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 JAN 20 1932 
 
 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE, 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE OF THE ORGANIZATION OF THE 
 
 jFtrst pmbgtttiatt Cljurcl), 
 
 • 
 
 IN NEWBURYPORT, 
 
 DELIVERED AT THE 
 
 FIRST CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION, JAN. 7, 1846. 
 
 By JONATHAN F. STEARNS, Pastor. 
 
 NEWBURYPORT: 
 PUBLISHED BY JOHN G. TILTON. 
 
 1846. 
 
 *: 
 
NEWBURYPORT, Jaw. 15, 1846 
 
 Rev. and Dear Sir: 
 
 The undersigned, a Committee of the First Presbyterian Society, 
 would express to you their sincere thanks for the very interesting and 
 instructive Discourse, delivered by^ou on the recent Centennial Anniver- 
 sary, and would respectfully request a copy of the same for publication. 
 
 Hoping that you may accede to our wishes, we are, Dear Sir, with 
 sentiments of respect, 
 
 Truly Yours, 
 
 MOSES PETTINGELL, 
 
 EZRA LUNT, J> Comnitue. 
 
 ROGER S. HOWARD, 
 
 HA8KELL 4: MOORE, PRINTERS, 
 No. 4 Wast.. -trext, . . . Eostdh. 
 
The dates, uniformly given in the following narrative, prior to 1752, are, 
 as respect the month and day of the month, in the Old Style. This was 
 thought to be, on the whole, the preferable method, as the dates could, in 
 this way, be seen at once to correspond %o those of the documents from 
 which they are taken. It will be very easy, however, for the reader to 
 reduce them to the present mode of reckoning, by adding, in each instance, 
 eleven days to the date given. Thus the date of the organization of the 
 Church is given, in the Church Records, and in the present narrative, as 
 the 3d of January. According to the present reckoning, the true anni- 
 versary of that event is on the fourteenth. The same reduction must be 
 applied to the events which follow. 
 
 In preparing this discourse the authorities relied upon have been, 1st, the 
 Records and files of the Church. 2d, a manuscript statement, supposed to 
 have been presented to the Legislature of the State, containing copies of 
 votes of the First Church in Newbury and correspondence between the 
 aggrieved of that Church and the pastor, with the result of the exparte 
 council, called by the aggrieved. 3d, a copy of the result of the exparte 
 council, subsequently called by the Church and pastor. 4th, the ecclesias- 
 tical files of the State, containing petitions and remonstrances from the 
 different parties, and the originals of a somewhat extended correspondence 
 between the aggrieved of the third Church in Newbury and their pastor. 
 5th, the Records of the First and Third Churches. 6th, the manuscript 
 journal of the Rev. Jonathan Parsons. 7th, a manuscript collection of letters 
 written by Mr. Parsons, and now in the possession of some cf his descend- 
 ants. 8th, Prince's Christian History, Tucker's "Brief Account," and a 
 variety of miscellaneous pamphlets and volumes. 
 
 The author would tender his sincere thanks to the Clerks of the First 
 Church in Newbury and the First Church in Newburyport, for their polite- 
 ness in allowing him the use of their Records. Also, to Joshua Coffin, 
 Esq. and others, for valuable documents furnished by them. 
 
DISCOURSE. 
 
 Psalm lxxviii : 2 — 7. 
 
 I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known and 
 our fathers have told us ; we will not hide them from their children, 
 shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord and his strength 
 and the wonderful works that he hath done", for he established a testimony 
 in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, 
 that they should make them known to their children ; that the generation 
 to come might know them, even the children which should be born, who 
 should arise and declare them to their children ; that they might set their 
 hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments. 
 
 The passage of Scripture just recited, no less than the 
 present occasion, invites us to review and remember, that 
 we may transmit to those who come after us, the history 
 of God's goodness to us as a people. 
 
 The planting of a Church and the gathering of a religious 
 society, are among the most important events in the history 
 of any community. What influences for good or for evil, 
 will be shed abroad from the fruit and leaves of that tree ! 
 If a true Church, established upon true principles, maintain- 
 ing the faith of the Lord Jesus, and built on him, as its 
 chief corner-stone, how salutary will be the effects of its 
 existence. If a false or corrupt Church — a Church designed 
 to inculcate false doctrine, or maintain the forms without 
 
 the substance of the Gospel, how deplorable will be the 
 
 1* 
 
consequences to multitudes ! Such as the Churches are, in 
 a given community, such, as a general rule, will be the 
 character of the people at large. 
 
 The Church, whose first centennial anniversary we now 
 celebrate, (App. 1.) had its origin at a period of no com- 
 mon interest. The " Great Awakening," which commenced 
 about the year seventeen hundred and forty, is deservedly 
 regarded as an era in the history of the Churches in New 
 England. Then a change was begun in their character 
 which is felt, far and wide, to this day, — a change which, 
 we trust in God, will not cease to be admired and honored, 
 till the dawning of the glory of the latter day shall dim, 
 by its excess of brightness, all former communications of 
 the light of heaven. As this Church was emphatically, and 
 perhaps beyond almost any other in this region, the child 
 of that remarkable impulse, it seems proper before proceed- 
 ing to its own particular history, to take a hasty glance at 
 the general features of the crisis at which it originated. 
 
 The first Churches of New England were established on 
 the most strictly evangelical foundation. They believed 
 and professed the great principles of the protestant reforma- 
 tion, with remarkable affection and strictness. Their cor- 
 ner-stone was the doctrine of justification by faith only, 
 good works being the necessary fruits of faith, and thereby 
 its evidence, but by no means the meritorious cause of sal- 
 vation. They believed, as fully, in the necessity of a 
 renovation of the sinner's heart, by which its whole char- 
 acter and tendencies might be changed, the dominion of 
 sin broken, the life of God in the soul enkindled, and the 
 whole spiritual man created anew in God's likeness. This 
 change, they ascribed wholly to the Divine spirit, working 
 indeed, ordinarily, not without means, but at the same time 
 so employing these, as to impart to them no share in the 
 glory of the great result. True piety, in their estimation, 
 
was a product of regeneration, and consisted, not in any 
 outward performances, nor even in the most blameless out- 
 ward morality, but in that inward conformity of the heart 
 to God, that love to him and communion with him, of 
 which outward goodness is but the necessary manifestation. 
 Under the influence of these doctrines, preached earnestly 
 by such men as Shepard, and Cotton, and Norton, and 
 Mitchell, and Hooker, and Stone, " the word of God grew 
 and multiplied;" and the preachers, themselves, full of the 
 spirit of their divine message, could rejoice that they seldom 
 preached, without some visibly good effect upon the hearts 
 and consciences of their hearers, and without finding some, 
 who had before been careless, beginning to inquire, " What 
 shall I do to be saved ?" 
 
 But this happy and very promising commencement was 
 not destined to perpetuate its influence. The spirituality 
 of the Churches began at an early day visibly to decline, 
 and when the first century closed, there was great occasion, 
 as the eye of Christian love looked abroad over the land, to 
 exclaim, " How has the gold become dim and the most 
 fine gold changed." First, there was manifested a great 
 decline of spiritual vitality. Religion became more a 
 matter of profession, and form, and less an experience of 
 the heart. Then the boundaries between the Church and 
 the world became less distinct. Multitudes became mem- 
 bers of the Church, who gave no evidence that they were 
 truly regenerate. Church discipline was neglected. Im- 
 morality invaded the sacred enclosure. The preaching 
 became less discriminating and pungent. The doctrines 
 of the ancient faith, long neglected, and reduced in the 
 minds of the people to a dead letter, were fast gliding away 
 from the popular creed, and were on the eve of being 
 displaced for another system. 
 
 Such was the condition of a large portion of the Churches 
 
8 
 
 of New England, when the great change to which I have 
 alluded broke upon them in its power. Already had the 
 morning star shone forth, in the great revival at Northamp- 
 ton, five years previous, under the faithful preaching of the 
 old doctrines* by the celebrated Jonathan Edwards. But 
 the whole horizon began now to be illuminated. The 
 whole land soon glowed beneath the brightness of the 
 risen sun. Under the preaching of such men as Whitefield 
 and Tcnnent, men evidently raised up to perform a special 
 work, the impulse spread like electric flame. It stirred 
 to its inmost depths the compact population of the larger 
 commercial towns. It penetrated the interior villages. 
 Churches which had long since " settled upon their lees" 
 now began to feel within them a strange fermentation. 
 Old respectability, proud of its decent forms, began to find 
 the sceptre of its influence loosening in its grasp, and the 
 legitimacy of its long dominion boldly questioned, by a 
 race, professing to have been just now turned from darkness 
 unto marvellous light. 
 
 The effect of this new impulse fell, as might have been 
 expected, most heavily on the pastors of the churches. 
 Secure of their support by the aid of the civil law, pledging 
 all the real and personal estate, within certain geographical 
 limits, for the fulfilment of their pecuniary contracts : and 
 ministering to a people, not desirous of great pastoral fidel- 
 ity, to the disturbance of their slumbering consciences, a 
 large part of them had settled down into a dull routine of 
 Sabbath day performances, and were spending their week 
 day hours, when not employed in the preparation of their 
 
 * It is a fact worthy of special attention, that the same doctrine of 
 justification by faith only, which in the hands of Luther was the life and 
 soul of the Protestant Reformation, was, in the hands of Edwards, the 
 means of imparting the first impulse to that great awakening, which 
 revived to new life the decayed and slumbering Churches of this Country. 
 
9 
 
 hasty discourses, in the improvement of their parsonage 
 lands, the indulgence of their literary tastes, or in friendly 
 correspondence and social intercourse with each other, and 
 with those distinguished men in civil life who courted 
 their society and respected their respectability, or sought to 
 avail themselves, for their own purposes, of their unbounded 
 influence. Many of the ministers of that day, it is sup- 
 posed, were men who had never experienced, in their own 
 hearts, the power of the faith which they professed to 
 teach. Many had become very sceptical in regard to its 
 fundamental doctrines. And even those who were at heart 
 faithful men, and desired sincerely the spiritual welfare of 
 their flocks, infected to a great extent with the surrounding 
 atmosphere, had become over cautious, in regard to every 
 thing like excitement in religion, and, to avoid offence, 
 dwelt chiefly on those vague generalities, which at best 
 play round the head but come not near the heart. 
 
 Upon a clergy so secure and slumberous, the great 
 awakening burst forth like the shock of an earthquake. 
 Some aroused themselves, like the five wiser virgins when 
 the bridegroom came, and made haste to welcome the 
 wonderful guest. Some at first acted the prudent part 
 of bending to the storm, thinking to let it pass over them 
 unresisted, and blow by. Others, really friendly to what- 
 ever was good and genuine in the work of grace, were yet 
 alarmed by the evils which attended it, and, perhaps too 
 much influenced by the opinion of some whom they deemed 
 wise and judicious, run well for a little season and then 
 were hindered. 
 
 It was not long, however, before the party lines among 
 the pastors of the Churches became quite prominent. 
 When the famous Whitefield first came to Boston, all the 
 clergy there, and in the neighboring towns, with scarce an 
 exception, welcomed him with open arms. A few years 
 
10 
 
 passed, and a considerable party among them had taken an 
 entirely different view of his character and influence. His 
 faults were magnified, his good depreciated. Pulpits were 
 shut against him. and pamphlets warned the public to 
 beware of his fanatical influence. 
 
 But it is not easy to stop an earthquake when it has 
 commenced its motion, nor to stay the progress of a hurri- 
 cane by the rebuke of human authority. The popular 
 mind had been roused, and the excitement could be quelled 
 only by the voice of truth. Unfortunately for those who 
 would restore the calm, truth was mainly on the side of 
 their opponents. The people saw that the new doctrines, 
 were, after all, only those which the fathers of New Eng- 
 land taught, which were acknowledged in the confessions 
 of faith of their own Churches, and in which, in childhood, 
 they themselves had been instructed from the Assembly's 
 Catechism. They saw, too, that the effects produced by 
 them, were, in the main, the legitimate results of those 
 principles. And why then should the respected pastors of 
 the churches wish to oppose the preaching of those doc- 
 trines, and the production of those effects ? 
 
 The result was such as might have easily been antici- 
 pated. The coldness, which so many Christian ministers 
 exhibited amidst the general fervor, led many to doubt the 
 reality of their own conversion, and the sincerity of their 
 professed attachment to the ancient faith ; and what was 
 doubtless true of many, soon began to be asserted boldly 
 of the whole. The cord that bound the religious commu- 
 nity together was now broken. The old decencies were 
 despised as sheer hypocrisy. The influence of the pastors 
 was no longer heeded, because the people had lost 
 confidence in their sincere attachment to the cause of 
 piety. Men of more zeal than knowledge now became, in 
 many instances, the leaders of public opinion, and in the 
 
11 
 
 anarchy which must necessarily have ensued, all sorts of 
 wild fire, mingling with the flame of newly kindled piety, 
 burned unchecked till it became uncontrollable.* 
 
 Far be it from me to approve the disorders and irregular- 
 ities which attended that wonderful excitement. There was 
 unquestionably much everywhere which the serious Christ- 
 ian must and ought to deplore. But what is the chaff to 
 the wheat ? The legitimate leaders in the sacramental 
 host of God ? s elect had declined their trust. The battle 
 was for the inheritance, transmitted from the worthiest of 
 fathers, — the inheritance of puritan faith, dearest of all 
 others to the genuine New Englander. It was not so 
 much a revolution, as a restoration, that they were now 
 
 * The evils likely to result from the encouragement of ignorant laymen 
 and youth destitute of all proper experience, to usurp the functions of the 
 Christian ministry, were early foreseen and predicted by some of the most 
 eminent promoters of the revival. But they had greater evils of an oppo- 
 site character to contend with, and this fact neutralized, in a great degree, 
 the influence of their admonitions. It is well known to all who are famil- 
 iar with those times, that a prominent subject of controversy was the 
 necessity of an educated ministry. The revival party insisted that grace 
 in the heart is of more importance than learning in the head ; and their 
 opposers, on the other hand, so magnified the importance of human learn- 
 ing, as to cast into the shade that of personal piety. Both were partly 
 right and partly wrong. It must be said, however, in favor of those who 
 seemed to despise education in their zeal for personal religion, that, of the 
 two, they were contending for by far the more important point. It was 
 the point likewise which, for a considerable time previous, had been most 
 neglected. Had all the educated ministers of the community possessed 
 the spirit of Colman, and Edwards, and Sewall, and Prince, no outcry 
 would have been made, we may be sure, against human learning in the 
 ministry — certainly no disposition would have been manifested to under- 
 value it, as an important collateral qualification. But the great dearth of 
 such men at that important crisis, and on the other hand the violent 
 opposition which the revival encountered from some, eminent for their 
 intellectual attainments, produced, in many hasty minds, the impression, 
 that great learning is unfavorable to ardent piety. Hejice their confidence 
 was transferred to another class, and the unskilfulness of their guides often 
 led them lamentably astray. 
 
