — Meetings suspended at the
Meeting House of First Parish — Mr. Demond's settlement over First Par
ish — Disaffected ask for a Dismission — Call of Council — Result — Mr. Har
ding's Settlement and Dismission — Mr. Goldsmith's Settlement and Dis
mission-Call of Mr. Hitchcock  160
CHAPTER XII.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. *
Introduction of Methodism into Princeton — Messrs. Lewis and Fay join Class
at Worcester— First Methodist Preaching by Rev. J ames Porter— Revival of
Religion under the Labors of Rev. Mr. Paine — Formation of Classes —
Huhbardston and Rutland made Stations — New Meeting House — First
Quarterly Conference — Purchase ot Furniture for Parsonage— Present
to the Church — Stationed Preachers — Munificence of Mrs. Nabhy
Brooks  172
CHAPTER XIII.
THE BAPTIST CHURCH.
Formation of the Baptist Society— First Baptist in Town— First Preaching-
Rev. Mr. Andrews— Organization of the Church — Articles of Faith — Rev.
Mr. Walker — Rev. Mr. Johnson — Settlement and Dismission of Mr. Morse
—Call and Settlement of Mr. Level- His Dismission— Settlement of Mr.
Ball — Settlement of Mr. Cunningham— Accessions to the Church — Dis
mission of Mr. Cunningham — Temporary Supply of the Pulpit. . 176

yjli CONTENTS.
MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS.
CHAPTER XIV.
First Public School in Town— Division of the Town into School Districts-
Appropriations for Schooling — Select Schools — Munificence of John
Brooks, Esq. — Native Ministers  183
CHAPTER XV.
Biographical Notices — Physicians — Postmasters — Public Buildings— Accom
modations at the Wachusett Hotel — Streams and Ponds— Wachusett
Mountain— Hills— Products  189
APPENDIX.
List of Officers chosen at Town Meeting, 1761,  197
Location of Roads, 1784,  ib.
Petition of Rev. Mr. Fuller and Resolve of General Court thereupon,. . . 198
A Document, containing an imperfect account ol the number of men fur.
nished in the Revolutionary War, at the expense of the town, . . . 200
List of Votes for Govemor since 1780  201
Municipal Officers from 1760 to 1762,  ._.  , . ... 209

HISTORY OF PRINCETON.
CIVIL AFFAIES.

CHAPTER I.
General History— Purcliase of the Indians — Proprietors' Petition — Order of
General Court — Division of the Twelve miles' Square of the Indian Piir-
ciiase — Rutland East Wing — Watertown Farms — Fhn Setllcmcnt— Loss
Cif Robert Keyes' Daughter — Incorporation of tlie District — Dr. Harvey—
First Town Meeting — First Roads.
After the first settlement of Massachusetts, but a
few years elapsed before the hand of industry penetrated
far and fast into the uncultivated wilderness. In 1G2S,
but eight years after the landing of the I'ilgriras, Sakm
was settled. In 1629 Lynn was inhabited. Boston rtnd
Cambridge and Watertown were founded in 1630. The
stream of emigration soon began to flow westward from
its fountain. In 1G35 Concord was purchased cf the
Indians and a settlement comraenced. In 1638 Sudbury
was planted, and Marlborough was incorporated but a
few years subsequent to that period. The increasitig
population pushed farther onward the frontier of im
provement. The fertile region in the vicinity of Wor
cester attracted the attention of the early settlers of
Massachusetts. The first settlement in the County of
Worcester was made in Lancaster, in 1C45. Mendon
is a very ancient town, the second in ag.e in the County.
Brookfield was incorporated by an Act of the Legisla-
2

10 INDIAN DEED.
ture in 1660. Oxford embraces a tract of land wliich
was a grant made to certain individuals by government
in 1682.
On the 22nd of December, 16S6, Joseph Trask, alias
Puagastlon, of Pennicook; Job, alias Pompamam.ny ;
James Wiser, alias dualipunit; Sassawannow, of Natick,
and Simon Pilicom, alias Wananapan, of Wamassick, —
five Indians, who claimed to be lords of the soil, gave
and executed a deed to Henry Willard, Joseph Eow-
landson, Joseph Foster, Benjamin Willard, and Cyprian
Stevens, in consideration of twenty-three pounds of the
then currency, of a certain tract of land, twelve miles
square, going under the general name of Naquag, and
bounded as follows ; " The south corner butting upon
Muscopague Pond, and running north to Q,uanitick and
to Wanchatopick, and so running upon great Watchu-
selt, which is the north corner ; so running northwest
to Wallamanumpscook, and so to Q,uapuanimawick, a
little pond, and so to Asnaconcomick Pond, which is the
northwest corner; and so running south and so to Muss-
hauge a great, swamp, and so to Sussahatassick wbic'i ';>
the south corner; and so running east to Pascut.c!;
quage, and so to Ahumpatunshauge, a. little pond,
nnd so to Siimpauge Pond, and to Muscopague,
which is the east corner." This Indian deed, signed
and acknowledged by fhe above named Indians, was re
ceived April 14, 1714, and recorded in the Eegislry
of Deeds for Middlesex County, Vol. .wi, p. 51!, —
Worcester County not having been incorpor.iied until
April 2, 1731.
That this deed did not give to the grantees an indis
putable legal title to the territory it purported to convey
is evident. For prior discovery, or occupancy, by the

ORDER OF GENERAL COURT. 11
Indians, was not acknowledged by our legislators and
courts as creating any fee in the soil ; while discovery
by the English was recognized as vesting all lands, me
diately or immediately, in the Crown. Consequently,
as this tract of land was included in the grant to the
colony of Massachusetts, any conveyance of it by the
natives must be invalid until sanctioned by the Provin
cial legislature. And that the original purchasers, re
garded the deed as worthless is also obvious. For a
little more than twenty-six years subsequent to its date,
we find that the General Court on the 23d of February,
1713, upon the Petition of the sons and grandsons of
Major Simon Willard * of Lancaster, deceased, and the
other heirs of the grantees, for approbation and confirm
ation of their title to the. above tract of land, passed an
Order, " That the lands in the Indian deed, and accord
ing tb their buts and bounds, be confirmed to the child
ren of the said Simon Willard, deceased, or to their
legal representatives, and to the other petitioners, or their
legal representatives, and associates, provided that with
in seven years time there be sixty families settled thereon
and sufficient lands reserved for the use of a gospel min
istry and schools, except what part thereof the Hon.
Sumuel Sewall, Esq. hath already purchased, and that
this grant shall not encroach upon ,any former grant
or grants, nor exceed the quantity of twelve miles
square. The town to be called Rutland, and to liye to
the County of Middlesex." The tract of land purchas
ed of the Indians, which was thus conditionally con-

* This was the famous Major Willard, who marched with 46 men from Lan
caster to Brookfield, in 1675, for the relief of tiie little band there surrounded
hy more than 300 Indians, and vvtiose memory has been unhappily slandered
by tradition.

12 DIVISION OP TERRITORY.
firmed, comprised in all 93,160 acres, including 1,000
acres owned by Hon. Mr. Sewall ; and was surveyed by
William Ward in October, 1715. This purchase, with
the exception of that owned by Mr. Sewall, was dis
tributed among the heirs of the original grantees in
thirty-three" shares : Joseph Foster had two, and the
others had one share each.
The proprietors, at a meeting held Dec. 14, 1715, at
Boston, voted to survey six miles square of the territory,
for the settlement of sixty-two families, in order to the
fulfillment of the condition of the grant of 1713. The
settlers, on the llth of August, 1720, entered into a
written agreement with the proprietors, and bound
themselves by certain articles, signed and witnessed.
And on the 26th of June, 1721, this six miles square
¦was confirmed to the settlers by the proprietors, and it
now composes the town of Rutland, which was incor
porated by an Act of the Legislature, May 30, 1722.
Of the remainder of the Twelve miles' Square, one
portion, known as "Rutland District," was, by an Act
of the Legislature, incorporated on the 14lh of June,
1774, and called Barre, as a token of respect to a wor
thy friend of America, at that time a member of the
British House of Commons ; a second portion, called
" the Northeast quarter of Rutland," was iacorporated
on the 13th day of June, 1767, and called ITubliardston,
to perpetuate the name and memory of the Hon. Thomas
Hubbard, Esq. of Boston, who had been sometime
Speaker of the House of Representatives, a member of
the Corporation of Harvard University in Cambridge,
and a large proprietor of lands in Rutland original
grant ; a third portion was styled " Rutland West Wing"
until the yei,t 1759, when the inhabitants had certain

BUTLAND EAST WING. 13
privileges granted thetn, and the place was called the
"Precinct of Rutland West Wing" until its incorpora
tion by an Act of the Legislature, June 7, 1762, when
the name of Oakham was given to it ; a fourth portion,
with an equal tract from the town of Leicester, was in
corporated on the 12lh of February, 17,65, as the town
of Paxton — named after Charles Paxton, a commissioner
of the customs J while the remaining portion, known as
"Rutland East Wing," and comprising ll.,626 acres,
now constitutes the southerly and greater part of Prince
ton. The last mentioned tract is the ojjly portion of
the original purchase with which we are intimately
concerned in this work.
Agreeable to a vote of the proprietors, tjais tract was
surveyed and laid out into forty-eight farms, of two
hundred and thirty-seven acres each and numbered by
Jetters, and a strip of two hundred and fifty acres undi
vided, which now includes ths "Pout-water''' aind " Let
ter M" lots. Rev. Thomas Prince, then ftoileague
pastor of the Old South Chiirch, Bo^toUj was by far the
largest proprietor of the traet, he owning nearly three
thousand acres, the most of which subsequently came
into the possession of the late Ward N. Boylston, Esq.
The entire tract was botiindfid o» th« north and east by
ihe line which separated it from several farms termed
" Watertown Farms," and which in the Indian deed is
described * as ruaniijg from ¦" Waneiiatopick," now de-

* The line relerrod -to orosses tlie Bostnn road tnear the "Great IVlaple," at
the foi*t of the " W'hirney -hill,*' a^nd, inn.ni*ig .northu'est, leaving the farms ot
the late Jabez G. Head and flarloftv &lcinner a little to the norih, constitutes
tiie dividing line between those (i-f :\Ie.^sr^. EH.^ha & Charles A. flliricl< and
r«Ir. Uavis. ** After reaclii.n2 Ithe J:eiglit of land near Mr. Enoch Brooks's, it
jmrsiies a snutheastGrly direction :uid utee's liIiiiljibaLdaton line on the land of
t^zra Brooks."" O*

14 WATERTOWN FARMS.
nominated Rutland Pond, to "Great Watchusett;" on
the south by Rutland and Holden ; and on the west by
Ilubbardston. The original proprietors, at the before
mentioned meeting in Boston, Dec. 14, 1715, chose a
committee, to which the absolute control of tbe concerns
of the proprietary was entrusted, and who made the first
conveyance of any portion of said territory, subsequent
to the purchase of the Indians in 1686.
Antither portion of territory, now comprised in the
town of Princeton, was the " Watertown Farms."
" This was a tract of about three thousand acres, granted,
tradition says, by the General Court to the tovvn of
Watertown, to aid in building and unaintaining a bridge.
I find, after diligent inquiry, no record existing of the
grant, nor any act or clue, by which its date, or specific
ipurpose, other than that above stated, can be ascertain
ed. It dates, probably, about the year 1745, and was re
garded as of little or no value. The line bounding it
on the north and east, ran from the north boundary of
Rutland East Wing, beginning at a stake and stones in
the 'pine woods' on land of" Sewell Richardson,* "near
ly due north to a stake and stones, still existing, at the
corner of lands owned by Dea. Israel Howe, James
Brown, and formerly by Charles Gregory, now by Dan
iel Parker. Thence it pursues nearly a westerly direc
tion, crossing the county road near the mill-dam of
Jaraes Brown, and passing a little to the south of Dea.
Howe's dwelling-house, over the top of Pine hill, to the
easterly side of Wachusett. Whence it pursues a crook
ed southerly course, on the side of the mountain, to the
aforesaid line of Rutland Eiiet Wing, which it meets at
a stake and stones on .land of Enoch Brooks. This
* Formerly owned bj'vtlio lute CiA. Jijm Whitney.

FIRST SETTJ^EMEXT. 15
tract was sold by the town of Watertown to sundry prc-
prietors. At a meeting of these, soon after the convey
ance, a committee, of whom I believe Jonas Harrington,
grandfather of the" late Capt. Benjamin Harrington,
"was chairman, was chosen to survey the territory, and
divide it into farms of equal value. This accounts for
the inequality in extent of the lots, some containing
nearly double the number of acres of others. After the
completion of this survey and division, the lots were
numbered and drawn by the original proprietors, some of
whom settled on the farms thus obtained, while the
greater portion made a second conveyance of them to.
settlers."* .,
We can find no records which lead us lo conclu(^e
that any settlement was made on either of the above-
mentioned tracts of land previous to 1739. The soli
tude of the wilderness had remained unbroken, unless
the occasional report of a huntsman's gun, or the shrill
whoop of the Indian, echoing among the hills, aroused
the timid deer, or hungry wolf. Tradition says that
numbers of both these continued in the vicinity, some
time after the first settlers made their homes in the wil
derness. Some more than a century had now elapsed,
since the Pilgrims disembarked from the Mayflower,
upon the shores of New England. It had been a cen
tury of great labor, — of hardships, perils and wars,— to
the first settlers of the country. During this time, the
colonies were continually increa=itig in population and
importance. Every year \\itnessed new settlements in
the willerness. About this period — Spring of 1739, —
Mr. Joshua Wilder removed from Lancaster, and cle.ir-
ed a s.nill spot, beside ihe brook, a liuJe east of the dwel-
-* RusseU's History of rrinct-ton, pp. 3, 4.

16 FIRST SETTLEMENT.
ling house on the farm owned by the late Peabody
Houghton, and erected thereon a log house, in which he
with his family resided for many years; probably until
1760. " Mr. Wilder was a saddler by trade, and the son
of Capt. Nathaniel Wilder of Lancaster, a man somc-
ivhat renowned, in the annals of his time and town, for
his temerity and facetiousness. He married a daughter
of Maj. John Keyes of Shrewsbury, who was also no little
famous ' in his day and generation.' During the French
war, somewhere about the year 1760 or 61, Mr. Wilder
purchased a large number of cattle for the purpose of
driving them to Canada, and disposing of them at a
profit to the English army. ^ This intended speculation,
however, was a total failure. On his arrival at its place
of destination, with his stock, the war was so far con
cluded that he found no sale for it, or at least none at
asy adequate price. He returned, broken in property,
and sold his farm to Benjamin Houghton, who owned
the adjoining land, and with whom he had some litiga
tion as to their respective boundaries. Soon after this
he removed to Belchertown, then Cold Spring, where he
died in 1762. Miss Sarah Wilder, his fourth child, was
ihe first white person born in Princeton. Her birth oc
curred in 1739. In 1762 she was married to Thomas
Meriam of Westminster, and was the mother of the
Meriams* at present residing in that place. She died
1819, at the advanced age of 80 years. The descend
ants of Miss Wilder recoUect hearing their mother fre
quently speak of gathering blueberries in company with
others on the Meeting-house hill, with a file of soldiers
to protect them from the Indians."t No other settle-
* Grandmother of Mr. dark Meriam, \^ ho resides in tliis t,v\'n.
t RuascH's Ili:;tory of Pr'n.Hton, p. 7.

17

ment was probably made, subsequent lo that of Mr. \^"il-
der, ])rior to the year 1750, when Mr. Abijah Moore
commenced to clear the farm at present owned and oc
cupied by Maj. Joseph A. Read. JMr. Moore opened
the first public house that was kept in town. The third
settlement was made by Mr. Cheever, on what is at the
present day called the Cobb farm. And in May, 1751,
(the following year) Mr. Robert Keyes with liics family
removed from Shrewsbury to this place, and se tied on
the farm now owned by Amasa Smith, which is situated
at the foot of the Wachusett, east side.
On the 14th day of April, 175.5, a daughter of Mr.
Keyes, named Lucy, aged foi# years and eight months,
attempting, as was supposed, to follow two of her sisters,
who had gone to Wachusett Pond, about a mile distant,
for some sand, and having nothing but marked trees to
guide her, wandered out of the way, and became lost in
the forest. The people for nearly thirty miles round
immediately collected, and in companies traverse! the
woods, day after day, and week after week, searchiii;r
for her, but without succe-s. They also repeatedly
dragged the neighboring pond. Nothing of the child
was discovered. Many jmirneys were taken by the f w
ther in consequence of report-;, but all in vain. Tlie
conjectures of the people were and have been various
as to its fate ; "the most prevalent, and which divers con
curring circumstances rend.:-r most probable," was, that
it was carried off by the Indians on a visit to the moun-
ttiin; and that she soon forgot her native language and
became as one of the aborigines. " This was ma-tjo
mure probable, by the story of two men, who went some
years after this occurrence from Groton, on a trnding ex
pedition among the Indians on Canada line. They re-

18 FIRST SETTLEMENT.
later', on their return, that they found living among the
Indians, a white woman, who knew nothing further of
her birth or parentage than that she once lived near
' Chusett MIL' '
Mr. Oliver Davis wis the first settler in the west part,
and the fifth iu the town. He settled on what is at the
present time called " Clark hill," in 1751. Mr. Davis
was industrious and frugal. He did much for the early
advancement of the new settlement, by his example of
diligence, aiid the introduction of useful, especially me
chanical, arts. He purchased a large tract of land, part
of which lay in Princeton, and the remainder in Hub-
hardston; and erected a%aw-rnill on a branch of the
Ware river. This was not only the first application of
water power to mechanical purposes in the town, but
also the first in the immediate vicinity. He also, a short
time subsequent to this, built a grist mill on the above-
mentioned river, sorne half a mile below where the
" Slab-city" mill now stands.* At a subsequent period
this was consumed by fire, and both a saw and grist
mill were afterwards built by him on or near' the same
site. Some of the first mills in Huhbardston were also
built by him. Three of Mr. Davis's sons enlisted in the
army, at the commencement of the Revolutionary con
test, and one fell on the field of battle. Mr. Davis died
on the 25th of January, 1803.
From the consultation of ancient records, or inquir
ies among the most aged inhabitants, we have not been
able to decide upon the precise years when settlements
ware made in different parts of the town. During 1752.
and the four or five following years, several settlements
were commenced in various parts of the town. Among
* At present owned by Wm. D. Cheever, Ec-q.

FIRST SETTLEIVIENT. 19
the settlers of about this period, were a Mr. Peter Good-
now, on the site where the dwelling-house of Charles
Russell, Esq. now stands ; a Mr. Norcross commenced
the farm at present owned and occupied by Mr. Israel
Everett ; Caleb Mirick, on the farms occupied by Messrs.
Elisha and Charles A, Mirick ; Samuel Nichols ou Mr.
Enoch Brook's farm ; Mr. Mede, on the farm at pres
ent occupied by Ephraim Osgood ; Joseph Eveleth, en
the farm of the late Capt. Benjamin Harrington ; Sam
uel Hastings, on the farm of Mr. George Davis ; James
Mirick, on the farm now owned by Mr. Geo. O. Skin
ner ; Messrs. Thomas Gleason and Gibbs, on the site
where the Wachusett Hotel now stands. A Mr. Stratton
also commenced a farm whe»e the " Union'' meeting
house now stands. There were also, about this time,
several settlements made in the west part of the town.
Among this number, subsequent to the settlement of
Mr. Davis, were Joseph Rugg, Charles Parmenter, Sadey
Mason, Seth Savage, Timothy Keyes, David Parker,
Robert Cowdin, Mr. Rosier, — Thomas Mason on the
farm now owned by Joseph Mason, — Mr. Wheeler, nnd
subsequently Col. Benjamin Holden from Dedham, on
the farm now owned by Benjamin Holden, the grandson
of the latter, — and Isaac Thompson, on the farm of
Isaac Thompson.
The first settlers in the town labored under very great
difficulties for a time, by reason of a rough, mountain
ous and rocky soil and the naturally moist state of the
land, for want of passable roads, and frora the prodigi
ous quantities of heavy timber with which the ground
was covered. The inhabitants were for some years de
pendent on the neighboring towns for most of their
supplies. They were industrious, however, and in a

20 ACT OF INCORPORATION.
few years brought the soil into successful cultivation,
when grass, especially, was produced in great abun
dance — the soil being rich and fertile.
The toils and dangers of original settlement being
past, the increasing population and expanding resources
required municipal powers for the management of the
common interests of the inhabitants. In 1759, the free
holders and proprietors presented a Petition to the Leg
islature for Incorporation, whereupon the following Act
was passed by the General Court: — -
" Anno Regni Regis Georgii Secundi
TricesiiEO L. S. Tercio.
"An Act for erecting the East Wing of Rutland, so
called, in the County of Worcester, and sundry farmu con
tiguous thereto, lying between Lancaster and Narraganset
number two, into a separate District by the name of Prince-
Town.
" Whereas a number of the Inhabitants and Proprie
tors of the East Wing of Rutland, in the County of
Worcester, and the proprietors and inhabitants of sun
dry Farms contiguous thereto, lying between Lancaster
and Narraganset No. 2, have represented to this Court
raany difficulties they labour under, and praying that they
may be made a separate District.
"Therefore, be it enacted by the Governor, Council,
and House of Representatives, That the said East Wing
of Rutland, so called, and sundry Farms lying contigu
ous thereto, contained within the bounds hereafter men
tioned, be and hereby is erected into a distinct and
separate District by the name of Prince Town : — viz.
beginning at the northwest corner of Lancaster second
Precinct, being also the southwest corner of Leominster,

ACT OF INCORPORATION. 21
from thence running north 54 degrees west seven hun
dred and sixty rods to a heap of stones upon the line
of Narraganset No. 2, from thence running west thirty-
five degrees south seven hundred and eighty-eight Rods
to the southern corner of said Narraganset number two,
then^turning and running southeast fifty-six Rod to the
northeast corner of said Rutland East Wing, then turn
ing and running west thirty Degrees south eleven hun
dred and sixty Rod, on the northwest line of said
Wing to the westerly corner of said Wing, then running
south thirty-nine degrees east sixteen hundred and
seventy Rod, being the dividing line of the first settlers
part of Rutland, and the said Wing to the southerly
corner of said East Wing, then turning and running
east thirty-five degrees north eleven hundred and fifty
rods on Holdin line to the corner of said East Wing,
Holdin and Shrewsbury, and from thence running on
the same point three hundred and ninety Rod on
Shrewsbury line to the River, and from thence bound
ing on Lancaster second Precinct to the first mentioned
bounds, and that the said District be and hereby is in
vested with all the Privileges, Powers, and Immunities
that Towns in the Province by Law do or may enjoy,
that of sending a Representative to the General Assem
bly only excepted,
" Provided, nevertheless, and be it further enacted,
That the said District shall pay their proportion of all
Town, County and Province taxes already sett or grant
ed to be raised on the Towns of Rutland and Lancaster
as if this act had not been made.
" And be if further enacted, That William Richard
son, Esq. be and hereby is empowered to issue his
warrant to some principal Inhabitant of said District
3

23 FIRST TOWN MEETING.
requiring him to notify and warn the inhabitants of said
District qualified by Law to vote in Town affairs to
meet at such time and place as shall be therein set forth
to choose all such officers as shall be necessary to man
age the affairs of said District.
" October 12th, 1759. This Bill having been*ead
three several times in the House of Representatives —
Passed to be enacted. S, Wliite, Spk,
" October \6th, 1759. This Bill having been read
three several times in Council —
Passed to be enacted. A. Oliver, Sec'y.
" October 20th, 1759. By the Governor.
I consent-to the enacting of this Bill.
T. Pomnall."
/ This district thus incorporated, and which comprised
jnearly 15,000 acres, constituting the main part of
jPrinceton, was called Prince Town, to perpetuate the
Iname and memory of Rev. Thomas Prince, then col-
leaorue pastor of the Old South Church, Boston, and a
large proprietor of this tract of land, as before mention
ed, and whose only surviving daughter and child the
Hon. Judge Gill subsequently married for his first wife.
AT the time of the incorporation there were about thirty-
families in the place. The first physician, by the name
of Dr. Zackariah Harvey, settled about this time, on the
farm now owned and occupied by Deacon Ebenezer
Parker. - )
In accordance with the last clause of the act of inr
corporation, a' warrant was issued by William Richard
son, of Tiancaster, directed to Dr. Zachariah Harvey ;
and on the 24th day of December, 1759, the inhabitants
convened at the house of Abijah Moore, their first dis-

FIRST ROADS. 23
trict meeting. Municipal officers were chosen, and
from that day Princeton assumed her place among the
regularly organized Districts of the Commonwealth. —
Several pages are missing from the first volume of the
Town records, consequently the proceedings of the
abov.e mentioned meeting are lost. The officers elected
at this meeting were only chosen to serve until the
March following, when, as at the present time, the reg
ular meeting for an election was held. Hence, the first
" March meeting" was convened in 1760. The first,
however, of which the proceedings are found on record,
was held in March, 1761.* It is very evident from the
following protest which is transcribed from the records,
that there was some difficulty at this meeting : —
" We the subscribers, Inhabitants and freeholders of
Prince Town District, judging the annual meeting in
Prince Town District on the 16th, of March, 1761, to
be illegal, by reason of the meeting not being purged
from such persons or voters as are unqualified by law
for voting, we do therefore hereby enter our dissent
against said meeting, it appearing unlawful. Signed,
James Thompson, Oliver Davis,
Isaac Wheeler, Capt. Eliphelet Howe,
Ephm. Allen, Sadey Mason,
Wm. Muzzy, Gideon Fisher.
Princetown District, Mar. ye 16th, 1761."
Previous to the last date, the inhabitants having peti
tioned to the General Court, praying said Court to grant
them a land tax, to enable them to build roads, and also
to erect a house for Public worship, and having had
their petition granted, and received the amount of .£337,
*See a list of officers chosen at said meeting, transcribed from the records,
in the appendix.

24 CHARACTER OP SETTLERS.
public roads were laid oiit by the Selectmen in 1762,
according to the instructions of the district. Of these,
the first completed was " a road from Westminster line
thro' Allen's farm, thence on the line between the Wing
and Farms so called; thence thro' the land of Mr. Mo
ses Gill and Caleb Mirick, to the meeting-house; thence
thro' lots Letter B, No. 9 and 12, Letter H G. No. 22,
to Holden line." The first settlers must have had ro
mantic notions; for it appears that they were in the
habit of constructing their roads over the highest hills.
The manner of locating their roads also was somewhat
peculiar.* And what is still raore remarkable, they
" endeavored to locate their meeting-house as near
heaven as possible^' — placing it on the summit of the
highest point of land, except that of the old Wachusett.
After repeated requests preferred to the district by sev
eral of the inhabitants, it was granted to them in 1768,
to pay their highway taxes, by work on the new roads
most needed, and the price was fixed for the labor of
man and beast. A short time subsequent to this period,
many of the other roads at present existing in the town
were built. Great sums have been appropriated for
roads from time to time.* See in the appendix.

CHAPTER II.
Character of the First Settlers— Their Ancestry— Increase of Population-
Province Lands — Land granted by the General Court to the First settled
Minister— Petition to be Incorporated as a Town — Act of Incorporation —
Opposition of the Town to the addition of Territory — First Representa
tive — Boundary.
In tracing the history of Princeton, we are approach
ing the close of that generation of men, who may be

CHARACTER OF SETTLERS. 25
called, the the first settlers of the town. Our minds,
however, linger around this period with the most in
tense interest. The men of that day had difficulties,
perplexities and trials, to endure and overcome, such as
are in a measure experienced in the settlement of all
new colonies ; yet not in the eminent degree, perhaps,
that they were by the first settlers of these regions. —
The adventurer who at the present day penetrates the
distant west, or the regions of California, may carry
with him some of the comforts of civilized life, but this
could not be obtained at the period of the settlement of
Princeton ; for but a few of the luxuries of existence
were known in the country.
On the other hand, these early settlers were persons
of decision, boldness, enterprise and independence. —
They left their native town or country, and bid adieu to
friends, acquaintance, a father's house, a pleasant home,
to take up their abode in a howling wilderness, exposed
day and night, whether in the hut or field, to the lurk
ing and ravenous bear and wolf, — to cultivate a dreary
waste, and this, too, under a thousand difficulties. Yet
to clear the forest, erect houses, construct roads, build
bridges, maintain schools, and support the gospel minis
try, were enterprises most cheerfully undertaken. —
Merely to live was not the whole of life with them, it
was the height of their ambition to live as honest men,
good neighbors, honorable citizens, and accountable to
their Creator. They were not inferior to that genera
tion of men whose settlement in New England consti
tutes so important an epoch in history, and whose fame
knows no limits other than the whole civilized world. — ¦
They were men possessing the sentiments of the Pil
grims ; men who understood and highly valued both re-
3*

26 INCREASE OF POPULATION.
ligious and civil freedom ; who cheerfully suffered for
its enjoyments ; who were determined on its maintain-
ance and promotion ; and who zealously labored to pre
pare their children for its support and perpetuation. —
They understood, appreciated and loved the truth. —
They prayed and labored for its diffusion. They cul
tivated and exhibited the evangelical spirit and faith of
the gospel. Such were the men who settled here, and
such their character. The charge of excessive vanity
has not unfrequently been cast upon the people of New
England, for speaking in terms which betray warm ad
miration for the character of their ancestors. And yet,
those who would reproach us as being judges, there is
truth, confessedly, in an artfully expressed sentiment of
a writer of antiquity. " The Lord sifted the kingdoms
of Europe to obtain good seed wherewith to plant the
sterile fields of Neiv England.''
A large proportion of the families first settling in
Princeton, could trace their ancestry back to the earlier
settlers of New England. Many came from Lancaster,
sorae from Concord, some from Weston, some from
Sudbury, and others from Dedham, Lexington, Water-
town, Medfield and various other towns in different
parts of the Province.
Some twelve years subsequent to its incorporation as
a District, Princeton had increased in numbers and
wealth to a considerable extent. In 1759 there were,
probably, not more than twenty-five or thirty legal
voters, while in 1771 the number had augmented to
nearly one hundred ; and when the census was taken in
1791, a still later period, there were oue hundred and
forty-four dwelling-houses and 1,016 inhabitants in the
place. In addition to the two tracts of land which were

TOWN INCORPORATION. 27
incorporated into the District in 1759, there were con
tiguous thereto some thousands of acres of Province
land, whiqh had never been incorporated into any dis
trict ; — with the exception of five hundred acres, mainly
lands on the Wachusett mountain, and which at a subse
quent period were granted by the General Court to the
Rev. Timothy Fuller, in consideration that he was the
first minister and settled upon a small salary in the in
fancy of the town.* In 1765, the District chose
Samuel Woods, Joseph Eveleth and Boaz Moore, a
committee, and instructed them " to send," in behalf of
said district, " a petition t to the Great and General
Court for the province land in this district." " Of the
adjoining Province lands, one thousand acres known as
the ' Potash farm,' were granted to one Plastid, in case
he should teach the people the manufacture of potash.
Buildings were erected and the manufacture commenced.
For some reason, however, Plastid failed to obtain the
land, and it was subsequently granted to Gen. Ruggles,
for some military service in the French war. The- re
mainder of the Province land was probably settled by
adventurers or taken up by speculators."
In 1770, it was voted by the District to petition the
General Court to be incorporated into a town ; and
accordingly, the Selectmen were appointed a commit
tee for this purpose. During this year, or early the
succeeding one, they forwarded to the General Court
the Petition which follows, and which eventuated in the
sought for Act of Incorporation, a copy of which Act
we also subjoin.
''' See Appendix, for a copy of the Petition and Resolv^ upon which said
innd was given to Mr. Fuller.
t No copy of this Petition, or of the one for incorporation in 1759, cr of
tliat of the town in 1779, is to be found.

28 PETITION FOR INCOUPOKATION.

"Province of Massachusetts Bay.
"To His Excellency Thomas Hutchinson, Esq., Gov
ernor and Commander-in-Chief in and over said Province,
The Honorable His Majesty's Council and House of Rep
resentatives in General Court assembled at Cambridge.
" The Petition of Princetown, in the County of Wor
cester, humbly shews, That said place composed of
Province Land and other Lands,' and Farms which never
before belonged to any Town or District to the Amount
of near eight thousand acres, together with a part of the
original grant of twelve miles square to the Proprietors
of Rutland, which part was never incorporated into the
Town of Rutland or any other Town, as many of this
Honorable Court are well knowing,was in the year 1760
— 1759 — erected into a District by the name of Prince
town, and was not annexed to any Town to join with
them in the choice of Representative, and never can
join with any, without being subject to greater difficul
ties than any District lately made by reason of the dis
tance, and badness of the Roads.
" Your petitioners therefore humbly pray (seeing saitl
District was composed of lands, which never before be
longed to any town or District) you would out of your
wonted goodness erect said place into a Town, with all
the powers and privileges which are enjoyed by other
Towns in this Province.
"And as in duty bound will ever pray.
Ebenezer Jones, "1
Caleb Mirick, J

ACT OF INCORPORATION. 29

" Anno Regni Regis Georgii
Testii L. S. Undecimo.
"An Act to erect the District of Prince Town into a
Town by the name of Princeton.
" Whereas the Inhabitants of the District of Prince
Town have Petitioned this Court to be Incorporated
into a Town that they may enjoy the privileges of other
Towns in this Province,
" Be it therefore enacted by the Governor Council, and
House of Representatives, That the District of Prince
Town in the County of Worcester, with all the lands
adjoining to said District not included in any other
Town or District, be and hereby is incorporated into a
Town by the name of Princeton, and that the Inhabi
tants thereof be and hereby are invested with all the
powers, privileges and immunities which the Inhabitants
of the several Towns within this Province do enjoy.
"April 17th, 1771- This bill having been read three
several times in the House of Representatives —
Passed to be enacted.
Thomas Cushing, Speaker,
"April 19th, 1771. This Bill having been read
three several times in Council —
Passed to be enacted.
Thomas Fluckcr, Sec'y,
"April 2ith, 1771, By the Governor.
I consent to the enactment of this Bill.
T, Hutchinson."
The inhabitants of Princeton, as appears from the
town records, were strongly opposed to the addition of
territory to the original district, which was made by the
above act of the General Court. Hence they passed, in

30 ADDITION OP TERRITORY.
Oct. 1771, the following vote : — " That it is the opinion
of the town, that it is a hardship both to this town and
the farms lately laid to it, that they should be annexed,
inasmuch as they are in no way accommodatfid to it,
and that it is impracticable that they should receive
privileges that they be not rated." In May following, it
was voted, " That a petition be prepared to" be pre
sented to the General Court then " setting in Cambridge,
praying that the land lately annexed to this town may
be taken off;'' and the town also chose a committee
consisting of Joseph Eveleth, William Thompson and
Joseph Sargent, for this purpose. This petition, as be
fore stated in a note, has been lost by some means. —
The land alluded to, is probably that which at the present
time constitutes the northern part of the town, known
by the name of " Notown," which was undoubtedly an
nexed at that time, — inasmuch as the above act oj" the
General Court embraced " all the lands adjoining said
District" not previously incorporated in any district or
town ; but which was also, it would seem, on the prayer
of this petition " taken off." It was finally annexed
again by an act of the Legislature in 1838. The great
objection to the annexation of the " farms" was, that
roads were to be built through them, at the expense of
the town ; which would in their view be " an unrepara-
ble and unsupportable burden to the inhabitants."
The town after the passage of the above act of incor
poration had the right of a representation, but as this
must have been at their own expense, it was voted in
1772 and 1773 not to send a representative, on account
of the "extraordinary cost" and also "the "great ex
pense of making roads." The first representative of
the tovvn was Moses Gill, who was chosen in 1774 to

BOUNDARY. 31
represent it in the General Court to be held in Salem,
Oct. 5. It was the custom of the town, at that early
date, to give written instructions to their representa
tives.* The manner of calling the early town meetings,
was to divide the town into " ranges," usually two, and
a constable was appointed for each " range," whose
duty it was to give personal notice to each inhabitant.
The territory of Princeton at the present time consists
of "Rutland East Wing," containing about 11,626
acres ; of the " Watertown Farms,'' about 3,000 acres ;
of Province lands, incorporated in 1759, nearly 2000
acres; and of lands annexed, in 1771, about 2500
acres ; and about 500 acres set off from Huhbardston,
on petition of the owners in 1810 ; and about 500 acres
from "No Town" in 1838. The town is situated some
fifty miles from Boston, about due west ; and fourteen
miles from Worcester, nearly north ; — and is bounded
on the north by Westminster, on the east by Sterling,
on the south by Holden and Rutland, and on the west by
Huhbardston. * For the instructions given to Mr. Gill m 1774 see succeeding chapter.

CHAPTER III.
American Revolution— First expre.E&ion of the town in relation to revolutiona
ry measures — Reaolutioua — Committee of correspondence— Alarm — Prep-
nrations for war— Instructions to representative — Declaration of rights —
Bounty to the minute men — ThecitizensleavetheiiJ homes for the contest;
Trouble with Rev. Mr. Fuller — Declaration of Independence— Regulation
of the currency — War terminated.
W^ have now reached an epoch of the deepest interest
in our history. '* Tiie middle of the century had scarcely

32 AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
past, before the shadows of oppression began to darken
the land, and the first tremulous motions of the revolu
tion, which finally upheaved the colonial government,
were felt. The collision of popular privilege with royal
prerogative, maintained during successive years by the
representatives, had prepared the people for the investi
gation of the principles on which their connection with
the mother country rested, and waked their vigilance
for the protection of chartered and inherited rights." —
The long series of wars* which they had previously en
dured, were doubtless useful schools, diffusing military
spirit, and imparting knowledge of strength and skill,
and confidence for repelling encroachments.
When the appeal to arms approached, however, some
of the colonists were filled with fear. And this is not
to be wondered at, since the match was most unequal.
There was on the one side, no organized regiment, no
fortified town, no ship of war, no money, no arms nor
military stores; while on the other there was a well dis
ciplined army, with eminent officers, an extensive and
powerful navy, an abundance of money, arms and
stores, sustained by a reputation for military bravery
that made their name a terror to all Europe. Besides,
they had been educated with sentiments of veneration
for the Crown 'of England, to which they had sworn
fidelity, being indebted to its bounty for the honors and
wealth they possessed. Some among them viewed the
opposition to the measures of government premature, in
its advance to extremities. The times, however, did
not admit of a middle course. For the crisis had al.
ready arrived.
And it was found that the American colonists, gener.
• Indian and French Wars,

REVOLUTIONARY MEASURES. 33
ally were so inflexible in their adherence, on all occa
sions, to truth ; — so elevated, expansive, and practical
were their views ; so keen were their sensibilities to
what was wrqng and injurious; so steadfast their deter
mination to secure what was just; so vigilant their
guardianship of their inalienable rights ; and so ardently
were they attached to the principles of liberty ; — that,
with comparatively few exceptions, there existed but one
feeling, sentiment and aim, and that was to secure their
just rights; and if this could be effected in no other
way, to do it by tlie Declaration of Independence. —
However the colonists were divided in other things,
they were united in this. However different in their
departments of effort, all converged to this one great
point. The earliest expression of opinion, on the records of
the town of Princeton in relation to revolutionary
measures, was entered on the 7th of March, 1768, when
the people, at their annual town meeting, manifested
their indignation at the promulgation of the act of Par
liament imposing duties on paper, glass, painters' colors
and tea, imported into the colonies. They did this by
concurring with certain resolutions* to encourage do
mestic manufactures and refrain from purchasing the
taxed articles, which were passed by the inhabitants of
Boston, at a meeting held October, 1767.
From this period to 1773 no doings of the inhabitants,
in their corporate capacity, mark the progress of the
spirit of independence. A letter of correspondencet
* The Legislature adopted resolves of similar import, Feb. 96.
I The letter of correspondence to the town, closes with these words : —
t' Let us consider, brethren, we are struggling for our best birth right and in
heritance, which being inlringed renders all our blessings precarious in their
enjoyment, and consequently trifiing in their value. Let tis disappoint the
4

3/4 RESOLUTIONS-.
received from Boston, called the attention of the town,
a; a meeting held in January, 1773, to the grievances
under which the province labored. A committee was
appointed to consider the contents of said letter, who
presented the following resolutions at the adjournment,
January 25, which exhibits the spirit that animated the
bosoms of our fathers in those days which " tried -men's
souls." They were unanimously passed by the town : —
" Resolved, 1st, That the connection between the mo-
tlier country and these colonies is of great consequence
to both, if mutually kept up ; but when digressions are
raade from established compacts, that connection begins
to lessen, and of course,, creates an alienation, the ef
fects of which must be attended with bad consequences.
For the resolute man, in a just cause, while in a state
cf freedom, never will consent to any abridgements or
deprivations of his just rights, and disdains threats or
any measures of compulsion to submission thereto — not
like the dog, the more he is beaten the raore he fawns ;
but on the contrary, with a noble mind, defends to the
last, and every stripe stimulates his efforts and endeav-,
crs, in defence of his own country's cause.
"2. — That this town, as a part of their province,
whensoever their rights, liberties, and properties, are in-;
fringed upon, by what authority soever, that they, in
honor to their forefathers, by whose solicitude and indus
try, under God, they for many years have enjoyed the
fruits of their labors — for the regard they bear to posr
terity — as friends to their country, have good right to
men, who are raising themselves on the ruin oi this country. Let us convince
every invader of our freedom that we will be as tree as the Constitution ou^
fathers recognized willjustify."

