ft

HII  

SKETCHES

CONGREGATIONALISM IN RHODE ISLAND.

SKETCHES

OF

Congregationalism in 3&I)ooe Jfelano,,

WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE HISTORY OF
THE BENEFICENT CHURCH.

BY

JAMES GARDINER VOSE.

SILVER, BURDETT & COMPANY,
New York . . . BOSTON . . . Chicago.

Copyright, 1894.,
By James Gardiner Vosb.

"B4*

John Wilson and Son, Cambridge, TJ. S. A.

PREFACE.

'TTIE following discourses were preached on
successive Sabbaths in the autumn of
1893, in connection with the celebration of the
one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the
Beneficent Church. To them have been added
the history of the Sunday-school, and an ac
count of the exercises at the Centennial of the
Charter of the Beneficent Society, from which
the Church took its present name. As this
Church has had the longest continuous exis
tence in one place of any of the churches of
our fellowship, within the original boundaries
of the colony, it seemed proper to describe the
early condition of the people, both religious and
moral ; and to give a brief account of the begin
nings of Congregationalism in our neighborhood.
The public and social services of the Anniver
sary took place on Sunday and Monday, October
29 and 30, and consisted of a sermon in the
morning, being the fourth in the series here

6 Preface.
published, a Sunday-school festival in the even
ing, a fellowship meeting on Monday afternoon,
with addresses by ministers, who were them
selves, or their churches, closely related to this
Church, and a dinner in the evening, attended
by over four hundred people, after which elo
quent and delightful speeches were made by
clergymen in the city, of different denomina
tions, and others from abroad. These exercises
were all successfully carried through, and left
nothing to be regretted but the unavoidable
absence of the beloved and only surviving ex-
pastor, Dr. Alexander H. Clapp. Letters from
Dr. Clapp and many others were read, and
have been published in the church paper. J. G. V.
Providence, R. I.,
March 3, 1894.

CONTENTS.

Page
I. The Eaely Condition of Peovidence,
with Special Reference to Religion . 9
II. The Eaelv Moral Condition of Provi
dence, as seen in the Town Records . 33
III. The Beginnings of Congregationalism
in Rhode Island, and the Organiza
tion of the First Church in Provi
dence  52
IV. The Causes of Separation from the
Fiest Church, and the Formation of
the Chuech on the West Side ... 70
V. The Chuech in the Pastoeate of Rev.
Joseph Snow: being the Fiest Pe
riod of its History  88
VI. The Church in the Pastorate of Rev.
James Wilson; oe the Middle Peeiod . 104
VII. The Beneficent Chuech in the last
Fifty Yeaes  138
VIII. The Histoey of the Sunday-School . 160
IX. The Exeecises at the Centennial of
the Society Chaetee in 1885 . . . 187

THE EARLY CONDITION OF PROVIDENCE,
WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO RELIGION.
Heb. xi. 13 : These all died in faith, not having re
ceived the promises, but having seen them afar off, and
were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed
that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
IN drawing your attention to the history of
this Church, which is now one hundred
and fifty years old, it seems reasonable, and
will, I think, be helpful, to look back to the
very earliest settlement of our city. What was
the character and purpose of those who pitched
their tents here, or built their first habitations,
and called the name of the place " Providence? "
The simple answer is, they were Pilgrims of
the Pilgrims. All of them had come over in
company with the emigrants of the first six
teen years, expecting to remain with them,
and feeling in general harmony with their
religious life.

10 Early Religious Condition.
The troubles which led to the banishment of
Roger Williams did not arise from differences
in the essentials of Christian truth, but rather
from their views of civil government. Neither
Williams nor those who came with him had any
idea of founding a new religion, or of living
without a religion, but rather resting with
perfect faith on the power of Christianity and
the grace of God to triumph in human hearts.
Williams believed as firmly as any man in the
government of God, and had been taught by
experience how safe it is to trust Him. The
very name which he gave to this place illus
trates his perfect confidence in the guidance
and protection of God. Those who came with
Williams were drawn by personal attachment,
and the value they set upon his spiritual teach
ing, more than by anything else. His traits of
fearlessness, of sympathy, and faith in God made
him attractive to men and women. Brewster
had already said of his preaching, that " it was
well approved, and for the benefit of it I still
bless God, and am thankful even for his sharp
est admonitions." He calls him, however, "a
man of many precious parts, but unsettled in
judgment." Be it remembered, then, " it was not religious
persecution" that drove Roger Williams from the
Bay. He was sent away as a disturber of the

Early Religious Condition. 11
civil peace, and because the authorities feared
that his actions might interfere with their
charter. It was not because he was a Baptist
that they objected to him, for there is no evi
dence that he became a Baptist for several years
after coming to Providence. He and his com
panions were deeply religious people, with whom,
indeed, the thought of God and conscience were
uppermost ; but on the whole there was no great
difference between their views of the Bible, of
prayer, and of the way of salvation, from those
they left behind. After some years, indeed,
these differences developed. Roger Williams
himself became convinced of the necessity of
immersion, and was influential perhaps in estab
lishing the First Baptist Church, though of
that we have no absolute evidence. Afterwards
he indulged various notions, which led him to
call himself a " seeker." But the fact which I
wish to make prominent is that it was in a
devout and Christian spirit that this colony was
founded, and the early life of the people here
was as pious and sincere as that of the Pilgrims
at Plymouth. For a considerable time there was
no want of harmony. The necessities of daily
toil pressed upon them, and when they met to
gether for worship, their lonely and imperilled
situation drew them into a closer sense of depend
ence on God.

12 Early Religious Condition.
Small as our Commonwealth is, there were
four separate communities or colonies in it : the
first, here in Providence ; the second, ii£Newp_prgi
founded the next year after, by Arm/llutchin-
son and her followers ; the third, inC^Fo^mouffij)
founded by John Clark or William Coddington ;
and the fourth, in Warwick, where Samuel Gor
ton, with his strange vagaries, took up his abode.
The Providence colony was, as it seems to me,
nearest in character as well as in location to that
of the Pilgrims at Plymouth. Between them
there were more common interests than any,
their views were nearer alike, visits were fre
quently made between their people, and it is not
too much to say that the early life of the dwellers
in this town differed little from that of their
brethren in Plymouth.
Williams continued to be the preacher, at
least the principal one in the settlement, for
some years, although there was another ordained
preacher who came with them, Thomas James.
After his becoming a Baptist some dissatisfaction
arose, which led to a curious incident, in which
the principle of liberty both for men and women
was brought to a test. Early in the records we
read that one Joshua Verin forbade his wife to
attend the meetings of Roger Williams, to which
she was so much attached that she refused obe
dience. A town-meeting was called, and after

Early Religious Condition. 13
much discussion as to whether women should
obey their husbands, as it is commanded in the
Bible, or obey their consciences when they
thought their husbands were wrong, it was
decided that she might go to meeting where she
felt it her duty to go ; and her husband, the said
Joshua Verin, was to be punished for restrain
ing his wife in this matter, by not being allowed
to vote. This seemed to be carrying religious
liberty pretty far, and it also seemed to be lay
ing the foundation for the doctrine of women's
rights, in a manner that Rhode Islanders have
ever after been inclined to respect.
While in religious opinions Roger Williams
was as free as ever, in his views of government
he grew more conservative. When William
Harris went to the extreme of contending that
no man need obey the magistrate, who thought
in his conscience that he ought to be exempt
from the operation of human laws, Williams
indicted him for high treason, and made clear
the distinction between the rights of conscience
in individuals and laws for the protection of
society. Here he made use of the famous simile
of the ship's crew, who might worship as they
pleased, and have all varieties of creed, but
who must not run the ship aground. They
must obey the master of the vessel in all things
pertaining to common duty and safety. Here

14 Early Religious Condition.
Roger Williams came as close as need be to the
ideas of Winslow and the Pilgrims. While in
Massachusetts he had been ready to violate the
charter, he saw the need of one in Providence.
In fact, but for his efforts in regard to this, there
would have been no charter and no separate
colony. He went to England in 1644, and again
in 1651, and obtained a favorable charter, which
secured great benefits to the State, even down to
the present century. This charter was an aegis
of liberty, both in religion and in the framing
of the laws ; and the very weakness and profli
gacy of Charles II. were overruled to the advan
tage of this infant settlement.
Quakers came first to Rhode Island about
1656, and were not molested. In fact, the kind
and patient treatment they received led them to
a peaceable disposition, for it was found that they
were most violent when most opposed, and pre
ferred to give their testimony where it would
meet with the stoutest hostility. And yet even
Roger Williams, in his later years, was out of
patience with the Quakers, and doubted whether
it would not have been better to deal more
severely with them. Good man, he could be
violent in his words, in old age as well as in
youth, and in his attack upon George Fox
showed him no quarter in debate, whatever he
had granted in outward toleration.

Early Religious Condition. 15
Let us attempt to reproduce, in our thought,
a picture of Providence, as she existed in the
early years. Within the first half -century there
were hardly more than one thousand inhabitants.
These were scattered along between the Seekonk
and the Mooshausic, few if any coming over
upon what we call the West side. The elder
Judge Durfee has beautifully described the
general appearance of the infant town. " You
would see the natural Mooshausic, freely rolling
beneath his primeval shades, unobstructed by
bridge, uninfringed by wharf or made land, still
laving his native marge. . . . You would see
beneath the forest of branching oak and beech,
interspersed with dark-arching cedars and taper
ing pines, a village of. scattered log huts, — each
little hut overlooking its own natural lawn by
the side of fountain or stream, with its first rude
enclosure of waving corn ; you would see the
stanch-limbed draught-horse grazing the forest-
glade ; you would hear the tinkling of the cow
bell in the thicket, the bleating of flocks on
the hill. You would see the plain, homespun,
human inhabitant, — not such as tailors and
milliners make, but such as God made ; real men
and women, with the bloom of health on their
cheeks, and its vigor in every joint and limb."
In this poetic passage — yet with no less truth
than beauty — does the eminent Rhode Island

16 Early Religious Condition.
chief justice describe the people of Providence
two hundred years ago.
Let us go back a little and attempt to esti
mate their religious condition. With differing
views and temperaments, and a stout determina
tion not to be interfered with in their religion, —
that being a matter between themselves and God,
— there is no doubt that they were in earnest in
spiritual things. It was difference and not in
difference that brought them here. They were
zealous for their own ideas. And while perhaps
for a short time they were content to listen to
the preaching of Roger Williams, they soon
were divided into various groups, each worship
ping in their own way. For sixty years there
was no regular meeting-house of any sort. In
summer doubtless they met under the trees ; in
winter in such houses as could best accommodate
them. Family worship was doubtless sacredly
observed, and a blessing asked at table ; this
we may infer from the general habits of the
people. There is not the slightest evidence that the
first inhabitants of Providence were careless in
observing the Sabbath. Though indeed Roger
Williams objected to civil punishments for trans
gressions of the first table, that is, of the four
earliest commandments, including that about
keeping the Sabbath, there is no reason to sup-

Early Religious Condition. 17
pose that he disregarded it. The Baptists al
ways held strictly to the Sabbath ; and the raising
of the question whether it should be observed
the last day of the week or the first only empha
sizes their desire to respect the commandment.
That question, however, was not raised for a
considerable time ; and as there were no Quakers
in Providence for twenty years, we may say that
for that length of time, at least, there wras a
pretty general harmony in Christian worship.
All agreed that it should be voluntary. There
was no ministry in Rhode Island in the early
years receiving any stipend, but there were many
who preached and exhorted. In this the gen
eral sentiment was agreed, — in denouncing
what was called a hireling ministry, forgetting
Jesus' own words, "The laborer is worthy of
his hire."
Still, I believe there were some advantages in
the Rhode Island way. Christianity was loved
and cherished in the hearts of men for itself,
and not as an ordinance of government. No
doubt fervent prayers were offered in private
and social companies. These exiles from Ply
mouth and Boston were as gifted in prayer as
those they left behind, and the strength of
Christian life in after generations had its roots
in the devoted lives of those who went before.
Moreover, the missionary spirit of Roger Wil-

18 Early Religious Condition.
liams, the tender intercourse that he held with
the Indians, and his endeavors, as well as those
of others to lead them to Christ, could only
have sprung out of a deep piety, while nothing
could be more sure to cultivate and enrich it.
I say, then, the early inhabitants of this town
were a devout people. The change produced by
the discussion about baptism may have led to
some divisions and hard feeling, but on the
other hand, there was much earnestness of faith.
Our Baptist brethren, if not quite so lively as
the Methodists, have never been accounted a
sleepy set. While we deprecate their exclusive-
ness, we cannot help rejoicing in all that they
have done for the progress of Christianity.
How large a proportion of the early inhabitants
of Providence became Baptists, we cannot tell,
but they founded the first Church organization,
and have been growing ever since. There were,
however, very many who disagreed with them,
of whom some, inclined to the Church of Eng
land and others to that of the Pilgrims. It was
not a long journey to the church in Rehoboth,
the old Newman Church, as it is now called,
founded in 1643, and probably their congrega
tion was enlarged by frequent contributions
from Providence. Others, like Joshua Verin,
worshipped at home, or in their own assemblies,
and there were not wanting some who were

Early Religious Condition. 19
careless of religion altogether. Yet it cannot be
too strongly emphasized that the early dwellers
in this place were a heartily pious people.
A more serious division arose when the
Quakers began to be numerous, and when, from
the ill-treatment they suffered in Massachusetts,
they were more inclined to denunciation. The
early Quakers were harsh and bitter. Charity
can say no otherwise. The gentle and sweet
manners of later times were not yet come.
They were in the stage of the old Jewish pro
phets, saying, " Wo ! wo ! to the inhabitants of
the earth." Yet the wise and sweet policy of
Roger Williams softened them even from the
beginning. They never were here what they
were in Massachusetts, and Governor Arnold
said " They begin to loathe this place for that
they are not opposed by the civil authority, but
with all patience are suffered to say over their
pretended revelations. Surely we find they de
light to be persecuted by civil power, and they
gain more adherents by the conceit of their
patient sufferings than by consent of their per
nicious sayings."
Whatever we may say for or against the
Quakers, it is not to be believed that their com
ing to Rhode Island hindered the progress of
religious life. They provoked the spirit of
Roger Williams and of others, so that Governor

20 Early Religious Condition.
Arnold was disposed to get some law passed
against them, and Roger Williams was sorry
they were not restrained. But happily for
Providence and for the world, nothing of the
kind was done. They lived in peace among
us, their meetings were often profitable, and
increased the love of the Bible and of prayer.
They grew more quiet as years advanced, and
the cruelties practised upon them in Massachu
setts gave them an affectionate feeling to the
place which sheltered them. It is a sad remem
brance that four were hanged from the great elm
on Boston Common, — one of them a woman,
Mary Dyer, whose husband was Secretary of
State of Rhode Island, and whose piteous letter
in her behalf may almost draw tears from the
reader of to-day. The fact is the Massachu
setts authorities thought they could frighten the
Quakers into submission. First they tried whip
ping, and when that did not do, they threatened
them with death, doubtless hoping that the
threat would be all that was needed. They
would gladly have escaped the carrying out of
this sentence, but both parties were equally
stubborn. The Quakers said, " Hang us if you
dare," and by every insult and denunciation
provoked them to do it. The Puritans would
not go back on their threats too harshly made.
It was a sad business. Let us thank God that

Early Religious Condition. 21
no such cruelty stains the memory of Provi
dence. Divine love guarded us from it.
Meanwhile varieties of opinion, no doubt,
were increasing in this settlement. Cotton
Mather, about the end of the century, de
scribes this state as "a colluvies of Antino-
mians, Familists, Anabaptists, Antisabbatarians,
Arminians, Socinians, Quakers, and Ranters, —
everything in the world but Roman Catholics
and real Christians, so that if a man had lost
his religion he might find it in this general
muster of opinionists."
Doubtless there was diversity enough, but at
this day we shall hardly deny that there was as
full a proportion of real Christians as in any
other colony. We are not disposed to confine
the friends of Christ to any particular sect or
community. The Puritans of Massachusetts
Bay forbade men to vote unless they were
church members. This is not a way to insure
perfect sincerity. In Providence no one was
tempted to join the Church for political or
other advancement, nor I believe ever has been.
There was no dead orthodoxy, no tame agree
ment, no compulsory uniformity ; and we may
believe that private piety and public worship,
however practised, were of a more spontane
ous and conscientious kind. Pharisees had no
credit here, and men were not religious for the

22 Early Religious Condition.
sake of keeping up appearances. Those who
sympathized with Puritans and Pilgrims, and
they were not few, were sincere in their desire
for stricter worship ; and if it be true of Puritan
law as of Jewish, that it worked all manner of
concupiscence, we have reason to believe that
immorality had as free range in one part of
New England as in another. The moral char
acter of the people of Providence may challenge
comparison, so far as it is known, with that of
Boston or Plymouth. In fact, there is clear
evidence of crime in the latter places, and the
discipline of the Church brings to light a
good many moral deformities among those who
strove to unite church rules with civil govern
ment. We then draw the picture of life and manners
in Providence in the seventeenth century some
what thus : They were, for the most part, a self-
denying and godly race, hard working, plain
living, but with great activity of mind and
diversity of thought. There was no stagnation
among them. Preachers of all sorts kept things
alive. Religion was a subject of general con
cern. New comers were ever bringing new
ideas. If in Boston sermons were the topics
of interest, so that the people, as. it has been
said, made their dinner of them and criticised
them for their dessert, we may be sure there

Early Religious Condition. 23
was criticism enough in Providence. After the
day's work, and in the long winter evenings,
there were lively talks and arguments ; and if
minds are sharpened in proportion as differ
ences of opinion prevail, there was nothing dull
in the conversation of those early days.
The early inhabitants of Providence had not
as much property or social consequence, prob
ably, as those of Newport. But they were
eminently respectable, and their great leader,
Roger Williams, was a man who could adapt
himself to all sorts and conditions of men, and
was a power among them all. In his visits to
England he had enjoyed the confidence of
Cromwell, and of John Milton, and was able
to exert as much influence at the Court of
Charles II., and perhaps more, than any of the
Colonists. Sir Henry Vane was his friend, and,
there were many in all the colonies who were
strongly drawn to him. He sought no honors
at home, and was only two years governor,
though he had fulfilled so great a service in
regard to the charter, and had been a bulwark
of defence, not to Providence only, but to all
New England, by his wise and honorable deal
ing with the Indians. Such a man must have
been a constant elevating force to the people
of Providence. His kindness, his sincerity, his
unselfish disposition could not have been with-

24 Early Religious Condition.
out fruit ; and when he died, at the age of
eighty-four, his worth was recognized by neigh
bors and townsmen as the binding force of
truth and brotherhood that had held the colony
together. If we attempt to characterize the first gen
eration of Providence settlers, it would be
somewhat in this way : They were very little
different in their main features from the Pil
grims at Plymouth. There was no such wide
gulf between them as is sometimes supposed.
They belonged to the same or kindred families,
and came from the same neighborhoods in the
mother country. They had about the same
trades, and were brought up in the same habits.
Many of them were in deep sympathy with the
people of Plymouth and even of Boston, and
some would gladly have put themselves under
the protection of the stronger colonies. In fact,
Rhode Island wished to be taken into the con
federacy of the four colonies of Hartford and
New Haven, of Plymouth, and the Bay; but
the Boston people insisted that they should give
up their principle of the separation of Church
and State, and so they were refused. Little
Rhode Island was left out in the cold, but in
the sight of God there was no less true religion
here than in the other colonies, no less morality,
no less virtue, and patience, and love. If char-

Early Religious Condition. 25
acter degenerated in later times, the same may
be said elsewhere, and the condition of religion
in Rhode Island at the present day may favor
ably compare with that of other States ; while
there is nothing to indicate that the voluntary
principle of the fathers has hindered the growth
of true piety.
The early settlers of Rhode Island respected
the Sabbath. Though there were differences of
opinion on many points, yet they approved of
a day of religious worship. Of this we have
positive evidence in Governor Arnold's history.
In 1667 a petition was presented to the legisla
ture, asking that the market day should be
changed from Saturday to Thursday, to relieve
those who wished to keep Saturday as the
Sabbath ; and although the assembly did not
see fit to alter the day, they ordered another
market day on Thursday of each week.
Again, as late as 1725 the Sabbatarians of
Westerly were complained of for working on
Sunday, to the annoyance of their neighbors,
and the scandal of the colony abroad ; and the
assembly advised and cautioned them " that
although the ordinances of men may not square
with their private principles, yet they must be
subject to them for the Lord's sake." Surely
this language does not imply indifference to the
Sabbath. We see in it, rather, clear evidence

26 Early Religious Condition.
that the great majority of the people kept the
Sabbath, whether they observed it Saturday or
Sunday. In one thing, it must be admitted, the people
of Providence in the early days were at a dis
advantage, — they had small means of educa
tion. Roger Williams, to be sure, was a learned
man, and very gifted in languages, as shown by
the great service he did in learning and inter
preting the Indian tongues. He preached often
to the Indians and won the respect even of
their greatest chiefs, who listened to him re
spectfully, whether they accepted the truth or
not. But for a long time in Providence there
were no schools of any kind. Children must
get all their knowledge of reading and writing
from their parents, who had little time or
ability to carry their education very far. Sun
day-schools did not exist, and yet even in
those rude times there was no doubt a strong
sense of parental responsibility. The Bible was
familiar to the youth of those days. The
preaching they heard was full of it. Much was
committed to memory, and where few other
books and no newspapers were found, there was
a more powerful impression made by the Word
of God.
Children were set at work early, in healthy,
outdoor employment. They learned to hunt

Early Religious Condition. 27
and to fish and to trap game. In winter they
helped clear the woods, and cut down the forest
trees. What is now taught in our industrial
schools, what we are just beginning to learn of
the value of various handicrafts, came to them
by the law of necessity. They knew more
about rocks and soils, about birds and animals
and trees, than can be learned from books only.
They learned the laws of mechanics by digging
wells and stoning them about, by laying stone
walls, by surveying fields, and setting the boun
daries of one another's farms. They built boats,
and learned how to row and sail them. Who
can say but that the pre-eminent skill of modern
times in boat-building is a legacy from the
cruising of the earliest men and boys of Rhode
Island in our beautiful bay ? If they were not
school-taught, they were taught through the five
senses, and they were keen and apt pupils.
An eminent educator has said of other New
England boys and girls what was just as true
in Providence : " In those early New England
days there were no spelling-books, nor English
grammars for children to waste their time upon.
The deluge of children's books had not begun.
They learned their letters from verses in the
Bible, from those sublimest of all sentences:
' In the beginning God created the heaven and
the earth,' and, ' God said, Let there be light,

28 Early Religious Condition.
and there was light.' Boys and girls were
obliged to read the few books they had, which
were often the most excellent, till they knew
them thoroughly, almost by heart. They be
came familiar with the Gospels, and the beauti
ful histories of the Old Testament, the glorious
poetry of the Psalms, and the divine wisdom of
the Apostles." That the people of Providence
knew how to write is plain from the documents
and signatures preserved to us, often not only
in a legible, but very excellent hand. Paper
was scarce, and they wrote in small space, and
sometimes with beautiful accuracy. Very sel
dom is a mark used instead of a signature.
The number of strictly illiterate people in those
days was very few, far fewer in proportion than
now. The early inhabitants of Providence were
hardy and well-fed. There is no evidence of
any such wide-spread sickness as prevailed in
the other colonies. The climate was then, as
now, more genial. The rivers and the sea fur
nished them fish and clams, which seem to have
been popular from the beginning. Wild ducks,
geese, turkeys, as well as bears and deer were
often shot. After a while they had plenty of
sheep and goats and domestic fowl, though it
was longer before cows became plenty. The
land was very good for farming. These were

Early Religious Condition. 29
the " Providence Plantations " in reality as they
are still in the name of the State, and all about
this church where we now worship there were
good gardens and grain fields and pastures for
flocks, while close by were berries and wild
fruit of various sorts. Strawberries were re
puted to be especially plenty. Roger Williams
says that in the Providence territory there were
enough wild strawberries to fill a ship, while
the authorities describe them as very large,
even two inches in circumference.
We see, then, that there was no need for the
early settlers to go hungry, though, of course,
seasons varied, and. some were reckless and
imprudent ; yet the people generally were well
supplied. Good morals were aided by good
health, and good-humor attends upon both.
With the frequent intercourse held with
other colonies and the mother country, and the
strangers coming to settle among them, there
was a growth of intelligence, quite equal in gen
eral to that of other parts of New England.
These were the fathers and mothers of Rhode
Island in the seventeenth century. Let us not
exaggerate their virtues or their faults. They
were neither better nor on the whole worse
than those from whom they separated. In fact,
they were of the same stock. The names of
the early inhabitants of Providence show their

30 Early Religious Condition.
kinship with the Pilgrims. Williams and Hop
kins and Fuller and Howland and Olney and
Mowry and Carpenter and Field and Matteson
and Fenner and Arnold and Waterman and
many others illustrate their relationship. And
the purity of the stock was as well preserved
as anywhere. The first settlers of Providence
have as good a claim to be called Pilgrims as
those who came in the Mayflower, and the name
" exiles " is theirs in a double sense. Treated
often with contempt, they cherished no bitter
ness. They wrere a Christian community. They
learned the lesson of toleration or had it forced
on them very early ; and if charity is the chief
of the graces, they taught the world its worth.
Undoubtedly there were crotchety people and
cranks among them, but they were not such as
commit deeds of violence. Undoubtedly they
carried individuality too far. It was not a
good thing that they could not agree to build
a house of worship, and that their early relig
ious services were so irregular ; but if there was
no compulsion, there was more sincerity.
The people worshipped in their free, informal
way for many years, but many of them liked
the order of the churches in Massachusetts and
Connecticut, and visited them from time to
time. Probably many had been members, or
still were, of those churches, and the Puritan

Early Religious Condition. 31
meeting-houses of Rehoboth and Bristol often
received them to share their worship. When
we consider the number of churches that sprang
into full and fervent existence in the eighteenth
century, we may be sure that there was good
foundation in the piety of the fathers. Religion
was not imported as a foreign thing, but it
grew and took form, in after years, with the
strengthening life of Providence.
The people of Providence were kinder to
the Indians than those in the other colonies.
No such massacres or treacherous dealing took
place in Rhode Island as in Connecticut or Mas
sachusetts. Taught by the courage and the
humanity of Roger Williams the people of
Providence were not in such terror of the red
man. They had no such bitter grudge against
him as Cotton Mather had when he described
the aborigines as " tawnies, bloodhounds, rat
tlesnakes, wild beasts, infidels."
The first settlers at Providence and Warwick
were on the most friendly terms with their
Indian neighbors, — the Wampanoags on one
side, the Narragansetts, who could number four
or five thousand warriors, on the other. " The
red man," says Judge Durfee, " may be said to
have held all Rhode Island's blood in the palm
of his hand." It was friendliness that pre
served the people, more than arms. Roger

32 Early Religious Condition.
Williams, even in his old age, often went down
to the Narragansett country to preach to the
Indians and the white settlers who gathered
with them.
In humane feeling the fathers and mothers
of Providence were on a high plane, and surely
here is a good basis for religion.
As to their education, I have already said
that they had few opportunities, and though
full of intelligence and brightness of mind, they
lacked the advantages of an educated ministry.
Much of the preaching and exhorting was no
doubt rude and worthless, yet even here we are
to remember that God has chosen weak and
humble instruments to do good in his name.
And with much of irregularity and error, there
were, no doubt, many who sought the truth in a
simple, God-fearing manner.
God was preparing this colony in His own
way for a strong Christian influence on the
nation and on the world. The Church of the
Pilgrims had a different development here
from anywhere else. But we cannot fail to
see in the after history that there were great
advantages in the freedom of this colony, and
a special purpose in Divine wisdom for the ad
vance of truth, and the conquest of the spirit
of Christ.

II.