12 
 
 to contend for, not a conquest, but a recovery, of what had 
 been insidiously stolen away, in an hour of forgetfulness. 
 And should the people hesitate ? In the absence of their 
 regular leaders, they must lead themselves. In all their 
 ignorance, they must march on, with such a degree of 
 regularity as mere soldiers of the rank and file were able to 
 secure. Who can wonder that there was little discipline 
 among them ? Who can wonder that the lawless mingled 
 in their ranks, and obtained at times a temporary ascend- 
 ancy ? Who can wonder that the best disposed among 
 them were chargeable with many things, which their 
 posterity must censure, and which they themselves, when 
 they had time for calm review, had occasion to deplore ? 
 
 The prevailing spirit of that movement, was, we may 
 not doubt, that of living Christianity. There was, truly, 
 as those engaged in it believed, a glorious work of divine 
 grace upon the hearts of individuals, and a glorious refor- 
 mation accomplished in the Church at large. Great princi- 
 ples, long withdrawn from notice, and almost sunk into 
 oblivion, were restored to their ancient supremacy. The 
 faith, practice and experience of the puritans was re- 
 vived. Religion flourished again. And as for the 
 disorders, which unhappily attended its resuscitation, these 
 were soon made to disappear before the power of intelligent 
 and sober piety. 
 
 In the general excitement, the people of Newbury, it 
 appears, largely participated. How far the Churches here, 
 with their pastors, had become infected with the prevailing 
 degeneracy, it may not be easy at the present day exactly 
 to determine. Within the bounds of what is now included 
 in the towns of Newbury and Newburyport, there were 
 then existing two Congregational parishes, called the first 
 and third parishes in Newbury ; now the first in Newbury 
 and the first in Newburyport. 
 
13 
 
 The pastor of the first Church in Newbury was then 
 advanced in life, and of a peculiar temperament. He set 
 his face, from the beginning, sternly against the new 
 movement. The promoters of it, he did not hesitate to 
 address by the opprobrious epithet of " Schemers," and 
 "New Schemers," which their adversaries had applied to 
 them. He told them to their face, that he presumed, they 
 had been inventing falsehoods against him, for said he, " I 
 never yet knew a schemer that would not lie." The name 
 of " new light men," sometimes given them, he admitted 
 might be applicable, for he continued, " Satan being now 
 especially transformed into an angel of light, hath trans- 
 formed his followers into his likeness, in regard of the new 
 light they pretend unto." He even suffered himself, it is 
 said, on one occasion, to become so excited, as to arm 
 himself with a whip, under his cloak, when he went into 
 the house of God, to scourge out the enthusiasts, as he called 
 them, from the sacred precincts.* 
 
 The other Church had been gathered only about fifteen 
 years, when the work began, and was supplied with a 
 pastor, learned, mild, serious, and evidently disposed to be 
 faithful, beyond the ordinary practice of his day, in the 
 promotion of serious piety. A single note, inserted in the 
 Church records, may serve to illustrate his spirit. After 
 recording a vote of the Church, the design of which was to 
 adopt measures for the advancement of their own piety and 
 religious influence, he gives vent to his own feelings in the 
 following devout ejaculation : " God grant success to us in 
 this affair, and by his holy spirit lift up a standard against 
 
 *It seems proper, to observe here, that the Rev. Christopher Toppan, 
 above referred to, was supposed to be laboring, at times, under a partial 
 derangement of intellect. The peculiar turn, however, which his insanity 
 seems to have taken, in the above instances, is significant of the state of 
 the times, and of the difficulties under which those who afterwards separ- 
 ated from his Church were compelled to labor. 
 
 2 
 
14 
 
 vice and profaneness, and revive dying religion among us/ /,# 
 At what precise time the new impulse communicated 
 itself to the people here, and by what mentis, I am not able 
 to state confidently. Before the arrival, however, of the 
 first itinerant preacher in this place, the records of the third 
 Church, now the first in Newburyport, give evidence of an 
 unusual interest in religious matters, in the admission to its 
 communion in one year, of forty-four persons, a greater 
 number, as the pastor himself then supposed, than was 
 ever known to have been received in any Church in the 
 province, in the same space of time.f 
 
 In the autumn of the year seventeen hundred and forty, 
 George Whitefield made his first visit to New England. He 
 arrived in Boston on Thursday evening, September the 
 eighteenth, at eight o'clock, and remained there, preaching 
 in the various Churches, about ten days, when he set out 
 on an excursion to the Eastward, He reached Newbury 
 in the afternoon of September the thirtieth,! and preached 
 once in the house of worship belonging to the third parish 
 
 * The measures above alluded to, were the annual appointment of seven 
 brethren of the Church, to be "joined with the pastor and the honored 
 justices belonging - to it," to meet once a month and " consider what might 
 be done for the good of the town in general, and the Churches in it," or, as 
 the object is expressed in another place, " to consider what may be done to 
 revive dying religion among us, suppress vice, and promote the peace and 
 welfare of the Church." At the same meetincr the Church voted to meet 
 once a quarter "and renew their covenant with God and one another." 
 
 t This is stated on the authority of Mr. Lowell, himself, in a letter to the 
 arrorrieved, now on file in the State House. But the Church records show 
 that, during the year immediately succeeding the great earthquake in 
 17vJ7, which excited so much terror every where in this region, one hun- 
 dred and forty-one persons were admitted to the same Church. 
 
 t Coffin states, in his history of Newbury, on the authority of Mr. 
 Williams' historical sermon, that Whitefield first came to this town Sep- 
 tember 10th. This is a mistake. He had not then reached Boston on 
 his way from the South. 
 
15 i 
 
 the Rev. Mr. Lowell's, then situated on what is now caller 
 Market Square. His own notice of the event is as follows: 
 u The Lord accompanied the word with power. The 
 meeting-house was very large, many ministers were pres- 
 ent, and the people were greatly affected. Blessed be God. 
 His divine power attends us more and more." Whitefiek 
 proceeded on his journey as far as York, Maine ; ane 
 returning, preached at Newbury again, on Saturday, Octo- 
 ber the fourth ; when a collection amounting to eighty 
 pounds and nine shillings, was taken up in behalf of the 
 orphan house which he was then establishing in Georgia. 
 In the course of the next winter, the hardly less famon.- 
 Gilbert Tennent paid a visit to Newbury. On the seventl 
 of January, as appears from a note by Mr. Lowell in th 
 records of the third Church, he preached once in private, 
 and on the next day once in public. A week later, 
 namely, on the sixteenth of the same month, he was here 
 again, and preached in public three times. 
 
 During this period, and for a considerable space of time 
 afterwards, Mr. Lowell appears to have been regarded as s 
 friend to the new movement. He made no opposition to 
 it. He admitted freely to his pulpit, or allowed the peopk 
 who desired it, to admit such itinerant and neighboring 
 ministers as were considered specially active in the promo- 
 tion of it. He became more zealous than usual in his own 
 pastoral duties, and for a time maintained two weekly 
 lectures, in addition to his other exertions. The result was 
 that, during the space of one year and six months from thr 
 preaching of Whiten 1 eld hi this place, one hundred and 
 forty-three persons were added to his Church, and of these, 
 fifty-nine were admitted on one particular occasion, and 
 twenty-seven on another, both within the space of one 
 month. The Church under the care of Mr. Lowell became 
 indeed the resort of some, from the other parish, who were 
 
16 
 
 disaffected towards their own pastor, on account of his 
 opposition to the work. 
 
 Up to to this time, namely, the last of March, seventeen 
 hut id red forty-two, we find no evidence of a disposition 
 among the friends of the revival to establish separate 
 worship. But the causes of dissatisfaction were at work. 
 During the course of the very next month, signs of misun- 
 derstanding begin to appear, between them and the Rev. 
 Mr. Lowell. The Messrs. Rogers, of Ipswich, were among 
 its most ardent supporters, and being men of high standing 
 in the ministry, had probably found a welcome reception 
 here, as well as others of a similar stamp. Near the close 
 of April, Mr. Buel,* a young preacher who had been 
 laboring with much success at Northampton, under the 
 eye and with the approbation of Jonathan Edwards, came 
 to Ipswich, and, in company with Rev. Nathaniel Rogers, 
 and his brother, Daniel Rogers, then a candidate for the 
 ministry, visited Newbury. Mr. Lowell was absent, and 
 some of his parishioners, desirous of. hearing these gen- 
 tlemen preach, took the responsibility of introducing 
 them into the meeting-house for that purpose. Great 
 excitement was produced by this act, and great offence 
 
 * Mr. Buel was a classmate of Rev. Samuel Hopkins, and a graduate of 
 Yale College at the commencement in the preceding September. As was 
 not uncommon at that day, he commenced preaching very soon after he 
 left College, and in the latter part of the following winter was employed 
 to preach at Northampton, in the absence of Rev. Jonathan Edwards. 
 Edwards himself thus speaks of him in a letter to a clergyman in Boston : 
 " About the beginning of February, 1742, Mr. Buel came to this town. I 
 was then absent from home, and continued so till about a fortnight after. 
 Mr. Buel preached from day to day, almost every day, in the meeting- 
 house. I had left him the free use of my pulpit, having heard of his 
 designed visit before I left home. There were very extraordinary effects 
 of Mr. Buel's labors," &C. Hopkins, who was then residing in the family 
 of Edwards, speaks of him as " a zealous preacher of the Gospel, and the 
 means of greatly reviving the people to zeal in religion/' 
 
17 
 
 taken, in which the pastor himself seems to have partici- 
 pated. Shortly after, a communication was inserted in a 
 Boston paper, representing the transaction in a very 
 reproachful light ; as if Mr. Rogers and his associates, had 
 formed a party, and taken violent possession of the meet- 
 ing-house, in the pastor's absence. This the friends of 
 those gentlemen denied. The pastor, with his own 
 signature, confirmed the statement. The result of the 
 misunderstanding was, that the next day Mr. Rogers 
 preached in the town-house, being now excluded, as it 
 appears, from both the meeting-houses, and a numerous 
 audience there attended on his preaching. 
 
 What direct influence this event may have had on the 
 succeeding movements does not now appear. One fact is 
 evident, however ; that the pastor had, by this time, seen 
 occasion to change his views of the propriety of the mea- 
 sures in operation. He had complied with the wishes of 
 those who were attached to them, till the matter seemed, 
 in his judgment, to be going too far. Evening meetings, 
 which he had before allowed, he now began to regard as 
 of a dangerous tendency, and therefore stopped them. 
 Itinerant preachers, he had permitted those of the people 
 who desired to hear them, to introduce into his pulpit ; 
 until, to use his own words, "it was plain that any itiner- 
 ant, of whatever character for capacity and conduct, was 
 preferred," then he excluded them. Meanwhile, the views 
 of that portion of his people were not changed. Hence 
 they became discontented. The transaction just related, 
 it seems probable, was the means of bringing matters to a 
 crisis. Shortly after, we find that measures were in 
 operation for the erection of a new place of worship. The 
 building stood upon the North-east side of High Street, 
 between Federal and Lime, and was probably completed 
 before the middle of February in the following winter. 
 2* 
 
18 
 
 Meanwhile, a young man from the neighboring parish of 
 By field, Joseph Adams, a graduate of the same year at 
 Harvard University, and a very recent convert, began to 
 exhort and hold meetings in this vicinity. He was a man 
 of great fervor and zeal, and having entered upon the work 
 he had undertaken with all the earnestness of sincerity, 
 and the freshness of youthful devotion, he charmed and 
 melted by his preaching the hearts of multitudes, who 
 regarded him, in the language of one of his adversaries, 
 as "some great one, the mighty power of God." The 
 imprudent zeal of the young preacher led him to commit 
 some indiscretions. He fixed his eye upon the pastor of a 
 neighboring Church, — a man whom he appears to have 
 regarded as peculiarly deficient in ministerial qualifications, 
 — and with the view of dealing faithfully with his soul, 
 addressed a letter to him, full of severe reproof, plainly 
 intimating that he had never been converted, calling him 
 "an opposer of this blessed reformation/' and ending with 
 the hope, that " God would either convert him or turn him 
 out of the ministry," and the prayer, "O that God would 
 bless this letter to your conviction." This letter, which 
 appears to have been intended as a private one, the receiver 
 immediately published, together with a long answer, in 
 which the "arrogant young man" is chastised with no 
 little severity. Notwithstanding this, however, the confi- 
 dence of the friends of the young preacher appears to have 
 remained unabated, and when the new meeting-house was 
 completed, which was about the beginning of the year 
 seventeen hundred and forty-three, Mr. Adams was em- 
 ployed as the stated preacher. 
 
 A large number from each of the two parishes now 
 withdrew from their former places of worship, and attended 
 on Mr. Adams' ministrations. He continued to oliiciate 
 for this collection of "separatists," as they now began to 
 
19 
 
 be called, with more or less constancy, more than two 
 years, until a Church was formed, as we shall presently 
 have occasion to notice.* 
 
 It seems proper, that we should pause here, and inquire 
 for what reasons the separation just referred to was made. 
 Fortunately we have the parties' own statements, which 
 will furnish the best exposition of their views. 
 
 The separatists from the first Church, of whom, there 
 were, in the first instance, about thirty male members, 
 complained of their pastor, the Rev. Christopher Toppan, 
 that he had departed from the ancient faith in several 
 important particulars, and especially, that he had strenu- 
 ously opposed himself, to what they regarded as " the 
 glorious work of God in convincing and converting great 
 numbers in our land, of late, and especially among us," and 
 had called it i: all a delusion of Satan." 
 
 The separatists from the third Church, thirty-eight male 
 members with their families, expressly disavowed the design 
 of fixing upon their pastor, the Rev. John Lowell, the 
 charge "of false doctrine, or what is generally called an 
 immoral life." They admit that his preaching was not 
 displeasing to them, " in a time of great deadness in reli- 
 gion, a time when (as we think)" say they, -both the wise 
 and foolish virgins were slumbering and sleeping." But 
 since the great work of divine grace had commenced among 
 them, many, especially of those who had shared in it, had 
 
 * Mr. Adams was afterwards settled in Stratham, N. H., where he died 
 at an advanced age, leaving behind him, as a friend informs me, the repu- 
 tation of a " remarkably good man." The evidence that he remained here 
 as long as above stated, is to be found in a letter from Mr. Parsons, then 
 at Lyme, addressed to Charles Pierce, Esq., and Dr. Sawyer. He says, in 
 the postscript, " I hope you will treat dear Mr. Adams, your present 
 preacher, with respect and confidence. He is a man whom I love in the 
 Lord, and I believe he has been very serviceable to the cause of Christ 
 among you." This letter is dated April 18, 1745. 
 