RESOLUTIONS. 35
complain, and manifest iheir uneasiness at such pro
ceedings. *' 3.' — That the repeated attempts to make the people
of this province subject to unjust taxation, and absolute
¦dependency upon the crown, together, appear subversive
of, and inconsistent with, the constitution of a free
people. "4. — That such measures are unconstitutional, and
demand the attention of all well disposed people, and a
mutual connection and joint adherence in proper means
for redress, thsrt thereby the rights and liberties, civil
tmd religious, which have been transmitted to us from
-our illustrious ancestors, might be kept inviolate by us
their posterity,
" 5 — That they shall be aWays ready to concur in all
just and proper means that this province and the neigh
boring colonies raay come into for the common good,
-and in conjunction with the friends of liberty., shall bear
testimony to all invasions upon our rights and liberties.
"6. — That the report (these resolutions) be put on the
town record, that posterity may know they had a sense
of their invaluable rights and liberties, and were not
¦svilling to -part with them, but by their own consent, and
that they are determined to vindicate and support them as
time and occasions may call,*
Ephraim Woolson, ~\
Boaz Moore, I ,~ ..... „
j-i. T r Committee,
Ebenezer Jones, (
Charles Brooks, J
At the annual town meeting in March, 1774, it was
voted "to choose a committee of correspondence to com-
* A copy of the above resolutions- were transmitted to the inhabitants at
Boston, by the Cleric.

36 COMMITTEE OF CORRESPONDENCE.
raunicate with committees of correspondence in other
towns in this province, to give the earliest intelligence to
the inhabitants of this town, of any designs that they
shall discover, at any subsequent period, against our
natural and constitutional rights." Accordingly, Capt.
Benjamin Holden, Joseph Everleth, Samuel Woods, Wil
liam Thompson, John Jones, Adonijah Howe, and Sadey
Mason, were elected a committee of correspondetice, —
four of whom were to constitute a quorum.
The records of the town of Princeton exhibit the
brightest evidence of the devotion of its inhabitants to
their country's inalienable rights. They were not only
ready to pass resolves which breathed the spirit of pa
triotism ; but they were also ready to seal their devo
tion to their country's cause, by death on the battle
field, if need be. Hence, when the alarm* reached the
place, that a band of the King's troops had made an ex
cursion by night, up the Mystic river, and carried off a
quantity of gunpowder deposited in the arsenal in the
northwest part of Charlestown, the effect was electric.
And tradition says that a part of the night was speiit by
some in changing pewter platters into musket bullets,
and in preparation for immediate engagement. As soon
as these arrangements could be completed, several of
the inhabitants marched, and were on their way, when
the return of messengers from Boston assured them
their further advance was unnecessary.
It has been supposed by some that the occasion had
been seized to try the spirit of the inhabitants at large,
that they might thereby ascertain the extent and strength
of the resolution of resistance. And such was the
spirit animating the community, that men who had
* The esact date of this alarm we ar* not able to state.

37

never seen the tents of an enemy, left the plough in the
furrow, and the sickle in the harvest, and went out to
meet the trained foe, without discipline, equipments, or
munitions.* It is said by one historian : " There came
men without officers, and officers without men, long
fowling pieces and short blunderbusses, muskets of all
sorts and sizes, some without locks, others without
stocks, and -many without lock, stock, or Ijarrel ; car
tridge boxes, shot belts, powder horns, swords, hatchets,
snic'kersees, crow bars, and broom sticks all mingled
together." Ample evidence was afforded of steadfast
determination to meet even the dreadful appeal to war,
and a sufficient pledge was given of the support every
town might hope from its neighbors in extremity.
One beneficial result from this excitement, was the
admonition of the necessity of a better preparation for
the contest which was now evidently approaching. At
a meeting held in Princeton, but a short time subse
quent to that period, the selectmen were instructed to
purchase two barrels of gunpowder, one hundred weight
•of lead and three hundred flints, to add to the town
stock. This vote evinces both a foresight of conse
quences and deterrainateness of action on the part of
the town.
In October, Moses Gill was elected representative to
the General Court tq be held in Salem, and Benjamin
Holden delegate to the provincial Congress to be as
sembled at Concord. The former was instructed, " ab
solutely to refuse to be sworn to represent said town by
any unconstitutional officer," and, "In case the General
Court is prevented setting constitutionally to repair to
Concord, and join the provincial Congress." The in-
* GOOD from Worcester County.
4*

38 INSTRUCTIONS.
structions to the latter required that he should " use his
greatest influence to prevent all arbitrary acts of Parlia
ment taking place, evidently tending to destroy the lib
erties and privileges of this and the other provinces,"
and also to " endeavor to make provision for and come
into such measures as shall be for the peace and good
order of this Province."
Gov. Gage was a royalist, and becoming alarmed by
the spirit of the instructions that were given to the rep
resentatives in most towns, and the stormy aspect of
the times, issued his proclamaition, declaring that it was
expedient the session of the General Court, summoned
to be held the 5th of October, should not be held ; at
the same time discharging the members from attend
ance ; and announcing his intention not to meet the as
sembly. But the current of popular feeling was not
thus to be diverted. The representatives elect assem
bled at Salem, and, resolving themselves into a provin
cial Congress, elected John Hancock President, and
Benjamin Lincoln Secretary, and immediately adjourn
ed to Concord. Here measures were taken for arming
the whole province ; twelve thousand men were to be
raised, and to hold themselves ready to march at a mo
ment's warning.
The patriotic resistance to invasions of liberty was
not confined to municipal corporations or general asem-
blies of citizens. The fervid enthusiasm, pervading the
whole fabric of society, manifested itself in varied forms.
The following document is found appended to the sec
ond volume of the records of the town, without date. —
It appears to be an oath of allegiance or declaration. —
It breathes the spirit of the times ; and was probably
drawn some time during the year 1774 ;

OATH OF ALLEGIANCE. 3Q
" I do truly and sincerely acknowledge, profess, tes-
tdlfy, and declare, that the Commonwealth of Massachu
setts is, and of right ought to be, a free, sovereign, and
independent State. And I do swear that I will bear
true faith and allegiance to the said Commonwealth, and
that I will defend the sam« against all traitorous con
spiracies and hostile attempts whatsoever — and that I do
renounce and abjure all allegiance, subjection, and obe
dience to the King or gov<ernment of Great Britain, and
every other foreign power whatsoever. And that no for
eign prince, person, prelate, state, or potentate, hath or
ought to have any jurisdiction, superiority, pre-eminence,
authority, dispensing, or other power, in any matter,
civil, ecclesiastical, or spiritual, within this Common
wealth — except the authority and power which is or may
be vested by their constituents in the Congress of the
United States ; And I do further testify and declare that
no man, or body of Mien hath or can have any right to
absolve or discharge me from the obligation of this oath,
declaration, or affirmation — and that I do make this ac
knowledgment, profession, testimony, declaration, deni
al, renunciation, and abjuration, heartily and truly, ac
cording to the common meaning and acceptation of the
foregoing words, without any equivocation, mental eva
sion, or secret reservation whatsoever, so help me God.
" Signed,
Sadey Mason, Samuel Woods,
Benjamin HMeti, Boaz Moore,
Ebenezer Parker, William Thompson,
William Dodds, Humphrey Moore,
Enoch Brooks, Jonas Smith,"
This is a most explicit declaration of independence.

40 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR.
Whatever may be its age it breathes the same spirit
that is found 1% the splendid document of 1776, which
proclaimed the dissolution of all ties of colonial relation
The commencement of the year, 1775, was a period
of intense interest. The difficulties between England
and her American colonies were fast hastening to a de
cision by the appeal to battle. The coercive measures
of the British Parliament required the Colonists to ac
knowledge principles subversive of true liberty. Peti
tions and remonstrances failed tojeconcile the parties.
The Colonists, who might at the outset have been con
tented with the redress of grievances, and by reasonable
concessions, now looked forward to the accomplishment
of independence. The indomitable perseverance of
the ministration left no hope of reconciliation. " The
language of moderation was still on the lips of men, but
stern determination in their hearts. It was like the
pause OB the eve of fight, when the signal for engage
ment is impatiently awaited." Preparations for the
conflict were actively, though silently, made, both on
the part of the British and the colonies.
The town records show the people of Princeton to
have been not behind their neighbors in their prepara
tions for the struggle that was about to commence. In
March, " the standing company" were directed to
" train once a week," and to " put themselves in a
proper position for defence."* At the same time, it
was voted to procure seventy-two dollars for the use of
the company of minute men, besides the necessary ac
coutrements. This company consisted of thirty-six men.
The selectmen were instructed to pay said money "when
* The officers of this company were Ebenezer Jones, Captain j Joseph Tar-
^ent. Lieutenant .3 and Samuel Hastings, Ens'gn.

MILITIA. 41
they marched." Their services were soon to be required
in their country's defence. On the 19th of April, an
express came to the town, shouting " to arms ; the war
is begun." As the news spread, the implements of hus
bandry were thrown aside in the field, and the citizens
lefl; their homes with no greater delay than was needful
to seize their arms. In a short time, the minute men
were paraded and took up their line of march towards
Lexington and Concord.
While the military strength of the tovvn was arrayed
in arms against the troops of the King, the comraittee of
correspondence vyere dealing with the internal enemies
of the country. The following vote is recorded on the
town records, May 24 : "Voted on reading the paper
received from the Congress, that the committee of cor
respondence retire to receive the complaint of any per
son against any one suspected to be unfriendly to their
country, and that they make their repori of such persons
complained of to the town for their further considera
tion." The committee, upon their return, reported that
the Rev. Mr. Timothy Fuller and Lieut. Caleb Mirick
are complained of as persons suspected to be unfriendly
to their country — Mr. Fuller for refusing to call a Fast*
last year, and for his public discourse to the minute
company the last Fastt as tending to discourage people in
defending tJieir rights and liberties, and for taking cattle
suspected to be Col. Jones' property ; Mr. Mirick for
taking cattle suspected to be Col. Jones' and for enter
taining tories at sundry times, — which complaint being
* A Fast appointed by the General Court, during its session in 1774 in im i-
tation of tlieir pmias ancestors, "who on all occasions of con.mon danger and
distress devoutly looked to God for direction and favor."
t iVlr. FuncT''s text on that occasion was tho following : " Ltt not him that
girdeth on the harness boast himself as he that puitteth it off."

42 REV. MR. FULLER.
read, the town then voted " that Mr. Fuller and Lieut.
Caleb Mirick* be inquired of for their conduct touching
said complaint."
At an adjournment of this meeting, June 20th, JMr.
Fuller presented a "paper to the town for their consider
ation," vindicating himself frora the above-named-charg
es. The town, however, voted that said "paper" was
unsatisfactory, and at the same time voted " to hear Mr.
Fuller a fortnight longer in order to inquire into his late
conduct; " and also that an addition of four be made to
the committee of correspondence for this purpose, and
*nade choice of Messrs. John Ellis, Ephraim Hartwell,
Charles Brooks, and Joseph Phelps accordingly. At the
expiration of the time, the committee of correspondence
presented a second " paper " from Mr. Fuller, which
shared. a like fate with the first.t At this meeting, af
ter the rejection of said "paper," it was moved to choose
a committee " to draw op something further for Mr. Ful
ler to sign as satisfactory to the town and to make re
port of the same." The following were elected : Sadey
Mason, Capt. Moore, Dea. Howe, Charles Brooks, and
Joseph Eveleth. Attempts were made to reconsider the
the last mentioned vote, but they were ineffectual. Con
sequently the above-mentioned committee, at a subse
quent meeting, held June SOth, reported a " paper" for
the Rev. Mr. Fuller to sign as satisfactory to the town."
It was then moved, seconded and voted that Mr. Fuller
sign the paper before the town act upon it; accordingly
agreeable to said vote the paper was signed by Mr. Ful
ler, in presence of the town ; it was then put, to see if
* No further action was taken on Mr. Mirick''s ca-e. The inference is t Ira
he satisfied the town of the rectitude of his conduct and 'intentions.
t Neither of these " papers " are on the records of the town. They are
probably among the things that were.

REV. MR, FULLER. 43
the town were satisfied with said papers for his past con
duct, so far as it appeared unfriendly to the common
cause, and it was voted not satisfactory.
This procedure on the part of the town was a strange
anomaly. It is very evident, whatever might have been
the character of this " paper," it having been drawn up
by men who were firm supporters of the revolution, and,
of course, opposed to all who were royalists, that but
one thing should have prevented its being satisfactory —
and that was, Mr. Fuller's refusal to sign it. But they
did not let the matter rest here. On the 16th of Aug.
the town voted to request Mr Fuller to ask a dismission,
and also chose a committee to wait on Mr. Fuller and
acquaint him with the above request. And on the 28th
of the same month, a committee was chosen, consisting
of Lieut. Mirick, Dea. Keyes, Mr. Brigham, Mr Woods,
and Abner Howe, " to draw up reasons " why the town
made said request. At the same tirae, the committee
of correspondence reported, in reference to his political
conduct, representing him as being unfriendly to the
rights and liberties of America. At the adjournment of
this mgeting on the 3 1st, Mr. Fuller presented a third
" paper," in accordance with the request made by a
committee in behalf of the town. But this, as might be
expected, was equally unsatisfactory with the two pre-
ceeding. Oct. 5th it was voted by the town to request
the assistance of some of the committee of correspon
dence in the neighboring towns "to advise respecting
Mr. Fuller's conduct as a tory." Dec. 26tl», a commit
tee consisting of John Ellis, Ebeneezer Hartwell, Capt.
Moore, William Thompson and Thomas Mason were
elected, who in conjunction with a committee of the
church, were to prepare allegations against Mr. Fuller,

44 REV. MR. FULLER.
and on the 8th of January following, the town voted to
unite with the church in calling a council, " if upon the
advice the church and town committees should obtain,
should make it appear proper to have a council." Ac
cordingly a council* was convened at Princeton, to take
into consideration the propriety of Mr. Fuller's dismis
sion ; and on the 19th of March the council advised to
his dismission, and con.sequently he was dismissed, by a
vote of the church on the 20th, and the town on the
24th. At the same time the town chose a coramit-
tee consisting of Lieut. Caleb Mirick, Dea. Adonijah
Howe, Joseph Haynes, Samuel Moseman, Lieut. Joseph
Eveleth, James Mirick, and Nathaniel Cutler, " to keep
Mr. Fuller out of the pulpit." This committee were
faithful in attending to the duty assigned them, and
standing on the pulpit stairs, as required by law, " did
on the following Sunday, with force and arms, restrain
and keep out of the said pulpit, him the aforesaid Tim
othy Fuller." The dealings of the town with Mr. Ful
ler, were of no gentle character ; and they evince the
" revolutionary enthusiasm " which pervaded the inhab
itants at that time. During the whole revolutionary
struggle the same spirit was manifested. They cheer
fully met the demands of the State and Congress, to
whatever sacrifice it might subject them. In January,
as recommended by Congress, a contribution of monev
and provisions was raised for the towns of Boston and
Charlestown. On the Istiof May, a resolve of the Continental Con
gress provided for the removal of the indigent inhabi-
itants of Boston, estimated to number five thousand, and
*The proceedings of said council,'and also of the church, narrated under
another head. Chapter 6.

AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 45
their distribution among the towns of the interior. The
proportion of Princeton was 24, which the town voted
to receive.March, 4th, 1776, it was voted to add two persons to
the committee of correspondence in the place of Col.
Benjamin Holden and Capt. John Jones who had joined
the continental army.
Men were drafted, in the early part of the year, for
the reinforcement of the army investing Boston, by the
officers of the militia and the selectmen. At this time
several were levied in Princeton.
On the 14th of June, a motion was made, to see if
the town would support independence, if it should be
declared ; and it was voted unanimously to '* concur
with the Continental Congress, in case they shall de
clare independency." July 14, 1776, the Declaration
of Independence was received. •' This instrument, the
eloquent echo of sentiments as boldly expressed, in less
splendid form, from almost every village of New Eng
land, long before they were promulgated in that paper
which has been reverenced as the Magna Charta of
Freedom," was hailed with joy by the inhabitants of
Princeton, and stands recorded on ihe town's records.
On the 10th of September, one fifth part of the mili
tia of the State of Massachusetts were called out imme
diately to march to New York, to prevent the enemy
from cutting off the communication between the Amer
ican army in the city and on the island of New York,
and the country. One fourth part that remained of the
military, were required to be equipped and ready to
march at a moment's warning should their services be
needed. Frequent demands were raade for soldiers for
the defence of Boston and other exposed places. Prince.^
5

46 REGULATION OF PRICES.
ton answered each call, following in quick snccession,
to the utmost extent of her means.
On the 30th of September, it was submitted to the
people to determine, whether they would consent, that
the House of Representatives and Council in Conven
tion, should adopt such constitution and frame of gov
ernment, as, on mature deliberation, they should judge
would be most conducive to the safety, peace, and hap
piness of the State in after generations. Tbe town
voted that they have the power, to adopt, a "new Consti
tution'' and frame a system of government for this State.
To prevent monopoly upon such articles as were con
sidered the necessaries of life, the Selectmen, and com
mittee of correspondence were empowered by an act of
the Provincial Congress, to fix and establish ultimum
prices. A committee was chosen May 26, to prosecute
all breaches of tbe regulations reported for the sale of
said articles, in Princeton.
But a short time elapsed before tbe beneficial results
of the regulations established throughout the Common
wealth, were defeated, by the fluctuations of the curren
cy unsustained by a metallic basis, which finally depre
ciated to worthlessness.
The year 1777, had scarcely comraenced when a
requisition was made for every seventh of the male in
habitants, over 16 years of age, to complete the quota of
Massachusetts, in tbe continental army to serve for eight
months at least. At a meeting of the inhabitants of
Princeton, in March, it was voted to give twenty pounds
to each man that would enlist in the continental army
for three years or during the war.
In March each town was required to procure, and de
liver, shirts, stockings, and other clothing for the Mas-

RELIEF  THE CURRENCY. 47
sachusetts soldiers in the continental army, in the pro
portion of one set to every seven males over 16 years of
age of the population. Princeton supplied her propor
tion, for which compensation was subsequently made.
Aug. 9, fourteen men were drafted to join the north
ern array three weeks under Gen. Lincoln.
The inhabitants expressed their approbation of the
articles of confederation of the United States, and their
determination to support the government by their ut
most exertions.
A constitution for the State reported by a committee
of the General Court, in December 1777, and approved
by that body in January following, was subraitted to the
people in April, and approved by a very small majority.
Of 37 votes given in Princeton, twenty were in favor
and seventeen opposed to acceptance.
Several of the citizens of Princeton were drafted,
under the resolve of June 12, 1778, for raising 180 men
for an expedition to Rhode Island. On the 23d of June
two were required, as guards to the captured troops of
General Burgoyne. Voted .£72, be granted for boun
ties to soldiers and the support of their families. The
town voted to obtain on loan the money necessary for
the payment of bounties.
In 1779 severe distress was experienced, from the de
preciation of the currency, the exorbitant price for the
necessaries of life, and also the distrust of public credit.
A convention assembled at Concord, by the invitation of
Boston, July 14th, composed of delegates from all parts
of the State, for the purpose of. consulting on measures
to give effect to the recommendations of Congress to the
United States for the relief of the people. Princeton
was represented by the committee of correspondence.

48 CONVENTIONS.
Prices were regulated by a moderate apprizal of the
value of articles of produce and merchandize; loans to
government, provision for the support of the clergy, and
attention to schools as the means of good education,
were earnestly recommended.
The town at a meeting August 6th, expressed cordial
approbation of the proceedings of said convention.
Thomas Parker was elected a delegate to attend a
county convention, to be held at Worcester, on the llth
of August, when a scale of prices was fixed, and resolu
tions adopted to adhere to and execute the regulations.
The^same gentleman was deputed to attend the second
State Convention, at Concord, Oct. 12, where a more
detailed regulation of prices was made, resolutions pass
ed, and an address framed, not essentially different from
those of the former meeting.
The town delegated seven men in addition to the com
mittee of correspondence to carry the resolutions of the
Convention into effect.
Nine soldiers were raised Oct. 9, to join Gen. Wash
ington, at Claverick, on Hudson river ; and were sup
ported by the town, at a charge, in the aggregate of
.£450. In November the town voted to petition the General
Court to refund one of the fines paid by the town for
a deficiency in raising their quota of men for the conti
nental army.
The exertions of preceding years had almost ex
hausted the money market, and means of the country.
The difficulty of complying at the commencement of
1780 with the increased requisitions for public defence
was severely felt, and the burdens of the war rested with
heavy pressure on the community. Yet strenuous efforts

PAT OF SOLDIERS. 49
were made to sustain the army and meet the frequent
demands of the government.
In compliance with a resolve of June 22d, twelve
men were raised for the Continental Army at Claverick,
Provisions being needed for the army, Princeton pur
chased beef according to resolve of Sept. 25, to the
amount of ^68460. At another time, to the amount of
.£1600. The town obtained a loan also of ^15,000 to
raise men for the army. At another time, .£22,305,
16s, 7d.
May 29th, the Bill of Rights and Frame of Govern
ment were submitted to the people, and accepted by a
large majority, thirty-two in favor, five against.
The first elections under this constitution, ratified by
the people, took place in September. The votes of
Princeton were divided ; Hancock received 27, and Bow-
doin 17 for Governor; James Warren, 27 and Artemas
Weird 17 for Leiut. Governor.
In 1781, the supplying of soldiers had become so dif
ficult, that they were only procured by exorbitant boun
ties, and the most zealous exertions. Hence for the en
couragement of soldiers, the town, Jan. 17, "Voted,
that each soldier that shall enlist in the continental ser
vice for three years, or during the war, receive one hun
dred hard dollars, in the following manner, viz : twenty
hard dollars, and twenty more in paper, at the exchange,
viz : seventy-five for one to be paid before he inarches ;
thirty dollars to be paid in six months after marching ;
and thirty more in one year after marching ; to be deliv
ered to the soldier in camp if required. And at the end
of three years, each soldier shall receive twelve three-
year cdd cattle, of a middling size, or current money
equivalent to purchase said cattle. And each soldier
5*

50 THE CURRENCY.
shall receive the aforesaid encouragement only in pro
portion to the time he shall be in the service.'' Security
was given for said cattle.
In March the sum of £2025 old currency was levied
to defray the expenses of the continental army. And
in May following the selectmen reported, as having paid
to the war committee, at sundry times .£19,273 : 13s: 6d :
If. Subsequently .£9000 for beef, and ^^784 : 10s in
money* for soldiers.
The minute recital we have followed seemed necessa
ry, as the only means of giving adequate idea of those
municipal exertions whose merit has almost passed from
remembrance, in the triumphant results they aided to ac
complish. * '' The amount of money raised by the inhabitants for the support of the
war, was really very great. The depreciation of the paper currency rendered
the nominal amount of taxation excessive. The true value of grants and ap
propriations may be estimated by reference to the subjoined scale. The figures
indicate the number of dollars, in continental currency, equivalent to one
hundred, in gold or silver. To April, 1780, the value was fixed as stated be
low, by the act of Massachusetts. From that date, it has been ascertained by
taking the average depreciation through the month.
1777. 1778. 1779. 1780.
January. ..I  105 325 742 2934
February  107 350 868 3322
March  109 375 1000 3736
April  112 400 1104 4000
May  115 400 1215 5450
June  120 400 1342 6650
July  125 425 1477 6900
August  150 450 1630 7000
September  175 -475 1800 7100
October  .275 500 2030 7200
November  300 515 2308 7250
December.  310 634 2595 7400
In 1781, one dollar of specie, was equal to 187 cents, in new emission bills,
from Feb. 27 to May I : 225 to May 25: 300 toJune 15 : 400 to Oct. 1. Below
these dates the depreciation approached total woithlessness.
The whole expenses of the Revolutionary war to the States were, in paper
money :— $359,547,027 ; estimated in specie $135,193,707." Lincoln's His. of
Worcester, p.^I2o.

INSTRUCTIONS. 51
The supplies and expenditures of the towns, were
charged to the Coraraonwealth, and allowed by the U.
States. But they went only to discharge taxes and
assessments, consequently, they were in reality, uncom
pensated gratuities to the public.
Princeton furnished a large proportion of her male
population to the army of the Revolution The exact
numbers in service cannot be ascertained with cer
tainty.* The last doings of the town in reference to revolution
matters, were the instructions given to Mr. Asa Whit-
comb, Esq., Representative to the General Court in
1783, which were as follows : —
" As it is the undoubted right of all constituents to
instruct their Representative from time to time as they
shall see occasion ; we your free and independent elec
tors take this opportunity to claim and to exercise that
right, and to transmit to you our sentiments upon two
points, which we look upon to be of the utmost impor
tance at this juncture to the whole Continent : —
" 1st. We have observed with concern a late resolu
tion of Congress granting to the officers of the army five
years pay upon the army's being disbanded, which we
apprehend is unnecessary, impolitic and unjust — a bur
den this people are unable to bear, and are unwilling to
submit to — we recommend to you, therefore, to promote
a strict inquiry into the power of Congress established
by the confederation, and that you use your utmost en
deavors to secure the liberties of the people from all
arbitrary and unconstitutional stretches of authority ;
* A document found in the appendix contains an imperfect account of the
.liutaber of men furnished at the expense of the town.

52 INSTRUCTIONS.
and that you join in a remonstrance to Congress touch
ing the injustice of such a resolution and warmly solicit
a repeal of it. That the public monies may be admin
istered with as much frugality as possible, and not be
squandered away with prodigality and profusion.
"2d. We strictly enjoin it upon you — that you do not
under any pretence whatever consent to the return ot
those persons whose names are mentioned, in an act ot
this State entitled ' an act to prevent the return to this
State of certain persons therein named, and others who
have left this State, or either of the United States and
joined the enemies thereof;' but that you use your
influence to prevent their return, as they are the objects
of j>opM?ar jealousy and dislike — that the minds of the
people be no longer agitated with repeated returns of
the refugees."*
* Messrs. Moses Gill, Sadey Mason, and Joseph Sargent, were a committee
wlio reported said instructions— which were also adopted by the town.

CHAPTER IV.
Insurrection— Distress of the People— County Convention- Instructions to
Col. Sargent— Grievances— Courts suspended— Capt. Gale at the Court
House — Court of Sessions Interrupted— Preparations of Government 
Daniel Shays — Porcesof Insurgents— Insurgents occupy the Court Bouse •
Consultation of the Insurgents— The Retreat— Gen. Lincoln's Army-
Termination of the Rebellion— Henry Gale.
Scarcely were the struggles of the revolution over,
and the smoke of its burning lost in a clear sky, before
internal dissensions threatened the overthrow of the
general government, Difiiculties presented themselves,

INSURRECTION. 53
which, in their progress, brought the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts to the very verge of ruin.
We would refrain from an allusion to the insurrection
known in History as the Shays' Rebellion could its ex
istence be effaced from memory. But those events
cannot be forgotten, since they stand with prominence
upon the annals of the State. Neither is the voice of
tradition silent upon this subject. " Historical truth,
however, not unfrequently checks and properly tempers
the fervor of admiration which we sometimes experi
ence, when contemplating the patriotic exertions of our
ancestors. That there existed circurastanges, which
palliated, though they did not justify, the conduct of
those who rebelled against the government of their own
enactment, is clearly evident.'' " After eight years of
war, Massachusetts stood with the splendor of triumph,
in republican poverty, bankrupt in resources, with no
revenue but of an expiring currency, and no metal in
her treasury more precious than the continental copper,
bearing the devices of union and freedom. The coun
try had been drained by taxation for the support of the
army of independence, to the utmost limit of its means ;
public credit was extinct, manners had become relaxed,
trade decayed, manufactures languishing, paper money
depreciated to worthlessness, claims on the nation accu
mulated by the commutation of the pay of officers for
securities, and a heavy and increasing pressure of debt
restetf oiTthe Commonwealth, corporations and citizens.
The first reviving efforts of commerce overstocked the
markets with foreign luxuries and superfluities, sold to
those who trusted to the future to supply the ability of
payment. The temporary act of 1782 making property
a tender in discharge of pecuniary contracts, instead of

54 COUNTY CONVENTIONS.
the designed remedial effect, enhanced the evils of gen
eral insolvency, by the postponing collections. The
outstanding demands of the royalists' refugees, who had
been driven from large estates and extensive business,
enforced with no lenient forbearance, came in to in
crease the embarrassments of the deferred pay-day. At
length a flood of suits broke out. In 1784, more than
2000 actions were entered in the county of Worcester,
then having a population less than 50.000, and in 1785,
about 1700."* Property of every description was seized
and sold at great sacrifice, the general difficulties having
driven away purchasers.
Amid the great distress of the people, many were ex
cited to frenzy by the actual evil of enormous debt, and
by the supposed grievances of a defective constitution,
a corrupt administration, and unequal and unjust laws.
It is not surprising that in such a state of affairs a reme
dy should be sought by resort to the most unjustifiable
measures. Previous to the close of the revolutionary
war, there were some indications of uneasiness mani
fested, on the part of the people, in reference to some
of the acts of the Legislature, as the operation of laws
conflicted with their views of expediency and their in
terests. In 1782, however, the complaints of grievan
ces were of a more general character. As early as
April of that year, a Convention was held at Worcester,
composed of delegates from twenty-six towns in the
County. This Convention attributed the prevailing dis
satisfaction of the people to a want of confidence in the
disbursement of the enormous sums of money annually
assessed, and recommended instructions to the represen
tatives in General Court, to require immediate settle-
* See Lincoln's History of Worcester, Chap. VIII.

INSTRUCTIONS. 55
ment with all public officers entrusted with the funds of
the Commonwealth, to reduce the compensation of the
members of the House and the fees of lawyers, to pro
cure sessions of the Court of Probate in various places
in the County of Worcester, — the revival of confessions
of debt, enlargement of the jurisdiction of Ju.stices of
Peace to .£20, — contribution to the support of the con
tinental army in specific articles instead of money, — and
the settlement of accounts between Massachusetts and
Congress. At an adjourned session. May 14, the Con
vention recommended, that the account of public ex
penditures should annually be rendered to the towns ; —
that the General Court be removed from Boston, a sepa
ration of the business of the Court of Common Pleas
and Sessions, and also an inquiry into the grants of lands
in the State of Maine in favor of Alexander Shepherd
and others. Princeton was represented in this assem
blage by Lieut. Charles Brooks.
Although these complaints were unnoticed by the Le
gislature, the spirit of discontent was hushed and quieted
for a season. But the murmurs of the coming storm
were again heard here in August, 1786. On receipt of
the invitation of a Convention holden at Leicester, June
26, requesting the participation of the town, at an ad
journed meeting, to be held in the month of August, at
the same place.
The inhabitants determined, by a great majority, to
comply ; and accordingly elected Col. Sargent a dele
gate, with the following instructions : —
" As the safety and happiness of a people depend upon
the support of Government and good and wholesome
Laws are to be enacted by the Legislature for that pur-

56 GRIEVANCES.
pose, and that uo people or body of men can be safe
without it, — and that justice ought to be administered
in a way least expensive to the people — it is therefore
the sense of this town at this day of public distress that
the number, and salaries of public officers ought to be
reduced, — and that in our opinion Government might
be supported at a less expense than it is at present, —
and that the granting moneys from time to time to per
sons employed in the public service, other than amply
to reward them for their service, is oppressive, and ought
not to be done under any pretence whatever ; that it is
the sense of this town that petitions be sent to His Ex
cellency the Governor, by the people of this Common
wealth, praying him to call the General Assembly to
gether as soon as may be, to take under consideration
the distresses of the good people of this Commonwealth,
that some measures may be taken for their relief, par
ticularly that industry and manufactures may be en
couraged, and superfluities as much as possible be avoid
ed. And it is the sense of this town that the making a
paper currency will, instead of granting relief, involve
us in confusion, and that it be recommended to the good
people, to cultivate a benevolent temper, and disposition
towards their fellow mortals at this day of distress, and
those that are strong, bear the infirmities of the weak."
In addition to the grievances referred to in the previ
ous Conventions, the following were enumerated at this
in Leicester : — abuses in the practice of the law ; the
number and salaries of public offcers ; grants to the At
torney General and to Congress while the State accounts
remained unpaid, together with some others.
To this period the people had sought redress by the

COURTS SUSPENDED. 57
constitutional appeal to the Legislature. The first open
act of insurrection followed immediately after the close of
the Convention last named. The September following,
Capt. Adam Wheeler, of Huhbardston, heading a band
of eighty armed men, entered Worcester and took pos
session of the Court Flouse. Their numbers were soon
augmented to more than four hundred ; " half with fire
arms, and the remainder furnished with sticks." The
Colonels in the brigade were ordered on the part of gov
ernment to call out their regiments, and march, without
a moment's delay, to sustain the judicial tribunals; but
the order was unavailing, for the militia shared in the
disaffection, and generally favored those movements of
the people directed against civil government, and'tending
to the subversion of social order. Hence the Court
¦finding that no reliance could be placed on that right
arm, on which the government rested for defence-— it be
ing paralyzed, and of consequence entertaining no hope
of being permitted to proceed with business, adjourned
until December following, continuing all causes to
that term. Announcement was made by the sheriff to
the people, and a copy of the record communicated. —
The Court of Sessions >also considering their deliber
ations controlled by the mob, of insurgents— or Regu
lators as they styled themselves, — deemed it expedient to
imitate the example of the superior tribunal and there
fore adjourned to the 21st of November. Before night
closed down on the day in which the courts were sus.-
pended, the Regulators, elated with their partial success
returned home to foment greater commotions ; and thus
terminated the first interference of the citizens in arms
with the course of justice."
The success of the insurgents had an unfavorable JB-

58 CAPT. GALE AT THE COURT HOUSE.
fluence on the state of feeling in Princeton. Other por
tions of the State also caught the spirit of discontent.
As the time approached for the sitting of the Sessions,
whose jurisdiction was principally over criminal offences,
and its powers exercised for the preservation of social
order, no opposition had been anticipated, and conse
quently no defensive preparations on the part of the
government had been made. In the meantime, however,
the disaffected had been active in their preparations to
interrupt the Sessions on the 21st of November ; and on
that day Capt. Abraham Gale, of this town, entered the
north part of Worcester with about sixty armed men. — '
The day following their numbers were augmented to
more than two hundred, mostly from Shrewsbury and
Huhbardston. A petition was presented to the Court,
at the United States Arras' Tavern, by a committee
chosen for that purpose, for their adjournment until a
new election of representatives to the General Court. — :
The petition, however, was not entertained.
The men under Capt. Gale then took posession of the
ground around the Court House, which they guarded in
a martial form ; and sentinels were posted along the
front of the building. " When the Justices approached,
the armed men made way, and they passed through the
opening ranks to the steps. There, triple rows of bayo
nets presented to their breasts, opposed further advance.
The Sheriff, Col. William Greenleaf, of Lancaster, ad
dressed the assembled crowd, stating the danger to them
selves and the public from their lawless measures. —
Reasoning and warning were ineffectual, and the proc
lamation in the riot act was read for their dispersion. —
Amid the grave solemnity of the scene, sorae incidents
vs'ere interposed of lighter character. Col. Greenleaf

PREPARATIONS OF GOVERNMENT. 59
remarked, with great severity, on the conduct of the
armed party around him. One of the leaders replied,
they sought relief from grievances ; that among the
most intolerable of them was the Sheriff himself; and
next to his person were his fees, which were exhorbitant
and excessive, particularly on criminal executions. 'If
you consider fees for executions oppressive,' replied the
Sheriff, irritated by the attack, ' you need not wait long
for redress ; for I will hang you all, Gentlemen, for noth
ing, with the greatest pleasure.' Some hand among the
crowd, which pressed close, placed a pine branch on his
hat, and the county officer retired, with the Justices, dec
orated with the evergreen badge of rebellion. The
clerk entered on his records, that the Court was pre
vented from being held by an armed force, the only no
tice contained on their pages that our soil has ever been
dishonored by resistance of the laws."
To this period government had resorted only to leni
ent measures, hoping that these might have been suffi
cient to have induced her revolted subjects to lay down
the arms assumed under strong excitement, and that re
viving order would rise from the confusion. But the
insurgents, animated with their temporary success, and
mistaking the mildness of forbearance for weakness, or
fear, had extended their purposes from present relief to
permanent change. In their early movements they pro
fessed to have but one object in view, — to stop the flood
of executions which wasted their property and made
their homes desolate. Consequently, a large portion of
the community, though they condemned the measures
resorted to by the actors in the scenes we have describ
ed, sympathized in their sufferings, and therefore they

60 . THE INSURGENTS.
were disposed to consider the offences venial. But on
this renewal of the 21st of November, of opposition to
the administration of justice, the sympathizers with the
insurgents, were materially lessened. Defiance of the
authority of the Commonwealth could no longer be tol
erated, without demolishing her institutions.
The crisis had fully arrived when government was
compelled to appeal to the sword for preservation, even
though its destroying edge, turned on the citizen, might
be crimsoned with civil slaughter. " Information was
communicated to the chief magistrate of the extensive
levies of troops for the suppression of the judiciary, and
the coercion of the legislature. Great preparations were
being made to prevent the session of the Court of Com-
monPleas, in Worcester, in December following." The
Governor* with the advice and consent of his council,
in the meantime had determined to adopt vigorous
measures to restrain the Regulators. Orders were dis
patched to Maj. General Warren, to call out the militia
of division, and^five regiraents were directed to hold
themselves in readiness to march without a moment's
delay. But in this hour of utmost need, the troops
shared in the disaffection, and the Sheriff reported that
it was out of his power to muster a sufficient force. The
first instructions were therefore revoked. And it was
resolved to make a desperate effort to raise an army
whose power might effectually crush all resistance. At
the same time, the Judges were instructed to adjourn the
Court until the 23rd of January following, at which
time it was confidently expected that the contemplated
arrangements, could be matured to terminate the unhap
py agitation, and disturbances. * Gov. Bowdoin.