THE EARLY MORAL CONDITION OF PROVI
DENCE AS SEEN IN THE TOWN RECORDS.
Peov. xiv. 34 : Righteousness exalteth a nation : but
sin is a reproach to any people.
r I ^HE connection of religion and morality is a
¦*¦ vital one. At least this is to be said of
the religion of the Bible. Pagan nations have
often divorced the two, and served their gods
with licentious and cruel rites. But the Word
of God is ever calling men to fair and honest
dealing, to justice, kindness, and purity of life ;
and Jesus sets in marked contrast the pretence
of piety and the greed and corruption of the
Pharisees. He compared them to " whited sepul
chres, fair without, but within full of dead men's
bones, and all uncleanness."
The early settlers of New England were pious
men, men who valued religion above all things.
I attempted to show last Sabbath evening that
the early settlers of Providence were like them,
bone of their bone and flesh of their flesh, on
the whole quite as pious and sincere, seeking
their home here, not to escape from the worship
3

34 Early Moral Condition.
of God, but to practise it in their own way.
The question that comes to us this evening is,
What were they in their lives ? It is not easy
to draw a complete picture of morals two cen
turies ago, nor have we any full or accurate data
on which to form a judgment.
The church records of Massachusetts and
Connecticut afford ampler material for inquiry
into the condition of morals in those colonies,
than is to be found in Rhode Island. And cer
tainly the numerous cases of discipline for gross
offences would indicate that the state of things
even among the strictest Puritans left much to
be desired. The morals of early Rhode Island
ers, so far as we have any evidence, were not
inferior to those of their kindred in other parts
of New England. In one respect they had the
advantage. The severe punishments and public
disgrace visited upon offenders elsewhere have
never been found to repress crime. On the con
trary, the tendency has been to increase it.
But leaving general considerations, let me ap
peal to such evidence as is within reach. There
have lately fallen into my hands three volumes
of the town records of Providence, containing
facts and items covering nearly the whole of
the first century. Other sources of information
might be appealed to in reference to the char
acter of those times, but there is so much of

Early Moral Condition. 35
interest in these volumes that I shall confine
myself mostly to the records contained in them.
I. And first, with reference to the honesty
and fair dealing of these early settlers. Town
records are naturally made up, in large part, of
title-deeds, certificates of ownership, and trans
fers of land from one to another. The example
set by Roger Williams himself could not fail to
give tone, more or less, to all the transactions
of the time, at least to exert a decided influence
upon them. Himself a leader and interpreter
in all the negotiations with the Indians, it might
have been supposed that he would claim large
tracts of land for himself ; but instead of that,
we find him resigning all special advantage on
that account, and sharing generously with all
the pioneer settlers of the country.
Thus we read in Volume III., page 90, " Mem
orandum, that I, Roger Williams, having form
erly purchased of Canonicus and Miantonomo
this our situation or plantation of New Provi
dence, viz., the two fresh rivers, Wonasquatucket
and Mooshausic and the ground and meadows
thereupon, in consideration of thirty pounds
received from the inhabitants of said place, do
freely and fully pass over and make equal right
and power of enjoying and disposing the same
grounds and lands unto my loving friends : Stuk-
ley Westcott, William Arnold, Thomas James,

36 Early Moral Condition.
Robert Cole, John Greene, John Throckmorton,
William Harris, William Carpenter, Thomas
Olney, Francis Weston, Richard Waterman,
Ezekiel Halliman, and such others as the major
part of us shall admit unto the same fellowship
of vote with us ; as also I do freely make and
pass over equal right and power of enjoying
and disposing of the lands and grounds reach
ing from the aforesaid Rivers unto the great
River Pawtuxet, with the grass and meadows
thereupon, which was so lately given and
granted by the aforesaid sachems."
The noble character of Roger Williams is
illustrated in this, as it is corroborated on every
hand, that he was a man of the strictest honesty,
free from all greed and self-seeking, and content
to share equally with his neighbors ; not claim
ing honor and office and rarely filling any office
in the town, though not shrinking from a citi
zen's duty, in whatever service he could render.
His influence in securing the Charter, and his
agency in preserving the very existence of this
State are facts too well known to need descrip
tion here. What I wish to say is that the life
of such a man, continued till 1683, almost half
a century after the settlement of Providence
was a constant incentive to fair and honorable
dealing. Every new settler was assigned a home
lot of five acres, and men were admitted to the

Early Moral Condition. 37
right of citizenship by vote of the town, so that
it was not, as has been sometimes thought, a
receptacle of anybody who wished to come, but
some pains were taken to admit only persons of
fair character.
Those were times of simplicity. The descrip
tion of their boundaries is amusing. Opening
almost at random, we read in Volume III. of the
town records, " a lay out of land unto George
Way — thirty acres, more or less — lying on
the west of Thomas Olney's share of meadow
called ' Observation meadow,' bounding on the
North East corner with an Elm tree, marked
on four sides ; Westward unto a great oak hav
ing a black oak tree standing by it, marked on
four sides, and twenty feet to range Westward
unto a great rock, and so from that rock to
range Southward unto a white oak tree, and
then South Eastward to a chestnut tree, marked
on four sides, and so to range from the said
chestnut tree Eastward, to a prettie high rock,
which standeth upon a broad rock, and from
the said rock Northward to the aforesaid Elm
tree." We are reminded of the law of the ancient
Hebrews, in Deut. xix. 14: "Thou shall not
remove thy neighbor's landmark, which they of
old have set in thine inheritance," when we
read in another place that " it is ordered that if

38 Early Moral Condition.
any person or persons shall from this time for
ward be so bold or hardy as to pluck or break
down any bound stake, or cut down any tree
which is the bounds of any man's land or be
tween neighbor and neighbor, the said party so
offending, being complained of and convicted by
two witnesses shall pay a forfeit to this town
of the sum of twenty shillings for every stake,
stone, tree, or bound, taken away or disturbed."
Remember that these descriptions relate to
some part of this city now thickly settled, per
haps not far from this very spot. There is very
little indication of a grasping spirit, or a wish
to overreach one's neighbor. Arbitration was
resorted to in cases of dispute. Thus we read :
" Ordered, that three men chosen yearlie have
power to end all differences in matters of debt
or damage, provided the cause exceed not the
sum of forty shillings; but if either party be
not satisfied they may appeal to a town trial."
There are several very creditable indications of
town measures to preserve the property of de
ceased parents to their children, and to provide
for the destitute. The administration of justice,
though simple, was on the whole even-handed
and fair.
II. Let us turn to another question, the
commission of crime. In a pioneer community,
where law and its enforcement are not clearly

Early Moral Condition. 39
defined, we nowadays expect much crime. Ac
counts of violence reach us every day from new
settlements at the West, and mixed races of the
South. There is very little evidence of any
such thing in Rhode Island. Her early history
is very little stained with crime, so far as we can
discover. Deeds of violence and murder are not
related. The one murder which we hear of in
1638 was that of an Indian, — a crime committed
by four young men of Plymouth, who for rob
bery attacked and mortally wounded an Indian
near Pawtucket. The young men came to Provi
dence and were hospitably received by Roger
Williams, who knew nothing of their crime.
But the Indian lived long enough to give testi
mony against them, and by Williams' order
three were arrested, one having escaped, 'and
were taken to Plymouth and tried. They con
fessed their crime and were hanged.
Rhode Island proved no safe place for crimi
nals, nor is there reason to suppose it ever did in
the early times. There was no prison in Provi
dence for many years. In a few instances pris
oners were sent to Newport, where there was a
jail. But there appears to have been little of
gross or violent crime in the first century of this
colony's existence. In 1666 we find a record,
ordering a pair of stocks and a pound to be set
up in some convenient place. But of the use of

40 Early Moral Condition.
the stocks we hear nothing, nor of the pillory
so common in Massachusetts. Doubtless there
was much less severity. Public whipping was
seldom inflicted, and never for religious offences.
No Quakers were abused, no witches hung in
Providence ; and though some will say law
was loosely administered, yet it has been proved
that good morals are not helped by severe penal
ties ; and the absence of those cruel scenes that
were witnessed in Salem and Boston was a great
blessing to the early settlers here, and we have no
reason to believe that the general tone of their
morals was inferior to that of other colonies.
III. Few subjects are more important than
that of temperance. Our fathers had no idea of
the duty or benefit of total abstinence. Neither
ministers nor people, men nor women, believed
in it as a duty. Yet even in those early times
there were men like Elder Brewster who lived
and grew old, without the use of intoxicating
drinks. The early settlers here were abstemious
in their diet, both in eating and drinking ; and
the saying of Higginson, the first minister of
Salem, was very likely repeated in Providence,
that " a sup of New England air is better than
a whole draught of Old England's ale." But it
is not to be denied that drunkenness, the parent
of so many evils, was found in some cases to
exist from the first generation. The fact that

Early Moral Condition. 41
Newport possessed so good a harbor, and be
came, in the first century, so large a port of
entry, brought with it many temptations, and
especially the use of liquors, which extended in
no small degree to Providence. Our fathers par
ticipated in the evil and realized the danger. In
Volume II. of the Records we have several pages
of accounts of importations of liquors, from 1656
to 1664. We find the word " anker," an old
English word for a measure of ten gallons, often
in use. Thus Roger Mowrie desired to have en
tered in the Town-book " two ankers of strong
waters " bought by him. Not very safe anchors
we should say, though they might have held
him fast. Then follows a long list of similar
entries : —
" Edward Taylor, two ankers."
Women's names are among them.
" Anna Williams, six ankers sack."
" Mary Pray, nine ankers sack."
" Robert Williams, eight ankers liquors."
" Henry Fowler, seven ankers rumm, — "
spelled rumm, making it rather strong.
" William Field, two hogsheads and one pipe
sack." " Steeven Arnold of Pawtuxet, four ankers
liquors." " Richard Pray, four barrels of wine."
While we must infer from these things that

42 Early Moi-al Condition.
the use of liquors was common and attended
with many evils, we have no reason to suppose
it was more here than elsewhere. The entries
we have spoken of were required by the town,
under pain of forfeiting half that was received.
No doubt this was intended as a restraint. The
sense of danger from intemperance is manifested
in the articles of an apprentice wherein John
Warner binds himself to William Field in 1659,
and among other things, promises "not to fre
quent taverns or ale-houses, and to behave my
self in all things as a servant ought to doe,
and to doe him true and faithful service."
There is, however, plenty of evidence here as
in all the colonies that liquor was sold to the
Indians, and became a source of great injury to
them. " Continual complaint," it is said in one
place, " is made unto this towne, by several per
sons of the great abuse of selling liquors to the
Indians, the said abuse being so notorious that
not only particular persons are endangered, but
the town in general. The sellers are so wicked
that they deserve to be branded with the worst
of names."
This language surely reminds us of much that
we hear at the present day. Our fathers called
liquor selling, at least to the Indians, wicked
and shameful. And they enacted a law to seize
the goods of parties so offending. They de-

Early Moral Condition. 43
clared the testimony of an Indian sufficient,
and confiscated the liquor, giving half to the
informer, and half to the town. They had not
got so far as to demand the destruction of the
liquor, but the language used certainly shows
their abhorrence of the crime of selling to the
Indians, — though doubtless this was connected
also with a sense of danger.
A previous law of this kind had been made
and repealed, as no doubt difficulties were found
and opposition excited, as there is to all liquor
laws ; but ten years after, it was re-enacted in the
strongest manner, as above described. We find
this entry : —
" Ordered, — that the care of further strength
ening the law against Indians' drunkenness be
referred to the next full Court."
And the same year, 1655, June 24, Roger
Williams, Moderator, it was ordered, —
" If any sell to any Indian a gallon of wine
or liquors, more or less, either directly or in
directly, he shall forfeit six pounds, one half to
the informer, the Constable, and his aid, and the
other half to the town treasurer."
While we cannot be sure of the success at
tained, nor make any precise statements as to
the habits of the people, we have reason to be
lieve that they were on the whole as good as
anywhere in New England at that time, and

44 Early Moral Condition.
that a hearty desire prevailed to restrain the
evils of the use of liquor.
One thing we are sure of, and that is that
the general health of this colony was undisturbed
by the severe visitations that affected the first
settlers in Plymouth or Boston. The climate
was milder. Many of the inhabitants lived to
old age. Roger Williams, notwithstanding all
his exposures, reached the age of eighty-three.
Callender, in his famous historical sermon, says
(page 147) : " Many of the original settlers of
the Colony lived through all dangers and diffi
culties after their coming, above forty years.
William Arnold, John Greene, William Harris,
and Thomas Olney lived to a great age, and
many of the second generation reached to four
score, and some to ninety years."
Here is evidence not only of health and vigor,
but of sober and temperate habits ; so that we
are justified in saying that the first century in
this colony was marked by a fair degree of
moral character corresponding to the conscien
tious views of the early Puritans.
IV. There is one other department of morals,
more important in some respects than any. It
is that of marriage. Personal purity and family
life are the essentials of good morals. And all
the evidence we can gather of the condition of
society, in the first century of Rhode Island,

Early Moral Condition. 45
favors the belief that marriage was highly es
teemed and faithfully guarded. The first settlers
were generally married men, and as young peo
ple grew up, marriages took place early. Living
was on the simplest scale. All were brought up
to work ; women were healthy, and families
were large. Divorce was unheard of, and the
very evidence which the town records afford of
instances of unchastity show that the commun
ity took notice of them, and called to strict ac
count those who fell into gross sins, or brought
trouble upon others. The size of their families
tended to industry, and the cultivation of self-
denial. It was prescribed by law that births
and marriages should be registered, though it
has always been difficult to secure accuracy in
this respect. One of the first entries is that of
Roger Williams' children. " Mary, born at
Plymouth, first week in August, 1633 ; Free
born, born in Salem, latter end of October, 1635;
Providence, son of Roger Williams and Mary,
his wife, born at Providence, latter end of Sep
tember, 1638 ; " Mercy and Daniel and Joseph
following. Marriages were regarded, as in Massachusetts,
a matter of civil contract, performed by the
magistrate, and not by a minister. But there
was a publishing of the banns required at least
two weeks beforehand. As they had no meet-

46 Early Moral Condition.
ing house the publication was a little peculiar.
Thus under date of November third, 1655. At
town-meeting, Roger Williams, Moderator, —
" Ordered, That the Publication of marriage
shall be under the hand of a Magistrate upon
some eminent tree in the town streete, after
which publication, the marriage shall be lawful,
if no exception come within the fortnight's
time." " In extraordinary cases, persons may in a
shorter time procure and purchase a town meet
ing, wherein there may be publication."
Another order is, that " all persons joining in
marriage, all parents of children new born, and
next friends to persons dying, shall record in the
town book, names and times of their marriage,
of their children new born, and the burial of
their friends, paying three pence to the town
clerk for their record, and under penalty of five
shillings for neglect."
This order is more than once referred to, and
the frequent record of publishing, both first and
second times, and of dates of birth, shows that
on the whole there was a fair attention paid
to it.
A single instance may suffice. Volume III.
page 104 : " This present writing may certify all
before whom these presents shall come, that the
General Sergeant did publish banns of matri-

Early Moral Condition. 47
mony betwixt Steeven Sabeere and Deborah
Angell, both late of Newport, at two several
meetings of the General Courts held at New
port, in my Audience, given under my hand this
seventh day of November. John Greene, Assistant, 1668.
" This may certify all before whom these
Presents shall come, that Steeven Sebeere and
Deborah Angell were according to the Lawdable
Custom and Lawe of the Colony married by
me, this fourteenth of November, anno 1668, by
John Greene, Assistant in Providence.
" Recorded this twenty-third of November,
1668, by me, Shadrach Manton, Clerk of the
town of Providence."
The family life of the first century was sim
ple, affectionate, and happy. No purer stock
could anywhere be found. New England, for
indeed two centuries, received few but those
who were kindred of the Puritans, and the
names of the early settlers are repeated in their
descendants down to this time. The names of
Williams, Harris, Angell, Olney, Fenner, Field,
Manton, Brown, Mattison, Steere, Palmer,
Waterman, Arnold, Sayles, Greene, Mason, Car
penter, Colwell, Hopkins, Dexter, Abbott, Whit
man, TiUinghast, Mowry, and many others have
been with us from the beginning, and illustrate
the fact that, notwithstanding the rapid influx

48 Early Moral Condition.
of foreigners in this century, no colony in Amer
ica has preserved more of its original stock.
If there has been degeneracy in later days, we
may thank God for the purity of family life in
the earlier time. The rights of women were
early respected here. From the time mentioned
in the discourse of last week when Joshua Verin
was fined and disfranchised for restricting the
liberty of his wife in the matter of worship,
care was taken that women should have their
rights of property and be consulted in family
affairs. On the death of the husband, the wife
and children were to be provided for, as I have
already mentioned ; and in the sale of estates,
her signature was always necessary.
I read from the records, Volume III. : —
"Here followeth the enrolment of a Deede
belonging unto Thomas Olney, Jr., which was
signed and sealed by George Way and Elizabeth,
his wife, it being ordered by the town to be in-
rolled in the Town Book.
" 31st August, 1664."
And in the " deede," it is expressly declared
to be " with the free will and voluntary consent
of Elizabeth, my wife."
Many similar records illustrate the care taken
for the protection of women.
I may be asked why, in preparing to write
the history of Congregationalism in this State,

Early Moral Condition. 49
and more particularly of this Church, I should
begin so far back, or say so much of the char
acter and morals of the people in the first cen
tury. I answer, because I wish to show the kind
of soil there was here for our system of religion.
The Germans have a saying that " a man ought
to be very careful in the choice of his grand
fathers." You must go back to your ancestors
if you would trace the meaning and growth of
any religious movement.
Though there was no Congregational Church
established in this city for nearly one hundred
years, there were many who were in sympathy
with that form of worship. The Baptists were
Congregational in polity, only differing in a
single point. The Quakers had much in com
mon with them. But many of our people in the
early times went to Seekonk to the old Newman
Church. There was, we have reason to believe,
family worship and private prayer. Moreover,
many of the settlers exhorted or preached in
larger or smaller meetings, — in groves or their
own log houses. The Sabbath was not hedged
about with the penalties that made a kind of
barbed wire fence around it in Massachusetts ;
but it was by no means despised, and many a
devout prayer went up to God from those who
felt drawn near to him, by the suffering and
privations they endured. There was an effort
4

50 Early Moral Condition.
made to harmonize those who kept the first day
and those who kept the seventh day, that they
might not interfere with one another.
The records of the legislature show that the
relations with the Indians in Rhode Island were
on a high plane of moral and humane feeling.
The great champion of this colony was full of
love and gentleness toward them. He knew
more of their language than any of the Pilgrims.
Many were the solemn discourses he had with
them, by day and night, in their smoky huts.
" The great point of their conversion," as he
says, was dear to his heart, and the cause of his
studies among them. He describes in affecting
words the conversion of one named Weequash,
and his penitent expressions. Of their reverent
faith, he bears witness when he says, " He that
questions whether God made the world, the In
dian will teach him."
The town records bear evidence of careful
agreement with the Indians about their lands,
not only in general, but also with regard to pri
vate ownership.
On the whole, it is no gratuitous assumption
that there was a better feeling here in Rhode
Island toward the Indians, a deeper sense of
their rights, and the duty of cultivating just
and friendly relations with them, than in Mas
sachusetts or Connecticut. No such terrible

Early Moral Condition. 51
cruelties on either side embittered their relations,
and though King Philip's war was fought to a
finish on what is now Rhode Island soil, but was
then in the colony of Plymouth, the causes that
led to it were no fault of her people. A regard
for human rights and a hopeful feeling for hu
manity were characteristic of the people of this
town and colony, and there were many things
favorable here for the growth of true religion
when the time came for the establishment of a
Congregational Church. Other churches had
preceded, and worship had been practised in
various ways among this people from the begin
ning, and the whole after history of the State
shows that the spirit of religion was not alien
to the fathers, but rather that they prepared the
way for the progress of the Church in later times.
I shall proceed with the introduction of Con
gregationalism in my next discourse. This is
indeed but one of many branches of Christ's true
Church. That it has been fruitful and greatly
blessed to this whole nation I firmly believe, and
count it a pious work to record the riches of Di
vine Grace that have been manifested through it.
Religion and morality go together. The fear
of God made our people obey his laws, and laid
the foundation for the happy result indicated in
the text, " Righteousness exalteth a nation, but
sin is a reproach to any people."

III.

THE BEGINNINGS OF CONGREGATIONALISM
IN RHODE ISLAND, AND THE ORGANIZA
TION OF THE FIRST CHURCH IN PROVI
DENCE.
Titus i. 5 : For this cause left I thee in Crete, that
thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting,
and appoint elders in every city as I gave thee charge.
' I ^HE spread of the gospel required the
¦*¦ founding of churches and a regular
ministry. I am to speak at this time of the begin
nings of Congregationalism in Rhode Island.
In some sense it may be said to have belonged
here from the first. Yet it is also true that
it was brought here later from Massachusetts
and Connecticut. The fathers of New England
were all Congregationalists. The first exiles
who settled Providence were Congregational
ists ; among whom were two ordained min
isters, — Roger Williams and Thomas James.
In three or four years Williams took up with
the doctrine and practice of immersion, and the
First Baptist Church was founded. In Newport,
a Congregational church was formed as early

Congregationalism. 53
as 1639 ; but that subsequently became Baptist.
It is probable, also, that there was a Congrega
tional church in Kingston before the middle of
the seventeenth century, though the records are
deficient. We see traces of Congregationalism
in various parts of the Colony from the begin
ning ; but the Baptist element — which, indeed,
may be called an offshoot of Congregational
ism — was much stronger, and able to form
churches which have continued to this day.
We rejoice in the good they have done. That
a considerable number of the people were still
in harmony with the Pilgrim and Puritan
churches from which they came is no doubt
true ; but the general sentiment of the Colony
was opposed to a regular ministry. The peo
ple not only objected to the tax which other
colonies had levied for the support of the gos
pel, but they even went so far as to despise all
ministers who were willing to receive anything
for their labors. " A hireling ministry none of
Christ's " was made a popular cry, from the lips
of their great leader. There were still many
preachers, but little regularity of service. No
meeting-house of any kind was erected in Provi
dence for more than sixty years ; and then, as if
to carry out the principle that a minister should
not be paid, the Rev. Pardon TiUinghast, a Bap
tist elder, not only supported himself but built

54 Congregationalism.

the first meeting-house at his own charges, about
the year 1700. Surely we ought to honor his
memory in this town.
The people of Massachusetts and Connecticut
had all along been looking with considerable
interest to this Colony, with desire, as they felt,
to establish pure religion, — not unmixed, per
haps, with the notion of getting possession
of the territory. They loved Rhode Island
and Providence Plantations very much as the
European powers loved Poland. The love
that these neighboring colonies had for us
was connected with a willingness to divide
the land between them. I will not dwell
upon the well-known fact that the whole of
Rhode Island was claimed by different par
ties, and that her boundaries were in dispute
for more than 200 years. Several Congrega
tional churches now within the State were
formed when the territory was regarded as
belonging to Plymouth. Thus there was a
line of Congregational churches along our
eastern border, which we now call Rhode
Island churches, before there was any meeting
house of any sort in Providence. Of these I
mention one in Barrington, which dates from
1665; the church in Bristol, dating from 1687;
and the church in Little Compton, dating from
1704.

Congregationalism. 55
Thus the Church of the Puritans was putting
out its branches and planting its scions — or
its Zions, as they would have called them — as
near as possible to the plantations of Provi
dence. But early in the eighteenth century
they began to press within the narrower limits
of Newport and Providence. Newport had a
Congregational church formed in 1720. In
fact, two Congregational churches were formed
within a short interval, whose ministers became
eminent in the history of our country, — among
them Ezra Stiles, afterwards President of Yale
College ; and Samuel Hopkins, famous for his
system of Divinity, and still more for his noble
stand against slavery.
As early as 1720 efforts were put forth
to establish Congregationalism in Providence.
Doubtless there were inducements from within
as well as from without. Quite a number of
people residing here preferred this way of
worship. Some of them, as I have before
remarked, were in the habit of going over to
the Newman Church in Rehoboth, or perhaps
sometimes to Barrington. It is altogether likely
that services were held in private houses, or in
groves, by little bands of people who were of
kindred spirit to their brethren in Massachusetts
or Connecticut.
But it is also true that the people in Bos-

56 Congregationalism.
ton looked upon Rhode Island as missionary
ground. Some thought it heathen ground. In
this respect the Boston Congregationalists and
the members of the Church of England held
about the same view. If it was not their
Church it was no Church. Hence both Epis
copalians and Puritans had a very poor opinion
of the state of religion here, and did not give
due credit to the real piety of the Baptists or
the Quakers, or that of sincere and good people,
who in the poverty and weakness of the Colony,
had not been able to form themselves into an
organized church. At length the Boston peo
ple were determined to send to Providence
some messengers of what they believed to be
the true religion. Eminent men among them,
with Peter Thacher at their head, wrote a very
polite and even flattering letter to the first
citizens of Providence, proposing to send a
preacher who should gather a Congregational
church among them. They expressed great ad
miration of the peace and love which socie
ties of different modes of worship entertained
toward each other in Rhode Island. They
thought no difference of opinion ought to sep
arate the hearty union and good affection of all
pious Protestants. One would really imagine
from their letter that they had been completely
won over to the principle of soul liberty.

Congregationalism. 57
And indeed a great change was working in
the minds of the people in Boston. A Baptist
Church had existed in that city for some time,
and in 1718 they had approved of the ordina
tion of a Baptist minister and three Congre
gational ministers had actually taken part in
the services, — the famous Drs. Increase Mather
and Cotton Mather and John Webb. Cotton
Mather preached the ordination sermon, which
was entitled, "Good Men United." The rigid
Puritan had improved since his earlier days.
Indeed, Cotton Mather was a better man than
many have thought him, and in his sermon on
that occasion, he says, "Cursed be the anger
and the wrath, for it is cruel ; good for nothing
but 'only to make divisions in Jacob and dis
persions in Israel. Good men, alas ! have done
such ill things as these. New England also has
in former times done something of this aspect,
which would not now be so well approved ; in
which, if the brethren in whose house we are
now convened met with anything too un-
brotherly, they now with satisfaction hear us
expressing our dislike of everything which
looked like persecution in the days that have
passed over us."
Surely it is very pleasant to read this candid
confession, and to believe that the first century
of the colonies had not gone by without some
growth of Christian charity.

58 Congregationalism.
Nevertheless it was a little hard for Provi
dence people to be pleased with the idea of
missionaries being sent down from Boston. As
it had been hard to bear contempt in the past,
it was about as hard now to listen to words
of praise, especially when accompanied with
the proposition to establish a Congregational
church. The answer given to the Boston over
tures by a Baptist preacher of Providence,
Jonathan Sprague, was not cordial. He re
bukes them for taxing those who did not agree
with them, to support their own worship, and
sharply says : " For the future let us never hear
of your pillaging conscientious dissenters to
maintain your own ministers." Nevertheless,
he adds, "Far be it from us to avenge our
selves." So the Boston missionaries were en
couraged to come, and one, Dr. Hoyle of Provi
dence, was sent to collect aid in Massachusetts
and Connecticut to build a meeting-house. The
effort to erect a Congregational meeting-house
was made in 1720, on a lot of land near the
junction of Pawtuxet and High streets. (See
Staples' "Annals of Providence") We call
these streets now Weybosset and Broad, and
the lot chosen was probably near the present
site of the Beneficent Church. The house was
only partly built, when it was pulled down, not
being pleasing, it is said, either to friends or

Congregationalism. 59
foes; and Daniel Abbott, who was the patron
of Congregationalism, and many other good
things, gave a lot on the East side, where a
church was erected and used for worship during
seventy-two years. This was afterwards sold
for a town-house, and remained in existence
for more than a century. Samuel Moody, of
York, Me., a graduate of Harvard College,
preached to them for a short time, but the first
regular pastor was Josiah Cotton, also a gradu
ate of Harvard, and a lineal descendant of the
eminent John Cotton, who came from old
Boston, England, and was the first minister in
Boston, Massachusetts.
I pause for a moment to speak of this dis
tinguished man, since the beginnings of Congre
gationalism in Providence, and the separation
of our own Church in after days may be better
explained by some reference to him.
John Cotton was born in England, trained in
Cambridge University, a fellow of Emmanuel
College, from which so many Puritans came,
a preacher in old Boston, in that grand old
church, the finest parish church in Old Eng
land. From this he was ejected on account of
his Puritan scruples, and on coming to Boston,
in this country, he became really the founder of
the Puritan theocracy. It was at his recom
mendation that none but church members

60 Congregationalism.
were allowed to vote, and as the intimate
friend of John Winthrop, he had enormous
influence. He was an indefatigable student,
especially in the Bible. He could write and
speak Hebrew, Greek, and Latin; and was
withal a pious man, a devoted lover of the
Sabbath, who toiled unremittingly for nearly
twenty years in Boston, and died in the midst
of his labors, having often expressed the wish
that he might not outlive his work, — saying he
"would rather be dead, than live dead."
From this eminent man, Josiah Cotton, the
first Congregational minister of Providence,
was descended in the fourth generation. His
brother, Nathaniel Cotton, was settled in Bris
tol, in 1721. Both of them were graduates
of Harvard College, and belonged to a family
of ministers highly esteemed and influential
throughout New England.
It is not strange that the setting up of a Con
gregational church in Providence, and especi
ally with a minister imported from Boston,
awoke some jealousy, and Mr. Cotton himself,
with many excellences of character, appears
to have brought with him a somewhat more
imperious manner, and a more exalted idea of
the respect due to the ministry than prevailed
among the natives of Providence. He, I sup
pose, was the first regularly paid minister, and

Congregationalism. 6 1
the first who had been a graduate of Harvard,
and perhaps this was not altogether to the
taste of his neighbors, or even of some of his
own hearers. It would be strange if some had
not looked a little askance at this invasion
from the other colonies. I call it an invasion
because the circumstances attending his ordi
nation show how much there was in it of what
may be called a proselyting element. There
was then no Congregational church in the
borders of Rhode Island, except at Newport
and Kingston.
Josiah Cotton describes at length his ordina
tion, which took place 23d Oct. 1728. I will
quote a part of it, as it appears in a note to
Dr. Edward B. Hall's anniversary sermon : —
" This little flock of ours consisted at first
of nine persons, males. My ordination was
solemnized in the following most decent man
ner. My eldest brother, John Cotton, began
the meeting with prayer. Then the Rev.
Nathaniel Appleton preached. After sermon
was over, the Rev. Thomas Prince embodied
our church ; we, each of us, pastor and church,
mutually renewing our call and answer and
accepting of each other." This was none other
than the famous Thomas Prince, pastor of the
Old South Church in Boston, and author of
"New England's Chronology." Then the Rev.

62 Congregationalism.
William White gave the right hand of fellowT-
ship, and the hands of the Presbytery were laid
upon Mr. Cotton's head. After singing a Psalm,
and the benediction pronounced by the pastor,
he adds : —
"All the council resorted to the house and
great chamber of Daniel Abbott, where they
had prepared for them a very sumptous dinner,
and I served the tables. A large concourse of
persons were together on the occasion, for we
sent to twenty-three churches, namely, to the
seven united churches in Boston, and to two
in this Colony, to one in Connecticut, and to
thirteen in the Massachusetts Bay ; eighteen of
which were on the spot, assisting in the ordina
tion, and their reverend elders and messengers ;
and of the Band-men there were supposed to
be near forty, besides many candidates for the
ministry." (The Band-men were probably at
tendants on horseback, who came for protection
to the ministers.) "The like to which," says
Mr. Cotton, "as to ministers and churches for
the numbers, and possibly too, for the populace,
this North America never saw, and, oh ! that
I may ever keep it in the imaginations of the
thoughts of my heart, the awfulness, the weight,
and the moment, of this most arduous work in
which I am engaged ; and particularly of the
most solemn and tremendous charge that has

Congregationalism. 63
now been laid upon me ; and I wish to God that
I may so preach Christ to others as not to prove
a castaway myself, but may save both you and
me. Amen."
It will be seen from this authentic account
that Congregationalism came into Providence
with what may be called a great flourish of
trumpets. Up to this time there had not' ex
isted in the whole colony more than eight or
ten churches, of any denomination, and these
were mostly in a very feeble and precarious
state. The arrival, therefore, of eighteen or
twenty eminent ministers, with elders and dele
gates, accompanied by a numerous cavalcade,
seemed certainly a startling thing. The whole
population of the town of Providence was less
than four thousand. It doubtless seemed to
them as if the Puritans were taking possession
of their inheritance. Eighteen Congregational
churches sent their messengers to organize nine
male members into a church. But true to
their principles of toleration and freedom, the
people interposed no objection, and, indeed,
gave hospitable entertainment to the distin
guished guests.
Yet it would be strange if they did not re
gard them with some suspicion, and after their
retirement we find the Congregational Church
maintaining a somewhat feeble existence. Mr.