20 
 
 become dissatisfied. They complain that he had of late 
 shown himself " cold and strange" towards the promoters 
 of the late happy " reformation in the land," — "at this day 
 as yon are pleased to express it (to onr sorrow) only of 
 'temptation.' But we think, in honor to the Holy Spirit, 
 it deserves to be called a day of illumination as well as 
 temptation." Meanwhile, they complain, your own preach- 
 ing was "not so suitable to our experience as we wished 
 and longed for." His discourses seemed to them not 
 sufficiently explicit and frequent, on the subject of mams 
 native depravity, and inability," "the way of salvation by 
 the merits of Christ," "the work of the Holy Spirit," and 
 " the bringing the sinner off from his own righteousness, 
 to rely entirely on Christ's righteousness." They wished 
 the terrors of the law to be set forth in a more lively 
 manner, and the sermons to be " pressed home and pun- 
 gent," and the preacher himself to be "more zealous, 
 constant, and fervent, in this weighty cause of gaining 
 souls to the kingdom of God." They do not complain, 
 indeed, that they have had nothing of this class of instruc- 
 tions, but they think they have had far too little of it, 
 "especially considering the present day." "And then," 
 they continue, " when you were upon such subjects as 
 fairly led you to speak close, and clear, and distinct, to our 
 case, you seemed to us to glance over or but hint at them, 
 in such generals, as did not reach our case." " And then 
 the improvement, which we consider the life and soul of a 
 sermon, seemed to us to go all over, without touching us." 
 Could they have had such preaching, as in their view was 
 essential to their spiritual welfare, in season and out of 
 season, cither by the pastor himself, or by his heartily 
 admitting and forwarding the efforts of such other Orthodox 
 ministers as would preach in that manner, accompanied by 
 corresponding pastoral efforts on his part, they would never 
 
21 
 
 have thought, they say, of separating from him. The 
 want of these, and the like privileges, led them to with- 
 draw. 
 
 The irregularity of the proceedings of these " aggrieved 
 brethren," in withdrawing from public worship and ordi- 
 nances in their own Churches, and establishing for 
 themselves separate worship, without first obtaining a 
 regular dismission, demands, in justice to them, an attentive 
 and discriminating consideration. They had had, as they 
 affirm, repeated conferences with their pastors on the sub- 
 ject, until one of these -'declared he would talk no more 
 with them,'' and the other, though often appraised of their 
 desire to withdraw, and their wish for a Church meeting 
 in the case, had sufficiently indicated his unwillingness to 
 do anything to forward their wishes. Indeed the policy 
 of the pastors, at that period, seems to have been, to call 
 no Church meetings, and have no Church action on the 
 subject of existing difficulties. One of them states explic- 
 itly, that he should have called such a meeting, were it not 
 that he " had abundant reason to fear, the heats and 
 annimosities among us might prevent our acting, at the 
 meeting of the Church, with wisdom and for the honor of 
 Christ." Of course, the power of calling Church meetings 
 being then considered as lodged exclusively in the hands 
 of the pastors, it was impossible for the aggrieved brethren, 
 in existing circumstances, to obtain a regular hearing. 
 
 As to building the meeting-house, and commencing 
 public worship in it before asking a formal leave so to do ; 
 which was sometimes alleged as an irregularity ; they 
 supposed they had the best of precedents in their favor. 
 The house in which Mr. Lowell officiated, had been built, 
 it seems, without any such leave given by the first Church 
 and parish, and the persons afterwards organized as the 
 third Church, had not been dismissed for that purpose, 
 
)7 
 
 until a considerable time after the house was built, and 
 there was stated preaching in it. And yet no offence had 
 been taken, — none regarded it as an irregularity. 
 
 It is plain however, that the aggrieved earnestly desired, 
 and were determined to secure, if possible, some distinct 
 action of their own Churches on the case in hand. When 
 they separated, it was evidently with the earnest hope, that, 
 by a decisive stroke, the Churches would be brought to a 
 direct and regular cognizance of their affairs. 
 
 But the pastor of the third Church, though for the sake 
 of peace, he would call no regular meeting, does not seem 
 to have been unmindful of the exigencies of that trying 
 crisis. On the first day of May, say the Church records, 
 "after the administration of the Lord's supper, just before 
 the blessing was pronounced, the pastor read to the Church 
 what follows : " Brethren, vou are all sensible of the great 
 schism that has been made in this Church, and that a 
 considerable number of persons, under the watch and care 
 of this Church, have withdrawn from our communion in 
 the word and ordinances, in breach of their solemn vows 
 and covenant engagements ; and I think it my duty, as your 
 pastor, to move to you that we keep a day of fasting and 
 prayer upon this sad occasion, and seek God's special 
 direction for the healing of our divisions."' The day was 
 agreed upon and observed accordingly. " The same day," 
 records the pastor, somewhat mournfully, " the separatists 
 held a public assembly in Mr. John Brown's barn, in Mr. 
 Toppan's parish, at which deacon Beck," one of his own 
 deacons, "was present." 
 
 The aggrieved brethren, now perceiving no probability 
 that the Church intended to take any steps towards a 
 regular hearing of their case, by calling them to an account 
 for their withdrawing, began themselves to move, by a 
 formal application, for a Church meeting. 
 
23 
 
 On the thirty-first day of October, those belonging to 
 the third Church addressed their pastor, in the following 
 communication : " We, the subscribers, brethren of the 
 third Church in Newbury, beg your compliance with this 
 our desire in calling a Church meeting, that we might lay 
 before them the reasons of our withdraw, and also our 
 desire of a dismission from your particular Church, in 
 order to be gathered into a Congregational Church agree- 
 able to the word of God." This was signed by the names 
 of thirty-two male members of the Church. The pastor 
 replied, expressing his regret, that " in this day of tempta- 
 tion," they had been so unmindful of their covenant vows 
 as to have separated from the communion of the Church. 
 He declines calling the Church meeting, until they are 
 more explicit in stating their grievances ; for, says he, 
 " they may be such, for aught I know, as to contain some 
 charges against me (though I fear none) or some other 
 particular person," — in which event he would have them 
 pursue private measures, — ■" or they may be such as I 
 ought not, as pastor, to lead the Church to consider of." 
 
 The aggrieved next addressed a communication to the 
 pastor and Church jointly. It commences with the 
 following frank and honorable confession : " We, the 
 subscribers, having withdrawn from communion with this 
 Church, are convinced, that in not laying before you the 
 reasons of our withdrawing before we actually did with- 
 draw, we have erred, we heartily acknowledge it, and ask 
 your forgiveness therefor." They then proceed to state, 
 generally, that they are not edified by the pastor's minis- 
 trations, and again they earnestly desire to be dismissed, 
 peaceably and amicably, to be formed into a Congregational 
 Church. To prevent mistakes, about their views of reli- 
 gious truth, they take care to add: " To your satisfaction, 
 we think, we can heartily and unreservedly subscribe and 
 
24 
 
 concur with the well known body of Divinity among you 
 called the Assembly's Catechism." 
 
 Instead of laying this communication before the Church, 
 according to its obvious intent, the pastor proceeded to 
 answer it. His reply is (in some parts of it) a little 
 pungent. "Whether my preaching," he says, "be as 
 much for your soul's benefit and spiritual edification as 
 that of others, and particularly Mr. Adams's, whom you 
 generally hear, would be somewhat odd for me to deter- 
 mine." lie still hopes, however, that he can satisfy them, 
 if they will give him a more full and explicit account of 
 their grievances, intimates that the Church will not be 
 willing to dismiss them, while they are not in charity with 
 the pastor, and have not given him the reasons, and finally 
 proposes to have another day of fasting and prayer in 
 reference to the matter. 
 
 The aggrieved brethren now took their turn to be severe. 
 " As to breach of vows," they sa} r , "and all that respects 
 that on our part, we think we have sufficiently acknowl- 
 edged, and asked your forgiveness therefor." They retort 
 the charge. The Church is bound, they say, to call 
 offenders to an account. And if they were regarded as 
 offenders, it was a breach of covenant vows to neglect to 
 take cognizance of their case. They repeat their request 
 for a Church meeting. They see no probability of remov- 
 ing the difficulties by private conference, for they have 
 repeatedly waited upon the pastor, both as committees and 
 as private persons, and without success. They complain, 
 that they have been ill-treated in the matter. They think 
 they shall not make many more attempts of a like nature, 
 unless they have a better prospect of success. In this 
 letter, the aggrieved set forth, in detail, the reasons of their 
 dissatisfaction, and request particularly that the whole 
 should be read to the Church. The pastor replied in a 
 
25 
 
 long letter, going over the whole ground and intimating, 
 that " the Church will not be likely to receive their acknowl- 
 edgement, while they still refuse to hold communion with 
 them."* . 
 
 At length, however, the Church met. The result was 
 such as the pastor had anticipated. Having heard the 
 request of aggrieved brethren, and their reasons, the Church 
 voted, " 1st, That the separate brethren did, by their with- 
 draw, so long before they offered any reasons, give the 
 Church just cause to be offended. 2d, That the Church 
 had not received satisfaction." At an adjourned meeting 
 it was farther voted, — " 1st, That the separating brethren 
 had no right to vote in the case then pending. 2d, That 
 the reasons given by the brethren withdrawn from com- 
 munion, were not sufficient to justify their separation, or 
 for this Church to grant them a dismission. 3d, That a 
 Committee be appointed to prepare, in the name of the 
 Church, an admonition to the brethren of the separation. 
 4th, That if the separate brethren shall slight the admoni- 
 tion, which shall be given them, to return to communion, 
 this Church will, in due time, proceed to such further 
 censure, as is directed in the Gospel." The votes were 
 
 * The above intimation, unquestionably, contains the real reason why 
 the truly manly and Christian confession of the aggrieved brethren was 
 not received as an ample reparation of all past irregularities. The true 
 head and front of their offending, was their determination not to return to 
 the Church and parish. The acknowledgement was never made a matter 
 of Church record. The legal disabilities under which that society after- 
 wards suffered, requiring them to lay before the Legislature of the 
 Commonwealth the original documents of their early transactions, was, 
 in the providence of God, the only means of preserving it from oblivion. 
 Many years afterwards, however, when the heat of party feeling had 
 subsided, this very confession, retained in the memory only of certain of 
 the members, was accepted by the Church as a sufficient ground on which 
 to receive back into its fellowship one of those who had signed it, and was 
 now disposed to return to his old relations. 
 
 3 
 
26 
 
 passed by a very small majority, sixty-nine voting against 
 sixty-five, the latter, however, including the aggrieved 
 themselves. This took place on the 14th of February, 
 1744. Shortly afterwards, the Committee having prepared 
 the admonition, the Church summoned the offending 
 brethren to appear on a given Lord's day, at the close of 
 divine service, to receive it. As might naturally have been 
 expected from men who had conscientiously maintained 
 separate worship more than two years, the accused were 
 not found in attendance on the Lord's day, at the close 
 of divine service in the' third parish. And the Church 
 not thinking it proper to proceed farther, at this time, left 
 the whole matter, without any farther action, nearly two 
 years. 
 
 Meanwhile, the disaffected in the other parish had not 
 remained idle. Having been repulsed in their attempts at 
 private conference with the pastor, with the declaration, 
 that he would talk no more with them, they proceeded, 
 according to his suggestion, to prepare a written statement 
 of their grievances, among which, besides the points already 
 mentioned, is the neglect to call the complainants them- 
 selves to an account for withdrawing from communion 
 with the Church. # The letter, containing this statement, 
 was read to the Church on the Lord's day, but no action 
 was had on the subject. After waiting, between four 
 or five weeks, the aggrieved addressed a second letter to 
 the pastor, assuring him that the matters complained of 
 were matters of great grief to themselves, and earnestly 
 
 * This written statement being prepared, and not yet presented, a copy 
 of it was demanded by the pastor, that he might lay the charges contained 
 in it before the Superior Court, then about to hold its session at York 
 Perhaps the intimation or threat here given, may serve to account, in part, 
 for the backwardness sometimes manifested by the complainants to prepare 
 written statements of their grievances. 
 
27 
 
 entreating him seriously to consider them, and give the 
 complainants reasonable satisfaction ; or otherwise to concur 
 with them, in calling a council of the Churches, to hear 
 their grievances, that so an end might be put to the unhappy 
 controversy. This communication met the same fate with 
 its predecessor. Again the aggrieved addressed the bretliren 
 of the Church, and entreated them to take the matter into 
 serious consideration. The letter was read, as the others 
 had been, on the Lord's day, together with the pastor's 
 answer. But no vote was taken, no meeting for business 
 appointed, and no copy of the answer sent to the aggrieved. 
 Application for a copy of it was made, but the request was 
 refused. The pastor also distinctly refused to call a 
 meeting of the Church. Once more, an attempt was made 
 to bring the brethren of the Church together, for a personal 
 conference, but the attempt failed. 
 
 The aggrieved now resorted to a Council. It was 
 convened on the eighth day of November, seventeen hundred 
 and forty-three. On the third day of its session, the pastor, 
 with the advice of some of the principal members of the 
 Church, addressed a letter to the moderator, in reply to a 
 communication from him, assuring him that it had been, 
 and still was his intention, as soon as it might conveniently 
 be done, to call the Church together, if the aggrieved 
 desired it ; and that if the matter could not otherwise be 
 settled, he was ready, with the Church, to join with the 
 aggrieved, in calling a Council, mutually chosen, to hear 
 and advise upon their difficulties. Aware of the evils 
 attending all exparte decisions in ecclesiastical matters, the 
 Council advised the aggrieved to accept the overture of 
 their pastor, and if after suitable efforts they were unable 
 to obtain satisfaction, then to unite with him in calling a 
 mutual Council. And thereupon the first Council dis- 
 persed. 
 
28 
 
 After waiting a few weeks, and perceiving no movement 
 on the part of the pastor, the aggrieved again applied to 
 him, requesting the fulfilment of his promise. Then they 
 learned, to their surprise, that, of the mutual Council which 
 had been promised them, they themselves were to choose 
 not a single member ; but the Church must choose the 
 whole.* Not reckoning at a very high rate the mutuality 
 of a Council so constituted, the brethren made several 
 further attempts. The pastor, at one time, proposed to 
 leave the whole matter to the Governor and Council. But 
 this the brethren did not seem to think quite ecclesiastical. 
 Again he offered to refer it to seven ministers. But this 
 reference, they perhaps thought too exclusively clerical. 
 Once more, he proposed a Council of Churches. But the 
 pastor was to choose one third of the members, the Church 
 one third, and the aggrieved the remainder. And as the 
 majority of the Church was now well understood to be on 
 the pastor's side, in the matter in controversy, the aggrieved 
 regarded this plan likewise, as not likely to produce an 
 impartial result. 
 