DANIEL SlIAYS. 61
"The insurgents, unapprised of the change of oper
ations, began to concentrate their whole strength to in
terrupt the Courts at Worcester and Concord. They
had fixed on Shrewsbury as the place of rendezvous. —
On the 29th of November, a party of forty from Barre,
Spencer, and Leicester, joined Capt. Wheeler, who had
established his head quarters in that town during the
preceding week and succeeded in enlisting about thirty
men. Daniel Shays, the reputed commander-in-chief,
and nominal head of the rebellion, made his first public
appearance in the County* soon after, with troops from
Hampshire. Reinforcements came in, till the number
at the post exceeded four hundred. Sentinels stopped
and examined travelers, and patrols were sent out to
wards Concord, Cambridge, and Worcester. On
Thursday, Nov. 30, information was received that the
Light Horse, under Col. Hitchborn, had captured Shat-
tuck, Parker and Paige, and that a detachment of cavalry
was marching against themselves. This intelligence
disconcerted their arrangements for an expedition into
Middlesex, and they retreated, in great alarm to Hid
den." As the Light Horse retired, it was discovered
that they did not exceed twenty. Learning this fact,
nearly one hundred of Shay's men rallied, and pursued
their foe whose velocity of moveraent was such that it
left no cause to fear they could be brought in conflict.
On arriving at Shrewsbury consultation was held as
to the expediency of marching to Worcester, and take
possession of the ground around the Court House for
an encampraent. It was however considered, in view
of their being destitute of clothing, food, and money,
impracticable to maintain themselves there, and on Sat-
* Worcester County.
6*

62 INSURGENTS OCCUPY THE COURT HOUSE.
urday they marched to one of the neighboring towns,
and went into quarters with some that sympathized
with them in their movements. Shays himself, with his
men, retired to the barracks in Rutland, leaving orders
for the different detachments to assemble in Worcester
on Monday following.
On Sunday evening, a body of troops entered Wor
cester, under the command of Captains Abraham Gale
of this town, and Wheeler of Huhbardston, and others.
Halting before the Court House, they placed a strong
guard around the building, and posted sentinels on all
the streets and avenues of the town. Those who were
not on duty, having obtained the keyes by some means,
entered the Court House, and rolling themselves in their
blankets, rested on their arras on the floor of the Court
room. The day following the military strength of Wor
cester rallied under Capt. Joel Howe to the support of
government. Fortunately, however, the insurgents were
not prepared to stain their cause by civil war. " As the
evening closed in, one of the most furious snow storms
of a severe winter commenced. One division of the in
surgents occupied the Court House; another sought
shelter at the Hancock Arms. The sentinels, chilled
by the tempest, and imagining themselves secured by its
violence from attack, joined their comrades around the
fire of the guard room." The increasing fury of the
storm, and the almost impassable condition of the road
did not prevent the arrival of many from different towns
in the vicinity of Worcester, on Tuesday, augmenting
the numerical force of the discontented subjects of gov
ernment to about five hundred. The Court of Common
Pleas was opened according to adjournment at the Sun
Tavern. But in conformity with the instructions of

CONSULTATION OF THE INSURGENTS. 63
Gov. Bowdoin and the Council, it adjourned, without at
tempting to transact business, to the 23rd of January,
1787. " On Tuesday evening, a council of war was convened,
and it was seriously determined to march to Boston, and
effect the liberation of the State prisoners, as soon as
sufficient strength could be collected. In anticipation
of attack, the Governor gathered the means of defence
around the metropolis. Guards were mounted at the
prison and at the entrances of the city ; alarm posts were
assigned, and Major General Brooks held the militia of
Middlesex contiguous to the road in readiness for action,
and watched the force at Worcester."
On Wednesday, Dec. 6, Shays and his aid, mounted
on white horses entered Worcester. About 800 troops
formed the army of the insurgents. In this force were
several soldiers from Princeton, The following day,
Thursday, was spent by committees from several towns
in the county, with Shays and his officers, in consulting
as to their future operations. Their deliberations were
exceedingly perplexing and contradictory. The weather
had been so inclement, that large parties that were ex
pected from Berkshire and Hampshire were prevented
from arriving. It was finally resolved in view of the im
possibility of retaining the soldiers who had assembled
without subsistence or stores, to abandon the contempla
ted attack on Boston, and more pacific measures were
adopted. A petition was prepared for circulation, re
monstrating against the suspension of the habeas cor
pus ; requesting the pardon and release of the prison
ers — anew act of amnesty ; and the adjournment of
courts until the session of the new Legislature in May ;
and expressing their willingness to lay down their arras

64 CONSULTATION OP THE INSURGENTS.
on compliance with these demands'. The following day
was also spent in consultation. Being apprised that pub
lic sentiment was setting against them with strong reac
tion, letters were communicated to each town of Worces
ter County, soliciting the citizens to unite in their peti
tions. On Saturday, about 12 o'clock M., the insurgents in
Worcester were dismissed, and as another snow storm
had commenced early in the raorning, they were com
pelled to wade through the drifting snows on their home
ward march. " The condition," says Lincoln, in his
Flistory of Worcester, " of these deluded raen during
their stay here, was such as to excite compassion rather
than fear. Destitute of almost every necessary of life,
in an incleraent season, without money to purchase the
food which their friends could not supply, unwelcome
guests in the quarters they occupied, pride restrained
the exposure of their wants. Many must have endured
the gnawingsof hunger in our streets ; yet standing with
arms in their hands, enduring privations in the midst of
plenty, they took nothing by force, and they passed on
no man's rights by violence ; some declared they had not
tasted bread for twenty four hours ; all who made known
their situation, were relieved by our citizens with liberal
charity. The forlorn condition of the insurgents was deepened
by the distresses of their retreat. Their course was amid
the wildest revelry of storm and wind, in a night of
intense cold. Some were frozen to death by the way ; —
others exhausted with struggling through the deep and
drifted snow, sank down, and would have perished but
for the aid of their stouter comrades ; when relief was
sought among the farm houses, every door was opened

RETREAT OF THE INSURGENTS. 65
at the call of misery, and the wrongs done by the rebel
were forgotten in the sufferings of him who claimed hos
pitality as a stranger."
Shays conducted the remnant of his forces to Spring
field, and on the 26th of December interrupted the Court
of Common Pleas in that town. Intelligence being re
ceived of active exertions to prevent the session at Wor
cester on the 23d of January, vigorous measures were
adopted to sustain the judiciary. The Governor called
upon the militia of Boston and vicinity to march under
the coraraand of General Benjamin Lincoln, and to force
the insurgents to surrender. An army of more than
5000 men was raised for thirty days.
On the 21st of January, Gen. Lincoln with his force
took up their line of march from Roxbury, and arrived
at Worcester the following day. Detachments of in
surgents were collected in Princeton and some of the
neighboring towns, but, intimidated by the military, did
not attempt to enter Worcester, and the courts proceed
ed, without being resisted. On the 25th of January,
Gen. Lincoln hastened to Springfield for the relief of
Shepard and of the arsenal at that place, invested by
Shays and his force. Major General Warner being left at
Worcester in command, with a regiment of infantry and
a corps of artillery.
" Information having been given that a body of about
two hundred insurgents had assembled at New Brain
tree, intercepting travelers and insulting the friends of
government, twenty horsemen, supported by about 150
infantry in sleighs, were sent out, on the night of the 2d
of February, to capture or disperse the disaffected. Up
on approaching the place of theii: destination, the caval
ry were ordered to advance at full speed to surprise the

66 TEMINATION OP THE REBELLION.
enemy. The insurgents, apprised of the expedition, had
abandoned their quarters, at the house of Micah Hamil
ton, and taken post behind the walls of the roadside, and
having fired a volley of musketry upon the detatchment,
fled to the woods ; Mr. Jonathan Rice of Worcester, a
Deputy Sheriff, was shot through the arm and hand ;
Doot. David Young was severely wounded in the knee ;
the bridle rein of Theopilus Wheeler, Esq., was cut by a
ball. Without halting, the soldiers rapidly pursued their
way to the deserted head quarters, where they liberated
Messrs. Samuel Flagg, and John Stanton, of Worcester,
who had been seized the day previous while transacting
private business at Leicester. Having dispersed those
who occupied the barracks at Rutland the next day, the
companies returned with four prisoners."
Shays retired to Petersham, where he expected to con
centrate the forces of expiring rebellion and make his
final stand. But the spirit animating the first movements
had grown cold, and Shays with his soldiers were doubt
less sensible that the cause had become gloomy and hope
less. The insurgents dispersed and were never again
collected in force. How many of the citizens of Prince
ton, bore arms with Shays, we are unable to say. At
one time during the insurrection, Princeton assumed the
appearance of a garrison town. The citizens answered
to the frequent challengesof military guards ; the travel
er was admonished to slay his steps by the voice and
bayonet of the soldier. Once a funeral procession was
opposed en its way to the burial ground. Sentinels were
posted near the house of Col. Sargent.*
The rebellion having terminated, the infliction of
some punishment for the highest political crime was
* Where Major Joseph A. Reed now residee.

HENKY GALE. 67
deemed advisable. Several of those who had been in
arms against the government, were brought to trial and
convicted of treason, and sentenced to death. Among
that number was Henry Gale* of Princeton, who was
sentenced to be executed on the 23rd of June, 1787, —
The day having arrived he was accordingly led out to
the gallows, erected on the Common at Worcester, with
all the solemn ceremony of such exhibitions. A re
prieve was however read to him while on the gallows,
and subsequently a full pardon was given. The clem
ency of government was ultimately extended to all who
had been involved in the disaffection, upon taking the
oath of allegiance to the Commonwealth, after some
temporary civil disqualifications. Peace was again re
stored to the Commonwealth. t
* The Court assigned as Mr. Gale's counsel, Levi Lincoln, sen. and Jaraes
Sullivan. t Free use has been made of Lincoln's History of Worcester in the notice
ofShay's Rebellion.

CHAPTER, V.
Political History — Adoption of the National Constitution— Funeral Honors to
Washinglon — Embargo — Petitions to President Jetferson, and to the Ler
gislature of Massachusetts — Opposition to the War with England — Reso
lutions — First Town House — Benefactions of Mr. Boylston — Adoption of
Amendments to the State Constitution— Part of No Town annexed— New
Town House— Proposed Division of the County — Incidents in Local
History.
W^e have arrived to that period, in the progress of our
narrative, in which the events of the past are very close
ly connected with the feelings of the present. Some
particulars of the history of the last sixty years, insula^
ted from dissensions which have long' been quieted and

68 POLITICAL HISTORY.
which it is not desirable now to recall to recollection,
are scattered through the space remaining to be travers
ed. During the political controversies which for many
years divided public opinion in the United States, a de
cided majority of the inhabitants of Princeton were firm
supporters of the Federalists, when the name marked
well-defined distinctions of principles. The leading
men of the town were ardent politicians, and there were
periods of excitement when diversity of sentiment im
paired the harmony of social intercourse, separated
those closely allied by the ties of kindred, and dissolved
the bonds of friendship.* A majority of the inhabitants
were early in favor of a protective tariff. This is evi
dent from the following instructions given to Hon. Moses
Gill, representative to the General Court in 1787.t
" That you use your influence, that the Produce and
Manufactures of this Commonwealth, may be more ef
fectually encouraged by laying duties on those of for
eign countries, and granting premiums on our own, —
and that foreign superfluities may be prohibited, and also
the exportation of wool and flax."
Timothy Fuller was chosen to represent the town in
a Convention holden in Boston, in 1787, when the pres
ent National Constitution was proposed for adoption.—
He however voted against it, notwithstanding a majority
of the town were in favor of its adoption.
The citizens of Princeton joined in the national hon
ors paid tq the memory of Washington, Feb. 22, 1800,
the anniversary of the birth of the father of his country.
A great concurse of inhabitants assembled in the church,
* Tradition says that one man ordered his son to leave his house, for refus
ing to vote the Whig ticket.
t The state of political sentiment will he sufficiently indicated by the list of
yoles for executive officers in successive years, placed in the appendix.

EMBARGO. 69
which was hung with black and with emblems of mourn
ing. An appropriate eulogy was delivered by the Rev,
Joseph Russell on the virtues of the departed soldier,
statesman and patriot.
In August, 1808, the Selectmen of Boston, transmit
ted a petition, adopted by the inhabitants of that place,
addressed to the President of the United States, praying
the suspension of the Embargo laws ; or, if doubt ex
isted of the competency of the Executive for affording
relief from measures that pressed heavily on comraerce,
requesting that Congress might be convened for the pur.
pose of taking the subject into consideration. The com
munication was accompanied with an invitation to call
a town meeting to obtain concurrence in the sentiment
expressed in the petition, from the capital. The muni
cipal officers complied with the proposition ; and, at a
meeting of the citizens on the 5th of September, a com
mittee consisting of three persons* was chosen, and in
structed to prepare and submit to the town a petition in
conformity to the sentiments expressed by the citizens
of Boston. At an adjournment of the meeting said
committee presented the following petition, which was
unanimously adopted :
" To the President of the United States ;"
"The inhabitants of the town of Princeton, in the
county of Worcester and Commonwealth of Massachu
setts, in town meeting legally assembled, upon the fifth
day of September, 1808, beg leave, respectfully to rep
resent that they feel themselves deeply interested in
whatever tends to proraote and secure the general pros
perity of the United States ; and could they believe that
* William Dodd, Dea. Parker, Capt. Stratton.

70 PETITION TO THE PRESIDENT.
the existing Jaws recently enacted restraining the com
mercial enterprize of our country were inevitably neces
sary to affect this desirable object, they would cheerful
ly submit to the unparalleled losses and inconveniences
which result from the enforcement of them ; but we
would humbly suggest, that however flattering in expec
tation the effects of their restraints may have been, yet
such has been our distresses, such our embarrassments,
and so great and unexpected has been the change in
Europe, that nothing salutary can be expected frora their
longer continuance — coiisidering the present crisis tbe
most favorable opportunity for obtaining a remuneration
for the losses we have already sustained, and if properly
improved, for rescuing us from further distress and em
barrassment. We do respectfully pray that the Embargo
in whole or in part may be suspended according to the
powers vested in the President by the Congress of the
United States, — and if any doubt should exist of the com
petency ofthose powers, we would humbly request that
Congress may be convened as early as possible for the
purpose of taking the subject into their consideration."
This petition was signed by the Selectmen of the
town, and forwarded to President Jefierson. In Febru
ary, 1809, a committe* was elected by the town to dra/t
a petition, on the sarae subject, to ' be presented to the
Legislature of Massachusetts at its forthcoming session.
They reported the following, which expressed the unaiii-
imous sentiments of the town at that time :
" To the Senate and the Hon. House of Representatives
of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts now in session.
" We the inhabitants of the town of Princeton, in le-
* Ebenezer Parker, Joseph Sargent, Samuel Stratton, Artemas Stow, Eph
raim WUson.

PETITION TO THE LEGISLATURE. 71
gal town meeting assembled beg leave to represent : —
That being ardently attached to the civil constitution
under which an indulgent Providence has placed us, and
feeling alive to the interests and prosperity of our be
loved country, we have viewed with painful anxiety and
alarm, some of the recent measures of our national Gov
ernment. The several acts passed the last session of
Congress laying an unlimited embargo upon all com
merce both foreign and domestic, appears to your me
morialists fraught with ruin to our country and not jus
tified or required by the state of our foreign relations,
so far as they have been raade known to the public.
We did indulge the hope that at the commencement of
the present session, Coagress would have heard the nu
merous petitions respectfully addressed to them, — and
also finding that it would require a great part of the mil
itary force of the country to enforce those oppressive
laws and therefore would have unanimously repealed
them. But with extreme regret we have beheld the ma
jority in both Houses of Congress, in opposition to the
most powerful arguments and remonstrances of old Rev
olutionary Patriots and experienced Statesraen, and in
deed of several who had been inwardly led to favor their
system at tbe last session not only persisting in their for
mer measures, but enacting laws to enforce them, which
have a still more alarming aspect, — particularly the law
passed on the 9th day of January last to enforce the for
mer embargo laws, appears to us contrary to the spirit if
not the letter of the Constitution, inconsistent with the
principles of a Republican Government, and calculated
to provoke riot and insurrection to the jeopardy of Na
tional existence. Under these impressions we cannot
look forward without the most painful anxiety, Appre-

72 WAR with ENGLAND.
hending from the past that our feeble voice would be
disregarded in the general government, and reposing
confidence in your wisdom and zeal for the public good,
and it is with pleasure we hear the resolves of the Sen
ate of this state, stating ' that a suitable remonstrance
(will) be prepared and immediately forwarded to the
Congress of the United States expressing their opinion,
&c.,' Such proceedings will receive the sanction and
approbation of your memorialists, or any other measure
your prudence and patriotism may dictate for securing
to our common country its Constitution, its Liberty, and
its Prosperity ; and we hereby pledge ourselves to sup
port with our lives and property all such constitutional
and prudent measures for the attainment of these im
portant objects, as your wisdom may approve."
On the Declaration of War with England, in 1812,
an Act of Congress authorized the President to require
the Executives of the several States and Territories, to
take effectual measures to arm, organize, and hold in
readiness to march at a minute's warning, their respect
ive proportions of 100,000 militia. Massachusetts was
called on to furnish men for the fortresses on the mari
time frontier. The Governor, however, declined com
plying with the requisitions, on the ground of constitu
tional objections ; and the troops of the State were not
called to the field of battle. The town assembled on
the 16th of August and referred the subject to a com
mittee,* who presented an elaborate report at the ad
journment. After commenting on the violation of rights
and the numerous insults and injuries this country had
sustained, for a series of years, from the United King-
* The Committee were Rev. James Murdoch, Capt. Artemas How, Capt,
Samuel Stratton, Dr. Wilson, Mr. Bulloch

RESOLUTIONS ON THE WAR. 73
doms of Great Britain, and Ireland, and its dependen
cies, they sta;te their objections to the War, and the sup
posed insufficiency of the reasons alleged.
At the same time the town unanimously adopted the
following Preamble and Resolutions, which contain the
sentiments expressed in the Report of the Committee : —
" The inhabitants of the town ©f Princeton legally
assembled in town meeting, deeply and sensibly feeling
the effects of the existing and pending calamities of the
present crisis, of our National and Foreign relations have
with every other class of citizens of a free Republic, on
this as well as on all iraportant occasions, a right to as
semble and express, without fear or restraint, our opinions
of the measures of the General as well as State Govern
ment, — and the present momentous and alarming situa
tion of our Country, demands a firm, energetic and une
quivocal expression of our feelings :
" Resolved, That we view with the most painful ap
prehensions, the late Act of Congress, declaring war
against the United Kingdoms of Great Britain, Ireland
and .their dependencies ; and the threatening prospect
of an alliance with that belligerent whose agressions have
been so enormous, and whose depredations were first and
far more axtensively committed on our neutral rights.
" Resolved, That we feel deeply sensible of our ob
ligations to maintain and support with patriotic fidelity,
the laws enacted by a Government elected by the peo
ple, but from any disclosures which our government
have made, the present crisis does not in- our opinion,
sanction an expedient of such distressing tendency.
" Resolved, That we have viewed with deep regret
and concern, the ruinuous situation of our commerce, so
7*

74 RESOLUTIONS ON THE ^WAR.
inseparably connected with our agricultural and mechan
ical interests ; and as the anticipation of some speedy
alleviation has been the ground of our acquiescence for
years, in the many restrictions to which this vital interest
of the Nation has been subject, we feel compelled, while
we view the fatal blow now struck, to express our entire
disapprobation and abhorrence of the measure.
" Resolved, That we sympathise with that portion of
our fellow citizens who are suffering under the acts of
our own government, prohibiting them from collecting
and rescuing their property from foreign ports, where it
is now liable to confiscation, and abhor that fatal policy,
which led the governraent, notwithstanding repeated and
humble supplications from the suffering citizens, perti
naciously to continue their restrictions, regardless of the
destructive tendency of such measures not only to the
unhappy individuals, but to the commercial interests of
the Country and the subversion of the future confidence
of commercial men in the government.
" Resolved, That the measures which have been
adopted by our administratitDn, are repugnant to our
feelings, injurious to our interests, and hopeless in re
sult to our country, and that we will use all honorable
means afforded by our elective franchise to produce a
change of rulers, as the only means to produce a radical
change of measures.
" Resolved, That we admire and reverence that wise
and excellent Constitution of our country, purchased and
established with so much suffering and blood, — and with
every thing dear to us, as men and citizens we will de
fend our Constitution and country against every hostile
attempt to invade the principles of the one, or the rights
and territories of the other.

BENEFACTIONS OF MR. BOYLSTON. 75
" Resolved, That we highly approve of the wise, dig
nified and patriotic conduct of the Governor and House
of Representatives of this Commonwealth, relative to the
present alarming crisis of our National affairs, and that
we will use our exertions to give effect to their recom
mendations, and to obtain for such statesmen and patriots
the universal confidence and support of our countrymen."
These Resolves were directed to be signed by the
Moderator and attested by the Town Clerk, entered on
record, and a copy furnished for publication, in some of
the public journals.
Previous to 1816 there was no Town House in Prince
ton. On the 13th day of August of that year, it was vo
ted to call the Central School House, Town House. —
During the long period intervening between 1759, when
Princeton was incorporated as a District, and 1816, the
citizens met to transact their municipal business, first in
a dwelling house, then in a schoolhouse, and subsequent
ly in the meeting house.
In 1818, Ward Nicholas Boylston, Esq., devised to
the town of Princeton, two lots of land as a parsonage
estate, on the condition that " the same doctrines and
principles of faith and practice be preached as are now
preached and taught by their present Pastor."* In case
they were destitute of a settled ministry for six months,
the rents or produce of said estate was to go to the wid
ow and children of the deceased Pastor, if there were
any ; if the pulpit was vacated a year the same to be
paid to the Selectmen of the town of West Boylston,
In addition to this, §500 were given to thera to lie as an
accumulating fund, under certain conditions, until it
* Kev, Samuel Clark, Unitarian in sentiment.

76 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION.
should be sufficient to build " a handsome and suitable
Hall, of one story high for the use of the inhabitants to
transact the municipal concerns of the town in their cor
porate capacity, or for the accommodation of the Con
gregational Church, when the severity of the season may
make it raore convenient for them." By his last will he
also left them at his death, $500, the interest of which,
after a certain amount is accumulated, is to be applied
to the support of Congregational preaching. Also $500
after a certain time, is to be applied to the support of
poor widows and orphans. All of the above benefactions
were accepted by the town.*
Ward Nicholas Boylston, Esq., was elected Oct. 6,
1820, Delegate to the Convention which was convened
at Boston in November, of that year, for the amendraent
of the State Constitution. Of the articles adopted by
this body, Nov. 15, and submitted to the -people, nine
were approved and adopted April 9, 1821. The inhabi
tants of Princeton concurred in the adoption of the Con
stitution as amended.
The Amendment numbered as the 10th in the Re
vised Statutes, changing the commencement of the po
litical year from the last Wednesday of May, to the first
Wednesday of January, adopted by the Legislature of
1829-30 and 1830-31, was accepted by the people. May
11, 1831. The vote of Princeton stood 54 for, 23 against.
The Amendment numbered eleven in the volume re
ferred to, modifying and altering the third articles of the
Bill of Rights, having passed the Legislatures of 1832
and 1833, was accepted by the citizens Nov. 11, 1833
Eighty-five votes were given by the inhabitants of Prince
ton in the affirmative, only one in the negative.
• These benefactions are now supposed, however, to have heen forfeited By
filie Xown.

ANNEXATION OF A PART OF NO TOWN. 77
Between Princeton, Westminster, the south west cor
ner of Leominster, and the northwest corner of Sterling,
a tract of land intervened, called No Town, beyond
the jurisdiction of either municipality. The owners and
inhabitants of this territory, or a part of it, petitioned to
be annexed to Princeton. The petitioners and their
estates were united to this town in 1838, by the following
Act of the General Court : —
"An act to annex a part of No Town to the town of
Princeton.
" Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre
sentatives in General Court assembled, and by the au
thority of the same as follows :
" Sec. 1. All that part of the unincorporated lands of
No Town, in the County of Worcester, which is inclu
ded within the following bounds, viz : beginning at a
stake and stones, on the line between No Town and
Leominster, it being the northeast corner of a lot of land
in No Town, belonging to John Whitney, runniug on
said line south thirty-three degrees west, two hundred
and ninety-seven rods, to a stone monument, it being the
southeast corner of No Town, the southwest corner of
Leominster, the northwest corner of Sterling, and the
northeast corner of Princeton ; thence^ north, fifty-two
degrees and thirty minutes west, on the line between
No Town and Princeton, eight hundred and thirty rodsj
to a stone monument in the line of the town of West
minster, it being the southwest corner of No Town, and
the northwest corner of Princeton ; thence north, fifty-
two degrees and thirty minutes east, on the line between
No Town and Westminster, two hundred and twenty-
four rods, to a large rock, in an angle ia the last men-

78 NEW TOWN HOUSE.
tioned line ; thence south sixty-eight degrees and twelve
minutes east forty-four rods, to a stake and stones, by
land of Mr. Osgood ; thence north, fifty-four degrees and
fifteen minutes east, on the line of said Osgoods' land,
eighty-eight rods to a stake and stones, at the northwest
corner of Mr. Hadley's land ; thence south, seventy de
grees and twenty-five minutes east, on the north line of
said Hadley's land, one hundred and twenty-six rods, to
a stake and stones on land of Charles Grout ; thence
South seventeen degrees and twenty minutes east, on the
line between said Hadley's and Grout's land, seventy
rods and a half, to a stake and stones on an angle in
said line ; thence south fifty degrees and thirty minutes
east, through land of said Hadley and others five hundred
rods, to the place of beginning, — is hereby annexed to
and made a part of the town of Princeton, in said County.
" Sec. 2. This act shall take effect from and after its
passage. " Approved by the Governor, April 4, 1838."
The town voted at their annual meeting in March,
1842, to erect a new Town House during the en
suing summer and autumn ; and that the donation of
of the late Ward Nicholas Boylston, Esq., be appropria
ted for the Building of said house; and that it be one
story high, 64 feet long, and 40 feet wide.
After the completion of said house it was unanimous
ly voted to call it Boylston Hall, to perpetuate the name
and memory of the late Ward Nicholas Boylston, Esq.,
iu consideration of the liberal donation he made to the
town. A prayer was offered, and an appropriate address
delivered at the dedication, Feb. 13, 1843, by Rev. Wil
lard M. Harding. The most ancient records of the

DIVISION OF THE COUNTY. 79
town were then exhibited by the Town Clerk, after which
the inhabitants proceeded to the transaction of their mu
nicipal business.
At three several times since the incorporation of
Princeton, the division of Worcester County has been
submitted for the action of the towns proposed to be set
off for a new County.
A memorial, of the delegates of Templeton, Barre, Pe
tersham, Athol, Winchendon, Huhbardston, Adams,
Gerry, Gardner, Royalston, and Warwick, at the Janu
ary session of the Legislature in 1798, prayed for the
incorporation of those towns into a new county. The
people in Princeton voted in February unaniraously, that
it was inexpedient to divide Worcester into two distinct
counties. At the annual meetings in April, 1828, the question
was submitted, by tbe Legislature, to the people of Wor
cester and Middlesex, of a new County to be formed of
the towns of Royalston, Winchendon, Athol, Temple-
ton, Gardner, Westrainster, Ashburuhara, Fitchburg,
Leominster, Lunenburg, Princeton, Huhbardston, Phil-
lipston, Lancaster, Bolton, and Harvard, from the Coun
ty of Worcester, and Groton, Shirley, Pepperell, Ashby,
and Townsend, from the County of Middlesex, as prayed
for in a Petition bearing the name of Ivers Jewett at the
head. The decision in Princeton was in the negative
by a great majority of the voters.
In 1851, a petition of Alva Crocker and others was
presented to the General Court, praying for the erection
of a new County. Templeton, Gardner, Phillipston,
Athol, Petersham, Royalston, Huhbardston, Westmin
ster, Princeton, Ashburnharn, Fitchburg, Leominster,
Sterling, Lunenburg, Bolton, Harvard, Lancaster, Win-

80 INCIDENTS IN LOCAL HISTORY.
chendon, were to be separated from the County of
Worcester, and Ashby, Townsend, Pepperell, Groton,
and Shirley, from Middlesex. Orders of notice were
issued, but the proposition shared the fate of similar pro
jects to diminish the integrity of our territory. Sixty-
nine votes were given by the inhabitants of Princeton in
the negative , and eleven in the affirmative, when the
question was submitted to the town.
The faithful review of the incidents of local history
from the adoption of the Federal Constitution, embracing
the struggles of the two great parties dividing the com
munity, executed without partiality and in the spirit of
independence, would doubtless be both useful and inter
esting. But the period has not yet arrived when the de
tails of the contest, agitating every village, town and
city of the country, and kindling strife, in the relations
of social life, can be recorded with freedom and frank
ness. The embers of political controversy, long since
covered over, have not been so extinguished, that the
historian may tread with safety over the spot where they
once glowed. The sons may not hope to render unbi
ased judgment of the measures of the fathers, in these
scenes of intense excitement. When the present gene
ration shall have passed away, and the heated passions
and irritation of the actors shall exist only in memory,
the history may be narrated with fidelity, without fear
that inherited partiality or prejudice may lend undue col
oring to the picture delineated.
Now the feuds and animosities of the past have sub
sided it excites surprise, that the surface which at the
present is so tranquil, should have been agitated by
commotions so angry as were those which once disturbed
its tranquil repose,

ECCLESIASTICAL HISTOEY.

CHAPTER VI.
Introductory Remarks— First Preaching in Town— Attempts to erect a Meet
ing House — Committee to measure the District — Building of Meeting House
— Assignment of Places in Church — Church Music — Church Covenant —
Unsuccessful attempt to settle a Minister— Call to Mr Puller— His Ordina
tion — Covenant of Admission — First Deacons and Present to the Church —
Complaints against Mr. Fuller— Bis Reply — Ecclesiastical Council— Mr.
Fuller's .Dismission — Suit against Town — Biographical Notice of Mr.
Fuller.
The Ecclesiastical History of Princeton is of peculiar
interest, and remarkable for striking incidents. Could
the existence of religious difficulties, which have occa
sioned fixed differences of sentiment, diversity of taste
and discordant and conflicting opinions, interposing in
superable obstacles to union, be effaced from memory,
it would be wanton outrage to recall from oblivion the
tale of misfortune and dishonor. But those events can
not be forgotten ; they have floated down in tradition ;
they are recounted by the domestic fireside ; they are
inscribed on roll and record of the archives of the Church
and Town. There is no discretion entrusted to the his
torian to select among the events of the past. It is his
task to relate with fidelity the events of the times he re
views. By changing even slight features, the resem
blance of the picture would be destroyed. The annals
would be worthless, which impaired confidence by the
suppression of truth, even though unpleasant and un
welcome. History, the mirror of the past, reflects with
8

82 FIRST PREACHING.
painful fidelity, the dark as well as the bright objects from
departed years, and although we may wish to contem
plate only the glowing picture of prosperity, the gloomy
image of ecclesiastical commotion is still full in our
sight, shadowing tbe background with its solemn admo
nition. No records ot the Church in Princeton previons to
1761, some more than twenty years subsequent to the
first settlement, have descended to our times. Subse
quent to that period, some information of the prominent
events in Ecclesiastical History, may be collected from
the votes of the inhabitants concurrent with the acts of
the Church ; for it was the ancient usage of all our towns,
before they had been divided into parishes, to manage
their parochial concerns in the general meetings.
Meetings for worship were held at the dwelling houses
most convenient in regard to central situation. " The
first sermon ever preached in town was probably at the
house of Abijah Moore, to an audience, vfhich materi
ally increased at a later day, a small room and bed-room
held quite comfortably. An old lady still living* at the
age of eighty-four, recollects hearing a sermon at Mr,
Moore's preached by the Rev. Mr. Harrington of Lan
caster, in October, 1759, on the occasion of the district's
incorporation. ' There were then,' says the old lady,
' but a handfol of us, who found our way to church by
marked trees.'t At this date it was the custom of the
inhabitants to have preaching usually eight Sabbaths in
the year. A short time subsequent, they had preaching'
four or five months, in the pleasant seasons of each year.
The first expression of opinion on the records of the
*In 1838.
¦f Russell's History of Princeton, p. 5^,

MEETING HOUSE ATTEMPTS. 83
town, in relation to ecclesiastical matters, dates the 9th
of Feb. 1761, when the following article is found in the
warrant for a District meeting :* " To see if the dis
trict will vote to build a meeting house for the public
worship of God, and choose a committee for the same or
act anything relative thereunto, as the district shall think
proper."t This article, as appears from the records,
" was not voted," although it would seem from the war
rant for the district meeting in March of the same year
that the question of erecting a house for public worship
had not only been agitated, previous to this period, but
that the place ot its location had been determined. The
following articles, somewhat peculiar in their orthogra
phy and phraseology, are found in said warrant.
" To see if the Destrict will vote to build the meeting
house, to wit the house for the publick worship of God
in some other place than that which it is already Voted
to be built on and vote aneything Relating thereunto
that the Destrict shall think proper, or otherwise to vote
were the said meeting house shall be built."  " To
see if the Destrict will vote to build a meeting-house as
soon as can be convenantly and choose a committee for
the same and Report unto the Destrict upon what terms
they can git it built and when, or act anything as the
Destrict shall think proper."
It was voted to pass'over the last article, and the follow
ing vote was passed relative to the first. " Voted, Col.
John Whiteomb of Bolton, Dea. Samuel Pierce, of Hol-
* The town records for two years subsequent to the incorporation of the dis
trict in 1759, are lost.
f ¦ In 1760, at the meeting jn March, as I learn from other sources, than the
records, it was voted to petition the General Court to grant a land tax, to ena
ble the distrietto bitild a homae of worship, settle aminister, and lay out roadsf
and Dr. Harvey was chosen an agent to present this petition." — See RusseU'^
History of Princeton, chap. 4.

84 COMMITTEE OF MEASUREMENT.
den, and Dea. Joseph Miller of Westminster, be a com
mittee to measure the said District of Princetown, and
find the centre thereof, and afix or order the place for
building the meeting-house on, to wit, the house for the
public worship of God, and if the centre be not suitable
ground to build the said house on, then on the nearest
place to the centre that is suitable according to the best
judgment of the Committee, and they are desired to
make return thereof at the adjournment of this meeting,
and it is also voted that Mr. Thos. Harmon of Rutland,
and Dea. Jonathan Livermore of Westborough, be sur
veyors for the purpose above said and that all the said
committee and surveyors be under oath for the trust
committed to them as above said. Also voted that the
vote for building the said meeting-house within two rods
of the most southerly corner of Mr. Caleb Myrick's Land
be and hereby is revoked and discontinued."
The above named committee attended to the " trust
committed to them" with fidelity, and reported at the ad
journment of the meeting, June 29, but their report is
not on record. A majority of the town being dissatis
fied therewith, it was voted, after paying them a consid
erable sum for services, " not to accept their report, and
locate the house themselves." Consequently, at a meet
ing on the 22d of July, the following vote was passed :
" Voted, that the meeting-house for the public worship
of God be built on the highest part of the land given by
Mr. John and Caleb Mirick, to the District for their
public use, near three pine trees marked on the norther
ly side, being near a large flat rock." The site thus de
termined upon, and on which the house was ultimately
erected, is some few rods northeast from the old town
house.

FIRST MEETING HOUSE. 85
The question relative to the place of location, which
had agitated the inhabitants several months, being thus
finally settled, the first measures for the erection cf the
house were taken in October, when it was "Voted to
build a meeting-house for the public worship of God, and
that said house shall be fifty foots long and forty foots
wide. And also voted that Capt. Eliphelet How, Robert
Keyes, Caleb Mirick, James Thompson and Boaz Moore
be a Comraittee to see on what terms they can get the
timber for said meeting-house, and get said house
fraraed." The coramittee were subsequently directed
to purchase boards, clapboards, and shingles, to be de»
iivered at the site of said house. The frame of the house
was set up on the 30th of June, 1762. The cost of the
frame was .£71, 13s, id, which was paid to Abijah Moore,
who appears to have procured said frame; and in addi
tion to the above, .£28 was also drawn from the treasu
ry, as the expense of raising *. The glass windows were
not supplied until after a lapse of more than three years,
when the glass was donated to the town by the Hon. Mo
ses Gill. When the first preaching was had in this
church we have not been able to ascertain. It was not
entirely completed until as late as the year 1770. For
years the people met in the house for worship, without
any floor, excepting some loose boards. Their seats
were blocks, boards, and movable benches. June 4,
1767, it was voted " to lay the gallery floors and build a
breast work and set up the pillars in their proper places
and also build four seats round the galleries." It was
also allowed individuals who felt disposed to occupy ei
ther side of the house with pews, if they would make
* Another draft also made on the treasury, by P. Goodnow, to the amount of
£7, 2s, 2if, was fur rum purchased by him for workmen on said meeting-house.
8*

86 FIRST MEETING HOUSE.
them at their own expense. The manner of disposing of
the pew ground, as it was called, was as follows : The
individual who paid the highest land tax was to have the
first choice, by paying a certain sum fixed by the district.
Dr, Harvey obtained the first and Oliver Davis the second,
the former paying £S, Is, id, the second £3.
In March, 1770, it was voted " to paint the meeting
house, jjrouicfet^ iifr. Moses Gill finds paint." Whether
Mr. Gill's generosity again developed itself, so as to in
fluence him to comply with this vote of the town we are
not able to say. In October of the same year another
advance was made towards the completion of the house
by voting to plaster the walls. In November succeed
ing it was also voted that " y^ plaistering under y^ Galle
ries be made crowning and y* plaistering whitewashed
and y^ Seats in y'' side Galleries be finished." The en
tire cost of this house which was so long in the process
of building we are not able to state.
The assignment of places in church was formerly a
matter of grave importance, and not unfrequently claimed
the attention of the town. In 1768, a committee of four
was chosen and instructed to seat the meeting-house,
taking as a general rule the invoice taken in the year
1766, saving liberty to have due regard to age as they
shall see cause. For many years those who joined in
singing the devotional poetry of religious exercises, were
dispersed through the congregation, having no place as
signed them as a distinct body, and no privileges sepa
rate from other worshippers. After the clergyman had
read the whole psalm, one of the deacons repeated the
first line, which was sung by those who were able to aid
in the pious melody, and thus the exercises of singing
and reading went on alternately.

CHURCH COVENANT. 87
The people continued to employ preaching several
months each year.* Still it appears that there was no
organized church until the 12th of August, 1764, twen.
ty-five years after the first settlement, when the following
covenant was adopted and subscribed by eighteen male
persons, who constituted the church at that time.
"A Covenant entered into Aug, 12th, 1764.
"We whose names are hereunto subscribed, apprehendinef
ourselves called of God into a church state of the Gospel — Do
first of all confess ourselves to be so highly favored of the Lord
and admire his free and rich grace which calls ua hereunto ;
and then with humble reliance and dependence on the assis
tance of his grace and Holy Spirit therein promised for them,
that in a sense of their own inability to do any good thing, do
humbly wait upon him for all, we do thankfully lay hold on his
covenant, and solemnly enter into covenant with God and with
one another according to Godliness. We declare our serious
belief of the Christian Religion aa contained in the sacred
Scriptures, acknowledging them to contain the whole revealed
will of God concerning our faith and practice, heartily resolving
to conform our lives to the rules of that Religion so long as we
live. We give up ourselves to the Lord Jehovah, the Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost, the only true and living God, and avouch
him this day to be our God and portion forever. We give up
ourselves to the blessed Jesus, who is the Lord Jehovah and ad
here to him as the head of his people in the covenant of Grace,
and rely upon him as our Prophet, Priest and King, to bring us
to eternal blessedness. We acknowledge our everlasting and
indispensable obligation to glorify God in all the duties of a
sober and goodly life, and particularly in the duties of a church
state and a body of people associated for an obedience to him in
all the ordinances of the Gospel, and whereupon depend upon
his gracious assistance for our faithful discharge of the Duties
thus incumbent upon us. We engage with dependence on his
promised grace and spirit to walk together as a church of the
Lord Jesus Christ in the faith and order of the gospel, so far as
we shall have the same revealed- unto us, conscientiously attend
ing the worship of God in his house in praying to him, singing
to him, and giving reverend attention to ifis word, read and
preached according to his institution, the sacraments of the New
* The preaching was paid out of the land tax.

88 CHURCH COVENANT.

Testament, the discipline of his kingdom, and all his holy insti
tutions in communion one with another and watchfully avoiding
all sinful stumbling blocks nnd contentions, as become God's
people in covenant with him. At the same time we do present
our offspring with ourselves unto the Lord, purposing with his
help to do and keep in the methods of a religious education that
they may be the Lord's. All this we do ileeing to the blood of
the everlasting covenant for the pardon of our many Errors, and
praying that the glorious Lord Jesus who is the great Shepherd
would prepare and strengthen us for every good work to do his
will, workmg in us that which is well pleasing in his sight to
whom be glory forever. Amen."*
Signed by the following persons ; —
Tilly Litllejohns, James J'^orcross,
.Elisha ffilder, Timothy Moseman,
Ebenezer Jones, Peter Goodnow,
Mel Pray, James Gibbs,
Samuel Hastings, Abijah Moore,
Samuel Bixby, Caleb Mirick,
Abner Howe, Timothy Keyes,
Samuel Moseman, JVoah JVorcross,
James Haynes, , Stephen Brigham,j
Frora the date of this covenant, no record is preserved
on the church book, of any transactions until May 17,
1767. We learn, however from the records of the town,
that they continued to be favored with the preaching of
the Gospel, at least a portion of each year. About this
tirae, (1764,) Rev. William Crawford supplied the pul
pit. It was voted on the 4th of March, 1765, to have
" six months preaching beginning in April,"
The first moveraent of the inhabitants of Princeton to
wards the settlement of a minister was in 1765. In the
warrant for a district meeting in December of that year,
the following article was inserted : — " To see if the Dis
trict will vote hoij soon they will settle a minister, and
* This covenant was not entered on the church records until-several yei.rs
after its adoption,
t Church records, vol. 1, p. I.

