Exercises in Commemoration 
 
 -OF THE- 
 
 CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 
 
 — OF THE — 
 
 First Congregational Chureh, 
 
 OF WESTMORELAND, N. Y., 
 
 Tuesday, September 20th, 1892. 
 
 CLINTON, N. Y., 
 
 J. B. & H. B. SYKES, PRINTERS, 
 1893. 
 
3.2.1,93 
 
 
 *H 
 
 PRINCETON, N. J. 
 
 * 
 
 Presented by Rev. L. A. Sawyer 
 
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 Division 
 
 BXll SO 
 
 Section .•VV..G.3 V" 
 
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Exercises in Commemoration 
 
 OF THE 
 
 CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 
 
 -OF THE — 
 
 7 irst Congregational Church, 
 
 OF WESTMORELAND, N. Y., 
 
 Tuesday, September 20th, 1892, 
 
 CLINTON, N. Y., 
 
 J. B. & H. B. SYKES, PRINTERS, 
 1893- 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 Programme. 
 
 Morning Service, 10 o'clock. 
 
 Deacon James W. Manktelow, Moderator. 
 
 Singing. 
 
 Invocation. 
 
 Scripture Lesson, Prayer, 
 Address of Welcome, 
 Response, 
 
 "Church of the Future," 
 Benediction, 
 
 Singing. 
 Singing. 
 
 Rev. Samuel Manning. 
 Pastor, Rev. W. C. Jones. 
 Rev. C. C. Johnson, 
 East Bloomfield. N. Y. 
 
 Rev. Samuel Miller, 
 Deansville, N. Y. 
 
 Rev. F. B. Stanford, 
 Westmoreland. X. Y. 
 
 Afternoon Service, 1:30 o'clock 
 Singing. 
 Reading Scripture, and Prayer, 
 
 Church History. 
 
 Rev. O. A. Kingsbury, 
 New Hartford, N. Y. 
 Edward Loomis, M. D. 
 Oneida. N. Y. 
 
 Prayer. 
 Singing, Hymn 475. 
 Centennial Poem, - Thomas E. McEntee. 
 
 Letters from the Absent, Read by James Bell, 
 
 Secretary. 
 Addresses, Deacon J. S. Bliss, Rev. L. A. Sawyer, Rev. C. W. Hawley, 
 
 Rev. P. S. Pratt, and others. 
 Address, - - - M. E. Dunham, D. D. 
 
 Singing. 
 Benediction. 
 
 Praise Service. 
 
 Evening Service, 7 o'clock. 
 
 Addresses. 
 Address — Unwritten History, 
 Singing — "Blessed be the Tie that Binds." 
 
 Benediction. 
 
 Led by H. M. Dixon, 
 Smyrna, N. Y. 
 
 - Rev. Ethan Curtis. 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 Address of Welcome. 
 
 BY THE PASTOR, WM. CERDYNOG JONES, PH. D. 
 
 Fclloiv Christians: — In the name of this church and society 
 I extend to all pastors, delegates and friends a hearty wel- 
 come to our midst; a hearty welcome to assist us in our 
 centennial anniversary; and a hearty welcome to our homes 
 and tables. 
 
 Very few churches live to see one hundred years in the 
 same place where they were organized. It has fallen unto 
 the lot of this church to receive this blessing. Although 
 apparently old, yet young, having all the vigor of youth at 
 the close of its one hundredth year. 
 
 We stand to-day on the verge of two centuries; one dies, 
 another is born. We know from history what has been the 
 destiny of the one that passes by. What of the new one, 
 the child that is born to-day? It needs more than a poet of 
 humanity to reveal its future career. When this church was 
 organized fifteen noble men and women came forward to 
 consecrate their lives for good in this community. In this 
 it has not been in vain. The small seed of organization has 
 grown and has been of greater influence than we are able to 
 comprehend. This church, like many others of its age, has 
 had its share of influence in moulding the life and character 
 of this nation. That influence may be very small in compar- 
 ison with larger organizations. However small it may have 
 been in its beginnings it has gone on progressing and in- 
 creasing in power. Its influence has been felt far and near, 
 in foreign lands, the isles of the sea, as well as at home. 
 Preachers, teachers, deacons and laymen have gone from 
 here, carrying with them the precious truths of the gospel. 
 
 The few that organized this society were staunch believers 
 in the old puritan faith and in purity of life. Moving into 
 this place when it was almost a solitary wilderness; sur- 
 
4 WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 rounded by hardships and discouragements unimagined by 
 us, yet hardships and discouragements did not quench 
 their zeal for worship. Sabbath after Sabbath families con- 
 gregated together, those at a far distance either walked or 
 came with ox teams. For seven years they worshipped in 
 dwelling houses, when this edifice was built. A few years 
 afterward this church entered upon its records a pledge of 
 total abstinence "from all strong drink," which was a very 
 bold act in those days. At the very outset this church had a 
 ring of aggressiveness and it has not diminished even to this 
 day. Truly it has been "tried in the fire" at various times. 
 Yet it has had its time of refreshing in its most precious re- 
 vivals, and to-day we, who are members of this church, can 
 say that "everything worketh together for good." At pres- 
 ent this church is in good spiritual condition, harmonious, 
 in good working order, and greatly encouraged. During 
 every communion season this year, accessions have been 
 made, and others are waiting. 
 
 This church has been an eye-witness of rapid strides that 
 have been made in various ways. What Christian civ- 
 ilization has done for the world within the last one hundred 
 years I can barely suggest to you to-day. When we think 
 of navigation, and the printing press, the steam engine and 
 railroad, the telegraph and phonograph, the telephone and 
 typewriter, and causing electricity to be such a common 
 servant. Think of the growth of this nation and the world's 
 increase in power and knowledge. Think of the many in- 
 stitutions of learning which offer schooling to every child 
 in the land. Think of church missions which one hundred 
 years ago had scarcely begun to be, now almost encircling 
 the earth with schools and churches. Think of the univers- 
 al abolition of slavery, and what has been done by means of 
 arbitration to bring nations together. Think of the many 
 hospitals, asylums and other various philanthropies to abate 
 suffering, and to help the needy. Think of the church to- 
 day, with its millions of pious men and women that are ag- 
 gressive in church and Sunday School work. Think of the 
 Y. P. S. C. E. and the Epworth League with their thousands 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 5 
 
 of young people, full of life and vigor, working for Christ 
 and the church. Think of the most precious revivals and 
 the thousands of Christian churches imbued with God's di- 
 vine spirit. Statisticians tell us there are more Christians 
 to-day in America than there were in the whole world one 
 hundred years ago. We may ask, what has this to do with 
 this church? As well may we ask, what have atoms to do 
 with mountains, or drops of water with the ocean? We see 
 the possibility of a mountain in atoms, or an ocean in drops 
 of water. So every church that was organized one hundred 
 years ago, however small the influence, it has helped the 
 swelling tide of our present civilization. 
 
 As a church we have good reasons to be proud of our or- 
 ganization. Yet with reverence and humility we bow before 
 Him whose power is greater than the mountain, of longer 
 duration than the universe, of serener beauty than the stars, 
 more exquisite than the flower. In mystery deeper than 
 the seas. In subtlety higher than the heavens. He has led 
 this church by ways unknown then to our fathers, now vis- 
 ible to us. The germs of fitness for their future were 
 placed here by God, and then, on their mission of develop- 
 ment. 
 
 This church has had most noble men as pastors. Some 
 of great intellect and learning, who, by the power of their 
 consecrated lives and teachings, have helped to mould the 
 spiritual condition of this town. Those who have passed 
 away, we cherish their memory; and you, who are present, 
 and the absent ones, in the name of our Master we greet 
 you as true servants of God. With you to-day there are 
 also present those who have been deacons and lay members 
 of this church. You glance to the past and recall trying as 
 well as joyous times. You may try and reproduce some 
 scenes. Imagine faces of friends who worshipped with you 
 here, now gone home. The sermons that thrilled you with 
 joy, the prayers that lifted you to heaven. We say "they 
 are no more." Yet they are realities to you; they are vivid 
 this moment, and are the spiritual mile stones of your life. 
 
 May we praise God for this grand privilege of uniting 
 
6 WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 thus together in this Centennial Anniversary of this Church. 
 May it during the coming century be the means to win 
 many souls to Christ and these walls again echo "the glad 
 tidings of great joy." 
 
 Again I extend to all a hearty welcome. 
 
 Response. 
 
 BY REV. C. C. JOHNSON, OF EAST BLOOMFIELD, N. Y. 
 
 Mr. Johnson in the course of his remarks said it afforded 
 the visitors great pleasure to receive such a hearty welcome. 
 As we look back to 1792 we may also look to 1492 and see 
 what the world has done in that time. But we are to-day 
 principally concerned in the last century. To many of us 
 it has been a pleasure to preach from this pulpit. Mr. John- 
 son recalled some reminiscences in connection with the 
 church. Continuing he said, we belong to the churches as 
 well as to any particular church. I hope the thought of the 
 value of the Christian church in the community will come 
 to the front to-day. 
 
 Suppose there had been no church here, who would have 
 wished to live here, who would have wished to invest in 
 real estate here and build up the town? The church stands 
 for Christian religion. Our Lord established principles 
 that should live after his death, and the church has taken 
 them up. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit the church 
 has done its work. 
 
 What is it that forms public opinion? The press does not 
 make public opinion, it only reflects it. The platform is not 
 the mould. It is the church which is the foundation. The 
 strong outlines of Christianity mould public opinion. With 
 the church goes the school. When our forefathers settled 
 beyond the Mohawk, beyond Fort Stanwix, they built the 
 schools simultaneously with the church. The school is still 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. "J 
 
 a powerful factor in shaping the deeds of future genera- 
 tions. The church influences young men to seek higher 
 education. The whole force and backbone of temperance 
 reform lies in the teachings of the Christian church. The 
 church is the great promoter of the temperance cause. 
 When its influences are felt, every form of vice and sin 
 suffers. 
 
 The church of Christ does a good work upon men who 
 are not Christians, who are not church members, but who 
 are honest men and take pride in their honesty. But they 
 get that very honesty from church influences. The church 
 also has an effect upon values — commercial values. Even 
 the assessable property is of value because there is a Chris- 
 tian church somewhere influencing public opinion. 
 
 Only when the church does its work and shows its vital- 
 ity do things assume their true value. The church has pre- 
 served the observance of the Sabbath. If the Christian 
 Sabbath be abolished the Christian religion must go with it. 
 The church stands for asylums, hospitals and all the ap- 
 pliances for mitigating suffering. 
 
 The church which has no attention for missions will die 
 of the dry rot. Let the church be true to the missions. If 
 it were not for the church how small would be our hope of 
 heaven! 
 
 It is a matter of congratulation that this church in West- 
 moreland has sent out into the world men who have done 
 much for the good of the world and the cause of Christian- 
 ity. 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 History of the Church. 
 
 BY DR. EDWARD LOOMIS. 
 
 [The original settlers of this town were professedly pious 
 people and we naturally infer that they would not be long 
 without the means of grace. Accordingly, it is found that 
 even before the organization of the church, the preaching 
 of the gospel had been established. The Rev. Mr. Bingham 
 is represented as the first preacher who devoted his efforts 
 to the white population on this ground. He was followed 
 by the Rev. William Bradford, whose labors resulted in the 
 organization of this church. Probably they were both sent 
 out by the Connecticut Missionary Society. The original 
 book of records shows that the society for the maintenance 
 of the ordinances of the gospel was organized by the adop- 
 tion of a solemn covenant, involving pecuniary liabilities, on 
 the 5th of September, 1 791 . This covenant was subscribed 
 by fifty-five names. On the 28th of January, 1792, the so- 
 ciety met for the election of trustees, which resulted in the 
 choice of Josiah Stillman, Isaac Jones, John Blair, Stephen 
 Brigham, Samuel Collins, Silas Phelps and George Langford. 
 On the 17th of January, 1793, this constitutional covenant 
 was annulled and a new one adopted in its place. This new 
 covenant was subscribed by eighty-one names, among which 
 is the name of Simeon Fillmore, an uncle of the president 
 of the United States. It is said also that his brother, the 
 father of the president, was residing here at the time as a 
 hired man in the employ of Esq. Parkman.] 
 
 It was currently reported among the early settlers of the 
 town that the name Westmoreland was adopted as a compli- 
 ment to General Washington, whose home was in West- 
 moreland Co., Va., and who, with Governor George Clinton, 
 owned large tracts of land in the town, on one of which a 
 part of the village of Hampton is located. This town is 
 geographically the central town in the county. The large 
 majority of the early settlers of the town were from Massa- 
 chusetts and Connecticut, and consequently of fixed and 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 high religious principles, and of healthy and vigorous con- 
 stitutions, as was also evident from the fact that, notwith- 
 standing the hardships consequent upon the settlement of a 
 new, heavy timbered country, of twenty persons who moved 
 in during the first five years all but one lived to be more 
 than seventy-six years old. Some lived to be eighty-one; 
 several of them more than ninety; and one to be one hun- 
 dred and one. The writer remembers well, when a boy, 
 being carried more than four miles by his father to see the 
 latter during the last year of his life. 
 
 There were a number of revolutionary soldiers in the town, 
 and they were generally among the most active and re- 
 spected citizens, as was demonstrated through the action of 
 the first pension law, which gave pensions only to poor and 
 needy soldiers, and of the whole number in town only one 
 received a pension, and he was an excommunicated member 
 of the Congregational Church on the ground of intemper- 
 ance, which at the same time brought him within reach of 
 this strange law. 
 
 One of these old soldiers who had served during the war 
 told me that the handsomest sight he ever witnessed was 
 when he saw General Burgoyne surrender his sword. 
 
 Judge Deane was the first settler in town, which settle- 
 ment occurred in 1786. He was of New England birth, and 
 was destined by his parents for missionary work among the 
 Indians; and to this end was early in life adopted by an 
 Indian woman of the Oneida tribe, and had his education in 
 this connection, and learned to talk their language perfect- 
 ly. 
 
 Under these circumstances he was appointed by the gov- 
 ernment, earl)- in the' Revolutionary War, with the rank of 
 Major, to act among the Indians, where he performed im- 
 portant duties in the interest of both parties. 
 