 Wearied and disgusted to find themselves so repeatedly 
 balked, they now resorted a second time to an exparte 
 Council. But again, perceiving some ground of encour- 
 agement to pursue further negociations, they sent to stay 
 the Council from assembling until further notice should 
 be given, (aj) Failing in this, they once more sum- 
 
 * As far as I am able to judge of the facts by a comparison of counter 
 statements, I am led to conclude that the method proposed here was this : 
 that the pastor and the aggrieved were to nominate, each one half of the 
 Council, but the Church would then be free to accept or reject the nomi- 
 nations. The objections to this method may be easily seen. The Church 
 was understood to be a party with the pastor. If they were allowed 
 to choose all the members of the Council, it would be an easy matter 
 to exclude from it every one of those Churches and ministers, (for they 
 were not numerous,) who were in full sympathy with the aggrieved in 
 their views. 
 
 t The letters refer to the Appendix. 
 
29 
 
 moned the Councilf It consisted of eight Churches, and 
 was convened on the twenty-fourth of July, seventeen 
 hundred and forty-four. The Church and pastor resolved 
 not to acknowledge nor notice it. The complainants made 
 their own representations. The Council obtained a copy 
 of the pastor's answer to the complaints alleged, which has 
 already been alluded to, and determined to give it all due 
 consideration. In the result, the complaints were sus- 
 tained, the pastor censured, and the complainants advised, 
 in case all proper efforts to obtain satisfaction should fail, 
 " then to seek more wholesome food for their souls, and 
 put themselves imder the care of a shepherd, in whom 
 they could with more reason confide." 
 
 The Church now proceeded, on their own part, to sum- 
 mon a Council. Having selected the members, they 
 proposed, with great appearance of fairness, that the 
 aggrieved should select an equal number to be joined with 
 them, and make it a mutual Council. But in this number 
 none of those Churches which had been before invited, 
 could be chosen. And as these were nearly all the Churches 
 in the neighborhood, in whom the aggrieved had confi- 
 dence, they very prudently declined the proposal. 
 
 Another exparte investigation was of course the conse- 
 quence, and the result, as might have been expected, was 
 exactly the reverse of the other. 
 
 One further hope now remained to the dissatisfied. The 
 pastor being aged and infirm, measures were about to be 
 taken for the settlement of another minister. But the 
 candidate, whom the parish preferred, being no nearer to 
 their own views, than his predecessor, they at length 
 determined to avail themselves of the decision of their own 
 Council, and formally withdraw from the Church. 
 
 Accordingly, on the twentieth day of December, seven- 
 teen hundred and and forty-five, about four weeks after the 
 3# 
 
30 
 
 ordination of the new pastor, they adSressed a communi- 
 cation to the Church, recapitulating past transactions, and 
 concluding as follows : 
 
 " Wherefore, Brethren, on these considerations, for the 
 peace of our consciences, our spiritual edification, and the 
 honor and interest of religion, as we think, we do now 
 withdraw communion from you, and shall look upon 
 ourselves as no longer subjected to your watch and 
 discipline, but shall, agreeable to the advice given us, 
 speedily as we may, seek us a pastor who is likely to feed 
 us with knowledge and understanding, and in whom we 
 can with more reason confide." 
 
 " And now, brethren, that the God of all light and truth 
 would lead both you and us into the knowledge of all 
 truth, as it is in Jesus, is and shall be the desire and prayer 
 of your Brethren," &c. Signed by twenty-three male 
 members of the Church. 
 
 I have been particular in detailing these transactions, 
 because the separatists from both the two Churches have 
 been charged with a disorderly separation. It will be seen. 
 I think, from what has been presented, that whatever 
 irregularity may have attended their earlier movements, 
 sufficient evidence was presented, afterwards, of a disposition 
 to atone for past errors, and obtain, if possible, a regular 
 and orderly dismission. Those belonging to the first 
 Church had the decision of a Council in their favor, — an 
 exparte Council it is true, but one which was not resorted 
 to, till repeated efforts for a mutual one had been made in 
 vain. Those from the third Church, perceiving that they 
 had acted hastily in the first instance, made a frank and 
 cordial acknowledgement. And though their urgent 
 requests to be dismissed peaceably, in order to be formed 
 into a new Church, had been continually neglected, they 
 still delayed taking the final step, in hopes that, what 
 
31 
 
 they looked upon as their most sacred rights, would yet be 
 conceded by their brethren. That there was, by this time 
 at least, a serious, settled and conscientious difference of 
 opinion between the two parties, demanding separate 
 worship, few I think, at this day, would be disposed to 
 question. What the dissatisfied brethren, in the first 
 Church, called " the glorious work of God," the pastor of 
 that Church felt compelled to denounce as "a delusion of 
 Satan." What the brethren in the third Church thought a 
 " day of illumination," their pastor assured them he must still 
 call "a day of temptation." In these circumstances, what 
 was to be done ? Had there been a regular mode of relief 
 open to them, all must admit that they ought to have 
 pursued it. But the important doctrine of religious freedom 
 was, at that time, but poorly understood by the Congrega- 
 tional Churches in this region. 
 
 The members thus withdrawn from the first Church, 
 now considered themselves at liberty to form other ecclesi- 
 astical connexions. Accordingly, on the third day of 
 January, seventeen hundred and forty-six, nineteen of the 
 twenty-three brethren who had signed the declaration of 
 separation, were embodied into a Chinch, by affixing their 
 names to the following mutual covenant : 
 
 "We, the subscribers, who were members of the first 
 Church in Newbury, and have thought it our duty to 
 withdraw therefrom, do also look upon it as our duty to 
 enter into a Church estate, especially as we apprehend this 
 may be for the glory of God, and the interests of the 
 Redeemer's kingdom, and our own mutual edification 
 and comfort. We do, therefore, as we trust, in the fear of 
 God, mutually covenant and agree to walk together as a 
 Church of Christ, according to the rules and order of the 
 Gospel. In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our 
 hands this third day of January, Anno Domino, seventeen 
 hundred and forty-six." 
 
32 
 
 Such, my brethren, was the origin of this Church. 
 Such the motives which led to its formation, and such the 
 circumstances under which it was established. There had 
 been, unquestionably, a glorious work of divine grace in 
 the community. Along with it, there had been a large 
 developement of the devices of Satan, — much disorder and 
 enthusiasm, — much uncharitableness and wild fanaticism. 
 But the chaff was now becoming separated from the wheat. 
 The prevalence of sober and correct views, over false heat, 
 was fast becoming apparent. The faults of the past had 
 been acknowledged and renounced. Due efforts had been 
 made to obtain an orderly release from former ecclesiastical 
 relations. In the establishment of the new Church, the 
 foundations were laid firm and deep in the essential prin- 
 ciples of that faith and order which had been professed and 
 practised by the earliest Churches of New England. 
 
 Meanwhile, the providence and grace of God was raising 
 up, and preparing for the work to be assigned him, a pastor 
 eminently qualified for the exigencies of the times, and the 
 wants of this particular people. 
 
 The Rev. Jonathan Parsons was born in Springfield, 
 Mass., Nov. 30, 1705. He was the child of Christian 
 parents, and in his early years was carefully educated in 
 the principles of faith and piety. 
 
 He entered Yale College at the age of twenty, and was 
 ordained over a Congregational Church in Lyme, Co^n., a 
 little more than a year after he took his first degree. The 
 first two years of his ministry he preached Arminian 
 principles, and, as he afterwards had reason to fear, was a 
 stranger to regenerating grace. But it pleased God to carry 
 him through a severe mental conflict, by which his religious 
 views were greatly changed, and his heart, as he ever 
 afterwards believed, created anew in Christ Jesus. 
 
 Parsons was a minister at Lyme, during the whole of 
 
33 
 
 that remarkable period, already designated as the l: Great 
 awakening." He was a close friend of Whitefield, and often 
 entertained him at his house. Perhaps no man, if we 
 except Whitefield, and Tennent, and Jonathan Edwards, 
 was more completely identified with that wonderful move- 
 ment, than he. 
 
 He had suffered severe trials in consequence. Five or 
 six influential members of his own Church, violently 
 opposed his ministry. Efforts were made to malign his 
 character, and the opposition at length rose to such a height 
 that he thought it his duty to retire from the sacred office, 
 among that people, and seek for himself another place of 
 usefulness. 
 
 It was just at this period, in the life of Parsons, that the 
 new Church here was about to be organized. The advice 
 of Whitefield turned the attention of the people towards 
 him as a suitable person to become their pastor. Accord- 
 ingly, a few days after they had embodied themelves 
 into a Church, namely, on the seventh of January, seven- 
 teen hundred and forty-six, they invited him to take the 
 oversight of them. 
 
 Vigorous efforts now began to be made to prevent the 
 consummation of the contemplated connexion. The first 
 Church passed a vote that it was disorderly to officiate as 
 a minister on the Lord's day, to persons withdrawn from 
 the neighboring Churches, (b) They also voted, in 
 case he did not desist, they would send to Lyme and 
 ascertain what misconduct he might be found to be charge- 
 able with. A letter from one of his most violent opposers, 
 in his former parish, was obtained and exhibited in various 
 ways to his disadvantage. Even the mild and prudent 
 Lowell went so far as to read, publicly from the pulpit, 
 certain slanderous charges, which had chanced to come into 
 his possession, with the express design of warning the 
 people against him. 
 
34 
 
 But the people were not so to be discouraged. They 
 had listened to his defence and explanations. They had 
 read the full and explicit recommendation given him by the 
 Council which dismissed him from his former charge, (c) 
 They believed him to be, as the event proved, eminently 
 qualified for their peculiar exigencies. They therefore, 
 still persisted in their determination to install him over 
 them. 
 
 Accordingly, on the nineteenth of March, the installation 
 took place. There was no Council called, for it was 
 thought best, by the most judicious friends of the new 
 Church, that it should remain, for the present, entirely 
 independent, (d) The people assembled in the house 
 of worship, and the pastor elect preached to them from 
 1 Peter 5:9. " Steadfast in the faith." After singing a 
 hymn, he reminded the congregation of the efforts, which 
 had been made, since his call to become their pastor, to 
 traduce his ministerial character ; and having presented his 
 testimonials for their consideration, proposed to them once 
 more to decide whether it was still their wish that he 
 should be their minister. The vote was taken by the clerk, 
 and passed unanimously in the affirmative. (e) The 
 pastor elect then said, " In the presence of God and these 
 witnesses, I take this people to be my people," and the 
 clerk replied, speaking in the name of the rest, " In the 
 presence of God and these witnesses, we take this man to 
 be our minister." 
 
 Meanwhile, they had agreed upon a platform of Church 
 government and discipline, and adopted a confession of 
 faith. The form of government was, at first, one which 
 might properly be called independant Presbyterian. The 
 difficulties which they had encountered in obtaining a 
 release from the old Church, had made them greatly averse 
 to Congregationalism. Their original platform, however, 
 
35 
 
 was not intended to be permanent, but only to be observed 
 for the present, until they could see their way clear to form 
 other relations. It maintained, distinctly, that the power of 
 privilege resides in the brotherhood at large, but, as the 
 scripture has not explicitly bound them as to the mode in 
 which it should be exercised, they are at liberty to do it 
 through a representative body if they see fit. Such a body, 
 therefore, it required the Church annually to appoint ; and 
 with them all the power of discipline was to be lodged, 
 with this provision, that if the elders so appointed should 
 be unable to reclaim an offender, they should at last bring 
 the case before the brotherhood at large, to advise what 
 should be done further in the case. 
 
 On the seventh of April following, the organization of 
 the Church was completed by the choice of six ruling 
 elders, and shortly after, negociations were commenced 
 which at length resulted in a connexion with the presbytery 
 oit Boston, — (/) the Church reserving one feature of 
 her original constitution only, viz : the right to choose her 
 elders annually, — aright which she has steadily maintained, 
 through ail changes, to the present day. 
 
 The Church had now become, in the full sense of the 
 word, a Presbyterian Church. The motives which led to 
 this were partly an aversion to the old system, for the 
 reason just mentioned, and partly a necessity which was 
 laid upon them to become another denomination, in order 
 to escape the absolute oppression of the Congregational 
 discipline, as then conducted. Strange as it may seem to 
 some, who are in the habit of regarding Presbyterianism as 
 too rigid, and unfriendly to popular rights, it was expressly 
 for the purpose of avoiding undue rigidity, and in defence 
 of popular rights, that the founders of this Church adopted 
 that form of government. 
 
 The only exclusive principle, which this Church set up, 
 
36 
 
 was that which respected Christian character and soundness 
 in the faith. They often protested, that by becoming 
 Presbyterians they had no intention to withdraw from 
 free intercourse with their Congregational brethren. All 
 Churches who adhered to the principles set forth in the 
 Assembly ? s catechism, they stood ready at all times to 
 welcome as brethren, (g) 
 
 The Church being thus organized and established, and 
 provided with an able pastor, the brethren in the third 
 Church, who were in sympathy with them, sought once 
 more for a dismission, in order to join them. This 
 request was decisively denied, and the Church voted that 
 they could not acknowledge the new Church as a regular 
 Church of Christ. 
 
 The dissatisfied brethren now determined to retire 
 without a dismission; and, after long deliberation, and 
 having taken the advice of such ministers as they thought 
 worthy of confidence, the new Church voted to recede 
 them, (h) Thus the scattered bands were at length 
 united into one flock, and beneath the shelter of the 
 sanctuary which then our hands had erected, they sat 
 down together under the watch of the same spiritual 
 shepherd, (i) 
 
 But the trials of this Church and congregation were but 
 just begun. A long struggle ensued to obtain exemption 
 from the exactions of the Congregational system, then by 
 law established. Application was made to the Legislature 
 to be released from taxation in the regular parishes. The 
 parishes remonstrated, and the petition was denied. Again 
 and again, was the subject brought before the General Court. 
 Governor Shirley, in one instance, recommended the case 
 to its special attention. But their neighbors insisted that 
 they were a misguided band who ought not to be encour- 
 aged. They reminded the Legislature that they had 
 
37 
 
 always been frowned upon by their predecessors in office, 
 and that since being so treated, " they had sought shelter 
 and relief under the Presbyterian form, but all in vain." 
 They more than intimated the confident expectation, that 
 they always would continue to be frowned upon. And so 
 the case proved during many years. When the members 
 of this congregation pleaded conscience against the exac- 
 tions which were made upon them, they were told that 
 what they called conscience, was but avarice. When they 
 complained, that the burden was beyond their ability, they 
 were taunted with the fact that they had assumed a 
 voluntary burden, in the establishment of their own separate 
 worship. When, in reliance on what seemed to them 
 common justice, some of them refused to pay what was 
 exacted, the officers of the law seized upon their persons 
 and thrust them into prison. Repeated cases of this nature 
 are to be found recorded in the private journal of the first 
 pastor, in which, in the face of many indignities, he felt 
 himself called upon to visit the prison to console his 
 suffering brethren. The argument for these coersive mea- 
 sures was this, " the parish property is pledged for the support 
 of the parish minister. The English dissenters are obliged 
 to pay for the support of the established Church, and why 
 should you be exempted ?" True the law had already 
 exempted Churchmen, Anabaptists, and Quakers. But the 
 like privileges the poor Presbyterian must not look for. 
 And why, forsooth ? Because he ought not to be a Presby- 
 terian. He should have never separated from the old 
 Congregational parish. Strange as it may seem to us, with 
 our present views of religious liberty, the third parish in 
 Newbury earnestly remonstrated to the General Court, 
 against granting the prayer of the petitioners, on the 
 ground of the evil consequences likely to ensue " from the 
 precedent of giving parish privileges to all the various sects 
 in this province." 4 
 
38 
 
 The oppression was so severely felt by this society, that 
 they had taken the preliminary steps, at one time, to have 
 their case particularly brought before the King in Council. 
 They went so far as to obtain a written opinion of the 
 Attorney General in England, respecting the best mode of 
 procedure, and only desisted from their purpose because 
 some judicious friends abroad thought such a representation 
 as they would be obliged to make, might endanger the 
 charter of the colony, and prove injurious to the interests 
 of the English dissenters. About this time, however, some 
 partial relief, but very inadequate, was granted them by the 
 provincial Legislature.* It was not till many years after 
 this, that an application from the town of Newburyport 
 procured for all denominations here, the right to conduct 
 their own ecclesiastical affairs in their own way. 
 