FIRST CALL OF A MINISTER. 89
also whether they will hear any one or more of the can
didates for the ministry which they have already heard
in order for settling, or any other or others which they
have not heard, or act anything relating to that affair."
On this article it was " voted to hear Mr. Baker, Mr.
Fuller, and Mr. Moore, each of them six sabbaths on
probation, in order for settling." Whether these Rev.
gentleraen complied with the above vote of the district
it does not appear. Neither of them, however, received
a call to settle in the district at that time. The first in
vitation extended to any individual to become their min
ister, was the call to the Rev. Sewall Goodrich, in 1766.
On the 21st of August of this year, the district voted to
concur with the church in their selection of Mr. Good
rich to settle with them in the Gospel ministry. At the
same time there was also voted him as a settlement, .£133,
65, 8d, one half payable in eight months from the time of
his ordination, and the remainder in one year from the
time of the first-mentioned payment. As an annual sal
ary there was also voted him .£53, 6s, 8d, Mr. Goodrich
declined the invitation ; and on the 5th of September it
was voted to make an addition to the salary of £13, 6s, 8d,
to be paid as follows : " One half at the expiration of five
years from his ordination, thenceforth to be paid as part
of his salary ; the remainder to be paid in ten years from
his ordination as pastor with the like condition." Mr.
Goodrich still declined the invitation to settle..
Nothing further was done towards the settlement of a
pastor until the 30th of March, 1767, when the district
voted, 22 to 4, to concur with the church in their choice
of the Rev. Timothy Fuller to settle with them in the work
of the gospel ministry. The same pecuniary encourage
ment was voted Mr. Fuller, as a settlement, which had

90 MR. fuller's ORDINATION.
been previously offered Mr. Goodrich. They also voted
him an annual salary of .£53, 6s, 8d, ; and an addition
of £6, 13s id, to be paid to his wife at the expiration of
five years from his ordination, thenceforth to be contin
ued yearly; and the same amount additional in ten
years, thenceforth to be paid yearly so long as Mr. Fuller
shall continue to be their minister and fulfil the work of
the ministry. A committee was appointed to wait on
the Rev. Mr. Fuller, with the above invitation, to which
he returned an affiirmative answer.
On the 9th of Septeraber, 1767, Mr. Fuller was or
dained as pastor of the religious society. There were
present on this occasion to assist in the solemnities of the
ordination, pastors and delegates from the First Church
in Danvers, the second Church in Shrewsbury the second
in Lancaster, and the Churches in Wilmington, Rutland,
Holden, Weston, Westminster and Middleton.
As a substitute for the old covenant, the following was
adopted hy the church, on the 9th of November, to be
used in the admission of members :
" A Covenant for admission into the Church,
"You declare your firm belief of one Infinite and Eternal
God, Fiither Son and Holy Ghost, that the Sacred Scriptures
are of Divine origin, and comprehend our whole duty as it re
lates to faith and practice ; — You resolve to conform your lives
to the rules of God's word till death, — giving up yourselves to
God the Father as your portion, to God the Son as your Re
deemer, and to God the Holy Ghost as your sanctifier guide and
comforter : — You acknowledge your indispensable obligation to
serve and glorify God in a holy, sober and godly life, and prom
ise to live in obedience to him walking in all his ordinances
blameless : — You promise also by the help of God to walk with
the Church in the faith and oider of the gospel, attending the
public worship of God, the Sacrament of the New Testament,
the duties of his kingdom and all his holy institutions, so long
as you continue in the place : — you proraise to devote your off
spring to God, and to instruct thera in the principles and prac-

COMPLAINTS AGAINST MR. FULLER. 91
tice of religion ; carefully avoiding every cause of contention
and every source of sin, as becomes God's people in covenant
with him ; and this you do flying to the blood ot the everlasting
covenant for the pardon of your sins, praying that the Lord Je
sus who is the great Shepherd would prepare and strengthen
you for every good work to do his will, working in you that
which is well pleasing in his sight, to whom be glory forever and
ever. Ainen."
After the adoption of the above covenant and at the
same meeting, the first Deacons of the church were elect
ed. These were Timothy Keyes and Adonijah Howe.
It was also voted " that the sacrament be administered
once in two months ; but may be omitted at particular
times as the pastor may judge expedient." On the 10th
of April the year following, the Hon. Moses Gill pre
sented to the Church a flagon, tankard, cup and dish for
the coraraunion table, and also a baptismal basin.
Mr Fuller continued to exercise his ministerial func
tions to the general satisfaction of his parishioners for
nearly eight years, when, during the opening struggles
of the revolutionary war and amid the viojence of party
contention, he was suspected of entertaining unfavorable
views in regard to the rights and liberties of the Colo
nies. In view of the alarming state of affairs, the Gene
ral Court, at its session in 1774, were desirous to have
Gov. Gage appoint a fast. He refused to comply with
their wishes, whereupon they recommerided a day for
public fast and prayer, in imitation of their pious ances
tors, " who on all occasions of common danger and dis
tress devoutly looked to God for direction and favor."
The people of Princeton desired Mr. Fuller, in accord
ance with the recommendatiQn of the General Court, to
hold a fast, but he declined. Many took offence at this
course ; and from this period the disaffection commepced

92 COMPLAINTS AGAINST MR. FULLER.
which seemed to produce in the minds of the people an
indomitable determination to dissolve their existing con
nection. This .however was not the only complaint
brought by the people against their pastor. Many things
that had passed unnoticed for years, were construed into
grievances. The following letter, from a comraittee of
the church, contains a summary of these allegations : —
" To the Rev. Timothy Fuller.
•' Sir, We are dissatisfied with your conduct in the
pastoral office in the following particulars. 1. Your not
catechising and instructing the children more frequently.
2. Your neglect of pastoral visits and of conversation on
spiritual things. 3. An unchristian backwardness to
instruct and enlighten your flock, which we fear proceeds
from a disregard to their spiritual welfare. 4. Your
nt^ec\mg\ectuxesiohen first settled among us. 5. Your
refusing to appoint a Fast when motioned by the Gene
ral Court on account of the fearful apprehension of losing
liberties of country, through the arbitrary proceedings of
the British Parliament. 6. Your treatment of the
Church, when seeking for satisfaction in the articles of
charge. Timothy Keyes,
Stephen Brigham,
Stephen Harrington,
Ichabod Fisher,
Thos. Gleason.
Princeton, March 26, 1776."
Mr. Fuller returned an answer to this bill of charges
by letter, " which stands on record," say the church re
cords, " in the Old Church Book." This book, unfor
tunately, has been lost ; consequently the reply is not
accessible to the writer. From April, 1776, to May,

ME. fuller's REPLY. 93
1786, no record is preserved on the church book of any
transactions, " Sometime subsequent however," says
Mr. Russell in his History of Princeton, " to the trial of
the suit at Salem, which he commenced against the town
for the recovery of his salary, Mr. Fuller published a
vindication* of his conduct, in which is incorporated,
probably, the substance of his reply to the church."
With respect to the charge of toryism he says, — " What
my people believed, I am unable to determine ; but I
persuade myself they did not believe me opposed to the
measures of my country, because there was nothing in
my conduct or conversation to justify such a faith, con
sidered as a rational principle. My principles did not
forbid my offering the petitions of the people for relief;
but I readily joined with my people on all days set apart
by any Court or Congress, for public devotion, and led
them in their addresses to heaven for aid and deliver-
ance."t In regard to the chargesof neglect of lectures,
catechising, and pastoral visits, he says, — " To these I at
that time answered, that I had rarely omitted a lecture
previous to the communion, except for a period some
what exceeding a year after my settlement, when lec
tures "were not so statedly appointed as afterwards, by
reason of necessary avocations. That I had made it a
rule to catechise their children twice a year, from which
I had seldom deviated. That I had visited thera all
generally once a year ; and never neglected to- visit per-
* " This is a smaH pamphlet of twenty-three pages, entitled ' Eemarks, Sec'
nnd purports to be written in reply to some strictures upon a pamphlet published
by the Eev. Mr. Thatcher. It is without date or signature, and but few copies
probably exist. For the one in my possession I am indebted to the politeness
ofCharles Miricfc, Esq."
fThe charge of toryism, against Mr. Fuller, we have narrated in the Chap
ter on the Revolutionary War.

94 MR. fuller's REPLY.
sons in sickness, upon their offering a note for public
prayers, or upon particular application, and on such
visits had endeavored to adapt my addresses to their cir
cumstances." The charge of levity, in presiding at the
church meetings, is explained by supposing " the mode
rator laid down his head on the seat before him, shiver
ing with the cold, which the people might fondly pon-
strue into a shake of laughter." " It may be impossi
ble," somewhsd satincdWy contmues the writer, "some
times in such debates and altercations to suppress a re
luctant smile. And there may be such a concurrence of
circumstances, as to protect a man from censure, in such
a case, on any occasion whatever, except an immediate ad
dress to the Deity." Mr. Russell proceeds, " The t)--
ranny in church government, another subject of com
plaint, seems to have been charged upon Mr. Fuller in
two instances in particular; in one of which, he refused
to put a vote whereby the church would go into an im
mediate investigation of the charges, then for the first
time brought against him. On his refusal, the church
were on the point of voting in a new moderator, when he
dissolved the meeting. In the other instance, he over
ruled a motion to choose a committee to collect articles
of charge against him, remarking that if any one had
anything against him, he had full liberty to offer it, and
in due tirae, it should be laid before the church, but that
he would not be active in choosing a committee to hunt
up articles against him. In vindication of Mr. Fuller's
conduct, in this respect, I should remark that, up to this
time, the ministers clairaed the right of negativing any
vote of the church which they disliked."*
Such was the character of the charges against Mr. Fu|t
See ' History of Princeton' pp. 41, 42.

ECCLESIASTICAL COUNCIL. 95
ler, and such his reply to them. During several months,
continued but ineffectual efforts were made to secure
equitable adjustment. Meeting after meeting was held.
It was finally decided, on the part of the church and
town, to submit the determination of the whole matter
to an Ecclesiastical Council. Consequently a Council
convened March 11, 1776, at the house of Caleb Mi
rick, from the churches in Worcester, Westminster, and
the first in Shrewsbury. After the organization of said
council, notice was given to Mr. Fuller and his presence
solicited ; who, on receiving said notice, communicated
through them a letter to the town and church commit
tee, proposing a mutual Ecclesiastical Council, on the
following terms : — " 1st. To consist of nine churches,
four to be chosen by each party, the ninth mutually, and
to be selected from this county, in consequence of the
almost universal adoption in Worcester county, of the
' Bolton plan.'* 2d. Each church to be represented by
its pastor and two delegates. 3d. That all articles of
grievance be subraitted to them. 4th. That each party
be served with a copy of these articles at least fourteen
days before the sitting of the Council. 5th. That the
Council regulate their own proceedings. 6th. That the
number of persons sitting in Council frora each church
be equal. 7th. That each party choose several churches
extraordinary, out of which they may supply, if any of
the first choice should happen to fail." These proposals
were assented to on the part of the committee, with the
substitution of seven churches instead of nine. Mr. Ful
ler consented, and accordingly the committee, in con-
* Previous to the year 1776 it had been the unanimous practice of the minis
ters to negative any vote of the church which they disapproved. This right,
however, the church in Bolton disputed, and their views were finally sanc
tioned by an Ecclesiastical Council. Hence the " Bolton plan."

96 ECCLESIASTICAL COUNCIL.
nection with Mr. F., proceeded to the selection of church
es. A disagreement, however, arose between the par
ties, in choosing the " extraordinary churches," which
defeated the whole plan. Hence the former council,
with the addition of the first church in Dedham and the
church in Weston, convened on the 16th of April, and
Mr. Fuller was requested to appear before said Council,
by a letter from the Rev. Mr. Maccarty, who had been
elected moderator. This he refused to do, stating as an
objection, that he considered that they were an exparte
Council, and of consequence were devoted to the inter
ests of his opponents.
The Council then proceeded to make the following
proposition, — that they would name twelve churches,
from which each party should select Jhree, mutually con
senting to the church in Weston, (which was then pre
sent) as the seventh, which should be a council for the
final settlement of all grievances. With this, again, Mr.
Fuller refused to comply, stating as an objection, that it
'Would be, in effect, exparte, as the whole twelve from
which the mutual council was to be chosen, were selected
by the sitting council. Says Mr. Fuller in his reply to
the proposal of the council, — "If my brethren had pro
posed to choose my judges, I should not have thought it
strange, but that you, gentlemen, should propose that
they should do the same thing by proxy, is a little wonder
ful." At the same time he renewed his proposal for a
mutual council, on ibje same conditions as before men
tioned. This was declined by the council, on" account
of the embarrassments thrown'in the way" at the first at
tempt, in the selection of the " extraordinary churches."
The council now proceeded to advise Mr. Fuller to re
quest a dismission. He however declined, but waited

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE. 97
¦on them, proposing a mutual council on one of the two
following conditions : — 1st. He would " set aside six of
the churches which the brethren had chosen," the six
that remained, in connection with the seventh which
should be mutually selected, to constitute the council.
2d. "I will set aside," says Mr. Fuller, " twenty church
es, and the brethren as many more, and then we will
each choose three congregational churches, of good
standing, any where in the province, no objection on
either side; who, together with one mutually agreed
upon, shall be a mutual council."
Neither of these propositions were acceded to; and
the council on the 19th, again proceeded to advise, fi
nally, Mr. Fuller's dismission. He was accordingly dis
missed. Subsequently Mr. Fuller called an exparte
council, consisting of Rev.- Mr. Howard's church, Bos
ton, Payson's of Chelsea, Whitney's of Shirley, Adams'
of Lunenburg, and Barnard's of Salem. The result of
this was favorable to Rev. Mr. Fuller. Being dissatis
fied with the result of the first council, and also believing
it to have been illegal, Mr. Fuller commenced a suit
against the town in 1782, for the recovery of his salary
from 1775. The case was argued at Salem in Novem
ber, by Judge Parsons in behalf of the plaintiff, and
Messrs. Sullivan and Lincoln for the defendants. Mr.
Fuller, however, lost his case — a verdict being found in
favor of the town, and thus ended this unhappy and pro
tracted controversy.
The Rev. Timothy Fuller, a graduate of Cambridge
University, in 1760, was born in Middleton, in this State,
in 1738, and descended from an ancient family, who em
igrated from England to this country in 1628. After
Lis dismission from Princeton, Mr. Fuller reraoved to
9*

88 REV. DANIEL ADAMS.
Martha's Vineyard, and preached in Chilraark until the
dose of the revolutionary war. In 1782 he removed to
Middleton, his native place, and in a short time subse
quent to that period, he returned to Princeton, where he
devoted his tirae to agricultural pursuits. In 1788, he
represented the town in the convention which approved
and adopted the present Federal Constitution. In 1796,
Mr. Fuller removed to Merrimac, N. H., where he was
employed in cultivating the soil, until July, 1805, when
he died, at the age of sixty-five.*
* For the materials of the biographical sketch of Mr. Fuller, as well as of
several other clergymen, I ara indebted to the History of Princeton by Russell.

CHAPTER VII.
Unsuccessful efforts for a re-establishment of the Gospel Ministry — Settlement
of Mr. Crafts — He requests a Dismission — Letter to him — Rev. Mr. Good
rich — New Meeting House — Mr. Russell's Settlement — Dedication of
Meeting House — Mr. Russell's Dismission — Settlement of Mr. Murdock —
First General Revival of Eeligion in Town — Church Covenant — Mr. Mur-
dock's Dismission.
In the period of little more than ten years subsequent
to the disrassion of Mr. Fuller, several candidates were
heard, and thre^ unsuccessful attempts were made for
the re-establishment of the Gospel ministry.* The first
of these was on the 26th of January, 1778, when the
town " voted to concur with the church in their choice
of Mr. Daniel Adams of Medway for their Pastor," at the
same tirae offering him £400 as a settlement. At a sub
sequent meeting the inhabitants voted a salary of i£70,
* January 7, 177P, was set apart by a vote of the church and town, for humil-
ation, prayer, and supplication of the divine assistance, for the re-establish
ment of the Gospel ministry.

REV. MESSRS, LITCHFIELD AND HUBBARD. 99
to be paid him annually, so long as he should continue
in the ministry with them, as follows : One half at the
Rate of Indian Corn a.t four shillings jier bushel, and the
remainder in- cash, from the fluctuating currency of the
times. Mr. Adams declined this invitation.
In October, an invitation was given to Rev. Paul
Litchfield to settle in the place, and a settlement of
£600, with the same pecuniary encouragement as an
annual salary, which had been previously offered Mr.
Adams, was tendered to him. At a subsequent meet
ing, however, the town so far reconsidered this as to
vote, — "that there be paid to Mr. Paul Litchfield each
and every year during his continuance in the ministry
among us seventy pounds as followeth ; — twenty-three
pounds, six shillings, eight pence, at the Rate of Indian
Corn at three shillings per bushel, .£23, 6s, 8d, at the
Rate of Beef at twenty shillings per hundred ; and £23,
6s, 8d, in cash of the present currency." Mr. Litchfield
declined this invitation. It was renewed in May, 1779,
by a vote of the town, 46 to 22, with the settlement
augmented to £1200, with the same salary, only £17,
10s, however, being payable in the then currency. This
invitation he also declined.
In January, 1781, Rev. Ebenezer Hubbard was invi
ted to settle, and a settlement of .£200 lawful money, of
fered, payable " at the rate of Indian Corn at 3s, Rye
at four shillings a bushel, beef at 20 shillings per hun
dred, and pork at three-and-a-half pence per pound."
A salary also of £73, 6s, 8d, of lawful money payable
at the rates of Indian Corn, Beef and Pork, as above.*
It was also voted subsequent to this period, that thirty
* This was a necessary expedient to avoid the depreciation of the paper cur
rency of the times.

100 RET. THOMAS DRAFTS.
cords of wood annually, be added to this salary. Mr.
Hubbard however declined the invitation.
No further atterapts were made for the re-establish
ment of the Gospel ministry until January, 1786, when
Rev. Thomas Crafts received an invitation from the in
habitants to become their pastor. It was voted that " the
sura of .£200 be paid him in six months after his or
dination, as his settlement, and that the sum of i&80
be paid him as his annual salary, and that twenty cords
of wood be delivered him every Fall so long as he shall
continue our minister.'' Mr. Crafts accepted the call,
and was ordained on the 28th of June, 1786.* On this
occasion letters missive, inviting their presence by pas
tor and delegate, were sent to the fourth church in
Bridgewater, the church in Brattle-street, Boston, — in
Roxbury, Brookiine, Shrewsbury, Rutland, Holden and
Sterling, all of which were present.
Mr. Crafts continued to discharge the duties of the
* "No little display would seem to have been made on this occasion, if we may
judge from the following account, which I accidentally came across among a
mass of loose papers in the Town Clerk's office, and which speaks loud for the
multitude present or the poverty of the town. The people of Princeton would
be the last to let such an occasion pass wanting in a single one of the * good
things of this life' which usually load the groaning tables of the ordination
day." * To the Town of Princeton, to me Debtor.
For going to Hardwick, to carry Mr. Crafts — Ihe call of
the town,  09 00
Also for fetching cider, plates and dishes from Shrews
bury and carrying them back again  06 00
For going to Westminster for knives and forks, and for
a liorse to carry one of the cooks home,  07 60
For nine dozen eggs for the Council,  06 00
18 60
Princeton, June 30, 1786.' ADONIJAH HOWE.
I also find about this time —
* The Town of Princeton,  To Samuel Dadman, Dr.
For one leg of bacon 163^ lbs.,  0 13 11 2.'
which it is not unfounded conjecture to suppose, went the way of the * nine
dozen eggs for the Council.' "—Russell's Hist, of Princeton, Chop. v.

LETTER TO ME. CRAFTS. 101
ministry with fidelity, for about three years, until his
health failed. For nearly two years he was unable to
preach, when all hope of recovery, so as to be able to
carry on the work of the sacred office, being cut off, he
requested and received, a dismission frora the pastoral re
lation. That Rev. Mr. Crafts was very highly respected and
beloved by the people of his charge, is evident from the
following letter, sent him on the occasion of his dismis
sion : —
"Reverend Sir : — The Church and Congregation in
Princeton having this day, according to your request,
voted your dismission frora your Pastoral Relation sole
ly on the account of your ill state of health and little
prospect of your future usefulness in that work ; We the
Church and Congregation in this place declare that it
is with reluctance that we are constrained to part with
you under these considerations ; that it has been with
pleasure and much satisfaction that we have sat under
your ministry ; that we sincerely sympathize with you
under these (your)afflictions ; that we ardently wish Al
mighty God would take you and your family under His
Gracious Protection, and if it be his pleasure, to give
you a confirmed state of health, and make you yet use
ful in your public character, and long continue you a
blessing to the world.
"We ask an interest in your prayers, and subscribe
"Your affectionate Friends and Brethren,
Moses Gill, Moderator."
" Signed at the request of the town in town meeting
assembly. To the Rev. Mr. Thos. Crafts."

102

REV. MR. GOODRICH.

Rev. Thomas Crafts was a native of Newton, son of
Dr. John S. Crafts, who removed to Norlh-Bridgewater
when his son was quite young. The latter graduated at
Cambridge University in 1783. After his removal from
Princeton he returned to Bridgewater, in which place
and Weymouth he resided until 1802, when, having re
gained his health, he settled over a church and society
in Middleborough, where he continued his labors until
his demise, January 19, 1819, at the age of 60.
For several months after the dismission of Rev. Mr.
Crafts, the pulpit was supplied by Rev. Hezekiah Good
rich, who was subsequently settled over the church and
society in Rutland. On the 5th of December, 1791, it
was " voted unanimously that Mr. Flezekiah Goodrich's
late preaching has been acceptable to the town, and that
the committee be instructed to apply to him to preach
six Sabbaths on probation — after the term which he is
engaged has expired." Whether Mr. Goodrich com
plied with this vote we are not able to say. He how
ever received no call from the church or town to settle
over them in the ministry. No attempt was made, front
1791 until 1795, for the re^establishment of the Gospel
ministry in Princeton. '
The first Meeting House exhibiting signs of decay, the
question was discussed in Town Meeting, March 9,
1795, " shall a new raeeting-house be built." It was
the opinion of the town to build a new house. A com
mittee, consisting of Dea. Howe, William Whittaker,
Capt. Sarauel Hastings, His Honor Moses Gill, and
Lieut. A, Merriam, was appointed to draft a plan and
estimate the probable cost. Subsequently this comrait
tee reported the probable expense of said house as fol
lows : .£1039, 8s for materials, £60 for extra expenses.

NEW MEETING HOUSE. 103
.£700 for carpenters' work ; and the probable amount
which would accrue from sale of pews, and the old houSe
at £1875. The coramittee also reported the following
plan : — Dimensions, 70 by 55 feet ; to contain 75 ground
and 26 gallery Pews. Their report was accepted by the
town, whereupon a building comraittee, consisting of
Hon. Moses Gill, Capt. Samuel Hastings, Lieut. Amos
Merriam, David Brooks and William Whittaker, was
chosen. This comraittee was instructed to erect the
" New Meeting House on the ground where the old
meeting-house stands, or as nigh it as shall in the
judgment of the committee be most eligible." The
pews in said house were disposed of May 6, 1795, some
months previous to its erection.* The whole amount of
receipts frora the sale of the same was £1728, 3s, Id,
and the whole cost of said house (exclusive of the bell,
which was purchased some years subsequent for #470,
and the painting, for which $320 was paid afterwards,)
£2273, 3s, Id, consequently there was a deficiency of
£545, id, which was raised at a subsequent period by
a general tax.
Previous to the erection of this house, the Rev. Jo
seph Russell received an invitation from the church and
town to settle over them as a pastor. December 7,
1795, the town voted unanimously to concur with the
church in their " invitation'' made on the 20th of Nov.
to Mr. Russell. At the same time it was " voted that
the usual mode of giving a settlement be dispensed with,
and that the sum of four hundred thirty-three dollars
and one third of a dollar be paid him yearly during his
continuance in the ministry." It was also voted, on the
* Michsl Gill, Esq., paid £36 for No. 66 Few in said house, which was the
highest sum obtained for any one.

104 MR. Russell's settlement.
8th of February, 1796, to "furnish Mr. Russell with
twenty-five cords of good merchantable wood annually,
delivered to him at his dwelling-house, so long as he
shall continue our minister and the price of staple com
modities remain as they now are ; but when the capital
articles of consumption shall revert back to their former
standard, that is to say, when the price of beef shall be
reduced from thirty-six to twenty-four shillings per hun
dred ; Pork from six to four pence per pound ; Rye
from six to four-shillings per bushel ; Indian Corn from
four-and-six-pence to three shillings per bushel ; the
whole expense of the wood, be it more or less, shall be
deducted from the salary already voted by the town, and
so in a less proportion as the price of those commodities
shall gradually decrease."
Mr. Russell having accepted the invitation, March ]6,
1796, was fixed for his ordination, and a committee
charged with the proper preparations. The time ap
pointed for the ceremony having arrived, the Rev. Dr.
Morse, of Charlestown, introduced the solemnities with
prayer; Rev, Mr, Backus of Somers, delivered a sermon
from Matthew, xvi, 26, "For what is a man profited,
if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ?
or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" —
Rev. Dr. Thacher, of Boston, made the ordaining pray
er ; Rev. Mr. Jackson, of Brookiine, gave the charge ;
Rev. Mr. Hubbard, of Sterling, bestowed the right hand
of fellowship ; Rev. Dr. Sumner, of Shrewsbury, offers
ed the concluding prayer ; and the exercises were closed
with an Anthem.*
* " Voted that the committee to provide for the ordaining counsel keep the
crockery ware, knives and forks, &c., until the new meeting house is raised,
then to dispose of them and pay the money into the town treasury." Tovrr^
Records, Vol. 2.

call to MR. MURDOCK. 105
The church and society continued to worship in the
old meeting house until April, 1797, when, the new house
being completed, it was dedicated. An appropriate dis
course was preached by the pastor on the occasion.
About the sarae time, the Hon. Moses Gill presented to
the church, a flagon, tankard, two pewter and two sil
ver cups, for the communion table. It was also voted
to " introduce Dr. Watts' Psalms and Hymns" as a sub
stitute for the Psalms before used. Mr. Ebenezer, Par
ker was, on the 28th of November, 1800, elected to the
office of Deacon, vice Deacon Howe, deceased.
Mr. Russell continued to perform the duties of his
office, to the general acceptance of his people, until Sep
tember 12, 1801, when he requested a dismission, alleg
ing as a reason, that he' was unable, on the account of
the precarious state of his health, to apply himself to
study with that assiduity, which his engagements indis
pensably required. After some unwillingness and delay
on the part of the town to grant the request of their pas
tor, he was finally dismissed.
A short time subsequent to his dismission from Prince
ton, Mr. Russell removed to Troy, and has since been
engaged in mercantile pursuits.
The Rev. James Murdock, was engaged to preach to
the church and society in Princeton after the dismission
of Mr. Russell; and on the 18th of March, 1802 the
church unanimously requested his permanent settlement
as their pastor. The concurrence of the town was given
to this call on the 5th of April following, with only a
single dissenting voice. The stated salary was $366,
67, the improvement of a farm previously purchased by
the town as a parsonage,* and twenty cords of wood an-
* The present residence and farm of IMr. David H. Gregory.
10

106 ORDINATION OF REV. MR. MURDOCK.
nually. To this invitation Mr. Murdock returned an af
firmative answer.
The ordination services took place June 23d, 1802.
The introductory prayer was offered by Rev. Hezekiah
Goodrich of Rutland ; sermon by Rev. Jonathan Mur
dock of Bozrah, Conn., from 1 Peter, i : xvii, — " Which
things the angels desire to look into'' ; ordaining prayer
by Rev. Joseph Sumner, D. D., of Shrewsbury ; the
charge by Rev. Asaph Rice of Westminster ; the right
hand of fellowship by Rev. Joseph Avery of Holden;
and the concluding prayer by Rev. Reuben Holccmb, of
Sterling., The Rev. William Nash of Boylston with the
church under his charge, were also present on this occa
sion. During Mr. Murdock's ministry in Princeton, the
church was greatly strengthened by accessions to its
numbers and graces ; especially in the year 1810, when,
through the blessing of God on his preaching, a revival
of religion was experienced among the people, and near
ly fifty were made subjects of converting grace. Of that
number several are still living, who remember the pe
riod with joyful emotions. This was the first general re
vival after the settlement of the town.
As a substitute for the old church covenant, the follow
ing articles of faith and covenant were, after due delib
eration, adopted by the church' with great unanimity,*
Nov. 1, 1810.
1. " You believe that there is one God, the creator and propri
etor of all worlds, a being of infinite power, wisdom', justice,
*" Those who voted in the negative" say the church records, •* declared,
that they fully approved bolh the Articles and Confession, except that they
could not see fit to require any acknowledgements of particular sins, as in the
parenthesis in the first section of the Covenant, though they wore willing that
all candidates for admission who felt disposed should mali;e, such acknowledge.
ments."

CHURCH COVENANT. 107

goodness and truth ; the self-existent, independent and un
changeable fountain of all good.
" 2. You believe that the scriptures of the Old and New Tes
tament were written by inspiration of God ; and that they con
tain a complete and harmonious system of religious truths and
precepts, by which we ought to form our doctrinal belief, and
regulate our religious practice.
3. " You believe, according to the scriptures, that in the unity
of the Godhead there exists a trinity of persons, Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost; and thesfl three persons are one in essence,
and equal-in all divine attributes.
4. " You believe that God hath made all things for himself ;
that he exercises a particular providence over all worlds, and
regulates and governs all things, according to the holy and un
changeable counsels of his own wisdom and goodness.
5. " You believe that the law of God, the principles and whole
administration of the divine government, are perfectly holy, just
and good.
6. " You believe that our first parents were originally holy and
happy in the enjoyment of God's favor, till by voluntarily trans-
^essing in the garden, they fell from their original state, lost
the image and favor of God, and became proper subjects of
everlasting condemnation.
7. " You believe that the apostacy of our first parents in
volved all their offspring in its dreadfiil consequences, so that
till renewed by the power of God, all the sons and daughters of
Adam are dead in trespasses and sins — have carnal minda,
which are at emnity against God — and do live in the habitual
violation of all his commands ; for which reason they are proper
subjects of everlasting condemnation.
8. " You believe that God, out of his mere good pleasure, and
to manifest the riches of his mercy, has devised a plan of re
demption ; that in fulfilment of this gracious plan, the Son of
God became incarnate, lived a life of holy obedience on eaith,
suffered and died on the cross, (as is stated in the scriptures) and
thus made infinite atonement for sin, and laid a foundation for
the free pardon and complete salvation of every penitent believer
in bim.
9. " You believe that all who hear the gospel are invited to
come and share in the salvation which is by Jesus Christ, and
that whosoever will, may come and take of this water of life
freely ; yet such is the perversity and opposition of the carnal
heart to God and to the gospel, that none will come to Christ,
till the Father, by the special regenerating influence of his Ho
ly Spirit, draw them.
10. " You believe that those who embrace the gospel were

108 CHURCH COVENANT.
chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, unto salva
tion through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth ;
and that the Holy Spirit, the third person in the trinity, whose
office it is, does regenerate and afterwards dwell in all the heirs
of salvation, working in them both to will and to do, according
to the good pleasure of God.
11. " You believe that there is no condemnation to them who
have believed in Christ Jesus ; but notwithstanding their weak
ness and inability of themselves to stand, they are kept by the
mighty power of God, through faith, unto salvation.
12. " You believe that Christ has a visible church on earth,
into which all his real disciples and they only, ought to be ad
mitted ; that the members of a particular church are required to
watch over, counsel and assist each other as brethren ; and that
if any walk disorderly and will not be reclaimed, they ought to
be cut off from the church.
13. " You believe that the Sacraments of the New Testament
are Baptism and the Lord's Supper ; that believers of regular
church standing only, consistently partake of the sacred Sup
per ; and that believers, together with their households, and they
only, can be consistently admitted to the ordinance of Baptism.
14. " You believe that at the second coming of Christ there
will be a general resurrection of the bodies both of the just and
of the unjust; that the whole human race will then stand be
fore the judgment-seat of Christ, to receive sentence according
to the deeds done in the body ; and that from the judgment-
seat the wicked will go away into everlasting punishment, but
the righteous into life eternal.
" Do you without reserve, avow this to he your real belief f
The following covenant was subscribed :
'' You, in obedience to the gracious invitations of the gospel,
do now, with religious fear, approach the living God, in tlie
name of Jesus Christ, to take upon you his everlasting Covenant.
And in the first place, you come and lay yourself at the feet of
God, as a guilty rebel, begging for mercy. Before God, angels,
and men, you confess with grief and self abasement that you
were conceived in sin, and shapen in iniquity ; that you have
been an enemy to God and to his holy government, and have
abused his long suffering, and slighted his gracious offers of
pardon and eternal life. You come before him, from your very
soul ashamed of yourself. You blush and are ashamed to lift up
your face unto God, yea, even confounded at the remembrance
of your innumerable sins and immense criminality. Particular
ly you come moumingforyour open and scandalous violations

13HDRCH COVENANT. 109
of the 1st 2d 3d &c., commandments, or for your (here mention
1st Atheism, infidelity, opposition to the cross of Christ. 3d.
Neglect or profanation of God's worship and ordinances. 3d.
Piofanity, and irreverence for things sacred. 4th. Profanation
and violation of the Sabbath. 5th. Disobedience to parents,
disrespect aad undutiful carriage towards superiors, pride, and
overbearing or unkind behavior towards inferiors. 6th. Indul-
g'ence of angry, malicious, revengeful passions, or of a quarrel-
same, contentious, unmerciful and unforgiving temper. 7th.
Unchaste, filthy conversation and behaviour, whoredom, adulte
ry, revilings, drunkenness. 8th. Theft, robbery, extortion,
cheating, oppressions of the poor, the widow or fatherless ; dis
honesty, prodigality. 9th. Perjury, lying, backbiting, talebear
ing. iOth. Covetousness, envy, avarice, selfishness; or any
other sin which may be thought proper.) And you do now, as
you humbly hope and trust, with unfeigned sorrow, approach the
heart searching God, and cast yourself down before the throne as
a guilty helpless sinner, supplicating for pardon and eternal life
through tbe atoning blood of the Lamb. And you moreover call
Heaven and Earth to witness, that you this day avouch the Lord
Jehovah, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, to be your God and por
tion, and give up yourself, soul and body, to him in everlasting
covenant; that ycu consecrate all your powers and faculties, and
all your worldly possessions, to his service and glory ; and sol
emnly promise, in dependence on divine grace and assistance,
(without which you can do nothing) that henceforth, renouncing
all other Lords and forsaking every sinful way, you will love and
serve and cleave to the Lord your God, as your chief good and
your everlasting portion ; that you will walk humbly and peni
tently before him, in all tilings seeking the honor of his name
and the interest of his kingdom; that you will submit yourself
unreservedly to his government.' and labor to keep all his holy
commandments ; that yoa will daily seek commnnion with hira
in private, and will regularly attend family and public worship,
and all divine ordinances, so far as you shall have opportunity;
that you will give diligent heed to tbe suggestions and influ
ences of his Holy Spirit, and study not to grieve that blessed
Comforter to depart from you ; that yoa will continually look
unto Jesus Christ as your example, your Lord, your strength and^
your Redeemer ; and that denying all ungodliness and every
worldly lust, you will henceforth make it your great and con
stant care to live soberly, righteoasly and godly in this present
evil world, till it shall please God, in his infinite mercy to take
you to himself. And you do here publicly before God, and with
a desire to serve him, join yourself to this as a true church. You
promise to walk with this church in the faith and order of the

110 MR. murdock's dismission.
gospel, engaging, unreservedly, to submit yourself to its disci
pline, so far as conformable to the rules of the gospel. You
promise to attend all the ordinances of the gospel, and tbe sac
raments of tbe New Testament with us ; and to strive as much
as in you lies to promote the peace, the edification and the pu
rity of this church, to which you now make these solera covenant
engagements." Dr. Murdock continued minister of the town for twelve
years. The connection of pastor and parish had been
one of uninterrupted harmony. The intimation of his
intention to remove, upon being appointed Professor of
the Learned Languages in the University of Vermont, at
Burlington, was received with regret that circumstances
had led to this result. The church, however, unani
mously complied with the following request of their pas
tor : —
" My beloved brethren — The University of Vermont
having elected me to the office of Professor of the Learned
Languages in their College at Burlington; and the sala
ry which the town has been pleased to afford me having
become quite inadequate to the support of my family, I
ura induced to request that you would unite with the
town and myself in calling a mutual ecclesiastical Coun
cil to which we may refer the very interesting question
of my dismission, and which shall have power to dissolve
the connexion between us if they shall judge a separa
tion lo be expedient and proper.
" I am Dear Brethren,
Your affectionate friend and Pastor.
JAMES MURDOCK.
Princeton, Oct. 2d, 1815."
The town having declined to unite with the church
and pastor Mr. Murdock solicited the church to unite
with him in calling a council according to one of the

Ill

stipulations made at his settlement. With this request
the church complied, one only declining to vote. Con
sequently the council convened at the house of the Rev.
Mr. Murdock Oct. 11, 1815, and, after considering the
reason offered in the above coraraunication which relates
to salary, decided that this was not a sufficient reason
why a dissolution should take place — as the town in all
probability would increase their pastor's salary if applied
to. "But in consideration of the vast importance,"
says the Result of Council, " of those institutions in
which young men are educated for the ministry and for
all the higher offices in society, the uniform practice in
New England since its settlement to dismiss Pastors to
fill the office of President and Professors in our Colleges,
when called to it, the great want of ministers at the pre
sent day, the deep interest which the Church in particu
lar must feel in the infant University of Vermont, the pe
culiar and eminent qualifications of the Rev. Mr. Mur
dock for the office to which he is elected, and the pros
pect of his being more extensively useful by a reraoval,
we do think he is called in the providence of God to leave
the people to whom he is justly so dear ; we do there
fore judge it expedient that he be dismissed from his pas
toral relations to this church and he is hereby dismissed.
While we sympathise with this Churph and People under
the removal of a Pastor they so highly esteem, we are
no less happy in being able to express our unqualified ap
probation of the conduct of the church on this tender
subject. The respect and kindness which both the
Church and People have shown to their minister, and the
pleasing union and harmony, which subsist among them,
excite a pleasing hope and confident expectation, that
they will make speedy and successful exertions for the

112 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE.
re-settlement of the gospel ministry, and know from long
and happy experience how good and how pleasant it is
for brethren to dwell together in unity. We affection
ately commend this Church and people and their late
Pastor with his family to the mercy and grace of God
and devoutly implore for them the benediction of
Heaven." In complying with the "Result" of the Ecclesiastical
Council which dissolved the connection of their Pastor,
the church and town strongly expressed affection for his
person, respect for his character, and gratitude for his
services. The Rev. James Murdock, D. D., was born at Say-
brook, Conn., Feb. 16, 1776. He graduated at Yale
College, 1797. During the three or four years follow
ing he was engaged as a preceptor, " first in the public
grammar-school at New Haven, and afterward in Hamil
ton Oneida Academy." After leaving his official station
in Princeton, he entered immediately on his new sphere
of duty in the University of Vermont. In 1819 he was
elected to the Brown Professorship of Sacred Rhetoric
and Ecclesiastical History in the Theological Seminary
at Andover, where he remained until October, 1828,
when he removed to New Haven, where he has since re
sided, devoting himsplf to the pursuit of ecclesiastical
history.* * Some of the publications of Dr. Murdock, are the following ; 3 . Sermon
on the nature of the Atonement, delivered at Andover, 1823. 2. Elements of
Dogmatic History, translated from the German of Professor Wm. Muenschcr
of Marpurg, 1 vol. 12 mo.. New Haven, 1830. 3. Translation of Dr. Moschiin's
Institute of Ecclesiastical History, 3 vols. 6 vo, New Haven, 1832.