 At the end of the war the Indians, with the approval of 
 the Government, proposed to make him a present of two 
 miles square of land, to locate which he went first to the 
 border of Wood Creek, but the land proved low and wet 
 and he was not satisfied; the Indians told him to go down 
 
10 WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 Wood Creek until he came to the Mohawk, and then go 
 down the Mohawk until he came to Oriskany (Nettle 
 Creek); then up Oriskany until he came to what is now 
 called Deane's Creek; then up Deane's Creek until he came 
 to the high falls; there find good land. This brought him 
 to Westmoreland, and here he became the owner of what 
 was called Deane's Patent. 
 
 He became an active and prominent citizen, holding im- 
 portant positions, both in town and county, and was early 
 an active member of the Congregational Church. I well re- 
 member, when a lad, sitting in the old square pews of the 
 church, of having a great admiration for him when on Sun 
 day mornings I used to see him walk into church. He is 
 among the first settlers who have descendants yet living in 
 town. 
 
 On the 20th day of September, 1792, probably at the 
 house of Deacon Nathaniel Townsend, fifteen persons, with 
 the first Deacon Halbert at their head, after adopting and 
 signing a covenant and confession of faith and the Congre- 
 gational rules of church government, were pronounced by 
 the Rev. William Bradford (probably a missionary) "a 
 church of Christ," under the name of the First Congrega- 
 tional Church of Westmoreland. Three days after the num- 
 ber was increased by the addition of fifteen more names. 
 
 This was six years before the County of Oneida was or- 
 ganized, and several months previous to the organization of 
 the town of Westmoreland, being the fourth church organ- 
 ized in the county. There was no other church in this town 
 except a class of Methodist Episcopals which was formed 
 about 1796, until March 17, 1803, when a Baptist Church 
 was organized at Lairdsville, which has long since become 
 extinct. 
 
 It is not difficult for any one familiar with the early set- 
 tlers of this town to realize upon reading the list of names 
 of those who at this day lifted the banner of the cross and 
 rallied around it, that they contributed largely to the ele- 
 ment that moulded the high moral character of the people, 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. II 
 
 a blessing which few present have not part in. And who 
 can contemplate this sturdy earnestness except with feelings 
 of inexpressible thankfulness? 
 
 On the 19th of October, 1792, Thomas Halbert was chosen 
 moderator, Nehemiah Jones, scribe, and at the same meet- 
 ing they, with Alexander Parkman, were chosen a commit- 
 tee to have charge of the meetings on the Sabbath. 
 
 On May 2nd, 1793, it was voted to give William Joel 
 Bradley a call to settle in the orders of the Gospel, if after 
 conversation there was an agreement of sentiment. 
 
 At a council, duly called, consisting of Rev. Elders Ame R. 
 Robbins, Samuel Kirkland and Dan Bradley, with delegates 
 from the churches at Clinton, Paris and Whitestown, who 
 had previously examined Mr. Bradley at the house of 
 Deacon Nathaniel Townsend, on the 17th day of July, 1793, 
 the Rev. William J. Bradley was solemnly ordained by 
 prayer and the imposition of hands, and the pastoral charge 
 of the church and society in Westmoreland committed to 
 him. 
 
 On the 2nd day of April, 1800, Mr. Bradley, having pre- 
 viously tendered his resignation as pastor of the church, on 
 the ground of embarrassments growing out of the agitation 
 of the question of a site for a church building in contem- 
 plation, was by a council mutually called, and with the re- 
 luctant consent of the church, discharged. 
 
 During this period of seven years, although they had no 
 place for public worship except in private houses and in 
 different parts of the town, yet it is apparent that there was 
 a quiet, yet steady growth. On the 10th day of October, 
 1793, Thomas Halbert and Nathaniel Townsend were elect- 
 ed deacons. During this time Mr. Bradley had buried his 
 wife and for quite a period was a lay member of the church. 
 
 In January, 1800, there was an association formed of the 
 Congregational Churches of Oneida County, with which this 
 church united by special vote in the April following. This 
 relation continued until April, 1819, at which time it united 
 with the Oneida Presbytery, on the plan adopted by the 
 
12 WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 General Assembly and the Association of Connecticut. 
 This plan made it the duty of the church to elect a standing 
 committee of government, leaving each member to decide 
 whether they would be amenable to the committee or the 
 church. This caused a large amount of confusion and dif- 
 ficulty and the church, at its own request, was dismissed in 
 June, 1839, and has remained to the present an independent 
 Congregational body. 
 
 Various expedients were resorted to to settle the question 
 of the location of the church building; all failing, each party 
 at about the same time proceeded to build, but the church 
 providentially harmonizing so as to alternate the meetings 
 between the churches; in 1803 tne difficulty was adjusted by 
 the sale of the south church to the Methodists, the avails 
 being used in finishing the Hampton Church. 
 
 This church was built near the centre of the village green, 
 without porch or steeple. It had doors opening on both 
 sides, with broad aisles crossing in the body of the church, 
 dividing the square pews into blocks. These pews had 
 seats on three sides, with a door on the fourth opening into 
 the aisle, and were sold at private sale to individuals and 
 permanent written titles given, which became the cause of 
 serious difficulty on change in the style of seats. There 
 were high galleries on the sides, with a high pulpit on one 
 end; the choir in the gallery opposite, led by the wide- 
 awake choristers, and kept in harmony by the ever present 
 tuning fork. The congregation stood in prayer, also in 
 singing, turning their faces to the choir, a custom always 
 confusing and awkward; a custom however which the Rev. 
 Mr. Spencer failed to correct by a sermon preached in his 
 day entitled, "Little Things." 
 
 Probably about 1 820 the church was removed to where it 
 now stands, and the porch, steeple and bell added. Since 
 that time it has undergone two important repairs, bringing it 
 to its now very pleasant condition. There was never any 
 attempt to warm the house until the time of the first of these 
 repairs,|and then by a single wood stove, called a Russian stove, 
 which always seemed to be appropriately named, provided 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. I 3 
 
 it was expected to bring the Russian climate with it. 
 Four years after the dismissal of Mr. Bradley, years cer- 
 tainly of fair prosperity, there being preaching most of the 
 time by temporary supplies, they gave Rev. James Eells, 
 from Connecticut, a unanimous call, and he was ordained 
 pastor by a council duly called on the 12th day of July, 
 1804, and remained as such until 1825, full twenty-one years. 
 A funeral sermon was preached by the Rev. L. A. Sawyer, 
 then pastor of the church, and resolutions on the report of 
 his death, Jan. 14, 1856. Two of his sons became ministers 
 of the Gospel. John Bears was elected deacon during his 
 ministry; the date is not given. Mr. Eells was not especial- 
 ly noted for pulpit eloquence, but for pulpit ideas he was. 
 He was a true-hearted, faithful man, with one controlling 
 rule of action in his public life, and that was to truly fulfill 
 his pastoral duties. His ministry existed through all my 
 boyhood, and, although he lived two miles from my home, 
 we had few neighbors more familiar at our house than he 
 was, and boy as I was, I formed a veneration and respect 
 for him that has never been exceeded in all my minister- 
 ial acquaintances. He used to drill the four boys of us in 
 the family in the catechism. 
 
 He was of course a Calvinist, as was demonstrated in the 
 funeral sermon he preached to a large congregation, and 
 which I well remember listening to, on the occasion of the 
 tragic death of John Parkman, from the text found in I Kings 
 22-34, "And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and 
 smote the King of Israel between the joints of the harness." 
 It was a general remark that young Smith would hardly 
 need any better defence. 
 
 During his ministry, Feb. 25, 1818, under the joint super- 
 vision of William Newcomb and Reuben Bettes, there was a 
 a Sabbath School formed, but it would not seem to have 
 been formally under the direction of the church until 1834, 
 when, by the agency of a special committee, it was 
 duly organized by the appointment of Rufus Pratt superin- 
 tendent, with a board of managers. Up to this time the 
 exercises of the school consisted in the hearing of recita- 
 
14 WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 tions of portions of the Scripture committed to memory. 
 The school has been a valuable agency in the church from 
 that day to this, and is now thoroughly organized with 
 James Bell its last superintendent. 
 
 Probably rather late in Mr. Eells' ministry there was a 
 very strong total abstinence pledge adopted by the church, 
 from the use of ardent spirits, and made a part of its cove- 
 nant. This fact suggests some very interesting thoughts 
 upon this question. Up to about this time of the common 
 and free use of intoxicating drinks, anything short of down- 
 right and habitual intoxication was not regarded as an im- 
 morality, and the church was not an exception to this rule. 
 At that day it was not an uncommon thing for members of 
 the church to own and keep hotels, selling liquors there, 
 and at other places of business, whilst to-day there are few 
 churches in the land that anyone can sustain a fair standing 
 in who even drinks liquor, however moderately. What a 
 change! Let us thank God, and take courage. 
 
 The first contribution of the church to foreign missions 
 was made on the 20th day of June, 1820. It was twenty-one 
 dollars. To-day its Sabbath School will do better than that 
 every year. But the church generally was asleep upon this 
 great question. 
 
 In those days we used to call our ministers priests. It 
 was Priest Eells, Priest Gillett, noted for his short sermons, 
 Priest Froast, noted for his able sermons, Priest Weeks, 
 noted for his Calvinistic sermons, and Priest Brainard, noted 
 for his singing sermons, constituting a large part of a circle 
 of ministers we used to hear more or less every year. 
 
 Nov. 1, 1822, Thomas Halbert was elected deacon to fill 
 a vacancy occasioned by the death of his father. 
 
 It would seem that sometime during the latter part of the 
 year 1824, Mr. Eells notified the church that as soon as they 
 united upon some other person for pastor, he wished to re- 
 tire. From that time the Rev. Abijah Crane spent his time 
 with the church, until the 7th day of January, 1825, when 
 they gave him a unanimous call to become their pastor, and 
 soon after the release of Mr. Eells and the installation of 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. I 5 
 
 Mr. Crane was consummated by a meeting of the Oneida 
 Presbytery with the church. Mr. Crane's ministry was 
 eminently a successful one, although the question of church 
 government, with some very troublesome cases of church 
 discipline, with quite a serious agitation on the subject of 
 Free Masonry, of which order he was a member, occurred; 
 yet hardly a sacramental season passed in which members 
 were not received into the church. On one of these occa- 
 sions, June 2, 183 1, fifty-one persons were received. 
 
 On the 3rd day of March, 1832, the church elected Asaph 
 Seymour, Warren Kellogg, and Lemuel L. Chester, M. D., 
 deacons. It is presumed that Deacons Townsend and 
 Bears, for some reason not stated, had ceased to act. Mr. 
 Seymour soon after removed to Utica. 
 
 At a meeting held in the meeting-house on the 3rd day 
 of April, 1832, for the purpose of incorporating the society, 
 Eliphalet Bailey and Benjamin Buell were duly elected, by 
 the members present, to preside at the election, receive 
 votes of the electors, and return the names of the persons 
 who shall be duly elected to serve as trustees of the society. 
 Thomas Halbert, Eliphalet Bailey, Reuben Rose, William 
 Newcomb, Erastus W. Clark, Benjamin Buell, Erastus 
 Loomis, Parker Halleck, and George Langford were elected 
 trustees. The following resolution was also adopted: "Re- 
 solved, That the name or title by which this society shall 
 forever be known shall be the First Congregational Society 
 of Westmoreland." 
 
 Sometime about July, 1832, Mr. Crane was dismissed by 
 Oneida Presbytery, at his own request, after seven years of 
 service, the church, by a special committee signifying their 
 entire satisfaction with him. 
 
 The first parsonage, now standing on the south side of the 
 street leading east, was built at the time Mr. Crane com- 
 menced his work, on land which had formerly been a part 
 of Mr. Eells' farm and was, in its day, a beautiful residence. 
 
 On the 3rd day of July, 1833, Edward Fairchild was in- 
 stalled pastor by a committee of Oneida Presbytery. 
 
 At this date it is noticeable that the temperance question 
 
1 6 WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 was prominent, in both the Presbytery and in the church, 
 but in both cases in the use of ardent spirits only. 
 
 On May 4th, 1834, thirty-two persons were received into 
 the church. On July 3rd, 1835, the committee to provide 
 wine for the communion were directed in the future "to 
 procure such as is made from raisins, without fermenta- 
 tion;" and in September of the same year there was adopted 
 "a pledge of total abstinence from everything as a drink 
 that contains alcohol or that can intoxicate," and a large 
 committee appointed to present it for signatures to all the 
 members of the church. 
 
 In the midst of a protracted meeting, of great interest, 
 under the charge of Rev. John Ingersoll, in February, 1836, 
 in consequence of very serious reports touching the moral 
 character of Mr. Fairchild, he, thinking best not to meet 
 them, for reasons not given, severed, by leaving the place, 
 his relation with the church, and never returned. The Pres- 
 bytery expelled him, but afterwards the Synod reinstated 
 him; his family joining him in due time. The meetings 
 were in no way interrupted, Mr. Ingersoll assuming the 
 entire control, and on the 26th of the same month there 
 were added to the church, on profession of faith, about thirty 
 members. About the same time new, and considerably 
 modified, articles of faith were adopted. 
 
 Mr. Ingersoll continued for about two years to occupy 
 the pulpit as stated supply. He was an able and attractive 
 preacher; his audience never tiring on the account of long 
 sermons, to which he was not a little liable. His forte was 
 doubtless as an evangelist. Few men read character with 
 the accuracy that he did. When he came here he was a 
 widower with, I think, two sons and one daughter. Soon 
 after he married into a prominent family in Manlius, Onon- 
 daga County. He stayed this year out and removed his 
 family to Ohio. He was the father of Colonel Ingersoll, 
 and I am not without the hope that the Colonel will yet 
 preach the Gospel. It was during his ministry that the 
 church was called upon to meet that wide-spread craze of 
 perfectionism, which it did effectually. This was a theory 
 
\\ ESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. \J 
 
 that Christ was in its subjects in such a way that they could 
 not sin; which constituted a fundamental principle in 
 Oneida Communism, where it was permitted to thoroughly 
 and nauseatingly expend itself. During the time Mr. In- 
 gersoll was with the church the subject of slavery was ser- 
 iously agitated, resulting in its condemnation without any 
 per se proviso. 
 