 Ample evidence exists that the members of this society, 
 with their pastor, were, for many years, subjected among 
 their neighbors, to many indignities. The strong feeling, 
 with which Parsons mentions, in his diary, that the town 
 clerk, though not a member of his society, treated him 
 kindly when he called upon him, shows how little he was 
 in the habit of expecting, in the way of respect and 
 friendship. The low and vulgar, in some instances, 
 reviled him, and pelted him with stones in the street. 
 
 The subsequent history of this Church and society I 
 must pass over in the most cursory manner, for want of 
 time. During the ministry of Mr. Parsons, a period of 
 about thirty years, the Church and society flourished 
 and increased greatly. It enjoyed several very cheering 
 
 * A comparison of dates shows that the partial relief above referred to, 
 must have been wrung from the Legislature, under the fear that the case 
 would otherwise be carried over to the government of the parent country. 
 As it was, the relief was so stinted, and encumbered with so many condi- 
 tions, that it proved rather the occasion of new lawsuits, than any very 
 substantial benefit. 
 
39 
 
 revivals of religion, during which many converts were 
 added to the number of the professed followers of Christ. 
 It was at one of these seasons, in the year 1756, that, the 
 congregation having become too large for the place of 
 meeting, the house where we now assemble was erected. 
 (j) It was then supposed to be one of the largest in the 
 country, yet so great was the increase of numbers that, 
 about eleven years later, a plan was formed for erecting 
 another house of worship, dividing the congregation into 
 two parts, and inviting the Rev. James Sproat, afterwards 
 of Philadelphia, to minister in one of them as colleague 
 pastor wich the Rev. Mr. Parsons. This plan, however, 
 seems not to have been prosecuted, (k) 
 
 The communion seasons, during this period, were pecu- 
 liarly animating and delightful. Parsons compares one of 
 them to a similar season which he had enjoyed in Lyme, 
 during his ministry there, and which, in his description of 
 the work of grace given in the Christian history, he had 
 called his Pentecost. He thought this even more delightful, 
 in some respects, than that remarkable occasion. After the 
 Church joined the Presbytery, the practice of the Scotch 
 Churches was adopted, namely, that of having public 
 religious exercises both the day before and the day succeed- 
 ing the administration of the Lord's supper, — a practice 
 which continued in the Church many years. So interest- 
 ing were these seasons, that I have heard the aged people 
 among us often say, that crowds flocked from the whole 
 surrounding region to share in the pleasure and benefit of 
 the exercises. 
 
 Mr. Parsons was a man eminently adapted to be at the 
 head of such a people. A fervid revivalist of high repute, 
 he was, of course, all they desired on that head. Experi- 
 enced in the dangers which attend all religious excitements, 
 he was prepared to furnish the most happy safe-guards. 
 
40 
 
 Having once imbibed and preached the looser form of 
 doctrine, then becoming prevalent in many of the Churches, 
 he knew how to discriminate between truth and error, and 
 raise the warning voice against the first beginnings of 
 defection. The people, with some few exceptions, were, 
 at that time, exceedingly ill-informed in respect to the 
 Gospel system of religious truth, and Parsons' logical 
 training and thorough scholarship, were eminently adapted 
 to their instruction and establishment in the faith. It was 
 a happy thing for this Church and society that it enjoyed, 
 during so large a portion of its early trials and hazards, the 
 services of such a man as Jonathan Parsons. (/) 
 
 During the ministry of Mr. Parsons, this Church and soci- 
 ety enjoyed, in repeated instances, the services of the elo- 
 quent and devoted Whitefield, by whose counsels their early 
 movements were in part directed, and were at length, in 
 the providence of God, indulged the mournful privilege of 
 laying his remains to rest beneath their own sanctuary, 
 where they now slumber, awaiting the final resurrection, 
 beside his, in whose hospitable dwelling, he so often, during 
 his life-time, found a home. 
 
 The next minister was the Rev. John Murray. He was 
 a native of Ireland, and received his education in the 
 university of Edinburgh. When he came to this country, 
 he was hardly twenty-one years of age, and shortly after 
 was settled as a minister in the second Presbyterian 
 Church in Philadelphia. But he had been guilty of a very 
 serious misdemeanor in respect to the signatures to his 
 credentials, which having at length come to light, was 
 the cause of his removal from that city. He was next 
 settled in Boothbay, where a presbytery, was formed, 
 called " the presbytery of the eastward," of which he 
 became the most prominent member. (m) Mr. Par- 
 sons had known something of Mr. Murray from his first 
 
41 
 
 arrival, and when the unfavorable reports came to be 
 circulated, he took special pains to inquire into their 
 foundation. The result was a decided conviction, that the 
 faults committed, taken in connexion with his own humble 
 acknowledgment, were not such as justly to debar him 
 from Christian charity, or to disqualify him for the exercise 
 of the ministry. The presbytery of Boston, however, 
 refused fellowship with Mr. Murray, and it was partly on 
 this account, that this Church, with their pastor, withdrew 
 from that presbytery, and became connected with the 
 presbytery of the eastward. 
 
 Mr. Murray was a remarkable preacher. No man drew 
 such crowds to hear him, or held them in a listening 
 attitude so long. He was active in the promotion of 
 religion out of the bounds of his own parish. Many 
 ministers were educated by the aid which they received 
 from a society of which he was the chief supporter and 
 guiding spirit. Many Churches, especially in the state of 
 Maine, owed their origin to his influence and exertions. 
 He had his faults, unquestionably, which marred his 
 usefulness ; and the censure under which he remained, in 
 the eyes of many, deprived the Church and society of that 
 free intercourse which they might otherwise have enjoyed 
 with some of the neighboring Churches ; but his ministry 
 seems to have proved, on the whole, a great blessing, both 
 in the conversion of sinners, and the edification of the 
 Church of Christ. 
 
 Mr. Murray was first invited to become colleague pastor 
 with Mr. Parsons, several years before his decease : but 
 declined the application, among other reasons, on account 
 of the cloud under which his reputation was suffering. 
 After the death of Mr. Parsons the application was renewed, 
 but, for various reasons, he still persisted in his refusal. It 
 
 was not till after long waiting and many discouragements, 
 
 4# 
 
42 
 
 that he was obtained to be the minister of this people. 
 He was settled here, without any formal installation, on 
 the strength of a vote of presbytery to that effect, June 
 fourth, 1781, about five years after the death of Mr. Par- 
 sons ; and continued in office, till his own decease, March 
 13, 1793, a period of about twelve years. 
 
 The third pastor was the Rev. Daniel Dana. Previous 
 to his settlement, however, two successive divisions had 
 fallen off from the Church and society. 
 
 During the latter days of Mr. Murray, a young mission- 
 ary from Nova Scotia came to Newburyport, at the 
 invitation of the pastor of the Church, to assist him in the 
 administration of the Lord's supper. His talents were 
 peculiar and striking. A large portion of the Congregation 
 were delighted with him ; and as Mr. Murray was now 
 aged and infirm, desired to retain him as their minister. 
 The majority, however, thought otherwise. The result 
 was that the adherents of the young candidate withdrew, 
 to attend upon his ministrations. After the death of Mr. 
 Murray, they formally renounced the government of this 
 Church, and, having erected a new house of worship, and 
 having embodied themselves into an independent Church, 
 took the Rev. Charles W. Milton to be their minister. 
 The result was the establishment of a new religious society, 
 which soon became one of the largest in the town, and 
 which, whatever irregularity may have attended its origin, 
 has won for itself an honorable place among the Churches 
 of the Lord Jesus. 
 
 The second separation took place in connexion with the 
 settlement of Mr. Dana. A portion of the Church and 
 society, dissatisfied with the candidate who had been 
 chosen, withdrew and formed the second Presbyterian 
 Church in this town, and settled over them the Rev. John 
 Boddily. Here, however, as in the former case, division 
 
43 
 
 proved to be but reduplication. The new Church having 
 settled down upon the principles of the same faith and 
 order with ourselves, took the earliest opportunity, after a 
 course of years, to secure for itself the services of the very 
 same man, whom, in the first instance, it had rejected ; 
 and for many years it has held sweet intercourse, in holy 
 things, both with the parent Church, and with its elder 
 sister. We rejoice to welcome here, to-day, our brethren 
 of both these societies, and to greet them as the descend- 
 ants of the same sires, whose worth we have assembled to 
 celebrate. 
 
 Mr. Dana was ordained November 19, 1794, and contin- 
 ued in the ministry in this Church, till he was called to 
 take the Presidency of Dartmouth College, in the autumn 
 of the year 1820. Few pastors have enjoyed, so univer- 
 sally, the warmest affection of their people, as Dr. 
 Dana, during his ministry in this Church. The parting 
 scene was truly affecting. They yielded him up only at 
 the call of duty, and wept as children, when a venerated 
 and beloved parent is taken from their head, (n) It 
 was during the ministry of Dr. Dana, in the year 1802, 
 that the Church, by a formal vote, adopted the constitution 
 of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, in 
 the United States, reserving only its established practice of 
 electing its elders annually. 
 
 Several other important changes were effected, likewise, 
 during this ministry. The old practice of giving out the 
 hymn, line by line, from the deacon's seat, was relinquished, 
 for the more decent method of reading it connectedly, from 
 the pulpit. The Church, also, laid aside the custom of a 
 protracted series of services in connection with the admin- 
 istration of the Lord's supper, maintaining only a prepara- 
 tory lecture on some week day, and a meeting for prayer 
 on Saturday evening, before the communion. During this 
 
44 
 
 ministry, the Church and society came into freer fellowship 
 with the neighboring Churches, than had been enjoyed 
 previously : the reasons of withholding such fellowship 
 having now ceased to exist on both sides, (o) In the 
 year 1811, the first chapel, for the accommodation of the 
 Church and society in their less public religious exercises, 
 was erected. 
 
 Dr. Dana's immediate successor was the Rev. Samuel 
 Porter Williams. He was born in Weathersfield, Conn., 
 February 22, 1779, entered Yale College in 1792, at the 
 age of thirteen years, and was graduated in 1796. For a 
 time he was engaged in mercantile employments, but, 
 having at length given his heart to religion, he became a 
 communicant, in March, 1803, and proceeded to prepare 
 himself for the gospel ministry ; first under the direction of 
 Dr. Dwight, at New Haven, and then under that of Dr. 
 Howard, of Springfield. He was first settled in Mansfield, 
 Connecticut, where he remained several years. Two 
 years, he labored, with much success, at Northampton. 
 He was installed as pastor of this Church and society Feb- 
 ruary 8, 1821, and died in the same office, Dec. 23, 1836. 
 
 Mr. Williams was a man of great energy, decision, and 
 independence. W^hat he thought, he said, and as his people 
 always knew, it was said kindly, though it sometimes cut 
 deep, they received it without taking offence. His preach- 
 ing was eloquent, sometimes ornate, but instructive and 
 adapted to impress the conscience and the heart. Some 
 complained of his style as too involved and obscure ; but he 
 engaged the attention, awakened thought and enquiry, and 
 was successful, it is believed, in turning many to righteous- 
 ness. During the ministry of Mr. Williams, some ancient 
 practices of the Church, good in their day, perhaps, but 
 now grown obsolete, and to which some were disposed to 
 adhere with almost superstitious veneration, were aban- 
 
45 
 
 doned. Among these, may be mentioned the practice of 
 reading before the congregation a written account of the 
 religious experience of candidates for admission to the 
 Church. 
 
 The last public effort of Mr. Williams was on, Thanks- 
 giving day, less than one month before his decease. His 
 pallid countenance, and scarce supported form, gave a 
 powerful effect to his performance, as he announced his 
 text from Isaiah 38 : 18, 19, 20. " The grave cannot 
 praise thee ; Death cannot celebrate thee," &c, and 
 proceeded to discourse to his people on " the value of life." 
 "He seemed," says the editor of his discourses, "like one 
 lifting up his head from the grave, to tell his people what 
 it is that makes life precious in the estimation of a dying 
 Christian." 
 
 Mr. Williams was succeeded in the sacred office by the 
 Rev. John Proudfit, ordained October 4, 1827, and dis- 
 missed, on account of impaired health, February, 1833, — 
 an accomplished scholar, a devout Christian, and a suc- 
 cessful minister of the Gospel. The present incumbent 
 was ordained September 16, 1835. 
 
 During the ministry of Dr. Proudfit, in the year 1829, 
 the house of worship was repaired and altered, and a 
 cenotaph erected in the eastern corner to the memory of 
 Whitefield, by Hon. William Bartlett, then a member of 
 this congregation. In the year . 1831, this society, in 
 common with others in this town, enjoyed a remarkable 
 revival of religion. During most of that period the pastor 
 was absent on a tour in Europe, and the pulpit was 
 supplied chiefly by Rev. Joseph Abbot, now of Beverly, 
 and Rev. Dr. Cheever, now of New York. 
 
 In the summer of 1843, the old chapel, having become 
 decayed, a new and commodious one was erected in the 
 rear of the Church and connected with it. 
 