ATTEMPTS TO SETTLE MR. CLARKE. 113

CHAPTER VIII.
Religious Divisions — Attempt to settle Rev. Mr. Clarke — Remonstrance of the
Church — Church has a right to choose its own Pastor — Mr. Clarke's Re
ply to Call — Second effort of the Town to settle Mr. Clarke — His Reply —
Petition circulated through theTowi— Call of Mutual Council — Its Re
sult — Protest of the Minority — Mr. Clarke's Covenant — Third Call of the
Town to Mr. Clarke — His Reply and Settlement.
After the dismission of Rev. Dr. Murdock, but a short
time elapsed, before the comraittee of the Town, appoint
ed to supply the pulpit, invited Rev. Sarauel Clarke to
preach as a candidate for settlement. From that period,
differences of opinion on religious doctrine, comraenced
development, which, in their progress, produced division
in the parent parish, and extended their distracting influ
ence over civil, municipal, social, and private affairs.
It was soon ascertained that Mr. Clarke preached a dif
ferent doctrine from his predecessor, and from that pro
fessed by the church ; yet it appears that it was congenial
with the sentiments and feelings of a majority of the
citizens, but not of the church.
A meeting was convened on the 25th of June, 1816,
when, in accordance with an article inserted in the war
rant, the committee* to supply the pulpit were instructed,
48 to 44, " to request Mr. Samuel Clarke to return and
preach farther with them in order for a settlement." At
the request of Mr. Clarke's friends, a meeting of the
inhabitants was warned to be held on the 26th of August
following, to give him a call to settle with them in the
work of the ministry, when the vote stood — for the can-
* We have been credibly informed (hat it was stated in open town meeting
by one of the leading friends of Mr. Clarke, that it was their design, in select
ing a committee to supply the pulpit, to elect such as they knew would not
employ a CalrinisL

] 14 ATTEMPTS TO SETTLE MR. CLARKE.
didate 102, against 44. At the same time, a comraittee*
was also appointed to request the Deacons of the church
to call a church raeeting, to see if they would concur in
this invitation. Accordingly the church, as a distinct
body, respectable in point of numbers,t met on the 2d
of September, and by a large majority, 19 to 8, refused
to unite in this call to Mr. Clarke.
The town, not satisfied with the action of the church,
subsequently made the second ineffectual attempt to pro
cure their concurrence, when the vote stood — for con
currence 8, against 21. From this time, it appears that
the town resolved to proceed independent of the church,
and, disregarding their rights and privileges, to impose
upon the.Tn a pastor whose sentiments they greatly disap
proved and whose ministry they could never conscientious
ly attend. Accordingly, they communicated their inten
tions to Mr. Clarke, requesting him to settle with them
in the gospel ministry, and at the same time proposing
to give him an annual salary of $600. The church, on
the other hand, forwarded the following strong, but re
spectful remonstrance to Mr. Clarke, against his accept
ing the call of the town :
" To Mri Samuel Clarke, candidate Jor the Gospel Ministry.
" Dear Sir : — Tbe Church of Christ in Princeton, being appri
sed of the call you have received from the town of Princ^on to
settle with them in the work of the gospel ministry, take the
liberty to address you on the subject, to which we invite your
serious and candid attention. However much we may need a
minister of the gospel to reside among us ; and however desirous
we may be to obtain one who shall preach to us and to our
children the unsearchable riches of Christ, yet we cannot con
sent to receive one under such circumstances and with such
prospects as are now presented to our view. We are brought
to this conclusion not through disaffection to your person, nor
* Abijah Harrington. \ Thirty-four mal* members.

REMONSTRANCE OP CHURCH. IIS

any deficiency in your abilities, or any fault we find in your
moral character ; but especially for the following reasons, which
are with us of primary consideration, and which we presume
you cannot view with indifference. We present them to you
distinctly. The flrst is, because we cannot consent to give up
our rights and privileges, and sanction the irregularity of receiv
ing a minister in whose call and settlement we have not a prima
ry and distinct choice.
" We understand it to have been the invariable custom of
the New-England churches, in their earlier and better days,
and wliich has not till of late been disregarded, in the fi.st place
to make choice of their own minister, and then to invite the
town or parish to concur in their election and call, and to aid
in the settlement. This is the practice to which we have ever
been accustomed, and which we view as our natural, inherent
right, founded in reason and the sacred principles of Christianity,
and which we are, at present by no means prepared to surrender.
We hold it as an unquestionable truth, that every church of
Christ has an inalienable rigbt to choose its own pastor and
teacher; and that the exercise of this right is conducive to tbe
prosperity of religion and the welfare of civil society, while the
denial or suspension of it is of the most inauspicious tendency.
We cannot therefore view with indifference the introduction of
a different practice among our churcehs, nor without the deep
est concern the attempt to introduce it in this place, by the
circumstances of the call with which you have been presented.
"Tbe other reason why we cannot consent to receive you as
our minister, is because we are not satisfied with the doctrines
which you have preached and which it is presumed you will
continue to preach, should you be settled here. However cor
rect you may view yourself, and however many good things
you may say, yet we are constrained to think that your scheme
of doctrine is not fundamentally that which is revealed in the
Holy Scriptures. Without any impeachment of your honesty
we must view tho gospel which you preach to be radically a
different thing from that preached by Christ and his apostles,
and which the primitive and reformed churches received. It is
with no small concern we have viewed the attempt recently
made incur own country to alter and mutilate the sacred rec
ords of our faith ; to lower down the character of our divine
and adorable Saviour to that of a mere man or of a mere crea
ture; and to subvert the foundation of our heavenly hope?, laid
in the sacrifice of atonement offered on the cross. We wish
not to have a scheme of religion, of whi;h these are some of
the leading principles, preached in this place. However many
apparently good things may be mixed with it, we are fully per-

116 REMONSTRANCE OF CHURCH.
Euaded that it will not conduce to our own edification, to the
good of our children, nor to the spiritaal welfare of the people
in this town.
" For these reasons, sir, we are constrained to dissent firom the
call you have received from the Town, and respectfully to re
monstrate against your settlement in this place in the character
of a gospel minister. We hope you will take these things into
serious and prayerful consideration, and act, in the view of
them, as wisdom and prudence may direct. We entertain a
good degree of confidence that you will not, by an acceptance
of the call, sanction the irregularity under which it has been
obtained and presented, and thus aid in depriving us of our
rights, and in breaking down the walls which separate the
church of Christ from the world; and that you will not suffer
yourself to be obtruded upon us not only without, but against
our consent. Should you be settled here under existing cir
cumstances, you must it seems, be sensible of the critical sit
uation in which you will be placed, and be destitute of that
prospect of harmony and usefulness which ought to have a
weighty and governing influence with those who engage in
the arduous and highly responsible work of the gospel ministry.
Our hope and request is, that you will speedily negative tlie
call you have received from the town of Princeton."
Such were the objections presented to Mr. Clarke by
a very large majority of the church. Of the validity of
the first, it is due to that majority to state that the set
tlers of New England adopted the congregational sys
tem as their ecclesiastical constitution, and early intro
duced the " Cambridge Platform." In that Platform
the following declarations are found : " Officers are to
be called by such churches whereunto they are to minis
ter. Of such raoment is the preservation of this power,
that the churches exercised it in the presence of the
apostles. The power granted by Christ unto the body
of the church and brotherhood, is a prerogative or priv
ilege which the church does exercise, in choosing their
own officers, whether elders or deacons."* Cotton Ma
ther who wrote the early ecclesiastical history of the
* Chap. viiL Sec. 5, and Chap. i. Sec. 5.

RIGHT TO CHOOSE PASTORS. 117
congregationalists, quotes the following conclusions ex
pressive of the sentiments of an Assembly of Congre
gational ministers who were convened at Cambridge, in
the early days of our country . "A body of Christians
associated for all the ordinances of the gospel, are a
church of our glorious Lord which have among other
precious privileges, a right from Him to choose their own
pastors. The churches which have recovered this right
from the oppression of man, under which many churches
of the reformation are to this day groaning, ought to keep
the precepts and the favors of the Lord, and not easily part
with what he has given them. To introduce a practice
in the choice of a pastor which being followed, may soon
bring a pastor to be chosen for a church, which few yea
wojteofthe church have voted for, would be to betray and
even destroy a most valuable right that such a society has
a claim unto; and many evil consequences are to be ex
pected from it." To these quotations Mr. Mather adds,
this pertinent remark, — " 'Tis very certain, that the
right of a church to choose its own pastor was recognized
and exercised in all the times of primitive Christianity ;
yea 'twas one of the last things that the man of sin
ravished from the people of God. The taking away of
this privilege from the people, is by Calvin justly called
impia spoliatio, a spoil impiously committed on the
church of God."*
We add one extract more from the Result of an Ec«
clesiastical Council at Sandwich, relative to the usages
of the early New-England Churches ; — '' It is a truth of
sufficient importance to be repeated, and too clear to be
contested, that the church is a distinct body, independent
of the parish for its existence and for the exercise of its
Ratio Discipline, pp. 16, 17, 26.
11

118 RIGHT OP THE CHURCH.
rights. Churches are of divine institution, and subject
to the laws of Christ ; parishes are of human establish
ment, and subject to human laws. Among the inherent
and essential rights of a church, the right of electing its
own pastor is one of the last to be surrendered. By the
same divine authority by which churches are instituted,
it is ordained that they should have pastors. The sa
cred pastoral office is not of man, but of God. There is
evidence most authentic and abundant, that in the primi
tive times, the right of churches to elect their own pas
tors was universally exercised and held most saered ;
and as emphatically said by one of the fathers of New-
England, ' it was one of the last things that the Man of
Sin, ravished frora the people of God.' This right is
distinctly asserted by tbe Platform of our churches,
which for a long course of years has had the sanction of
our legislative and judicial authorities; and from the
earliest periods of our history it has been exercised
throughout New-England, with very few exceptions and
very little interruption."*
It is true that the usages of the church varied some
what at different periods. Under the Colonial govern
ment the election of a gospel minister was exclusively
with the church, and none, but members were permitted
to exercise " the right of suffrage in any important con
cern." Under the Provincial government, the congre->
gation were admitted to a concurrent vote in the settle
ment of a minister, — the right of the church to proceed
and elect their own pastor being preserved inviolate.
Under the constitution and laws of the commonwealth of
Massachusetts, the rights of the town or congregation
were enlarged and those of the church somewhat im-i
* Panoplist, vo!, iiii. pp. 277,278.

MR. Clarke's reply. 119
oaired ; but still the right of the church to elecl its own
linister was not taken away. " The mode of settling
ministers," said the venerable Judge Sedgwick, " has
continued in every respect the same, since the establish
ment of the constitution as it was before." The law
indeed gave a town or parish a civil right to elect their
own minister; but when chosen, he was a mere civil
officer or teacher, and not a minister of the gospel.
Concerning the second objection in the remonstrance
.if the church to the settlement of Mr. Clarke, we need
not remark. The fact that he preached a doctrine, es-
'cntially differing frora that which, in their view, was
revealed in the Holy Scriptures, was sufficient toauthor-
ze thera in their refusal to receive him as their pastor.*
As might be expected from a candidate, for the im
portant work of the gospel ministi^, on receiving such a
remonstrance from the church, Mr. Clarke negatived the
call of the town, on the 30th of September. The follow
ing is an extract frora his letter declining said invitation ;
— " The first reason I have to offer for not coraplying
with your invitation is that there appears to be that
want of unaniraity and harmony in your proceedings
which are desirable and necessary in the settlement of a
minister, I do not feel willing to settle under so great
an opposition when corapared with the number in my
favor. Hat! I any reason to suppose that in case I should
settle with you, most ofthose who are now opposed to
me would attend upon my religious instructions, treat
me with friendship and christian love and strive to pro
raote the union and welfare of the Town, this objection
* By a vote of the church Thursday, the 20th day of December was set apart
as a day of public fasting and prayer. Rev. E. Brackwood of Westborough
preached on the occasion.

120 MB. Clarke's reply.
would be done away ; but from conversation I had with
some of them, before leaving Princeton and from a re
monstrance which has been handed to me from the
church, I have reason to suppose that most ofthose who
are opposed are determined not to receive me as minis
ter of the the town or Pastor of the church, and conse
quently ray life would be rendered unhappy, my useful
ness be diminished and the peace of the town in a great
measure destroyed. This reason, therefore, has with
me considerable weight. Another reason for my not
complying with your invitation is because there are so
many who appear to be indifferent towards me, who do
not vote at all. I have understood that there are more
than two hundred voters in town. It appears that only
one hundred and forty-seven have voted in this case,
forty-four of whom are opposed; so that not more than
one half of the town are really my friends. I have always
considered that those who did not vote should be counted
on the side of opposition. It was my request and con
stant prayer while I was with you, and it was my hope,
that every person would act either for or against me, so
that I should be left in no doubt respectingthe minds of all;
and could I now be satisfied that,as some have suggested,
those who did not vote are my friends and really wish
to have me for their minister, ray first objection would
in a great measure cease ; but so long as so many are
opposed and so many indifferent I shall feel unwilling to
settle with you. But my principal objection against
complying with your invitation is that I conceive the en
couragement you offer rae is not sufficient. From what
I can learn respecting the expenses of living the salary
you offer me without any ssettlement or any - perquisites,
is not sufficient to support a minister and raise him above

SECOND CALL AND REPLY.

121

pecuniary embarrassment. Should I ever be settled I
shall wish for a competency and nothing more ; so that
I may be enabled to pursue my studies and attend to my
parish duties with profit to myself and people, which
cannot be done by those who are obliged to attend to
other employments besides their profession in order to
live above erabarrassment. I have thus stated my rea
sons to you fairly and candidly, and they are of such
weight with me that I have felt it my duty to answer
your call in the negative."*
The friends of Mr. Clarke, not satisfied with what had
transpired, a town meeting was warned, to be held on
the 14th day of October, to take into consideration his
reply. At this meeting a committee was chosen, " to
see what further encouragement it would be proper to
offer Mr. Clarke as an inducement to settle in the work
of the ministry." This comraittee reported in addition
to the before stated salary the sum of four hundred dol
lars as a " settlement." A t the adjournment, on the 16th
of the same month, after a protracted debate, the report
was accepted, and the call renewed, when the vote
stood — yeas 66, nays 59.
Mr. Clarke finding the opposition inflexible, answered
the town negatively a second time, on the 10th of No
vember. We subjoin an extract from his second reply.
" For this renewed mark of your respect and attach
ment be assured I feel the highest gratitude. But my
friends I cannot express to you the anxiety I have expe
rienced since you renewed your invitation. It having
been represented to rae by many that should I settle
with you, those who did not vote either for or against
me, would undoubtedly unite under my instructions, and
* Town Records.
u*

122 PETITION CIRCULATED.
that most if not all the opposition would cease, I felt it
my duty both to you and myself to return into town and
satisfy myself on the subject. I have therefore taken
such measures for the purpose, as wisdom and prudence
appeared to dictate, and have obtained sufficient knowl
edge of the state of the town as to enable me to come to
a result. Be assured that this result has not been a hasty
one. In the presence of God lean say that duty and
conscience have dictated it. I have again concluded to
answer you in the negative. I have been brought to this
conclusion from the conviction that I can neither be
useful or happy as your minister. If the word ofthose
who profess to be Christians can be relied on, I ara con
vinced that the greater part of those who are opposed to
me are deterrained not to unite in my settlement or at
tend on ray religious instructions. I am satisfied too
that the greater part of those who have not voted, al
though they cannot be said to be opposed, are yet indif
ferent ; that they cannot be considered as my real friends
and would for choice rather not have me for their teacher.
I am satisfied also that some who are my real friends wish
me not to stay under the present gloomy prospects."*
On the termination of the second attempt, it seems
that Mr. Clarke's friends were still dissatisfied. A
person was appointed to circulate a petition throughout
the town for another meeting, to see if the town would
renew their invitation. One hundred and five signatures
were obtained. We subjoin the conclusion of this peti
tion, — " Fearing the most alarming consequences if we
do not succeed in inviting and encouraging him to settle
with us in the Christian ministry, we do earnestly en
treat you, once more, as soon as may be, to call a town
* Town Records.

CALL OF COUNCIL. 123
meeting, to see if the town will renew their invitation to
Mr. Sarauel Clarke, to become their Christian minister."
The petition was addressed to the selectraen, and con
sequently a meeting was warned, which convened on
the llth of February, 1817. A renewal of the invitation
with a request for concurrence on the part of the church,
resulted — yeas 81, nays 44; but no further pecuniary
encouragement was offered to the candidate. The
church, however, by a vote of twenty to six refused con
currence, and at the same tirae requested the town to
dismiss the idea of settling Mr. Clarke, and to give di
rections to their committee to engage some other can
didate, in whom it was possible they might all be united
and live in harmony.
To these solicitations of the church, the town in turn
refused to give heed ; hut at the adjournment of their
meeting, on the 21st of February, they voted to refer
their troubles to an Ecclesiastical Council. With this
vote the church concurred, doutless in hope of obtaining
relief. Letters missive, in the name of the church and
town, were accordingly addressed to the church m Wor
cester under the charge of Rev. Dr. Bancroft, the church
in Shrewsbury under the charge of Rev. Dr. Sumnet,
that in Lancaster under the charge of Rev. Nathaniel
Thayer, that in Rindge, N. H. under the charge ofDr.
Payson, and that in Millbury under the charge of Rev.
Joseph Goffe, — each of which were represented by their
pastor and delegate. The Council asserabled at Prince
ton, March 6, 1817, and after taking into consideration
various communications from the coraraittees of the
church and town relating to the business on which they
were asserabled, came to the following conclusion : —
" That by reason of existing difficulties in this church

124 ECCLESIASTICAL COUNCIL.
and town ; and as there is opened by Providence a pros
pect of the re-settleraent of the Christian ministry, if a
spirit of mutual condescension and forbearance is in ex
ercise ; this Council do, after due deliberation, and iu the
persuasion that it will be more conducive to the restora
tion of union than any other means they can devise, of
fer for the consideration of this church the following ad
vice : That on the seventeenth day of the present month,
the brethren of this church be regularly notified to as
semble in church meeting; that when assembled, the
the original covenant* of this church, a copy of which
accompanies the result of this council, and in which an
alteration will be found, toconform it to the language of
scripture, be submitted to their consideration. We as
sure the merabers who shall adopt this covenant that we
will recognize thera as the church of Chrish in Prince
ton. After taking this step, we recommend to them
as soon as may be, to submit to their body the question
of concurrence with the town in the election, of Mr.
Samuel Clarke, to be their minister. In case they shall
concur, and he shall accept their invitation, we recom
mend that a joint comraittee of the church and town be
authorized to issue letters missive for the purpose of in
viting an ordaining council to consummate the proposed
union." Only six of the ten individuals comprising the mutual
council supported the " result," while the remaining
four entered the following " Protest" to the proceedings:
"We the undersigned, members of the aforesaid coun
cil, materially differing in our views and convictions
from the above Result, and believing the same repug-
* A new church covenant was substituted during the ministry of Rev. Dr.
Mutdock, fur the oM covenant, as narrated in a previous chapter.

PROTEST OF THE MINORITY. 125
nant to what duty requires, feel ourselves bound in the
fear of God, to enter our soleran Protest against said
Result, for the following reason, viz :
" 1. Because it recoraraends an unnecessary and un
authorized subversion of the confession of faith and
form of covenant adopted by this church in circumstan
ces peculiarly solemn,* and which appear to us happily
calculated to maintain the purity of the church in faith
and practice.
" 2. Because said Result appears to us inconsistent
with the character given by inspiration of the church
as a pillar and ground of the truth ; and as an unwar
rantable attack on the rights and usages of the New
England churches, which have been unifiirmly recog
nized from the infancy of the country to the present day.
"3. Because said Result exhibits an alarming stretch
of ecclesiastical power, which threatens the liberties and
privileges, and even existence of Congregational church
es, by depriving them of the right of choosing their
own pastors, breaking down their sacred enclosures, and
subjecting thera to the unenlightened guidance of the
world. "4. Because, in our view, said Result tends to perpet
uate and increase unhappy divisions which exist in this
church and society, and which might probably be heal
ed by such temperate raeasures as wisdom and duty ap
pear to dictate.
" With these views and impressions, we would fondly
cherish the hope, that the good sense of the town of
Princeton will lead them to make a solemn pause, before
they adopt and pursue a course so apparently fraught
with evils to themselves and their children after them ;
* in time of a special revival of religion in Princeton i" 1810.

126 PROTEST OF THE MINORITY.
and that the rainority of the church will seriously re
flect, and humbly bring the subject to the throne of
grace, before they depart frora their solemn covenant
engageraents to God and their brethren, abandon the
faith which they professed before raany witnesses, and
surrender theraselves into the hands of those who have
never naraed the narae of Christ.
" We cannot but deeply sympathize with this precious
section of the kingdom of our Lord in their present op
pressed and gloomy situation, in which we view thera as
suffering in the cause of truth and holiness. We advise
and exhort thera to stand fast in the liberty wherewith
Christ has raade them free ; to bear with patience their
present trials, and to be much in prayer that God, in his
mercy, vt'ould be pleased to turn their capitvity, and
cause light to arise upon them in the midst of obscurity.
" At the same tirae we recognize them as a true
church of Christ, and tender them our best wishes and
friendly counsel and assistance in all matters and things
conducive to their spiritual prosperity.
" With most fervent wishes for the harmony, peace
and religious welfare of the church and people of
Princeton, we close this our solemn Protest, which we
found ourselves in duty bound to offer, and humbly
comraend thera to the favor and guidance of the great
Head of the church."*
The original covenant referred to in the Result of the
Mutual Council, is one that was adopted by the church'
on the 9th day of November, 1767, termed "covenant
for the admission of raerabers." Rev. Tiraothy Fuller
was the pastor of the church in Princeton, at that tirae,
• Signed by Rev. Seth Payson, D. D , Eev. Joshph Goffe, Elder Oliver
Bond and E. Brown.

MR. Clarke's covenant. 127
and the covenant was used until 1810. That the
proposed alteration of phraseology, in order to make the
covenant conformable " to the language of scripture,"
would essentially change the character of the instru
ment, and make it as dissimilar to the original cove
nant of the church as Unitarianism is unlike Trinita-
rianism, was the opinion of raany at the tirae. That the
reader may have the opportunity of comparing the two
for hiraself we transcribe the covenant as altered, term
ed Mr. Clarke's covenant, and refer him to page 90 for
the original : —
"You declare your firm belief in one infinite and eternal
God, tbe Father, of whom are all things, and we in him, and in
one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
You believe that the sacred scriptures are of divine original,
and contain our whole duty as it relates to practicp.
" You resolve to conform your life to the rules of God's word
till death, and give up yourself to God the Father as your por
tion, to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as your Re
deemer, and to the Holy Ghost as your sanctifier, guide and
comforter. "You acknowledge your indispensable obligation to serve
and glorify God in a sober, holy life, and promise to live in
obedience to him, walking in all his ordinances blameless.
"You promise, by divine aid to walk with the church in the
faith and order of the gospel, attending the public worship of
God, the sacraments of the New Testament, the discipline of
the church, and all bis holy institutions, so long as you may
be continued in the place.
" You promise to devote your offspring to God, and to in
struct them in the principles and practice of religion ; carefully
avoiding evefy appearance of evil and every temptation to sin.
"This you engage, flying to the blood of tbe everlasting
covenant for the pardon of all your sins, and praying that the
God of Peace, wfio brought again from the dead our Lord Jesas,
that great Shepherd of the sheep would prepare and strengthen
you to every good work, to do his wdl, working in you that
which is well pleasing in his eight, through Jesus Christ, to
whom be glory forever and forever. Amen."
On the 17th day of March, 1817, the day appointed.by

128 MR. Clarke's reply.
the council, the church met at the Town House, and, af
ter a" candid deliberation," voted, to reject the recom
mendation of said council, as an unauthorized and arbi
trary infringement upon their privileges and rights. On
this occasion, 20 voted non-concurrence, 8 to concur,
and 2 were neuter. On the sarae day, the town held an
adjourned raeeting, at which they ordered that a copy of
the result of said council be presented to a coraraittee,
and that said committee notify Mr. Samuel Clarke of his
third call to settle with them in gospel ministry, as soon
as may be.
Our limits do not permit us to transcribe the third let
ter of Mr. Clarke, accepting the invitation of a majority
of those who voted in the town. We however give an
extract. Under date of April 6, 1817, he writes :
" My Brethren, I come to you with the deepest humility,
sensible of my own insufficiency for so great an undertaking ;
yet relying on the mercy and assistance of that great and good
Being, who has hitherto directed my steps, and praying that in
this trying and important hour he would not forsake, but still
continue to prosper and bless me, I come breathing nothing but
love and peace. It is from the conviction that your harmony
and happiness is to be promoted by having me as your minister,
that I have concluded to accept your call. I have been satisfied,
frora the disposition you discovered towards me after I gave my
last answer, and from your recent conduct and zeal, that you
are really and firmly attached to me, and that this attachment
and affection will be continued so long as I shall be in any de
gree worthy of them. It is my desire, therefore, to come to you
in the fulness of the Gospel of peace, ardently praying that I
may be made an instrument of promoting your peace and joy m
Heaven. " Yet, my brethren, while I rejoice in the belief that I shall
be happy and useful among you, I do most sincerely lament that
I have not been so fortunate as to effect a greater degree of
unanimity than exists in the church and town. It is an unpleas
ant thing forme to settle with you contrary to the wishes of any
individual in this place. Nevertheless, from the acquaintance I
have with those opposed to my settlement, from the civilty and

MR. Clarke's reply. 129

respect with which I have ever been personally treated by them,
1 am fully satisfied that although they cannot at present regard
me with favor as a preacher, yet they will ever regard rae with
that friendship and charity which are due from man to man, and
from Christian to Christian, and that they will never do any
thing designedly to injure ray character, or my feelings. I
believe that I can say from the heart, that 1 feel towards them
the love and affection of a Christian ; that they have, and always
will have my prayers and beet wishes, and that I shall at all
times be ready to extend to them the hand of fellowship, of
consolation and of Christian love.
" From your past expressions of kindness and affection I feel
assured, my Christian friends, that they will be continued to
rae ; that in all seasons of want, of distress, of affliction and trial,
you will be ready to assist, advise, and comfort me ; that I shall
always have your prayers, that I may be faithful to you and
myself, and that you will do all in your power to strengthen my
hands, and encourage my heart You will I trust always find
me ready to do every thing in your behalf which belongs to me
as a Christian minister and a man. Let it then be our united
prayer to the throne of grace, that should our contemplated
union be consummated, it may be productive of the happiest
consequences both as it regards our present and eternal peace,
that we may be enabled to walk together in the exercise of all
the mild and peaceful graces of our holy religion. Let us be
much in prayer to God for light and direction. And O, may it
be our happiness to be mutual sources of improvement and com ¦
fort in this life and of joy and rejoicing in the day of the Lord
Jesus.'' Mr. Clarke was ordained at Princeton, June 18, 1817.
The sermon on this occasion was preached by Rev. Dr.
Pierce of Brookiine^ 12

130 COUNCIL CALLED.

CHAPTER IX.
Call of Council by the Church— Result— Organization of the Presbyterian
Church — Ruling Elders — Call to Mr. Bond — Accessions to the Church
and Congregation — New Meeting House — Seizure of Property to pay
Ministerial Rates — Seizure of the body — Mr. John H. Brooks carried to
Jail — Suit, Samuel Brooks vs. Town— Mutual Settlement of the contro
versy — Settlement of Mr. Phillips— Origin of Division — Mr. Clarke's dis
mission — Biographical Notice — Proposal for a Union — First Parish, and
Mr. Cowles' settlement and dismission. *
The opposition manifested to the call of Mr. Clarke
grew stronger after his ordination, and many left the
usual place of worship. Previous to that event however,
the church determined to call an Ecclesiastical Council
to give them advice at this important crisis. Letters
missive, in the name of the church, were accordingly
addressed to five churches to advise in the case, by vir
tue of which the Council assembled at Princeton on the
29th of April, 1817, at the house of Caleb Mirick, Esq.
It consisted of Rev. Dr. Payson of Rindge, N. H., Rev.
Dr. Crane of Northbridge, Rev. Dr. Snell of Brookfield,
Rev. Joseph Goffe of Millbury and Rev. Gains Conant of
Paxton, — each clergyman being also accompanied by a
delegate. After the organization of said Council the
subscribers to the covenant which was recommended by
the former Ecclesiastical Council, who formed the mi
nority of the church, together with others, were inform
ed that the council was proceeding to business ; and
that they were ready to receive any communications
they were disposed to make. Their doings will be best
ascertained from the accorapanying result.
" Received several communications from the committee of the
church, relating to the repeated invitations given by the town
to Mr. Samuel Clarke to be Iheir minister,.^the doings of an
Ecclesiastical council lately convened for the purpose of giving
their advice upon the subject of their future proceedings ; and

RESULT OF COUNCIL. 131

the conscientious scruples of the church in complying with
their advice, and in setting under the ministry of Mr. Clarke in
case he should be established as a teacher in the town, on ac
count of bis religious opinions, in some essential particulars so
diverse from their own, so opposite to the covenant thoy had
adopted and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Having also had a
friendly interview with Mr. Clarke, in which he frankly avowed
his religious opinions, on which the church founded their objec
tions to him as their pastor and teacher, and of which they ap
pear to have formed correct conceptions. Whereupon we
would express our sympathetic feelings for the church in
Princeton, with them deeply deplore their unhappy state, and
lament the assuraed power of the late Ecclesiastical Council,
so unprecedented in our country and so unauthorized by the
Gospel — a power that threatens the liberties, the privileges and
tbe very existence of our churches which are founded upon the
pillars of truth ; by depriving them of their inalienable rights,
subverting their confessions of faith and their forms of cove
nant We commend our brethren for the firm stand they have
made in the defence of the truth once delivered to the saints ;
so honorable to them as professed Christians. Under all the
severe trials this measure may occasion them, a conscious love
to the Gospel, the aj)prabation of their own minds and their
Christian brethren, and above all the approbation and gracious
presence of God will be an ample support — a rich reward. In
these trying circumstances we would give them the following
advice :
" 1. That they give themselves unto prayer for the direction
and holy keeping of the great Head of the church, that they may
be guided into the paths of wisdom and Christian prudence, that
they may meekly and patiently endure every trial to which, in
Providence, they are subjected, as the friends of truth, and re
main united together in love as tbe humble ftdlowers of the
Lord Jesus Christ.
" 2. That they take all legal and proper measures to form
themselves together with such inhabitants of the town as may
choose to unite with them into a distinct and separate religious
society, for the quiet enjoyment of Christian ordinances, and
the instructions of an evangelical ministry, cleaving to their ar
ticles of faith and the holy covenant into which they have moat
solemnly entered, and from which their brethren so unwarranta
bly departed.
" And now, brethren, we aclinowledge you as the Church of
Christ in Princeton, cordially recommend you to the fellowship
of all Christian Churches in our connection, and pledge our af
fectionate counsel, influence and co-operation for your support

132 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
and encouragement, and for your furtherance in the faith of the
Gospel. Walk in the meekness of wisdom toward those that
are otherwise rainded and convince them by a " uniform" Chris
tian deportment that conscience, not prejudice, a zeal for the
truth and not unyielding perverseness, that the fear of God, and
love to our Lord Jesus Christ, and not a spirit of discord, have
prevented you from a coalescence with your brethren. Above
all, brethren, we commend you to God and to the word of his
grace, that he would take you into his merciful keeping, shed
npon you the dew of his grace, and enable you to keep the unity
of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Behold, O God, look down
and visit this vine."*
Agreeable to the advice of the Council, the Church
proceeded forthwith to take the appropriate steps to form
themselves into a society for the enjoyment of Christian
ordinances, and the in^ruction of an evangelical minis
try. A committeet was chosen on the 6th of June to
confer with Rev. Mr. Merriam, a Presbyterian minister,
to ascertain what measures were necessary to be taken
to become united with, and also to come under the regu
lations and government of the Presbyterian Church in
the United States. On the 18th day of September,
1818, it was unaniraously voted by the Church, to adopt
the Presbyterian Articles of Faith and discipline, and
become connected with the Newburyport Presbyte
ry. This course of the Church was considered a bold
innovation, conflicting with the prejudices, and also
violating the usages of the times. The erection of a
poll parish, bringing together those of similar opinions,
without regard to local habitation, alraost unprecedented
beyond the metropolis, was strenuously resisted. The
founders of the society grasped firmly, and thereby se
cured those rights which, after the lapse of time, have
been accorded as common privileges. Their meetings
* Unanimously adopted by the Council.
tDea. Parker,— substitute, Jonas Brooks, Esq.

ACCESSION OF MEMBERS. 133
¦were held for some tirae in one of the schoolhouses, the
Selectmen refusing them the use of the Town House.
Dea. Ebenezer Parker, Dea. Samuel Stratton, Dea.
Israel Howe, Jonas Brooks, Esq., Caleb Mirick, and
Thomas Wilder, were elected Ruling Elders, and were
ordained on the 25th of October by Dr. Dana frora New
buryport. The society being thus organized on the 25th
of December invited Rev. Alvan Bond, of Andover, to
settle with them in the work of the gospel ministry.
• To this invitation, Mr. Bond gave a negative reply,
alleging. that he came to this result in view of the state
of his health, and also of his intentions to engage in the
work of the ministry, in a foreign mission.
Though destitute of a settled minister, the Church
continued to meet every Sabbath for religious worship.
They were supplied with preaching generally by sorae
of the clergyraen frora the neighboring towns ; and in
the space of little more than two years the Lord so great
ly blessed their efforts, that upwards of forty individuals
became identified with the church. At length they
found themselves straightened for room on account of
the great accessions to their congregation, until, in 1819,
necessity compelled the erection of a house of worship.
This house was located near the old burying ground, a
little north-west from the old town-house. The dedica-
cation sermon was prea«hed by Dr. Dana of Newbury
port. The boundaries of the first parish, co-extensive with
those of the town, embraced fhe estates of tbe member-s
of the Presbyterian society, and while they contributed
to the support of the institutions of their own church and
teachers, they were also compelled to pay ministerial
ra'tes in the same manner as before the separation. This
12*

134 MINISTERIAL RATES.
double taxation was peculiarly onerous. Hence, at a
town meeting held Oct.l6, 1818, they made an appeal to
the justice of their fellow townsmen, for relief from a lax
inconsistent with their religious privileges ; but without
avail. On their refusal to pay the ministerial rates assessed
against them, for the support of Rev. Mr.C larke, their
cattle and other property was seized and sacrificed under
the hammer of the auctioneer. A second ineffectual ap
peal to the town for relief from this taxation, was made.
Upon refusing to pay their ministerial rates, subsequently,
their persons were seized by the constable, who, agree
able to his instructions, made his way with them towards
the County jail. With one exception, however, they
came to the conclusion before arriving at the place of
destination, to pay their ministerial assessments. Mr.
John H. Brooks was lodged in the jail at Worcester,
who, after " resting quietly" for a time paid his rates and
returned to his family in Princeton;
The history of these transactions has become matter
of judicial record; a suit having been commenced in
1819 by Capt. Samuel Brooks, in behalf of the Presby
terian society to recover the amount of taxes paid by
them for the support of the ministry and for parochial
purposes in the town subsequent to the formation of said
society. This matter, however, was finally taken out
of court, and amicably adjusted by the adoption of the
report of a committee appointed to adjust the matter, as
follows :
" The committee appointed to adjust and compro
mise the present litigation between the town, by a suit
commenced by Capt. Samuel Brooks against the asses
sors of said town, and to examine all matters in contro
versy between the said town and the Presbyterian so-

LITIGATION — MUTUAL SETTLEMENT. 135
ciety or act any thing relative thereto, now respectfully
report :
" That having fully and faithfully considered the sub
ject of the unfortunate controversy growing out of the
assessment of taxes for the support of the ministry and
for parochial purposes in the town of Princeton, since
the formation of the Presbyterian Society, by a I'oluntary
association of individuals for that purpose in said town —
they are of opinion ; that as the assessment of taxes upon
the merabers of said Presbyterian Society for the year
1818 is of doubtful legality, and it is desirable that the
controversy to which the said assessment has, and raay
hereafter give rise, should be amicably and speedily
settled ; the town should direct, that the assessors give
their orders of abatement in favor of all those members
of said Presbyterian Society who were assessed in the
tax of 1818 for the amount of the ministerial tax of that
year, to which they were respectively assessed ; and
that the Selectmen of said town of Princeton draw their
orders upon the Treasury to be paid out of the monies
raised for the support of the ministry in favor of all the
members of said society, who were assessed for the year
aforesaid to the amount of said assessments together,with
the amount of cost to which they were subjected in the'
collection thereof, all agreeably to the schedule and ex
hibit herewith reported, and that the said members of
said Presbyterian Society thereupon release and dis
charge all claim and demand of action, or right of action
against said town, the assessors and collector of taxes
therein, for the year 1818, by reason of all such assess
ments and any collections thereof as aforesaid. That
the comraittee do also recommend to said town and So
ciety mutually to pass votes that in consideration of the

136 REV. ALONZO PHILLIPS.
foregoing terms, and upon acceptance thereof, all de
mands, claims and controversies, which have arisen or
might arise between the said town and its officers, on
the one hand, and the Society and its members, on the
other, in any wise resulting from the assessments of mon
ies for ministerial or parochial purposes, and the appro
priation of monies thereto previous to this tirae be re
leased and wholly discharged." [Here comes in the
names of sixty one different individuals, with the enume
ration of rainisterial rates assessed for 1818, araounting,
in the aggregate, to $131 00.] " To these sums are to
be added the amount of surplus monies arising from the
sales of property exceeding the suras of taxes respective
ly, for the collection of which property was sold, with
interest thereon, together with the tax and the cost in
the action of Capt. Brooks, and the fees of the collector
when paid."*
On the 20th day of March, 1820, the Presbyterian
Church voted unanimously to give Rev. Alonzo Phillips,
who had been for some time previous supplying their
pulpit, an invitation to settle with them as their pastor.
To this call Mr. Phillips returned the following reply,
which is found recorded in the church records, without
address or signature :
" The office 'of the Christian Minister is doubtless the most
important and the most responsible with which man can be in
vested. He receives his commission from God, and is account
able to him for the manner in which he discharges it. His
business lies with immortal beings ; its design is to persuade
them to become good ; if it fails of this, its design is lost and
worse than lost Obviously then, he who thinks of taking this
office upon himself ought not to assume it, till he has made it
* Signed by Jonas Hartwell, David Rice, and Charles Mirick, town's com
mittee, and Samuel Brooks, Azer Maynard, and Jonas Brooks, Esq., committee
joS the FresbytCTian Socie^.

MR. PHILLIPS' REPLY. 137
the subject of the most serious contemplation and fervent pray
er. This remark is applicable to his decision concerning the
particular part of his Lord's vineyard, in which it his duty to
labor. The first, and indeed the only question, which ought to
govern his decision is — where can I do the most good .' In
deciding this question, several things must be taken into con
sideration ; such as the ability and willingness of a people to
give him support, which will enable him to devote ' himself
wholly to the work peculiar to his office; the part of the world
or particular place in which, at a time like the present, he ia
most needed ; his ability to sustain the labors and perform the
duties which will devolve upon liim in a particular place ; the
feelings and unanimity of the people, who invite him to settle
with them. These considerations I have endeavored to examine
with impartiality in forming the decision now to be made pub
lic. " In regard to the first of these, the support, I can only say, that
on the part of the society there is certainly at present a very pleas-
.ing willingness; as to the ability they are the only proper judges.
Whether tbe sum proposed be adequate to a support in my case,
tirae must determine ; for on this subject I am at present wholly
inexperienced. All 1 wish for is a support which with prudence
and economy, will enable me to live in a manner which you
brethren, would call respectable ; which will enable me to unite
with my brethren in the ministry in aiding the religious and
benevolent plans which distinguish the present period of the
church. In regard to the second thing to be considered — the
particular place to which duty calls, thia a much more difficult
question to decide. When I have looked at the smallness of
this society, and at their ability to live a while longer without a
settled minister, I have thought it my duty to go to some other
place. But when I have contemplated the stand they have ta
ken, and its bearings, the everlasting importance of the truths
they wish to support, the connexion of those truths with vital
religion and the salvation of men, I cannot doubt. When I look
at this church, consider what it has sustained and how it has
been blessed, I am fully satisfied, that it is a real branch of the
kingdom of Christ, and a branch too, which is as precious to
hira as any other branch of his kingdom. Why then should it
not be as precious to his ministers .' Of the next thing to be
considered — the ability of a man to sustain the labors and dis
charge the duties of a particular place, in the present case others
are judges ; if they have erred time will rectify the mistake. In
regard to the last thing to be considered — the feelings and una
nimity of the people, they are all any man could wish for, to
afford him happiness and give him influence.