64 Congregationalism.
Cotton appears to have been a man of ex
emplary character, and of learning enough to
deserve respect. It is probable, however, that
his manners were somewhat reserved, and that
he found little in Providence to satisfy the
dignity of a Boston minister of the olden time.
For fifteen years, however, according to his
eminent successor in this century, Dr. Edward
B. Hall, the church moved on with quiet
harmony. " They were at peace among them
selves, and additions were made to their num
bers." But they still had to seek pecuniary
aid, and there is no evidence that Mr. Cotton
possessed peculiar talents, such as would give
him popularity. In a town where there were
a good many ministers, both men and women,
some among the Quakers, who were ready and
fervent, there was not a very hopeful field for
scholarly abilities like his.
Of the causes which led to the separation
among his people, and the founding of this
Church on the West Side, I shall speak in an
other discourse. What I wish to observe here
is that the earliest Congregational Church in
Providence had rather the character of a mis
sion planted from abroad, and it was very slow
in taking root, and indeed probably would have
made but very small progress even if troubles
had not arisen from causes which were then

Congregationalism. 65
affecting more or less all the churches in New
England. It was the time of "the great
awakening," so named by Jonathan Edwards,
its great leader. It was the time of Whitefield,
whose preaching produced so much excitement
all over the land. It was the time when the
great controversy arose about the Half-way
Covenant, according to which people were re
ceived into the Church, simply on the ground
of their baptism in infancy, without special in
quiry as to their conversion. All these things
are of great importance and interest, and I
wish to speak of them in connection with the
formation of our own Church.
But I am here speaking only of the planting
of Congregationalism in Providence. Of course,
it is not my province to give a detailed history
of the First Congregational Church of this city,
which continues to this day under that name,
and has had many able ministers ; but as our
Church sprang from it, it is interesting to
know something of its origin. "Its Confes
sion of Faith and Covenant," as Dr. Hall has
said, "was decidedly Trinitarian, and moder
ately Calvinistic, though not harsh or at all
exclusive. It is in the common language of
that day, and its temper is more than commonly
humble and charitable. . . . Before the first com
munion the church received from a few friends
5

66 Congregationalism.
in Boston complete furniture for the pulpit and
both ordinances."
Dr. Hall remarks that "the church was
often called Presbyterian, and in later times
the name Presbyterian was often applied to this
church and others of the Congregational order."
He gives no explanation of it, and appears to
be at a loss for the reason. I can say, however,
that the terms " synod " and " presbytery "
were in general use in early New England.
In Cromwell's time the Independents outnum
bered the Presbyterians, and English dissenters
became, for the most part, Independents, yet
recognizing the value of the Westminster Con
fession. In times of persecution, both were
closely allied. The office of elder and ruling
elder was long recognized in New England;
and the Cambridge platform, adopted in 1648,
speaks of the power of the Church and its
presbytery, thus making it quite natural that
the name Presbyterian should be sometimes
used as applied to the Church.
The entrance of Congregationalism into Prov
idence was attended with no small difficulties.
And yet the result was of great and lasting
benefit to the city. It led the way to a more
regular ministry than had hitherto existed. The
Episcopal Church, founded about the same time,
went through a long struggle, before it main-

Congregationalism. 67
tained any regular organization. The First Bap
tist Church left its ministers to find their living
in other occupations. It was not till after the
Browns, in three generations, had given their ser
vices to the church without money and without
price, that the opinion came to be seriously urged
by Governor Jenckes and others that the Bap
tists should not only employ a regular minister,
but provide for his support. The Massachusetts
churches had always maintained this principle,
based on the declaration of Paul (1 Cor. ix. 14) :
" Even so hath the Lord ordained that they
which preach the gospel should live of the gos
pel." It is true that the Boston churches and
the churches in Connecticut had abused this
principle by taxing everybody indiscriminately,
whether they would or not. But it was time
for a better system, — a new era, as the late
Dr. Caldwell called it, — and the Congregational
Church was largely instrumental in bringing in
a more Scriptural view.
From that time churches in Providence began
to take on a new life, and they have multiplied
and are as numerous and well supported as in
any city of equal size in the land. It is a re
markable fact that while for the first century
there was hardly anything expended here for the
ordinances of religion, except the time and labor
which many willingly gave, in the second cen-

68 Congregationalism.
tury, and especially after the struggles and dis
tresses of the Revolution were past, there was a
wonderful expansion and increase not only of
religious life, but of regular and well-sustained
worship. And I feel confident that I am not
wrong in ascribing this largely to the incoming
of Congregationalism.
While we cannot praise too much the "soul
liberty " of Roger Williams, yet there was need
of a greater sense of responsibility in the public
worship of God. There must be some organi
zation, and provision made for its support. And
while this should be done voluntarily and with a
cheerful spirit, it cannot be neglected, or left to
a mere casual impulse.
The separation which took place in 1743, and
led to the formation of this Church, was not
without blame on both sides. I shall speak of
it at more length, next Sabbath. At present,
I speak only of the origin of Congregationalism
in Rhode Island. It was a bond of union be
tween the Colonies. It came with many ex
pressions of good-will, and a double benefit
resulted all over New England in leading the
way, though slowly, to the voluntary system,
which now prevails everywhere. The idea of
Church and State, or of a Puritan theocracy,
began to be questioned in all the colonies, while
in Rhode Island the duty of sustaining a regu-

Congregationalism. 69
lar ministry was no longer looked upon with
contempt. It is proper to add that the First Congrega
tional Church remained in sympathy with the
Congregational churches of Massachusetts un
til the Unitarian controversy arose a century
later. Their ministers were all, or nearly all,
graduates of Harvard College, and approved
in other colonies. Kindly feeling prevailed
toward our own Church. The vote of censure
of our first pastor, Joseph Snow, was very hand
somely withdrawn. The First Church was in
vited to participate with us in the settlement
of our second pastor, James Wilson, and still
later Mr. Wilson offered the ordaining prayer
at the ordination of their minister, Rev. Henry
Edes. We regret that this union could not
have been always maintained, but we look for
ward hopefully to the day when all Christians
shall be of one heart and one mind, and the
truth as it is in Jesus shall gain complete vic
tory throughout the world.

IV.
THE CAUSES OF SEPARATION FROM THE
FIRST CHURCH AND THE FORMATION OF
THE CHURCH ON THE WEST SIDE.
Phil. i. 12 : But I would ye should understand, breth
ren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen
out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel.
/CONTENTIONS among disciples of Christ
^-' have existed from the first. On this ac
count Paul and Barnabas were obliged to sepa
rate, and a wider and apparently more zealous
diffusion of spiritual truth resulted. In the fine
figure of Archbishop Leighton, " Sticks and
stones and other incongruous things may be
frozen together, but heat will soon melt and
separate them." This heat in religion may not
be always the warmth of love, but even then it
has sometimes proved for the furtherance of the
gospel, that these divisions have arisen. Looking
back to-day over the long period of one hundred
and fifty years, we cannot help feeling that it
was well that the Congregational Church should
divide into two, and that a new and separate
church should be established in this part of the
town.

Causes of Division. 71
It was very fortunate in all respects that
the location chosen was remote from all other
churches or meeting-houses. None could deny
the desirableness of having a place of worship
on this side, destined to be the most growing
part of the town. The same Daniel Abbott
who had given the land for the first church,
gave also the land for this, with the park ad
joining. I cannot find that he was a member
of either church, but he may have had some of
that excellent shrewdness which saw that it
was well for them to be far apart. Sometimes
a hostile faction, going out from a church,
prefers to place the new one just as near as
possible to the old, so that the rivalry may be
apparent. This was not the case here, and the
gift of land was all the more valuable. Daniel
Abbott was a prominent citizen, whose name is
often in the town records, and whose influence
appears to have been most efficient in building
the first bridge connecting the two sides of the
river, as well as in other public works.
But my purpose is to go farther back into the
causes of separation. And these are connected
with one of the greatest movements of New
England's history. In the year 1735 occurred
the "Great Awakening" in Northampton, so
named by Jonathan Edwards, its great leader
and annalist. No name in all our earlier history

72 Causes of Division.
is more famous than that of Jonathan Edwards.
As a philosopher, a writer, and a preacher, he
took the highest rank, and his fame has been
growing ever since. A recent writer says of
him: "Among the great names in America of
the last century, the only other which competes
in celebrity with his own, is that of Benjamin
Franklin." To us, however, at this time, his piety and
his influence in the great revival which swept
over New England are the points of chief in
terest. It is to be premised that indifference
and formalism had prevailed to a considerable
extent before this time. This was true both in
England and America. Bishop Butler bewails
the low state of religion in the Established
Church. The established church of Massachu
setts and Connecticut was in something the same
danger. In the former colony, the law which
joined church-membership with the right of
suffrage had a bad moral effect. It obscured
the great doctrines of conversion and of Chris
tian experience. Edwards preached with tre
mendous power the necessity of a change of
heart, and dwelt so much on the need of holy
affections that the whole mode of thinking on
these subjects was led into a new channel. He
combined in a wonderful manner the character
of a deep thinker with that of a mystic. His

Causes of Division. 73
own feelings were intense, and the new spiritual
life that appeared in Northampton showed the
power that religion can have over the minds of
men. Pentecostal times seemed to be renewed.
The mighty presence of God was felt as never in
New England before.
All the towns in that part of Massachusetts,
especially Sunderland, South Hadley, Deerfield,
many towns in Connecticut, from New Haven
to Guilford, and Groton and Hebron, with others
which he mentions, felt the influence. Edwards
does not confine his description to generali
ties, but narrates particularly many surprising
conversions of people of all classes, including
children. Some of these conversions were ac
companied with great terrors and bodily contor
tions. Long seasons of despair were followed by
great light and rapture. Undoubtedly human
weakness was intermingled, but a great and gen
uine interest in religion was awakened through
out the country. "Extraordinary zeal was
excited in many gospel ministers ; itinerants
travelled through the country and preached
daily ; converts were multiplied ; and religion
became almost the only subject of concern."
Now it was natural that such a state of things
should be attended with criticism and opposition.
If the Jews thought the Apostles were full of
new wine, similar charges were made against

74 Causes of Division.
Edwards. He was driven from Northampton.
Many eminent ministers, from Boston to New
Haven, opposed his views. Undoubtedly he car
ried very far the attempt to judge of one's reli
gious state. His treatise on " The Affections "
led some good people almost to despair of their
acceptance with God. Others went much further
than he did, and denounced those who did not
entirely agree with them. They called them
" hypocrites" and "unbelievers." They attempted
to set up a standard of Christian experience, and
ministers as well as others were to be tried by it.
If a man's preaching did not conform to their
views of doctrine or their height of emotion, they
said he was not a Christian.
But while there were excesses in speech and
behavior, and uncharitableness on both sides,
nevertheless this great movement certainly fell
out for the furtherance of the gospel. Let us
approach it from another quarter. The very
same year that Jonathan Edwards was born
gave birth to the great apostle of Methodism,
John Wesley. He, as well as Edwards, preached
the need of regeneration for all sorts of men.
He also was a scholar, trained at Oxford, and
though not to be compared with Edwards as a
thinker, yet wholly like him in the spirit of
devotion to Christ and humanity. On the other
side of the ocean as on this, was held up the

Causes of Division. 75
great utterance of Christ : " Ye must be born
again." " How disgusting," said a lady of high
rank, " that we of the nobility should be told
that our hearts are just as sinful, and need re
newing as much as those of servants or common
people." But this was the great truth that was
sounding loud, both in England and America.
Wesley's visit to Georgia and residence of two
years in this country contributed largely to his
influence. In 1739 he commenced open-air
preaching, and for a time had the favor of many
in the Church of England, from which he never
desired to separate. But here, too, contentions
arose which turned out for the furtherance of
the gospel. On both sides of the water, from
the year 1735 far on in the century, the air was
full of life and excitement on the great themes
of the gospel. Opposition on one side led to
excesses on the other; but great and glorious
results were attained for the advance of Christ's
kingdom. Following out the influences that directly or
indirectly led to the formation of this Church, I
may speak of the preaching of Gilbert Tennent
and his brother William. Both of them came
from Ireland and settled in New Jersey. Gilbert
Tennent was born in 1703, the same year with
Wesley and Edwards. The latter was on terms
of friendship with him, and speaks approvingly

76 Causes of Division.
of his work. Gilbert Tennent preached in many
places in Connecticut ; in Boston also, where he
preached in the Old South Church, with great
effect, as we learn from their celebrated pastor,
Thomas Prince, who says that hundreds were
awakened under his preaching.
The fact of chief interest to us, however, is
that Gilbert Tennent came to Providence in the
year 1741, and that our first pastor, Joseph Snow,
Jr., then a young man, believed himself to have
been converted by his preaching. He often re
counted his experience in public, naming the text
of the sermon, Gal. ii. 16 : " Knowing that a man
is not justified by the law, but by the faith of
Jesus Christ." Mr. Snow had been already a
member of the Church for three years, but so
powerful was the impression of divine truth, by
the preaching of Gilbert Tennent, that he felt
that he never had been a Christian before. Such
experiences are not wanting in any age of the
Church. A new awakening casts all that is
behind into the shade. From that time Mr.
Snow began to be more zealous than he had
ever been. He became dissatisfied with ordinary
preaching. In fact, it is one of the results of
itineracy and of the visits of evangelists, that
the regular ministrations of the Word seem tame.
It is not for us to pronounce judgment on either
side. No doubt there was weakness on both.

Causes of Division. 77
Rev. Josiah Cotton joined with many of the
esteemed ministers of New England in objecting
to the preaching of these itinerants. It is not
easy for human nature to have others admired
at our expense. Doubtless Mr. Cotton, like his
great ancestors and relatives, was a man of some
what imperious tone. He belonged to what may
be called the High Church Congregationalists.
He wished to govern his flock, and could not
well bear to see them carried away by other
leaders. On the other hand, Joseph Snow and his
father, and other truly devout people, longed for
a higher style of piety. In their zeal they had
not much patience ; they complained loudly of
their minister, and denounced his preaching, and
even thought he was not converted. We must
honestly say that this was not Christian con
duct. Of course, they had a right to separate,
but they should have done so without harsh
words, or proceeding to the summary measure of
deposing their pastor. Censure on the one side
was followed by censure on the other. If one
party could depose the pastor, the other party
could excommunicate the brethren. Efforts were
made to call a Council, but the efforts failed.
There would be no pleasure nor profit in relating
the details of the strife. But this we can SRy,
assuredly, that God made even these trials to

78 Causes of Division.
work together for good. And those ancient
worthies, if they could speak to us to-day, would
say with Paul : "I would that ye should under
stand that the things which happened unto me
have turned out for the furtherance of the
gospel." Returning therefore to the general causes
which led to the founding of this separate
church, let it be remembered that this was a
time of great and extensive revival, in the old
world and the new. By many it was called
enthusiasm or fanaticism ; but unquestionably
there was need of something to arouse the slug
gish piety of the age. There was need of a
revival of true religion, of a return to the great
doctrines of conversion and dependence on the
grace of God. And certainly these truths were
emphasized anew in the middle of the last cen
tury. This Church was called a "new light"
church or a " separate " church, and there were
many such in Connecticut and elsewhere.
One of the influences which concurred in
heightening the religious feeling of the times
was the preaching of George Whitefield. He first
came to this country in 1737, and made several
visits afterwards. He came to New England at
the invitation of Gilbert Tennent, of whom I
have already spoken, and visited Rhode Island,
perhaps at the very same time. No preacher in
S 114a

Causes of Division. 79
any age produced more immediate or startling
effects. In some parts of England he had the
most brilliant auditories. Hume and Chester
field and Garrick professed their admiration of
him. But of the common people, multitudes
were truly converted and gave evidence of a
changed life. The revival begun in Edwards'
time was largely extended by the labors of
Whitefield, who gathered immense audiences in
Boston, and many other places. It is remem
bered with interest that he preached several
times on this very spot, but that was not till
some years after his first arrival in America.
As there had been opposition to Edwards and
Wesley, it is not strange that there was even
greater opposition to Whitefield. Though a
good man he possessed little of their depth of
character. His oratory was like a flame of fire.
His passionate appeals offended many of a dif
ferent temperament. The authorities of Yale
College came out against him. The synods
and convocation of Connecticut expressed their
disapprobation. Everywhere there were great
divisions concerning him, and while to-day few
would be found to deny that he was an eminent
and useful servant of God, many in his lifetime
denounced him as working great harm to the
churches. Thank God, we live in an age of
greater toleration and kindness of judgment.

80 Causes of Division.
We hear the work of Dwight L. Moody spoken
of with respect by all classes, and his noble
efforts for the neglected and the masses are
commended on all hands.
True, we hear now less doctrinal disputing.
Whitefield was a strong Calvinist. Many op
posed him on this account, and Wesley could not
work with him. But these divisions, though
painful and not without injury and loss, still
turned out "for the furtherance of the gospel."
Though contention waxed hot, yet there was
doubtless a gain for clearness of thought, and
freedom of opinion, and ultimately for charity
towards all.
At this point we find the origin of our own
Church closely connected with the ecclesiastical
history of Connecticut. As the first impulse
of Congregationalism in Providence was largely
derived from Massachusetts, the separation which
resulted in the formation of this Church finds
its explanation to a 'considerable extent in
the history of Windham County, Connecticut.
About that time communication between the
colonies became more frequent. It is a singu
lar fact recorded in the memoir of John How-
land, that there was no wagon road between
Providence and the northern part of Connecti
cut before 1722. And the first team that ever
came to Providence from Connecticut arrived here

Causes of Division. 81
on the 29th day of September, 1722. But after
the connection was once made, intercourse rap
idly increased. Windham County, the north
eastern county of Connecticut has been very
closely connected with Providence ever since.
The towns of Plainfield, Brooklyn, Pomfret,
Canterbury, Woodstock, Voluntown, Killingly,
Windham, and Coventry were large country
towns in the early day, and some of the best
influences that have formed the character of
Providence have come from them. Many of our
best citizens trace their descent from these towns.
Happily we have a very minute history of
Windham County, one of the most extensive
county histories that have ever been written.
The matter of greatest interest to us to-day is
the religious life that prevailed there one hundred
and fifty years ago. In order to understand it
we must remember that the churches of Con
necticut assumed a stricter form of government,
and a more rigid control of one another, than
had prevailed even in Massachusetts. Congre
gationalism has sometimes been called the " Court
Church" of Connecticut. If the right of suf
frage was not restricted as in Boston, yet the
authority of the church and the ministry was
carefully guarded. The Saybrook Platform was
adopted in 1708, by an assembly of ministers
and delegates, convened by order of the legis-

82 Causes of Division.
lature. The synod consisted of twelve ministers
and four laymen, who adopted fifteen articles,
the main interest of which to us consists in the
fact that they required all churches to be in con
sociation one with another, and to submit to
mutual control, in a manner almost identical
with that of the Presbyterian government.
This at least was the interpretation held by
many, and the General Court of Connecticut
assumed that the rules laid down by these
twelve ministers and four laymen must gov
ern all the churches of the colony.
When the revival broke out of which I have
just been speaking, Windham County was the
scene of deep religious interest. Along the road
from Canterbury and Plainfield to Providence,
came zealous preachers, who had witnessed re
markable scenes in that county, and who wished
to spread the news in this colony. One of them
was Eleazer Wheelock, of Lebanon. Another
was Rev. Mr. Buel, of Canterbury, who also vis
ited Newport, where a great revival occurred
under his preaching. John Howland, who was
a boy at the time, says of Mr. Buel, that he had
a noble voice, and that he was the best reader
he ever heard. Great was the excitement in
Windham County and throughout the whole
colony. Religion was the great theme of inter
est in those days, and party feeling ran high.

Causes of Division. 83
The common people naturally preferred the more
earnest and eloquent preachers. The legislature
and the authorities of Yale College condemned
those who were not approved by the consociation.
The matter was carried into law. " Separate "
churches were denounced as illegal, and in some
instances their ministers were arrested and put
in prison. What brings the matter very close
to us is that Elisha Paine was the most promi
nent man in this controversy. The family of
Paines was a large one ; they had relatives in
Providence, and many of our distinguished citi
zens have descended from them. Now in the
very year in which this Church was founded
— 1743 — Elisha Paine was imprisoned on the
simple charge of preaching the gospel without
-authority. He remained in prison for several
months, and being released, the next year he
was imprisoned again. This of course height
ened the popular clamor. Windham jail was
surrounded by crowds, and he was finally al
lowed to preach in the jail yard.
This Elisha Paine was a remarkable man,
whose enemies, even, admitted that he had " the
best sense of any one in those parts." His
brother Solomon was equally earnest in piety.
But " Elisha was the Moses," as says the histo
rian of Windham County, " to lead the resolute
Separates from their Egyptian bondage."

84 Causes of Division.
Now the point of chief interest to us is that
Elisha Paine had become known in Providence.
Doubtless he had preached here, and his talents
and sufferings had . awakened sympathy. Ac
cordingly, within a short time after withdraw
ing from the First Church, twenty-seven men of
respectable character united in calling him to be
the minister of this Church. I have in my pos
session the original time-worn document, with
the signatures. Mr. Paine declined the call, as
he felt it his duty to lead the life of an evange
list, and had been invited to many different
places. This Church elected a ruling elder, —
Joseph Snow, father of the young man who
afterward became their minister.
For two or three years they continued in meet
ings from house to house, or under the trees,
until Joseph Snow, Jr., after long trial as an
exhorter, was elected and ordained as their min
ister. Here again we see the close connection
of our Church with Connecticut, and especially
with Windham County. When Joseph Snow
was ordained to be our minister five churches
were invited to assist in the service. These
were the churches in Canterbury, Plainfield,
Mansfield, Norwich, and Stonington ; and of
these churches came Elisha Paine, Solomon
Paine, Thomas Stevens, Matthew Smith, and
Oliver Grant ; and one of our own brethren,

Causes of Division. 85
Samuel Drown, was joined with them in impo
sition of hands.
I have now recounted some of the influences
that led to the formation of our Church. I
shall leave to another occasion the special feat
ures of its after history. But suffer me before
I close to emphasize the meaning of these early
events. A great revival had occurred through
out New England and the mother country.
Doubtless the excesses of unbridled zeal were to
some extent associated with it. But the piety of
England and America was quickened by it. It
was, indeed, a glorious era, — the era of Edwards,
and Wesley, and Whitefield, and the Tennents.
I may add another illustrious name, dear to the
hearts of all who love humanity, — David Brain-
erd, the youthful missionary to the Indians of
New Jersey, who closed his brilliant career just
about the time when this Church was formed.
The savor of his heroic life was diffused through
out the world. His memoir, written by the
great Jonathan Edwards, exerted a decisive in
fluence on Henry Martyn, and aroused the mis
sionary spirit on both sides of the Atlantic.
It was a glorious time for a church to come
into existence, — a time when the spiritual life
of Christendom received a quickening such as
it had not felt since the Reformation. I am
well aware that many have spoken otherwise of

86 Causes of Division.
these events. All these great men had hot ene
mies, and opposition in high places. Far be it
from me to declare them free from all blame.
They even blamed one another. They had " the
defects of their virtues." Yet all this fell out
to the furtherance of the gospel. No man
doubts it now. No Christian can doubt it.
One result must be mentioned of an outward
kind. Separate churches were formed, "New
Light" churches, of which this was one. It
was the beginning of a new Congregationalism,
not so much, I think, in reference to doctrine as
to method. These churches dwelt on the need of
conversion, and what was called " experimental
piety." Many good men objected to the appeal
to the emotions. Doubtless it often was carried
too far. But even heated zeal is better than
lukewarmness, and the " Separate " churches
gave scope for a more fervent life.
Besides this, they were a protest against arbi
trary rule. In Connecticut there was a determi
nation to let no man preach unless approved by
the Consociation. They even put in prison
those who disobeyed. Rhode Island could not
accept such doctrine as that. She gladly joined
with those in other colonies who believed in
freedom. It broke up the old standing order.
It must be admitted that the early Puritan min
isters were a despotic set; they ruled with a

Causes of Division. 87
rod of iron. They would have made Congre
gationalism an established and an exclusive
church. The " Separate," or " New Light "
churches broke this up. Hence the church
founded here won the hearts of the people. As
we shall see, it was a church for the common
people ; and it grew and strengthened with won
derful power.
Far be it from me to disguise the faults of
the early members of our Church. I would be
the last to deny that other churches and denomi
nations have done a great work. I shall allude
to these things more plainly in other discourses.
What I say now is that the founding of this
Church was the beginning of a new Congrega
tionalism, not here only, but throughout the
colonies, opening the way to the autonomy of
the churches, to a larger freedom, to a warmer
sympathy because of this freedom, and a far
higher zeal for the advancement of personal re
ligion ; so that our fathers speak to us to-day,
as if through the lips of their first pastor, and
in the language of Paul : " I would that ye
should understand that the things which hap
pened unto me have fallen out rather unto the
furtherance of the gospel."

THE CHURCH IN THE PASTORATE OF REV.
JOSEPH SNOW: BEING THE FIRST PERIOD
OF ITS HISTORY.
Job xxxii. 7 : I said, days should speak, and multitude
of years should teach wisdom.
/^\NE of the promises of the Old Testament is
length of days. Many of the early set
tlers of New England lived to a great age, not
withstanding the severity of the climate and the
hardships to which they were exposed. In this
Church the same has been true of pastors, and
of very many officers of the Church, and faith
ful men and women. The first fifty years were
all passed under the guidance and shepherding
of one pastor, the Rev. Joseph Snow, Jr. It is
of this period, from 1743 to 1793, that I propose
to speak at the present time.
The above statement must be modified by
explaining that Mr. Snow was not nominally
pastor from the beginning, nor - indeed had he
or his people any idea of his filling that office.
He was born April 6, 1715, in Bridgewater,
Mass., but his father removed here early with his

Rev. Joseph Snow. 89
family. He united with the First Congregational
Church, May 7, 1738, and in company with his
father and a number of others, withdrew from
that church in 1743, and set up a separate meet
ing. The causes of this have already been
described. In October of that year the sepa
rating party made choice of Joseph Snow, Senior,
who appears to have been previously a deacon
in the First Church, to be their ruling elder. In
1745 they formally adopted the Cambridge Plat
form to be their rule of discipline, by which
they signified their dissent from the Saybrook
Platform which had been so rigidly enforced
in Connecticut. The Cambridge Platform gave
greater independence to the local church.
In the same year they gave their approbation to
Joseph Snow, Jr., as a preacher, and desired him
to assume that duty among them. They had, a
year before, given a call to Elisha Paine to become
their pastor, which he had declined. The way
was now open for the young brother, who seems
to have been, from the first, the leader of their
movement. Mr. Snow must have been a rare
man to have such influence over a body of people
who were zealous for the faith, and who had sepa
rated from the mother church in times of great
excitement. We read with regret the early
narrative of differences between them and the
pastor of the First Church, together with his

90 Rev. Joseph Snow.
adherents. But after the separation was com
pleted the new church went on with apparent
harmony and steady growth. If, as we have
reason to believe, Mr. Snow had much of the
ardor of youth, and the intense zeal of those
who belonged to what was called the " New
Light " party, he certainly had also a great deal
of modesty and self-control. For more than
three years he was their chief guide and ex-
horter, before he allowed himself to be called as
their pastor, and then he held the matter under
consideration for three months.
The call was extended to him Oct. 20, 1746, but
the ordination did not take place till February,
1747. He was then thirty-one years of age,
strong in body, brought up to the trade of a
carpenter, and continuing to practise it for a
considerable time. The services and business-
meetings of the church had been held at his
house, and it was not till 1750 that a meeting
house was erected. Indeed, Mr. Snow himself
was the chief agent of this, went into the forests
with his brethren, and selected and cut the tim
ber, and wrought himself in the building of
the house.
Those were days when ministers in New Eng
land were much accustomed to out-door work.
Mr. Snow was not a liberally educated man. He
was a man of one book, and that the Bible. Yet

Rev. Joseph Snow. 91
he was not unacquainted with works of theology,
and carefully improved his talents and oppor
tunities. He was a self-made man, and self-
reliant. Dr. Mark Tucker says of him that
" his very appearance attracted attention and
commanded respect. He was neat in his person,
methodical in his habits, untiring in his labors."
He died April 10, 1803. Several of the mem
bers of this Church, who were living at the be
ginning of the present pastorate, could recall
his appearance, and the solemn impression of his
character. After nearly fifty years' service he desired a
colleague ; but when, some time later, the choice
settled on Rev. James Wilson, Mr. Snow was
dissatisfied, on account of Mr. Wilson's early
training under John Wesley. This doctrinal
disagreement led to a withdrawal, attended with
many things to be regretted. We will not dwell
on them, for they were the contentions of good
men, which "fell out for the furtherance of the
gospel." The founding of the Richmond St.
Church was the result of this new separation, a
church which through many struggles has had
a noble history, and when, with the High St.
Church, merged in the Union Church, became a
joint enterprise of great power and influence.
The life of Rev. Joseph Snow was prolonged
till his eighty-ninth year, and he preached with

92 Rev. Joseph Snow.
unabated zeal for fifty-seven years. His funeral
sermon, delivered by Dr. Stephen Gano, of the
First Baptist Church, is proof alike of the frater
nal love existing between them, and of the high
Christian character and devoted faithfulness with
which Mr. Snow served the Master during his
long life. The following words are taken from
Dr. Gano's discourse : —
" He was a truly warm, zealous advocate and
defender of the truths of Divine revelation. As
he believed, so he spake. The doctrine of Divine
sovereignty, the moral depravity and guilt of
the human heart, as naturally averse to and des
titute of any spiritual good, the necessity of the
almighty and efficacious influence of the Holy
Spirit to renovate the unregenerate heart, the
perseverance of the saints, the necessity of holi
ness of life in believers, as evidence of their love
to God, were the leading truths of his preaching.
In fine, he was the plain Bible preacher, who
earnestly sought to win souls to Jesus Christ,
that they might be saved, and his beloved Mas
ter glorified."
The pastorate of " Father Snow," as he was
naturally called in later times, was prosperous
from the beginning. He gave his time and
heart to the work, with little compensation.
Probably for some years he had nothing, unless
it were a carpenter's pay for days' work in build-

Rev. Joseph Snow. 93
ing the church. Afterwards a stipend was al
lowed him of £60, old tenor, which was really
not worth more than $100, and after the Revo
lutionary War his salary was £50, nominally,
but what it really amounted to would be impos
sible to tell, since money in those days had no
fixed value. Doubtless he received some gifts
from his people, and perhaps had property
of his own, and being trained to economy, he
never complained. Many particulars with re
gard to the financial condition of the church
are related in the discourse on occasion of the
centennial of the society in 1885. A spirit of
conscientious obligation marked the people, and
the records speak of efforts made to equalize
the charges, "in proportion to their ability."
But I pass from these outward things to others
of graver moment. The harmony of the people
was unbroken. The wisdom of selecting this
location proved itself in the growth of popula
tion about it, and the fact that the West Side
formed a distinct parish. In 1771 there are
reported from President Stiles' Diary, 500 dwell
ing-houses in Providence, and about 4,000 peo
ple. A careful student makes estimate that Mr.
Snow's congregation numbered 140 families, and
was much larger than any other at that time.
The Commencement of Brown University was
held in the old meeting-house for three years,
because it was larger than any other.