46 
 
 The cooperation between the Church and society has 
 always been, it is believed, harmonious and pleasant. 
 Seldom have serious difficulties occurred to disturb the 
 general peace among the members of either. The regular 
 ministrations of a settled pastor have been enjoyed, with 
 but short intervals from the beginning. No minister has 
 been dismissed from his office on account of dissension 
 among the people, or a dissatisfaction with him or his 
 labors. A good degree of spiritual prosperity has been 
 enjoyed, {p) From its commencement to the present day, 
 the Church has discovered a commendable interest, in all 
 departments of Christian benevolence. From the earliest 
 date at which its records were regularly kept, an annual 
 collection was, for many years, taken up for the benefit of 
 the poor among its own people, and a quarterly collection 
 for general purposes of charity. In the year 1760, 340 
 pounds, 4 shillings and 3 pence, was collected " for the 
 distressed people of Boston, who have suffered," say the 
 records, "by the late fire there." Similar collections were 
 from time to time afforded to meet other similar wants. 
 To a society for promoting the the education of young 
 men for the Gospel ministry, this congregation contributed 
 liberally, as early as the year 17S3. It was also active, at 
 that early day, in maintaining missionaries in the destitute 
 portions of our country, and particularly in that portion of 
 the State which was then the District of Maine. Since 
 the organization of the present system of benevolent 
 associations, it has been a steady contributor to all the 
 more prominent among them, furnishing annually an 
 aggregate little short of the salary of its own pastor. It is 
 believed few Churches and congregations, — especially if we 
 consider the heavy burdens which the people were com- 
 pelled to bear, for many years after their organization, in 
 contributing to the support of two ministers, — their own 
 
47 
 
 and thai of the old parish, — have discovered, throughout 
 their whole history, a more ready and diffusive liberality. 
 
 The Church still retains her early form of government 
 and discipline. Amidst all the changes which have taken 
 place around her, she has continued to be, and still is, a 
 Presbyterian Church, the only one in the State, as I sup- 
 pose, now connected with any presbytery. Twice at least, 
 she has been solicited to adopt the forms of the surrounding 
 Churches, — once by the Rev. Dr. Dana,* who, at the time 
 of his settlement, had a preference for the Congregational 
 form, and once by some of her own members. But in 
 both instances she decided to remain, as her founders 
 established her, Presbyterian. This Church has been 
 connected, from time to time, with several presbyteries, 
 and was, for many years previous to the great schism in 
 the general assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the 
 United States, a constituent part of that body. Since that 
 period, the presbytery of Newburyport, not being disposed 
 to decide between the two bodies claiming the name and 
 rights of that assembly, has remained separate. 
 
 This Church still maintains her original confession of 
 faith. The Assembly's Catechism was at the beginning, 
 ever has been, and still is, " for substance of doctrine," the 
 exposition of her views of religious truth. Her six pastors 
 have been men of various temperaments, and educated 
 under a great, variety of circumstances, but it is believed if 
 they could all be gathered at this moment, they would see 
 no occasion to disagree materially upon the points of 
 doctrine, in which they have instructed their flock. Could 
 the faithful dead, who have been its members, be assembled 
 
 * It is due to Dr. Dana to observe here, that whatever may have been 
 the predilections of his youth, he has since, though by no means rigorous 
 in respect to forms of government, evinced a strong and constant attach- 
 ment to the presbyterian constitution and discipline. 
 
48 
 
 now, the fathers among them would unquestionably find 
 us changed in many important particulars ; in some respects, 
 I trust, they would acknowledge that we have changed for 
 the better ; but I trust they would not find us to have 
 departed, in any material points, from an adherence to those 
 precious truths, for the sake of which they consented to 
 all their sacrifices. They would acknowledge and feel, 
 that, so far as we are what we profess to be, we and they 
 have " one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and 
 father of all, w*ho is above all, and through all, and in us 
 all." 
 
 The history of this Church seems to impose upon us 
 some peculiar obligations. 
 
 1. First it teaches us to be valiant for the truth, and to 
 guard, with jealous watchfulness, the faith once delivered 
 to the saints. The period, in which this Church was 
 formed, was not the only period in which the purity and 
 soundness of Christian doctrine has been endangered. 
 There are perils encompassing the Church, at the present 
 day, of which the fathers dreamed not. The enemies are 
 more, and stronger, and more various and subtil, than at 
 almost any period known to us since the Saviour's advent. 
 At such a period, it becomes us to study carefully the 
 principles and the foundations of our faith, — that we may 
 hold fast to the sacred truths which our fathers cherished, 
 not with a blind attachment, but with an intelligent and 
 reasonable conviction. Beware, my brethren, of that 
 looseness of thought and opinion, which regards all sorts of 
 notions on religious subjects as equally good and equally 
 safe to the soul. It is not so. Truth is one and invariable. 
 Truth alone is able to make the heart of man wise unto 
 salvation. Yet I would not have you fall into bigotry, in 
 your attachment to, and defence of the truth. Between 
 bigotry and an intelligent and conscientious adherence to 
 
49 
 
 the true faith, there is the widest possible distinction. 
 Contend earnestly for the faith, but do not quarrel about it. 
 Keep ever an open hand, in fellowship with all those who 
 hold the fundamental principles of the Gospel, however 
 they may differ from you in less important particulars. 
 And even towards those who seem to have departed from 
 the right standard in essential matters, maintain ever that 
 kindness, courtesy and friendly fairness, which will con- 
 vince them that your firmness is not obstinacy, nor your 
 opposition bitterness. 
 
 2. In the second place the history of this Church teaches 
 us to strive earnestly for the promotion of living piety. 
 It is not a round of decent formalities, it is not regular 
 attendance on the outward means of grace, it is not exter- 
 nal blamelessness of life, that constitutes true religion. The 
 heart must be right with God. The interior fountain of 
 moral feeling and action must be sanctified. The spirit of 
 man must hold constant communion with the Divine Spirit. 
 Our conversation must be in heaven, while we sojourn 
 below, and our whole character wear the ornaments of 
 heaven. A dead orthodoxy is hardly less to be deplored 
 than the worst heresy. Religious truth has but a precari- 
 ous hold upon us, when the intellect alone receives and 
 embraces it. Unless we receive the truth in the love of it, 
 it will be of no benefit to us. Let us strive then, both to 
 feel and act, and to make others feel and act in accordance 
 with the doctrines which we maintain. And praying 
 earnestly for the influences of the Divine Spirit, without 
 which no human efforts can avail anything, let us strive to 
 convince the world of sin, lead the wandering soul back to 
 the Saviour of sinners, and make the Church what its divine 
 founder intended it should be, a living exemplification of 
 the truth as it is in Jesus, a living epistle of recommenda- 
 tion to it, known and read of all men. O ! if this Church 
 
50 
 
 should ever sink down in a lifeless form, without the power 
 of Godliness, me thinks the ashes of the dead beneath and 
 around us, would cry shame on us, from their tombs, for 
 our wicked apostacy. Was it for this that they endured 
 reproach, and trial, and suffering ? That their posterity 
 might forget the very thing which was most dear to them ? 
 No, my brethren, as you honor the fathers, live the reli- 
 gion you profess. Their contest was for a living piety. 
 3. The history of this Church teaches us to value and 
 promote genuine revivals of religion. I know well that 
 there is an element of imperfection, — a manifest token of 
 inadequacy implied in that very word revival of religion. 
 Some have been accustomed to regard the subject of reli- 
 gious influence too much in the light of a series of revivals. 
 Hence they pray for revivals, they strive for the promotion 
 of revivals, and they forget to pray and strive for that 
 constant, steady and enduring power of Godliness, which 
 shall be as the shining light that shineth more and more 
 unto the perfect day. But the imperfection and sinfulness 
 of man, under the best circumstances hitherto, teaches us 
 that there will be seasons of the decline of piety. In such 
 seasons a revival is the object to be aimed at. Had it not 
 bedn for those special effusions of the divine spirit, where, 
 in all human probability, would the Churches of our coun- 
 try be at the present time ? Dead, thrice dead and plucked 
 up by the roots ! In a revival of religion, there will always 
 be discovered much imperfection, which would not be 
 exhibited, under a constant prevalence of the life of Godli- 
 ness. The dead man, beginning to recover his lost vitality, 
 may be expected to discover traces of painful agony, hardly 
 less than distort the features of the dying. But what then ? 
 Should we prefer, therefore, that the placid calmness of 
 death should never be disturbed ? So, in the case before 
 us. The attendant evils are real evils, and should be 
 
61 
 
 checked, and watched against, and prayed against, but after 
 all, what is the chaff to the wheat ? 
 
 4. The history of our Church teaches us to be active and 
 energetic, and self-sacrificing, and, at the same time, to 
 beware of false zeal, and disorderly practices in the promo- 
 tion of the faith which we love. The former was, under 
 God, the cause of the success of its founders ; the latter 
 was their grand hindrance, and the source of their greatest 
 discouragements. An apostle bids us watch and be sober, — 
 watch ; never suffer ourselves to fall asleep at our post, — 
 be sober ; avoid all false heat and unbecoming transports. 
 They that sleep, he says, sleep in the night, and they that 
 be drunken are drunken in the night, but let us who are of 
 the day be sober. Were we always sober, in times of 
 peculiar religious interest, we should not be exposed, as we 
 now too often are, to the sudden decay and desertion of the 
 sacred influence. 
 
 We have received this Church and society, my brethren 
 and friends, as a precious legacy from your worthy ances- 
 tors. Their sacrifices demand of us that we preserve, 
 improve and transmit it. Our posterity too, have a claim 
 upon us ; for the rich estate was meant for them no less than 
 for us. God grant that we may not prove ourselves 
 unmindful of our trust. 
 
 5. Again, the history of this Church teaches you, (I 
 almost dread to say it, when I consider the imperfection of 
 my own services, but I must not refrain,) the history of 1 
 this Church teaches you, never to be satisfied with an 
 unfaithful ministry. Be candid, always, towards those who 
 have the watch over you, in their difficult work, knowing 
 that the best of them, no less than yourselves, are compassed 
 with infirmities. But, O, let not even friendship, and 
 human sympathy, make you shrink from withdrawing your 
 support and confidence from such as do not preach Christ 
 
52 
 
 Jesus, and him crucified, with zeal and fervor, and labor 
 in season and out of season to win souls to Christ. 
 
 In closing this discourse I feel that I am sealing up, for 
 the final account, one century of this Church's history. 
 Another century will roll by, and who will celebrate its 
 close ? We shall, none of us, be here. Where, O where ! 
 will our immortal souls then be ? Our children, too, will 
 have passed off from the stage of life. But will the 
 Church live? It will, if we are faithful as our fathers 
 were. -Other voices will be heard in its songs, and 
 speak the message of the Most High from the sacred pulpit. 
 Other 'hands will break the bread of life. But if the 
 Church still lives; if, having prepared our own souls, by 
 divine grace, and those of our immediate descendants, for 
 the Church on high, and done our duty faithfully, we and 
 they shall have been gathered into rest ; with what joy 
 shall we look down from the heavenly mansions, as the 
 sainted dead now, we trust, look down upon us, and see 
 our children's children, here preparing, through the grace 
 of God, to join the same general assembly and Church of 
 the first born. Amen ! 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 (1) The anniversary was observed on the day mentioned in the title 
 page. This was selected with reference to convenience. The weather 
 was exceedingly stormy, yet a numerous audience were in attendance. 
 The introductory devotional exercises in the morning, were conducted by 
 Rev. William A. Stearns, of Cambridgeport, a brother of the pastor. 
 After the sermon, the following Hymn was sung, composed for the occa- 
 sion by Hon. George Lunt, a member of the society : 
 
 Thy temple stands, oh God of grace, 
 
 Above our thought, beneath our tread, 
 Its ample floor, unmeasured space, 
 
 Its arch with worlds unnumbered spread. 
 
 Yet though not all creation's bound 
 
 Thy power contains, thy glory tells, 
 Within thy earthly courts are found 
 
 The places where thy spirit dwells. 
 
 Thus on our sires, an honored race, 
 
 Thy dews descended like the rain, 
 While here they met to seek thy face, 
 
 Nor sent a prayer to Heaven in vain. 
 
 Beneath these walls how oft they heard, 
 
 From fervent heart and burning tongue, 
 Thy sacred truth, thy holy word, 
 
 Sustain the old and cheer the young ! 
 
 This earthly temple of thy praise, 
 
 How glorious and how dear its name ! 
 Thy blessing crowned its ancient days, 
 
 Thy promised blessing stands the same. 
 
 i 
 
 Built on that Rock in Zion laid, 
 
 May here thy Church forever rise, 
 Thy truth its deep foundation made, 
 
 Its hope eternal in the skies. 
 
 5* 
 
54 
 
 No gorgeous rites, nor shrines of gold, 
 
 Within these sacred precincts he j 
 But <jrant the fervent faith of old 
 
 To hind us closer, Lord, to thee ! 
 
 May here while ages roll away, 
 
 Our children's children all appear, 
 Here love to learn and praise and pray, 
 
 And find their God, their Savior here ! 
 
 The services of the afternoon were commenced by reading a letter to 
 the Church from one of their former pastors, Rev. Dr. Proudfit, of New 
 Brunswick, N. J. Then a portion of the preamble to the original Consti- 
 tution of the Church, setting forth the vieWs of the founders, was read. 
 After a prayer for a divine blessing upon the solemn transaction, the 
 Church rose and publicly renewed their covenant with God and one an- 
 other, in the words originally adopted by their fathers, and to which the 
 names of all the successive members have been signed. Prayer was then of- 
 fered by the Rev. John March, of Belleville, Newbury, formerly a member 
 of the Church. After this the sacrament of the Lord's supper was adminis- 
 tered by Rev. Jonathan Greenleaf, of Brooklyn, N. Y., a descendant 
 both of the first pastor, and also of one of the first members, and Rev. 
 Daniel Dana, D. D., who had been its pastor during twenty-six years. 
 Appropriate hymns were sung in the intervals of the other parts of the 
 service. 
 
 The exercises were solemn and impressive, and the Church, we trust, 
 will be found to have received from them new strength to enter upon the 
 unknown events of another century. 
 
 (a) The encouragement referred to was a new proposal to refer the 
 whole matter to a mutual Council, first made on the part of the aggrieved, 
 and accepted by the pastor ; then made in a somewhat modified form, by the 
 pastor; and, as the aggrieved allege, accepted by them. The Committee 
 of the Church, in their statement, to the Council subsequently called, 
 represented the aggrieved as having refused this offer. The aggrieved, 
 on the other hand, denied the representation, and declared that they 
 offered inform the following written declaration: "June 6,1744. In 
 answer to a proposal made us by our Reverend pastor, at the last meeting, 
 we now offer to leave all difficulties between our pastor and us to a Council 
 of Churches, mutually chosen by our pastor and us ; or to a Council of 
 Churches, half to be chosen by our pastor and the Church who adhere to 
 him, and half by us; or to a Council to be chosen half by the aggrieved, 
 and half by the rest of the Church. And if either of these proposals be 
 accepted of or consented to, we desire the time for such Council's meet- 
 ing may now be appointed, and the Churches sent to as soon as may be. 
 