 In the spring of 1838, Rev. Nathaniel Hurd commenced 
 his ministry as stated supply and continued his labors about 
 three years, during which time the church tendered him a 
 call to become their pastor, which, however, was never ac- 
 cepted. He was an able, faithful minister, whom the church 
 appreciated. Nov. 1st, 1839, Amasa Pratt and Bushnell 
 Bishop were elected deacons. It was during Mr. Hurd's 
 ministry that the church withdrew from the Presbytery. 
 In the year 1840 the church contributed to foreign missions 
 $92.21. 
 
 In the year 1841, Rev. F. A. Spencer commenced his la- 
 bors as stated supply, and was soon after ordained by the 
 Oneida Presbytery and elected standing moderator of the 
 church. He was a native of the town of Verona, and a 
 graduate of Oneida Institute, having received his ecclesiastic- 
 al training at Union College. He was installed pastor in Sep- 
 tember, 1850, by a council of ministers called for that pur- 
 pose. He buried his wife, who was a charming woman, a 
 year previous. Afterwards he was married to Elizabeth 
 King, a member of the church, in public on the occasion of 
 his installation. He was full twelve years pastor; years of 
 fair and quiet prosperity; being dismissed at his own re- 
 quest, by a council called for that purpose, on the 27th day 
 of May, 1853. There were at that time 183 members. He 
 died at Clinton a few years since, and was buried by the side 
 of his wife in Union Cemetery. He was a man of great en- 
 ergy of character, devoted to the right, frank and earnest 
 in its defence. He always occupied a front rank in all 
 moral movements of the day, and was not afraid to take 
 them into the pulpit. He believed in Bible total abstinence 
 
1 8 WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 and did stalwart work in its defence. No moderate or tem- 
 perate use of wine for him. 
 
 For the next two years Rev. John Barton, of Clinton, was 
 employed; coming over and preaching on the Sabbath, and 
 on other occasions, when called for. 
 
 Early in January, 1855, Rev. L. A. Sawyer, a member of 
 the Oneida Association, was ordained pastor of the church 
 by that body. He, by his own request, was received into 
 the church as a member; and, in due time, received a letter 
 to a Congregational Church in Boston. Mr. Sawyer's pul- 
 pit qualifications were of a high order. He was a scholar, 
 and of a studious turn of mind, and was considerably en- 
 gaged in literary pursuits. During his pastorate the church 
 united with the Oneida Association. September 11, 1858, 
 after a little more than three years of service, he tendered 
 his resignation and the church, after passing resolutions of 
 regret and confidence, joined him in applying to the Asso- 
 ciation for his dismissal, and now, at eighty-five years of age, 
 he is quietly living in Whitesboro. 
 
 Number of members in communion, January 31, 1858, 160. 
 
 Rev. Jeremiah Petrie associated with the church as pastor 
 early in the year 1859. He was pastor full three years, and 
 as such was faithful and true; closing his services quite 
 early in 1863. He moved to Herkimer County, and, event- 
 ually to Pompey Hill, Onondaga County, where he has been 
 doing good service in the cause of the Master. 
 
 The church voted in February, 1863, that the pastor or 
 stated supply, should have his faith and ecclesiastical con- 
 nection in harmony with the Congregational system. In 
 November, 1861, Sheldon W. Stoddard was ordained deacon 
 in place of Deacon Pratt. 
 
 The Rev. M. E. Dunham now occupied the position of 
 pastor, commencing about June, 1863, and closing not far 
 from May 1st, 1867, about four years of satisfactory and 
 successful work. The next year after he entered upon his 
 duties, the Sabbath School effected a regular business or- 
 ganization, which has continued to be an agency of much 
 good, and in which he took an active part as a teacher also. 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 19 
 
 The school since that period has annually raised consider- 
 able sums of money, at one time putting in a new library 
 at an expense of two hundred dollars. Sending to Har- 
 poot, Eastern Turkey, at one time, one hundred and forty 
 dollars. Number of scholars aggregating one year two hun- 
 dred and sixty-four. Mr. Dunham is now a pastor in Utica. 
 
 Rev. James Ueane now, after a few months, became the 
 pastor, and after more than eleven years of faithful service, 
 preached his farewell sermon on the 22nd day of December, 
 1878. He was both a member of the Association and of 
 the church. He received a letter of dismissal to the church 
 in Phoenix, Oswego County. During Mr. Deane's pastorate 
 the church was very prosperous. In the year 1875, a very 
 earnest revival occurred, in the conduct of which he was 
 assisted by the Rev. Mr. Jones, an evangelist. Over thirty 
 persons united with the church during its continuance and 
 a communion service seldom passed during the remaining 
 three years of his ministry in which there were not admis- 
 sions to the church. A very earnest missionary spirit was 
 also developed during the latter part of his ministry. Mr. 
 Deane was a grandson of Judge James Deane. His father 
 was the first white male child born in the town. His pas- 
 torate was a very satisfactory and successful one. 
 
 February 28, 1868, Jason S. Bliss was elected a deacon to 
 fill the vacancy occasioned by the removal of Deacon Bush- 
 nell Bishop from the town, and Austin S. Brown was elected 
 an additional deacon. He was also for many years church 
 clerk and treasurer. 
 
 Deacon Sheldon W. Stoddard died suddenly, July 9th, 
 1876, and James W. Manktelow was chosen deacon Novem- 
 ber 3rd, 1876. 
 
 The church was now without a pastor until March, 1880, 
 a little more than a year, the pulpit being supplied by dif- 
 ferent ministers, when the Rev. H. P. Blair, a Congregation- 
 alist minister became pastor, and a member of the church. 
 His pastorate was of short duration, terminating in July, 
 1881. 
 
 After a vacancy of nearly two years, during which time 
 
20 WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 the pulpit was filled by Rev. F. N. Greeley, I. O. Best and 
 others, the church secured for pastor Rev. Nestor Light, 
 who was ordained by a council of ministers invited by the 
 church, on the 15th day of March, 1883. The new parson- 
 age on Main street was built during his administration; he 
 breaking ground for its foundation in the Spring of 1886. 
 It was a source of regret to Mr. Light's many friends that 
 he never occupied the parsonage his energetic and earnest 
 effort was so instrumental in building. He closed his ser- 
 vices in March, 1886. 
 
 Rev. Samuel Manning became pastor in September, 1886. 
 Much earnest work was done during his pastorate. Through 
 the influence and effort of Mr. and Mrs. Manning a Christ- 
 ian Endeavor Society, which is yet doing its work, was or- 
 ganized by the young people, October 31st, 1886. Mr. 
 Manning was a Congregationalist and became a member of 
 the church. His pastorate closed in December, 1890. Mr. 
 Manning is at present pastor of the church at Bridgewater, 
 N. Y. 
 
 December 31st, 1886, Deacon J. S. Bliss having resigned, 
 C. H. Tyler was chosen for the vacancy. James Bell was 
 elected deacon at the same time. 
 
 During a vacancy of about a year which now took place, 
 reading services were conducted by different members of 
 the church for a portion of the time. Afterward the ser- 
 vices of Rev. C. W. Hawley, of Clinton, were secured, and 
 very acceptable service was rendered by him until the be- 
 ginning of the present pastorate. 
 
 Rev. W. C. Jones commenced his work in February of 
 the present year, 1892, and it speaks well for the condition 
 of the church, and the zeal and efficiency of the pastor, that 
 each recurring communion season has witnessed accessions 
 to the church, either by confession of faith or by letter, or 
 both. 
 
 Deacon Austin S. Brown died in January, 1892, and E. 
 W. Johnston was elected deacon July 2nd, 1892. 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 21 
 
 Let the present membership of this church rally round 
 the old standard with fresh zeal and courage, remembering 
 that these noble Christian men and women who, with the 
 spirit of self-consecration and genuine heroism, erected it 
 one hundred years ago, "being dead, yet speak" to cheer 
 and encourage your work of love. 
 
 [Note. — Dr. Edward Loomis, the author of this history, is 
 in his eighty-seventh year. He served the church as clerk 
 from Jan., 1836, until July 5th, 1862. He was appointed sur- 
 geon of the 117th Regt. (4th Oneida) N. Y. S. Vols., July 
 29th, 1862, resigning that position April 15th, 1863. He 
 was always an active and influential member of the church. 
 Having moved to Oneida he severed his connection with 
 the church in Westmoreland April 23, 1864, taking letters 
 for himself and wife to the Presbyterian Church of that 
 place, where he still resides.] 
 
22 WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 Poem. 
 
 BY THOMAS E. MCENTEE, OF CLARKS MILLS, N. Y. 
 
 We stand to-day 
 Upon the borders of two hundred years, 
 The one, veiled with the mists of time, and on 
 Its brow, deep wrinkled now, bearing the crown 
 Of its accomplished years, is passing on 
 To that dim realm where history is born. 
 The other, fresh with the dews of morning. 
 And heralded by that auroral light 
 Which gilds the dawn, comes on apace, 
 Eager to mount the throne and grasp the crown. 
 With outstretched hand, inspired of memory, 
 We cling awhile to that receding form 
 Not willing to let drop its lessons grand 
 Beneath oblivion's pall. With outstretched hand 
 inspired of hope, kindled by all the memories 
 Of the past, we are beckoning on the new, 
 Dreaming of brighter skies and balmier days, 
 By conning o'er the annals of our birth, 
 And tracing out the paths by which we came 
 We may discern the sunshine-gilded heights 
 Whereon we stand, and cast the horoscope, 
 And gage the possibilities of that 
 Oncoming century new born to-day. 
 Inspire our hearts with thy divinest truth. 
 Oh sacred muse ! revive our memories, 
 Illuminate our minds, that we may see 
 And comprehend in all its grand results, 
 And tell the tale of all our fathers wrought. 
 
 In that great epoch of the world's great thought, 
 When, aroused from the long sleep of ages, 
 Men awoke to deeper sense of their own 
 Fealty to God, and law and carved their way, 
 Through fields baptized in blood to truer freedom 
 And more perfect peace ; strong pioneers were they. 
 Strong pioneers to mould from out the primal 
 Forest and the desert wild, the naked earth, 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 23 
 
 And map it into towns and commonwealths. 
 
 True pioneers were they, for more than well 
 
 They knew, endowed with broader views of freedom 
 
 Than the world had known, wisely to build and well 
 
 On those foundations firm which should endure. 
 
 Imbued were they with the great central thought, 
 
 From all the past's experience gathered up, 
 
 By the true zeal of their own hearts inspired, 
 
 That not because from tyrants free is freedom sure: 
 
 That not alone of lands, and towns, and wealth, 
 
 And splendid monuments, and palaces, 
 
 And men who know of freedom by the name 
 
 And only thus, are commonwealths built up. 
 
 But only they are free whom truth, uplifting 
 
 Into purer air, above the strifes of men, 
 
 Makes free indeed. That only they build well, 
 
 In home or state, in poverty's rude hut, 
 
 Or in the temple's rich proportions vast, 
 
 Who recognize in all things the divine 
 
 Controlling power and build most lovingly 
 
 To learning, liberty and God. 
 
 And so 
 It came to pass that, when our fathers laid 
 In this rich soil the small beginning first, 
 Of that great commonwealth that was to be, 
 When with strong arms they hewed the forest down, 
 And built them homes, where virtue, liberty, 
 And truth might dwell, to guard, protect and bless ; 
 They reared this temple in the wilderness ; 
 Not glittering, vast and grand, but firm and strong, 
 On deep foundations laid, and on each part 
 Inscribed, in characters that have not died, 
 And cannot die, "Freedom to Worship God." 
 The generations that have come and gone ; 
 The quiet homes among these quiet hills, 
 Where peace and plenty dwell; the noble influences 
 Pervading all the land, and blessing all the earth, 
 That had their birthplace here, proclaim in tones 
 Not loud, but understood, our fathers builded well. 
 Behold the fruit ! Here labor's hand, nerved by 
 A zeal first born of God, transformed desert 
 And wilderness into a smiling land, 
 Where, warmed by a broad human sympathy, 
 A sturdy manhood grew. A sturdy manhood 
 With love of right and love of truth endued, 
 
24 WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 That went, the pioneer of larger thought, 
 
 To fashion other commonwealths to noble deeds, 
 
 And stamp their influence on the nation's life. 
 
 And so by love of God, and love of home, 
 
 And love of liberty and fatherland, 
 
 Heart-warmed, soul-fired, bold, daring champions they, 
 
 To fight on any field where falsehood base 
 
 And tyrrany upraised their impious hands 
 
 To strike fair virtue down. And so, when all 
 
 The world's base traitors did combine, in one 
 
 Last, desperate effort to crush down 
 
 And stifle the free-born uprisings of 
 
 The soul, and plant their impious heel on 
 
 Freedom's neck ; when from the ground went up 
 
 A voice to heaven, from a brother's blood, 
 
 And asked atonement for the nation's sins, 
 
 Which only blood could pay; the willing offering 
 
 Was poured out till the foul stain was cleansed, 
 
 And not a slave in all these wide-spread borders 
 
 Clanked his chains. 
 
 Nor this alone, the world 
 Looked on amazed, to see, before its eyes, 
 The standard of its manhood lifted up, 
 Its base oppressors shrinking back with awe, 
 And all earth's countless hordes, groping in want, 
 And ignorance, and degradation vile, 
 Arising reinspired with a new hope 
 At the fresh dawning of a bright new day. 
 Our father's planted well; for from the seed 
 Planted and nursed by them upsprung a tree 
 That spreads its branches wide o'er seas and lands. 
 Behold their sons, fresh from their contests with 
 The powers that were, thronging to learning's halls 
 To train their nobler powers to larger deeds, 
 And fiercer contests with a world in sin, 
 To win it back to rectitude and God. 
 In that far distant east, where heathen lands 
 Spread out, and God's own image bows to idols down, 
 Their shadow has been cast. In those great halls 
 To science sacred, and with learning crowned, 
 Their silent forces and persuasive powers 
 Have shed an influence that the age has felt ; 
 And up and down, 'mid hills and valleys rare, 
 To poor in spirit who are poor indeed 
 Are full glad tidings of the gospel preached. 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 25 
 
 A little girl, as 't were a day ago, 
 Was bounding o'er these hills, in the full joyance 
 Of her freedom glad. She at the mystic 
 Fount of learning, deeply drank till her full 
 Rounded womanhood was full, and even now, 
 From the rich treasure of her gifts poured out, 
 Dispenses living bread to hungry souls, 
 In a far distant island of the sea. 
 