138 ORIGIN OF DIVISION.
" With these things before me, what could I do, but resolve
to engage in the same cause with you — cast my lot with yours,
to live or die with you ? What could I do but answer your in
vitation in the affirmative ? With these things before me / dp
answer in the affirmative. May the Head of the church approve
the answer, and to his name be glory forever. Amen."
Mr. Phillips' ordination took place on the 7th of June,
1820. The exercises were, — Introductory prayer, by
Rev. Mr. Easton ; Sermon by Rev. Dr. Leonard Woods,
of Andover; ordaining prayer by Rev. Mr. Gregor;
right hand of fellowship, by Rev. Alvan Bond; charge
by Rev. Dr. Dana of Newburyport; concluding prayer
by Rev. Mr. Parker.
We have now narrated the plain facts in the case,
which led to the religious division in the parent parish.
That the church in Princeton was a regular Congrega
tional church, founded upon the common faith and prac
tice of the New-England churchs in general, none can
dispute. And, as it appears from its history, its mem
bers had lived in peace for many years, and had been
blessed and prospered. No uncommon symptoms of
disaffection appeared in reference to the doctrines of said
church, either in the church or congregation, until the
pulpit became vacant by the dismission of Rev. Dr. Mur
dock, and other doctrines than the people had been ac
customed to hear, were preached among them. At that
period divisions and controversies began to manifest
themselves. From what source they originated is plain
to be seen ; and that the divisions consequent upon the
settlement of Rev. Mr. Clarke, have not been remedied
by the lapse of years, we shall see in the sequel. The
town was now for the first time divided into two religious
societies, each having a minister of their own choice.*
* Previous to this tirae there were several individuals of the Baptist denomi
nation but no orgnnized society existed in town until subsequent to this period.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE. 139
That under Mr. Clarke was in full Cellowship with the
Unitarian Congregational Societies. The one under
Mr. Phillips maintained the confession of faith and dis
cipline of the Presbyterian Church until 1830, when, on
account of the great inconvenience and expense, par
ticularly in attending the meetings of the Presbytery,
they were at their request dismissed frora that body, and
it was unaniraously voted to adopt the Congregational
forra of governraent. At the sarae tirae they also adopt
ed the covenant and articles of faith, used by the church
at the tirae of Mr. Murdock's diisraission.*
Rev. Mr. Clarke continued to preach in Princeton
until 1832, when, owing to ill healtht he requested his
society to unite with hira in the call of a mutual council
to advise as to the dissolution of his ministerial relation.
The society coraplying with this request, a council was
convened at Larab's Hotel, in Princeton, on the 5th day
of June, 1832. And, agreeably to the advice of said
council, Mr. Clarke was disraissed on the 18th of the
sarae raonth.
Rev. Sarauel Clarke is a native of New Boston, N. H.
He graduated at Dartraouth College, in 1812, at the age
of 21 years, and subsequently pursued his theological
studies under the tuition of Rev. Dr. Channing of Bos
ton. After leaving his official station in Princeton, he
accepted an invitation to becorae pastor of the First
Congregational Society! '" Uxbridge, and was installed
January 9th, 1833. He still resides in Uxbridge.
At the raeeting for the dismissal of Mr. Clarke, on the
21st of May, 1832, either from fear that they would be
* See chap. VII, in this work.
¦f It appears that Mr. Clarke soon recovered his health which had been for
ff fouryears on the decline" and he settled in Uxbridge, Jan. 1833.
f Said society is professedly Unitarian.

140 FKOPOSAI, FOR UNION.
unable to sustain their Society as a distinct body without
assistance, or from some other cause, the Congregation
al Society passed the following vote : —
"On motion, voted that the comraittee to supply the
pulpit be authorized and instructed to wait on the stand
ing or prudential committee of the Evangelical Orthodox
Society, and request the coramittee of that society to
call a meeting of said society, as soon as may be, to as
certain whether said society feel disposed to unite with
the Congregational Society in settling a minister, and if
so to choose a comraittee consisting of an equal number
chosen by the Congregational Society, to co-operate
with them in inviting a candidate lo preach to both so
cieties, or take such other measures as said coramittee
and the coraraittee of said Evangelical Orthodox Society
may deem expedient to effect a union of said societies."
This vote was comraunicated to the Evangelical Or
thodox Society, and it led to the following action ; —
"At a meeting of the Evangelical Congregational
Society held at their meeting-house, on Monday, the 4th
day of June inst., to take into consideration the request
of the Congregational Society, by their comraittee ; to
see if the Evangelical Congregational Society will unite
with that society in settling a minister over both socie
ties, after due deliberation passed the following vote, to
wit ; —
" On motion, voted, that we cannot comply with said
request for two reasons ; first we have a minister whom
we respect and under whose ministry we are united and
happy. Second, we do not feel authorized to act on the
subject as proposed, because we feel that it is proper
and right that the church should have the first move in
all measures preparatory to the settlement of a pastor,"

FIRST PARISH.

141

At this time, it is doubtless true that a large portion
of the Congregational Society were not Orthodox in
sentiment, and that there was a majority who were op
posed to the settlement of a Calvinistic pastor. Indeed,
this very question was submitted to the society, where
upon it was ascertained that there were seventeen in fa
vor of Calvinistic preaching, ten in favor of Universal-
ist, six in favor of Unitarian, and but two in favor of
Orthodox.* After the secession of some thirty individ
uals, however, which took place about this time, who
were organized into a Universalist Society.t, a majority
of the merabers that then reraained invited a Calvinistic
preacher, in the person of Rev. John P. Cowles, to become
their pastor. A salary of $500 was offered. Mr. Cowles
having accepted this invitation, the ordination took place
July 19, 1833. The introductory prayer was by the
Rev. H. Winsjow of Boston ; sermon by Rev. Mr. Litis-
ley, of Park-street church, Boston; consecrating prayer
by Rev. Dr. James Murdock of New Haven, Conn. ;
charge by Rev. Mr. Mann, of Westminster ; exhortation
to the church and people by Rev. Mr. Clark of Rutland ;
address and right hand of fellowship by Rev. A. E,
Phelps of Boston ; concluding prayer by Rev. Mr. Allen
of Shrewsbury.
December 23, 1833, the Congregationalist society was
organized as the first parish in Princeton. From this
time it commenced its legal existence, distinct from the
municipal corporation, and the support of worship ceased
to be provided for by the inhabitants in ' their general
meetings. * See Town Records, vol. iv.
¦j- The Universalists had preaching at the "Town House," one third of the
^^bbaths, for some time, but finally disbanded.
13

142 MR. cowles' DISMISSION.
Mr. Cowles continued pastor of the church until Oct.
5, 1834, when at the instance of the following letter, he
was dismissed.
" To the Church and Society of the First Parish in
Princeton.
" Brethren and Friends, — I have to request your consent to
the dissolution of my relation to yon as your Pastor and Min
ister. It is very plain that either my preaching or my conduct,
or both, have given sufficient dissatisfaction to render this step
desirable, both for me and you, and sooner or later, indispensa
ble. My fixed choice is, not to have it delayed, for I am per
fectly satisfied that no change in me, or in my conduct, or in my
preaching, which my principles would allow me to make, will
materially alter the present aspect of things. You will be only
doing me justice if you think of my principles in these respects
as entirely immutable. It is therefore proper and desirable, that
our relation as pastor and people should cease. Your consent
to this step I have to request Your minister's constant prayer
is and will be that God would so order his Providence towards
you and so guide and control your own feelings and cyndael&j\&
those of others, as to secure to you still, in some way, a gospel
faithfully and successfuUy preached. John P. Cowles.
Princeton, Oct 5, 1834."

CHAPTER X.
Farther Measures for a Union — Call of a Council — Result — Proceeding upon
it — Objections — Votes of Fiist Parish — Votes of Evangelical Society —
Action of Congregational Church — Doings of the Council's Committee —
Societies unite — Mr. Phillips at the House of the first Parish — His return
to his former place of labor— Church Meetings.
After the dismission of Rev. Mr. Cowles, the Con
gregational Society renewed their proposals for a union
with the Evangelical Congregational Society. This was
done by the following communication :
" To the Evangelical Congregational Church in Prince
ton, under the pastoral care of Rev. Mr. Phillips.
" Rev. and Beloved, — The undersigned, having been appointed

MEASURES FOR UNION. 143

a Committee by the Congregational Church, [for the purpose of
making a communication to your Church, would respectfully lay
before you the doings of the said Congregational Church, and
the advice of an Ecclesiastical Council, lately convened in this
place. " At a meeting of the Congregational Church, Oct 26, 1834,
a Committee was appointed to ask the advice of the Ecclesias
tical Council, which was then to be convened on the 38th of
said month, for the dismission of Rev. John P. Cowles, in relation
to what course it was the duty of saidf Church to pursue, and
what measures to adopt, under the existing circumstances of the
religious affairs of this place.
" The said Committee attended to the duty of the appoint
ment and received from said Council the following result : —
' The advice of this Council having been asked by the Con
gregational Church, in regard to tbe course they should take,
provided Mr. Cowles be dismissed, the Council advise to the
foUowing measure : that said Church propose to the Evangeli
cal Congregational Church to unite in choosing a Mutual Or
thodox Council to settle the following points :
' 1st. Shall a union be effected between the two Churches ?
'2J. On what ground shall such union be effected ?
Samuel Gat, Moderator.
Cyrus Mann, Scribe.^
"At a meeting of the Church, Oct 29th, the foregoing result
and advice of Council was laid before the said Church, and
Gccepted ; and Deacon Charles Russell and Caleb Dana, and
Brother Charles B. Temple, were appointed a Committee to
present to tbe Evangelical Church a copy of the advice of said
Council, and to adopt measures to carry the same into effect
" Agreeably to the advice of s^id Council, and in full accord
ance with our own views and feelings, we do now, in behalf of
the Congregational Church, proprose to unite with your Church
in inviting a Mutual Orthodox Council for the purposes men
tioned in the result of said Council.
" In making this request, we wish to add, that we, in common,
doubtiesB witfi you, regard it as exceedingly desirable, for the
interests of religion in this place, that all those in these two
Churches, who coincide in their views of the doctrines and du
ties of the Gospel, and give credible evidence of their being the
children of God, should be united in one Church, and under one
pastor. We do not regsnd a union as desirable except on such
conditions, and on such grounds, as shall ensure to you and to
us a prospect of purity as well as peace and harmony. Under
such conditions we do desire it, for the sake of that cause which
we equally profess to love. We deeply lament the division

144 CALL OF COUNCIL.
which has long existed in this town, and our prayer to God is
that it may soon be terminated in that way and in thay way
only which will be for his glory and for the spiritual benefit of
his chosen people. And that this desirable end may be effec
ted, we desire on our part, to remove every reasonable objection.
We propose to unite with you in calling a Mutual Couniil, be
cause we do believe that there are questions arising out of tbe
character and relations of these churches, which affect so vitally
the best interests of the people of this place, aa well as the
Church of Christ, that neither ot these Churches is at liberty to
disregard them.
" Should your Church accede to this proposition and request,
we trust there would be no disagreement in selecting a Mutual
Council, of approved Orthodox Ministers in this Commonwealth,
which would be entirely satisfactory to both Churches. We
wish to be distinctly understood that we are willing to submit
the whole case, in all its parts, to the decision of such a Council.
" And now Christian Brethren, we respectfully ask you to
give this subject, as we trust you will, your serious and prayer
ful consideration. And may tbe great Head of the Chuich,
vouchsafe to you and to us his grace, guidance and direction,
and lead us in the path of duty, to the exercise of those Chris
tian feelings and to the adoption of such measures as shall re
dound to his glory and the spiritual and everlasting good of his
people. Yours, with Christian affection,
Charles Russell, p
Caleb Dana, > Committee.
Charles B. Temple.")
At a meeting of the Evangelical Congregational
Church, Nov. 11, to hear the above communication, and
to act thereon, after a protracted discussion, it was voted
to appoint a committee, whose duty it should be, in the
first place, to endeavor to convince the comraittee, who
presented said communication, that such a Council as
proposed was entirely unnecessary, as the church were
ready to receive all such persons as coincided with them
in their " views of the doctrines and duties of the Gos
pel," and that " gave credible evidence of piety," with
out the advice of a council ; and secondly, if they should
not succeed in convincing them, then, as a matter of pa-

RESULT OP COUNCIL. 145
cification, to agree with them to call a Council. After
attending to the duty assigned them, said committee re
ported that nothing but a Council would be satisfactory.
Accordingly the measure was agreed to, and a Council
called, consisting of the Church of Christ in North Brook
field, under the charge of Rev. Dr. Snell; the Congrega
tional church in Templeton, under Rev. Samuel P. Bates ;
the church in Westminster, under Rev. Cyrus Mann ;
the church in Harvard, under Rev. George Fisher ; the
church in Bolton, under Rev. John W. Chickering; the
Calvanist church in Worcester, under Rev, John S. C,
Abbott, and the church in Holden, under Rev. Willard
P. Paine, — each of these churches being represented by
pastor and delegate.
The Council convened at the house of John Brooks,
Esq., Dec. 17, 1834. After receiving various commu
nications frora the committees of the two '¦.hurches, rela
ting to the subject, and desirableness of a union of said
churches, they came to the following result -.
"The Council deems the union of the two churches exceed
ingly desirable, both as it regards the peace of the town, and
the prosperity of religion. The Council is also very much grat
ified with tbe truly Christian spirit, manifested in the communi
cation made by the Committee of the Church lately under the
care of the Rev. Mr. Cowles, and with their candor and mode
ration ; and have full confidence in the purity of the motives
which led thera to make an effort for a reconciliation. Anima
ted by these feelings we sincerely hope that the suggestions
which may be made by the Council, and the terms proposed,
win be acceptable to both parties, and promotive of mutual
edificatioii. The Council are aware of difficulties in the way,
but do not feel that they are insurmountable. Christians are
often called upon to make sacrifices, but if they are sacrifices of
feeling and not of principle, they ought to be made.
" The Council is of opinion, that the whole subject is involved
in two questions.
" 1. The first question respects the possibility of a union of
13*

146 RESULT OF COUNCIL.

the two Churches which shall promote the cause of truth, purity
and peace.
" The Council is of the opinion that the Orthodox portion of
the Church lately under the pastoral care of Rev. Mr. Cowles,
and of the Church under the pastoral care of Rev. Mr; Phillips,
may become one united and happy Church. And the plan of
union the Council would recommend is this, viz : that the Rev.
Messrs. Bates of Templeton, Mann of Westminster, and Paine
of Holden, be a Committee to satisfy theraselves, at a proper
time and duly notified, of the personal piety of such members
of the first named Church as desire the union, and recommend
them to the other Church by letter; and that by virtue of this
letter of recommendation, they become embodied with the
Church now under the pastoral care of Rev. Mr. Phillips.
" 2. The second question has suggested itself to our minds
in a form like the following : Is there a sufficient degree of har
mony in the views of those two parties, to authorize the hope
that they may unite in listening to, and supporting, sound Evan
gelical ministrations .'
" This question we hope we are not mistaken in answering
likewise in the affirmative. As to the mode of union, we would
recommend that the Society connected with Mr. Phillip's
Church, should unite with the other, and in one united Church
and Society, sustain and enjoy the ordinances and privileges of
the Gospel.
" 3. The third and only remaining question respects the pas
toral and ministerial relationa of the proposed united Church
and Society. The only difficulty on this point, arises from the
fact that the two Churches and Societies, as they now exist,
are not on equal ground in this respect. "The one have a pastor
whom they respect and love, who has been with them in times
of anxiety and trial, and between whom and themselves there
exist ties of too sacred and tender a nature to be sundered, ex
cept by the voluntary motion and action of the parties concern
ed. The other has no pastor, nor has it from the nature of the
case, that attachment to the pastor of the other Church which
would doubtless have existed, had he been for as many years
their pastor. To the removal of this difficulty this Council are
constrained to feel themselves inadequate, since they cannot
control the affections of the one body, nor, unrequested and un
authorized, touch the pastoral relations of the other. We are
not prepared, on the one hand, to say that all tbe prejudices and
preferences can or should be given up by Mr. Cowle's late peo
ple ; nor on the other hand require either the Rev. Mr. Phillips
or his Church, to make a sacrifice, of the duty and expediency
of which, they must be the judges. However, then, in view of

RESULT OF COUNCIL. 147
all the facts which have come to our knowledge, our private
opinions respecting duty and expediency in this matter, may
differ from that of Rev. Mr. Phillips' Church as expressed by
him as the organ of their Committee, we feel obliged to leave
the matter to the consideration and decision of themselves and
their pastor.
" This Council cannot refrain from expressing our belief,
from what we have witnessed, that there ia, in all the parties
concerned, a sufficient desire for union — a sufficient sense of
the importance of the best economy in ministerial labor, in these
days of destitution, and sufficient readiness to make any need
ful sacrifices for the sake of Christ and his cause, to render such
a.disposition as has now heen raade of this whole subject, the
best we could make even if it were not, as we think it is, the
only in our power.
" This Council cannot refrain from pressing it upon the minds
of all Christians, in both Churches, that for the sake of union on
the ground of Gospel truth, and for the advancement of the
cause of Christ, it is their incumbent duty, while they contend
earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints, to make great
sacrifices of personal feeling and private interest
"We do most earnestly and affectiouately entreat the mem
bers of both Churches to live as brethren. We cannot doubt
that the cause of Christ is equally dear to botli churches, and
we do believe that if the spirit of conciliation and kindness,
which has been manifested during the session of the Council is
continued, the troubled waters will grow more and more calm,
till all is tranquility and peace. Wo hope, beloved brethren,
that you will endeavor to cherish a childlike, a lowly, and a con
tented spirit, and if things are not in all respects as many of you
could wish, wait quietly till He who orders all things wisely,
shall bring all things right
" The Council beg leave to assure the merabers of both
Churches of their kind feelings and Christian regards. We
have found ourselves called to settle questions of the utmost
difficulty and delicacy. Circumstances of past occurrence, cause
us to feel a deep sympathy with the members of tbe Church un
der the pastoral care of Rev. Mr. Phillips. Circumatancea of a
more recent date conatrain us to look with much affection upon
the members of the Church under the late care of Rev. Mr.
Cowles. But we beg them both to be aasured, that we have
earnestly sought guidance from above, that we might come to
such a result, as would be mutually acceptable, and promote the
social and spiritual happiness of all the friends of the Saviour,
in this place. Thomas Sifs.1.1,, Moderator.
John S. C. Abbott, Scribe,^'

148 OBJECTIONS TO RESULT.
On the 8th of January, 1835, the church under the
the Charge of Rev. Mr. Phillips, met to hear the result
of the Council, and to take such order upon it as they
deemed proper. To its acceptance there was in the
minds of many, very weighty and serious objections.
One of these was the "private opinion of the Council"
in reference to the dismission of Mr. Phillips. They,
with their pastor, had supposed that the union was to be
formed under the ministry of Mr. Phillips. " One of
the Committee" of his church, " that difficulty raight not
arise, in relation to this matter, in the midst of the busi
ness of forming a union, sought to have adefinite under-
Btanding with them respecting it, and supposed that such
an understanding existed ; and more, thatthe committee
of the Congregational Church had given him a pledge,
that they shouldisay and do nothing respecting the pas
tor. But the fact turned out to be, some three or four
days before the meeting of the Council, when it was too
late to have the day of their meeting deferred, that the
committee of the Congregational Church were deter
mined the Council should take up and aqt on the sub
ject of the pastor's dismission."*
The main objection, however, was the appointment of
three ministers to come and satisfy themselves of the
personal piety of those members of the Congregational
Church who desired a union, and recommend them by
letter to the Evangelical Congregational Church, by vir
tue of which they should become identified with that
church. This right they felt that they ought not to be
required to resign into the hands of those who were en
tire strangers to the persons they were to recommend.
Some of these persons had been professors of religion
* Mr. Phillips' Appeal, p. 3.

RESULT ADOPTED. 149
for fifteen, some twenty and others thirty years, a suffi
cient time to have established a character of some kind
among those to whom they were well known. " But
how were a comraittee of strangers to know whether
all the persons who should offer themselves to be trans
lated from the then late Unitarian church to the Ortho
dox, had established and sustained a Christian charac
ter."* There were many of the church that thought
that it would be preposterous to entrust the matter en
tirely to their hands. In view of these and some minor
objections, the church, at their meeting, voted, to appoint
a committeet of seven, to confer with an equal num
ber of the other church, to ascertain their views or un
derstanding of the result of Council, and to report at a
future meeting.
After several weeks had elapsed, said raeeting con
vened, when the following vote was passed by a majority
of those voting A majority of the whole number of vo
ters in the church, it was said, however, were never suffi
ciently satisfied with the result, and did not vote at all.
" To the Clerk of the church, lately under the pastoral care
of the Rev. J. P. Cowles ; — The following is a copy of a vote
passed by our church, at a regular meeting, Feb. 5, 1835.
" Feb. 5. The church met agreeably to appointment ; after
hearing the report of the committee, which seemed favorable,
voted to accede to the first part of " tho result," viz., that which
relates to the union of the Orthodox members of the other Con
gregational church with this.
" A true copy — Attest, A. Phillips."
The following is the vote of The Congregational
church, on the acceptance of the result of Council.
" February 28, 1835. Tbe church of Christ under the late
pastoral care of the Rev. John P. Cowles, held a raeeting at the
* Mr. Phillip's Appeal, p. 6. „ , a,..,.™
t The committee were I. Thompson, John H. Brooks, Dea. Samuel Stratton,
J. Cutting, J. Brooks, Jr., E. Beaman.

150 VOTES OF THE FIRST PARISH.
hall of Dea. Charles Russell, Feb. 28, to consider and act on the
result of the Mutual Ecclesiastical Council, lately convened in
this place. The meeting was opened by the Moderator, Dea.
Charles Russell, who led the church in address to the throne of
Divine grace, for light and direction in the important business
before them.
" The church then proceeded to a consideration of the sub
ject before them, and after a full and harmonious interchange
of feelings, —
" Voted unanimously to accept the result of said Council.
"Voted, That the Clerk of the church be directed to transmit
a copy of the doings of this meeting to the church under the
pastoral care of the Rev. Mr. Phillips. C. Dana, Clerk.
" Copy from the records — Attest.
C. Dana, late Clerk of said Church."
On the 4th of March following, at a legal meeting of
the First Parish in Princeton, convened at the " Town
House,'' the following votes were passed :
" Voted unanimously, That we accept of the Result of the
Mutual Ecclesiastical Council lately convened In this place, by
the request of the church under the late pastoral care of the
Rev. Mr. Cowles and of the church under the pastoral care of
the Rev. Mr. Phillips, and that we can cheerfully, and do most
heartily respond to the sentiments expressed in the Result of
said Council, that there is a sufficient degree of harmony in the
views of this, and the Evangelical Society, to authorize the be
lief that they may unite in listening to, and supporting sound
Evangelical ministrations.
" Voted unanimously. That this Society invite, and we do
hereby affectionately and respectfully, fhe said Evangelical So •
ciety to unite with us, agreeably to the recommendation con
tained in the Result of said Council.
"Voted unanimously. That we are, and have been, for a con
siderable time past, desirous of a union with the Evangelical
Society, and that we highly approve of the course taken by the
church connected with us, and of the measures they have adopt
ed to effect a union of the two churches.
"Voted unanimously. That a union of the two societies ap
pears to us to be very desirable, and would tend 'as we fully be
lieve to piomote tbe peace. Christian harmony, and spiritual
welfare of the people in this place ; and we can see no reason
why the division which has for a long time unhappily existed
here should be longer continued, or why we should transmit
such a state of things to posterity.

VOTES OF THE FIRST PARISH, 151

" Voted unanimously, That should a union take place, we
sincerely desire that it may be extensive, permanent and last
ing ; that it raay be such an one aa shall promote the social and
spiritual happiness of both societies ; and that in our own en
deavor to effect a union we disclaim having any other motive
than that of advancing the Redeemer's kingdom and promoting
the best interests of the people in this town. Our cause we
firmly believe is a righteous cause ; one for which, we raay invoke
the blessing of Heaven, and one on which we may humbly
trust the smiles and blessings of God will rest.
" Voted unanimously. That we believe there ia no relation
raore aacred and important than that which exists between a
minister and his people — the peaceable and useful continuance
of which depends on the mutual affection existing between
them ; therefore we cannot refrain frora expressing our serious
and solemn conviction, that a union under the Rev. Mr. Phil
lips, would not be such an one as would be the best calculated
to promote the happineaa, the harraony, and the highest interest
of the united society — inasmuch aa we believe there is a want
of that cordiality of feeling, both in him and in us, which it is
so desirable should exist between a minister and people — and
the attitude in which he has stood to us has been such as to
render it impossible, in our view, for him to associate with a
portion of the united people, with that freedom and cordiality
which are so absolutely necessary in order that a people may
derive from their minister, and he communicate to them, that re
ligious instmction which ia ao important for their highest good.
" Voted unanimoualy. That we are aware that there ia, as
there always should be between a minister and his people, a
mutual attachment existing between Mr. Phillips and the peo
ple under his pastoral care ; and we have no desire to do any
thing to weaken or destroy this attachment : still we cannot re
frain frora expressing it as our opinion, that should duty dictate
to the Rev. Mr. Phillips to leave the field, as we cannot but be
lieve under the guidance of Divine Providence it may, thehar-
veat would ke rauch greater under some other peraon than it-
possibly can or would be under his ministrations.
" Voted unanimously. That if the Rev. Mr. Phillips should
determine to ask his diamiaaion from his paatoral charge, we will
contribute our share of any reasonable sum which shall be
thought Juat and right as an indemnity for any losa he may sus
tain in consequence of such dismission.
" Voted unanimously. That we hope and confidently believe
that after viewing and deliberating upon all the circumstances
connected with a uniop, that neither the Rev. Mr. Phillips nor

152 VOTES OF EVANGELICAL SOCIETY.
his people, will insist upon his being the minister of the united
church and society.
" A true copy of the records of said Pariah meeting.
" Attest : Joseph A. Reed, Clerk."
It was voted, that the Clerk transmit to the Pruden
tial Committee of the Evangelical Society, an attested
copy of the doings of said Parish.
At a legal meeting of the Evangelical Congregational
Society in Princeton, convened in their Meeting House,
on Monday, the 23d day of March, A. D. 1835, the fol
lowing votes were passed, viz : —
" Voted, — That we accept of the Result of the Mutual Ec
clesiastical Council, lately convened in this place, by tbe re
quest of the church under the late pastoral care of the Rev. Mr,
Cowlea, and of the church under the care of the Rev. Alonzo
Phillips, relative to the union of the said societies.
" Voted, — That the Clerk of said Evangelical Congregation
al Society transmit to the Pirst Parish in Priiiceton, an attested
copy of the doings of said Society.
" A true copy of the record of said Parish meeting.
"Attest: Erasmus D. Goodnow, Clerk."
This vote was also passed, it has been stated, not by
a majority of the whole number of voters in the Evan
gelical Congregational Society, — for there were raany,
(as in the church) that never voted for the Result at all,
not being sufficiently satisfied with it to do so.
The Congregational Church, having been informed of
the doings of the Evangelical Congregational Society,
at their meeting on the 23d of March, met subsequent
thereto, on the 27th day of April, when the following
vote was passed : —
"Voted unanimously, to carry into effect the result of coun
cil; and Dea. Charles Russell and Caleb Dana and Br. Charles
B. Temple, were appointed a committee to call a meeting of the
church, when they raay deem it expedient, and to invite the
committee, consisting of the Rev. Messrs. Bates of Templeton,
Mann of Westminster, and Paine of Holden, to be present at

DOINGS OF COMMITTEE. 153
the said raeeting of the church, to discharge the important du
ties assigned them in the Result of said council."
In accordance with the above vote, this comraittee ap-
pointed the 16th of May following, for the clergyraen
mentioned in the Result of the Council, to meet for the
transaction of its business or duties assigned them. The
annexed document will show the result : —
" May 16, 1835. The brethren and sisters of the church
under the late pastoral care of the Rev. Mr. Cowles, met this
day at the Town House, at half past ten of the clock, A. M.,
agreeably to notice given by tbe committee of the church ap
pointed foraaid purpoae, to carry into effect the result of coun
cil, said result having been adopted by the church under the
pastoral care of the Rev. Mr. Phillips.
" The committee appointed by the council, consisting of the
Rev. Messra. Bates of Templeton, Mann of Weatminater, and
Paine of Holden, were there preaent agreeably to tbe invitation
of tbe church, given by the committee appointed for the pur
poae, to attend to the important duties assigned to them in the
result of said council.
" The Rev. Mr. Mann addressed the Throne of Grace for
light and asaistance on the solemn and interesting occaaion.-^
Important remarks were then offered by the Rev. gentlemen
composing the committee. The articles of faith and covenant
of the church under the pastoral care of the Rev. Mr. Phillips,
were then read by the Rev. Mr. Mann, and aaaented to by all
the brethren and sistera of the church preaent,
" The Brethren of the church adjourned to the Meeting
house ; and after having had an interview with the committee
of the council. Voted to adjourn, to meet at half past five of the
clock, P. M., at the Town House.
" Adjourned meeting. The brethren met at the town house
agreeably to adjournment. The meeting was opened with pray
er by Br. Charles B. Temple. The committee of the church,
consisting of brothers Russell, Dana and Temple, informed the
brethren, by their chairman, that the committee of the council,
having attended to the duties assigned them, had put into their
hands the following communication as the result of their do
ings, viz : —
" 'To the church of Christ in Piincelon, under ihe pastoral
charge of Rev. Mr, Phillips.
" ' Rev. and Beloved, — The committee appointed by a council
mutually chosen by you and the church under the late care of
14

154 ACTION OF SOCIETIES.
Rev. Mr. Cowles to unite said churches, having satisfied them
selves of the personal piety of tbe foHowing individuals, raera
bers of the last named church, recommend them to your fellow
ship; and they are hereby embodied in one church in accord
ance with your vote in accepting the result of said council.
[Here follow tbe names of forty-six individuals.]
" ' Wishing you grace, mercy and peace, we are yours, dear
brethren, with christian affection.
Lemuel P. Bates, 5
Ctrus Mann, > Commiltet.^
May 16, 1835. William P. Paine, >
" Voted, to accept and sanction the doings of the committee
of council.
" Tbe deacons of the church, viz. David Brooks, Joshua Ev
eleth, Charles Russell, and Caleb Dana, having severally ten
dered their resignations of said office, in consequence of the
union about to be consummated with the church under the pas
toral care of the Rev. Mr. Phillips, — Therefore, Voted, to accept
their resignation, and that they are, at their own request, here
by discharged from the duties appertaining to said office.
" Whereas several of our brethren and sisters have not seen
fit to comply with the advice contained in the result of council,
and to appear with the church this day before fhe committee
appointed for the purpose mentioned in said result — Therefore,
Voted, that tbe clerk of the church be authorized, when re
quested, to give certificates to such persona as did not conform
to the result of said council ; certifying: that they were mem
bers in regular standing previous to the union, said certificate
to bear date of this day. May 16, 1835.
"Voted, That brothers Cbarles Rusaell and Caleb Dana be
directed to present to tbe Rev. Mr. Phillips' church, the letter
of recommendation, that the union of the churches may be con
summated, agreeably to tbe result of the Ecclesiaslical council
convened in this place December last, at the request of said
churches, and in accordance with the subsequent votes and
transactions of said churches, in adopting the result of said
council. " Voted to dissolve the meeting.
" Copy and record of the proceedings.
Caleb Dana,
Late Clerk of the Church under the pastoral
care of Rev. Mr. Cowles."
On the 18th of the same month, the two societies —
the First Parish and the Evangelical Congregational So-.

NEW OBSTACLE TO UNION. 155
ciety — held each of them a meeting. The raeeting of
the latter was to ascertain whether its members were
willing, accordingto the recommendation of the result,
to dissolve their own Society and join the First Parish.
The members of this Society, or alarge portion of thera
at least, were merabers of the church, and they felt un
willing to have a union effected under such circumstances.
Consequently, after a " most vigorous" effort by those
favorable to the measure, only twelve of the entire socie
ty were induced to vote in favor of joining said parish.
The remainder, with the exception of nine who voted in
the negative, did not see fit to act at all.
The informal manner in which the Council's Commit
tee " satisfied themselves of the personal piety" of the for
ty-six individuals which they recommended to the fellow
ship of the Phillips' church, had now become an obstacle
to the proposed union. " The coraraittee came on the last
day of the week — on Saturday; and in the short space
of three hours, read" the articles of faith and covenant
of the Evangelical Congregational Church, "and took
an assent to them, and satisfied themselves ' of the per
sonal piety' of forty-six individuals. Now how, accord
ing to the obvious meaning of the language of the result,
were the comraittee, being strangers, to satisfy them
selves of the personal piety of the persons who should
offer themselves ? Can any sensible and candid man
give any other answer to this question than ' by personal
examination' ; examination in the sense in which the
term is generally understood in orthodox churches?
Such was the understanding of the original* church.
Had they not supposed there would have been an exam
ination in the usual sense of the term, not more than
* The Evangelical Congregational Church.

156 NEW OBSTACLE TO UNION.
three in the entire church would ever have voted to ac
cept the result. But was there an examination in the
sense in which the term is generally understood by-ortho
dox people 1 Forty-six individuals in three hours !
You have perhaps, reader, been present at the examina
tion of persons in relation to their religious experience
and doctrinal views and the evidence of their having
passed from death unto life. How much tirae do churches,
or the committees, as the case raay be, occupy in the
examination of each individual, when there are several
to be examined ? Ten minutes in all cases, undoubted
ly ; probably in most cases more. But take the least,
ten minutes. Six persons then, may be examined in an
hour, and eighteen in three hours. But in the instance
before us, we have forty-six in three hours. In the sense
then in which the term is generally understood, could
there have been an examination. The majority of the
original church have felt, that there conld not have been,
and that there was not such an examination. Some per
sons present, too, have made statements which show,
what the want of time evinces, that the forty-six persons
who presented themselves, were not in the usual Ortho
dox sense of the term examined. It is a very delicate
and disagreeable thing to add, but justice demands it,
that the standing, as to a good name, of some of the per
sons recommended, and the character of several as to
piety, is such as evinces that the committee, being sensi
ble men, could net have examined them. They never
would have been satisfied of their piety, had they done
so. Here then, reader, we have the reason, though not
the only, yet the main and great reason, why the majori
ty of the original church could not feel willing that the
union should go into effect. Ought they to have felt

UNION OF SOCIETIES. 157
willing, that it should? What if most of those who vo
ted at all — nearly half of the church — had once voted to
accept the result 1* They voted thus, most of them cer
tainly, on the supposition, that the persons to be recom
mended to them and embodied in the church would first
be examined. Under these circumstances, were the
church bound by the above vote ? Every candid and pi
ous mind, it is believed, must answer this question in the
negative. In deep anxiety and distress, in many tears
and prayers, a majority of thera came to the conclusion,,
that they were not, and could not be bound by it."t
The twelve persons in the society who were in favor
of the union, being a majority of those who voted, pro
ceeded still further, however, and carried a motion to
dissolve their society, and to join the First Parish. Ac
cordingly they " went over forthwith to the meeting of
the First Parish,'"' and presented their names and also
the names of all the other members of the Evangelical
Congregational society, for the reception of said parish. f
The First Parish, in their meeting, accepted said list
of names, voting them in individually. At the same
time, also, a coramittee |1 was chosen to request the Rev.
Alonzo Phillips to supply their pulpit for " the present.'''
Mr. Phillips, as desired, agreed to supply their pulpit
for " the present," and for the present only ; which
¦supply, for five sabbaths, he accordingly rendered ; —
when a majority of the Evangelical Congregational
Church, after having pondered and prayed over the sub-
* The Result of the Ecclesiastical Council.
t Phillips' "Appeal," pp. 6, 7, 8.
X Several protested at the tirae, we have been informed, against their
names being presented for admission into the First Parish.
11 The committee were Messrs. Caleb Dana, Jonas Brooks, Jr., Charles B.
Temple, Joseph Mason, and Charles Russell.
14*

158 MB. PHILLIPS' SUPPLY.
ject apart and together, and conferred upon it, came to
the deliberate and solemn conclusion that they could not
conscientiously go forward in a union, under circum
stances which seemed to them adapted to the corruption
of vital piety. In accordance with this conclusion, they
addressed the following note to their pastor : —
" Whereas it has become quite manifest to us, the
subscribers, that the way is not yet prepared to carry
the union, respecting which so much has been said and
done, into practical effect ; and whereas, neither we
ourselves, nor our families, seem in a situation to derive
much benefit from our rainister's labours under present
circumstances, we regard it as our right and our duty
to request, and we do hereby request him to return to
his former place of labour."
Mr. Phillips read this communication to the congre
gation of the First Parish, and stated that, as he was the
Pastor of those who were the authors of the communi
cation, and was in the place he then occupied only for
a temporary supply, it was obviously his duty to comply
with their request. He therefore gave notice that he
should discontinue supplying for "the present" the pul
pit of the First Parish, and return to his former place of
labor. From this event, two separate congregations of
public worship were again sustained.
A difference of opinion having arisen in the church
under Mr. Phillips, as we have seen, as to the propriety
of the proposed union going into effect, (many main
taining that it was inexpedient, on account of the " un
satisfactory standing of several of the persons the coun
cil's committee" had seen fit to recommend, while others
were unwilling that a division in public worship should

CHURCH MEETINGS. 159
take place,) a portion of the church returned to their
usual place of worship with their pastor, and the others
remained at the house of the First Parish. Forthwith
thereafter, the other party held a meeting and resolved
to continue their worship at the old Congregational
house. On the same day, a meeting of the united church
was also held, and a committee appointed to wait on Mr.
Phillips and request him to call a meeting of the church,
to ascertain " why they were not willing, that the union
should go into effect." This resulted in a meeting of
said church in July following; " at which, but for the
opposition of those who were determined the union
should go as matters then stood, the persons recommend
ed* would have been informed where the difficulty was,
and a course adopted, there is good reason to believe,
which would have saved the church from much of the
evil they have since experienced. Near the close of this
meeting, when half the raerabers had gone and the rest
were on their feet, beginning to go, a resolutiont was
offered by one of the union-men-as-matters-were, the
purport of which was that the church, in order to a har
monious union, wished for some opportunity to obtain
a knowledge of the doctrinal views and religious experi
ence of the persons recommended. This resolution was
retained by the mover, but the substance of it was event
ually forwarded by the committee appointed for the pur
pose to the persons whom it concerned."!
* The persons recommended by the Council's Committee.
f A copy of this resolution will appear in the succeeding chapter.
} Phillips' Appeal, p. 11.

I<g9 RECONCILIATION ATTEMPTED.