 Instead of acting directly upon this very explicit offer, the Church 
 passed the following vote : 
 
55 
 
 u At a legal Church meeting it was voted unanimously in the affirma- 
 tive, June 6th, 1744, — That whereas, several of our brethren in the first 
 Church in Newbury have separated themselves from communion with 
 said Church, it is desired that said separated brethren would give in their 
 reasons to said Church why or for what reasons they have separated, at 
 the next meeting ; every separate member to give in his reasons in partic- 
 ular by himself." 
 
 At the next meeting, June 13th, several of the brethren appeared and 
 gave their reasons, but the Church dissolved the meeting without passing 
 a vote. The proposal of the pastor, so explicitly accepted and renewed 
 by the aggrieved, was not acted on, yet the aggrieved were still held 
 chargeable with having rejected it. 
 
 It was on the ground of a supposed rejection of this proposal that the 
 Council, subsequently called by the Church and pastor, declared the 
 conduct of the aggrieved and that of the exparte Council which had sanc- 
 tioned their proceedings, irregular, — of course on the ground of facts 
 which the aggrieved explicitly deny, and of which their own account is 
 contained in the text. Of the result of the Church's Council the aggrieved 
 say : " This Council justified the pastor further, we believe, than the 
 Church expected, and no wonder, considering the foundation they pro- 
 ceeded on." 
 
 (b) The following account is copied from the records of the First Church 
 in Newbury : 
 
 "At the same day, (Feb. 11, 1745-6,) the Church taking into con- 
 sideration the conduct of the Rev. Mr. Jonathan Parsons, of Lyme, in 
 Connecticut, in preaching to a number of the brethren withdrawn from 
 this and the neighboring Churches, voted as follows : 
 
 " 1. That they are of opinion it is disorderly and matter of offence to 
 them for any minister to officiate as a minister on the Lord's day among 
 those people that have withdrawn from this Church and the Churches in 
 the neighborhood. 
 
 " 2. That it is their duty to signify to the Reverend Mr. Jonathan 
 Parsons, that as a Church of the Lord Jesus Christ they are offended with 
 him for his officiating on Lord's day to any of the brethren of this and the 
 neighboring Churches. 
 
 u 3. That if he does not refrain it is their duty to exhibit a complaint 
 against him, as walking disorderly, to the particular Church that he stands 
 related to. 
 
 " 4. That inasmuch as the brethren withdrawn from us, and other 
 Churches in the neighborhood, seem disposed to have a minister set over 
 them, and may possibly effect it under their present circumstances, though 
 it be greatly contrary to the rule and order of the Gospel, and inasmuch as 
 they seem to affect the said Mr. Parsons, who by reason of misconduct, as 
 we understand, has rendered himself unacceptable to the people he has 
 had the charge of, that it is their duty to inquire into the matter of his 
 offence, and what he has to recommend him to the esteem and acceptance 
 of any people as a minister of the Gospel." 
 
66 
 
 (c) The^course of proceedings at Lyme were exceedingly embarrassing 
 and complicated. A pretty just view of the merits of the case may be obtain- 
 ed from manuscript documents preserved among the descendants of Mr. 
 Parsons. One source of embarrassment in settling the difficulties, arose 
 from the fact that Mr. Parsons, at the request of his people, as well as in 
 conformity to his own judgment, explicitly renounced, at his ordination, 
 the Saybrook platform, by which a large part of the neighboring Churches 
 were governed. He thought that Constitution defective in several 
 respects, but was especially averse to the right which it was understood 
 to accord to the civil government of interfering in the affairs of the Church. 
 The peculiarity of his position, however, gave rise to many misunder- 
 standings. 
 
 The following testimony from two neighboring ministers, pastors of the 
 two other parishes in the same place, who must have known thoroughly 
 all the circumstances of the case, from the beginning, is sufficiently 
 explicit and full. After recapitulating the result of the Council they 
 proceed thus : 
 
 " Now we, the subscribers, ministers of Lyme, above said, do heartily 
 join in the recommendation above mentioned, and freely declare that 
 we verily believe, and that upon much acquaintance with the whole 
 affairs of the lonor subsisting difficulties that have been in that Church 
 and society, that our dear brother, Mr. Parsons, has been injuriously 
 treated, and much wronged in his character, by some, and that there is 
 no just bar, that we know of, in the way of his usefulness, nor in the 
 way of his administering as a minister of Christ among any people that 
 shall call him thereto, as he hath always been gladly received by us 
 and our Churches, as often as we have had the opportunity of his occa- 
 sional labors among us. 
 
 GEORGE GRISWOLD, 
 GEORGE BECKWITH. 
 
 Lyme, October 24, 1745." 
 
 (</) The following extract from Mr. Parsons' journal, will serve to throw 
 light on the reasons of the position which this Church at first assumed : 
 
 Sept. 12, 1746. I spent most of the day with Mr. Jewett, of Rowley, and 
 Mr. Daniel Rogers, of Ipswich. Had much discourse with them about 
 the state of the Churches, and particularly about the state of this Church. 
 I asked them what it was proper to do. Whether it was best to seek in a 
 public way for the communion of the Churches by a Council, &c. Mr. 
 Jewett replied, that he did not see any necessity for it, nor any advantage 
 it would be to us on a temporal account, because, respecting being freed 
 from rates, as long as the Court were of the same way of thinking as 
 they be now, they will find means enough to deny any petition of this 
 people, till they are forced to grant it; and then if we should call a Council 
 and ministers should come, it would probably break their own Churches 
 to pieces, and if they run such a risk and declared us a well established 
 Church, it would give us the public communion of but few Churches. 
 But if we were united to go forward as we were, a little while, we should 
 find prejudices wear off. Mr. Rogers said he was of the same mind in the 
 
57 
 
 main, but added that he thought it our bounden duty to continue as we 
 were, independent of other Churches in Church discipline; for, said he, it 
 is one principle that your Church went out upon, that they and many 
 others were oppressed, and the discipline of the Churches so sunk, they 
 could not have any further relief. Now, said he, there are many others 
 that are oppressed, and stand in great need of relief, but are not likely to 
 have it jf you don't help them. But if you don't abide independent, in 
 point of discipline, you can't relieve them; whereas if you continue as you 
 are, you may soon have several Churches, round about, that may unite 
 with yours in a consociation or presbytery, which will be much better 
 than any other way. 
 
 (e) The following propositions were presented and severally acted upon : 
 
 Proposals respecting the Rev. Mr. Jonathan Parsons, offered to the new 
 Church and Congregation in Newbury, at their meeting in the meeting- 
 house, March 19, 1745, viz : 
 
 1. Whether the Church, notwithstanding all those representations, 
 which have been spread abroad, tending to disserve Mr. Parson's charac- 
 ter and hurt his usefulness, is in full charity with him, and from the 
 judgment of the Council, now read, with the letters recommendatory, 
 whether this Church is fully satisfied that his moral, religious and minis- 
 terial character is, or ought in justice to be esteemed, blameless and 
 unsullied amono- the Churches of Christ. Voted in the affirmative. 
 
 2. Whether the Congregation that usually meets in this house to attend 
 and uphold the worship of God here, are well satisfied from the judgment 
 of Council, and letters recommendatory now read, that Mr. Parsons' moral 
 character ought to be esteemed blameless and good, and whether they so 
 account of him, as of a minister of Christ. Voted in the affirmative. 
 
 3. Whether the congregation that usually meets in this house, to attend 
 and encourage the worship of God here, do desire Mr. Parsons to settle 
 among them, and minister in holy things, as a minister of Christ to them, 
 and whether they will, upon condition of his accepting the call of the 
 Church and Con ore nation, submit themselves to his administrations in this 
 place — the same being agreeable to the faith and constitution upon which 
 this Church is settled. Voted in the affirmative. 
 
 4. Whether this Church is willing, from the acquaintance they have 
 with Mr. Parsons, and the letters from the ministers and churches now 
 read to them, to admit him to their communion, in all the special ordi- 
 nances of the Gospel, to esteem him as one of the members of the body of 
 Christ in a particular relation to this Church, as one in good standing, 
 having an equal right, in all respects, to all privileges with any other 
 member of the Church. Voted in the affirmative. 
 
 5. Whether this Church looks upon Mr. Parsons, already authorized 
 by solemn separation to the work of the Gospel ministry, to do the 
 whole work of a Gospel minister in any particular Church of Christ that 
 desires the same of him, and are willing to put themselves under his pas- 
 toral care. Voted in the affirmative. 
 
 6. Whether this Church do now publicly renew their call to Mr. Parsons, 
 desiring him to take the oversight of this part of Christ's flock in particu- 
 lar. Voted in the affirmative. 
 
 7. Whether upon consideration that Mr. Parsons does publicly accept of 
 their call, this Church do submit to him under Christ, as their pastor, 
 
58 
 
 vested with a Gospel right over this Church to read, expound, and teach 
 the word, to administer the seals of the new covenant to them, and the 
 ordinance of holy discipline, according to the constitution of this Church. 
 Voted in the affirmative. 
 
 (/) The Church early entertained the design of uniting itself with a 
 regular presbytery. On the fifth of April, 174G, a resolution was adopted 
 to that effect ; but for reasons not stated, the subject was at a subsequent 
 meeting, postponed. In the month of September, 1748, the Church voted 
 unanimously to unite with the Presbytery of Boston, of which Mr. Moor- 
 head, of Boston, and Mr. McGregoire, were prominent members. The 
 record of this vote is as follows : 
 
 " Sept. 15, 1748. At a meeting of the collective body of the Church, 
 after sermon and prayers, it was debated whether all were freely willing 
 to be annexed to Mr. Moorhead's presbytery, and after discoursing, in love 
 and calmness upon it, for more than an hour, a question was proposed and 
 deliberately read over, three times, in the following words, viz : Whether 
 upon mature deliberation this Church does consent to be annexed to Mr. 
 Moorhead's presbytery, in case said presbytery can satisfy the elders of the 
 Church respecting their coming off from the presbytery to which they 
 formerly belonged, appear really desirous of receiving us, make no diffi- 
 culty about our choosing our elders annually, don't bind any respecting 
 the form of administering and receiving the sacraments, appear to be 
 hearty friends to the great doctrines of Grace as contained in the Westmin- 
 ster Confession of Faith and Catechisms, and hearty friends to the power 
 of Godliness." 
 
 The vote passed unanimously, and the next spring we find the elders 
 
 of the Church appointing one of their number as a representative to the 
 
 presbytery above named. 
 
 (g) In a petition to the general Court, dated October 29, 1748, they say 
 
 as follows : 
 
 M Amongst other things it is alleged that the petitioners are of the 
 Presbyterian persuasion. Your humble petitioners beg leave to sug- 
 gest that they never intended because they were Presbyterians, which 
 respects the form of Church government only, (according to the general 
 understanding of the words,) that therefore they could not attend the 
 worship of God in a Congregational Church; but their difficulties are of a 
 higher nature and concern doctrinal points, which bind their consciences, 
 otherwise, upon this first point, they had never troubled your excellencies 
 and honors." 
 
 In the preface to their platform of Government, the fathers of the 
 Church declare, " We shall readily join with those Churches that explicitly 
 declare they have not departed from the ancient faith." 
 
 In the year 1794, 
 
 " The Church voted unanimously that we still adhere to the Constitu- 
 tion of this Church, and our connexion with the presbytery, and desire 
 further to hold ministerial and Church communion with such other 
 ministers and Churches as are united with us in the great fundamental 
 
59 
 
 doctrines of the Gospel, in the same manner as heretofore practised by 
 this Church." 
 
 In conformity with these principles, this Church has been accustomed 
 to invite her sister Churches of the congregational denomination, to set in 
 Council with the Presbytery, in the ordination of her ministers, and to 
 reciprocate the same friendly aid in answer to invitations from them. She 
 dismisses and recommends her members freely to all such of these 
 Churches as are sound in the faith, and as freely receives members from 
 them on their recommendation. 
 
 The old form of recommending a member was as follows : 
 
 M Voted to recommend to the communion of the Church of Christ 
 
 in sealing ordinances in any Christian assembly where God, in his provi- 
 dence, may call him, provided they adhere to the doctrines of the 
 reformation, renouncing Arminianism on the one hand, and Antinomi- 
 anism on the other." 
 
 (h) The application from the brethren from the third Church, was first 
 presented June 9, 1746. 
 
 " The brethren chose to think of the affair a little while, and take more 
 opportunity to ask advice of ministers. Therefore, it was desired that 
 Elders John Brown and Benjamin Knight should go to Bradford, where a 
 Council was to set the next week, and advise with some of the minis- 
 ters about the matter. I hope the Lord will direct us in the right way, 
 and make us all of one mind." — 'Parsons' Journal. 
 
 The request was not granted till the 16th of October following. 
 
 (/) The names of most of the men who were concerned in the first estab- 
 lishment of this religious society, may be ascertained, I presume, from the 
 following subscription paper, copied, without the sums annexed, from the 
 original, by John Brown, the first clerk : 
 
 " Upon the mature consideration of the many Difficultys we have long 
 laboured under on Religious accounts, we look upon it, for many and 
 weighty Reasons, our Duty, & not only so, but that it would be much for 
 our Spiritiial advantage & edification, and for the advancement of the 
 Interest of the Redeemer's Kingdom among us to unite in a New Society 
 for the Settlement of a Gospel Ministry among us, and it having pleased 
 God in his Providence to give us an opportunity of Hearing the Rev. 
 Mr. Jonathan Parsons whereby we have had some tastes of his Ministerial 
 abilities and Qualifications, from which we can't but think if it should please 
 God to incline him to settle among us in the Ministry, we have a pros- 
 pect opened to us of obtaining these blessed Ends, looking upon it allso 
 our Duty to provide an handsome suitable Support for such a Ministry : 
 Upon the Rev. Mr. Parsons accepting our Invitation, We the Subscribers 
 do hereby for ourselves covenant engage & agree to pay for the 
 Support of the said Rev'd Mr. Parsons yearly & every year while he 
 continues in the Ministry among us : the several Sums which we have 
 herein subscribed for, We also covenant and agree to pay towards his 
 
60 
 
 Settlement the several Sums which we have subscribed for, as they are 
 set in the following Lists which are both in the Old Tenor as- witness out 
 hands affixed thereto — 
 
 Newbury, Nov'r 25th, 1745. 
 