 A boy we knew, if boy he might be called, 
 Displaying manly powers beyond his years, 
 In yonder classic halls with honor crowned, 
 Who spared his gifts awhile for others' use, 
 In Golden Horn, and academic shade. 
 To science sacred and to learning true, 
 And now, in the full measure of his powers, 
 He wards away disease and bids the lame 
 Rise up and walk, in that far land, toward 
 The setting sun, where golden sands roll down 
 Pacific's slope. 
 
 Another, not content, 
 Even in boyhood, with the things that were, 
 But thirsting then for greater things to be, 
 Wandered away in Delphian groves, and 
 Consecrated halls and lit his longing soul 
 With that celestial fire, which alway finds 
 Its counterpart in human souls, and its 
 Enthronement in the love of God. 
 
 And yet 
 Another. But we pause with reverence, 
 And bow in presence of a venerable form. 
 The crown of age sits on his brow with beauty, 
 The shock of corn, ungathered yet, is ripe. 
 We say his work is done, and echo answers back 
 Well done. That noble life, with noble deeds 
 All full, tells its own tale. We only pray, 
 Let all the winds of heaven that blow, fan him, 
 Henceforward lightly. Let kindly words and 
 Kindly deeds, attend him gently onward, 
 And strew his pathway to the grave with flowers. 
 
 Of all the toilers that have toiled in love, 
 Of all the charities unseen, unheard, 
 That have gone nobly on untold, unsung, 
 Of all the holy prayers, from mother hearts, 
 
26 WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 Prompted by mother love, that have a place 
 Among the potent methods that have warped 
 And moulded human character and life ; 
 Of all the wise and sacred influences 
 That have spread abroad, of all the forces 
 That have stirred and moved the world, to nobler 
 Action, and to purer thought, we may not speak. 
 They are not lost. The kindly word, spoken 
 In love, though none may hear, lives on for aye. 
 The good deed done, however small, for God 
 And human brotherhood, becomes a part 
 Of that great universe which God controls, 
 And never dies. 
 
 Our fathers slumber well. 
 The solemn sounding bell, in yonder tower, 
 Has sounded forth their requiem, and passed 
 Them on, to that bright summer land, which lies 
 Beyond. The marble slabs, o'ergrown with moss, 
 In yonder silent city on the hill, 
 Their good deeds, done with love to God and love 
 To man, with many prayers, and many tears, 
 Their monuments. 
 
 But we to-day — are we the noble sons 
 Of noble sires, to prize at their high grade 
 The countless blessings thus vouchsafed to us, 
 And carry on their work to higher heights 
 Of glory than they knew ? Or sit we down 
 In an ignoble ease, to banquet on 
 The boundless feast they spread, nor even deign 
 To comprehend the possibilities 
 Of those bright years to come ? 
 
 "Unseal our ears," 
 Anoint our eyes with some prophetic light, 
 Oh muse divine inspired, that we may hear 
 The echo of the voices yet to be, 
 Arid gaze a moment down the vista of 
 The years to come. 
 
 All things are possible ; 
 And that transforming power, working through all 
 And guiding human hands and busy brains 
 In the development of its majestic plans; 
 That wrought such wonders in the wilderness, 
 And brought our fathers on from small beginnings 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 2J 
 
 And from narrow creeds, up to the splendor 
 Of a brighter day and broader life ; 
 Will be our cloud by day and fire by night, 
 To guide us through the mysteries, and reveal 
 What the great future has in store for us. 
 
 All things are possible : Oh not to-day 
 Up the broad valley wild, whose very name 
 Is but the music of a race that's gone, 
 Comes on the busy commerce of the world 
 Ry patient oxen and by rude bateau ; 
 But with the forces of the air chained down 
 And made subservient as the meekest slave, 
 Moves as the symbol of advancing thought, 
 Nor waits the heralding of time or tide. 
 
 Oh not to-day move the dull lives of men 
 Along the vulgar paths of low desires, 
 And rest content ; but the free soul, new born, 
 Basks in the sunshine of that higher world, 
 Around us floating ever, yet unseen. 
 
 This then our starting point. It needs a poet's pen, 
 
 Prophet inspired, to tell what we may be. 
 
 If from the mountain heights we have attained, 
 
 Leaving the light behind, and groping down, 
 
 We seek the shadows of the vale below; 
 
 "Woe warth the hour! " 
 
 But if still gazing up, 
 Longing for brighter sunshine and a wider range, 
 We mount to higher summits than have been 
 Attained in all the generations past ; 
 "Ah well a day!" 
 
 If, building on the basis thus laid down, 
 
 And feasting of our souls at that great spread 
 
 Till we perceive the mystic ties that bind 
 
 The human and divine, in one vast bond, 
 
 And build, forgetting self, to human love, 
 
 And human brotherhood, and lift, at length, 
 
 The human to diviner life, we shall be heroes 
 
 In the grandest contest that the world has seen, 
 
 For the roused soul, knowing the errand vast 
 
 On which 'tis sent, and thrilled with the great thought, 
 
 "That there is work that it must do for God ; " 
 
 Thrice arms the warrior, bold for truth and right, 
 
 Who bravelv dares to strike base error down. 
 
28 WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 The forces of the wrong, blinded with rage, 
 Victims of lust and superstition grim, 
 Seeing the brightness of the new born day, 
 Are marshalling their forces to resist 
 The onward march of new awakened thought, 
 And spread their pall of darkness o'er the earth. 
 The contest between truth and error, means 
 A fight, in which the strong battalion wins 
 The day; and that battalion best, that nerves 
 Its arm, and fires its zeal, with love of right, 
 And a firm trust in God. 
 
 The friends of truth, a mighty moving host, 
 
 Answering God's call and having dreamed, 
 
 Or in the visions of the night been warned 
 
 Of the great sacredness of the divine 
 
 In human life, will never brook, to see 
 
 The clouds of error closing round our lives 
 
 And shutting out the sun, that shining down 
 
 The future, gives us glimpses of the life 
 
 To be. This then our battle ground. The strife 
 
 Waxes apace. The world moves bravely on 
 
 And freedom's battle, never fought in vain 
 
 Since first began, shall win the crown at last. 
 
 The aggressive spirit of the church aroused, 
 
 Working with God, shall move to victory, 
 
 And conquer peace. Then when at last grown old. 
 
 And the full measure of its years all full, 
 
 Again shall sound the knell of the departing 
 
 Century, we may look forward to millennial days. 
 
 When all the strifes of men forgot in love, 
 
 The leopard and the lion, symbols true 
 
 Of those fierce passions that destroy the soul, 
 
 With kid and lamb in quiet shall lie down, 
 
 The child-like spirit of the Christ shall lead, 
 
 And earth keep Jubilee a thousand years. 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 29 
 
 Addresses. 
 
 Hamilton College and the Westmoreland Church. 
 
 Hamilton College, September 19, 1892. 
 Deacon James Bell. 
 
 Dear Sir: I thank you for the invitation to contribute 
 to the literature of your centennial festival by furnishing a 
 list of the graduates of Hamilton College, who may be said 
 to be in close relation to the Congregational Church in 
 Westmoreland, either as enrolled members, or as sons or 
 grandsons of its former pastors or enrolled members. 
 
 If the following names are not found in the records of the 
 Congregational Church in Westmoreland, it will be because 
 they stand for sons or grandsons of its former pastors or 
 members thus enrolled: 
 
 Francis Douglas, Class of 1817, Rev. Professor William 
 Beardsley, 1823, Rev. James H. Eells, 1827, Rev. Leicester 
 A. Sawyer, 1828, Samuel Eells, 1832, George Langford, Jr., 
 1838, Norton A. Halbert, 1842, Rev. Parsons S. Pratt, 1842, 
 Rev. Edwin H. Crane, 1844, Rev. Dr. James Eells, 1844, 
 Col. Louis H. D. Crane, 1845, Delbitt Langford, 1846, Rev. 
 Dr. Moses E. Dunham, 1847, Dan Parmelee Eells, 1848, 
 Henry G. Miller, 1848, Prof. Daniel J. Pratt, 185 1, Rev. 
 Henry M. Hurd, 1857, Alfred K. Seymour, 1857, Francis 
 Loomis, 1858, Rev. Leicester J. Sawyer, 1859, Lorenzo S. B. 
 Sawyer, 1862, Dr. George M. Loomis, 1863, Charles P. Eells, 
 1874, Rev. Willard K. Spencer, 1875, Howard P. Eells, 1876, 
 George E. Dunham, 1879, Dr. Ward M. Beckwith, 1880, 
 Rev. Lester R. Groves, 1881, Franklin A. Spencer, 1882, 
 Edward M. Baxter, 1884. 
 
 This is a record of contributions, the working forces of 
 Church and State, made directly or indirectly, with which 
 larger and wealthier churches might be proud to adorn their 
 
30 WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 annals. Among the eleven clergymen on this roll of grad- 
 uates, Rev. Edwin H. Crane was a foreign missionary to the 
 Nestorians, and died at Garvor, in Persia, in 1854 ; Rev. Dr. 
 James Eells was Moderator of the General Assembly in 
 1877, and a Professor in Lane Theological Seminary at the 
 time of his death in 1886. Louis H. D. Crane and George 
 M. Loomis were among the first to enlist in the war for 
 the Union, and Colonel Crane was killed in the battle of 
 Cedar Mountain, August 8, 1862. 
 
 The medical profession gained two practitioners of ster- 
 ling worth by gaining Dr. George M. Loomis, who died at 
 Easton, Missouri, in 1889, and Dr. Ward M. Beckwith, now 
 of Oakland, California. 
 
 Among the sons of Westmoreland who have gained dis- 
 tinction by their legal gifts, honestly employed, are Samuel 
 Eells, of Cincinnati, Norton A. Halbert, of New York, 
 Henry G. Miller, of Chicago, Lorenzo S. B. Sawyer and 
 Charles P. Eells, of San Francisco. The only editor on the 
 list is George E. Dunham, of the Utica Press. He can best 
 explain why he prefers to do his preaching in a different 
 way from that of Rev. Dr. M. E. Dunham. 
 
 Prof. Daniel J. Pratt brought honor to his birthplace by 
 his twenty years of faithful service as Assistant Secretary of 
 the Regents of the University of the State of New York. 
 His death in 1884 was a heavy bereavement to the cause of 
 higher education. 
 
 Professor Pratt, son of Amasa Pratt, was once asked 
 what it was that inspired him with the desire and purpose 
 to seek a liberal education. He replied that as he was go- 
 ing to his daily toil in the fields of Westmoreland, the 
 sound of the College bell set him thinking. He resolved to 
 find out to what kind of an intellectual diet that bell was a 
 summons. It cost him a hard, long struggle, but he worked 
 his way through college, and his name will live most honor- 
 ably in the annals of higher education. 
 
 With hearty greeting to the Church in Westmoreland, 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 EDWARD NORTH. 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 3 I 
 
 By Deacon J. S. Bliss, of Whitesboro, N. Y. 
 
 Deacon Bliss spoke on "Some Reminiscences." He said 
 anions other things : I was glad, Brother Bell, when you 
 wrote inviting me to come to this centennial of the dear old 
 church. I felt as I imagine the psalmist did when he said: 
 "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go up to the 
 house of the Lord. Our feet shall stand within thy gates, 
 oh ! Jerusalem." I rejoice to be here on this sacred spot, re- 
 plete with so many hallowed memories ; here where I spent 
 36 years of the prime of my life. My heart swells within 
 me as I call to memory some of the scenes that formed the 
 panorama that was spread before me. I was born in the 
 parish of which I am now a member, removed thence to 
 Oriskany in early life, and remained there until I reached 
 my majority. My father, in the meantime, sent me to 
 school to the institute in this town, thinking to make some- 
 thing of me, I never knew just what ; perhaps a judge or a 
 minister. But he soon found out his mistake and withdrew 
 his support, and consequently I withdrew from the school, 
 not, however, until I had scored a point. I saw a young 
 lady at school that pleased me well, and I remembered that 
 Solomon said : "Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing," 
 and so I talked to this young lady about it, and she was 
 agreeable. The Rev. F. A. Spencer was pastor in this 
 church, and he tied the knot and made us one, and a strong 
 one it was, and we have never been able to untie it however 
 much we would, nor would we however much we could. It 
 was not with me as it was with the one in the parable that 
 Christ spake, where they were bidden to the supper, where 
 one had married a wife and therefore he could not come, 
 but I had married a wife and had to come. And so I came. 
 In coming to this church 1 saw a membership of the gravest 
 set of men I think I ever saw in any congregation. Elderly 
 men of commanding presence, they would grace any judge's 
 bench. But these passed away and their mantle fell upon 
 other shoulders, honorable, efficient, younger men, of whom 
 only four of this number are now alive and on the scene: 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 Dr. Loomis, of Oneida, Captain Amos Barnes, of this place, 
 who is in his ninety-fourth year, also C. H. Kellogg, of this 
 place, and myself, the junior member. Some of those 
 numbered among the list were prominent in the church and 
 its work, such as Edward Stoddard, the sweet singer of Israel, 
 and his brother, Sheldon W., who was deacon in the church 
 the at time of his death. We all remember that Sabbath morn- 
 ing when, arriving at church, the first news that saluted our 
 ears was: Deacon Stoddard is dead. While we were riding in 
 our carriages to the earthly sanctuary, he was wafted in a 
 heavenly chariot to the church triumphant above. And we 
 worshipped in sadness that day. There was one notable 
 instance of falling from grace, not of any live member of 
 the church, for such never fall away, but of a dead weight, 
 which fell between two Sabbaths, as that is the time they gen- 
 erally fall from grace. There was a very successful attempt 
 at disturbing public worship on the Lord's day. One Sun- 
 day, while engaged in singing praise in this house, there 
 came from the regions above, all of a sudden, a crash, and 
 presently, standing in Bela Allen's pew, close beside him, 
 was a scantling that had been disengaged in the. garret, and 
 there it stood, measuring its height with Mr. Allen. Hither- 
 to he had claimed that he was the longest thing that wor- 
 shipped in that congregation. On the other side of the 
 house some of the sisters did not wait any further develop- 
 ments, but made a very hurried exit, and perhaps not as 
 dignified as on some more calm occasion. My experience 
 overlaps the ministry of ten ministers, all of whom but two 
 are living. And now, with prophetic eye, I seem to stand, 
 and with that beloved disciple on the Isle of Patmos, see 
 that innumerable multitude coming up before the throne 
 out of every nation, tongue, tribe and people, and I see our 
 own sainted dead there, and I recognize them. 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 33 
 
 By Rev. C. W. Hawley, of Clinton, N. Y. 
 