CHAPTER XI.
Attempts to effect a reconciliation— Further examination proffered, with a
plan therefor— Amendment Proposed— Objections to Amendraent— Call of
Exparte Council— Mr. Phillips' letter to the Council— Result of Council-
Mr. Phillips' Dismission— Biographical Notice— Meetings suspended at the
Meeting House of First Parish — Mr. Demond's settlement over First Par-
i:5h — Disaffected ask for a Dismission — Call of Council — Result — Mr. Har
ding's Settlement and Dismission — Mr. Goldsmith's Settlement and Dis
mission — Call of Mr. Hitchcock.
After the meeting of the church in July, 1835, to
which reference has been raade in the preceeding chap
ter, no farther attempts of the parties to effect a recon
ciliation were made until October following, when a
committee was appointed by the members of the church
worshipping at the old Congregational meeting house,
" to wait on the Rev. Mr. Phillips and consult with him
in relation to existing difficulties, and also request him
to call a meeting of the church, to see if some measures
cannot be adopted that will effect a reconciliation, and
restore peace and harmony." To this proposal Mr.
Phillips returned the following reply : —
"To the persons recommended by the committee designa
ted by the Council, and others worshipping with them -
" In reply to the proposal for a meeting of ' the whole of tho
members of the church, at the Evangelical Society's House,
concluded that as they had seen no cause to change their views
since their meeting in July, to direct the committee then ap
pointed for the purpose, to transmit to you the resolution then
passed, and which was not communicated at the time, for the
reason I recently stated to Capt. Dana and others at my house.
The committee above named ha've requested rae -to make out
and send you a copy of the resolution in their behalf. As I have
not the resolution in my posse.'sion, and as it ia several weeks
«ince it was passed, I shall not be able to give you its exact lan
guage ; in substance, however, it was as follows: —
" Resolved, That in order to a more harmonious and satis
factory union, tliis church wish for some suitable opportunity

FtlRTHER EXAMINATION. 161
to obtain a knowledge of the religious experience and doctrinal
views of tbe persona who wish to become united with them.
"This resolution was moved by Mr. Ephraim Beaman, and
seconded by Mr. Thompson. Yours, &c.,
Princeton, Oct. 12, 1835. ' A. Phillips."
The original resolution, the substance of which is in
tended to be embodied in the above, is found to be as
follows : — " Resolved, that the members of this church
present wish for a knowledge of your views and feelings,
of the reason of your hope, and of your doctrinal belief,
that this church may have Christian fellowship with you,
in any way which you shall choose to make it known to
us." At a meeting of the members of the church that wor
shipped at the old house, held Oct. 15, 1835, it was voted
to comply with the " wish expressed in" the above reso
lution. A committee was also appointed to " converse
with the absent members," and ascertain their views,
and transraittheresult to the raerabers worshipping at Mr.
Phillips' meeting-house. Tlje committee, having atten
ded to their duty,, reported that the " persons recom
mended by the council's committee" were willing to give
a reason of " their hope" ; and at the same time propos
ed to the members at Mr. Phillips' meeting-house that
a committee be appointed to meet a comraittee from their
number to agree on " the way and manner.^' This re
quest was complied with and a committee was according
ly appointed. This coramittee met the other, and in due
time maiie the following report : —
" That the deacons of the church call a meeting of the whole
church, including the membera who were recommended and
embodied with the church, by the committee appointed by the
mutual council ; that a pastor, from some «f the neighboring
churches, be agreed upon by the brethren, and be invited to

162 AMENDMENT PROPOSED.
be present, to preside at said meeting ; and that the said pas
tor, together with the deacons of the church, have the liberty to
ask such questions, relative to our doctrinal views and Chris
tian experience, as they in their wisdom deem expedient. We
further propose, if after Christian measures shall have been
taken, there should be any of the members who do not give
satisfactory evidence of their piety, that their cases be proposed
to the church, by the deacons, for the action of the church there
on, and if the church consider such member or members aa
unsuitable to commune with the church, that such be notified
thereof, and be requested to wait until satisfactory evidence can
be obtained by the church."
To this proposition, the members to whom it was made
had several objections, which, in their view, were
weighty. In the first place, the persons that had been
recommended must all be considered as members of the
church already. Hence they did not see the propriety
of their giving the deacons a reason of their hope any
more than other members of the church. Another ob
jection alleged, was, that no member of the church, or
even of their standing committee, was to take apart in
the examination, except the deacons. This seemed to
them invidious. "And be^des, one of the deacons had
prejudged in the case — had shown by his course and
said that he was willing to eome into fellowship and
communion with thera, asking no questions, having no
further action" ; so that, furthermore, it was wrong to
" throw the whole responsibility upon two members," es
pecially when the other deacon was unwilling to " take
this responsibility." Iu view of these objections, it was
voted unanimously, that they could not agree to it, and
the following amendment to the plan was proposed : —
" That the persons recommended by the council's comraittee
give the reaaon of their hope, in the hearing of aa many mem
bers of the church as may wish to be preaent, to all tbe mem •
bers of our standing committee (except Mr. Phillips, who feels
unwilling to be present) — each member of the committee hav-

EXPARTE COUNCIL. 163
ing liberty to ask such questions as he raay deem proper and im
portant, and of one minister (either Mr. Miller or Mr. Nelson,
as you may choose,) nnd that the miniater and committee decide
whether there are any, and if any, whose evidence ia not satis
factory, and' that the person or persons whose evidence is not
satisfactory, according to your committee's proposal atand apart
from the church."
This proposed amendment was at once rejected, and
the following reasons assigned : —
" First, because the plan you propose requires a portion of the
church, (those embodied therein by the council's committee,) to
present themselves for examination before a committee, a major
ity of whom have repeatedly refused to acknowledge them as
members of said church, or aa entitled to any of the righta and
privilegea of membership, and this too, as we think, in violation of
high moral obligations, too aacred to be diaregarded ; and be
cause that the said committee have already .pre-judged in the
case, by thus denying to said membera the righta and privilegea
to which they are entitled by the result of an enlightened mu
tual council, sanctioned by virtue of the church.
" Secondly, because you propose to place in thia same com
mittee an uncalled for and unwarrantable assumption of power,
not delegated to them by tbe church — tbe power of determining
tbe raembership of all thoae recently embodied therein, thereby
depriving the said church of any power of action in their case."
A meeting was held by the persons worshipping at the
old house, on the 4th of December, and a vote passed
to call a " council to dissolve, if expedient, the pastoral
relations of the Rev. Mr. Phillips with the church, and
also to consider and advise the church in relation to the
unhappy difficulties existing therein." The members
worshipping at Mr. Phillips' meeting-house were invited
to attend the above meeting, but declined, alleging as
their principal reason, — "that the result of the council
they have had already, had been the occasion of immense
evil," and therefore they could see no reason "to hope
for good from another." Previous to the assembling of
the proposed council, however, the members of the

164 MR. PHILLIPS' LETTER.
church worshipping at the Rev. Mr. Phillips' meeting
house, "willing to do any thing to effect a reconciliation
that seemed to them at all consistent and right," propos
ed that the persons recommended by the council's com
mittee, " designate themselves, six, to be added to the ex
amining committee.'' This was declined, by replying
that " it would not be any more satisfactory."
They consequently proceeded to carry into execution
their vote of Dec. 4, 1835, and an exparte council was
convened on the 20th of January, 1836, consisting of
the church of Christ in New Braintree, under the
charge of Rev. John Fiske ; the church in North Brook
field, under Rev. Dr. Snell ; the church in Huhbardston,
under Rev, Samuel Gay ; the church in Leicester, un
der Rev. John Nelson ; the church in Rutland, under
Rev. Josiah Clark ; the church in Templeton, under
Rev. Lemuel P. Bates; the church in West Boylston,
under Rev. Elijah Paine, and the church in Holden,
under Rev. Wm. P. Paine, — each pastor being accom^
panied with a delegate. Mr. Phillips, together with the
members who had worshipped with him, were apprised of
the meeting of said council and invited to be present. —
They complied with said invitation. He also communi
cated the following letter : —
" To the Council," S^c.
" Dear Brethren :— I was informed last week, by a note from
a man who is one of the committee for convoking another coun
cil, that the first business of the council would be, to consider
my relation to the church, and if thought expedient, dissolve
it. Though I have had no voice in calling the council, you may,
perhaps, wish, or at any rate, be willing to hear soraething
from me before you proceed to a business so important and se
rious. The facta then, in the case, are these. Some four or five
weeks after the laat council'a committee bad been called here
to attend to the duties assigned them, a majority of the original
church addressed a communication to me, in which they ayoty-

RESULT OP COUNCIL. 165

ed, with sufficient clearnesa their unwillingness to have the
proposed union go into effect under present circumatancea, and
requested me, aa their paator, to reaume my labora in their
former place of worahip. Thia communication I read to the
congregation at the old meeting-house, and then returned to
ray church. On ray doing this, a portion of the original church
merged themselves among the people at the old houae, and be
gan to sustain a separate public worship, first by reading and
subsequently preaching. Thua commenced the present practi
cal division in the original church. I resumed and continued
ray labours as requested, until utterly disabled in health, when
I gave notice that I could do no more at present. When, after
several weeks relaxation and journeying, I had recovered suffi
cient health to be able to preach, I found circumatancea to be
such as rendered it, in my judgment, inexpedient to reaame
my labors, In this the church, with great apparent reluctance
and grief, acquiesced. I do not then, you now perceive, doubt-
leaa, regard myself as the pastor of the people who propose that
you should dismiss rae. I am not their pastor,
" You will not think me wanting then, I trust, brethren, in
Christian respect and courtesy, if I say, in view of these facts,
that I cannot admit, but do hereby deny your right to exercise
any juriadiction in the case. The church of which! am pastor
and myself both, decline uniting in the council. You will not
then brethren, I trust, undertake to ' ait and act upon me.'
"Praying that you may be endued abundantly with the
wiadom which I know you will feel that you need, should you
get a full view of tbe entangled and dreadful state of the relig
ious affairs of the place, I subscribe myself.
Yours, &c., A. Phillips."
The Council came to the following result ;-^
" The Council are unanimously of opinion, that there ia but
one Congregational Church in Princeton, viz ; that which is
called ' the united church,' and that now worshipping in what is
called ' the old meeting house' ;
" That whereas, the Rev. Alonzo Phillips, pastor and minia
ter of the Congregational Church and Society in Princeton, has
refused and neglected to adminiater the ordinancea to aaid
church and aociety for a long time, and whereas the said Mr.
Phillips has refused to unite in calling a Mutual Ecclesiastical
Council to dissolve said relation, when requested to do so, there
fore hindering the prosperity and wounding the cause ofZion ;
" Voted, "That the pastoral relation subsisting between the
Rev. Mr. Phillips and the Congregational Church in this place,
ought to be, and hereby is dissolved."
15

166 MR. PHILLIPS' DISMISSION.
To the foregoing charge Mr. Phillips replies*: — " The
charge speaks of me, you perceive as the minister of
the Congregational Society. But I never was their min
ister. They never did any thing to constitute me
their minister ; they never regarded me as such. Who
ever heard of a Society passing a vote to request their
minister to supply their 'pulpit for the present V Here
then, reverend gentlemen, you are totally mistaken.
The first part of the charge is, that I had ' refused
to administer the ordinances to them' : To refuse,
means, according to Webster, to deny a request, de
mand, invitation, or command ; to decline to do what
is solicited, claimed, or commanded. This I have never
done. What the council call the church at the old
meeting-house, never requested, nor invited, nor com
manded me to administer the ordinances to them. All
the request I ever received from the people at the old
house, was that from the first parish, to supply their 'pul
pit for the present'; and with this request I complied."
As we have already been apprised, in the letter of
Mr. Phillips to the Council, he had asked a dismission
previous to the convening of the Council, which was
granted. This occurred the 13th of January, 1836, at
a meeting t "called in part at his request," when, on
instance of the following letter, " the church voted
unanimously, in consideration of the present unhappy
slate of affairs, tho' with much apparent reluctance and
grief, to grant his request" : —
f'.ro the Church of Christ.
" Dear Brethren, — When I answered, more than fifteen years
ago, your unanimous call to settle with you in ' the work of the
gospel ministry,' I expressed, aa sorae of you doubtless recol-
* See Phillips' Appeal, pp.22, 23. t See Church Records, vol. i.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE. 167
lect, a willingness and determination, to cast in my lot with
yours, then in no very encouraging circumstances; to live or
die with you. The whole history of my ministry shows, that
I have never swerved from thia purpose. The hiatory of this
church, too, abows that my ministry, its many faulta notwith
standing, has been quite as successful as that of moat other
men's under similar circumstances. The course, however,
which has been pursued by some of the members of the church
for the last six months, tbe particulars of which, aa they are
well known to you all, I need not state in this cprcimunication,
have thrown obstacles in the way of my success in future, and
inflicted a wound on my feelings, which must, doubtless, justify
me in your view, in requesting you, as I now do, to allow me to
leave you, to unite with me in the usual measures for dissolving
our connexion. And may the God of peace and love be with
you forever. A. Phillips.
Princeton, January 12, 1836."
A Council convened at the house of Mr. Phillips and
consummated the vote of the church before mentioned
relative to his dismission. Mr. Phillips, during his
ministry in Princeton, had enjoyed the unlimited confi
dence of the members of his church and society nearly
to the time of his dismission. Several, a short time pre
vious thereto, became disaffected however, as we have
seen in the narrative. About sixty young persons united
with the church in the course of his ministry. No year
passed without receiving some new members. The
whole number added during this period was one hundred
and thirty-five.
Rev. Alonzo Phillips was born at Bradford, in this
State, Sept. 1, 1788. His father, Capt. Timothy Phil
lips, was a revolutionary patriot. He prepared for col
lege at the academy in Bradford ; graduated, in 1815,
at the Middlebury College, Vt., and immediately com
menced his theological course at Andover. He spent
his first year in the ministry as a domestic missionary in
the State of Vermont. Soon after his dismission from

168 CONGREGATIONS UNITE.
Princeton he removed with his family to Newburyport,
where he resided until his death, which occurred April
24, 1838. During the years of his ministry he prepared
about 550 MS. sermons. These sermons were well
studied, and abundantly evince a mind naturally clear
and discriminating.
On the 9th of June, 1836, a committee was appointed
by the First Parish to " request the society worshipping
at the Rev. Mr. Phillips' Meeting House to appoint a
committee" to see if they can agree upon measures for
effecting a " Union." At a meeting of the Evangelical
Society, on the 20th of the sarae month, it was voted
" to choose a committee, consisting of five" persons, to
meet the above mentioned committee, with the following
instructions: — "That the only condition on which the
members of the First Parish can be united with us, is,
by uniting with our society in a legal way. In case
they see fit to unite with us, we will allow them to vote
in all matters, or suspend action till they become voters
by law." It was also " Voted, That we feel the busi
ness must be closed soon and that we cannot make or
receive any more communications on this subject of
union. The First Parish refused to accede to this vote ;
but at the same time " voted that they were willing to
meet for public worship, in either of the Congregational
Meeting Houses." Whereupon, the Society worshipping
at the house of the Rev. Mr. Phillips' former labor,
voted that they were " willing, as individuals, that the
First Parish should come in and worship with them."
The First Parish voted to accept this invitation, and at
the same time, " to suspend meetings at the first parish
meeting house for the present, until otherwise ordered

MUTUAL COUNCIL. 169
by said parish, and meet in the new meeting house for
religious worship."*
The members worshipping at Mr. Phillips' " former
place of labor," had, previous to this, invited Rev. Eli
jah Demond, of Holliston, to preach to them; and in a
short time they invited him to settle with them. He
however negatived this call, and subsequently, on the
24th of September, 1836, accepted an invitation from
those previously worshipping at the old house to become
their pastor. On the 26th of October following, Mr.
Demond was installed. The exercises on that occasion
were as follows : — Introductory prayer by Rev. Samuel
Gay of Huhbardston ; Sermon by Rev. Jacob Ide, D. D.,
of West Medway; Installing prayer by Rev. Job Fisher
¦of New Braintree; Charge to the pastor by Rev. Dr.
Snell of- North Brookfield ; Right hand of fellowship by
Rev. Cyrus Mann of Westminster; Address to the
Church and Society by Rev. Josiah Clark of Rutland ;
Concluding prayer by Rev. John Nelson ; Benediction by
the Pastor.
A committee was chosen in November, 1836, who
were instructed to remove the Sabbath School Library,
from the "small to the large meeting-house."*
The members that still worshipped at the "small
house," thirty-two in number, requested a dismission
and recommendation, with a view to be formed " into a
new Church by theraselves." Their request, however,
was not granted. It was renewed the second time,
without avail. Whereupon it was agreed to call a mu
tual council, to "consider the subject of" their dismission^
Accordingly, a council was convened Feb. 7, 1838,
* M^hether this vote was ever rescinded we are unable to state.
!f The committee were Josiah Gutting, Caleb Dana, and Charles B. Temple.
15*

170 REV. MR. HARDING.
consisting of the church in Huhbardston under the
charge of Rev. Samuel Gay ; the church in Leicester un
der Rev. John Nelson ; the church in Rutland under Eev.
Josiah Clark; the church in Hardwick under Rev. Wm.
Eaton, and the church in Keene, N. H., under Rev.
Z. S. Barstow, — each of the ministers of said churches
being accompanied with a delegate. The following is
the result : — " The council express their sympathy with
the aggrieved persons, as the long tried friends of truth,
and as honestly supposing themselves entitled to a dis
mission because they cannot, as they think, conscien
tiously come into the measures of the church, lest they
approve of things that are wrong. And yet we think
they misjudge in this respect; and on the other hand,
the council are fully persuaded that the reasons urged by
the church against granting the request of the petition
ers, are sound and judicious; and that it would be wrong
to perpetuate divisions by erecting a new church state in
Princeton."* The present Congregational Meeting House was com
pleted in 1838. Mr. Demond continued hia labors in
this place until 1839, when, at his request, he was dis
missed on the 8th of November of that year. He was a
graduate of Dartmouth College, Hanover, N. H., in
1816, and pursued his theological studies at Andover.
Rev. Mr. Harding, the successor to Rev. Mr. De
mond, was ordained March 20, 1840. The exercises
were — Introductory prayer by Rev. Mr. Paine of Hol
den ; Sermon by Rev. Mr. Rogers of Franklin St., Boston ;
Ordaining prayer by Rev. Samuel Gay of Huhbardston ;
Charge to the pastor by Rev. Josiah Clark of Rutland ;
Fellowship of the churches by Rev. Samuel Lamson of
* For the course taken by the disaffected, see succeeding chapter.

BET. MR. GOLDSMITH. 171
Brighton ; Address to the chorch and society by Rer.
Cyrus Mann of Westminster; Conclnding prayer by
Rev. S. G. Backingham . of Millbury ; Benediction. —
Mr. Heirtling was dismissed, at his request, on tbe 26th
of August, 1644.
In March, 1S45, it was voted by the church and
parish to give Rev. Joseph VaiU a caU to settle. Mr. Vaill
however declined. In June of the same year. Rev. Al
fred Goldsmith accepted an invitation to settle in Prince-
ion. His installation took place July 15, le4o. The
exercises on the occasion were as follows : — ^lutroductory
prayer by Sct. J. W. Cross of West Boylston; Ser
mon by Rev. G. W. Blagdon of Old South Church,
Boston ; Installing prayer by Rer. S. Sweetser of Cen
tral Church, Worcester ; Charge to the pastor by Ect.
E. Smalley of Union Church, Worcester ; Fellowship
of the churches by Rev. A. Bullard of Barre; Address
to the people by Rev. S. S. Smith of W^tminster; Con-
elndin? prajer by Rer. O. B. Bidwell of Hnbbardston,
and Benediction by the pastor. Mr. Goldsmith contin
ued his labors until the ITth of June, 1849, when he
was, at his request, dismissed.
Since the last date, the Congr^ational Ghorch in
Princeton has had no settled pastor. It was Toted,
June 20, 16-50, to give the Rev. Wm. D. Hitchcock a
call to settle over the church in the work of the gt^pel
ministrv. Mr. Hitchcock negatived the call. He how
ever continued to supply their pulpit for ten months ;
and has since settled over the Congregational Church in
Clinton. Their pulpit, since he left, has been supplied
by different ministers, mostly by students from the The
ological Seminary at Andorer.

172 METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

CHAPTER XIL
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
Introduction of Methodism into Princeton — Messrs. Lewis and Fay join Class
at Worcester — First Methodist Preachingby Uev.James Porter — Revival of
Religion under the Labors of Rev. Mr. Paine — Formation of Classes —
Huhbardston and Rutland made Stations — New Meeting House — First
Quarterly Conference — Purchase of Furniture for Parsonage — Present to
the Church — Stationed Preachers — MunlHeence of Mrs. Nabby Brooks.
Methodism is said to be " a child of Providence."
That it was introduced into Princeton under Providen
tial circumstances none can doubt, upon becoming ac
quainted with its brief history. During the first of the
year 1838, Mr. George Lewis and Mr. Silas Fay, the
former a member of the Baptist church and the latter a
member of the Congregational church, requested dis
mission from those churches. Their request being
granted, they joined the Methodist Episcopal Church in
Worcester. The Rev. James Porter, who was the
stationed preacher at that time in Worcester, and under
whose watchcare they had placed themselves, was invited
to.come to Princeton to preach. With this request he
very readily complied, and, in March of the same year,
preached in the old Town House, to a large concourse
of people. He learned at this time, the condition of the
place, and the existence of a desire to become better
acquainted with Methodist doctrines and usages, on the
part of many of the people.
As they desired preaching on the Sabbath, which he
was unable to render himself, he requested Rev. Benja
min Paine, of Oxford, (who at that tirae sustained a su-
pernumary relation to the New England Annual Confer
ence of the M. E. Church,) to spend a few Sabbaths in
Princeton. Mr. Paine complied with the request, and

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 173
commenced preaching here the third Sabbath in April,
1838, and continued until the first of June following, —
at which time he engaged to preach for them one year
additional*. From the commencement of his ministerial
labors among the people, there was an evident serious
ness and an increasing attention to the words of life
preached by him, until some tirae in August following ;
when, at Valley village, or " Slab city," where he had
held a third service on the Sabbath, a revival of religion
broke out. Such was the interest now manifested on
the subject of religion, that hundreds assembled to hear
the word, while the revival influence extended into every
part of the town and also into several of the adjacent
towns, especially Huhbardston and Rutland. It is said
to have been the most extensive and powerful revival of
religion ever experienced in this community. As the
fruits of it, many were added to the church of Christ. —
On the 15th of August, Mr. Paine formed a class of
about twenty merabers in Huhbardston, and on the 3lst,
oue in this town of about thirty members.
In the early part of the succeeding year, another class
was formed, in Rutland, consisting of twenty-five mem
bers. During the conference year many accessions
were made to these classes, especially to the one in
Princeton, so that at its close, in June, 1839, the M. E.
Church numbered in all, comprising the three classes
referred to, 138 communicants. Many of this number
were the former members of Rev. Mr. Phillips' church,
which has been conspicuous in the preceding chapters.
Many accessions during this revival were also made to
the Congregationalist church iu this place.* At the
session of the Conference in June, 1839, as Mr. Paine
* See Church Records, vol. ii.

174 METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
had heretofore sustained a supernumary relation, it was
changed to that of effective, and he was then stationed
at Princeton. At the same Conference, Huhbardston
was also made a station, and Rev. J. Whitman, jr., ap
pointed to labor there; and Rutland was left to be sup
plied by the Presiding Elder.
Immediately on the return of Mr. Paine from Confer
ence, the church and society under his charge, feeling
the need of a more convenient place for public worship,
commenced building a meeting-house. This house was
erected at an expense of about forty-five hundred dol
lars, exclusive of the bell, (which was purchased by
subscription, at an expense of about five hundred dol
lars, of which Jonas Brooks, Esq. paid two hundred
dollars.) It was completed in the course of the ensuing
winter, and dedicated on the 1 3th of February, 1840.
The dedicatory prayer was offered by the Pastor, and
the sermon preached by Rev. M. L. Scudder, now of
the New York East Conference. During the early part
of the year 1840, the Methodist Episcopal Society com
menced its legal existence. The first quarterly meeting
conference was held on the 16ih of February of that
year. Rev. Bartholomew Otheman, now of Providence
Annual Conference, was the Presiding Elder. At this
Conference, George Lewis, Jonas Brooks, Esq. and Ed
ward A. Goodnow, were elected the first stewards of the
M. E. Church in Princeton. The class leaders that had
been previously appointed by the pastor, were, John H.
Brooks and Luther Crawford.
Mr. Paine, who accomplished much for the society in
its infancy, continued his labors with them until June,
1840, which date terminated the term preachers are al
lowed to remain at one time, on the same station, or

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 175
circuit, in the Methodist Episcopal connection. Rev.
Stephen Cushing was appointed as the successor of Mr.
Paine. During the ministrations of Mr.' Cushing, a
considerable amount of furniture was purchased by sub
scription, for the use of the stationed preachers in Prince
ton. In the year 1841, Rev. William R. Stone was sta
tioned over this church, whose pastoral labors were high
ly appreciated by the church and congregation. Rev.
J. R. Sawyer was appointed to succeed Mr. Stone in
1842. Mr, Sawyer, after laboring a few months with
the people, withdrew from the M. E. Church and con
nected himself with the " True Wesleyans."
Fortunately for the church and society, Rev. Joseph
W. Lewis, who was at that time preaching in West
Boylston, was engaged as Mr. Sawyer's substitute. Mr.
Lewis was vigilant in looking after the spiritual inter
ests of the church. He labored with them with great
acceptance until the session of the Conference, in 1843,
from which he was returned to Princeton, as also from
the succeeding one in 1844, closing his labors here in
1845. During his frainistrations several were added to
the church. Rev. Kinsman Atkinson succeeded Mr.
Lewis, who was diligent in the work of the ministry.
In 1846, Rev. Howard C. Dunham was the stationed
preacher. In September of this year Mrs. Olive Winch
presented to the church a set of communion service.
The money by which said set was purchased, was earned
by her own industry after having passed the age of three
score years and ten. On the 6th of September, 1846,
the following resolution was unanimously adopted by the
church :— " Resolved, That the thanks of this church
be given to our aged and respected sister Winch, for the
set of communion service she has this day presented to

176 BAPTIST CHURCH.
us, with the assurance of our Christian regards, and
prayers that she may ever feel that it is more blessed to
give than to receive."
In the years 1847 — 8, Rev. Albert A. Cook, was
stationed here, whose labors much increased the congre
gation. The succeeding conference year, Rev. Henry
M. Bridge was the pastor. Rev. Jeremiah L. Hana-
ford was appointed in April, 1850, and continued till
April, 1852. Rev. Simon Putnam is the stationed
preacher this year.*
The Methodist Episcopal Church and Society in
Princeton, have a fund of little more than $600, which
was presented said church and society some years since
by Mrs. Nabby Brooks, the annual interest of which
goes to the support of public worship. The church gives
proraise of accomplishing extensive good. Hitherto
its influence has been most salutary, and we trust still
more numerous and healthful influences will emanate
from it.t
* We have not thought it best to give any biographical sketches of the difr
ferent preachers of tliis church, as their stay has necessarily been limited.
t For Articles of Faith of the M,E. Church, seeDiscipline, sec. ii.

CHAPTER Xin.
THE BAPTIST CHURCH.
Formation of the Baptist Society — First Baptist in Town — First Preaching 
Kev. Mr. Andrews — Organization of the Church — Articles of Faith  Rev.
Mr. Walker— Rev. Mr. Johnson— Settlement and Dismission of Mr. Morse
—Call and Settlement of Mr. Level— His Dismission— Settlement of Mr.
BaU — Settlement of Mt. Cunningham — Accessions to the Church— Dis
mission, of Mr. Cunningham— Temporary Supply of the Pulpit.
The records of the Baptist Society do not bear an
earlier date than 1817. On the 9th of April of that year

BAPTIST CHURCH. 177
sixty-one individuals, several of whom were members of
the Baptist church in Holden, formed theraselves into a
society by the name of "the Baptist Society in Prince
ton." Tradition reports that Mr. Aaron Perry, living
upon the farm now known by the name of the " Rice
place," was the first person of this denomination belong
ing to town. The records of the town partially confirm
the voice of tradition. At a town meeting, held May 5,
1770, it was voted that " Aaron Perry be left out of the
ministerial rates,''* on the account of his being of the
Baptist persuasion, and an article was inserted in the
warrant for the town meeting to be held May 27, 1776,
" to see if the town will abate all, or any of the rainiste
rial rates of those persons that'are of the Baptist persua
sion." The vote of the town in reference to this article
reads as follows : — " Voted, to abate the rainisterial rates
of Stephen RaJph, Sadey Mason, and Aaron Perry."
For several years subsequent to this period this favor
was refused.
The records of the Society commence, as before stated.
April 9, 1817. William Everett was chosen- moderator,
and Stephen Mirick, jr., clerk. Previous to this time,
however, there was occasional Baptist preaching at the
house of Mr. Perry, and, as early as the year 1805, the
Rev. Elisha Adams, then Pastor of the Baptist church
in Templeton, comraenced preaching in town at the
residence of Mr William Everett, usually spending
eight or ten Sabbaths in Princeton during each year.
The Baptists in town then belonged to the Baptist church
in Templeton ; but on the 31st of December, 1807,
* The " ministerial rates" related to what was raised for the support of the
Established Church. 16

178 BAPTIST CHURCH.
at their request, they were dismissed, and became
connected with the church in Holden.
Under the ministration of Mr. Andrews, several addi
tions were made to the church. He continued bis labors
until 1819. For three years subsequent thereto. Rev.
John Walker preached to them one fourth of the time.
There was a revival of religion under his ministry, and
as fruits of it nearly twenty became connected with the
church in Holden, Their meetings during this period
were usually held at one of the school-houses, mainly at
the " North school-house," so called. In 1822 they re
quested a dismission from the church in Holden, for the
purpose of being " united into a distinct church." This
request was granted on the 31st of July of that year, and
they were duly organized as a Church of Christ in
Princeton, numbering at the time twenty-eight members.
The following are the Articles of Faith -adopted at the
organization : —
" 1. We believe that the Sacred Scriptures of the Old and
New Testaments, were given by infallible inspiration of God,
and that they contain our only and sufficient rule of faith and
practice. " 2. We believe that th^ Holy Scriptures teach us that there
is only one living and true God ; possessing infinite immutable
wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth ; and that
this one God consists in three Persons — the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Ghost.
" 3. We believe that fhe first man, Adam, was created up
right and holy, and by a divine constitution was placed the head
and representative of hia posterity, so that all mankind descend
ing from him by mutual generation, are, in consequence of his
disobedience, involved in a state of sin and guilt, yet so as not
to destroy the moral agency of mankind, nor the personal re
sponsibility of every individual.
" 4. We believe that Jesus Christ is truly and properly
the Son of God, and that in him the Divine and human natures
are so united as to be one Person, and that he is the only Me
diator between God and man.
" 5. We believe that Jesus Christ was frora Eternity set as

BAPTIST CHURCH. 179
the Mediator of the new covenant, and that in that covenant a
certain number of the human race was given to him, of the Fa
ther, by an irrevocable purpose of Grace, who shall infallibly
be saved through the Mediator of the atonement, by faith in
Christ, renovation of heart, and true holiness.
" 6. We believe that Jesus Christ bas made a true an^
proper atonement for mankind by the sacrifice of himself for sin.
" 7. We belive that all who are truly regenerated by the
Spirit of God, and so are penitent believers in Christ, will be
infallibly saved.
"8. We believe that all true believers are justified by faith
in Christ, and their sins freely forgiven, for the sake of the
atonement. "9. We believe it is the duty of believers to be baptized
by a total immersion in water, and for baptized believers to par
take of the Lord's Supper, and that regularly ordained minis
ters of the Gospel are the only authorized administrators of
those ordinances.
" 10. We believe that the first day of the week ought to
be observed as the Christian Sabbath.
" 11. We believe that every Christian church has full power
to receive, discipline, and exclude her own members, according
to the laws of Christ, yet in proper subordination to the offices
which the great Head of the church has appointed.
" 12. We believe thaf the officers which Christ has appoint
ed in his church are Bishops and Deacons, whose official au
thority ia exclusively ministerial.
" 13. We believe that every Christian who has a family ia
bound to maintain visible religion in it.
" 14. We believe that all men will be raised from the dead
and judged according to the deeds done in the body, and that
the righteous will be received into endless Happiness, and the
wicked will go away into endless Punishment."
After the formation of the church in Princeton, Mr.
Walker confined his labors exclusively to the church in
Holden, and the Rev. Mr. Andrews was again employed
to preach in town half of the time. He continued his
labors nearly two years. Rev. Elisha Andrews was a
man of uncommon talents, as a preacher, although be
had never enjoyed the advantages ofa College education.
He is reported to have been remarkably happy in the
expository style of preaching.

180 BAPTIST CHURCH.
Upon the leaving of Mr. Andrews the church were
dependent upon temporary engagements until 1826,
when Rev. Elias Johnson became their pastor, preaching
alternate Sabbaths in Princeton and Westminister.
During his ministrations nearly thirty were added to the
church. In 1828, a meeting house was erected at an
expense of $2,000. This house was located about a
mile north from the centre of the town, and was built of
brick. Mr. Johnson closed his ministerial labors with
the society in 1830.
In March, 1839, about thirty members requested and
obtained a dismission from this church, and formed
themselves into a distinct church at Westminster. On
the 27th of September following, Rev. Appleton Morse
received an unanimous call to become the pastor of the
church and society in Princeton and Westminister.
Mr. Morse, having accepted the call, was ordained Oct.
19. The following were the exercises on that occa
sion : — Reading the Scriptures by Rev. Asaph Meriam
of Boylston; Introductory prayer by the same; Sing
ing by the choir ; Sermon by Rev. Ira Chase, Profes
sor of Biblical Theology in the Newton Theological Ins
titute ; Anthem ; Ordaining prayer by Rev. Elisha Sam
son of Harvard; Charge by Rev. Abel Fisher of West
Boylston ; Right hand of fellowship by Rev. John Walk
er of Holden ; Address to the church by Rev. Mr. Fish
er; Concluding prayer by Rev. Samuel Everett of Mil-
ford, N. H. ; Ordination Anthem ; Benediction by the
pastor. Mr. Morse divided his labors between the two
places until the spring of 1831, when they were confined
exclusively to Princeton. About twenty-five were ad
ded to the church under his labors, which terminated
April 1, 1832, at his own request.

BAPTIST CHURCH. 181
The Rev. Appleton Morse was born in Hopkinton,
ija this State, March 7, 1805. He entered Brown Uni
versity in June, 1824. "During his sophomore year,
ill health obliged him to leave the University and sus
pend for a time his studies." On his recovery, he en
tered upon a theological course at the Institution at
Newton, and graduated in 1830. Soon after his dis
mission from Princeton, he was settled in Fitchburg,
where he remained for several years.
After the dismission of Mr. Morse, the church was
supplied with preaching from temporary sources until
1834. In June of that year. Rev. Neheraiah G. Lovell
received and accepted an invitation to become their min
ister. He was ordained on the 19th of July, 1834.
Exercises as follows: — Introductory prayer and reading
the Scriptures by Rev. Alonzo Phillips, pastor of the
Presbyterian church in Princeton ; Sermon by Rev. Mr.
Patterson; Ordaining prayer by Rev. Appleton Morse,
previous pastor; Charge by Dr, Lovell, father to the
pastor elect; Right hand of fellowship by Rev. Mr. Bis-
ing ; Address to the church and society by Rev. Mr.
Willard ; Concluding prayer by Eev. J. P, Cowles, pas
tor of the Congregational church in Princeton. Mr.
Lovell continued the minister of the church until No
vember, 1836, when, at his own request, he was dis
missed. Rev. Nehemiah G. Lovell was born Aug. 20,
1806, at Rowley, in this State. He was the son of a
Baptist clergyman. He graduated at the Brown Uni
versity in 1833. On his dismission from Princeton, he
became pastor of the Baptist church in Amherst, N. H,
Immediately after the dismission of Mr. Lovell, Rev.
Mason Ball commenced preaching to the church and
society in Princeton, and, on the llth of March, 1837,
16*

la^i BAPTIST CHURCH.
received and accepted an unanimous call to settle with
them in the Gospel ministry. He continued pastor un
til 1841, when he was dismissed. In June, of the same
year. Rev. Mr. Coburn of Boston was invited to become
their pastor : he however negatived the invitation. The
present Baptist church was erected about this time.
In October of 1841, Rev. Orlando Cunningham of
Reading, Mass., received an invitation to become pastor
of the church. Having accepted the invitation, he was
ordained Nov. 23. The exercises on the occasion
were — Introductory prayer by Rev. David Goddard of
Leominster ; Reading of the Scriptures by Rev. Mr.
Harding, Congregationalist preacher of Princeton ; Ser
mon by Rev. J. W. Parker of Cambridge; Ordaining
prayer by Rev. Orin Tracy of Fitchburg ; Charge to
the candidate by Rev. John Allen of Sterling ; Right
hand of fellowship by Rev. Andrew Pollard of Holden ;
Address to the church and congregation by Rev. S. B.
Swain of Worcester ; Concluding prayer by Rev. Mr.
Goddard. Under the labors of Mr. Cunningham, several
were hopefully converted and connected themselves with
the church. He continued his labors with them until
January, 1844, when, at his own request, his pastoral
relation was dissolved. During this year several of the
members withdrew from the church, having imbibed
the views of the Anti-Sabbatarians.
Since the dismission of Mr. Cunningham, the Baptist
church and society in Princeton have been dependent
upon temporary engageraents for a supply of their pul
pit. They have had no preaching however since No
vember, 1851.

MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS. 1S3

MISCELLANEOUS MATTEKS.

CHAPTER XIV.
First Public School in Town— Division of the Town into School Districts —
Appropriations for Schooling — Select Schools — Munificence of John
Brooks, Esq. — Native Ministers.
Although the early settlers of this town were not fa
vored with many educational priviliges, yet they evinced
an interest in the subject, and, considering their means,
accomplished much. As soon as they were legally in
corporated into a District, the worship of God was
"Pirst in their noble thoughts and plans ;
Then, the strong training of their youth,"
And even previous to this, those parents who were in
terested in education, taught their own children for seve
ral years. Private schools were also kept, supported by
private contributions, in a small room of some one of
their log houses.
" The first public school was kept by Mr. Samuel
Woods, in a house on the farm at present owned by
Capt. Nahum Wilder." The precise year when this
shcool was commenced we have been unable to ascer
tain. It is supposed that it was about the year 1759, the
dateof the District's incorporation. The first action of
the District upon the subject, in a corporate capacity,
as appears by the records, was on the 2d of January,
17 6i, 'whe'a six pounds, (ahont $27) was voted for the
use of Schools that year. The year immediately suc
ceeding, this sum was augmented .£100 old tenor, equiv
alent to rfl3, 6s, 8d, It would appear frora the Town
Records to have become an alm,3st established method

184 MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS.
of proceedure, to do as last year respecting schools;
with a few exceptions, however, the amount of raoney
raised was gradually augmented with the increase of
population. Previous to 1769, the town not having been divided
into disti-icts, the selectmen were expected to address a
warrant to the people of a neighborhood, instructing
them to procure a school teacher, and allowing the dif
ferent neighborhoods the amount paid by them. The
following is a copy of a warrant addressed to Mr. Robert
Cowden and sixteen others, bearing date Jan. 4, 1768 :
" You are hereby ordered to procure a Schoolmaster
to y^ approbation of y° selectmen, and Improve in y^ use
of Schooling what you are assessed in y° School Rates,
and when you have done so you may have orders to draw
y° same out of y° District Treasury.
" Sum total of your School Rates ^3, 5,2, 1."
In October, 1769, it was voted to make an alteration
respecting the Schools, and a comraittee consisting of
Dea. Keyes, Caleb Mirick, Sadey Mason, Stephen Brig
ham, Robert Keyes, Joseph Phelps, and Samuel Woods
was chosen for that purpose, to report at a subsequent
raeeting. At a meeting on the 6th of December, the
same year, said committee reported that it was expedient
to divide the town into six districts or squadrons, as
they were at that time usually termed. This report was
adopted by the town and the division accordingly made.
There were at that time one hundred and nineteen fami
lies in town.
The " Middle Division," or District, embraced thirty-
six families, as follows: — Moses Gill, Joseph Wooley,
Jabez Stratton, Dr. Ephraim Woolson, William Gibbs,

MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS. 185
Isaac Stratton, William Foster, John Barber, Joseph
Haynes, Samuel Wood, Job Brooks, John Gleason,
Amos Powers, Enoch Brooks, Rev. Timothy Fuller,
Elisha Gale, Josiah Wetherbee, Josiah Mirick, Paul
Matthews, Joseph Eveleth, Caleb Mirick, Joel Rice,
George Parkhurst, John Mirick, Samuel Hastings, J.
Bullard, Joseph Norcross, Abner Howe, Adonijah
Howe, Joseph Sargent, Ebenezer Jones, John Jones,
James Mirick, Peter Goodnow, Thadeus Bowman and
Isaac Jones.
The " Southerly Division" contained twenty families :
Ephraim Hartwell, Joseph Gibbs, Thomas Mason, Jacob
Moore, Aaron Brooks, Nathan Farrow, Samuel Bailey,
Robert Forbes, Sadey Mason, Col. Benjamin Holden,
William Muzzey, Jonathan Smith,  Eager, Charles
Brooks, Asa Harris, Eliphalet Howe,  Conant,
George Sraith, William Raymond, and Richard Cheever.
." Easterly Division," ten families: — Silas Houghton,
 Allen, J. Stanley, Joseph Abbot, Charles Wyman,
Col. Elisha Jones, Warren Sawin, Isaac Abbot, Joseph
Phelps, and Oliver Dresser.
" Westerly Division," eighteen families : — C. Hart
well, Nathan Sraith, David Parker, Williara Thorapson,
Robert Cowden, Oliver Davis, Lt. Boaz Moore, Tirao
thy Keyes, Joseph Eveleth, Humphrey Moore, Silas
Plympton,  Morse, Robert Rossier, Williara Skin
ner, Micah Newton, Seth Savage, John Jones, and
Abraham Savage.
" North-westerly Division," fourteen families : — Isaac
Thompson, Philip Rogers, John Bartlett, Stephen Brig
ham,  Davis, Stephen Ralph, David Everett, Ebe
nezer Colburn, Daniel Sumner  Howard, Aaron
Perry, Isaac Norcross, Noah Norcross, and Artemas
Howe.