94 Rev. Joseph Snow.
Some question has arisen as to the number of
dwelling-houses on this side the river. Tradi
tion, derived through Governor Hopkins, says
that there were in Providence seventy houses in
all, before it was burned by the Indians in 1676.
Governor Sessions, who came here in 1732, said
there were twelve houses on the West Side, and
seventy-four on the East Side. Probably this
number was increased slowly, in about the same
proportion, through the century. Father Snow's
people at first must have come largely from the
other side of the river. At all events, he was
surrounded by faithful friends, who loved the
interests of the church. The names of Rich
mond, Cushing, Cooke, Rawson, Field, Eddy,
French, and Fuller are prominent ; and later, the
names of Butler, Bacon, Jacobs, Jenkins, Martin,
and Jones.
" The records," says Dr. Tucker, " show that
the church walked together in love ; they were
strict in the observance of discipline. . . . Idle
ness and gossiping were discountenanced in an
express manner." This certainly was well, but
discipline in that day was carried to an extreme,
and too much publicity given to private affairs.
Sometimes months were passed in adjourned
meetings for considering the character and ac
tions of individuals, in a manner quite contrary
to the Saviour's rule, " Judge not, that ye be not

Rev. Joseph Snow. 95
judged." Doubtless we have gone to the other
extreme, but I think it is the better one, since
" love covereth a multitude of sins."
This Church has been remarkable from the
beginning for its conference meetings. This
name has been used rather than that of " prayer
meeting," which is the better one. Indeed the
tendency has been often to remarks rather than
to prayers. Yet a great blessing has ever at
tended these meetings. A remarkable number
of individuals here excelled in exhortation. This
is the way in which Father Snow himself was
trained for the ministry. The echo of earnest
appeals still lingers about our old vestry, and
seems to have been caught from the voices of
those who, when the former church stood here,
learned both to speak and pray in public. The
prayer meeting has ever been of vast importance
to the welfare of the Church. I sometimes think
it has been of more value than the preaching.
Certainly, without it little would have been
gained. The greatest mistake that any one
can make is wilfully to neglect it. Here, from
of old, the people have become acquainted with
one another, and learned to be of one heart and
one mind.
Times of revival have always been cherished
in this Church. Perhaps they were less marked
in the first fifty years than later. Although the

96 Rev. Joseph Snow.
religious life of Father Snow and his early asso
ciates was connected with times of great excite
ment, yet many things operated to cultivate a
sober and thoughtful frame of mind. Edwards
published his work on the " Religious Affections"
in 1746. The effect of it was to lead to a search
ing inquiry into the quality of Christian experi
ence. Good men and sensitive women were
made to tremble lest they should be self-de
ceived. Entrance to the church, which before
had been encouraged too freely by the influence
of the Half-way Covenant, was now sedulously
guarded by a demand for a detailed account of
the exercises of the soul. In Mr. Snow's church
these conservative influences took effect gradu
ally. Itinerant preachers still roused the at
tention. Whitefield, Philip Asbury, Robert
Sandeman, and others of similar spirit, preached
in Providence. The church was enlarged, and
yet with growing years a spirit of caution pre
vailed. No doubt Mr. Snow himself felt the
need of it. Although as a young man he at
tacked what he believed to be the coldness and
the arbitrary temper of the pastor of the First
Church, Rev. Josiah Cotton, he afterwards
found, as all men in places of authority find,
that it is a different thing to be in the position
of control, from what it is to be an opponent.
On the whole, Father Snow seems to have

Rev. Joseph Snow. 97
been a wise and prudent shepherd, caring for
his flock with discretion, and not driving them
too fast. In the fifty years of his ministry
there were added to the church, if I have rightly
reckoned, two hundred and eighty-three mem
bers, — not a very large number, you will say,
yet beyond the average of churches in that time.
Seldom did a year pass without some additions,
although for the first twenty years they were
not numerous. The foundations of this Church
were laid quietly and strongly. In 1764 there
was a very large increase in the membership,
amounting to not less than eighty-five, much the
larger proportion being women. This was the
very year in which Whitefield preached in Prov
idence, and doubtless in the old church ; and
there is no question but that his coming was
greatly promotive of the growth of the church
both in this and the following year, when more
than twenty were received on confession of faith.
We find no mention of additions after this
for ten years, while a good many painful cases
of discipline illustrate the danger of periods of
excitement. But in 1775 an increase of twenty-
seven is reported, in connection with the regular
ministrations of the Word, of whom sixteen were
men. Thus in the very year when the war of
the Revolution broke upon our land, spiritual life
manifested itself powerfully in the church, and
7

98 Rev. Joseph Snow.
many strong men took upon them the vows of
God. Patriotism and piety have been joined
in our whole history, as we shall afterwards
see more directly. During the remainder of
Father Snow's pastorate in this Church, there
were occasional additions, few in number, ex
cept that in 1788 there were twelve, and in
1792 there were nine additions.
Father Snow asked for a colleague in 1789,
and repeated the request in the following year.
It was not, however, till the arrival of Rev.
James Wilson, that any steps were taken to
secure such assistance. Even then there was
no haste. He first visited Baltimore, and after
wards preached for six months in St. John's
Episcopal Church in Providence, and not until
October 1793, did he become pastor of the Benefi
cent Church. Although at first invited by Mr.
Snow, his doctrines were not relished by the
aged pastor, being rather of the Methodist type.
So far did he carry his opposition that he with
drew with a portion of his flock, carrying with
him the records and claiming with his followers
to be the only authorized church. Thus, when
almost eighty years of age, he repeated the
stanch decision of thirty, determined to follow
what he deemed to be right at any cost. We
cannot wholly approve his action in either case,
yet we cannot help admiring the courage of the

Rev. Joseph Snow. 99
old pastor, who started out to build a new en
terprise when he had thought himself in need
of a colleague in the old ; and surely the result
was for good, although this time he settled so
near us that it looked a little like an effort to
destroy as well as divide. Conscientious hero
that he was, he was disappointed in the result
of his movement. The old church began a new
career of increasing life, while the Richmond
St. Church was for many years weak, and some
times divided.
We are greatly indebted to Father Snow for
the faithful records which he kept in his own
handwriting. Through the courtesy of the
Union Church, now in possession of those re
cords, we have been permitted to have a copy
of them, traced with the most perfect exactness,
even to every curve and interlineation. It is a
beautiful specimen of chirography, and if char
acter may be judged from it, we can easily in
fer the patience and firmness of the writer.
I have alluded to the spirit of patriotism
that prevailed among our people. Nearly half
a century ago a valuable book was published by
Benjamin Cowell, called " The Spirit of '76 in
Rhode Island." The love of liberty which per
vaded the whole State was fully shared by
the members of Father Snow's congregation.
Rhode Island was to a large extent the seat

100 Rev. Joseph Snow.
of war during that contest. Great were the
privations of the people. The call to arms
both by land and sea brought out a very large
proportion, relatively, of all the troops of the
Revolution. It is right that we should empha
size the fact that in this Church piety and patri
otism went hand in hand. The author I refer
to remarks that " the women of Rhode Island
took an active part in sustaining the great
cause." He singles out for special mention
Dorcas Matteson of Coventry, Abigail Salisbury
of Barrington, Sarah Dyer of Glocester, and
Anna Aldrich of Smithfield, — every one of
them having, as I believe, kinsfolk or descend
ants in this Church.
One of the most eminent patriots of that
time was Nicholas Cooke. His name first ap
pears on the records of this Church in February,
1747. This was the very month in which Mr.
Snow was ordained. From this early time he
was a faithful member of the church through
all his life. When the news came of the bat
tle of Lexington the governor of the State at
that time was not in sympathy with the patri
ots, and was compelled to resign his office.
Nicholas Cooke was unanimously chosen gov
ernor ; and though reluctant to take the office
on account of his age, he finally accepted, to the
joy of all. John Howland thus describes him : —

Rev. Joseph Snow. 101
" With a solid judgment and an ardent and
just sense of the goodness of the American
cause, he was a man of great decision of char
acter. This the peculiar circumstances of the
times required. He seemed to rise with the
spirit of the day, and brought into action abil
ities of strength and mind which in private life
would never have been duly appreciated. We
cannot tell what another man might have done ;
but the three years that Governor Cooke pre
sided in the public councils, directed the military
operations, and furnished the supplies for the
troops, not only in this department but under
the immediate command of General Washington,
his correspondence writh Congress, with the
Commander-in-chief, with the councils or gov
ernors of the neighboring States, reflect high
honor on the State ; and Rhode Island history,
if faithfully written, will hand his name down
to posterity in connection with the most emi
nent public characters of which our country can
boast." The family of Governor Cooke shared in his
patriotism. Two of his daughters married dis
tinguished officers of the Revolution. One mar
ried Col. Jeremiah Olney, of the Rhode Island
line ; the other married Asa Waterman, a com
missary. We cherish the names of many of
this Church who served in important positions ;

102 Rev. Joseph Snow.
as Benjamin Bourne, quartermaster, Benjamin
Hoppin, Gilbert Richmond, and William Jones,
captains of companies ; and no less precious
were the services of great numbers of private
soldiers who went with them to the defence of
their country.
Let it not be supposed that I press the claims
of this Church to honor, above other churches.
All the ministers of Providence save one, and
he an Englishman, were ardent in the cause
of liberty. He absented himself from duty
because prayers for King George were forbid
den. It is said " that he tried to quench the
fire of freedom in the breasts of his parishioners,
but in vain. In no city or town did the fire
burn so freely or so purely as in Providence."
Let history teach us that the gospel of Christ
and the love of liberty are inseparable. Let
our young men learn from the fathers of New
England to stand up for righteousness and truth,
" whatever it may cost them."
On many things in the first period of fifty
years I can touch but lightly. Even in the
hardships and distracting influences of the Rev
olution the church preserved its ordinances and
maintained a vigorous life. Its relations with
other churches were friendly, particularly with
the First Baptist Church, to which we have
been drawn by cords of sympathy at all times.

Rev. Joseph Snow. 103
Baptism by immersion was frequently practised
by Father Snow ; and the Providence River,
then much wider and purer than now, wit
nessed many such scenes on either bank, from
the shore in front of the First Baptist Meeting
house to that on or near the site of the present
City Hall. Many of the early members, and
some in later times, were thus baptized. At
the same time infant baptism was carefully
attended to, though not strictly enjoined, from
the days when Nicholas Cooke was baptized,
with his children, through the long pastorate
of Father Snow. The records indicate that this
Christian privilege was held in high honor ; and
the large families of that day afforded frequent
opportunity for the fulfilment of the sacred rite.
The fellowship of the churches was main
tained, — particularly with those in Windham
County, Conn. At the ordination of Samuel
Wadsworth in Killingly, Mr. Snow gave the
charge ; and letters of dismission and recom
mendation were given and received at various
times, though changes were less common than
now. The pastorate of Father Snow was full
of pious and elevating influences to this whole
community. His funeral sermon was preached
by Dr. Stephen Gano, from the text : " I have
fought a good fight, I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith."

VI.

THE CHURCH IN THE PASTORATE OF REV.
JAMES WILSON; OR THE MIDDLE PERIOD.
Lev. xxv. 10 : And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year.
r I ^HE object of this discourse is to consider
-*¦ the middle period of the history of the
Beneficent Church, extending from 1793 to
1843. This period is nearly all covered by the
life and services of Rev. James Wilson, and may
therefore appropriately be spoken of at one time.
The year 1793 was a very important epoch in
the history of this Church as well as of the
civilized world. It has sometimes been said that
that year is the true beginning of the century,
since it was the year of the French Revolu
tion, and the beginning of marvellous changes
in modern government.
There are painful things to record as well as
jpleasant ones in the history of this Church.
In 1793 Father Snow withdrew from the Church
^ over which he had prayerfully watched for half
a century. The invitation to Rev. James Wilson
to be their pastor was not relished by him,
though no objection could be named except that

Rev. James Wilson. 105
he was not a Calvinist. The lines were sharply
drawn in those days, and disagreements in doc
trine were followed by hard words, and severe
measures. Father Snow rebuked the Church,
and the Church in turn suspended him from
the ministry, and though efforts were made to
call a mutual council for the settlement of
difficulties, these efforts were unsuccessful.
It strikes us as a little amusing, when we
read that Father Snow accused the Church of
dissimulation, in " calling themselves Congrega
tionalists, when they were in heart Methodists/^J
— as though it were such a bad thing to""~be
Methodists in heart, when the Methodists above
all advocated a "heart religion." The with
drawal of Father Snow, followed by some faith
ful friends and most excellent people, calling
themselves the true Church, and taking with
them the records, which were Mr. Snow's private
property, as no clerk had ever been appointed,
required a re-organization of the Church.
The Beneficent Society had been formed and
chartered six years before, in 1785, and this
name was now adopted by the Church, and a
council was called to ordain Rev. James Wilson.
At the suggestion of this council efforts were
made to reconcile Mr. Snow ; the votes of cen
sure were revoked, and he was invited to assist,
and concur in the action of the council con-

106 Rev. James Wilson.
vened. As he would not consent, the council
proceeded to the ordination of Mr. Wilson. The
ministers were men of education and distinc
tion. Drs. Gad Hitchcock of Pembroke, and
Enos Hitchcock of Providence, were both chap
lains in the Revolution. Dr. Sanger of Bridg
water, preached the sermon. Dr. Perez Fobes,
professor in Brown University, and acting presi
dent at the time Dr. Manning was in Congress,
offered the consecrating prayer. Other parts
were taken by Rev. John Read of Bridgewater,
and Dr. Henry Wight of Bristol, R. I. These
eminent men, having weighed the objections
brought against Mr. Wilson's doctrinal views,
and having " carefully inquired into his moral
character, abilities, sentiments, literary and
ministerial accomplishments," expressed them
selves as fully satisfied with his fitness for the
sacred office. The ordination took place one
hundred years ago, the 15th of Oct. 1793.
Let me now go back to the early life of Mr.
Wilson, whose coming was to be so important
an influence in the life of this Church and of the
whole city.
James Wilson was born March 12, 1760, in
Limerick, Ireland. His paternal grandfather,
James Wilson, was born in Scotland in 1691.
His maternal grandfather, Philip Guier, was a
native of Germany, born in 1705. His ances-

Rev. James Wilson. 107
tors on both sides were of pure character and
devout life. His mother's family, which came
from Germany, were driven thence by the
ravages of the Thirty Years War, and their cir
cumstances were somewhat reduced. They were,
however, in a respectable condition of life, and
his grandfather, Philip Guier, seems to have
been a man of much influence and worth. He
was a favorite exhorter among the Methodists,
and one of his maxims was that " every Chris
tian should make a Christian." It may have
been some old German saying that came from
his fatherland, but we may trace the influence
of it in the ministry of his grandson, who came
to these shores long after good Philip's death,
but who brought with him the inspiration of
his early teaching : " Every Christian should
make a Christian." We seem to find here in
homely language the key-note of Mr. Wilson's
ministry, sounding first upon his infant ears,
and vibrating through the whole course of his
protracted life. Under the influence of Philip
Guier, a young German emigrant was converted
who afterwards became distinguished in this
country. His name was Philip Embury, the
first Methodist minister in America, who came
to this country in 1760, and became pastor of a
church in New York City.
The parents of Mr. Wilson were both pious.

108 Rev. James Wilson.
His father was engaged in the cultivation of
fruit and flowers, and is spoken of by him
as " a nursery-man." They had thirteen chil
dren, of whom James was the eldest son. The
business in which his father was engaged
seems to have had an effect on the mind
and heart of the child, and he gives a touch
ing account of his first religious impressions,
which occurred when he was only five years
old. A white thorn hedge, of exquisite beauty
and fragrance, attracted his mind, and at the
same time a powerful impression of the love
and goodness of God became connected with
it, so that his young heart was filled with awe
and delight. We may trace here the dawn
of his brilliant imagination, which rendered
his preaching so vivid in after years. His
mother's influence was strong upon him, espe
cially in teaching the reality and worth of
prayer. His education was interrupted by a severe
inflammation of the eyes, which lasted two years,
and confined him in loneliness and darkness
for much of that time. This period, however,
was fruitful in awakening many religious
thoughts, and perhaps in strengthening the
power of his memory, on which he was now
more dependent. On returning to school, he
studied with more than common diligence, and

Rev. James Wilson. 109
became much interested in a work by Thomas
Burnet called, " The Sacred Theory of the
Earth." He was deeply interested also in the
prophecies, and the closing part of the New
Testament. Though he did not attain settled
hope in Christ till he was more than twenty
years of age, yet he was never for any length
of time without serious impressions. Many of
his young companions were Christians, and with
them he spent much time in the study of the
Bible. His parents urged him to attend relig
ious meetings, and he felt compelled to obey,
though in them he learned to dislike long prayers
and exhortations, — a circumstance which per
haps made him more judicious as a pastor.
In 1776 he became apprentice to a cabinet
maker in Dublin. His master seems to have
been a cruel and unreasonable man, and the
relation was not one of long standing. It is
curious, and in a manner prophetic, that the
immediate cause of a quarrel between them was
the excitement produced by the Revolutionary
War in this country. The brave and generous
boy, at the age of sixteen, took the warmest
interest in the American struggle, and an
nounced the capture of Burgoyne with so
much exultation that his master, being a Tory,
laid violent hands on him. The result was
that he broke away from servitude and returned

110 Rev. James Wilson.
home. At this time he became much interested
in military pursuits and joined a company of
volunteers. He continued at his trade with
fair industry for several years.
At length, when arrived at full manhood,
his religious convictions deepened ; his mind
became more calm and clear, and he felt called
to the Gospel ministry. On taking suitable
advice he was encouraged to make trial of his
powers at a place called Abington, in Ireland,
where he made his first public exhortation in
1783. Such was his success that he had ample
opportunities of preaching from that time, and
was soon appointed to a particular circuit by
John Wesley. The great founder of Method
ism was at that time eighty years of age, but
still vigorous and full of zeal. Indeed, he con
tinued to preach till within a week of his death,
which occurred in his eighty-ninth year. With
this aged apostle Mr. Wilson once rode on a
preaching circuit, listening to his conversation
and his sermons, and observing the veneration
in which he was held. On one occasion, he was
called on to preach in the city of Cork, where
Wesley had just preached several times ; and
being perplexed by the difficulty of following
so great a man, either on the same or on a
different theme, he adopted the following happy
expedient. Choosing for a text the words, " If

Rev. James Wilson. Ill
ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do
them, " he simply reiterated the main doctrines
of Wesley, and urged the importance of prac
tical obedience.
Trained under such influences, we are not
surprised that Mr. Wilson should have gained
great power over men. If he had not much
time for quiet study, he had knowledge of men
and things, and the culture which comes from
conversation with those whose minds and hearts
are full. With the itinerant system he was
not fully satisfied, nor was he pleased with the
arbitrary control exercised by Wesley. This
was the immediate occasion of his coming to
America, and of his leaving the Methodist
Church. He still was warmly attached to
their views, and much of the fervor of his style
was derived from his early training among
them. For a time he gave up preaching, on account
of some differences which he had with the
Methodists after his marriage. He entered
into business, but was unsuccessful, and at
length, when not quite thirty-one years of age,
determined to sail for America. The interest
he had felt in this country from his youth, and
the recent departure of several missionaries for
stations here, quickened this determination.
One occasion of his ill-success in business was

112 Rev. James Wilson.
his refusal to labor, or oversee the labors of
others, on the Sabbath. His uprightness and
firm principle were manifested here, as through
his whole life. A severe affliction, in the loss
of a beautiful child, occurred just before his
leaving his native country, but this seems to
have made his mind only more devout and
earnest in discovering duty.
On the 9th of March, 1791, the very day on
which he received news of the death of John
Wesley, which occurred one week before, Mr. Wil
son, with his wife and an infant of three years,
embarked for America, in the ship " Tristram,"
Capt. Warner, bound for Providence. The voy
age was far different then from what it is now.
For more than two months they were tossed on
a stormy ocean and suffered every hardship and
peril. Near the very close of their voyage,
they encountered a most terrific storm, of
which Mr. Wilson has given a graphic and
curious description. At length, after all the
dangers and sufferings of nearly eleven weeks,
they cast anchor within the light-house at
South Ferry, opposite Newport, on the 21st of
May, 1791.
Very singular are the ways of Divine wisdom.
In their haste to secure provisions and a comfort
able resting-place, Mr. Wilson came on at once
to Providence with the master of the vessel,

Rev. James Wilson. 113
Captain Warner. They arrived here on Sunday
and passed the old church at three o'clock in
the afternoon, while Father Snow was preach
ing. Little did Mr. Wilson then think that
this was to be the scene of his labors. He had
intended to go at once to Baltimore, to meet
some Methodist ministers who had preceded
him. But being invited to preach here, he did
so on the following Sabbath, greatly to the
satisfaction of all who heard him. During the
week he preached twice, and again twice on
the next Sabbath, by the express request of
Father Snow. He immediately was urged to
become Mr. Snow's assistant, but replied that
it was his intention first to visit Baltimore, and
consult his friends there. Captain Warner, of the
ship " Tristram," had given him no very favor
able impression of Providence, declaring that
the people were " a set of Jewish sharpers and
not to be confided in."
But we must not linger too long on these
early scenes. Mr. Wilson visited Baltimore,
and returned to find the people only more
anxious, in common with their pastor, that he
should settle among them. To this, at length,
he consented, and for a time all things went on
in perfect harmony. It is not my object, nor
is it at all necessary to draw out into the light
the difficulties which arose between the aged
8

114 Rev. James Wilson.
pastor and his assistant. Such a relation is
always environed with perplexities. The calmer
judgment of later years has decided that no
lasting stain rests upon the piety of either;
and long before this they have doubtless been
both united, in the harmonious service of the
Church of God above. Passing over the details
of this history, which are recorded with quite
sufficient minuteness in the Church books, we
come to the ordination of Mr. Wilson, which
took place October 16, 1793.
Before proceeding to this step his mind was
a good deal perplexed from many causes, which
cannot now be fully stated. He describes his
feelings in the following eloquent language :
" For some time my mind balanced in doubt.
But when I considered that providence of God
which had conducted and prospered me hitherto ;
when I looked on the firm, prudent, and vener
able friends before me : Nathaniel Jacobs,
seventy years of age; Deacon John Field, over
threescore ; Joseph Martin, over fifty, and no
man before him in prompt discrimination on
difficult points; Mr. Thomas Jones, of acute
mind and expert to act ; Colonel Benjamin Hop-
pin, than whom neither the Church nor myself
ever had a better friend; Stephen Ward well,
the leader in psalmody, and James Hammond,
his bosom friend ; also Joseph Potter, steadfast

Rev. James Wilson. 115

as a rock, with others deserving of confidence ;
when I glanced my eye to the sisters absent,
but all of one heart, my doubts vanished and
in the name of the Lord of Hosts I determined
to go forward, which we did accordingly."
A fuller account of the ordination, already
spoken of, is as follows : The churches invited
were the church in Providence, Dr. Enos Hitch
cock ; in Bristol, Rev. Henry Wight ; in Rayn-
ham, Dr. Perez Fobes ; in Pembroke, Dr. Gad
Hitchcock ; in Bridgewater, two churches, viz. :
Rev. Mr. Sanger's and Rev. John Read's. Being
thus assembled at the house of Brother Thomas
Jones, Dr. Gad Hitchcock was elected Moderator
and Rev. John Read, Scribe. The parts were
assigned as follows : Dr. Enos Hitchcock offered
the introductory prayer. Dr. Sanger preached
the sermon, from Matt. xiii. 52 : " Therefore
every scribe who is instructed unto the kingdom
of heaven, is like unto an householder, who bring
eth out of his treasures things new and old."
Dr. John Read gave the right hand of fellow
ship. Dr. Henry Wight offered the concluding
prayer. The 132d Psalm was sung, and the
benediction was pronounced by the pastor.
It is a fact illustrating the customs of former
times, that the council walked in procession to
the door of the church, after the congregation
were assembled.

116 Rev. James Wilson.
Previous to the settlement of Mr. Wilson, he
preached six months in St. John's Church in
this city, a part of each Sabbath, and such was
the interest awakened that he was invited to
become rector of that church. Those were
happy days for the Church, when a true servant
of God found easy access to His temple, with no
keen scrutiny as to his priestly ordination.
Truly the Word of God was precious in those
days. Let us now pause for a moment and consider
the condition of Providence at the time of Mr.
Wilson's entering upon the pastoral office. At
that time the town contained about six thou
sand inhabitants. The church over which he
was settled was the only one on this side of the
city. Mr. Wilson's congregation included the
great majority of all the dwellers on this side
of the river. No definite salary was promised
Mr. Wilson at first, but for several years it
must have been very small ; and he proposed, in
order to increase his income, that he be allowed
to open a school. This proposition was accepted,
and he began at once a private school, with
about forty scholars. The price was the very
insignificant one of two and a half dollars per
quarter, nor was even this promptly paid ; but
in his warm-hearted way he observes : " I loved
the scholars, and this greatly helped along."

Rev. James Wilson. 117

I desire now to call your attention to the great
influence Mr. Wilson exerted in the cause of edu
cation. It has been thought, perhaps, by some
that he was an illiterate man, and that his in
fluence was not elevating to this community.
His advantages in early life were indeed small
but his industry was great, and his published
writings clearly show that he was a man of
much thought, and various knowledge. At all
events he was a most successful teacher. Prov
idence owes much to his faithful labors. When
he came here there seems to have been no
school on this side of the city. Indeed, there
were no free schools in this State before the
year 1800. Even the act passed at that time
was afterwards repealed by the legislature.
The town of Providence, however, maintained
free schools from the year 1800, although no
regular system of education was adopted through
out the State until 1828. For several years
before the close of the last century, Mr. Wilson
had conducted his private school with so much
success that, on the opening of the free schools
in December of the year 1800, he was appointed
principal of the only school on this side of the
river, and continued to hold that office for about
eleven years.
Judge Staples, in his " Annals of Providence,"
has given the numbers at that time enrolled in

118 Rev. James Wilson.
the four schools of the town, by which it appears
that Mr. Wilson's school was by far the largest,
having three hundred and thirty-eight names
on its list. This was more than one third of all
the pupils of the town. Of course, Mr. Wil
son had some assistants in the charge of this
school. But it is clear that his influence and
his labors were great in the cause of education.
A large proportion of the older people of this
city received the chief part of their education
under him. I have heard the remark from a
well-known citizen, that in those days everybody
went to school to Father Wilson. A member of
this Church very kindly prepared for me many
years ago a list of men and women then living
who attended Mr. Wilson's school. And con
sulting simply his memory and that of a few
friends, with no special effort he drew up a roll
of more than eighty. From this we may easily
infer that the number of pupils trained by Mr.
Wilson was very large.
An aged woman who was long a worshipper
here gave me some account of her school days,
and especially her religious impressions con
nected with them. In 1804 the Church was vis
ited with new spiritual life, and great numbers
were converted to God. This revival began in
the school, and in some instances the exercises
of the school were suspended for the purpose of

Rev. James Wilson. 119

prayer and religious conversation. Thus it ap
pears that the care of the young was not pre
judicial to the interests of the Church. Indeed,
it made Mr. Wilson acquainted with the youth
of both sexes, with a degree of familiarity which
he could not otherwise have attained. Meeting
them from day to day, hearing their voices, and
observing their peculiarities, he was able in all
his after life to exert a powerful influence over
them. While he loved the pupils and obtained
their confidence and affection, he observed strict
discipline. I have heard the following anecdote
from good authority. One day a stranger vis
ited the school at the noon intermission, and
found that all was noise and confusion, as it was
the hour of play. He sat down in one of the
seats and took a book, when before long Mr.
Wilson came in. Immediately, before the stran
ger had observed Mr. Wilson's entrance and
without a single word of warning from him,
every voice was hushed and every movement of
play suspended. The presence of the teacher
was sufficient to ensure order and quietude.
The great revival, to which I have already
alluded, in 1804, pervaded the whole community
and resulted in the large increase of the Church,
as well as the permanent growth of godliness.
A areat desire for the salvation of souls filled
the heart of this zealous laborer, and his desire

120 Rev. James Wilson.
was richly fulfilled in numerous outpourings of
the Spirit. Within a few months nearly one
hundred and fifty were added to the Church.
The Church, thus strengthened, very naturally
demanded the exclusive labors of its pastor, and
not a great while after, he resigned his school
and devoted himself, to the close of his life, to
the ministry of the Word. His labors were
always successful in that which is the great ob
ject of a minister's toil, namely, in winning
souls to Christ. Not only were many added at
special seasons, but very few years passed with
out the public confession of some who had given
themselves to the Saviour. Nearly eight hun
dred united with this Church in the forty-six
years of his ministry, a record of extraordinary
prosperity and witnessing to the continued favor
of God.
I will now return to some facts of Mr. Wil
son's personal history, which are interesting and
suggestive. He was often called to severe afflic
tion and bereavement. Of his large family, very
few came to maturity. He had eight sons and
eight daughters, who were all the children of
one wife. Four little ones were laid to rest in
his native country before he came to America.
His heart was keenly alive to the intensest feel
ings of our nature, and his memoir bears wit
ness to the deep impression which these afflictions

Rev. James Wilson. 121
had made upon him. These repeated sorrows
seem to have softened and beautified his charac
ter and rendered him able to sympathize with
those who were in distress. He loved, to min
ister to the sick and dying, and his memoir
contains many interesting accounts of the last
hours of dear friends whom he had attended,
and whose pillows he had smoothed and soft
ened, by the consolations of divine truth. Some
sad scenes also are related, in which he strove in
vain to bring the sufferer to a clear hope in
Jesus ; but all alike bear witness to his own
fidelity and to the lessons which he himself had
learned in sickness and in bereavement. His
wife was a woman of rare excellence and attrac
tiveness, and notwithstanding all her domestic
care and sorrow, was a continual aid to him in
the cause of Christ. Some of his descendants
are still among us, in the Church and in the Sab
bath-school. The closing years of Mr. Wilson's life were
unusually happy and serene. At the age of
seventy-five he asked an assistant in his work.
This request was soon granted, and he was re
lieved from active labors. In the treatment of
his successors, there seems to have been no
shade of pride or jealousy. His native gener
osity shone forth in a kind and affectionate
greeting toward them. Well might he look

122 Rev. James Wilson.
back with joy and exultation on his long and
successful ministry ; beholding the Church, which
at his coming was feeble, now strong and num
erous. His religious hopes shone bright, and he
passed his closing days in sweet converse with
familiar friends. At length, without illness, or
anything more than momentary pain, he passed
to his reward. The whole town mourned him
as a father and a friend. Probably never in the
whole history of Providence has any citizen
been more universally known and beloved.
The active labors of his early life, combined
with a strong constitution, fitted him for an
unusual amount of work. It seems incredible
almost that he should have occupied this pulpit
and attended to the duties of the parish for a
period of forty-six years, with less than a
month's absence at any one time. When we
learn, moreover, that he preached entirely with
out notes, we are the more astonished. This of
course relieved him from the pain and fatigue
of labor with the pen. But it required and cul
tivated a great power of memory. He possessed
a copious fund of anecdote, and was especially
noted for historic allusion, with which he
adorned his sermons and made them attractive.
This has been repeatedly told me by those
who were his eager listeners for many years.
Although when he first came here this was the

Rev. James Wilson. 123
only church on this side of the river, yet others
were soon formed and able ministers were at
times employed. Some Methodist ministers of
high repute were sent in quick succession to this
place. But nothing could ever loosen the hold
of Mr. Wilson upon his own parish. It contin
ued to flourish and be perfectly united, down to
the very close of his labors.
His sermons, though not polished or ornate,
must have been highly eloquent. There was in
his manner and action a rare grace, a certain
something that cannot be expressed, which made
his appearance and address always winning to
the hearer. He was clear and forcible, and drew
from the ready stores of his experience many
apt facts and symbols to attract and relieve his
hearers. I have already noticed the delight he
had in flowers, as witnessed in his account of
his earliest religious impressions. The same is
traceable in many parts of his life, and also his
love of Nature in all her forms. When he first
landed on these shores, his ear was struck with
the note of birds which he had never heard
before. He noticed especially the blackbird and
whippoorwill. This delight in natural objects
was a refreshment to his mind, and fitted him
for the eloquent and attractive exhibition of
spiritual truths. In this he resembled Luther,
of whom it is finely said, "that he used to

124 Rev. James Wilson.
thank God for the fish from the pond and the
vegetables brought from the garden ; that he
wondered at the providence of God, who fed the
sparrows and all the little birds, which must cost
him more in a year than the revenue of the
king of France ; that he rejoiced in the dew,
that wonderful work of God, and the rose,
which no artist could imitate, and the voice of
birds." Mr. Wilson also was remarkable in conversa
tion for his sprightliness and anecdote. And
sometimes he displayed them in his preaching in
in such a way as to bring smiles to his audience.
Thus by his strong and varied powers, he held
control over his people. One of the oldest cit
izens of this town tells me that Mr. Wilson
very rarely exchanged pulpits, and that when
he did he was accustomed to give notice of it,
saying that he preferred to preach to his own
people, whom he knew; but that, as he had
been invited to exchange, he would do so if
there was no objection made to it.
Mr. Wilson's relations with other ministers of
the town were intimate and friendly. Dr. Gano,
who was the friend of the first pastor, and
pronounced his eulogy, was also on terms of
brotherly intercourse with Mr. Wilson. They
were almost precisely of the same age, and
labored together with great harmony and Chris-

Rev. James Wilson. 125
tian fellowship. Dr. Hitchcock was also warmly
attached to Mr. Wilson, and bequeathed to him
some valuable works from his library.
Mr. Wilson must have been an industrious,
painstaking man. Although he preached with
out notes, he used the pen in the preparation of
several works, which must have required much
time and labor. He was a man of regular hab
its, and firm, decisive character. His wisdom
and discretion were conspicuous in his public and
private influence. He was earnest and zealous,
and at the same time tempered his zeal with
moderation. But I will not continue these attempts to
describe this faithful servant of God. He left
upon this community an impression never to be
effaced. His piety, his perfect simplicity, and
his earnest faith were the means of eternal life
to many souls. Favored as he was with great
natural gifts, the strength of his ministry lay in
his devotion to Christ and likeness to his char
acter. Let us ponder this truth as we lay aside
the contemplation of his history. " What a man
is in the sight of God," says Fenelon, " that is
he and no more." "Assuredly," says Thomas
a Kempis, " in the approaching day of universal
judgment, it will not be inquired what we have
read, but what we have done, — not how elo
quently we have spoken, but how holily we have
lived."