 I have hardly earned the privilege of occupying any of 
 your time on this most interesting occasion, and shall ac- 
 cept it, as an act of grace, to be best acknowledged by a 
 very sparing use. In the history of every congregation, 
 there are transition periods between pastorates, and in the 
 most recent of these in your history you gave me the op- 
 portunity, which I much enjoyed, of preaching to you, a 
 few months, the common gospel which we love and by 
 which we hope to be saved. Nor shall aught be laid up 
 against you by the gap-man, that you filled the gap as soon 
 as possible by a regular pastor, whose services you are now 
 enjoying. May those services long continue and continual- 
 ly increase in profitableness well into the second century of 
 your history. You have judged that there can be no unfit- 
 ness in allowing the church to which I belong a word to- 
 day. I am glad to acknowledge, that, if there is anything 
 genuine and sound in me, as a Presbyterian, it has come 
 through a thorough and somewhat painful drill in the West- 
 minster shorter catechism, in my boyhood under the roof of 
 a Congregational deacon and the supervision of a Congrega- 
 tional pastor in old Massachusetts. We are of the same 
 household. We abide by the same standards. We rejoice 
 in each other's prosperity, and, as to-day, in each other's 
 longevity, if only the years and the centuries, as they pass, 
 are so filled with loyal service to the Master as to make con- 
 tinued existence a blessing to the world. Just about a hun- 
 dred years ago, the Congregational and Presbyterian churches 
 joined hands, and mingled polities in one united effort to 
 build up the Kingdom of Christ in the new and scattered 
 settlements of central and western New York. The Revolu- 
 tionary war had closed and our independent national life 
 had commenced. But many good men were almost in despair 
 over the prospects of the republic. The war, as war inevit- 
 ibly does, had in many ways wrought much harm to the 
 spiritual life of the people, and greatly weakened the forces 
 of the church; France, while rendering us generous aid, had 
 
34 WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 made an open door for the introduction of that irreligion 
 and infidelity which was cursing herself ; it was besides a 
 period of great restlessness and continual movement, which 
 scattered communities before they were well settled, and 
 left many to grow up without any means of culture or grace. 
 New England was pouring into new York, New England 
 with a sprinkling of Pensylvanians and foreigners, and New 
 England soon manifested a lively interest in the spiritual 
 welfare of those who so eagerly entered upon pioneer work 
 on the ground which we now occupy. That the immigra- 
 tion was impetuous is shown in the fact that while before 
 1784, when Hugh White settled in Whitesborough, "there 
 was not a single spot cultivated by civilized man between 
 the German Flats and Lake Erie, except the solitary Sted- 
 man farm near Niagara Falls, yet in iSiOthis region contained 
 280,319 inhabitants." Though a country without railroads 
 or canals, and almost without roads of any sort, they came 
 in summer and in winter. The Dutch citizens of Albany, 
 the gateway of the then West, looked with wonder upon 
 the processions of loaded sleighs and ox-sleighs which 
 passed through their town in mid-winter — 1,200 of them in 
 three days — 500 on a single day,the 28th of February, 1795. In 
 the summer of the same year, 97 years ago, Rev. Eliphalet 
 Nott, sent out by the Connecticut Missionary Society on a 
 mission to the settlements, tarried for a night in Schenec- 
 tady with John Blair Smith, the first president of Union 
 College. They talked together, the staunch Presbyterian and 
 the decided Congregationalist, and they agreed that it was 
 not wise or Christian to divide the sparse population hold- 
 ing the same faith into two distinct ecclesiastical organiza- 
 tions, so that it would be better that mutual concessions be 
 made and a common organization effected on an accommoda- 
 tion plan. Then and there was started a movement that 
 six years later led to the adoption of the "Plan of Union," 
 thro the action of the General Assembly and the General 
 Association of Connecticut. It was warmly welcomed in 
 Connecticut by such men as Backus and Dwight and Strong. 
 It gave a new impulse to the missionary work on this 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 35 
 
 ground. And however much some men afterward came to 
 doubt its value, it stands to-day and will ever stand in the 
 religious history of our country, as a bright example of 
 Christian comity and charity, and a stinging rebuke to that 
 narrow and narrowing vision which can see nothing good be- 
 yond one's bare denominational palings, and find nothing 
 grander in Christian activity than the upbuilding of sect. 
 Would it not be most opportune to the pressing spiritual 
 need of our own time to sweep away all obstacles to the 
 closest and heartiest union of all disciples of Christ in do- 
 ing the great work now calling for laborers. 
 
 As one hundred years ago the tide of French infidelity 
 was checked and the spiritual condition of the people im- 
 proved by a powerful revival, through united missionary 
 effort under this "Plan of Union," might not a similar result 
 now follow an effort similar in spirit, if not in form ? 
 
 For three generations this church has lived and ministered 
 to the spiritual life of this community. Each generation has 
 needed it. The demand for the Bread of Life is constant. 
 Every man that comes into the world, blindly if not con- 
 sciously, hungers for the Gospei. There is no substitute for 
 it ; there can be none. There is need then of permanency 
 in the church. Her work yet grows upon her year by year. 
 And we are to-day impressed with the fact that the church 
 of Christ is not a short-lived and ephemeral institution, but 
 stable and lasting, having for her head One who is from 
 "everlasting to everlasting," "the same yesterday, to-day and 
 forever." 
 
 The fruitage of work here done and prayers here offered, 
 it would be impossible to'gather now — imposible to estimate. 
 Some of it was visible as the years went by, but much can 
 be revealed only among the saints in light who through 
 this instrumentality have won their crowns. 
 
 In some minds, there is an undercurrent of sadness to- 
 day. It was voiced in my hearing by a few faltering words 
 from an aged disciple who feels keenly the absence of 
 nearly all of the associates of seventy years ago. Well, it 
 cannot be long before these few, lone disciples will be called 
 
36 WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 to most blessed reunions in the general assembly of the 
 church of the first-born in heaven. Shall this church continue 
 another century ? God only knows ; and it matters little, if 
 only while it has a mission, its work is done faithfully and 
 well. 
 
 By Parsons S. Pratt, of Dorset, Vt. 
 
 As a dutiful child of the, now venerable, church of West- 
 moreland, I give some of my recollections of its former 
 days. At my earliest recollection it had nearly completed 
 its first third of a century. It was thirty-two years of age 
 when its mothering wings were spread upon my infantile 
 life. My reception here when about two years old was in 
 this wise; I only recite a pleasant tradition of our family. In 
 the autumn of 1824 it happened that, both in one day, 
 perhaps, there was an accession to this parish of two young 
 Christian families. My parents came in from Sauquoit, my 
 father's birth place and my own, and pitched their taber- 
 nacle in the upper part of South Street. In fitting conjunc- 
 tion there came also from near the Vermont line, as I sup- 
 pose, a newly ordained preacher of the Gospel and his 
 young wife, destined for your parsonage. It may be safely 
 assumed that this new pastor, Rev. Abijah Crane, had very 
 little trouble with his parishioner, but for eight years an at- 
 tentive hearer of the word and a willing helper, and 
 after his dismissal and to the close of his life, the most cor- 
 dial relations were maintained between the two families, 
 and on the part of the three sons of each family friendly 
 memories long existed. I deem it a special kindness of the 
 Lord that all my early childhood days were spent under a 
 pastorate which so commanded our confidence, reverence 
 and affection. Whatever short-coming in the pastoral re- 
 lation may elsewhere have been observed, never has this 
 
\\ ESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 37 
 
 conviction been yielded, that happy association between a 
 reasonable people and a sensible, faithful pastor, is not only 
 possible, but should be confidently expected. 
 
 I well remember the old home of the ex-pastor, Rev. 
 James Eells, and had slight acquaintance with his sons, one 
 of whom was my schoolmate for a short time. 
 
 My second decade, including later boyhood, and acad- 
 emy and college life, was largely spent in Westmoreland or 
 vicinity. It was a notable period in church and state, and 
 the times and discussions were, for an interested youth, a 
 lively preparatory school for public life. There was some 
 earnest thinking in our community, and some decisive ac- 
 tion on questions of morals, public justice, religious doc- 
 trine and Christian conversion and living. Not all may 
 have been wisely thought, said or done in these matters, yet 
 I deem it fortunate for me that there was so much of freedom 
 of thought, honest sentiment, and of high-toned purpose 
 and position in our town. We were not afraid to express 
 an opinion or practically to commit ourselves for total ab- 
 stinence, or negro emancipation, or new school theology, or 
 revival measures. 
 
 It was no damage to me to have lived from infancy in a 
 house whose cellar never took in a barrel of cider for bev- 
 erage, and where was organized the "South Street Juvenile 
 Temperance Society," before I entered my teens. Years 
 before the voting age my voice was publicly given for the 
 liberation of the slave. There was an improved theology 
 in those days, in the freedom and stimulus of which my 
 good father was brought into more active service in the 
 church, and at length entered the ministry. Licensed to 
 preach at thirty-seven years, he was yet privileged with 
 thirty years of laborious, fruitful and joyful service in the 
 pulpit. Our churches in that period had faith in frequent 
 revivals, and therefore there was frequent effort in that di- 
 rection. The results were sometimes disappointing, but 
 with churches maintaining household religion, Bible study 
 and careful living, these revivals proved enlarging and up- 
 lifting. The preaching and personal influence of Charles G. 
 
3§ WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 Finney was an inspiration in this town and the whole re- 
 gion, as afterwards widely in America and England. I 
 came in contact with him once only, and when a small boy. 
 Some Christian women of South Street had their prayer 
 meetings. Returning from school one day with the usual 
 urgency of an empty and impatient stomach, my brothers 
 and I besieged the parlor door which separated our bread 
 giver from us. After what seemed a long waiting to us, the 
 door suddenly opened and there stepped out a vigorous 
 man with two great soulful eyes at whose gaze we were 
 mute. He only said to us, "Boys, have you any religion 
 here?" and went his way. The question was not forgotten; 
 I think we all early sought, and found the bread of heaven 
 which giveth life to the soul. I was about twelve when Mr. 
 Fairchild was aided for a few days by Mr. Sedgwick, of 
 Rome, and a good impression made in South Street. If I 
 mistake not, Charles Bailey, afterwards a preacher in Mich- 
 igan, and others had a boys' prayer meeting. In my four- 
 teenth year I was one of a large number who united with 
 this church in connection with revival meetings conducted 
 by Mr. Ingersoll. The names of those who joined with me 
 are entirely gone from my memory; but few of them may 
 be among the living. 
 
 The fervid and forceful preaching of this evangelist made 
 natural impression on a young mind already consenting to 
 Christian truth and duty, and a definite decision was made 
 for the full faith and following of Jesus. But the method 
 and temper even of effective work is not always to be fully 
 endorsed. John Ingersoll, as a young man, lived in my 
 present parish. His father's house, kept as a tavern, was 
 near the summit of one of our principal mountain roads. 
 There are free airs and wide views from those hill tops, favor- 
 ing a sturdy personality and, unless disciplined, excessive feel- 
 ing and utterance. Such like qualities were early developed. He 
 studied awhile with Dr. Jackson, the pastor of our church. 
 His learned and judicious teacher was not altogether 
 pleased with the style of the young man, but gave him op- 
 portunity to use his talents in neighborhood meetings and 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 39 
 
 out districts. He there encountered some scepticism and 
 scoffing, and did not seem to have got the better of his im- 
 passioned and perhaps unreasonably severe manner and 
 spirit. 
 
 He has been characterized by some writers as "forci- 
 ble, logical, eloquent, stern, uncompromising in presenting 
 his views, in his manner, nervous, quick and impassioned." 
 One of his sisters, Mrs. Dea. Gilbert, was a very superior 
 woman, and the mother of several children who have been 
 distinguished in the learned professions and in public life, 
 of high moral worth. Great importance is justly attached 
 to pious homes and Christian motherhood as an instrument- 
 ality of early conversion and a well-balanced Christian life. 
 I have pleasant testimony on this point in an old book of 
 the records of the "Westmoreland Maternal Association." 
 In April, 1834, Mrs. Fairchild, my mother and several 
 other ladies organized this society, which was actively sus- 
 tained for some time. The old manuscript testifies unmis- 
 takably to the earnest and loving endeavor of these women 
 to train their children in the fear of God, and for pure and 
 useful lives. Monthly meetings were held for mutual in- 
 struction and prayer, and continuous prayer during the fol- 
 lowing month was offered for some designated household. 
 The children were counted as members, and once a quarter 
 were brought in for special exercises. The names of over 
 twenty mothers, or praying women, and more than fifty 
 children are enrolled on these pages. Many of these names 
 are now widely known as of those who are or have been in 
 their generation a blessing in the church and world. In 
 one case indeed, as to Christian character, we are grievously 
 disappointed, viz., of Robert J. Ingersoll. He was too early 
 bereft of the presence and prayers of his Christian mother. 
 Perhaps the surviving mothers of that praying band did not 
 prolong their plea for him at the mercy seat. It may not 
 be too late even yet for the praying church to plead for the 
 change which came to Saul of Tarsus to be given to this 
 generous but sadly perverted soul. The alms and prayers, 
 the holy deeds and loves of the church of fifty years ago 
 
40 WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 are registered above; most of those members are now prob- 
 ably in Heaven. But are there not still visible such blessed 
 fruits of their toils and tears as to engage us in eager 
 emulation of the service of those who through faith and 
 patience now inherit the promises? 
 