 Thomas Pike, 
 Timothy Toppan, 
 Moses Bradstreet, 
 Enoch Sawyer, 
 Enoch Titcomb, 
 Charles Peirce, 
 Daniel Noyes, 
 Richard Toppan, 
 John Brown, 
 William Brown, 
 Nathaniel Atkinson, 
 Joseph Atkinson, 
 Edward Presbury, 
 Enoch Toppan, 
 Joseph Hidden, 
 Ebenezer Little, 
 Jonathan Beck, 
 Benjamin Rogers, 
 Spencer Bennett, 
 Benj. Moody, 
 Stephen Kent, 
 Parker Noyes, 
 Enoch Titcomb, Jr., 
 Joshua Greenleaf, 
 John Greenleaf, 
 Timothy Greenleaf, 
 Robert Mitchel, 
 Benj. Frothingham, 
 George Goodhue, 
 Joseph Goodhue, 
 Isaac Johnson, 
 Jonathan Knight, 
 William Noyes, 
 Daniel Harris, 
 
 Benj. Norton, 
 Samuel Cresey, 
 Jonathan Greenleaf, 
 Nehemiah Wheeler, 
 William Harris, 
 Benj. Peirce, 
 Simon Noyes, 
 Samuel Toppan, 
 Samuel Lonjj, 
 Moses Coffin, 
 Jonathan Plumer, 
 John Plumer, Jr,, 
 Samuel Harris, 
 Silvanus Plumer, 
 John Poor, 
 Henry Titcomb, 
 John Berry, 
 Philip Combes, 
 Jacob Knight, 
 Moses Peirce, 
 Nathaniel Knap, 
 Moses Todd, 
 Eleazear Keazear, 
 John Fisher, 
 Zechariah Nowell, 
 Joseph Bayley, 
 Joseph Cheney, 
 James Safford, 
 Cutting Pettingle, Jr., 
 Henry Lunt, Jr., 
 Cutting Pettingle, 
 Samuel Pettingle, 
 Moses Pettingle, 
 Richard Hale, 
 
 Samuel Hale, 
 Moses Noyes, 
 Daniel Gooden r 
 Nathan Peabody, 
 John Lowden, 
 Ralph Cross, 
 John Norton, 
 John Harris, 
 Joshua Combes, 
 Joshua Greenleaf, Jr >f 
 Nathan Brown, 
 Lemuel Jenkins, 
 Nicholas Pettingle, 
 Daniel Woster, 
 Joseph Couch Jr., 
 Daniel Lunt, Jr., 
 John Harbut, 
 Samuel Shackford, 
 Alexander Morrison, 
 Henry Sewall, 
 Edmund Morse, 
 Daniel R'chards, 
 Daniel Wells, 
 Samuel Todd, 
 Moses Ordway, 
 Daniel Sanborn, 
 Benj. Peirce, Jr., 
 Joseph Russell, 
 James Mickmillion, 
 Samuel Peirce, 
 Benj. Knight, 
 Bezd Knight, 
 Robert Cole, 
 John Pike, Jr. 
 
 A true Copy from the Originall. Taken this 16th of Dec'r, 1745. 
 .is Attest. JOHN BROWN, Clerk 
 
 (j) In an almanac journal, kept by Mr. Caleb Greenleaf, are to be found 
 the following entries : 
 
 1756. M July 5, we began to raise our meeting-house and finished it the 
 7th, and not one oath heard and nobody hurt." "On the 7th, the Rev. 
 John Morehead, of Boston, preached the first sermon in it from 2d Chroni- 
 cles, 7 : 1*2. The first sermon preached in our new meeting-house was on 
 Aug. 15. The text was the whole of 122d Psalm." 1759. " Sept 10, Mr 
 Samuel Pettingell fell from the steeple of Mr. Parsons' meeting-house, 
 which was this year erected, and was killed instantly." — Coffin's History 
 
61 
 
 (k) The following letter from Mr. Parsons to Mr. Sproat, contains the 
 only account I have seen of this design : 
 
 " Rev. and Dear Brother : 
 
 An late exchange has had a wonderful influence among many of our 
 people, which has produced the following proposals, for the trial of the 
 minds of the congregation, viz : ' Proposals for calling and settling the 
 Rev. Mr. James Sproat as colleague pastor with the Rev. Mr. Parsons, 
 of Newburyport. Conditions. — That the building in Newbury first par- 
 ish be finished with as many pews in proportion to its bigness, as are 
 in Mr. Parsons' meeting-house. The finishing to be by the sale of 
 the pews under the conduct of that part of the congregation living 
 in said parish. 2d, that the taxation of pews, polls and estates in said 
 new building, or belonging to it, shall bear the same proportion with 
 that in the other house. 3d, that said Messrs. Parsons and Sproat be 
 esteemed as ministers equally belonging to both houses, they agreeing as 
 to times of preaching in the one and the other. 4th, that the whole body 
 be one particular Church, governed as Mr. Parsons' has been heretofore, 
 and that the proportionable part of the elders be always among those that 
 belonged to said first parish, being chosen by the whole body. 5th, that 
 those who do or may belong to either of said houses, do submit themselves 
 to a taxation, as mentioned above, for an equal support of both the minis- 
 ters. Dated Newburyport, October 26, 1767. The subscribers hereby 
 declare their approbation of the proposal of such settlement, and of the 
 condition above mentioned, and desire the affair may be prosecuted.' 
 
 The above is now prosecuting, and it is desired you would not engage 
 with any other people for four weeks from the date of this. letter. After all 
 I can't advise anything in my difficult situation, but can assure you no man 
 would be more agreeable as colleague than you." 
 
 From a comparison of dates, lam led to suppose that the new house refer- 
 red to in this letter, was the one described by Coffin in his history, as hav- 
 ing been raised and boarded July, 1766, opposite the old meeting-house in 
 the first parish in Newbury, and which was never finished, but fell to the 
 ground in a violent storm, February, 1771. Many of the movers in that 
 project were, it seems, members of Mr. Parsons' society, held to the sup- 
 port of a ministry in the First Parish, which they conscientiously disap- 
 proved. Mr. Parsons' Journal shows that much disorder prevailed in the 
 religious affairs of the two towns about this period. 
 
 (I) The character of Mr. Parsons had some marked faults as well as mark- 
 ed excellencies. Tradition says he was at times exceedingly passionate, but 
 that when the first impulse was over, no man could be more penitent. An an- 
 ecdote like this has been related of him. On one occasion a bill was presented 
 him for payment, which at first struck him as exorbitant, and he very an- 
 grily and peremptorily refused. No sooner, however, had the claimant 
 returned to his place of business than Mr. Parsons entered, and the follow 
 ing dialogue ensued : " Have you seen Mr. Parsons this morning ? " " Yes, 
 certainly, I saw you at your house, and presented your bill." " It wasn't 
 Mr. Parsons, it was the devil. Til settle the bill." It is presumed that by 
 
 G 
 
62 
 
 thus charging his excited feelings to Satanic agency, Mr. Parsons did not 
 intend to excuse but rather to humble himself. 
 
 (m) The following extracts from Greenleaf 's " Sketches of Ecclesiasti- 
 cal History," will serve to throw some light upon the early Presbyterial re- 
 lations of this Church. 
 
 M The first Presbytery in Now England, was constituted in Londonderry, 
 April 16, 1745, by Rev. John Morehead of Boston, Rev. David M'Gregor 
 of Londonderry, and Rev. Robert Abercrombie of Pelham, with James 
 M'Kean, Alexander Conkey and James Heughs, elders. It was called the 
 c Boston Presbytery.' ' In three years, they were joined by Rev. Jonathan 
 Parsons of Newburyport, and after that, by one or two others, and so con- 
 tinued for nearly ten years. There were a considerable number of Presby- 
 terian Churches, lying on both sides of the Merrimack, in Massachusetts and 
 New Hampshire, and a few in Maine. The presbyterial records appear to 
 have been regularly kept till 1751. A chasm then appears, and nothing is 
 recorded in the original book until Oct. 24, 1770. The Presbytery at this 
 time consisted of twelve congregations. Measures were taken for dividing 
 it into three, and forming a Svnod. After more than four vears, during 
 which some others were added to the number, at a meeting at Seabrook, 
 May 31, 1775, a division was amicably agreed on as follows : that Messrs. 
 Jonathan Parsons of Newburyport, Nathaniel Whitaker, D. D. of Salem, 
 Samuel Perley of Seabrook, Alexander M'Lean of Bristol, Maine, and the 
 congregation at Boston, then vacant by the death of Mr. Morehead, together 
 with Rev. Benjamin Balch, and the vacancies within their bounds be the 
 ' Eastern Presbytery,' called the ' Presbytery of Salem.' That Messrs. Da- 
 vid M'Gregor of Londonderry, Daniel Mitchell of Pembroke, Simon Wil- 
 liams of Windham, and John Strickland of Oakham, with the conoregation 
 at Petersburgh, and the other vacancies within their bounds be the middle 
 presbytery, called the Presbytery of Londonderry. That Messrs. John 
 Houston and Moses Baldwin, with their congregations at Bedford and King- 
 ston, the vacant conoreo-ations of Blandford, Pelham and Colrain, with 
 Aaron Hutchinson, Nathan Merril, George Gilmore, and Joseph Patrick, 
 candidates, be the western presbytery, called the Presbytery of Palmer. 
 The three presbyteries being thus organized were then formed into one 
 body called the Synod of New England, and held their first meeting at Lon- 
 donderry, September 4, 1776. 
 
 A few years previous to this, the Rev. John Murray had removed from 
 Philadelphia and settled at Boothbay, and with Rev. Mr. Prince of Barring- 
 ton, and Rev. Mr. M'Ewins of New Market, formed another Presbytery, but 
 no connexion was ever formed between this body and the Synod of New- 
 England." 
 
 The Presbytery last referred to, was called the Presbytery of the 
 '.ward, and with this Mr. Parsons and his Church, having withdrawn 
 from their connection with the former body, now became united. 
 
 (a) At the close of the first half century from his settlement, Rev. Dr. 
 Dana, being then pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church in this town, 
 delivered, in compliance with a special request, a very excellent and appro- 
 
DO 
 
 priate discourse, the following correspondence haying previously passed be- 
 tween him and the pastor and session of his former charge : 
 
 Newburyport, Nov. 23, 1544. 
 The Rev. Da.viel Da.va, D. D. 
 
 Dear Sir, — With the full concurrence, as we believe, of the First Pres- 
 byterian Church and Society, to whose service in the gospel, the energies 
 of your youth were devoted, we present you our sincere thanks for the 
 very appropriate and excellent discourse delivered at our place of worship, 
 on the semi-centennial anniversary of your ordination. — Believinor that its 
 usefulness may be still further extended, we would also respectfully 
 request a copy for publication. 
 
 J. F. STEARNS, Pastor of the Church. 
 THOMAS M. CLARK, > n ... e .. _ . 
 PAUL SIMPSON, 5 Committ ee of the Session. 
 
 To the Reverend Pastor, and the Session of the First Presbvterian Church. 
 
 My Dear Brethren, — As your cordial invitation, to preach a semi- 
 centennial sermon in your house of worship, left me no choice, so your 
 present request, though dictated, probably, by a too partial judgment, is 
 equally decisive with me. I therefore submit the discourse, with all its 
 imperfections, to your disposal. 
 
 Whether it shall, or shall not be found worthy of the public attention, it 
 will at least signify to the beloved people of mv former and my present 
 charge, what were the first, the last, and the dearest wishes of their affec- 
 tionate pastor, in their behalf. 
 
 Believe me, my dear brethren, very sincerely yours, 
 
 DANIEL DANA. 
 Newburyport, Nov. 2-5, 1*44. 
 
 In the evening of the same dav there was a delightful Catherine, at the 
 house of Dr. Dana, of friends from all religious societies and denominations 
 among us, who thronged thither to pay him their respects and congratula- 
 lations. Few, it is believed, went empty handed, and among the sons of 
 Newburyport in other places, some who could not be present, claimed the 
 privilege of sending their free will offering. 
 
 (o) The settlement of all difficulties previously existing between this 
 Church and the First Church in Newbury is due chiefly to the efforts of the 
 present pastor of that Church the Rev. Leonard Withington. Unwilling to 
 take the charge of a people with whom any of the neighboring Churches 
 were not in full charity, he insisted before calling the Council for his ordina- 
 tion, that an effort should be made to secure amicable relations between the 
 two Churches. Accordingly committees were appointed on both sides, and 
 after mutual conference and investigation the following transactions took 
 place. 
 
 Bv The First Presbyterian Church in Newburyport, 
 
 " Voted, that from a canful examination of the records, it does not appear 
 that this Church lias at any time, recent or remote, affixed any eccleaiaa- 
 
64 
 
 tical censure to the First Church in Newbury, or to any individuals belo 
 ing to it." 
 
 Thereupon the First Church in Newbury, 
 
 " At a meeting of the Church, October 16, 1816, Voted, That all misun- 
 derstandings and infelicities whatever, which may have existed between 
 this Church and the First Presbyterian Church in Newburyport, be from 
 this time buried in perpetual oblivion, and we on our part cheerfully agree 
 and engage that the two Churches shall mutually treat and be treated by 
 each other as Christian Churches, agreeably to the principles of the gospel 
 and the established usages of the Churches of New England. " 
 
 On the same day the First Presbyterian Church in Newburyport passed 
 
 the same vote unanimously in the same words, and communicated the fact 
 
 to the First Church in Newbury by their committee as follows : 
 
 " Newburyport, Oct. 17, 1816. 
 
 Dear Sir, — It is with much pleasure that I can inform you that I am en- 
 trusted by the First Presbyterian Church in this place to give you notice 
 that said Church unanimously adopted the vote recommended to them by 
 their committee relative to an amicable understanding with your Church, 
 which I hope will be of long continuance and for the glory of God in the 
 building up of his kingdom. 
 
 "With sentiments of esteem and affection, 
 
 I am, dear Sir, your brother, 
 
 THOMAS M. CLARK. 
 Hon. Eben March, &c." 
 
 Since the adoption of this mutual agreement, no Churches have been 
 more happy and undisturbed in their fellowship than this once rebellious 
 daughter and offended parent. 
 
 (p) The number of names signed to the covenant at its first adoption, was 
 46, viz : 24 males and 22 females. The following statistical table will show 
 the whole number who have been admitted during the ministry of each of 
 the several pastors, with the annual average during each, omitting fractions. 
 
 Ministers. 
 
 Parsons, 
 
 Murray, 
 
 Dana, 
 
 Williams, 
 
 Proudfit, 
 
 Present Pastor, 
 
 The whole number, as fir as can be ascertained, during the century, is 
 1160. 
 
 No Yrs. 
 
 Whole jXo. 
 
 Ann. Av. 
 
 30 
 
 303 
 
 10 
 
 ,12 
 
 88 
 
 7 
 
 26 
 
 208 
 
 8 
 
 6 
 
 89 
 
 15 
 
 5 1-2 
 
 218 
 
 39 
 
 10 
 
 161 
 
 16