126 Rev. James Wilson.
It is to the pious lives of the early pastors and
founders of this Church, and their pure and self-
denying character, that she owes, under God, the
joy and prosperity that have crowned her his
tory thus far. May we seek for ourselves that
same likeness to Christ and devotion to his ser
vice, by which we may be able to follow their
footsteps and attain at length their reward.
It may be remarked of Mr. Wilson, as of
Father Snow, that he was a self-made man, hav
ing few early advantages, but his natural gifts
were matured by study and a fondness for read
ing, which increased with larger opportunity. I
have already alluded to his interest when a boy,
in " Burnet's Theory of the Earth." On the
character of this work, Coleridge has remarked
in his " Biographia Literaria : " " The writings
of Plato and Jeremy Taylor, and Burnet's ' The
ory of the Earth ' furnish undeniable proofs that
poetry of the highest kind may exist without
metre, and even without the contradistinguish
ing objects of a poem."
We may well believe that a schoolboy whose
attention could be fastened by such a work must
have had tastes and aptitudes far above the
common range. His style of writing may be
judged from two published works of considerable
size, as well as from some pamphlets.
I have in my possession two books of Mr.

Rev. James Wilson. 127
Wilson, of considerable size, published in this city.
The first is a 12mo volume of two hundred and
thirty-four pages, entitled " Apostolic Church
Government Displayed ; and the Government
of the Methodist Episcopal Church investigated."
This was published in 1798.
The second is an octavo of three hundred and
twenty-five pages, entitled " Letters to Rev. Ezra
Stiles Ely, A. M., author of a Contrast between
Calvinism and Hopkinsianism. By James Wil
son, A. M., pastor of the Second Congregational
Church in Providence. ' He that is first in his own
cause seemeth just ; but his neighbor cometh and
searcheth him.' " This was published in 1814.
There are also two pamphlets of considerable
size, printed in 1828 and 1835. The style of
these is vigorous, and denotes a studious and in
dependent mind.
By invitation of the authorities of the city,
Mr. Wilson delivered the Fourth of July oration
in the year 1804. He received the degree of
A. M. from Brown University in 1798.
His book on Church Government, written soon
after his coming to Providence, is a very credit
able performance, with a style somewhat John
sonian, but remarkably pure and elevated for one
of limited advantages. He argues against Itin
eracy, and in favor of the Congregational polity,
with a strong array of proofs drawn from the
New Testament.

128 Rev. James Wilson.
The other volume referred to is a very curious
series of letters on Calvinism and Hopkinsian-
ism. The author is no Calvinist, but he shows
great ingenuity in setting forth the departures of
Hopkins and Emmons from their great master
Calvin. The book displays a wide acquaintance
with the theological controversies of the day,
and especially with the writings of the New
England divines, Edwards, Bellamy, West, Hop
kins, and Emmons. He is no admirer of what
was then called " New Divinity," and though
decidedly progressive himself, he takes great
delight in setting these advocates of different
schemes at odds with one another.
Mr. Wilson's familiarity with the Bible is
manifest on every page, and the passages with
which he confronts his antagonists are chosen
with great skill. His references to the emi
nent Scotch commentator, Macknight, show a
scholarly and candid disposition, while the width
of his reading is displayed by his quotations
from Lord Herbert of Cherbury, Adam Clarke,
and Alison on " Taste." On the whole there
is abundant evidence of the activity of his mind,
and that his natural gifts were improved by
diligent reading and reflection.
In 1828 Mr. Wilson published a pamphlet on
" The Restoration of the Jews," with much
attempt to interpret prophecy, common in those

Rev. James Wilson. 129
days. In 1835, when he was seventy-five
years old, he put forth another pamphlet, on
the Trinity, somewhat crude in its positive
statements, but strong in its dissent from the
Socinian defection of that time. The activity
and clearness of his mental powers continued
in a remarkable degree even to the close of his
life. It was in the year 1835 that Cyrus Mason
became assistant to Father Wilson. We can
hardly number him among the Pastors of the
Church, since his service here was only a tem
porary relief to the aged pastor, who resumed
the work after a short interval. Dr. Masqn
was born at Nassau, N. Y., July 19, 1798.
He was graduated from Union College in
1824 ; spent two years in Princeton Theological
Seminary ; was ordained by the Presbytery of
New York, Dec. 7, 1826, pastor of Cedar Street
Church, New York City; in 1835 became pastor
of the Beneficent Congregational Church, Pro
vidence, R. I. ; in 1836 Professor of Political
Economy and Ethics in the University of New
York, — a position which he retained until 1850.
He died in New York City, May 28, 1865.
Dr. Mark Tucker became colleague pastor,
June 31, 1837, with Rev. James Wilson, whose
death occurred Sept. 14, 1839. The relation
was one of entire harmony. Though differing

130 Rev. James Wilson.
widely in their characteristics, and not a little
in theology, there was no want of love between
them. It is said that Mr. Wilson sometimes
rose in the pulpit and expressed his approval
of the sermon of his colleague, with some mod
ifications offered in a very genial way. It was
a happy thing for the Church, that the new
minister was trained in a somewhat different
school. Dr. Tucker was a high Calvinist, but
he recognized the Christlike spirit of Mr. Wilson.
In the funeral sermon, which was preached by
Dr. Tucker, are many affectionate and discrimi
nating words.
" Mr. Wilson," he says, " never ceased, from
his ordination to his death, to care for the best
interests of the Church. His labors were abun
dant and signally blessed. In 1804 the Church
was visited with an outpouring of the Spirit,
which reached almost every family in the town.
Within a few months nearly one hundred and
fifty were added to this Church. A larger meet
ing-house was needed, and plans were entered
upon to build this home of worship, which was
dedicated in January, 1810.
" Seasons of refreshing were enjoyed under
Mr. Wilson's ministry in 1814, also in 1816,
and especially in 1820, when the Lord greatly
revived his work. In 1830 and 1832, there were
also large additions. His prayers and labors

Rev. James Wilson. 131
were continued to his latest day. His death
was very sudden, and when the news was
spread through the city every house was filled
with sorrow. There was scarcely a family that
did not feel they had lost a friend ; there was
scarcely a family some of whose members he
had not married or baptized or buried."
I may here say that I have the book in
which Mr. Wilson recorded the marriages he
had solemnized, showing that he had united in
wedlock over a thousand couples. When we
consider the large families of the earlier genera
tions, it would not be extravagant to compute
the descendants of these marriages as forming a
very important part of the population of Rhode
Island. Dr. Tucker observes : " As a preacher he had
few superiors while he was in the vigor of
manhood. His ready mind brought to the illus
tration of gospel truth facts and incidents gath
ered from the kingdoms of nature, as well as
from the page of history, so that at times he
would delight and instruct his audience with
uncommon power and interest. As a pastor, he
was faithful and indefatigable. He had a kind
heart, and never failed to sympathize with the
afflicted and console the mourner. The child of
want or woe found in him a father and a friend.
He sought not ease, nor shrunk from duty. He

132 Rev. James Wilson.
loved the Cross, and like the Apostle to the
Gentiles, he determined to know nothing save
Jesus Christ and him crucified."
This is delightful testimony, coming from a
source worthy of the highest respect. Dr.
Tucker's own ministry was comparatively brief.
He was born at Whitestown, N. Y., June 7, 1795.
He studied at Whitestown, graduated from
Union College in 1814, and was instructed in
theology by President E. Nott, D. D., ordained
pastor at Stillwater, Oct. 8, 1817, and dismissed
in 1823 ; installed colleague with Rev. Solomon
Williams, at Northampton, Mass., March 10,
1824, and dismissed Aug. 16, 1827; called to
the Second Presbyterian Church, at Troy, N. Y.,
Oct. 31, 1827 ; to the Beneficent Church, at
Providence, R. I., where he was installed June
31, 1837, and dismissed March 24, 1845; in
stalled at Vernon, Conn., April 15, 1857, and
was pastor of that church until 1863. He re
sided without charge at Ellington and Old
Saybrook; and after 1865 at Weathersfield,
where he died, March 19, 1875. He was chosen
a director of the American Home Missionary
Society in 1832, a vice-president in 1844 ; and
he was a corporate member of the American
Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions
from 1838.
Dr. Tucker was an able preacher, as may be

Rev. James Wilson. 133
indicated by the fact that, before coming here, he
received a call to Park Street Church in Boston.
He lived a laborious and useful life, and accom
plished great good in every place where he
labored. During his pastorate, two hundred
and thirty-seven were added to the Church ;
and the great increase in the year 1842 bore
witness to the presence of the Spirit and the
honor which God was pleased to bestow upon
his servant as an instrument in the conversion
of souls. Dr. Tucker was a gentleman of the
old school, with dignified and somewhat formal
manners. I have been told that it was his custom
to wait on Sunday until the congregation were
seated, and then to walk up the aisle with stately
step to his place in the pulpit. If this custom
could conduce to greater punctuality at the
opening of the service, perhaps it might be well
to renew it. Once or twice within twenty-five
years, Dr. Tucker has visited this Church, and
spoken words of kindness and counsel at our
social meeting. He was present at the installa
tion of your present pastor. Like Father Wil
son, he lived almost to the completion of his
eightieth year. His mortal part lies buried in
Swan Point Cemetery, where, on a mild spring
day in 1875, a few surviving friends gave thanks
to God for his long and faithful ministry.
At the Centennial of this Church in 1843,

134 Rev. James Wilson.
Dr. Tucker preached a valuable discourse, re
plete with important facts and dates. His own
ministry was to close not long after ; and I will
now briefly advert to marked features of the
second fifty years, being the middle period of
the history of this Church.
It was a time of enlarged influence and
growth. The name of the Beneficent Church
was now distinctly assumed, whereas before it
had been variously called the New Light
Church, the Separate Church, the Presbyterian
Church, the Church on the west side of the
Salt River, and perhaps other names. The
additions to the Church during this period were
over one thousand, and mostly on confession
of faith. Two great movements deserve espe
cial notice. One is the Sunday-school, formed
in 1820, giving a new impulse to the life of the
Church both in old and young. The strongest
and most devout men and women gave to it
their earnest prayers and labors. Thousands
have shared in its benefits ; and while other
Sunday-schools have sprung up in many parts
of the city and State, some at the present time
larger than our own, we may thank God for
the streams of influence that have gone forth
from this source. It is no small testimony to
the excellence of the school that very many
other churches have received their superintend-

Rev. James Wilson. 135
ents from this, and a large number of schools
in various parts of the country have been
founded by its means. The Sunday-school
has always been supported by the Church, and
the contributions of the school have never been
expended at home, but have gone to help other
enterprises in the State and abroad. More than
$10,000 have been thus given by this branch
of the church alone.
The mention of contributions brings to mind
the new era of beneficence. The middle period
of this Church was marked by a great develop
ment in missionary interest. The American
Board was formed in 1810. One of its founders
was Gov. William Jones, — an officer of the
Revolution, Speaker of the State House of
Representatives, and Governor of the State for
seven years. He was a member of this con
gregation, though I think he still retained his
membership in the church in Newport, where
he passed his early life. The interest awakened
in Foreign Missions extended to many branches
of Christian effort. Of course the means of
giving were far less than now ; but the rela
tive charities of the middle period of this Church
may well stimulate in us the inquiry whether
our faithfulness and self-denial are not far be
hind theirs. I will mention the names of socie
ties organized in this Church between 1805 and

136 Rev. James Wilson.
1832. They are taken from Deacon William
C. Snow's report.
Beneficent Library Association.
Beneficent Female Association.
Juvenile Female Association.
Female Prayer Society.
Brothers' Charitable Society.
Sunday School.
Female Samaritan Society.
Female Charitable Knitting Society.
Female Foreign Mission Society.
Monthly Concert.
Beneficent Foreign Mission Society.
Juvenile Foreign Mission Society.
Female Education Society.
Beneficent Temperance Society.
Young Ladies' Association.
The membership of these various organizations
numbered nearly nine hundred. Surely they
earned the title of the " Beneficent Church,"
and led the way to the founding of many of
the charitable institutions and homes which do
honor to our city.
In speaking of this middle period, I feel that
I must leave the tale half told. Of the faithful
labors, of the self-denial, of the earnest piety of
that day, who can justly speak ? We boast of
the early part of this century as the time of the
outburst of great inventions ; of the use of steam,

Rev. James Wilson. 137
and its application to travel by land and water,
as well as the starting of mill machinery which
has transformed this little State into a hive of
industry. But vastly more important was the
pioneer work of those who originated the Sun
day-school, and set in motion all the wheels of
beneficent enterprise. The people of that day
planned great things for God and humanity.
They talked much of the old prophecies, and
they had the prophetic vision, which always
precedes great movements. " Other men la
bored, and ye are entered into their labors."

VII.
THE BENEFICENT CHURCH IN THE LAST
FIFTY YEARS.
Jeremiah v. 24 : Let us now fear the Lord our God,
that giveth rain, both the former, and the latter, in its
season : that reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the
harvest.npHE series of historical discourses, to which you
have patiently listened for several weeks,
will be brought to a close with a general review
of the last fifty years. In 1843 the Centennial
sermon was preached by Dr. Mark Tucker, whose
ministry here closed two years after. His faith
ful service and excellent spirit have been already
portrayed. The forming of the High Street
Church in 1834 drew from us some most influen
tial and valuable members. In 1843 the organ
ization of the Free Church deprived us of the
superintendent of our Sunday-school, and leader
of our singing, besides others both active and
useful. It is not unlikely that Dr. Tucker felt
somewhat disheartened by these removals.
It should be remembered also that the Rich
mond Street Church now assumed a new and un-

The Last Fifty Years. 139
wonted strength. Having passed through great
trials, which I will not enumerate, that church
secured as pastor in 1840, Rev. Jonathan Leavitt,
one of the ablest and most devout ministers who
have ever labored in Rhode Island. His intel
lectual power was great, and the style of his
preaching elevated and inspiring, but, above all,
dominated by marked spiritual life. These were
the palmy days of the Richmond Street Church ;
and for twenty-two years his pastorate continued
to exert its hallowed influence.
These facts naturally tended to reduce the
relative influence of the Beneficent Church. The
time had come when new centres of light must
be kindled both in our own and other denomi
nations ; and it appeared to some that the glory
was departing, though a higher blessing was to
come through advanced movements elsewhere.
After the dismissal of Dr. Tucker, which took
place, Sept. 24, 1845, a call was soon extended to
Dr. John Payne Cleaveland, who became pastor
by council, the ensuing spring. He was born in
Byefield, Mass., July 19, 1799. He was the
son of Parker Cleaveland, M. D., and Abigail, his
wife, who was daughter of Col. Aaron Cleave
land, of Canterbury, Conn. This brings us
again into connection with Windham County.
He graduated at Bowdoin College, 1821, and at
Andover Theological Seminary, 1824. He was

140 The Last Fifty Years.
ordained pastor of the Tabernacle Church, Sa
lem, Mass., Feb. 14, 1827, and dismissed April
1, 1834. He was pastor of the First Presbyte
rian Church, Detroit, Mich., from June 15, 1835,
to Nov. 1, 1838 ; president-elect of Marshall Col
lege, Michigan, and partially acting pastor there
from Nov. 1, 1838, to Nov. 1, 1843; pastor
of the Second Presbyterian Church, Cincinnati,
Ohio, from Jan. 10, 1844, to Jan. 20, 1846;
and pastor of the Beneficent Church, Provi
dence, from April 22, 1846, to March 30, 1853.
He was a man of marked character, a strong
advocate of temperance and antislavery, and
gained many warm friends. He was pastor of
the First Church, Northampton, Mass., from
April 20, 1853, to July 11, 1855; pastor of
the Appleton Street Church, Lowell, Mass., from
Oct. 2, 1855, to Jan. 15, 1862 ; and chaplain of
30th Massachusetts Volunteers, from Jan. 1 to
Aug. 1, 1862 ; then acting pastor at Park Street
and Salem Street Churches, Boston, from Aug.
1, 1863, to July 1, 1864. After that he was at
Mattapoisett, Mass., from Jan. 1, 1865, to June
7, 1867 ; and at Billerica, Mass., from 1867 to
1869. He resided without charge, first at Ips
wich, and afterwards at Newburyport, till his
death, in the latter place, March 7, 1873,'
aged seventy-three.
This record bears witness of an eventful life,

The Last Fifty Years. 141
full of labor and usefulness in various places.
His patriotism did not exhaust itself in preach
ing, but led him to active service as a chaplain
in the army, though at an advanced age. The
seven years of Dr. Cleaveland's ministry in this
Church were for the most part years of plenty.
He was an eloquent preacher, full of life and
virility, though somewhat combative. Prof.
James M. Hoppin of Yale University speaks of
his " love of Locke and logic ; " and I have heard
from many sources that Dr. Cleaveland's preach
ing had a powerful effect in drawing many,
especially young men, into the Church. The
congregation was perhaps as large as it has ever
been at any period ; and while there was no great
revival, yet the Church was actively at work,
and imbibed new courage from the zeal of the
pastor. Great changes occurred about this time. In
the minutes of the Conference of 1851, we find
seven Congregational churches enumerated, all
of them on this side of the city. Thus the old
Church had multiplied sevenfold, and the off
shoots were nearly all recent. I may say in
passing that there existed for a time a Fifth and
a Pacific Church, and a Calvinist Church, — the
result of differences in opinion and feeling, which
were happily composed in the lapse of years.
But new enterprises were started in quick
succession.

142 The Last Fifty Years.
In 1851, March 12, the Valley Church was
organized near the residence of Deacon William
C. Snow, at the end of Atwell's Avenue, and a
building erected on land given by him. This
church maintained a feeble existence for five or
six years, under the ministry of Rev. Edward
Ebbs, and the occasional preaching of Professor
Hoppin and others. A hopeful organization has
arisen in that part of the city on Mt. Pleasant,
called the Academy Avenue Church.
In two months after the Valley Church was
formed, the Elmwood Church came into exist
ence, and received aid both in means and mem
bership from the mother church ; but a more
noted enterprise came into being the next year.
Strong from the beginning, the Central Church
drew largely from the Richmond Street Church,
as well as from our own. For the third time in
less than ten years, we were called to part with
our Sunday-school superintendent, and in each
case one who was remarkably gifted and zealous
in that work. While we rejoice in the pros
perity of the churches that have gone out from
us, and particularly of the Central Church, which
has enjoyed so vigorous a life, it could hardly be
possible that the aged mother should not feel the
loss of so many of her most valued sons and
daughters. Though they went forth with a pa
rental blessing, there must have been a feeling of

The Last Fifty Years. 143

loneliness without them. The burning eloquence
of Dr. Leonard Swain, and his ardent purpose of
saving souls, rapidly built up the Central Church ;
and Congregationalism, which had begun on that
side of the city in 1720, but had taken a new
departure in the churches of our fellowship, re
sulting in seven new enterprises, now returned
in a strong tide, which carried many over the
river to the new church on Benefit Street.
Thank God ! all these things have turned out
for the furtherance of the gospel. It remains,
however, to notice a sad condition of affairs
which occurred about the time of Dr. Cleaveland's
departure. A case of discipline was brought be
fore the Church full of difficult and embarrassing
questions. It concerned the business integrity
of a prominent member ; and so intricate were
the transactions involved, that good men were
widely at disagreement as to the merits of the
case. Here let me say that in my opinion
the churches of New England suffered much in
former times from too strenuous an effort to
judge one another's moral or Christian character.
While the Church should purge itself of those
living in open sin, yet human judgment can
never decide, amid contradictory testimony, what
is the precise character of individual action.
" Who art thou that judgest another man's ser
vant?" "To his own Master he standeth or

144 The Last Fifty Years.
falleth ; " and where the case is not clear, and to
be read of all men, it is unwise and unchristian
to proceed to extreme measures. Personal preju
dices are easily aroused, and often lead to sad
results. Patience may reclaim the erring, where
censure fails ; and our fathers had need of the
wise man's warning : " Hatred stirreth up strifes,
while love covereth all sins."
It is a sad comment on the result of this strug
gle, that for two years and a half the Church
failed to secure a pastor, and during that whole
period but one person was added to the Church.
The decrease in membership was rapid, not only
by the natural law of mortality, but by with
drawals to churches of our own and of other
communions. Able and eloquent preachers were
on all sides of us ; and to the despairing heart, it
looked as if weakness and decrepitude had set in,
never to be overcome. Some think that churches,
like individuals, must have their hour of decline
and dissolution, and there are not wanting such
instances ; but in the history of the Beneficent
Church, the time was not yet.
Efforts were made in this interim to secure a
pastor. A call was extended to the Rev. Jona-
th an Edwards of Woburn, and was declined. Still
later, very earnest efforts were made to secure
the services of Dr. Walter Clarke of Hartford,
but without avail. After these trying disap-

The Last Fifty Years. 145
pointments, the attention of the Church was
happily turned to the Rev. Alexander H. Clapp,
formerly of Brattleboro, Vt., but then residing
in Lawrence, Mass. Abundant testimony was
presented of his ability, piety, and great pastoral
excellence. A cordial invitation was extended
to him both by the Church and Society, and after
due consideration accepted. Oct. 3, 1855, was
set apart for the installation. Dr. Shepard of
Bristol was chosen Moderator, and Rev. R. H.
Conklin of the Free Church, Scribe. The ser
mon was preached by Dr. Nehemiah Adams of
Boston, and the address to the people given by
Prof. James M. Hoppin, then of Salem, Mass.
The condition of the Church, as already inti
mated, was less hopeful than at any period of
its history. An indication of this may be seen
in the fact that the Sunday-school was reduced
to a total of one hundred and sixty-eight, includ
ing all the departments, from the Infant Room
to the Bible classes. Seasons of dulness and
indifference occur from various causes ; and we
ought to learn from the history of the past
never to be discouraged. At a former period,
the meetings of the Church seem to have been
poorly attended, as the record of one Annual
Meeting, held in July, 1825, very vividly shows,
beginning in the following manner, " The weather
being very hot and the hearts of the brethren
10

146 The Last Fifty Years.

and sisters very cold, only four men were present,
with a few women ; " but we are told that even
this little company enjoyed the divine blessing
and were refreshed by their united service.
Certain it is that the opening of Dr. Clapp's
pastorate was attended with many signs of re
newed life. It was a great joy to the people,
who had long been deprived of pastoral care,
to receive him and his wife into their houses,
and to enjoy his genial greetings in the Sunday-
school and the prayer-meeting. Earlier mem
bers of the Church have often described to me
the aptitude with which he harmonized the dif
ferent elements of the Church, and the marvel
lous skill with which he brought about changes
that had been regarded impossible.
The fruits of an earnest ministry, appealing
in stirring tones to the heart and conscience, were
soon manifest in a true revival, where revivals
always should begin, in the hearts of disciples.
The meetings of prayer increased in attendance,
the Sunday-school was rapidly enlarged, and a
new effort awakened for the conversion of souls.
The years 1857 and 1858 were years of great
prosperity and rapid progress in spiritual things.
Large numbers confessed their faith in Christ ;
and so extensive was the work that the whole
city was moved. In fact, there never was, in
the history of the country, a more wide-spread

The Last Fifty Years. 147
and personal interest in religion than that
which prevailed in these years. Your present
pastor was at that time a teacher in Amherst
College, and witnessed such scenes among the stu
dents as have ever since confirmed his faith in
the power of the gospel over young men. Not
in New England only, but in the Middle States
and the West, the work of grace went on. I
recall the fact that the New York " Tribune "
published an extra of many pages, with accounts
of the religious movement then in progress.
No church shared more fully in the blessing
than this. Under the wise leadership of Dr.
Clapp, a view of the Christian life was presented
which appealed to the conscience and the heart.
His own generous and charitable temper pre
vented any distorted conceptions of duty. The
gospel was to make men better and happier in
every relation of life. This Church was the
convenient centre, as it has often proved, of
gathering together members of different de
nominations. Union prayer-meetings were held
within its walls, and attended from all parts of
the city ; harmony prevailed among ministers
and laymen. The intimate friendship existing
between Dr. Leonard Swain and Dr. Clapp was
a source of happiness and benefit to both. In
1860, Dr. Clapp was granted six months' leave of
absence for a journey in Europe, which he took

148 The Last Fifty Years.
in company with his beloved friend, Dr. Swain.
He speaks of " the large generosity of this people,
which gave him this privilege of a lifetime, and
of the like kindness which in the next year
spared the pastor for chaplain's service in the
war for the defence of the Union."
Many of this Church accompanied Dr. Clapp,
or served at other periods of the war. The
Christianity here taught was enforced by practi
cal lessons of courage and true manhood. While
the excitements of the war were in some respects
unfavorable to church work, on the other hand,
prayer was more earnest, and faith in an over
ruling Providence stronger and more manifest.
A wise dealing with the questions of the day
prevented strife. This pulpit was brave with
out rashness, and persuasive without compromise
of principle. Important additions were made
to the membership of the Church, through all
the years of Dr. Clapp's ministry. When called
to a larger field of labor, it was hard for the
Church to give him up ; but the grand work
that he has been permitted to do, in promoting
the organization of more than two thousand
churches in the remoter parts of our country,
amply justifies the wisdom of his choice. The
time has not come to sum up the record of his
useful life. Distant be the day when his labors
shall be ended, and his wise counsels no more

The Last Fifty Years. 149

within the reach of those who plan for the
prosperity of our American Zion.
After an interval of six months from the
dismission of Dr. Clapp, I was introduced to
this pulpit by the request of my early friend,
the lamented Prof. J. L. Diman, who preached
here nearly all the year before my settlement.
His ministrations and those of Professor Dunn,
who died shortly after, were a source of great
benefit to the Church, and prevented their be
coming restless or indifferent to divine worship.
The installation took place, Jan. 11, 1866. Dr.
J. M. Manning of the Old South Church in
Boston preached the sermon. He, with Dr.
Swain and Professor Diman, and indeed most of
those who took part in the service, all the
deacons of the Church, and probably the major
ity of all who were present on that occasion,
have been called to a higher sphere, reminding
us of the beautiful lines : —
" The dead are like the stars by day,
Tho' hidden from our sight,
Yet not extinct, they hold their sway
In realms of heavenly light."
Of the ministry of the last twenty-eight years
I have little to say. The kindness of this peo
ple I have tried to repay, not by words, but by

150 The Last Fifty Years.
efforts, often weak and imperfect, to promote the
good of the Church. But there are some things
to say of what has occurred here ; and of what
has been done, not by my means, but by the
faithful labors of others, and, above all, by the
blessing of God. The services of the sanctuary
have been regularly maintained. For several
years we had morning and afternoon worship
with large congregations at both services. Sun
day-school was held at 9 a. m., and well at
tended, having more than doubled in numbers
during Dr. Clapp's pastorate. The Sabbath was
more religiously observed in the earlier time
than now, yet I think the changes that have
occurred have not been without many benefits.
Let us not expect to have things always run in
one groove. Let us not crave an undeviating
system. " The old order changeth, giving place to new :
And God fulfils himself in many ways,
Lest one good custom should corrupt the world."
I think we may say that our changes have
been steps of progress. The ample generosity
of one of the children of the Church, Mr. Henry
J. Steere, transferred our Sunday-school to the
delightful chapel which he gave as a memorial
of his father. The later gift of the chapel
organ, and the chandeliers for the church, and

The Last Fifty Years. 151

his large bequest, illustrated not only his attach
ment to the place of his early religious impres
sions, but also his ponfidence in the future of the
Church. Here it may be said that, within recent years,
doubts have sometimes existed whether this
Church could be maintained in its present loca
tion. Many churches in New York and else
where have fled from the business parts of the
city, and followed the lead of the wealthier fami
lies ; but experience has condemned that action.
The influence of the Church is nowhere more
needed than in the centre. In fact, there is a
crowded population about us, and strangers who
ought to be reached ; and in order to solve this
problem, self-denial is required on the part of
old friends of the Church, still to keep the flame
kindled on its altar. Loyalty to this Church
has never been more conspicuous than in later
years ; and while the venerable mother has done
so much to promote church extension in every
part of the city, and far abroad, I think she will
not be left to loneliness and poverty by those
who owe her so much.
It were long to enumerate the benevolent en
terprises of various kinds that have received aid
from this source. Besides the churches in the
city already spoken of, many have shared our
bounty throughout the State ; and influences

152 The Last Fifty Years.
have gone far hence to all parts of the country.
Two instances of what has been done, may be
mentioned as illustrations. In 1872 a family
went from this church and settled in Creston,
Iowa. As there was no place of worship in
their neighborhood, they made efforts to procure
preaching and organize a church. It was our
privilege to give them some little help for that
object ; and the result is now seen in a pros
perous church of more than three hundred
members. Let us go a little farther back. The first
church in Yankton, Dakota Territory, was
founded in 1858, by the late Joseph Ward, with
contributions partly gathered here. In the two
States formed out of this Territory, there are
now more than two hundred Congregational
churches, whose benevolent gifts, outside of
their home expenses, were last year over $8,000.
" There shall be an handful of corn upon the
top of the mountains ; the fruit thereof shall
shake like Lebanon." There are many similar
facts to reward the curious student of our
records. I have already alluded to the number
of ministers raised up by this Church, but will
put the list together, so that we may have them
in one company.
Joseph Grafton was dismissed from this Church
in 1787, to become a minister among the Bap-

The Last Fifty Years. 153

tists, whose methods he preferred. The kindly
and affectionate treatment he received, and the
cordial recommendation given him, bear witness
to the true spirit of Christian liberality. He
afterwards became influential, as mentioned in
a previous discourse, in the denomination with
which he united. Other preachers are Allen
Brown, who was prominent at the outset of our
Sunday-school work, and Nicholas Branch, both
of whom became Baptists, so that this Church
seems to have done much to strengthen that
useful denomination. Of later names, from
many of whom we have heard by letter or
otherwise, are the Revs. Smith B. Goodenow and
Benjamin F. Stead, Prof. James M. Hoppin, Rev.
Lysander Dickerman, the well-known student
of Egyptology, and Revs. Messrs. S. B. Halliday,
T. J. Voluntine, James G. Dougherty, Henry
T. Arnold, Charles M. Sheldon, and Edward A.
George. Besides these who were brought up
in the church, may be mentioned the late Rev.
James P. Root, Bible agent, and superintendent
of our Chinese school, and our valued brother
Rev. William House, now doing mission work
in this part of the city.
Three of our members have gone out as
missionaries to India, — Dr. Pauline Root in
medical work, and Mary M. Root and Dency

154 The Last Fifty Years.
T. M. Root, as teachers. Their work has been
energetic and successful.
Of the religious life of the Church in the last
quarter of a century, it is not desirable to speak
minutely. There are many things which might
be spoken of favorably, and others that awaken
regret. The whole Church has not been as
zealously at work as it might. There is room
for enlargement and the spirit of self-denial.
Yet we have been blessed with much of har
mony ; and your pastor has great occasion for
gratitude to God, and also to faithful workers
in the Sunday-school and the prayer-meeting,
and in every department of charitable work.
The officers in the Church and the Sunday-
school have consented, often with real self-
denial, to fulfil their important tasks, and from
many sources we have warm and generous
support. Gifts have flowed out, in large meas
ure, to provide for the poor, and to adorn and
suitably preserve this house of God, which we
love so well. Yet in our large congregation
there are many whose talents are by no means
fully exercised. If we could unroll the napkins,
and put to use all the latent powers we have
for God's service, great and glorious would be
the advance of Christ's army.
The social life of a church, in its best sense,
is closely connected with its religious life.