 These anniversaries and centennials disclose some of the 
 waymarks of the course of church organization in this re- 
 gion. Most of our churches in northern New England and 
 Central New York have been formed during the past cen- 
 tury. The processes of emigration and the building up of 
 the Christian Society, beginning say in Connecticut, may be 
 traced northward and westward, and all the way the pleas- 
 ing relation of mother and sister churches unite us in a 
 sacred relationship. The streams are sometimes direct, 
 sometimes circuituos. Westmoreland may have been con- 
 stituted of settlers direct from Connecticut and Massachu- 
 setts. But many of the members and ministers of this 
 region came by the way of Vermont. Our church of Dorset 
 was organized just eight years before yours, and that church 
 and the ministerial association of Bennington County con- 
 tributed largely to fill the pulpits and build up the churches 
 of this region. From the old parish of Doctors Seth Wil- 
 liston and William Jackson went Ira Manley to Boonville, 
 Ralph Robinson to this neighborhood, and Deacon John 
 Frost, father of the Whitesboro pastor. From the Associa- 
 tion went John Ingersoll, Nathaniel Hurd, Publius V. 
 Bogue, at my baptism pastor of Sauquoit, and Abijah Crane, 
 ordained by us Oct. 19, 1824, Dr. Jackson preaching the ser- 
 mon from Mark 8:36. The great head of the church who 
 once said, "Give and it shall be given unto you," himself 
 orders some compensating exchanges of consecrated ser- 
 vice. Under the conduct of His higher wisdom and holy 
 providence, He does not suffer the fatal impoverishment in 
 men or means of the churches which are zealous for the ex- 
 tension of His kingdom. One of your sons, who in 1846 
 eagerly sought a home missionary field in the then far west, 
 after two years heard an imperative injunction to return. He 
 was at once set at work within an hour's drive of his birth- 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 4 1 
 
 place. Seven years later he was directed to a Vermont 
 field, a church which had sent forth scores of pastors or lay 
 founders of churches into New York and other states, but 
 the loss of whom was not seriously regretted because of the 
 advantage to the larger kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 And that same church has to-day the happy distinction of 
 the longest continued active pastorate of any church in the 
 state, a pastorate now lasting nearly thirty-seven years. 
 Their pastor is a child of your church, and brings you to- 
 day the greetings of your elder sister and in some sense 
 fostermother. He brings his own grateful acknowledge- 
 ments of your lessons, prayers and examples of fifty years 
 ago, and for so much of benign influence as went into his 
 early preparation for the holy ministry. Please pardon any 
 seeming egotism of this paper; you asked for my reminis- 
 cences; personal memories are not easily detached from 
 personal experiences. 
 
 By Rev. M. E. Dunham, D. D. 
 
 Rev. Dr. Dunham, of Whitesboro, delivered a very 
 scholarly and interesting address, of which the following is 
 the substance: 
 
 We wander to-day in the shadowland of memory. Over 
 the dusty path of an hundred years we search for incidents, 
 facts, reminiscences, out of which to construct befitting ser- 
 vices for the one hundredth anniversary of this church. 
 Many things we find of an interesting character, much that 
 is instructive, and more which, from lack of record and from 
 the death-sealed silence of eyewitnesses or personal partici- 
 pants, can only be brought into seeming reality by the 
 magic power of imagination. The real history of no church 
 can be fully written except by the recording angel; for that 
 history is made up of the visible and of the invisible; of that 
 
42 WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 which words can express and of that which words cannot 
 express; of the outward act and the revealed thought and of 
 the inner life and hidden spirit; but of the two the inexpres- 
 sible is by far the most effective in shaping results and in 
 determining usefulness. Owing to our dullness of spiritual 
 sight we can treat only of the visible; but how the thought 
 of the invisible presses upon us ! Looking over the church 
 record we find the names of those who, moved by the touch 
 of the divine spirit or influenced by the Godly lives of the 
 true servants of the Master, came out before the world and 
 registered themselves openly as soldiers in the army of the 
 Lord, gladly making profession of faith in Christ; but who 
 can number the larger class whose names never appeared 
 on the church roll, but whose lives were molded and shaped 
 by the unseen influences which have gone out from this 
 sanctuary? In the final estimate these unrecorded ones will 
 have more weight in determining the real work by this 
 church accomplished than will the list of its church mem- 
 bers; for the unrecorded will tell more truly what this 
 church has been to the community in which it has existed 
 and to the world at large. The value of a church is not so 
 much in the visible harvest it gathers as in the extent of 
 seed-sowing it has done for after generations to reap; not 
 so much in harvesting as in preparing for future harvests. 
 Many a small, plain church, with a small roll of membership, 
 simple in service, but warm and true in heart, working with- 
 out ostentation or display, has done more for the world 
 than other churches, turreted and spired and tinseled within 
 and without, costly in appointments of chancel and of choir, 
 elaborate in ceremonies and formal before the throne of 
 grace. 
 
 Well, here is a country church of an hundred years, which 
 has kept on its quiet way through three generations of 
 births and of burials, content to do the Master's work, and 
 to do it without seeking for the praise of men. To the 
 weary it has brought rest; to the heartbroken, comfort; to 
 the sin-sick, healing; to the returning prodigal, welcome; 
 and to the dying, the hope of heaven and an eternal home 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 43 
 
 of rest. To its altars the babe has been borne to be christ- 
 ened; from its altars the aged have been borne to be glori- 
 fied. Bridal song has alternated with funeral note along 
 its arches as the changing scenes of life and of death were 
 enacted within its walls. To-day it stands hallowed by a 
 thousand memories gathered out of three generations, and 
 to it are linked the sweet, sad recollections of many a home; 
 for the church is the one treasure-house of the joys and the 
 sorrows of its parishioners; of their bridals and of their 
 burials; of their births, spiritual and temporal; of their 
 feastings and of their fastings. 
 
 This is especially true of the churches of past days; 
 and this church — what a record it must have gathered 
 out of an hundred years! For, until caught by the spirit of 
 these modern and, some would say, degenerate days, it dil- 
 igently observed its feast days and its fast days, and to its 
 courts the people were wont to come with their songs of re- 
 joicing and wails of grief. The church was the Mecca of all 
 their hopes and of their highest expectations; the source of 
 their comfort and the foundation of their consolation; the 
 one power whose benediction they most sincerely desired and 
 whose curse they as sincerely feared. All this has been 
 greatly modified by modern ideas, but it is a question 
 whether this modification has not taken something valuable 
 out of human experience. 
 
 For several years my lot was cast with this church and its 
 people. Pleasant those years were in their associations and 
 pleasant they still are in memory. During my pastorate 
 this church was prosperous, with a large congregation, a 
 flourishing Sunday school, and a full treasury. A spirit of 
 harmony, of personal interest, of willingness to work and to 
 give, prevailed. Here I found some of as warm and true 
 friends as have ever fallen to my lot, and I trust they are 
 my friends still, though to-day I look in vain to see some of 
 their faces. Indeed, since I ministered in this church, death 
 has reaped a large harvest. Where are the Brighams, the 
 Stoddards, the Browns, the Clarks, the Newcombs, the 
 Bishops, the Millers, the Merrills, the Kelloggs, the Drapers, 
 
44 WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 the Lymans, and a score of others who rilled these pews in 
 days of my pastorate? Some of their descendants occupy 
 their places, but they have passed into the invisible. Are 
 they here to-day? Why not? Have they lost their interest 
 in the welfare of this church? Does not this one hundredth 
 anniversary stir any emotions in their hearts? Who that 
 believes in the reality of spirit life, can believe that the so- 
 called dead have no touch of sympathy with the living; no 
 power of mingling in their society? I fancy the old saintly 
 pillars of this church are invisible pillars still, here, now, to- 
 day, having lost none of their interest in its welfare; nay, 
 having an intensified interest; and, surely, if in the spirit 
 life they have learned any new or higher truth, any broader 
 conception of God's love and mercy, any wider sweep of hu- 
 man sympathy and brotherhood, any sweeter hope, they 
 will be eager to teach all these to their living descendants. 
 "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to do service 
 for the sake of them that shall inherit salvation?" asked the 
 great apostle Paul, and surely I am warranted to draw the 
 logical conclusion from Paul's teaching on this very point; 
 and so I fancy this church edifice to-day is full of spirits 
 gathered here, at this anniversary, to recall the scenes of 
 their past labors. No doubt their songs of rejoicing mingle 
 with ours and the mingled strain swells even to the temple in 
 the golden city, the New Jerusalem. Why not? For though 
 this church is localized here, its membership, its real con- 
 stituency, extends over into the spirit land, and to compass 
 its roll it would be necessary to canvass heaven, as well as 
 earth. 
 
 An hundred years of record and the books are not closed. 
 An hundred years of work for God and for humanity, but 
 the end is not yet. Only the morning is past, but the full 
 day yet remaineth. The work of no church is done so long 
 as there are sorrowing, suffering hearts to be comforted, or 
 sinful hearts to be healed. Churches should never die; 
 never grow old; rather intensify in youth and vigor; broaden 
 in sympathy and effort; live forever. Creeds may change; 
 old errors be eliminated; new conceptions of the truth sup- 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 45 
 
 plant the old; but the real life of the church changeth not, 
 because that life is of God in Christ, the life eternal. Never 
 was this life so active, so powerful, so onsweeping in the 
 world as it is to-day. True, it is taking on new forms of 
 expression. We are learning that true worship of God does 
 not consist in doing homage to creeds, nor in bowing down 
 to ceremonies, nor. in exclusive churchism, but that it does 
 consist in the Christ-spirit of going about doing good to 
 all men. We are learning that he serves God best who 
 serves his followers best. May this church be abounding in this 
 service and may its two hundredth anniversary outshine this 
 as the full risen sun outshines the dawning twilight of the 
 morning-. 
 
 By Rev. Samuel Manning. 
 
 When God, by his miraculous power, had brought the 
 Israelites across the Jordan into the promised land, he com- 
 manded Joshua to build at Gilgal a monument of the twelve 
 stones taken from the channel of the river to remind the 
 people of what he had done for them. And when their 
 children, prompted by curiosity, should ask, "what mean ye 
 by these stones?" the fathers were commanded to tell them 
 the marvellous story of their entrance into Canaan under 
 the guidance and protection of the ark of God. 
 
 That monument at Gilgal helped to keep alive the 
 thought of God among the chosen people. There is a 
 religious significance in all monuments which commemorate 
 national events. Our nation began by the Declaration of 
 Independence. W 7 e celebrate it every year, recalling the 
 free and heroic spirit of our fathers who threw off a foreign 
 yoke; fought for freedom and won it. The battles and vic- 
 tories which followed are marked by memorials which tes- 
 tify to each generation what their freedom has cost. But 
 
46 WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 for the stones of Gilgal there would have been no Bunker 
 Hill. Nor would our national monuments long remain if 
 they did not remind the people of what God had done in 
 bringing the nation into being and preserving its life. 
 
 The greatest danger of the Israelites was that of losing 
 the thought of God out of their lives and their history. This 
 we are always in danger of doing. God has joined Himself 
 in devout minds with all our history. Life is belittled to 
 those who have divorced God in their minds from their own 
 past. We build churches to testify of God. They are 
 silent witnesses of his deeds in our civil and religious his- 
 tory. Wood and stone may be quickened with thought, 
 may confess and proclaim the sense of God's goodness and 
 guidance, which is the source of order and peace in the 
 hearts of men and in society Anniversaries are monuments 
 to keep alive the remembrance of what God has done for 
 his people. If the Israelites were commanded to recall by 
 public act and formal service, events which commemorated 
 God's guidance and protection, ought we not to celebrate 
 events and periods in our church history which remind us 
 of God's care and benediction, and which have as rightful 
 and important a place among Christians as the stones of 
 Gilgal had with Israel? We have come to the centennial 
 day in the history of this church, and it is fitting that to-day 
 this people should set up their Ebenezer, their stone of help, 
 and joyfully and thankfully say, "Hitherto hath the Lord 
 helped us." Let this anniversary be as the stones of Gilgal 
 to remind you of what God has done for you in bringing 
 into being and preserving this church for one hundred 
 years; to remind you that others have labored and you have 
 entered into their labors; that it is because of the toils and 
 sacrifices and prayers of those that preceded you, you have 
 this goodly heritage. 
 
 We have listened to the address which has given us the 
 history of this church for a century. But no human pen 
 can write the full history of a church of Christ. As no ar- 
 tist can transfer to canvas the glories of the sunset or the 
 charming beauties of a magnificent landscape, so no histor- 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 47 
 
 ian can commit to paper the complete history of this church. 
 Between the dates 1792 and 1892 there is a history which, 
 could we fully know it, would stir our souls with unutterable 
 emotions. 
 
 The statement that this church was organized Sept. 20, 
 1792, and that certain persons have served it as pastors and 
 elders and deacons, and that with more or less of outward 
 change it has lived for a hundred years, is only a part, and 
 the least valuable part, of its history. Its real and complete 
 history has been written by the recording angel, and it will 
 be fully known only when the secrets of all hearts shall be 
 revealed. Could we read that angelic record as we read 
 the human record which spans the century, we should see 
 the toil and sacrifices of those who organized this church, 
 their faith, which triumphed over the hindrances and dis- 
 couragements which confronted them, their hope amid 
 many dark and trying circumstances of brighter and better 
 days, and their prayers for the benediction of heaven to 
 crown their efforts. We should see how, as some laid down 
 the burdens and entered into their reward, others gladly 
 took them up and patiently and bravely bore them, and so 
 through all the years of her history this church has had 
 those who loved her and labored and prayed for her pros- 
 perity. We should see those seasons of gracious visitation 
 from the Lord when there were confessions of sin, plead- 
 ings for pardon, thanksgivings for mercies, rejoicings over 
 sinners converted, and the countenances of God's people 
 shone with a preternatural radiance from the spiritual glory 
 within, as the face of Moses shone when he came down 
 from the mount, or in faint likeness to their Master in the 
 Mount of Transfiguration. All this we should see but a 
 still wider vision would be granted us. We should see the 
 whole number of those whose names have been 
 written in the Lamb's Book of Life, through the ministry 
 and teaching of the word in this church, all the lives that 
 have been ennobled by the Christian influence here exerted, 
 and all the triumphant deaths of those who have gone to 
 see the King in his beauty. Would not our hearts thrill 
 
48 WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 under such a revelation ? How much that is most valuable 
 in the history of a church must be unknown to us because 
 it can never be written. The good accomplished by this 
 church during the century can be known only as we know 
 the utmost sweep of its influence in blessing the world and 
 fulfilling the petition in our Lord's prayer, "Thy kingdom 
 come." 
 