186 MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS.
"North-easterly Division,'' twenty-one families: —
Jonathan Powers, Timothy Billings, Robert Keyes,
Tilly Littlejohns, Samuel Moseman, Elisha Wilder,
Ephraim Osgood, Joel Houghton,  Brown, John
Frost, Benjamin Wilson, William Edgell, James Robin
son, Timothy Moseman, William Moseman, Phineas
Beaman, Jaraes Harrington, Stephen Harrington, Abijah
Harrington, Elisha Hobbs, and  Gregory.
In January, 1771, it was " voted that each Squadron
have liberty to build their own school houses ;" it ap
pears, however, that neither of them availed themselves
of this privilege. In March, of the same year, it was
" voted a school house be built in each Squadron of y"
town at y° town cost, and that a school house be built in
y'^ Middle Squadron, twenty feet square, and that one
hundred dollars be allowed for y° building y® same, said
money to be raised in y" Middle Squadron, and y" other
Squadrons to be assessed by y° same proportion for y*
building y" other school houses, and if any money is left,
it shall be converted to y° use of schooling in y" Squad
ron." A comraittee, of two to each Squadron, was chosen
at the same time, to superintend the building of said
houses. In the year following, this vote was so far re
considered, that it was " voted each Squadron be rated
separately," and application was also made to the
" Q,uarter Sessions" for the confirmation of this vote.
The six school-houses were accordingly built, during
that and the following year. The one in the Middle
Squadron at the expense of .£26, 13s, id, "These
houses stood, with the exception of that of the centre
district, until 1797, when new ones were erected, which
remained until 1836, when the town again commenced
re-building them." The centre school house, which had

MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS. 187
been used to transact the municipal business of the town
in, was consumed by fire, whereupon the present old
Town House was built, and used for the centre school,
until 1811, when the district was divided. In 1792, a
new division of thp town into school districts was made,
and in 1838 it was new districted as at present. At
this time, also, most of the school houses were built with
brick. The town, since the year 1800, has appropriated for
schooling, $34,687,87 1-2, exclusive of private appropri
ations. The appropriation for the present year, 1852,
is $1000, which is divided equally among the ten dis
tricts. In addition to this, about $65 will be received
from the school fund of the State ; making in all, $1065,
to be expended for the purposes of Common Schools.
Of this, two-thirds is to be expended for the winter
schools, and the remaining one third for summer
schools. Statistical Account of the Common Schools, for
1851-2 .—Number of Districts, 10 ; Number of differ
ent scholars in Summer Schools, 279,— in Winter, 337 ;
Average attendance in Summer Schools, 260,— in Win
ter, 275.
The influence exerted by Common School instruc
tion, has been, in the highest degree, happy and salutary
upon all the citizens of the town. It may be confident
ly asserted that each individual has, to a certain extent,
personally shared in their enlightening and ennobling
blessings. The interests of education in Princeton
have not been unaffected by the progress of learning
throughout the community. The demand for more
school instruction, has been met, by individuals of this
place, through the maintenance, at different periods, of

188 MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS.
a Select or High School. In 1828, John Brooks, Esq.,
not only fitted up a building for the accommodation of
an English and Classical school, and purchased a valua
ble philosophical apparatus for the use of the same, at
his own expense, but he also obligated himself to pay the
instructor a salary of $300 annually, for three succes
sive years, — exclusive of the tuition of scholars. This
school was quite prosperous for several years, especially
" while under the management of Mr. Goddard, who pos
sessed, in an eminent degree, all the requisites of a suc
cessful teacher." Mr. Goddard continued teacher until
1831. Subsequently, it was continued under the tuition
of different individuals until 1835, supported by the
liberal contributions of Mr. Brooks, and a few other in
dividuals. Princeton has rai.sed up and educated many eminent
and good men. Subjoined, are the names of Clergymen,
of the Congregational and Baptist denominations, na
tives of this town, and who received their early educa
tion in this place : — Rev. Messrs. Stephen Baxter, 
Ralph, William Mason, Thomas Mason, Humphrey
Moore, William Allen, John Keyes, Ezra Newton, Con
gregationalists ; Rev. Messrs. Abel Woods, Joshua Ev
eleth, Ephraim Eveleth, Baptists; Rev. Leonard
Woods, D. D., Professor in the Andover Theological
Seminary; Oliver Allen, at present a Missionary at
Bombay ; Charles Brooks, son of John H. Brooks, Con
gregationalist.

MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS. 189

CHAPTER XV.
Biographical Notices— Physicians— Postmasters— Public Buildings— Accom
modations at the Wachusett Hotel— Streams and Ponds— Wachusett
Mountain— Hills — Products.
Notices of the clergyraen of the town strictly belong
to the division of biography. The relation of these to
their parishes, however, is so intiraate, it has been found
most convenient to furnish a brief memoir of each min
ister in the history of his parish.
Hon. Moses Gill, though not a native of Princeton,
his history is, nevertheless, more or less interwoven with
it. He was born at Charlestown in this State in 1733.
His early days were spent in mercantile pursuits. He
was married to Miss Sarah, the only surviving dapghter
of Rev. Dr. Prince, then pastor of the Old South Church,
Boston, in 1759, from whora he intherited a large
amount of land in Princeton. Having retired from
business, in 1767, Mr. Gill coraraenced residing in this
town a portion of each year. He represented the town
inGeneral Court, at Salem, and in the year of Provincial
Congress, at Concord, in 1774. For a few years subse
quent to that period he was a member of the State Le
gislature. He was chosen Senator in 1780, which of
fice he held until he was transferred to a seat in the Ex
ecutive Council in 1789. He was elected Lieut. Gover
nor in 1794, under Mr. Adams— ran office which he held
until May 20, 1800, when he departed this life,* acting
as Governor after the demise of Gov. Sumner, June 7,
1799, until the inauguration of Gov. Strong, May,
1800. * Having buried his first wife in I76f, Mr. Gill njarried, in 1772, Miss Rebec
ca, a neice ol the late Thomas goyls^n, Esq.
17

190 MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS.
William Dodds, Esq. was a native of Lexington,
Mass. At an early age he removed to Holden, where
he was joined in marriage to Miss Anna Child, and, after
residing there until 1771, he carae to this town, to live
on the farm at present owned by Mr. John Dodds. For
nearly thirty years he filled the office of Town Clerk, to
the general acceptance of the town. He also repre
sented the town in the State Legislature a few years.
Several years he was engaged in teaching District
Schools in Princeton. In 1809, he received a Justice's
commission. His death occurred in 1833, at the ad
vanced age of eighty-five.
" Ward Nicholas Boylston, Esq., alias Ward Hal-
lowell, was born in Boston, Nov. 22d, 1749. His
father, Benjamin Hallowell, Esq., was a native of Boston,
and, at the tirae of the revolution, an officer in the Cus
tom House. His mother, Mrs. Mary Hallowell, was the
daughter of Thoraas Boylston, and sister to the second
wife of the Hon. Moses Gill. He received his education
in the free schools of Boston. In March, 1770, at the
solicitation of his materaal uncle, Nicholas Boylston,
Esq., the distinguished benefactor of Harvard Universi
ty, he dropped the name of Hallowell, through a royal li
cense, and added to his Christian namethat of the above-
mentioned uncle. In 1773, for the purpose of renova
ting his health, Mr. Boylston coraraenced a journey
through Europe and Asia. He erabarked on board the
' King of Naples,' bound from Boston to Newfoundland,
October 12th. From the latter place he sailed to Italy,
and from thence proceeded to Turkey, Syria, the Apcbi-
pelago, Palestine, Egypt, and the Barbary Coast. He
also passed through Geneva, Savoy, France, and Flan-.
ders. During this tour he kept a journal, wliich, replete

miscellaneous MATTERS. 191
with interest, and in many parts illustrative of Biblical
history, is still preserved in manuscript, and which, it is
to be hoped, may yet be given to the public. He arri-
rived in London, 1775, and for the twenty-five subse
quent years reraained there engaged iu the various ope
rations of trade. In'1800 he sailed for Boston, where
he arrived on the 15th of May of the same year. From
this tirae until his death, in 1727, he continued to reside
during the larger portion of the year at Princeton, spend
ing the winter raonths at his seat at Jamacia Plains,
Roxbury, Mass. Soon after Mr. Boylston's arrival in
Boston, he confirmed to Harvard University a bequest
of Nicholas Boylston, Esq., amounting to $23,200, as a
foundation of the professorship of Rhetoric and Oratory,
with the condition that John Q.uincy Adams should be
appointed professor. In 1802, he secured to the same
Institution an annuity of $100, to be distributed in prizes
for the discussion of medical questions. In 1803, he
paid to the treasurer of the Institution $500, as a fund,
the income of which should be expended in additions to
the library. To this succeeded the annuity of $60, to be
distributed in elocution prizes to under-graduates. Large
bequests were made to the sarae institution in his will."*
Mr Boylston's bequests to Princeton, we have noticed in
another place.
Moses G. Cheever, Esq. was a native of Princeton,
and his name ought to find a prominent place in this
connection. Mr. Cheever was an active and useful raan
in the town. Few men have enjoyed more largely the
esteem of their fellow citizens. His sphere was in the
humble walks of life, yet by his enterprise and economy
be amassed a large property. At his death he made a
? RusseU's History of Princeton, p. 127.

192 miscellaneous matters.
donation of a piece of land to the town for a Cemetery,
and also $300 to prepare the ground. He died in June,
1851, at the age of 59.
Capt. Benjamin Harrington, was a native of Prince
ton. He cherished a sincere desire for the general
prosperity of the inhabitants of his native town, and also
did much to promote the same. Mr. Harrington was a
benevolent man. The high standing he took in the moral
enterprises of the day, obtained for him many warm and
lasting friends. He departed this life in December,
1851, aged almost 78 years.
PHysiciANs. — The following are the names of the indi
viduals who have practised in Princeton as Physicians :
Drs. Zachariah Harvey, Ephraim Woolson, Ephraim
Wilson,  Walker, Henry Eldridge, Luther Allen,
Henry Bagg, Martin Howe,  Titus,  Brainerd,
Chandler Smith, Orville Brooks. The present practi
tioners are Drs. Warren Patridge and Alphonso Brooks.
Names op Postmasters. — Princeton, Charles Rus
sell, Esq. Moses G. Cheever, Esq., George F. Folger ;
East Princeton : H. V. Pratt.
Public Buildings. — The Town House, erected in
1842, is one story high, 64 feet long and 40 feet wide.
Congregationalist or " Union" Meeting House, built
in 1838. Baptist Church, erected in 1839. Methodist
Episcopal Church, erected in 1839.
Wachusett Hotel, an elegant building, furnished in a
style not surpassed, probably, in New-England. The best
accommodations are furnished, by the landlord, Mr. John
Brooks, Jr. Every convenience and luxury to be obtained
in the metropolis,especialIy during the summer months, is
furnished for the weary traveler, and for those who wish

^^SCELLANEOUS MATTERS. 193
to spend their time during the warm season in Prince
ton, where the scenery is then raost delightful.
This town is situated fifteen miles frora the Court
House in Worcester, nearly north, and is highly celebra
ted, not only for the industry and enterprise of its inhalj-
itants and the fertility ofitssoil, but also for the extreme
purity and excellency of its atmosphere.
Streams. — The town is exceedingly well watered by
springs and rivulets. There are however no large
streams, although several large and fine rivers have their
sources here. The waters of the small streams flow
partly east, into the Massachusetts Bay, and partly west,
into the Connecticut River. One has its source at the
foot of the Wachusett mountain, and flows east, consti
tuting one branch of the Nashua River. A second runs
nearly south, aad empties into Quinepoxet pond. A
third has its source at the foot of the mountain, on the
westerly side, and flows southwest, constituting the east
branch of Ware river, which flows into the Connecticut.
Upon this last stream, Mr. Seth Savage erected a cotton
factory at the west part of the town, called " Slab city" ;
which however at the present tirae is not in operation,
and bas not been for sorae years. " Another cotton
factory, of about an equal size, formerly existed on East
Wachusett brook, in the east part of tbe town. This
was burnt in the winter of 1836." At the present time
no farther use is made of the waters of the different
streams in this town than to turn comraon grist raills,
saw raills, and mills for turning out chair stuff.
Ponds. — Q,uinepoxet, is a small sheet of water covicring
about sixty acres,in the south part of Princeton, exte«iding
into Holden, and is the only natural Pond in town. The
oatlet is the river Quinepoxet Small portioas of Wa-
17*

194 MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS.
chusett Pond, in the northern, and of Rutland, or
"Wanchatopick" Pond, on the south-western border, lie
within Princeton.
Wachusett Mountain. — This mountain is situated
about two miles Northwest from the centre of the town.
The circumference of the mountain — is about three
miles, and its height is 3012 feet above the level of
Massachusetts Bay, as found by actual survey, in 1777,
by Hon. John Winthrop. The general elevation of
the circumjacent country is about 1100 feet. Conse
quently the mountain " rears its conical head" 1900
feet above this. It is some of the first land discovered
by the mariner when making for any of the sea-ports in
Massachusetts. The highest part is a flat rock, or ledge
of rocks, for some rods in circumference. Upon this
ledge a small octagonal tower, some thirty feet in height,
was erected in 1828. This, however, has become so
shattered that it is at the present time of but little use.
There is generally a small pond of water upon the sum
mit, some two or three rods square, and, where there is
any soil, it is covered with blue-berry bushes, which, in
their season, yield delicious fruit. The prospect from
this mountain is extensive and grand in the extreme.
"To the observer from its top, the whole State lies
spread out like a map." " The neighboring hills, wind
ing into comparative insignificance, present an even
outline to the beholder." On the one hand, is seen the
waters of Boston harbor some fifty miles distant. On
the North, the renowned Monadnock of New Hamp
shire is visible, rearing its old bald, as well as broken
summit, to the clouds. In other directions, "the
distant Hoosick and Green mountains fade away in the
distance, and mingle with the blue horizon." " The

MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS. 195
numerous and beautiful villages scattered intermediately
iu all directions, give a charna to the scene, hardly sur
passed by that of the far-faraed Holyoke." The base of
this mountain is covered with a heavy growth of wood,
which dwindles into small trees, and, finally, to shrub
bery with flat tops, similar to that on the sea shore, as
you approach the summit. This is occasioned doubt
less, in part, by the state of the atmosphere ; for it is
several degrees colder, on the top than at the bottom in
variably. It may be ascended, with some difficulty on
the south side with horses ; but on the east, north, and
northwest, it is exceedingly steep, broken and ledgy, and
difficult of ascent even by persons on foot. In 1825, on
the inauguration of John Q.uincy Adams to the Presi
dency, an unsuccessful atterapt was raade, at the sugges
tion of Ward N. Boylston, Esq., to substitute for the
present name that of Mount Adams. Wachusett moun
tain was frequently, visited by the Indians, in the early
settlement of Massachusetts. Many of them spent their
winters near it, during King Phillip's War. It was here
that Mrs. Rowlandson, wife of the first minister in Lan
caster, the narrative of whose captivity and 'great suffer
ings is familiar to those who have perused the early his
tory of the Indians in this State, was released. The spot
where this scene occurred is on the east side of the
mountain, and is still pointed out by some of the
aged inhabitants. This mountain is visited during the
summer months by thousands of individuals every year.
Little Wachusett, which deserves attention, is situated
about a raile North from the centre of Princeton, and
to the Southwest of the mountain proper. This hill
contains nearly 250 acres, mostly pasturing, though it
is partially covered with wood, and that chiefly walnut.

196 MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS.
Pine Hill, some two miles from the centre, to the east
of Wachusett, is about half as high as the mountain, and
is nearly 2000 feet above the sea.
Products. — The inhabitants of Princeton are princi
pally employed in agricultural pursuits, ^hoe business
is engaged in by a portion of the people to some extent.
The female part of the inhabitants manufacture consid
erable quantities of Palm Leaf Hats. Mrs. Phebe Bea
man, who is still living, and who braided the first Palm
Leaf Hat ever manufactured in town, learned the art by
taking a hat to pieces. The Chair manufacture has been
introduced within a few years to some extent, especially
at East Princeton, and now gives employment to several
workmen. As the soil is best adapted to grazing, it
being naturally of a moist and springy quality, the
chief products of the town are beef, butter and cheese.
Grain sufficient for home consumption, is about all that
is raised. Great quantities of wood are carried to Wor
cester, either in its original form or in that of charcoal.

APPENDIX.

[ See Page 23. 1
LIST OP OFFICERS
CHOSEN AT THE TOWN MEETING MARCH 16, 1761.
Dr. Zachariah Harvey, moderator ; Dr. Zachariah Harvey,
district clerk; Dr. Zachariah Harvey, Joseph Gibbs, Lieut.
Abijah Moore, Timothy Moseman, selectmen ; Dr. Zachariah
Harvey, Abijah Moore, Peter Goodnow, assessors ; Peter
Goodnow, treasurer; Caleb Mirick, Sadey Mason, cons
tables ; Samuel Nichols, Joseph Rugg, tythingmen ; Paul
Mathews, Stephen Brigham, Silas Whitney, Tilly Littlejohns,
Timothy Keyes, highway surveyors ; Robert Keyes, clerk of
the market ; Samuel Hastings, Amos Spring", feiice viewers ;
James Mirick, Oliver Davis, field drivers ; Robert Cowden,
Edward Wilson, deer reeves ; Amos Powers, Samuel Hastings,
hog reeves ; Abel Ray, surveyor of boards and shingles ; Ste
phen Brigham, sealer of leather ; Peter Goodnow, Timothy
Moseman, wardens ; Dr. Zachariah Harvey, agent to tbe gen
eral court.
At the bottom of this list of officers, the following is found : —
" This may certify that all the above officers, except Timo
thy Keyes, were duly sworn as the Law directs, Respecting the
taking of tbe paper currency of tbe other Governments, and the
Respective Oaths belong to each of their offices.
Test. Zachariah Harvey, Moderator."
[ See Page 24. ]
LOCATION OF ROADS.
The manner of the early settlers, locating their roads may
be learned from the following, which is transcribed from the
warrant for March raeeting, 1774 : —
" To see if the town will accept of a road laid out by tbe Se
lectmen, beginning at a Butternut tree marked, in Mr. Mose-
raan's land, thence running to a Poplar tree marked, in Joel
Sawin's land, thence to a Chestnut marked, thence to a Black
Oak marked, thence to a Black Oak, thence to a Black Oak
raarked, in Judge Ruggles' land, thence to a Chestnut, thence
to a Black Burch, thence to a Chestnut, thence to a Chestnut,

193 APPENDIX.
thence to a Black Birch, thence to a Chestnut, thence to a
chestnut, thence to a White Pine, thence to a White Oak,
thence to a Black Oak, thence to a Chestnut, thence to a White
Pine, thence to a Chestnut, thence a corner of Mr. Billings'
said road is two rods wide and upon the northerly side of said
marked trees."

I See Page 37. ]
PETITION OF REV. TIMOTHY FULLER,
AND THE RESOLVE OP GENERAL COURT THEREUPON.*
" Province of the Massachusetts Bay.
" To his excellency Francis Bernard, Esq. Governor and
Commander-in-chief in and over said Provinoa The Honora
ble His Majesties Council and House of Representatives, in
General Court assembled, at Boston, the 30th Day of Decem
ber, Anno Domini ; 1767.
The Petition of Timothy Fuller of Princeton, in the County
of Worcester, Clerk, humbly shews, — That, in the month of
September last, he was ordained as a Minister in said Place.
That the said Place is now in its Infancy and not very able to
support the Go3pel, but the Harmony and Unanimity that ap
peared among them to settle your Petitioner was a great Induce
ment to accept of their invitation at the small living of fifty-
three Pounds six Shillings and eight Pence per Annum, which
your Petitioner apprehends is as much as they are able to pay
in their Present Circumstances. That the said Place labors
under many difficulties by reason of the great Expense they
have been and are necessarily obliged to be at, in finishing their
Meeting-Houso, making and maintaining new Roads in a Wil
derness Country. — And greater than any new Town lately
granted as they have no public ministerial Lands for the use of
the first settled minister— That the Hill called Watchusett Hill
lies within the Limits of said Town, which belongs to the
Province ; The whole Contents whereof are about five Hun
dred Acres, four Hundred Acres of which are mountain, barren
and unfruitful, and never can be fitt for any Improvement as many
of this honorable Court are well knowing. That about one
Hundred Acres of it upon tbe South Bide nigh the Foot of the
Hill, altho' very rocky and uneven, may possibly be improved as
Pasture Land. Your Petitioner therefore humbly prays that, as
au encouragement to him (seeing there»are no publick Lands
* Transcribed from the Appendix of Russell's History of Princeton.

APPENDIX. 199
m
reserved for the first Minister in said Place) you would out of
your wonted Goodness, grant unto him the said Province Land.
" And as in duty bound shall ever pray. Timothy Fuller.
" We, the Selectmen of Princeton, unite our humble and
earnest Desire that the Prayer of your Petitioner above may be
granted for the Reasons assigned in the above Petition.
" And as in duty bound shall ever pray.
Peter Goodnow, \
Joseph Gibbs, | Selectmen.
Ebenezer Jones, [• of
Oliver Davis, | Princetown.
Benjamin Taynter,)
" In the House of Representatives, Januaiy 2Qlh, 1768, Resolved
— That the Prayer of said Petition be granted, and that the
Tract of Latid belonging to this Province lying in Princetown,
in the County of Worcester, called Wachusett Hill, containing
about five Hundred Acres, bounded East four Degrees North
one Hundred and Sixty Rods on Watertown Farm, then North
46 Degrees East 160 Rods on said Watertown Farm, then
North 97 Rods on Muzzey's Farm now Keyes's, then North 23
west 70 Rods on Benjamin Houghton's Land, then westerly 135
Rods on said Houghton's Land, then 60 Rods on said Hough
ton's Land to a white Oak Tree, then South 55 west 253 Rods
on Westminster Line to a Red Oak Tree, the corner of Mr.
Allen's Farm, then East 21 Degrees South 100 Rods on said
Allen's Farm, then running on said Allen's Farm about 190
Rods to the Bound first mentioned; be granted to the said
Timothy Fuller, his Heirs and Assigns forever, as an encour
agement to him to continue in tbe faithful Discharge of his Of
fice in said Princetown — Provided that He or his Heirs pay their
Proportion of a Tax of two pence Per Acre for three years, laid
by the General Court at their Session in January, A. D. 1760,
upon all unimproved Lands in said District of Princetown.
" Sent up for Concurrence, Thomas Cushing, Speaker.
'' Jn Council, January ^Oth, 1768. Read and Concurred,
A. Oliver, Secretary.
" Consented to — Francis Bernard.
" A true Copy, Exaraiiied — P, J. Cotton, D. Secretary.

200

APPENDIX.

[ See Page 51. ]
A DOCUMENT,
CONTAINING AN IMPERFECT ACCOUNT OF THE NUMBER 01*
MEN FURNISHED IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR, AT THE
EXPENSE OF THE TOWN.
"Agreeable to a resolve of the general asserably, of the llth
of July, 1783, The following is the account of the encourage
ment given to the men which marched agreeable to the resolve
of said court : — £, s,d,
Dec. 1, 1775, 10 men marched to reinforce continental army  80 00 0
Jan. 21), 1776, 14 " « " "  23 02 0
Jan. 24, 1776, 21 '¦ " to New York and Canada  192 06 5
Aug. 4 " " to Boston  6 00 0
Sept. 10, 1776, 16 " " to Fort  64 00 0
Nov. 20, 1776, 16 " " to reinforce the army at New York,2560 00 0
April 12, 1777, 7 " " to reinforce Gen. Spencer at Rhode
Island,  50 00 0
July 16, 1777, 1 " " to guard stores at Brookfield, .... 2 00 0
Aug. 9, 1777, 14 " " northward, served three weeksun-
der Gen. Lincoln  84 00 0
Aug. 15. 1777, 11 " " northwardunder Gen. Warren. .. 165 00 0
40 " *' in consequence of orders from Gen.
Stark  160 00 0
Sept. 16, 1777, " *' on expedition to R. I. 30 days 
Sept. 22, 1777, 20 " " northward under Gen. Bailey. .. 120 00 0
Dec. 22, 1777, " " to Rhode Island 
Feb. 7, 1778, 6 " " served under Gen Heath  720 00 0
Apr. 18, 1778, 5 " "  595 00 0
June 12, 1778, " '< for defence of R. Island 
June 16, 1778, " " " " 
June 23, 1778, 2 " '' as Guards  16 00 0
July24,1778, 4 " " to Rhode Island,  SOO 40 0
July27, 1778, 7 " " to "  210 00 0
Augl8,1778, 3 " " to "  90 00 0
Sept 6, 1778, 4 •' " to aid Gen Sullivan at R. 1  240 00 0
Septl7, 1778, 4 '' '' to guard Gen Heath in and at Boston 200 00 0
Jan. 1, 1779,
Jan. 26, 1779,
March 18, 1779,
Apr. 14, 1779,
Apr. 15,
Apr. 27,
Junes, 3 " " to Rhode [Bland  90 00 d
June 18,
June 25,
Sept. 17,
Oct 9, 9 " " to CIaverick,and guards to Rutland, 450 00 0
Mch. 15, 1780,
June 22, 12 " " to ye Continental Army, Claverick, 13 10 0
June 23 2 " " 
Nov 29, 1780,
Feb. 28, 1781, 2 privates went to Rutland  8409Q
Aug 1  "

APPENDIX.

201

[ See Page 68. ]
LIST OF VOTES FOR GOVERNOR SINCE 1780.

Years. JVtimes.

Votes.

Years. J^ames.

Votes.

Years. JVames.

Votes.

1780- Han cock

27

1807-Strong

145

1832-Armstrong

151

Bowdoin

17

Sullivan

11

Mills

6

1781-Hancock

31

1808-Gore

124

Puller

10

Bowdoin

1

Sullivan

14

1833-Davis

172

1782-Hancock

16

1809-Goro

148

Adams

32

Bowdoin

1

Lincoln

13

Morton

20

1783-Hancock

32

1810-Gore

139

1834-Davis

170

Cushing

31

Gerry

17

Morton

14

ITSl-Hancock

22

1811-Gore

119

1835-Everett

139

1785-Bowdoin

31

Gerry

15

Morton

0

Cosllin"

5

1812-Strong

162

1836-Everett

155

1786-Bowdoin

22

Gerry

20

Morton

30

Cushing
1787-Hancock

21

1813-Strong

177

1837-Evel-ett

141

37

Vernum

15

Morton

34

Bowdoin

20

1814-Strong

184

1838-Everett

147

178&-Hancock

121

Dexter

16

Morton

ca

Gerry
n89-Hancock

3

1815-Strong

180

183_9-Ever6tt

130

53

Dexter

16

Morton

104

Bowdoin

52

1816- Brooks

181

184Q-Davis

190

1790-Hancock

47

Dexter

13

Morton

53

Bowdoin

33

1817-Biooks

168

1841-pavi3

135

1791-Hancock

62

Dearborn

14

iilorton

50

1818-Brook8

163

1842-Davis

141

1792-Hancock

62

Crowninshield 11

Morton

51

Dana

5

1819-Brook8

170

Sewall

19

1793-Hancock

52

Crowninshield 14

1843-Briggs

112

Phillips

5

1820- Brooks

160

Morton

57

1794-Adam3

70

Eustis

1!

Sewall

51

Gerry

3

1821-Brooks

143

1844-Briggs

163

1795-Adam3

39

Eustis

14

Bancroft

45

Gill

34

1822-Brooks

142

Sewall

54

1796-Adams

6

Eustis

11

1845-Briggs

116

Gill

39

1823-0 tis

113

Davis

35

1797-SumneT

37

Eustis

22

Sewall

45

Gill

77

C^iiincy

10

1846-Brigg3

95

1798-Sumner

49

1824-Lathrop

178

Davis

23

Gill

17

Eustis

25

Sewall

68

1799-Sumner

87

1825-Lincoln

92

1847-Briggs

96

Gill

4

Morton

101

Cushing

35

1800-Strong

61

1826-LincolH

Q4

Sewall

59

Gill

43

Lloyd

121

1848-Briggs

64

1801-Sirong

111

1827-Lincola

79

Cushing

. 14

.n. ^""^

2

Jarvis

4

Phillips

129

1802-Strong

142

1828-Lincoln

106

1849-Brigg3

61

1803-Strong

114

18a9-Lincoln

94

Boutwell

27

Gerrv

2

Morton

7

Phillips

100

1804-Strong

131

Atkin

7

1850-Briggs

69

Gerry

9

1830-Liricoln

109

Boutwell

24

1805-Strong

142

Morton

S7

Phillips

100

Sullivan

5

1831-Lincoln

101

1851-Winthrop

79

ISOC-Strnng

152

Morion

5

Boutwell

33

Sullivan

5

Palfrey
108
18
202 APPENDIX.

MUNICIPAL OFFICERS FROM 1760 TO 1852.
[When this mark ( - ) is placed between the dates, it indicates that the per
son was elected in the years succeeding, from first to last.]
Town Clerks.— Dr. Zachariah Harvey 1760, '1 ; Caleb
Mirick 1762, 70, '1 ; Samuel Woods 1763 ; Peter Goodnow
1764, 5, 7; Boaz Moore 1766 ; Ephraim Woolson 1768, 9, 72,
3,5,8; William Richardson 1774; James Mirick 1776, 7;
William Dodds 1779-93, '97-1814 ; John Dana 1794-6 ; Arte
mas How 1815-18; Jonas Hartwell 1819, 20'; Erasmus D.
Goodnow 1836 ; Charles Russell 1821-35, 37-49 ; David H.
Gregory 1850-2.

Selectmen. — Peter Goodnow 1760, 4, 5, 7 ; Abijah Moore
1760, 1, 3 ; Dr. Zachariah Harvey 1760, 1 ; Joseph Gibbs 1760,
1, 3, 7, 8, 70; Timothy Moseman 1761, 2;' Eliphalet How
1762 ; Boaz Moore 1762, 3, 6, 70-2, 8, 81-92 ; Robert Keyes
1762; Caleb Mirick 1762,70, 1, 1808,9; Ebenezer Jones 1763,
6-72,4-6; Samuel Woods 1763; Benjamin Holden 1764, 9,
73, 80-3, 90, 1 ; Stephen Brigham 1764, 5, 8, 71, 5-7; Tilly
Littlejohns 1764; William Muzzev 1764, 9; Sadey Mason
1765, 6, 78-91 ; Wm. Thompson 1765, 6, 72-7; Benjamin Tayn
ter 1765,7; RobertCowdenl766; Oliver Davis 1767 ; Ephraim
Woolson 1768, 9, 72,3, 5, 8 ; Adonijah Howe 1768, 76. 7, 9,1818;
Jos. Sargent 1769, 70, 8, 83-5,1807, 8; Jas. Mirick 1771, 6, 7; Jas.
Phelps 1772 ; Paul Matthews 1773, 80 ; Jos. Eveleth 1773, 5, 81
5, 1809 ; William Richardson 1774 : Charles Brooks 1774, 80 ;
Elisha Hobbs 1777, 9, 94, 5 ; Samuel Hastings 1778, 1810-12;
Ephraim Hartwell 1779; Abraham Gale 1779; John Mirick
1780; Asa Whiteomb 1781 ; William Dodds 1783-93,6, 1807 ;
Abner How 1786-89; Ebenezer Parker 1786-92, 6-8, 1804,
5 ; Abijah Harrington 1792, 3, 6, 7 ; Ephraim Mirick 1792, 3 ;
Isaac Hartwell 1793-5; David Rice, 1793-1800, 4-7 ; John
Dana 1794, 5. 1801-9; John Watson 1794, 5; Jonas Beaman
1796-9; Andrew Whitney 1798-1800, 4-6; Samuel Dadman
1799-1802 ; Ephraim Wilson 1800-3; Amos Meriam 1801-3,
23-9: Birtholomew Cheever 1803; Simon Divis 1803-9;
Samuel Stratton, 1808, 9; Joshua Eveleth, 1810-12; Charles
Mirick 1810-12; Br-njamin Harrington 1810; Arteims How
1810-15; Jonas Brooks 1811-14; Samuel Stevenson 1813-17;
Jonas Hartw.^li 1813-20; Samuel Brooks 1813; Israel How Jr.
1814-16, 20-2 ; William Everett 1814, 15 ; Henry Prentiss
1815; Calvin Bullock 1716,17; Azor Maynard 1810: Jacob
W. Watson 1816-18, 28, 9, 36, 7, 49; Moses Hobbs 1317, 18;

APPENDIX. 203
Josiah Cuffing 1817, 18 ; Nahum Wilder 1818 ; Israel Howe
1819,20; Joshua Temple 1819; Thomas Wilder 1819; Mo
ses Bullard 1819-22; John Mirick, Jr. 1820, 1 ; Clark Mirick
1820-2 ; Joseph Mason 1831, 7, 30, 6 ; Ephraim Mirick, Jr.
1822-7; John H. Brooks 1823-9, 36; Moses G. Cheever
1823-8, 30.1; Gamaliel Beaman 1828,9; Ebenezer Parker,
Jr. 1829; Rufus Davis 1830-2; John Whitney 1830-5 ; Israel
Everettl830-33, 40-2; Enoch Brooks 1831-3; Caleb Dana
1832-4, 7, 8 ; Harlow Skinner 1834-6 ; Nathan Meriam 1834,
5 ; Joshua T. Everett 1834, 5; Daniel Parker 1835, 45; Alfred
Beaman 1836,7; Sewall Mirick 1837,8; John L. Boylston
18.37-9 ; William How 1838, 9 ; John Brooks, 1838-45, 7 8 ;
Henry Boyles 1839-41, 9, 50; Jonas Brooks, Jr. 1839-41; Ed
ward A. Goodnow 1840, 1 ; Erasmus D. Goodnnw 1842, 3 ;
Alphonso Brooks 1843, 4, 6, 7 ; Cbarles Russell 1844-6 ; D ivid
H. Gregory 1846-8 ; Ebenezer Smith 1848, 9 ; Asa H. God
dard 1850, 1 ; Solon S. Hastings 1850, 1 ; William H. Brown
1851, 2; Charles A. Mirick 1852; George O. Skinner 1853.

Assessors. — Zachariah Harvey 1761 ; Abij.ab Moore 1761 '
Peter Goodnow 1761; Joseph Eveleth, 1762-4, ¦ 7; Boaz
Moore 1762, 3, 70-2, 87 ; Caleb Mirick 1762 r Samuel Woods
1763, 4, 7, 70, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 83, 4 ; Thomas Mason 1764-6, 8,
9, 71, 3, 6-81, 5, 6, 94-9 ; Robert Cowden 1765 ; Williara
Muzzey 1765,6,8,9; Adonijah Howe 1767; Ebenpzer Jones
1768; Joseph Sargent 1769,70; James Mirick 1771; John
Jones 1772, 4, 5 ; Benjamin Holden 1773 ; Enoch Brooks
1774r-8; William Richardson 1774; William Dodds 1777,
80-93, 5-1809; James Curtis 1779,80; Humphrey Moore
1781, 8-90; Ephraim Hartwell 1782; Ebenezer Parker 1782-
93, 1796-1805 ; Michiel Gill J 791 ; David Rice 1792 3, 1806-
9, 18, 19 ; John Dana 1794, 1802-9 ; Timothy Puller 1794, 5 ;
John Roper 1800,1; John Moore 1810, 11; Joseph Mason
1810-13,21-6, 30; Artemas How 1810-19; Jonas Hartwell
1812-20; Samuel Stephenson, 1814-17 ; Mosps Hobbs 18>0-
3; Ephraim Mirick 1820-'o; Charles Mirick 1824; Amos Mer
iam 1825-9; Ephraim Mirick, 2d 1827; John Whitney 18-37-9,
32-5, 7-9, 44, 5; Jacob W.Watsnn 1838,9 ; Moses G. Clieev-
er 1830,1,6; R'lfus D.ivis 1830-2, 48, 50; Israel Everett
1833, 3. 7-9. 44, 50 ; Harlow Skinner 1833, 4 ; Joshua T. Eve
rett 1834, 5; Nathan Meriam 1835 ; Hamilton Wilson, 1836-9;
Williams. Evprett 1836; John Biooks 1840, 1, 50; Joseph
Meriam 1840-3 ; Caleb Dana 1840 ; Charles B. Temple 1841-4;
Joseph Hartwell 1812,3; Asa H. Goddard 1845-7; Mirshall
Meriam 1845 ; Cileb S. Mirick 1846, 8 ; Gaorg.; O. Skinner

2iM APPENDIX.

1646,7; Ephraim Beaman 1847; Phineas E. Gregory 1848;
Jonas Brooks, Jr. 1849; Prederick Parker 1849,51,2; Win.
D. Cheever 1849, 51, 2 ; Henry Boyles 1851 ; Joseph Whit
eomb 1852.

Town Treasurers. — Peter Goodnow 1761 ; James Mirick
1762, 3 ; Timothy Keyes 1764, 5 ; Sadey Mason 1766 ; Joseph
Sargent 1767, 70, 1 ; Abner Howe 1768, 9 ; Joseph Eveleth
1772,3; Robert Cowden 1774-7; Charles Brooks 1778; Jo
seph Haynes 1779; Enoch Brooks 1780-1812, 14-16; David
Rice 1813; Benjamin Harrington 1817-21; Thomas Wilder
1822; Jacob W. Watson 1823.4; Jonas Brooks 1825-33;
Charles Mirick 1826, 32; Moses G. Cheever 1827-30, 42;
John Brooks 1831 : Jacob W. Watson 1834-6 ; Joseph Mason
1837-41; Daniel Howe 1843,4; Alphonso Brooks 1845-8;
Warren Patridgt? 1849 ; Joseph A. Read 1850-2.

Representatives. — Moses Gill 1780,4-95 ; Asa Whiteomb
1783; Ebenezer Parker 1797.8, 1800; David Rice 1801, 2,
13-18, 21; John Dana 1804, 5, 12; William Dodds, 1806, 8-
11; Ephraim Mirick, Jr. 1823; Charles Russell 1826-33 ; Josh
ua T. Everett 1833, 5 ; Jonathan Whitney 1834 ; John Brooks
1835,6; John Whitney 1836; Alphonso Brooks 1838; Sewall
Mirick 1839, 45; Ebenezer Parker 1840-2; Israel Everett
1843, 44; Caleb S. Mirick 1847 ; Henry Boyles, 1848 ; Eben
ezer Smith 1849 ; Ephraim Beaman 1850 ; Luther Crawford
185L

YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

Tlie present town bouse, ol stone, was •, ,.-
built in 1830, the corner stone being lai^l &^'v -
Aug. 21. Ward N. Boylston, heir of j
Thomas Boylston, some time ot Boston, '
but wlio (lied iu England, gave £iO, to be
put out at compound interest till ir, \m-
came large enough for some public bnild-
I ing here, sucli as he should direct. In
I his visit here in lfc20 ho found this fund
had increased to $1000. Dying iho uext
January, he added $300 more by will, di
recting the whole to be used toward a
svtbstaiitial structure ol stone, like what
is here. This was done, and a historical
! slietch embodying these facts was prepared
: by Bev. Ward Cotton, and placed under
I tbe corner stone.
Ward Nicholas Boylston ot I'rinceton,
1 the towik's benefactor, was son of Benjamin
Hallowell of Boston, who married, iu 1746,
i Mary Boylstoii,si.ster of Thomas Boylston,
a rich merchant of London, and benefactor
1 of the city of Boston, and tha nephew, in
heriting great wealth fro mhis itncle, after
wards assumed the name of Ward iSTicho-
las Boylston, by which he wi^i alterwarda
known. He had an uuch', Nicholas Boyl
ston, in Boston, who endowetla profes.soi-
ship in Harvard College, and who directed
his executors after bis decease, iu 1771, to
purchase the ancient bomestead in Brook-
line which had belongsd to his grand
father, Dr. Thomas Boylston, and to con
vey tlie same to Brookiine Churcli.
The remains o£ this Ward Nicholas
Boylston, and ot his son of tbe same
uaine, who siicceedeil to liis estate, lie in
a magnificent tomb erected by the junior
Ward N. Boylston in their cemet^ety in
Princeton. Rebecca Boylston, sister ot
the senior Ward Nicholas Boylston's
mother, was wife of Hon. Moses Gill of
Princeton, lieutenant governor of Massa
chusetts, and Eebecea's cousin, Susanna
Boylston, was mother of John Adams,
president of the United Stales, Many of
the present generation will remember the
latter of these two Ward N. Boylstons of
Princeton, both benefactors of the old
town of Boylston.

 ^-^ ITiW ''^T". '^' 'fmm i
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