The Last Fifty Years. 155
Christianity is the fountain of neighborly inter
est in others ; and work and worship are the
best means of its development. Our various
women's organizations have been very helpful
in this regard, while the Thursday evening
prayer-meeting offers an especial opportunity
to promote acquaintance. No one can possibly
complain of want of friends or attention among
us, who will join in these services, or be present
at the prayer-meeting without hastening out to
avoid friendly salutations. The Sunday-school
and the Christian Endeavor Society open the
way for friendship and sympathy at an age
when they are most valuable.
What shall I say of the effort among us to
win old and young to a Christlike life ? We
have mingled cause for gratitude and humility.
On the whole, there has been a steady religious
interest among the people, never declining to
a very low ebb, and never reaching the flood-
tide which has been recorded in other days.
Yet no year has passed without additions, not
only of the young, but also of those in mature
years. We have not sought to hasten children
to an unreflecting profession. While fully
believing in early piety, it has been the habit
of this Church, in all periods, to caution the
young against undue haste in outward expres
sions. A few have united with this Church in

156 The Last Fifty Years.
advanced age, many in middle life ; but the
average age even of the young has been above
fifteen. Parental care and Sunday-school instruction,
with prayerful effort in personal ways, have
been blessed of God. I may speak of meetings
held for many years on Monday afternoon- or
evening, which have been variously attended
sometimes with only three or four, sometimes
with even fifty, where, in a simple way, the
doctrines of the gospel and appeals to the
conscience have been presented. The memory
of these meetings, as of private interviews in
my own library, is tender and sacred ; and I
can truly say that I have felt a deeper sense of
responsibility, and often a keener feeling of the
need of divine wisdom, than at any other time.
Blessed have been the friendships thus formed ;
the opening of heart to heart has been fruitful
to my own soul ; and if I have had any strength
in preaching the gospel, or any courage to utter
the message of Christ, it has been learned more
than anywhere else in such interviews as these.
We have received to the membership of this
Church an average of a little more than thirty
a year for many years. These additions have
been so very evenly distributed that there have
been one hundred or more received in nearly
every term of three years. The largest acces-

The Last Fifty Years. 157
sions came to us in 1878, after the visit of
D. L. Moody. The Church was quickened, and
our meetings of all kinds enlarged. Within
the last eight years, the male membership of
the Church has greatly increased. More than
one hundred men, mostly young men, have joined
us ; and the youthful element in our congrega
tion is very pleasantly manifest. Seven years
ago the Christian Endeavor Society was orga
nized, and has been a means of great blessing.
It forms the training-school for active work,
and has come at precisely the right time to
develop the strength of the Church among the
young. While we cherish the memory of older
members and officers who have left us, we rejoice
in these accessions from those who have, as we
trust, a long life before them.
The pledge of the Christian Endeavor Society
is to promote the work of the Church in all its
departments ; and its members have done much
to fulfil this pledge in the Sabbath-school and
weekly meeting, and in the Sunday evening
service, which they have brightened by their
presence. For ten years, and now in the
eleventh season, this house has been open for
evening service, and great numbers of strangers
have been attracted hither. A little more effort
on the part of our older brethren would help
very much to widen the influence of the Church.

158 The Last Fifty Years.
The story of the past has been imperfectly
related ; but no review of it can do us any good,
unless it quicken our love and loyalty, and con
vince us also of the need of self-denying effort.
This place of worship has grown dear to us, as
to many in this city. It reminds us of the old
well by the house of our parents or grandparents.
When David was faint in the conflict, he cried
out, " 0 that one would give me drink of the
water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the
gate." So, many a thirsty soul in life's battle
has looked toward this flowing fountain, and
said in his heart, " There is none like that."
But the blessing of God is found wherever the
path of duty lies ; and it is for us to stand in our
lot and fulfil the present task, assured that grace
will be given us sufficient for our need. The
first and second generations of this Church have
all departed. A few of the third and fourth
still remain to bless and cheer us ; and, above all,
the same Saviour who led on the fathers leads us
on with his constant presence. Beloved friends
and teachers have passed away, but the Church
never grows old. It renews its youth with the
fair forms and faces that crowd about its altars ;
and all who have gone before us, aged pastors
and toilworn pilgrims, of whom we have spoken,
together with lovely children snatched away in
the early bloom, are crowned with immortal
youth in the mansions above.

The Last Fifty Years. 159
"A noble army, men and boys,
The matron and the maid,
Around the Saviour's throne rejoice
In robes of light arrayed.
They climbed the steep ascent of heaven
Thro' peril, toil, and pain :
0 God, to us may grace be given
To follow in their train ! "

VIII.
HISTORY OF THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL.
Malachi iv. 6 : And He shall turn the heart of the
fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to
their fathers.
r I ^HIS is the closing verse of the Old Testament.
-*- It implies a low condition of family and
social life among the Hebrews at that time. It
implies that in the reign of the later kings, and
during the Captivity, religious life had fallen so
low that parents paid little attention to their
children, and that children wandered away from
the teachings of their parents. The gospel was
to revive this connection. When the Sun of
Righteousness arose, the hearts of young and old
were to turn to one another.
It is not a new thing in this century that
children have been gathered together for instruc
tion. It was done in the very earliest ages, and
the persons thus taught were called catechumens.
They were regarded as in a course of prepara
tion for membership in the Church. Catechising
the children was a practice of early New England
ministers, and often made a regular service for

The Sunday- School. 161
Saturday afternoons. Such a service was held
in this Church by Mr. Wilson, and probably by
his predecessor, Mr. Snow. I have a catechism
prepared by the Rev. James Wilson, and printed
in 1816, which, no doubt, had been the result of
his experience in this work. Toward the close
of the last century, a new effort was made in
England and this country for the instruction of
children, especially the poor and neglected.
It is recorded that in the year 1797, Samuel
Slater established a Sunday-school in Pawtucket
for his operatives. It seems, then, that this State
was as early as any in the Sunday-school work ;
and it was not long after the commencement of
the century that schools were formed in Provi
dence, on both sides of the city. The First Bap
tist Church in this city dates the origin of its
Sunday-school from the year 1819. In 1869
the fiftieth anniversary was celebrated, and
an elaborate historical address was presented
by Prof. J. L. Lincoln, superintendent of the
school. From this it appears that the Sunday-
school work was first begun on this side of the
city. It is matter of regret that there are no
complete records from the beginning of this
movement. But like so many of the best and
most productive laborers the world has ever seen,
the founders of our Sabbath-school took little
heed to perpetuate their names. They laid up
11

162 The Sunday-School.
their imperishable record in the souls of those to
whom their labors were directed.
In Professor Lincoln's report, a school of
colored children is mentioned as formed in the
spring of 1816, in a private house on the corner
of Union and Broad streets, by two ladies be
longing to the parish of St. John's. But there
must have been a school earlier than that, as I
have learned from the late Deacon Chester
Pratt, formerly of this city, in a letter received
from him many years since. According to this
account, a school was commenced about 1814
or 1815 by Miss Rebecca Nichols, sister of the
late Deacon J. B. Nichols, and Miss Mary Eddy,
both members of the Richmond Street Church.
To that church belongs the honor, so far as
can be ascertained, of being the first in the city
engaged in Sabbath-school work, although it is
to be noticed that it was not then as a church
that the work was undertaken, but only through
its private members. Mr. Pratt corroborates
his account by reference to Deacon Nichols, who
told him, shortly before his death, that he
thought the time at which his sister, Miss
Rebecca Nichols, first engaged in this work
must have reached back to the year 1812 or
1813. Let us here notice, with grateful remembrance,
that the earliest labors in this department of

The Sunday- School. 163

Christian effort in our city, were by women.
To their self-denial and patience are we in
debted for the first establishment of the Sab
bath-school. This was true not only in one
church, but in all. The earliest efforts were
made by them in St. John's Church, the First
Baptist, the Richmond Street Church, and in
our own. Let their names be held as sacred
treasures. Miss Maria T. Gano, as stated in
Professor Lincoln's address, gathered a school
of colored children in Olney Street in 1816.
Earlier than this, the women before mentioned,
Miss Rebecca Nichols and Miss Maria Eddy,
were engaged in their kindred work. Miss
Nichols was a person of delicate health, and
was early called from her labors here to her
heavenly reward. Miss Eddy became the wife
of Rev. John Ferguson, a Congregational clergy
man, who preached in the town of Attleboro',
and was afterwards settled in one of the towns
of Western Massachusetts, on the Connecticut
River. She was blessed with vigorous health,
and endowed with an active temperament, and
great skill and talents in awakening the enthu
siasm of others. She lived to an advanced
age. The following is taken from a letter written
by her own hand in June, 1869 : —

164 The Sunday- School.
" You ask for some account of the little Sunday-
school I commenced more than fifty years ago. When
I think of it, it seems a small affair compared with
what is now being done in that cause. It was the
children of my brothers and sister that I wanted to
interest in the study of the Bible, and for this pur
pose invited them to come to my room. The first
Sabbath there were three, the second seven. Other
children in the neighborhood asked to come in ; soon
the room was too strait for us, and we took a
larger one. In a little while I had not time to hear
all the recitations, which were repeating Scripture
from memory. Others came in and helped me.
Toward spring, our larger room would not hold all
that came ; and we removed to one in Richmond
Street, where a private school was kept by Miss
Rebecca Nichols. It was in the rear of a house at
that time owned by Mr. Samuel Jackson."
On the removal of the school to Richmond
Street, it still increased in numbers, and was
more thoroughly organized. Mr. J. L. Stark,
a member of Brown University, became super
intendent, and held the office for one or two
years. On leaving college, he studied for the
ministry, and was eventually settled as a Con
gregational minister over the church in Brattle-
boro, Vermont. This is the statement of Deacon
Pratt, who was personally connected with the
school. On the departure of Mr. Stark, who
graduated in 1818, Mr. Allen Brown of the

The Sunday- School. 165
Beneficent Church became superintendent, at
which time the school was removed to the vestry
of this Church, (to use the language of my in
formant) " as that was now heated by stoves, in
order to avail themselves of a warm room in
cold weather, and keep up the school through
the winter." Mr. Allen Brown became a member
of the First Baptist Church, and subsequently
first pastor of the Third Baptist Church in this
city. Mr. Chester Pratt became a teacher on the
first Sabbath in January, 1819 ; and on the de
parture of Mr. Brown to Philadelphia to study
for the ministry, Mr. Pratt became superinten
dent, in December, 1819. According to his own
statement, the school was thus far sustained
by individual effort. It was the practice of
the school that every scholar of suitable age,
on entering, should commit to memory Emer
son's Catechism, after which the committing of
Scripture passages to memory was the princi
pal employment. At the close of each quar
ter, a review was held, and rewards of merit,
generally a book, given for studiousness and
punctuality. But the time came when individual effort
needed to be shaped and crystallized. The
school was increasing in numbers. Pupils and
teachers from at least three churches were con-

166 The Sunday- School.
nected with it ; and on the sixteenth of October,
1820, a Sabbath-School Society was formed.
Much important work had been done before
this ; and many persons had been interested in,
and connected with, the school at different times.
Several ministers were associated with it at
an early day; among them, Rev. Daniel E.
Sprague and Rev. Sewall Harding of Auburn-
dale. Prof. James D. Knowles, author of the
" Life of Roger Williams," was also for a time
teacher in the school, and Rev. Reuben Torrey
of Elmwood.
On the formation of the Sunday-School
Society, Mr. Chester Pratt was regularly chosen
superintendent, and held that office fourteen
years and five months, after which time he re
moved from our Church with a colony which
left us to form the High Street Church. After
the formation of the Sabbath-School Society,
the number of teachers was quite large, so that
in the year 1820, we find record of twenty-
three men and eighteen women teachers.
Very few are living who were in that first
assembly of the Sunday-school, in the vestry
of this Church. Hon. Amos C. Barstow of this
city says : " I can well remember being led to
it by an older cousin, when a little boy of the
age of five or six. We went there to study
the Bible and the New England Primer. We

The Sunday- School. 167
had no library, no lessons, no children's papers,
no children's hymns or music, and but little
singing. The chief thing was the repetition of
Scripture, which often extended to several long
chapters, learned and recited by individuals."
I cannot state precisely the time when the
other churches connected with us drew off to
form schools in their own places of worship. It
is believed, however, that the Second Baptist
Church separated from us about the year 1827,
and the Richmond Street Church in the year
following. Doubtless many pupils continued
with particular teachers here, to whom they
had become attached, after schools were formed
in their own churches. There is no evidence
that any want of harmony led to the separation.
On the contrary, it was rather the success and
prosperity of the school which made it impos
sible to accommodate the increasing numbers
within the walls of our vestry.
The Sunday-school, it will be seen, was begun
by the efforts of individuals, and yet was never
in antagonism to the Church. In this respect
it may be compared to the work of American
missions, which originated nearly at the same
time. In each case, individuals went forward,
and the Church soon adopted their measures and
joined in their support. It is an interesting
fact that the officers of this Church have been

168 The Sunday- School.

actively engaged in the work of the Sunday-
school, and have been the most efficient laborers
in it. Deacon William C. Snow, who was
elected deacon the very year the society was
formed, was appointed assistant superintendent,
and devoted his time and efforts cordially to it.
Deacon Jarvis Gladding, of the Richmond Street
Church, was a zealous laborer in the union
school so long as it was maintained in that
way. Deacons Wardwell and King were super
intendents of the school, of whom I shall pres
ently speak. Deacon Josiah Chapin was for a
long time engaged in it ; and the names of
Deacon Warren S. Greene and Deacon Benjamin
White are continually found in its records. A
tribute of gratitude is due from those who love
the Sabbath-school to the memory of Deacon J.
B. Nichols, who labored for it in life, and re
membered it in his dying hours. He loved to
talk of it in his declining days, and called Mr.
Pratt to his bedside to speak to him of the
fact already mentioned, in regard to his sister's
agency in establishing the Sunday-school in 1812.
Thus fresh in the memory of the dying saint
were the impressions of his boyhood respecting
this holy work. Your recent pastor, the Rev.
Dr. Clapp, thus speaks of him : " In our Sab
bath-school, for many years, until failing health
compelled him to desist, Deacon Nichols was an

The Sunday- School. 169
earnest and successful worker. Some of the
most active and useful members of our churches
attribute their religious hope to his faithful
labors. In a recent interview he told me of the
pleasure he experienced on a late journey, when
one whom he did not recognize, introduced
himself, and thanked him for religious instruc
tion and advice given in the Sunday-school
many years ago, and which long after bore
fruit unto life. In his travels, he had met
repeatedly with such instances of gratitude from
strangers, for Sunday-school instruction or ex
hortation in the conference meeting ; but ' this
single incident,' he said, 'more than repaid me
for all I have ever done in those directions.' "
It is a great thing to be able to say that this
Church and Sabbath-school have always worked
together. The pastors of this Church have ever
been interested in it ; and their names are found
at frequent intervals in the records. These
facts will show that the spirit of the Sunday-
school was always in harmony with the in
terests of the Church, and looked toward its
increase and advancement. How correct was
the view taken may be seen by a resolution
which was offered and passed in 1835 to this
effect : —
" Besolved, that the privileges now enjoyed by chil
dren in the Sunday-school do not in the least degree

170 The Sunday-School.
diminish the responsibility of parents and guar
dians, and that the success of this system of means
materially depends on their efficient and hearty
co-operation." It began to be felt, however, about this time,
that there should be not only harmony of spirit,
but also that the government and direction of
the Sunday-school should be intrusted to the
Church. Accordingly, in 1836, the Directors
of the Sunday-school proposed to the Church
that it should assume the responsibility of
the Sunday-school and the management of its
affairs. With reference to this important sub
ject, we find the following record under date of
May 17, 1836 : —
" Resolved, as the sense of this Church, that it is
expedient and recommended that the present Sunday-
School Society be dissolved ; and that the organiza
tion of the school be placed under the direction of a
special committee of five, the same to be appointed
annually by the Church."
This resolution was received with perfect har
mony by the Sunday-School Society, from whom
it seems in the first instance to have emanated ;
and in accordance therewith the Directors of the
Sunday-school took action, as follows : —
" The above resolve being in conformity with the
wishes of the Society, on motion it was resolved

The Sunday-School. 171
unanimously : That this Society approve of the doings
of the Beneficent Congregational Church, recommend
ing the dissolution of this Society and placing the
organization thereof under the direction of a special
committee, to be appointed annually by said Church ;
as, in the opinion of this Society, the Sabbath-school
properly belongs to the Church, and should be placed
under its supervision.
" Resolved, therefore, that the Beneficent Church
Sunday-School Society be hereby dissolved, and that
the Secretary be requested to transfer the books and
papers thereof to the committee appointed by the said
Beneficent Church. " William J. King."
It is very pleasing to find this evidence of a
disposition to work with the Church ; and not a
little remarkable, as it seems to me, that there
should be that perfect concord in transferring the
Society to the Church, after so long a period of
successful labor.
I wish that I had time to mention the names
of those who have been devoted laborers in the
Sabbath-school, or to sum up the value of their
influence. After Mr. Chester Pratt left us to
assist in the formation of the High Street Church,
Mr. S. S. Wardwell succeeded to his office, which
he held for about nine years, with great credit
to himself and satisfaction to all. The records
show how sincerely the school regretted his sepa
ration from them. He likewise left us to aid

172 The Sunday- School.
in the formation of a new church, " The Free
Evangelical," which was started on a system
of support in which he felt greatly interested.
The next superintendent was William J. King,
who served for about the same length of time,
and left us to assist in the formation of the
Central Church. It may be well said that the
Sunday-school was favored in its officers, — men
who labored hard and who left a noble record.
And it is a striking fact that the first three
superintendents should have gone out to form
other churches and Sunday-schools, and to be
as prominent in labors elsewhere as they had
been with us. We may justly take some pride
in the record of these men, and may rejoice to
call this Church, not only mother of churches,
but mother of Sabbath-schools.
I find no name more frequently in our records
than that of Edward R. Young, at one time
assistant superintendent in the school, a man
v/ho was ready in speech, and possessed of a
cheerful and joyous disposition, which made
his presence always acceptable. He had great
fondness for poetry, and on one occasion pre
pared a poem of considerable length for the
attention of the school. Our older members
recall his form and features with interest, and
his grandchildren have been found among our
scholars.

The Sunday-School. 173

It is proper to give something more than a
passing notice to the name of Mr. Benjamin
Dyer, who was deeply interested in the Sabbath-
school, and who brought the resources of his
cultivated and devout mind to aid in elevating
the standard of instruction. He was especially
prompt and faithful in his attendance upon the
teachers' meetings, which were formerly an im
portant auxiliary to the efficiency of the school.
Many ministers have been at one time or
another connected with our school as teachers
or scholars. Besides those already mentioned,
I find the names of Rev. William Wilcox ; Rev.
William Douglas, long a faithful Christian
laborer in Providence ; Rev. Thomas Vernon of
Newport ; Rev. Professor Dunn of Brown Uni
versity, whose early death was much lamented ;
Rev. Charles Snow, sometime pastor of the
Baptist Church in Stewart Street ; Prof. James
M. Hoppin of Yale College, who was brought
up in the church ; Rev. Benjamin F. Stead, an
esteemed Presbyterian minister in New York;
Rev. James C. Richmond and Rev. James
Eames of the Episcopal Church ; and in later
times, Rev. T. J. Voluntine, Rev. James G.
Dougherty, Rev. Henry T. Arnold, grandson of
Dr. Tucker, Rev. Charles M. Sheldon, Rev.
L. S. Woodworth, Rev. James P. Root, Rev.
William House, and Rev. Edward A. George.

174 The Sunday- School.

More than twenty ministers have been con
nected with the Sunday-school at different
times; and many of them were brought up
in it.
Many women deserve honorable mention,
through all the history of the school. It is
impossible to do justice to their services ; and
it is pleasant to feel that they labored not for
reward, but for the honor of Christ, who never
forgets one simple action done for him. Among
the female teachers worthy of remembrance are
Mrs. Chapin, the wife of Deacon Josiah Chapin,
and Miss Elizabeth Coville. Both of these were
possessed of exalted virtues, and their influence
was most widely extended, even beyond the
limits of our school and church.
In the early history of the school Miss Rebecca
G. Russell, who afterwards became the wife of
the Rev. J. C. Webster, and her sister Elizabeth,
were prominent and faithful workers. In con
nection with the efforts of Miss Elizabeth Rus
sell, it is an interesting fact remembered by one
of her pupils that she invited her class to her
house, where they engaged in sewing and other
employments. From these private efforts for
the good of her class arose the Bethel Society,
which afterwards expanded into the Seamen's
Friend Society, which has been so useful in the
history of our city. And here we may say

The Sunday- School. 175

that many of the benevolent operations of the
Church received their first impulse in the Sab
bath-school, and were originated in the heart
of some loving and faithful teacher, who sought
to develop the activity of her class. There were
at one time no less than fifteen benevolent and
charitable societies existing in the Church, nearly
all of which had their origin in the Sabbath-
school. The Infant Class was formed in 1830. Our
" Small Chapel," as we used to call it, now di
vided into two rooms, was built in 1833. Pre
vious to this time all departments of the Sunday-
school, except perhaps some of the Bible classes,
had been held together in the vestry. Now the
Infant Class was transferred to this small chapel,
where Miss Mary E. Anthony, later the wife of
Col. William Viall, undertook their instruction
with ardent enthusiasm. On her leaving the
Church, the care of the children devolved upon
Miss Frances M. Aborn, afterwards the wife of
Deacon Benjamin White, who in all the various
departments of teaching has labored for the
benefit of the school.
Miss Aborn was perhaps connected with our
Sunday-school longer than any one else. For
more than threescore years she was actively
engaged in it, as scholar or teacher; and her
superior gifts of mind and heart were conse-

176 The Sunday- School.
crated to its best interests. Her strong memory
and habits of accuracy made her the best author
ity in matters pertaining to the history of the
school ; and her account of it, prepared in later
life, forms a delightful and valuable record.
Her influence in the charitable work of the city
has been of the highest worth.
At a later period the Infant Class was under
the charge of Mr. S. B. Halliday, who was a
most successful and enthusiastic teacher. His
name is warmly remembered, and cherished in
the hearts of many. He was for a long time
engaged in mission work, in connection with
Henry Ward Beecher's Church, and afterwards
became pastor of the Beecher Memorial Church
in Brooklyn, and, like others who have gradu
ated from our school, went to attain honor and
usefulness in a still broader field.
We may properly couple with his name that of
George A. Snow, who was equally loved among
us, and who afterwards engaged in kindred
work, in the Sunday-school connected with
Dr. Webb's church in Boston. I confine my
allusions chiefly to those who are no longer
with us, and even of them can only speak of
a part. One only of the superintendents of
the Sabbath-school has been removed by death,
in active service, — Mr. John A. Bosworth.
He was a man of faithful and devoted spirit,

The Sunday- School. 177
and of modest worth. His addresses to the
school were solemn and earnest, pertaining to
the simple truths of the Bible, which were the
subject of their study. His early death pro
duced a profound impression on the school, and
his memory is gratefully cherished. At the
time he took the office, the school was much
diminished in numbers. Under the former
superintendents, Deacon Wardwell and Deacon
King, it had advanced steadily. By the de
parture of these gentlemen, and the formation
of new churches, our own Church and Sabbath-
school were much weakened. The number of
scholars was reduced from three or four hundred
to less than two hundred. It was only out of
a strong sense of duty that Mr. Bosworth con
sented to fill the position assigned him. For
two or three years, he labored on amidst dis
couragements ; but at length the revival of 1857
not only strengthened the Church, but changed
the whole aspect of the Sabbath-school. The
numbers rapidly increased. In one year there
was a gain of over seventy; and soon the
numbers reached almost as great a height as
in the most flourishing period. This gain has
never been lost. Succeeding superintendents
have been blessed in their exertions, and have
had the love and sympathy of their scholars
and fellow-laborers. The spirit of harmony
12

178 The Sunday- School.
has always prevailed in the instruction of the
school ; and no superintendent has left his
position without the affectionate regret and
kind feeling of all associated with him.
A library appears to have existed in the
Church early in the century, gathered by the
efforts of Father Wilson, as would be indicated
by the inscription in a very old book in my
possession, " Given by Rev. James Wilson to
the Beneficent Library in 1804." A room in
the vestry was devoted to the library ; and a
catalogue is preserved, printed in 1828, contain
ing the titles of two hundred and fifteen well-
selected books, not only religious, but books of
travel, of history and poetry and general litera
ture. When the Sunday-school library was
first gathered, we cannot precisely tell, but it
is probable that the Church library was joined
with it. In 1836 we find a record of six
hundred and eighty-four volumes. This cer
tainly was a large library for those days, and
probably the only one to which free access
could be obtained on this side of the city.
Indeed, the Athenaeum was not chartered until
1836, and was never free to any but subscribers.
The number of books in our library has been
many times changed and increased since that
time, but its early influence and value in im
proving the minds and hearts of our people

The Sunday- School. 179
cannot easily be over-estimated. Mr. Thomas
J. Wardwell held the office of librarian for
thirty-two years, and his devotion to the interests
of the school was conspicuous through all its
varying periods, so long as he lived.
The office of secretary of the Sunday-school
was filled for some time by John Wardwell,
brother of the librarian. In later years, one of
the most beloved of the secretaries was Mr.
Edward H. Remington, whose early death
deprived us of a valuable officer and member
of the Church.
In 1862, after the death of Mr. John A.
Bosworth, Mr. John J. Ladd held the office of
superintendent for a little more than a year,
and left to join the army, with many who went
out from this Church to the defence of the
Union. Mr. Warren A. Greene, his successor,
son of Deacon Greene, was appointed in 1863,
and labored faithfully and successfully for two
years. In 1865, Mr. J. W. Rice was elected
superintendent, and continued in office for the
remarkable period of twenty-one years. His
promptness and energy accomplished much for
the welfare of the school, which was then the
largest in the State. During this time the
Memorial Chapel was built by the generosity
of Mr. Henry J. Steere, and dedicated Sept.
10, 1873.

180 The Sunday-School.
The change of the session of the Sunday-
school, from nine in the morning to three
o'clock in the afternoon, was followed by a
great increase of numbers, and a new interest
was awakened in all departments. Effort in
behalf of the Chinese began in our school in
1879, and flourished under the care of Eev.
James P. Root. This effort was kept up after
his death by Mrs. Thomas Hutchins and others,
and later under the superintendence of Mr. J.
W. Rice. The frequent removals of the men
from one place to another have hindered our
gathering the fruits of this work as largely
as we could wish ; but the gratitude of the
Chinese, and their progress in committing to
memory passages from . the Bible, as well as
many thoughtful letters received from them,
give evidence that the work has not been in
vain. The whole number of Chinamen con
nected with the school is more than one
hundred, and the present attendance is nearly
twenty. For a short interval, Mr. George E. Church
held the office of superintendent, but his heart's
desire was to assist in the planting of a church
in South Providence, where he resided ; and he
left us to become superintendent of the Ply
mouth Church Sunday-school, where he has
labored most successfully ever since.

The Sunday- School. 181

Mr. John C. Bosworth, son of the former
superintendent of that name, was elected to fill
the place in 1886, and held the office till 1890,
when he resigned, and was followed by Mr. Wil
liam H. Scott, a most esteemed and faithful
worker, both in the Church and the school. He
retained the office, however, only two years, and
returned to the care of a class of young men,
among whom he has had great influence. Mr.
Bosworth was re-elected in 1892. Another
change in the hour was made, to the close of
the morning service, at a quarter past twelve.
This change was made necessary by the removal
of so many of our people to distant parts of
the city, and also to conform to the prevailing
custom of the time. Every one of our changes
in the time of holding the Sunday-school have
been steps of progress. A class of Armenians
has lately come into the school, occupying a
portion of the vestry ; and thus we are trying
to extend our work to foreigners who dwell
among us.
In summing up the results which have been
attained, we may speak of the external and in
ternal features of the school. Of the numbers
who have been gathered in here, the late Deacon
S. S. Wardwell told me that he had preserved
a list of four thousand scholars, who were in
the school previous to his retirement in 1843.