 How many sweet memories connected with the living and 
 the dead are interwoven with the history of this church. 
 Rev. Asa Bullard, in an interesting book which he has 
 made the memorial of his own live, describes a closet in his 
 boyhood home where, when he first consecrated himself to 
 God, he used to retire for prayer. Many years after, while 
 visiting his early home, he looked into that closet and found 
 that his mother was in the habit of using the place for the 
 same purpose. He says, "What a hallowed spot did it seem 
 to me! A thrill of sacred awe came over me and I seemed 
 to hear a voice saying : 'Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, 
 for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.'" As we 
 think of all the sacred associations of the past, and seem to 
 hear the voice of prayer and praise echoing back and forth 
 across the ceutury, may we not truly say, This is a hallowed 
 spot? O, the precious memories which even death cannot 
 destroy ! 
 
 Permit me to say that the years I spent with you are 
 among the pleasantest of my ministry and shall never be 
 forgotten. 
 
 In closing I can utter no better wish for you than that 
 which Paul expressed for the Ephesian Church, "That God 
 would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be 
 strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man; 
 that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being 
 rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend 
 with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth 
 and height, and to know the love of Christ which passeth 
 knowledge, that ye may be filled with all the fulness of 
 God." 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 49 
 
 Letters from the Absent. 
 
 READ BY DEACON JAMES BELL, SECRETARY. 
 
 From Dan P. Eells, Cleveland, O. 
 There is perhaps not a person now living in Westmore- 
 land who would have any recollection whatever of me, and 
 few who would remember my honored father. Yet I have 
 a vivid remembrance of the little house where I was born, 
 and of the old church which was my father's first and long- 
 est pastoral charge.* I was born in the house occupied by 
 my father during his entire pastorate which I presume is 
 the present parsonage, on April 16, 1825, and was the young- 
 est of six children, (five boys and one girl) who lived to 
 maturity, and am now the only survivor of my father's 
 family. 
 
 * The first fire I ever saw was the burning, one Sunday forenoon, when everybody 
 was in church, of the only public house in the village, popularly called Bell's 
 
 From Mrs. Deborah S. Crandall, Syracuse, N. Y. 
 I would love to meet all of my old friends once more, but 
 I am not able to attend this meeting. I am now 86 years 
 old and the infirmities of old age and deafness prevent my 
 going from home. I shall think of you all on that day, and 
 many recollections of the past will come to my mind and I 
 will wonder if there will be many of the old, old friends 
 present. 
 
 From Rev. Anson J. Upson, Glens Falls, N. Y. 
 In my boyhood that part of the town of Westmoreland 
 where the descendants of the late Judge Deane still reside, 
 was a paradise to me. There I spent many a happy summer 
 and winter day. In driving from Utica, in those days, we 
 passed through what was then the pleasant village of 
 
50 WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 Hampton. I am glad you have changed the name and 
 taken that of your native township. In my youth your old 
 church was a landmark, and even then a venerable building, 
 but far less attractive than your present house of worship. 
 Yet I remember that the worshippers of those days, many 
 of whom, like the Deanes, drove miles to the services did 
 not suffer for the lack of light or fresh air. In later years, 
 while a professor in Hamilton College, it was my privilege 
 to deliver literary lectures and to preach frequently to your 
 people. The audiences which gathered in your comfortable 
 church were remarkable for their intelligence and, as I re- 
 member them, for their patience. I wish I could recollect 
 the names of all whose faces I so well remember; the gen- 
 tle, faithful Deacon Brown, and Mr. Allen, and many others 
 who are now worshipping in a temple not built with hands. 
 To Dr. Beckwith and others, still living, I am indebted for 
 many courteous attentions. How many able, faithful pas- 
 tors have been the instructors of your people and have 
 broken for you the bread of life ! What a roll of honor it 
 is ! The name of James Eells would be a jewel among the 
 treasures of any parish. His distinguished son, the late 
 James Eells, professor in Lane Seminary, was born, I be- 
 lieve, in your parsonage. Franklin Spencer, that Boanerges 
 in the pulpit, was not as gentle as the Apostle John, yet 
 you had the utmost confidence in him, for you knew him to 
 be as sincere and true in his convictions, in his word 
 and in his work as the author of the fourth 
 Gospel. It may not be quite becoming for me to 
 speak with freedom of my brother James Deane, still 
 living, but in my judgment, you never had a minister more 
 thoughtful, intelligent, wise and faithful to your best in- 
 terest than he. Since my compulsory banishment from 
 Oneida County, I have known less of your ministers and 
 your people, but, from time to time, I have rejoiced in the 
 evidences of your continued prosperity. It is my earnest 
 hope and prayer that the second century of your history 
 may be ever more spiritually and temporally prosperous 
 than the one just closed. 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 5 I 
 
 From Rev. James Eells, Englewood, N. J. 
 The church to which my grandfather ministered for 
 twenty-one years (1804-1825) the church in whose seats my 
 uncles and father sat as weary, yet brave little boys, during 
 grandfather's seventeenthly, and improvement; the church 
 with a history such as yours of usefulness to men, and 
 praise to God ; surely such a church is worthy of all vener- 
 ation and tenderest love. A full, round century of power 
 and prayer; a glorious congregation of those who have 
 gone before joining with the congregation of those who 
 wait for the "little while" to be accomplished; heaven and 
 earth linked together in the bonds of kindred and love. 
 Yours is a magnificent privilege in being able thus to cele- 
 brate the Centennial Day. I give you and the church heart- 
 iest greeting. God bless you for the closing century, and 
 in the blessing fit you for nobler years, and more consecrat- 
 ed, yet to come. 
 
 [This Rev. James Eells was the son of James Eells, D. D., who was the son of Rev 
 James Eells, who was the son of Rev. James Eells, who was the son of Rev. Edward 
 Eells, who was the son of Rev. Nathaniel Eells, who was the sou of Rev. Nathaniel 
 Eells, a graduate of Harvard in 1696, and pastor during life of the Presbyterian 
 Church in Scituate, Mass.] 
 
 From Rev. L. A. Sawyer. 
 I send you an outline of my pastorate in Westmoreland. 
 I visited the church as a candidate and preached my first 
 sermons on the 8th and 15th of October, 1854. I received 
 a call to settle with you, and I immediately brought on my 
 family and entered on pastoral duties, but was not installed 
 till Feb. 7th, 1855. Rev - Simeon North, D. D., of Hamilton 
 College, preached the sermon. Rev. Dr. Vermilye, then 
 pastor of the church at Clinton, made the installing prayer. 
 Rev. Mr. Pfatt, pastor of the church at Madison, presided 
 / and charged the people, and gave the right hand of fellow- 
 ship to the pastor, and Rev. Mr. Brace, Presbyterian minis- 
 ter from Utica, charged the pastor. I have no remembrance 
 of ever witnessing more impressive services than were those 
 of that occasion. I labored with the church at Westmore- 
 land five years, until the fall of 1858, when I was at my re- 
 
52 WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 quest dismissed from my charge and from the Association, 
 but my sincere affection for that charge and for the Asso- 
 ciation has in all these years suffered no decline. 
 
 From Mrs. F. A. Spencer, Adrian, Mich. 
 
 To my husband, whose form lies in your quiet cemetery, 
 no place was dearer than Westmoreland, and no church 
 held so large a place in his affections and his prayers. Al- 
 most the last office that he performed was to attend the 
 burial service of one of the older members of the church, 
 coming home weary, and feeling that the time would be short 
 when he, too, should be laid to rest in the same place of 
 repose. 
 
 For the sake of your dear mother, who was always a val- 
 ued friend, and many others who hold a warm place in my 
 memory, the church of Westmoreland will always be a sacred 
 spot. 
 
 From Rev. L. J. Sawyer, Amsterdam, N. Y. 
 For about four years I was a member of the Congrega- 
 tional Church at Westmoreland; that was thirty-six years 
 ago. When my father moved from Sacketts Harbor to 
 Hampton I was living in Toledo, O. In December, 1854, I 
 returned home to Hampton, and spent nearly two years in 
 preparation for college at the school, then taught by Rev. 
 Mr. Moody, at the Spring House. Those days shine in 
 memory with the wondrous light and beauty of youth. 
 Shortly after my coming to Hampton a gentleman by the 
 name of Curry became chorister. At that time the church 
 owned a parsonage and a few acres of land across the creek, 
 and on the lower corner of the lot was a small cottage where 
 a worthy old man and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. White, lived. 
 Having survived friends and relatives and become infirm 
 they waited patiently for the summons that should bid 
 
 • them enter into the joy of their Lord. During father's pas- 
 torate there occurred the struggle in Kansas to determine 
 
 I whether that state should be a slave state or a free state. 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 53 
 
 At one of these conflicts between free state and pro-slavery 
 parties, John Brown's son was killed, and father preached a 
 sermon one Sabbath morning defending John Brown, and 
 denouncing what was called "border ruffianism." On the 
 following Monday morning a committee called at our house 
 and requested that the address be written out and given to 
 them for publication, which was accordingly done. In think- 
 ing of these days some names of friends connected with the 
 church come to mind. Deacons Bishop, Townsend, Bliss 
 and families, Drs. Loomis, Hardin/ Halleck and 
 families, Mr. Patton and family, several families of 
 Clarks, and others whose names are not in my memory at 
 this moment. The relations between the church at Hamp- 
 ton and my father were of the most endearing kind. No harsh 
 words were ever spoken by either party to mar the friend- 
 ship which should bind pastor and people together as one 
 family in Christ Jesus. And to-day you are assembled to 
 remember the past century and look forward to the future. 
 For one hundred years has the gospel been proclaimed 
 from this centre of spiritual influence. How much of the 
 joy and sorrow does this period of time witness in every fam- 
 ily. The young grow old and enter into rest and their chil- 
 dren's children meet here to-day. The years come and go 
 and the centuries are numbered into eternity of the past, 
 but the Christian church holds its appointed place in earth, 
 and in heaven the same family of the redeemed. 
 
 From Rev. Samuel F. Porter, Kingston, III. 
 "I was born Sept. 17, 1813, and baptised in infancy by 
 Rev. John Frost. I go back in memory to about the time 
 when the meeting house was placed on its present site, dur- 
 ing the pastorate of Rev. James Eclls. It was the custom 
 to have two sermons on Sunday with a short intermission 
 between the services, and in mid-winter this was very trying, 
 as there was no apparatus for warming the house. I re- 
 member seeing Rev. Abijah Crane preaching in a heavy 
 overcoat with mittens on his hands. But it was a notable 
 day when a tall three-story Philadelphia stove was set up, 
 
 J 
 
54 WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 and under the management of Brother Newcomb sent its 
 genial warmth around among the square pews through the 
 meeting house. Early in the winter of 1825, when about 12 
 years old, I came to meeting in the church in Westmoreland 
 one Sabbath morning and saw a stranger in the pulpit with 
 Rev. Abijah Crane; it was Rev. C. G. Finney; the text was 
 Prov. 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go; and 
 when he is old he will not depart from it." I give one tem- 
 perance illustration from that sermon. Parents, he said, 
 will pray that their children may possess a true Christian 
 spirit while they lead them in the opposite direction. 
 For instance, a Christian mother will go away and 
 pray, "O Lord grant that my little daughter may be a hum- 
 ble Christian child," and then she will go and dress her up 
 in all the finery possible, until her little heart is as proud as 
 Satan. Why it is just as if a professor of religion were to 
 pray, "Grant me, O Lord, the grace of Christian sobriety," 
 and then were to go to the side board and pour down a half 
 pint of brandy. One remark made on the Gospel 
 as the power of God is worthy to be repeated: The 
 gospel, he said, when brought to bear on the human mind> 
 will produce results as a sharp sword properly applied will 
 cut, but many destroy the effect of it by winding it round 
 and round and swathing it in a garland of rhetorical flowers. 
 When about 15 years old I joined the church. The day 
 I was examined, at the close, Judge Enos tried to have the 
 rule dropped which excluded adhering Free Masons from 
 Church fellowship, but he did not succeed. In anti- 
 slavery times the Congregational Church of Westmoreland 
 stood firm in the front ranks, exerting a happy influence for 
 righteousness and humanity. But enough. May the dear 
 Lord bless the church and pastor and this memorial gather- 
 ing, and build up his kingdom gloriously. 
 
 From James Eells Crane, Pueblo, Col. 
 It is with a feeling of most sincere regret I find myself 
 unable to accept your cordial and very welcome invitation to 
 be present with you at the centennial exercises of the First 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 55 
 
 Congregational Church at Westmoreland, on the 20th inst. 
 
 There are, indeed, few living, who find the chords of mem- 
 ory and loving association drawing them more closely or 
 strongly to the people who formed the first flock to whom 
 my honored father broke the "bread of life," and under 
 whose ministering care many souls were born into the spirit- 
 ual kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 To the old parsonage, where were born my brothers and 
 sisters, where I was born, and to the old church, where in 
 baptism I was dedicated to the service of my Redeemer, 
 by faithful hearts, and received the name, long loved and 
 much revered, of the former pastor, James Eells, of whom 
 the president of our company here is the last surviving 
 child, Dan P. Eells, full of years and honors, and in this con- 
 nection it may not be amiss to state, showing the brotherly 
 affection of those days, that Dan and my oldest brother, in 
 whose ages there was a difference of only six weeks, were 
 rocked in the same cradle. 
 