182 The Sunday -School.
We have an accurate list of teachers up to
March 19, 1843, which records one hundred
and sixty-seven males, and two hundred and
fourteen females, — three hundred and eighty-
one in all. The whole number of teachers in
the whole period, from the beginning, may be
fairly estimated at nearly or quite one thousand,
and the whole number of teachers and scholars
at ten thousand.
Where are they now ? More than one third
of them, in the common course of nature, are
numbered with the dead. And of the rest, one
hundred churches and Sabbath-schools are glad
dened by their presence. Some of them are
beyond the Mississippi, some in California, and
others scattered over the broad expanse of our
land, and even in foreign lands. Three have
been missionaries in India. The benevolent con
tributions of this Sunday-school have been
large. How large I cannot absolutely tell, for
the records are deficient on this point. At first
no collection was taken, except at the concert
which was held on the second Monday of the
month. Giving was not large in the early
days. Money was not so plenty, and the act of
charity was not so well learned. I find some
collections of less than a dollar, and many of but
one or two dollars, for the entire contribution
of the month. In 1832, the collection of the

The Sunday -School. 183

year was about fifty dollars, or one dollar a
Sabbath. The duty of giving is more empha
sized now, and our weekly collections average as
high as six dollars, and are often more. Ten
thousand dollars at a moderate estimate have
been given in these penny collections, which
have been scattered, like fruitful seed, to build
churches, and teach the heathen and the chil
dren of the freedmen, and to buy books and
open Sabbath-schools in our own and in distant
States. Such are some of the outward features of our
history. But have we nothing better than this ?
Oh, yes ! we have. The question is sometimes
asked of late, Is the Sabbath-school, in the way
in which it is conducted, a source of benefit and
strength to the Church ? I rejoice to say that
this Church has gained great spiritual benefits
through the Sabbath-school. Whenever the
work of God has been revived here, the influence
has been powerfully felt in the Sabbath-school.
Nay, more, the revival of God's work has often
begun in the labors of the teachers, and in the
meetings of the Sunday-school. The most
active and pious members of the Church have
been devoted in their adherence to the Sunday-
school. Conversions have been multiplied there.
I wish it were possible to enumerate them, but
we know that in the conversion of a soul, pa-

184 The Sunday- School.
rental and personal influence, with the preaching
of the word, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit,
are so combined that we cannot always say
where the new life began. It is true, however,
that it has found its first expression very often
in the Sabbath-school. What sweeter place for
the young heart to seek for sympathy than in
the presence of a loving, prayerful teacher, and
surrounded by the quick and warm affections of
scholars of the same age. I know no better
place to take up the cross, and there hundreds
have done it. Of those who have joined the
Church, more than three quarters have come
from the Sabbath-school, and almost all have
imbibed a fresh interest in it, and a more long
ing desire to lead others to Christ. This has
been the spirit of our school always. I turn
over the records of the school, and I find fre
quent mention of the names of those added to
the Church. In 1847, I read that thirty-three
members of the school have united with the
Church during the year. In 1855, are reported
twenty-two conversions ; in 1866, thirty conver
sions. But more touching than this mention of
numbers is the record of individual cases, show
ing the joy that has been awakened when one
soul was given to God. For this the Sabbath-
school was formed. By this it proves its
heavenly mission. Let us not look back at the

The Sunday -School. 185
past with the spirit of vain-glory, but rather
gird ourselves for the future !
By the memory of those holy men and women
who began this school in self-sacrifice and hu
mility, who knew not whereunto it would grow ;
by the blessed gifts of the Holy Spirit vouch
safed in time past ; by the conversion of souls ;
by the triumphant death of those who slumber
in the Lord, — let us arise to new and faithful
effort. We celebrate an institution which the Pil
grims did not possess. In our day there has
been realized a more hearty turning of children
to fathers and fathers to children than ever
before. Yet the early settlers of New England
loved to teach their children, and desired to
have them follow in their footsteps ; and to
day they look down from heaven, I doubt not,
with joy, on the work of the Sabbath-school,
and praise God for the new methods of Chris
tian effort that our age has seen. Only let us
make it worthy of the spirit of the Pilgrims.
Let it contain their faith and zeal, their love of
the Bible, and their purity of doctrine. So may
we rejoice over it with them in the ages to
come, and bless God for the fulfilment of his
promise, " Unto you that fear my name shall the
Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his
wings ; " " And He shall turn the heart of the

186 The Sunday -School.
fathers unto the children, and the heart of the
children to their fathers."

Note.

The following statement has been kindly sent me
by Dr. C. H. Leonard of the Union Church : —
"It is recorded July 7, 1818, in the records of the
Richmond Street Church : ' Voted, that a Sunday-school
be organized under the direction of this church, and voted
that their pastor and Mr. Park be a committee to make
necessary regulations for the same.'
" I have learned from Prof. Edwards A. Park that this
was his father, and that as a boy in 1818 or 1819 he at
tended the school in the old ' tin top ' meeting-house on
the further corner of Richmond and Pine streets. Miss
Margaret Eddy was his teacher, and from her he has
many times heard that that was her first Sunday-school.
He is uncertain whether the school continued more than
one season at the ' tin top.' If Mr. Pratt was accurate
in saying he began as teacher, January, 1819, probably
the school moved to the Beneficent Church late in 1818.
Again, as to the time the Sunday-school was renewed in
the Richmond Street Church, our records show that it was
organized June 30, 1828, as the Richmond Street Sabbath-
School Society, and continued until March 14, 1837, when
it was transferred entirely to the Church's direction."

IX.
THE EXERCISES AT THE CENTENNIAL OF
THE SOCIETY CHARTER IN 1885.
The attainment of the one hundredth anniversary of
the organization of the Beneficent Congregational Society
under its Charter was fittingly commemorated by an in
teresting and impressive order of exercises yesterday
afternoon and evening in the church, taking the form of
an elegant banquet served in the parlors, supplemented
with a pleasant post-prandial dessert, and a public cele
bration in the auditorium, which held the attention of a
large assemblage for a period of three hours. The ob
servance of the centenary of the Society was a unique
and suggestive event when coupled with the remembrance
that the church organization was effected more than forty
years previous ; and hence the occasion was invested with
a peculiar interest, which was greatly enhanced in the
rehearsal of its work by the pastor in an attractive and
comprehensive sketch, and the presence of the Rev. A.
Huntington Clapp, D. D., who held the pastorate for a
period of ten years, and is the only surviving ex-pastor,
and many of the older parishioners, whose reminiscences
and advanced years seemed to lend additional enjoyment
and inspiration to the festive hour hallowed by the
remembrance that Pastor Snow had founded the vener
able church upon the same site many years ago.
The Banquet.
The invitations to the banquet were accepted by nearly
one hundred and fifty members of the Church and Society

188 The Society Charter.
and invited guests, including the pastors of several of the
city churches. They met in the memorial chapel about
five o'clock, and President Henry J. Steere led the way to
the banquet hall, followed by the centennial committee,
— Messrs. Benjamin W. Gallup, William A. Spicer, and
Edwin Baker, and a number of ushers escorting the
guests. Caterer TiUinghast had served an elaborate
and inviting array of viands, the tables being adorned
with handsome bouquets, and a dainty boutonniere be
ing placed beside each plate. The menu was served in
courses in admirable style ; and without any formalities
President Steere invited the banqueters to address them
selves to the feast. The menu card was artistically and
conveniently arranged, the outer cover bearing a neat
engraving of the church edifice, while on the inside pages
was a facsimile of the inscription upon the corner-stone,
the menu, the order of the evening service, the list of the
presidents of the Society from April, 1786, to April, 1875,
the pastors of the Church from 1746 to 1885, officers and
committees of the Society and arrangements. Upon the
outer cover was a medallion enclosing a Bible, a pair of
scales, and an anchor, with the inscription, " Our Treas
ure — Our Guide — Our Hope." The hour was spent in
merry conversation and social enjoyment, and then came
the oratorical entertainment, introduced by the Rev. Dr.
Clapp. The reverend gentleman spoke in his felicitous
and fervent manner, directing his remarks more particu
larly to advising increased sociability in the church as
conducive to the enlargement of its influence, paying a
passing tribute to the Methodist denomination for its
warm-heartedness, and indulging in numerous witticisms,
which kept the audience in constant good humor.
Secretary Spicer, of the Society, was next introduced,
and gave an interesting sketch of the Society in a
concise and interesting manner. In the course of his

The Society Charter. 189

remarks, he made allusion to the following matters asso
ciated with the management of the temporal affairs of the
Church : —
The first mention of the expenses of the Church, after
its organization on the present site in 1743, is found in
the records of 1769, which state that a committee of seven
men was appointed to regulate its temporal affairs. They
proceeded to apportion the expenses among the members,
who were expected to give them an honest statement of
their worldly affairs. This method continued until Octo
ber, 1785, when, upon the petition of nearly a hundred
members of the Church and congregation desiring to
unite in sustaining worship in what was then "the only
meeting-house on the west side of the river," the General
Assembly granted them a Charter of Incorporation, un
der the name of the Beneficent Congregational Society.
The first Annual Meeting was held in April, 1786, when
the new Charter was read ; and it has continued for a
hundred years to be the safeguard and fundamental law
of this Society. It is written in the early records that the
members met for the transaction of business " punctually
at sunset ; " and that they always promptly adjourned at
an alarm of fire. There was no paid Fire Department in
those days. Every good citizen was expected to promptly
rally, upon the sounding of an alarm, with fire-bucket in
hand. The population of the town in 1785 was scarcely
over four thousand, and all travelling was on foot or
horseback. Nothing, perhaps, better illustrates the
growth of the town, after the building of the new church
in 1809, than a resolution of the Society, passed in Octo
ber, 1813: —
Resolved, That a committee be appointed to petition
the General Assembly to grant this Society the privi
lege of extending an iron chain across Broad Street
during the time of public worship on the Sabbath, to

190 The Society Charier.
prevent carriages passing, to the great disturbance of
the congregation.
No evidence appears of the granting of the petition ;
but the party of progress in the Society did succeed in
introducing the bass viol into the choir, although a witty
opponent declared "that to use a fiddle in the house
of God would be a base violation of the sacredness of
worship." The financial affairs of this Society have been a trouble
some and vexatious problem from the first, and have
taxed the ingenuity, patience, and benevolence of some
of the best minds which this State has afforded. Under
the Charter of 1785, the Society had no power to levy a
tax upon the pews, and public worship was supported
entirely by voluntary subscriptions. This was an un
satisfactory system, for the record of 1792 expressly
declares " that there is too great a delinquency and in
attention to the Society's concerns, many of the members
having failed to renew their notes."
The Charter was amended during the year, giving the
Society authority to tax the pews for repairs. But the
annual deficiency still continued ; and in 1796 we find the
Society engaged in holding a lottery. The highest prize
was $1,000, and the lowest $6. The number of blanks
is not stated in the records. The Charter was further
amended, in 1825, to allow the Society to tax the pews for
repairs and insurance. Again, in 1854, the owners of
pews representing two thirds of the entire valuation
agreed to a tax of six per cent for the support of worship,
in addition to the repair tax. Still another system was
adopted in 1875, three fourths of the pew-owners assent
ing to a pro rata tax for the support of worship. While
each of these five systems was probably the best that
could be devised at the time, still they all eventually
proved inadequate and unsatisfactory. In the year 1877

The Society Charter. 191
the indebtedness of the Society had reached an alarming
amount ; and some one sagely remarked that it was very
sad to see a religious society whose members loved to
sing, — " When I can read my title clear,
To mansions in the skies,"
and then reflect upon the lamentable fact that they were
in a fair way to lose the title of their church property
on earth. Bat providentially the Society owned a burial-
ground, with a clean title, and just the right size to bury
the debt in, which they proceeded to do, principal and
interest. Strange to say, the annual deficiency soon
broke out agaiu. Due allowance was not made for
needful expenditures. It was finally determined, as a
permanent relief, that the Society acquire the owner
ship of all the pews in the house, and adopt a regular
and uniform schedule of rentals. Great success attended
the work of getting possession of the pews, until to-day
more than three quarters are owned by the Society, while
one hundred and forty-five out of a total of one hundred
and fifty-six pews are paying the new rental. There is
no indebtedness, and a fair margin in the treasury. In
closing this hasty review I will only add that the origi
nal records are still here, unbroken, continuous for a
hundred years. These are heirlooms not without value.
Here also are the transfers and title-deeds, back to the
originals in 1743, of what is to-day one of the most val
uable church properties in the State. These, legally
recorded, and placed by the charter in the perpetual care of
the Standing Committee of the Society, assure the rights
of the present proprietors. These rights and privileges
are ours to enjoy, ours to preserve, ours to transmit.
Remarks were then offered by the Rev. Mr. Mcllvaine,
pastor of the Union Congregational Church, who was
glad to meet with the mother-in-law of his Society, and

192 The Society Charier.
to congratulate her upon her vigor, size, robustness, and
excellent appetite, and hoped that she would live to cele
brate many other anniversaries ; by Rev. Mr. Goodell,
pastor of the Chestnut Street M. E. Church, who spoke
of the cordial relations existing between the two socie
ties, and extending the congratulations of his Church
that the blessings of the past may be multiplied and the
Church become an advantage in the community in the sal
vation of souls ; by Rev. Mr. Huntington, pastor of the
Central Congregational Church, who touched upon the
peculiar history of the Society and complimented it upon
its successful administration ; by Rev. Mr. Woodworth,
of East Providence, who referred in an enthusiastic and
complimentary manner to his relations with the Church
in the past and the sympathy and assistance he had re
ceived in fitting himself for the ministry ; and by Pro
fessor Andrews, of Brown University, who emphasized
the value of sociability in the Church and the beneficent
influences arising from the organized power of individu
ality in church government. The Rev. Mr. Montague,
pastor of the Central Baptist Church, was unable to be
present, and sent his regrets. The speech-making was
prolonged till 7 o'clock, and the occasion was delightful
and profitable to the participants.
The Public Exercises.
The public exercises commenced at 7.30 o'clock, and
the auditorium was well filled with members of the sev
eral denominational churches of the city and vicinity, as
well as friends of the Society. The pulpit was hand
somely decorated with tropical and flowering plants, and
the reading-desk was concealed behind a bank of smilax
and vines, with a magnificent pillow of flowers in the
centre, with the word " Centennial " in pinks. The com-

The Society Charter. 193
munion table was also prettily trimmed, and the effect
was charming and picturesque. Seated upon the plat
form were clergymen representing several denominations,
who assisted in the service ; and the chorus choir had
been augmented for the occasion by Director and Orga
nist Tingley, from the choirs of the city, so as to give a
stirring and effective illustration of the musical selec
tions. The service began with an offertoire in G by
Wely, which was rendered with skill and brilliancy by
Mr. Tingley, after which the chorus sang, " The Strain
Upraise," Stanley, with impressive effect. Prayer was
offered by the Rev. Dr. Laurie, and then the choir and
congregation united in singing hymn No. 224. Rev. Mr.
Goodell read selections of Scripture ; and then the grand
chorus by Righini, " The Lord is Great," was given with
powerful effect. Prayer was offered by the Rev. Mr.
Mcllvaine ; and the choir and congregation joined in
singing the Holmes-Keller American Hymn.
The pastor of the church, the Rev. James G. Vose,
D. D., then delivered an historical address, which com
manded close attention by its graphic and skilful weav
ing of the most important events entering into the in
ner history of the Society. He spoke substantially as
follows : —

HISTORICAL ADDRESS.
1 Chkott. xii. 32 : And of the children of Issachar,
which were men that had understanding of the times to
know what Israel ought to do.
TO rehearse the events of the past, to pre
serve in memory the services of those
who have been useful in the Church, is a pious
13

194 The Society Charier.
work, whose benefits may extend in many direc
tions. Each particular church or town or
parish is laid under obligations to keep its own
records unimpaired, and from time to time to
remove the moss, and rechisel the letters de
faced by age. The Book of Chronicles, often
regarded as dry and tedious, has this merit,
that it preserves in many a pithy phrase the
traits of men or families. The throne of David
was supported, as we see, by all the tribes of
Israel, men of valor, expert in war; but the
tribe of Issachar is especially distinguished in
this pregnant phrase, " men that had under
standing of the times, to know what Israel
ought to do." I adopt these words as worthy
of application also to the fathers of this ecclesi
astical society, a hundred years ago.
Let me crave your patience while I state as
plainly and as clearly as I can the object of
this celebration. It is not impossible that even
invthis audience there may be some, and doubt
less many elsewhere, who may notice that the
Beneficent Society has been holding a Centen
nial, who may not know precisely what the
anniversary is. Let it be understood, then,
that it is not an anniversary of the Church.
The Church worshipping on this spot had been
organized for more than forty years before the
Society had any legal existence, and before the

The Society Charter. 195
Charter was obtained. The land on which this
church now stands was given by Daniel Abbott,
out of love and affection for the Congregational
way of public worship, to Deacon Joseph Snow,
Sr., Hugh Battey, John Paine, and Joseph Snow,
Jr., with subscribers who should join with them
for the erection of a meeting-house. Under
this deed, given in the seventeenth year of our
sovereign lord, George II., Anno Domini 1744,
all the property pertaining to this Church was
held and administered till 1785. There was no
dispute as to the claim of the men above men
tioned, with their fellow-subscribers, to manage
and control the property.
But, indeed, there was not much property to
control. Apart from the land and building
there was little or nothing in the way of funds ;
and the amount raised for the support of the
minister was very small. What the salary of the
minister was or the general expenses, we have
no record whatever until Jan. 2, 1774, being
thirty years after the formation of the Church.
Under this date, in the handwriting of the
pastor, we find mention of a vote of the Church
to settle accounts with him, in which it appeared
that his salary was in arrears £4, 12s. It was
voted to assess this sum, and also to fix the
salary of the pastor at £50 for the ensuing year.
Fifty pounds currency in that day was less than

196 The Society Charter.

The troubles with the mother country,
with the Revolution just impending, were bring
ing about the greatest confusion in money affairs.
A picture of the times is given in McMaster's
" History of the American People," in which he
is especially severe upon Rhode Island for the
issue of paper money. I shall not quote his
statements, which have been much criticised,
but will read a few lines from the celebrated
letters of Hannah Adams, the wife of John
Adams, which give a lively record of her own
experience. Under date of March 20, 1779,
she writes : " I blush while I give you a price
current : All butcher's meat from $1 to eight
shillings a pound; corn $25, rye $30 per
bushel ; flour £50 per 100 ; potatoes $10 per
bushel ; butter twelve shillings a pound ; cheese
eight; molasses $12 per gallon. This is our
present situation. I have studied every method
of economy in my power; otherwise a mint of
money would not support a family. I could
not board our two sons at a school under $40
a week." In 1781 she writes, " Our poor old
currency is breathing at its last gasp."
Affairs in Rhode Island were no better. If
such were the struggles of the wife of John
Adams, we need not wonder that ministers
throughout the colonies shared in the common
perplexities, and that they would be willing

The Society Charter. 197
and glad to receive their support in articles of
food or fuel, rather than in money that had no
definite value. But the good pastor did not
leave any complaints of his pecuniary diffi
culties. It is probable that he labored with
his own hands to provide a large part of his
support. Under date of Oct. 11, 1774, he
records an appropriation of $50 by the Church
for the support of the poor. Fifty pounds seems
to have been the salary fixed in several years by
special vote. So we paid in the year of the
Declaration of Independence, 1776. Further
than this, nothing appears in the records of
Pastor Snow with regard to financial affairs.
Devoted to his spiritual calling, and yet bear
ing the burdens of life in common with his
brethren, he has left no trace of discontent at
the trials of his lot.
But meanwhile there were many among his
congregation who desired a better organization
and a more secure and generous provision for
the needs of the Church. After many consulta
tions and much prayer, they appealed to the
Colonial Assembly (for Rhode Island had not
then adopted the Constitution) for a charter.
It is interesting to note that the brethren dated
their appeal at Providence, in the State of Rhode
Island. She was then an independent State,
although not seeking admission to the Union

198 The Society Charter.
till the last of all the colonies in 1790. The
petition was dated September 5, and the Charter
was granted at South Kingstown on the last Mon
day in October, 1785. The original petitioners
were Nathaniel Jacobs, Jonathan Jenkins, Joseph
Martin, Thomas Jones, Samuel Butler, Henry
Bacon. But when the Charter was issued, it was
granted not only to them, but to a great number
of others joined with them, who were among
the foremost men of Providence. I can only
read a part of them, — Barzillai Richmond,
Zephaniah Brown, Benjamin Gladding, William
Eddy, Daniel Field, Benjamin Talbot, Stephen
Wardwell, John Young, Peter Taylor, Benja
min Hoppin, Lewis Bosworth, William Rhodes,
Phineas Potter.
It is the obtaining of this Charter which gives
as nearly as may be the date of our centennial
celebration. It is an occasion which has inter
est in many ways ; but bear with me, my friends,
if I reiterate the nature of this celebration, as
it has been hinted to me by judicious people
that very few will understand what it is all
about. Let me say, then, once more, that this
is an affair of the Society, that it is a Centen
nial of the Charter by which the Society ob
tained corporate existence. This of course
defines the character of the celebration. It does
not relate to the Church, its membership, its

The Society Charter. 199
services, or doctrines. It has simply to do with
those external matters which belong to the care
of the property of the Church, and those affairs
of which the Society assumed responsibility.
It might seem to many more proper that the
discourse on this occasion should be given by
a layman ; but the majority of the members of
the Society have chosen to enjoin this duty
upon me. Let me say, however, that the idea
of this celebration originated with the Society,
and not at all with myself. Whatever credit
belongs to it is theirs, and not mine. I have
only yielded to their earnest wish that I should
place before you, in such form as I may be able,
some brief account of the facts pertaining to the
history of this Society. I feel myself very in
adequate to the service, but may be able, I hope,
to put together some facts worthy of attention.
This celebration is unique, for I do not know
of any similar celebration ever held. The
charters given to religious societies in Rhode
Island were among the earliest given in America.
In other parts of New England few charters
were given until the present century. In a
valuable work, by the late Edward Buck, Esq.
(a lawyer and an intimate friend of Professor
Park), entitled " Ecclesiastical Law in Massa
chusetts," he says : " Few churches of any de
nomination had been incorporated before 1810.

200 The Society Charter.
It had been six times solemnly decided by
the courts of Massachusetts that Acts of Incor
poration were not needed." A Congregational
church is described by Chief Justice Shaw as
" an aggregate body or association, not a corpo
ration or quasi corporation, formed within the
religious society or parish, set apart from the
rest of the society for peculiar religious obser
vances." A statute as old as 1786 allowed a
Congregational church, however defined, "to
hold property, by grant or donation, for its
own use, the income of which, exclusive of the
income of parsonage lands, does not exceed
two thousand dollars."
I find it necessary here to go back to the
early days of New England, and dwell for a
moment on the " church-state " system, brought
by our fathers. I call it the " church-state "
system because that is the exact phrase made
use of by them when they separated themselves
from the Established Church, and "joined them
selves [I quote the language from Prince's
Chronology, cited in Dr. Hall's Centennial Dis
course in 1836] by covenant into a church-state,
to walk in all His ways, made known or to be
made known to them, according to their best
endeavors, whatever it may cost them." Rever
ing as we do the memory of the fathers, we
cannot deny that they intended Church and

The Society Charter. 201

State to be united, and in fact maintained such
a system for more than a century. The town
was the parish ; every one had to pay taxes for
the support of the minister, and attendance at
divine worship was required by law. I shall
not dwell on this further than to note its
connection with the subject before us. We can
easily see that there was no need at first of
chartered rights, and no occasion to call for
them, until towns enlarged so as to contain
more than one church, and different denomina
tions had gained such strength as to provide
worship of their own. It was near the end of
the last century before these results became
manifest in Massachusetts ; but in Rhode Island
it was far otherwise. Here, from the first, the
voluntary system prevailed. There was an
absence of restraint, not only in regard to the
mode of worship and doctrine, but even as to
any religious observances, which to the neighbor
colony seemed almost like the prevalence of
heathenism. It took time for the voluntary
system to prove its value, in some respects a
long time.
It will surprise many to know that there was
no meeting-house, nor any public building of
any sort in this town of Providence for over
sixty years after its settlement. Dr. Caldwell,
in his admirable historical discourse, preached

202 The Society Charter.
in 1865, has told us that "for over sixty years,
religion was here, the Church was here, but
with no house of its own." It found such
shelter as it could, in open spaces and under
trees, when skies were fair ; in such houses as
could give it hospitality, when driven in by the
weather. And, indeed, the first one built was
built by a Baptist minister, the Rev. Pardon
TiUinghast, who made a free gift of house and
land to the Church.
Within a little more than twenty years, places
of worship were built by the Friends, the Congre
gationalists, and the Episcopalians. As yet there
had been little question of church property or
rights. There was nothing to require it. But
in 1769, Trinity Church, Newport, obtained a
society charter ; then the First Congregational
Church in Providence, in 1770 ; then the Second
Congregational in Newport, in 1771 ; then St.
John's, in 1772 ; and the First Baptist in 1774.
These charters were doubtless obtained at an
earlier date than any others in New England.
The reason, apparently, was that as their rights
were not provided for by the State, they needed
to be especially defined. It will be observed
that of the four societies earliest to obtain char
ters, two were Congregational and two Epis
copal. The First Congregational Church in this
town was chartered as the Benevolent Society,

The Society Charter. 203
the First Baptist as the Charitable, and eleven
years after, when this Society claimed a charter,
it was as the Beneficent Society, — a name
plainly imitated from the other names, and
especially from that of the First Congregational,
from which ours had come out. Considering the
fact that a dispute on the subject of good works
was the occasion in part of the separation, it
was a little amusing that the name chosen for
the Society was " The Beneficent."
Of the Charter itself, we may say it was care
fully guarded by the Rhode Island principle of
voluntary subscription. Nothing could be raised
for current expenses or funds, except by free gift;
and the only penalty for a member who did not
pay his subscription, or refused to meet the
claims of the brethren, was that he was to be
considered as desiring to withdraw from the So
ciety. Simple as these charters were, they had
a very great influence in arousing the people to
effort. Church building and church extension
have been carried on with great earnestness ever
since. Much as we deplore the neglect of the
Sabbath and of public worship at the present
day, we may safely compare our city with the
other cities of our country ; and I believe it will
be found that there are none whose people are,
on the whole, more regular in attendance upon
religious services. There are as many as eighty

204 The Society Charter.
places of Protestant worship now in the city, be
sides the ample provision made by the Catholics.
There is an abundance of sittings in our churches,
of all sorts, for all, and more than all, of the
population who could attend at any one time.
The charters had much to do in awakening the
interest of the people ; and though they laid no
yoke upon any man, they increased the sense of
responsibility and self-respect. Doubtless, too,
they had an influence in other States in leading
to similar action.
I do not know how to give the history of the
Beneficent Congregational Society better than by
quotations here and there from its records. We
find that the meeting-house and land were made
over by the trustees, who held them, to the care
and ownership of the Society under the Charter.
The first President was Barzillai Richmond, and
the first subscription was issued April 20, 1786.
All the members were assessed according to
property. In this respect, action was taken
precisely as if there had been legal power to
enforce it. Men were expected to give an ac
count of their property, and submit it to the
assessors. Doubtless the assessment was small,
for we do not find that any particular sum was
mentioned as the limit of expenses. If only
$200 were to be raised for the minister, it would
seem that the whole expenses need not be heavy.

The Society Charter. 205
But money was very hard to obtain ; and the
faithful services of Pastor Snow, through a period
of fifty years, were given with scarcely as much
pecuniary reward as some ministers in our largest
cities receive in a single year. It is a singular
fact that this excellent minister, who, in his early
youth, had led out a small company to found the
church on this spot, after fifty years' labors went
out again and founded another church, taking
with him some faithful followers, and opening
the way for great and noble enterprises in time
to come. If these separations were unhappy at
the time, they have resulted in great good. It
is not at all my proviuce to enter into this part
of the history of the Church. I only mention it
to say that the Charter was here a means of
good, in separating the temporal from the spirit
ual affairs, and preventing litigation or dispute
which might otherwise have arisen.
The plan was soon formed to build a new and
larger church on this spot, and resulted after
years of effort in the present building, erected in
1808. The records report, what is not uncom
mon in those days, a lottery, of which the high
est prize was $1,000, and the lowest $5. The
evils of such a system have long since been
pointed out ; and the Church herself has been
the most efficient means of contending against
it. We find in 1794 that Joseph Martin was

206 The Society Charter.
President, and Thomas Jones, Treasurer, and that
William Jones was first propounded as a mem
ber. William Jones was Governor of the State
under the Royal Charter from 1811 to 1817.
But it is an honor which some may think more
worthy of remembrance that he was one of the
original corporate members of the American
Board (the charter of that Society being ob
tained in 1813), and the only member from
Rhode Island for many years. Dr. Thomas
Shepard of Bristol was elected in 1846, and
Hon. John Kingsbury of this city of honored
memory in 1850. I should have mentioned the
building of a parsonage in 1796, for Rev. James
Wilson, a much-needed thing, for the good pas
tor had in all sixteen children ; and though sev
eral of them died in infancy, yet the family cer
tainly must have required a good deal of room.
The house, however, was not wholly built at first,
for we find a committee appointed four years
later to calculate the expense of furnishing the
front entry and one chamber, and laying the
floor in the garret. This house faced the park on
the east side of the church, and is still standing.
The salary of Rev. James Wilson was not a
great sum. The first record of it, in 1796, read
thus, " No particular sum mentioned." We are
not to interpret this that the salary was nothing
in particular; but for some time it was very

The Society Charter. 207
inadequate. The good man could hardly have
lived except for the school which he kept, which
was very large, and indeed for years the only
one on this side of the river. He was truly the
teacher as well as the pastor of his flock. The
first mention of a definite sum for the minister's
salary is $400. In 1801 it was $500, and grad
ually increased from that time somewhat irreg
ularly to $1,500. Several places speak of debt
and arrearages, which no doubt were a source of
much perplexity. It seems to us a singular cus
tom which then prevailed of appointing a com
mittee to wait upon the pastor to ask what
would be his estimate of the actual sum needed
for his living. No account was taken of any
thing in the way of books or journeys, nor of
intrusting the pastor with money to bestow on
charity. Least of all was there any idea that he
should lay up anything. I do not relate this as
intimating that there was any unusual narrow
ness here more than elsewhere. Far otherwise.
The spirit of the times was not enlarged as at
present. Moreover, the state of the country from
the Declaration of Independence till after the
War of 1812 was one of great deprivation and
hardship. Homespun suits and scanty fare, or
such as each man could raise about him, were the
provision of men in general ; and ministers shared
patiently and lovingly with the trials of their

208 The Society Charter.
flock. It is pleasant to find in the records that
Father Wilson expressed himself as " perfectly
satisfied with the sum allowed him."
Still, the Charter was but a weak instrument
as at first given, and little more than a formal
and dignified way of begging the members to
contribute. Not till after many amendments
was it made so as to provide for regular taxes,
even for necessary repairs. By one step after
another, further taxes were laid ; until very re
cently, and that by the kindly consent of the
membership generally, there is a more equitable
arrangement of securing from each Pew a pro
portional sum to cover the expenses. It had
been supposed at first that funds would be con
tributed to make a permanent provision for the
pastor's salary ; but the difficulties in the way
proved very great. The building of this house
was a great burden. Repairs were often needed.
Hence the Society appears frequently in arrears.
In 1831 we find that the funds of the Society
had reached $20,000 ; but by changes and im
provements which I need not dwell upon, these
funds were afterwards exhausted.
It is proper to mention the fact that, at an
early period, the Society became possessed of a
tract of land for a burial-ground, by a deed
from David Hoyle, who attempted to build a
church in 1720 on this side of the river. With

The Society Charter. 209

the growth of the city, this was abandoned, and
finally sold by the Society for a sum which
proved barely sufficient, however, to cancel debts
already incurred. It was this fact, doubtless,
among others, that led to the movement to se
cure a larger revenue from the pews, in order to
meet each year's expense by each year's pay
ments. Our fathers provided us this pleasant
house of worship, and one of their sons of this
generation has added to it the beautiful chapel
in which we and our children take delight ;
surely the worshippers here can afford to raise
whatever is needed for our current expenses.
I have yet many things that I would gladly
recite from the records, did the time allow.
Some of them must not be passed over. I find
in one place a vote was passed to close the pews
(I suppose to lock or bar them) which were not
owned or let. This appears to have been a
measure to prevent their occupation without
pay, which we should now regard as very
strange, since we gladly welcome to our best
seats any who will come. We find in 1815 a
record of a cordial invitation given to the Sec
ond Baptist Church to worship in this house, on
account of the calamity by which their place of
worship was burned. The Society took charge
of many matters of more or less importance.
Not the least was the matter of singing. In-
14

210 The Society Charter.
struction in music and the purchase of an organ
early engaged attention, and much effort and
sacrifice were employed in this object. The
matter of ventilation was not unnoticed, even
in early times, and down to the present day has
not lost its importance nor its perplexity.
Under date of 1816 we find the following cu
rious entry : " Voted, That John Perrin and
Dan'l Proud be a Comm. to procure a venti
lator, opened in the centre of this room, to let
off the vapors arising when the Cong'n meet
here for Public Worship." There was no way
of heating this house for nearly ten years after
it was built. Cyrus Butler, Charles Dyer, and
Stephen Waterman were then appointed to pro
cure stoves. One entry speaks of five cords of
pine wood as ordered for the Society. Some
still living can remember what sort of comfort
those stoves afforded, and the appearance of
them, with their long pipes running through
the house. From these pipes a fire broke out
one Sunday morning which, but for timely and
skilful efforts, would have been very disastrous.
The first organ, to which I have alluded before,
was obtained in 1826 ; the present one in 1857.
A chandelier, with twenty lamps, was ordered
in 1827. In 1832 a strict vote was passed with
regard to the employment of this house for
secular purposes, forbidding anything except

The Society Charter. 211

that which is connected with public worship.
On motion of Benjamin Aborn, however, the
use of the house was permitted occasionally for
temperance meetings ; and we find that in later
times Fourth of July orations were delivered
here, being regarded as a patriotic service, and
accompanied with praise and prayer.
In 1825 a plan was proposed for altering this
end of the house, which then only extended to
the main wall, by placing doors and windows on
each side of the pulpit. It was voted to open
new windows simply. Fears have at different
times agitated the minds of some, lest the dome
should not be safe ; and there are repeated
notices of careful examinations, which always
resulted in an increased feeling of security. It
is well known that the first Sunday-school on
this side of the city was held in our vestry in
1820. In 1833 a movement was made for
better accommodations, and a building erected
in the rear of this house, which was called by a
sort of prophetic impulse, the small chapel. It
continued to be of great use for many years,
until at the erection of the new chapel it was
cut in two by an entry, and now forms the Bible
Room and the ladies' sewing-room. The bell
was originally hung in the cupola above the
dome ; but, to make the roof lighter and avoid
the vibration of the dome, the bell was removed

212 The Society Charter.
in 1836, and a small and odd-looking tower, a
faint representation of an Italian campanile, was
erected in the rear of the church.
I have omitted to mention that some amend
ments to the Charter were passed by the Legis
lature in 1825, permitting the pews to be sold,
in case the very moderate toll upon them was
not paid, and also authorizing the Society to
procure insurance on any and all buildings under
their care. Some new pews were built and other
repairs made in 1837, by which it wrould appear
that an aisle formerly ran across the church
one third of the distance from the door. This
narrow aisle was filled by six pews, which were
lettered from A to E, instead of being num
bered, and thus bear witness to the nature of
the change made. In 1838 it was voted that
Benjamin Dyer be a committee to ascertain
whether the city authorities will cause a lamp
or lamps to be lighted in front of the church,
provided the Society will erect suitable posts for
them. It would appear from this that there
was at that time no regular system for lighting
the streets. Our fathers would have been
startled at the blaze of noon-like brightness
with which the Church is surrounded at the
present time through all the hours of night.
We are forcibly reminded of the beauty of oil
lamps by the statement " that the tax on the

The Society Charter. 213
pew of a well-known citizen, now deceased, was
remitted for injury sustained by his family on
account of the dropping of oil from the lamps
suspended over his pew." The stoves, too,
were the cause of tribulation, because they were
more in danger of setting the house on fire than
of warming the people. Hence we find a vote
in 1838 to remove the stoves to a new place, so
as to secure more heat. The difficulty of main
taining the funds and providing for expenses
was increased by the formation of other
churches, which drew largely from this Church.
Cyrus Butler, who had been president of the
Society for twenty-three years, resigned his of
fice. But the Society never wanted for able
and judicious men to manage its affairs. Of
them it might be said, as of the men of Is-
sachar, " they had understanding of the times,
to know what Israel ought to do."
It seems that another parsonage besides the
one on the Common was at a later time held by
the Society on what is called Parsonage Street,
or between that and Chestnut. This, however,
was afterwards sold, and the Society has owned
no parsonage since. In 1841 William J. King
and Benjamin White were admitted members of
the Society.
In 1842 alterations were proposed in the
vestry for the better accommodation of the

214 The Society Charter.
Sunday-school and the Maternal Association, as
well as other important societies. June 11,
1849, we find an inquiry instituted as to the
cost of lighting the house with gas. But amid
the improvements incident to modern times we
find the awakening of a spirit of enterprise in
charitable efforts. When the old Congregational
Society, as it was called, gave up its control of
holdings and funds to the chartered organiza
tion, it appeared to have relinquished its deal
ings with money. Still it retained its rights,
for, by the Charter, if the Beneficent Society
should lose its activity and be reduced to nine
members or less, all its funds and property were
to revert to the old Congregational Society.
Here is an acknowledgment, you will observe,
of the right of the old Society, though without
a charter, to hold and administer funds. This
right has always been maintained, and great
have been the benefactions fulfilled by it. I
cannot speak more of this charitable work, but
will simply say that before the middle of the
century it assumes an importance not dreamed
of at the beginning.
Passing hurriedly over many events, I will
notice the repairs of the house in 1854, by which
it was raised six feet from its original level, — a
work involving, with extension of the house at
this end, and the building of the organ, an ex-

The Society Charter. 215
pense that bore heavily upon the Society. Able
and generous men were in office. Orray Taft
was President, Thomas J. Stead, Vice-President ;
Warren S. Greene, Treasurer, and B. White,
Secretary ; George S. Rathbone and Jonathan
S. Angell were on the Executive Committee.
With such men the Society was not likely to
fail, although heavy drafts were made on every
side. Never was there such a period of activity
in church extension in this city. Three or four
Congregational churches, and many of other de
nominations, were formed in about ten years,
and drew both men and women to a great ex
tent from this church. But never was the prov
erb better fulfilled : " There is that scattereth
and yet increaseth." During the repairs in
1857 the Society accepted an invitation to wor
ship with the Central Baptist Church, as they
had formerly worshipped with us when deprived
of their house. Kindly relations have been
maintained with our neighbor churches ; and the
doctrine has been here preached, that wherever
the gospel flourishes in one place, it will give
aid and strength to other churches also.
In 1858 we find an alteration made by remov
ing the elevated seats in the corners of the
gallery. There is some doubt whether these
were erected for colored people, or for those
who watched the conduct of the boys. Boys

216 The Society Charter.
seem to have been somewhat severely dealt with
in the early days ; and a certain George Gordon
is spoken of in the records as employed in quell
ing disturbance among them. English history
speaks of Lord George Gordon, who, in the last
century, roused seditions and headed mobs in
London, and died in Newgate. This George
Gordon perhaps deserves a memorial for the
more peaceful office of quelling disturbances
among the spirited youth of Providence. In
1867 a tenement house in very unpleasant prox
imity to us was bought and removed. In 1872,
after the death of a venerable and honored
member of the Society, his son generously of
fered to build a chapel on land adjoining the
church property, but fronting on Chestnut Street.
The work was pursued under his direction and
successfully finished. It is to the honored Presi
dent of this Society that we owe the beautiful
and commodious chapel, more lately enlarged
and adorned by the addition of an organ, ad
mirably adapted to its place. Not only the
Sunday-school, but the evening services and
charitable meetings connected with our own and
other churches, have found here great comfort
and advantage. In 1878 increasing debt made
imperative the disposal of the ancient burial-
ground, long since disused. After much labor
on the part of the Treasurer of the Society and

The Society Charter. 217
others, this business was successfully closed.
Every claim brought against the Society was
honorably adjusted ; so far as possible, arrange
ments were made for the removal of those for
merly buried to a quiet resting-place. The
expense attending this effort, and the money
employed in purchasing pews for the Society,
nearly exhausted the sum received from the
burial-ground. I cannot here enter into the
details of the great change through which
the Society has passed in the last ten years. It
is now truly a Society having a common in
terest. All worshippers renting a pew or a part
of a pew may now be eligible to membership.
The expenses of the Society are raised by sys
tematic and equitable taxation, and seats may
be had in any part of this house, according to
choice, at rates which range at different prices.
Of course I am not here to argue the wisdom
of this plan, as contrasted with other plans.
Close by us we have a Free Congregational
church which is doing a noble work on a differ
ent basis. Many at the present day believe
such a system the true one. But if there is to
be taxation to all, few would deny that it should
be levied on some regular rule, and the plan
adopted seems to be as just and reasonable as
any. The members of the Society feel that a
great gain has been made over former times;

218 The Society Charter.
and no doubt the idea of celebrating this occa
sion has arisen from the fact that we are out
of debt, that we ask no man for subscriptions
for our running expenses, and that we pay as
we go. A strict rule has been made not to
incur debt for any cause, and the experience
of the past is a sufficient warning.
I have thus hastily run over the records of one
hundred years, selecting a very little out of much
that is interesting and instructive. I have en
deavored to confine myself to the limits of the
occasion, and that is the reason why I have said
nothing except incidentally of the ministers and
devotional services of the Church. Some have
asked, Why does the Society celebrate its anni
versary at all ? Why not wait till the Church
comes to its one hundred and fiftieth anniver
sary and celebrate all together ? I confess to
something of a feeling of that sort myself;
but while attempting to discharge the duty the
Society has laid upon me, I have become more
convinced of the importance of the occasion.
The temporalities of the Church are of vast im
portance. A spiritual history sometimes passes
by those things which have much to do with
character. The struggles of our fathers to trans
mit to us a pure worship deserve remembrance.
While we have been looking at the external
history, let us not forget the large part of the

The Society Charter. 219
Bible which is taken up with the building of
the temple and the tithes and offerings, with
the manner of presenting them. These things
are important, and will be to the end of the
world ; and while the history of the Church natu
rally deals with spiritual matters, it is no harm
once in one hundred years to consider these ex
ternal affairs which have so much to do with
our higher interests. If the water of life is
precious, the cup in which it is held has a value
not to be despised, and must be kept pure
and unbroken, that the souls of men may be
refreshed. Let me, then, in closing, present a few points
of interest that have occurred to me in this his
toric review : —
1. First, it is an anomaly in ecclesiastical his
tory, so far as I know, that the Society should
have given name to the Church. Our Church
has been called for many years " The Beneficent
Church." The name belongs to us by usage only,
since by right it is that of the Society. My
lamented friend, Professor Diman, once said
to me : " The name of your Church is not the
Beneficent, or at least that name was never
regularly given to it." Of course I had to
admit the fact. In the early records I find the
church spoken of as the Second Congregational
Church, which it really was. It was frequently

220 The Society Charier.
called, however, Presbyterian, as were also
other churches here and in Connecticut, — a
fact which Dr. Hall cites as existing at the time
of his coming here in 1835. Some called it the
" New Light " Church, — a name which was ap
plied to many in the days of Whitefield, who once
preached on this very spot. But these names,
and others since applied, have given place to
the Society name, — " The Beneficent Church."
It is a singular name and a singular origin, but
may stand as an evidence of an undoubted fact,
that the Church and Society have always been
in cordial union. The amicable relations of the
Church and Society are symbolized in this com
mon name ; and while of course the occasion does
not permit me to enter into any discussion of
any pointed conflict of authority between the
two, the history of the Church bears witness to
a friendly and honorable understanding that has
always prevailed between them.
2. The occasion is favorable for paying a trib
ute due to those who, from the beginning to the
end of the century now closed, have served this
Society with marked integrity and self-denial.
Half a million of dollars have passed through
the treasury of this Society, honorably and faith
fully administered, without any adequate com
pensation but the reward of a living service done
for the Lord Jesus Christ. The officers and mem-

The Society Charter. 221
bers of this Society have been men of sterling
worth. From the days of Thomas and William
Jones and Nicholas Cooke, who held high offices in
the State, down to more recent times, the mem
bership of the Society is adorned with names
as deserving of honor as any in Rhode Island.
The names of William C. Snow and Warren S.
Greene and Josiah Chapin and Benjamin White
will never be forgotten in Providence ; while
their reports and handwriting in our records
have left an imperishable memorial. Of the
present members of this Society, who have freely
given their time to difficult duties and mani
fested rare ability in the adjustment of per
plexing affairs, I would gladly speak, were it
not that they would shrink from public mention.
But let it never be said that it is a light matter
that integrity and faithfulness have prevailed in
this Society. These are not poor or common
virtues. They lie at the foundation of character ;
and it is a pleasing commentary on the gospel
preached for so many generations on this spot
that the principal men of this Society have been
men trusted by the community, who have done
their duty faithfully,
" And stood foursquare to all the winds that blew."
3. Another point suggested to me by this view
is the different manner in which the ownership

222 The Society Charter.
of pews is looked upon in the lapse of a century.
In the early days of New England the ownership
of a pew was looked upon as a sort of heirloom
in the family. Men built pews for themselves,
of shape and size suited to their wants. The
pew was a sort of enclosure, high enough to
seem in its way like a fortress, only overlooked
by the tower of the pulpit. I once visited the
old church in Hingham before it was remodelled,
called the Ship, from the quantity of ship tim
ber put in it. The pews were built almost inde
pendently ; and the aisles turned this way and
that to suit the pews. I do not suppose that
anything of the sort prevailed in this house ; but
a trace of it is found in the records, where we
read that some person or persons were given
the right to build pews to occupy the vacant
ground in the gallery. Mr. Buck tells us that
according to the statutes of 1796 and 1799,
pews were real estate out of Boston and per
sonal in the city. He goes on to say, "Pews
have a dignity of their own, and are ranked
among the necessaries of life. So indispensable
is a pew occupied by a debtor or his family
deemed, that the law protects it from attach
ment along with the poor man's Bible and wear
ing apparel and cow and implements of trade."
Burke said, "An Englishman's house is his
castle." To the early New Englander, the pew

The Society Charter. 223
was a sort of castle, and its rights were care
fully guarded. Mr. Buck relates an instance of
a man, who, not wishing to have his pew used
on the Fourth of July, screwed cleats on the in
side of the door, also across the top of the pew,
then floored the top over with boards, and printed
on them a notice forbidding persons to meddle.
When the committee removed the boards, a suit
was brought ; and Chief-Justice Shaw gave the
decision in favor of the pew-owner. People laid
claim to their pews by a sort of inalienable right,
which seemed almost to give them a passport to
a better world. When I lived in Amherst, an
eccentric man advertised his pew in the old
church, describing it as so long and so wide, and
offering to sell his right from the floor all the
way up to heaven. But a great change has
come over the community ; perhaps not in all
respects for the better. The old family pew has
lost its tender associations to a great degree, and
family life and family worship have become less
sacred ; but on the other hand, the common
interest in a church has widened. The shape of
the pew indicates this. Often the doors have
been removed. Sometimes the pews have given
place to chairs. In many churches the free sys
tem is practised, and in all, strangers are invited
and welcomed to the best seats ; while formerly,
as we learn from our old records, they were only

224 The Society Charter.
admitted to benches in the aisles. Sometimes I
have seen the extreme seats in the rear of the
house marked "strangers." On the whole, we
have made an advance in charity, in freedom,
in equality of rights and common interests ; and
whatever may be said about our particular sys
tem of pew-renting, the history of the past affords
striking lessons.
4. Still another point that I wish to speak
of, is the continued existence of the old Con
gregational Society, which held the original
deed and funds of the Church. When in 1785
the Charter was obtained, and the property
given over to the Beneficent Society, it seemed
as if the old Society had come to an end. There
was nothing for it to do but to attend to the
spiritual affairs of the Church. Our fathers had
not yet awakened to the grand charitable move
ments of the present century. If the deacons
still administered the contributions given to
the poor, this seems to have been all that was
left to the old Society, yet its existence was not
wholly forgotten, and by common law it was
recognized that an unchartered Society might
hold property and receive and distribute gifts
with no supervision or inquest of the legal
authorities. But very little was thought of
the old Congregational Society in the early
days, and there was very little for it to do.
Behold the change !

The Society Charter. 225
In 1803 the Rhode Island Home Missionary
Society was founded, and this Church took a
prominent part in it. In 1810 the American
Board was founded, of which Governor Jones
was one of the original members. In 1816 the
American Bible Society was formed ; and follow
ing this came a long succession of ever-increas
ing charities. Since the Children's Home was
founded, in 1835, there has been a constant
increase every year of benevolent enterprises
in all directions. In every one of these the old
Congregational Society has taken an interest.
It is a curious fact, and one of the most striking
contrasts of one hundred years, the change that
has taken place in this respect. The Charter
was given to the Beneficent Society to enable
it to hold funds ; but after one hundred years
there are no funds to hold, while the old Society,
which is the Church, holds important funds,
which have been given for the poor of the
congregation. The old Society receives and
disburses every year a sum not far below
that raised by the Beneficent Society. These
societies have run along in parallel courses in
a way never anticipated. The Annual Report
of the one comes in the spring ; of the other in
the fall. The former is essential to the working
of our home forces ; the latter is no less truly
essential to our spiritual life. There is some
15

226 The Society Charter.
advantage in the separation of these two wings.
Our home expenses are not charities. What we
give for them is for our friends and our children ;
but when this is fulfilled we are called on every
Lord's day to bring an offering for the work of
the Master all over the world. Hundreds of
churches in all lands have shared in these gifts.
Again, I say, it is a curious fact, that the old
unchartered Society is richer than the new.
Nine years ago, when the Beneficent Society
was in debt, the Church was called on for free
offerings; and by a gift of several thousand
dollars in a single day, the debt was cancelled.
While we celebrate to-night the Beneficent
Society, with its Charter, let us not forget the
old unchartered Society, which pours out its
generous streams of blessing. May they both
live and flourish together, — the one preserving
the services of worship here and maintaining
all the outward affairs of the Church in honor
and dignity; and the other ever enlarging its
domain of usefulness, and receiving the blessing
of them " that sow beside all waters." *
5. I will presume upon your patience for but
one other remark. One hundred years ago,
the Church, here formed was worshipping in
a different building, but on the same ground
1 The above was written before the bequest of Henry J.
Steere.

The Society Charter. 227

given by the original donor, in 1744. It is
remarkable that for so great a length of time
the worship of God should be continued in the
same place. There are but two other instances
in the city of longer occupation, — the ground
preserved by the Friends' Meeting-House, and
that of St. John's Church. When this place
was chosen, it was far from the people ; nearly
all then dwelt on the other side. There were
but five dwellings on Westminster Street. The
choice of a place for a meeting-house in the
early times was often curiously made. Some
times even now you will see in an old New
England town a house of worship standing on
a hill, or in some lonely place far from dwell
ings. Mr. Buck tells of a committee appointed
in Massachusetts to select a site for a sanctuary,
who were to choose three centres, — the centre
of territory, the centre of population, the centre
of wealth, — and then the centre of those three
centres. But the choice of this situation, or
rather the gift of the land, has proved a great
blessing to the whole town. Around it have
gathered many churches of all denominations,
as if to be near the dear old mother were a
blessing in itself. I have called attention to
this point, on this occasion, because I wish to
urge the value of long association with a single
spot. Members of the Society, do not give

228 The Society Charter.
up this place of worship, as so many societies in
other cities have done, for more retired loca
tions ! The new chapel and the extension of
our grounds seem to give a guarantee of per
manence. Population may move further away.
New churches will be needed, and are needed
continually in the outskirts, but do not give up
this hallowed ground ! Long may the old
church remain, to bring back tender thoughts
of home and friends to multitudes who occa
sionally visit us, as well as to ourselves and our
children ! And even if business should crowd
away from us all dwelling-houses, here still
let this pleasant sanctuary be opened for daily
or weekly service, and remind men, amid the
struggles and care and labor and temptations of
this world, that there is a God in heaven to re
buke wickedness and to comfort and strengthen
every soul of man that doeth right. "Peace
be within thy walls and prosperity within thy
palaces. For my brethren and companions'
sakes I will now say, Peace be within thee.
..Because of the house of the Lord our God, I
will seek thy good."
Poem by Professor Bancroft.
At the close of the address, the choir sang a festival
anthem by Buck, with taste and expression; and then
Prof. T. Whiting Bancroft of Brown University read

The Society Charier. 229
the following poem, which told in graceful and expres
sive metre the story of the Society, with pen pictures of
the pastors and the original church structure, and closed
with tender and stirring words of counsel. The poem
was as follows : —
BENEFICENCE. — A MEMORIAL.
1785-1885.
The sibyl, kneeling at Apollo's shrine,
Besought the laurel god for length of days ;
And as she humbly sues the power divine,
She does not crave a crown of shining bays,
But years as many as the grains of sand
She holds within her shapely, grasping hand.
Eor length of days she prayed, and nothing more ;
She did not seek for beauty, riches, youth ;
Life's ocean wide, and far the distant shore,
She thought the boon of years enough, forsooth.
Life without youth proved fatal to her peace ;
At last from age itself she sought release.
But the loved mother whom to-day you praise,
The Christian matron, fair Beneficence,
Whose century we sing in humble lays,
The eldest offspring of Benevolence,
She did not seek, low kneeling at the throne,
The sibyl's quest of length of years alone.
She truly must have been of sterner mould,
Who, not content in wid'ning way to tread,
Yearned for the simple narrow path of old,
Nearer the pierced feet and thorned head ;
A purer doctrine and more frequent prayer,
Her earliest sons and daughters made their care.

230 The Society Charter.
An earnest purpose and a constant zeal
Have marked the long procession of the years ;
Unswerving trust, thro' good report or ill,
Guided their course with mingled hopes and fears.
So onward thro' the century they press,
With charity, the bond of perfectness.
Viewing the scenes once humble, now sublime,
Because of those who daily walked with God,
Along the dusty corridor of Time
We would retrace the steps the fathers trod,
With footsteps soft, with reverence profound ;
The places where we tread are holy ground.
To tell the tale of years in brief review
And mark the conduct of the guiding voice,
That never failed to indicate anew
Each course to take, however dark the choice,
'T were best to note the pastors each in turn,
Who caused devotion's vestal flame to burn.
Beneficence has never been a maid
That woos and calls and soon rejects again ;
Her leaders few, but men of higher grade ;
Brief pastorates have never been her bane ;
Deliberate and wise, she 's chosen well,
Servants of growing power who came to dwell.
Benevolence the grandame had a leader
Who bore a widely known New England name,
But Cotton proved a poor religious feeder ;
There were a few who left the old grandame.
The real reason, if you wish to know,
Was simply this, — they cottoned so to Snow.

The Society Charter. 231
Prom snow to cotton is no change of color ;
'T is very clear snow cannot be more blue.
Josiah Cotton was perhaps the duller,
So Joseph Snow was deemed to be more true ;
However, short of Cotton did they go,
And long full fifty years they went with Snow.
The Pastor Snow proved a wise master-builder,
For building houses was his former trade ;
Of simple truth he was no wordy gilder,
Yet he in love a firm foundation laid ;
Strong in the word and ever true in deed,
He ploughed the ground and planted holy seed.
When trouble threatened about Sabbath singing,
As chords melodious frequent discords cause,
The brethren assembled, each one bringing
His own ideas and laying down the laws ;
To curb the singers, and to stop the bother,
At last they condescended to each other.
High on the list stands Pastor Wilson's name,
Whose memory the aged now revere ;
His lips were touched as with seraphic flame,
His listeners seemed God's oracle to hear ;
Intent with voice and pen, his holy zeal
Burned with devotion for the Church's weal.
Before he came he pondered o'er his call,
Surveyed the field, considered the event,
His usefulness endeavored to forestall,
Of the chief men tried to discern the bent ;
His estimation of the leading men
Comes to us bright in sketches of his pen.

232 The Society Charier.
By Thomas Jones, acute, and quick to act,
By Colonel Hoppin, always his best friend,
By Stephen Wardwell, singer, was he backed,
And Joseph Potter firm support did lend ;
Thoughts of the absent sisters turn the scale,
And women's rights at least for once prevail.
Reared amid flowers, his soul was early filled
With images of beauty bright and fair ;
The blossom of the white thorn first instilled
Its lesson of God's goodness, love, and care.
No flower e'er breathed its perfume on the breeze
But filled his soul with fragrant memories.
'T is said that St. Sophia's sacred walls
Are scented with the otto of the rose,
Which, like the daily incense, e'er recalls
The early pious gratitude of those
Who with the mortar beat the perfume rare
To send its sweetness ever on the air.
E'en so the virtues of that holy man
Were color'd by surroundings of his youth ;
Thro' his imagination brightly ran
The images of beauty, goodness, truth.
Where moral beauty led, he held the way
That ever brightens to eternal day.
The name of Doctor Tucker next appears,
Enshrined in fond remembrance to this hour ;
His fervent zeal, unchecked by cautious fears,
Brought great increase to witness to his power.
The Spirit oft accompanied the word,
To manifest the presence of the Lord.

The Society Charter. 233

The next a Boanerges son of thunder,
Good Doctor Cleaveland, vigorous and strong,
Whose preaching seemed to be a constant wonder,
Pilling the galleries with eager throng.
During the war, when others sought release,
He preached for prayer and powder, not for peace.
The thunder o'er, there came a son of love,
To pour the oil of kindness on the waves ;
In temper ever gentle as the dove,
His healing balm the growing discord laves.
His tongue e'er uttered words of loving peace,
In tones whose pleasing echoes do not cease.
A name I need not mention ends the line,
Long may it be before the line shall end ;
A faithful, earnest, eloquent divine,
To parish, city, State, endeared as friend.
Long may he live, and long retain the place
He so adorns with literary grace.
This house of worship had a predecessor '
Which must have been a rather curious pile ;
Of architectural rules 't was no transgressor,
As it was planned in innocence of style.
No pattern e'er descended from the mount ;
They built and altered on their own account.
The building first was thirty-six by forty,
Designed and supervised by Pastor Snow.
The brethren then were neither proud nor haughty ;
They felled the timbers, as the records show.
They did the work ; no helpers did they hire ;
They summoned to their aid no King of Tyre.

234 The Society Charter.
They changed it first by putting in a piece ;
And when they saw that thus far it was good,
Then to the rear they put a new increase,
Then dug away the hill on which it stood.
This novel way to make a structure higher
Added a dozen feet to the old spire.
So they built in and out, and then built up,
Or, to be more exact, they builded under ;
And still they grew, o'er brimming was their cup ;
They did not dare again to saw asunder ;
So, doubtless to the credit of the town,
They made just one more change, — they tore it down.
To fill its place this present edifice,
Grandly surmounted by its ample dome,
Thro' many scenes of changing woe and bliss,
For five and seventy years has been your home ;
Its very walk pure, hallowed thoughts invest,
That glow like dying sunbeams in the west.
The Steere Memorial Chapel claims a place
Of special mention in these simple lines,
As, beautified with architectural grace,
Conspicuous the filial tribute shines.
God bless the donor ! precious be the health
Of him who makes a Christian use of wealth !
But I must pause, nor let my straying fingers
Wander still longer over history's strings ;
And yet a little while the memory lingers
Just to impress the lessons that she brings.
The sacred past doth never yield its story
Without creating impulses for good ;
With each review there comes increasing glory
To gild the places where the fathers stood.

The Society Charter. 235

Where'er we turn we find the plans and trials
Which have become our regular employ ;
Again we note the cheerful self-denials
Which brought the blessings that we now enjoy.
Their losses are our gain, and we are learning
To gather wisdom e'en from their mistakes ;
And by their earlier marches watch the turning
Where shades grow lighter, till the morning breaks.
So let us, then, with hope resume our journey,
While, reassured, no more the spirit faints ;
And, pressing forward entering the tourney,
Eight for the faith delivered to the saints.
As we go forth, the fields are ever newer,
And we must fight until we 're summoned hence ;
But each advance may make us still the truer,
In worship, doctrine, and beneficence.
The chorus, " The God of Israel," by Rossini, was then
sung, its spirited and tuneful passages meeting with an
artistic and harmonious interpretation ; and then Rev.
Dr. Clapp made one of his inimitable addresses, pregnant
with keen humor and earnest counsel. He defended the
Society organization, believing that the spiritual and
temporal affairs of the Church and Society could be con
ducted separately with the highest advantage to both.
There were many evidences of God's interposition in
behalf of the Society, and the present system has proven
that it is wise and beneficial. He impressed upon the
Society the importance of keeping out of debt ; to save
the church in its present form, it being unexcelled in
location and acoustic properties; to preserve the dome
at all hazards, even if the church was torn down, and

236 The Society Charter.
also preserve the forest of timbers supporting it ; and
lastly to save the present pastor, whose service had been
faithful, devoted, and successful. The reverend gentle
man held the undivided attention of the audience, de
spite the lateness of the hour, and his remarks formed a
felicitous and memorable feature of the service. Hymn
No. 125 was then sung by the choir and congregation ;
and the centenary observance came to a close with the
benediction by Dr. Clapp. The musical entertainment
was worthy of high commendation, the choir displaying
thorough training and an intelligent conception of the
compositions, which were admirably adapted to the occa
sion, while the instrumental accompaniments gave pleas
ing evidence of Mr. Tingley's skill and proficiency. The
arrangements were intrusted to a competent and faith
ful committee; and the success of the occasion in the
minutest detail must be largely attributed to their execu
tive ability and good judgment.

THE END.

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