 It is little I can add that can be a source of interest to the 
 generation now living, as infant memories recall only vague 
 outlines, and infrequent visits to the old home in childhood 
 years are barren of those features which arrest the attention 
 or quicken the memory of those present with you to-day. 
 
 Deacon Halbert, Captain Lyman, Dr. Chester, Warren 
 Converse, and the Enos and Townsend families, were house- 
 hold names thro all my earlier years, and in later years that 
 of Rev. F. A. Spencer, who, always a personal friend of my 
 father, assisted at the exercises, where all paid their tribute 
 of respect and love as he was borne to his earthly tomb. I 
 can never forget him as he gave out the hymn on that occa- 
 sion — 
 
 "Servant of God, well done, 
 Rest from thy blest employ." 
 
 My father died at our home in Clinton, May 14, 1847. Near- 
 ly half a century has passed, but the memory of his godly 
 life, his intense devotion to all that was pure and good, 
 lovely and of good report, his sympathy for the poor, needy 
 and oppressed, his utter detestation of all that was mean, low 
 
56 WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 or crooked, has been with all his children a power for good, 
 thro all their lives. 
 
 Prompt in decision, he never waited the stamp of popular 
 approval for any movement that promised the elevating 
 or ennobling of our kind, but plunged at once into the bat- 
 tle. Among our family traditions, there are few that we re- 
 call with more satisfaction than that he formed the first 
 Temperance Association west of Albany, and was heart and 
 soul in sympathetic effort with Beriah Green, Gerrit Smith 
 and others in Central New York, to stir up the mind of the 
 people against the crime and incubus of slavery, that had al- 
 ready spread a pall over all the land ; and inheriting his 
 father's patriotic zeal, his second son, Col. L. H. D. Crane, 
 yielded up his life in the full vigor of early manhood on 
 the battle field of Cedar Mountain, 1862. A hundred times he 
 said to me, "This war will be an utter failure if it doesn't re- 
 sult in the complete and utter destruction of slavery." 
 
 Of his other children, Edwin Hall was the eldest son and 
 child, born May 31, 1825, graduating with the highest honors 
 at Hamilton College in 1845. Studying law with his mater- 
 nal uncle, Willis Hall, Attorney-General of the state, we 
 looked for success and honors in civil life, for which his high 
 intellectual attainments seemed specially to fit him. Some 
 time in doubt as to his future work, his decision was not 
 finally made until it came in a letter as father lay dying, and 
 only a few hours before his death, in which he gave 
 himself in the fullest consecration to the work of 
 the Christian ministry. On hearing the letter 
 read, on coming to this decision, father raised his hand and 
 said, "Stop ! God bless my son in his choice ; it is worthy 
 the ministry of angels." Pursuing his studies at Auburn 
 Theological Seminary he offered his services to the A. B. C. 
 F. M. and was sent to the Mission of the Nestorians. Short- 
 ly after arriving at Ooromiah he was sent to the mission 
 station of Gawar, in the mountains of Kurdistan, learning 
 the language and customs of the people with whom his 
 lot was cast. Visiting the governor of the district after a 
 residence of only a few months, he contracted from him 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 57 
 
 typhus fever, from which he died, after an illness of only ten 
 days, on the 27th of August, 1854. His spirit still lingers on 
 those mountain sides, and for years after his death the sick 
 were brought from far and near to his grave, in the hope 
 that healing power might come from the tomb of so good a 
 man. 
 
 Among those who will address you is the name of Rev. 
 Parsons S. Pratt, whom I well remember, as well as his fath- 
 er and brother Sereno B. Pratt, and who will remember 
 brother Edwin. 
 
 Of my sisters, Helen Everest, born in 1828, was a beautiful 
 illustration of a meek and quiet spirit. She died in early 
 womanhood, in 1857. My other sister still lives, the widow 
 of Chas. Anthony, Esq., at Gouverneur, New York. 
 
 As the only surviving son of him whose memory is still 
 green among you, it may not be unfitting that, assembled as 
 you are, children and grandchildren of his generation, I shall 
 speak for him. Could those white lips speak they would 
 still testify to the eternal truth, that redeeming love, as re- 
 vealed to us in Jesus Christ, is the only hope of a lost world, 
 and amid all the strifes, never for a moment lose our faith in 
 its ultimate victory over sin and the grave. Never lower the 
 standard nor abate one jot or tittle of that ardor, which 
 should burn brighter and brighter until the perfect day. 
 
 From Rev. James Deane, Crown Point, N. Y. 
 
 When I first visited the church as a candidate for the then 
 vacant pulpit, the impression made upon myself by the ap- 
 pearance and demeanor of the congregation was in all re- 
 spects most happy. The order and attention during the 
 hour of divine service, the cordiality of feeling manifest in 
 the exchange of greetings by those present from diverse 
 localities argued a fortunate condition in social affairs — a 
 conclusion not contradicted by much longer observation 
 and acquaintance. 
 
 The Deacons of the Church then in office were: Warren 
 Kellogg, Bushnell Bishop and Sheldon W. Stoddard. 
 Deacon Kellogg was already far advanced in age, and by 
 
58 WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 reason of consequent infirmity unable to act in his office. 
 But he was always present at morning service on the 
 Lord's Day, when attendance was practicable. The good 
 old man's experience affords a striking instance of the 
 power and permanence of radical religious impressions. 
 While at his great age memory grew dull concerning other 
 matters, he always knew when Sunday came and was eager 
 to be in his place at church, even though he could hear 
 very little of the service, or indeed recognize many of the 
 others in attendance. He was truly of that blessed com- 
 pany "who still bring forth fruit in old age." 
 
 Deacon Bishop removed to Oneida a few months after 
 my accession; but the brief opportunity for acquaintance 
 served to impress an excellent opinion of his substantial 
 worth and sincere piety. With Deacon Stoddard I enjoyed 
 an acquaintance deepening into intimacy for nearly nine 
 years, upon which I often look back with thankfulness. 
 There is abundant reason for gratitude in having known so 
 true a man; it is especially good fortune to enjoy the coun- 
 sel and friendship of such. Many will recall distinctly his 
 personal appearance, his frame and figure. He was robust 
 and broad shouldered, in more than one sense. A loyal, 
 willing bearer of burdens; not afraid to see or to assume 
 legitimate responsibility. With a cool brain and a warm 
 heart, he furnished a specimen of that fortunate paradox, a 
 conservative radical. A thoroughly good man in all rela- 
 tions when I first met him, while the years sped he grew in 
 grace most truly; his spirit softened, his vision broadened, 
 his humility deepened; so when on that July Sabbath in 1876 
 God called him hence, all knew that for him it was only 
 "to be with Christ, which is far better." 
 
 Of others also beside these officers of the church in that 
 day it would be easy to write in tender esteem. The oldest 
 member of the church at the time was William Newcomb, 
 "Father Newcomb," of blessed memory. He was the first 
 superintendent of the Sunday School as originally organized 
 in 18 18, if facts are recalled aright. Too infirm for much 
 outward activity, his sweet spirit and calmly confident out- 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 59 
 
 look toward Eternity were lesson and inspiration for us all. 
 With these names I could recall a score and more of God- 
 ly men and women who have passed on "to the rest that 
 remaineth." "Not lost, but gone before." And yet amid 
 teeming opportunities for earthly service there must remain 
 a goodly assembly of those who can also recall the graces of 
 these departed saints "whose faith we certainly may follow, 
 considering the end of their conversation." 
 
 In relation to the spirit and work of the dear church, let 
 it be allowed me to say here, that in no instance coming im- 
 mediately under my own own observation have I found an 
 equal number of church members less tenacious of personal 
 plan and choice, or more ready to yield these for the sake 
 of the good cause, and the soul-profit of others. 
 
 Among other matters for grateful remembrance, I ought 
 not to omit all mention of the healthful growth of the Sun- 
 day School, and the influence of the work wrought there 
 upon the type of piety prevalent since, scriptural in its 
 structure. Doubtless this is as much a joy to others as to 
 myself. But let me emphasize the fact that this growth was 
 not due to any hothouse methods, or to factitious attrac- 
 tions. It was simply the consequence of honest painstaking 
 by all concerned, officers, teachers and scholars; a sincere 
 magnifying of the Word of God, given for mankind. I do 
 not now recall that we ever had a single Sunday School 
 concert or any spectacular exercise. But we did have live 
 scholars, praying teachers, a spirit of work and the blessing 
 of Heaven. Another relation in which the influence of the 
 church was effectively exerted was that of its fellowship in 
 the local association, now known as the O. C. & D. Almost 
 invariably represented in the meetings of that body, and by 
 those of diverse age or gifts, the church maintained itself 
 most happily in the esteem and fellowship of sister church- 
 es, and contributed in no small degree to the spirituality 
 and evangelistic earnestness of its meetings. For real 
 saturation with the Spirit I have never known any meeting 
 of other Christian bodies that excelled the gathering of O. 
 C. & D. at Westmoreland in 1875. Anticipated by much 
 
60 WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 prayer, the sincerity of its devotional elements, the sympa- 
 thetic temper of its other exercises, culminating in a sacra- 
 mental service of peculiar tenderness; none who shared its 
 sessions can forget their fragrance even now. 
 
 But this writing must not be prolonged, though you will 
 believe me when saying it is not easy to stop. Recollec- 
 tions of events and of the persons concerned in them throng 
 upon me while I write. The memory of favors received in 
 unmerited abundance, of forbearance extended right often, 
 of lessons learned while trying to teach, — of these and 
 other matters I could, but may not, longer write. 
 
 From Rev. Isaac O. Best, Broadalbin, N. Y. 
 My first acquaintance with Westmoreland was at a Fel- 
 lowship Meeting when green corn and other good things 
 were provided bountifully. The presiding genius of the oc- 
 casion was your pastor, Rev. James Deane, whom I had 
 known in the war time. At that reunion I found out that 
 the good people of Westmoreland knew how to cook and 
 how to be generous with their good things. Further ac- 
 quaintance confirmed this good opinion, especially when 
 you began to ask me to preach occasionally. I knew that 
 you only sent for me when you couldn't get anybody else 
 to preach for you, yet you were always good listeners and 
 good listeners make the poorest preacher happy. You call- 
 ed for me to preach for you about thirty times (more or 
 less) during the intervals of your regular pastorates, so 
 that I got to feel almost like a pastor emeritus to your 
 church. It is very gratifying to me that you have remem- 
 bered me in this time of rejoicing. Every recollection that 
 I have of your church is pleasant ; even the kindness of the 
 good brother who sent me marked copies of The Voice to 
 convince me of the unrighteousness of being a Republican 
 and a preacher at the same time, is highly appreciated. 
 From the bottom of my heart I congratulate you on reach- 
 ing, as a church of Christ, your hundredth birthday. The 
 friends of an aged man were celebrating his hundredth 
 birthday, when one of them said, "Well, uncle, you can 
 
WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 6l 
 
 hardly expect to live another hundred years." "I don't 
 know about that," was his reply, "for I am beginning this 
 century with a great deal more strength than I had when I 
 began the last." I am sure that you are beginning the 
 second century of your church life with a great deal more 
 strength than the church had one hundred years ago. The 
 future is surely as full of blessings from the good hand of 
 God as the past has been. Looking back over a hundred 
 years of rich experience, seeing how God has been with 
 you all the century, counting up these who have been 
 born again into the church and those who have gone to 
 glory from it, remembering that He who redeemed them is 
 the same yesterday, to-day and forever, you can certainly 
 look forward into the coming century with hope and con- 
 fidence that God will still continue to bless you and make you 
 a blessing. That this may be the effect upon all your hearts 
 is the prayer of your humble servant in Christ Jesus. 
 
 From Rev. Nestor Light, Harford, Pa. 
 I heartily congratulate you on reaching your one hun- 
 dredth year as a church, and mingle my rejoicing with yours. 
 When I entered upon my work I had no doubts as to the 
 loving power of my Saviour; I had many concerning my 
 own ability. I found the church in an inharmonious con- 
 dition, though perfectly united in me. Substantial harmony 
 was maintained throughout my pastorate. An early event 
 in my pastorate was my own ordination, March 15, 1883. 
 One of the first effects of my pastoral work was the break- 
 ing of a spiritual dead-lock standing for some time, during 
 which none had joined the church. From time to time five 
 were received on profession of their faith, and two by letter. 
 One infant was baptized. Nothing like a revival occurred, 
 although we had seasons of deep prayerfulness. The prayer 
 meeting was fairly well sustained. Our missionary collec- 
 tions during the whole period were good, and in one year 
 reached high-water mark, about $100. The ladies' mission- 
 ary society was ably sustained. They had good reason to 
 feel proud of their efforts in those days. The Sunday school 
 
62 WESTMORELAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 
 was in a prosperous condition during my pastorate. 
 There was much seriousness in the study of the Word. Novel 
 reviews in short essays and two minute talks were success- 
 fully introduced. Concert exercises for Children's Day were 
 very successful. The County Sunday School Convention, 
 held with us, was regarded by many visitors as superior to 
 the State Convention. The Sunday School, I recollect, took 
 deep satisfaction in taking an annual collection for the 
 homeless children of New York City. I turn here to the saddest 
 side of my work, the burial of the dead. Irving Stoddard 
 was the first member of the church to die. All bore witness 
 to his Christian character. Several others died and were 
 buried in those years. The last year of my pastorate was 
 marked by the erection of the present parsonage, one of the 
 most comfortable in northern New York. I believe the 
 trustees worked for this result with great unanimity and 
 zeal. The work was undertaken and accomplished, free of 
 debt.under the conviction that it was a vital necessity in the 
 life of the church. Near the close of my work Deacon Ja- 
 son S. Bliss withdrew from the church. My pastorate is 
 deeply graven on my heart as the sphere of my first work 
 in the ministry. My ordination to the ministry, the coming 
 of my wife, a bride, into the work of the ministry, and the 
 birth of my son, the trials, disappointments, tears, of those 
 years are on record. While I feel the deepest gratitude for 
 the success, I can only deeply regret that more souls were 
 not brought into the light. I rejoice to know that a number, 
 then under my influence, have since found the light. My 
 heart's prayer is that many more may find their Saviour. 
 
xm