-^ / •:i!0^ PEINCETON, N. J. 'a. Presented by Mr. Samuel Agnew of Philadelphia, Pa. -L^ AgJiezv Coll. on Baptism, No. ' -^ «<-^ f(J \/T\ ^Z__ THE HISTORY FREEWILL BAPTISTS Jf0r lialf K €mkx% WITH AN INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER, By rev, I. D.^'^TEWAET. VOLUME I. FBOM THE YEAH 1780 TO 1830. DOVER r FREEWILL BAPTIST PRINTING ESTABLISHMENT. WILLIAM BUER, PRINTER. 1862, Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1861, by "THE FREEWILL BAPTIST PRINTING ESTAILISHMENT," in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of N'ew Hampshire. fe PREFACE. History is replete with instruction, and suggestive of duty. It takes the experience of others and offers it to ourselves, admonishing us to shun their faults and copy their virtues. It may be said to extend our days, as well as our experience, by carrying us back into the past, where we seem to live with the men of other years, to participate in their labors, sympathize with their feelings, and share in their weal or woe. No person can read a faithful history without advan- tage, if he desire it. A history of the Freewill Baptists has long been in contemplation. .Rev. John Buzzell published a brief account of their rise and progress for thirty years, in his Religious Magazine in 1811 and 1812. In 1828, at the request of two Yearly Meetings, the General Conference made arrangements for a history of the denomination, and appointed an editor ; but nothing more was done. In 1839, Rev. Hosea Quinby com- menced a series of historical articles in the Quarterly Magazine, but that work was soon suspended. In 1853, the Printing Establishment appointed a commit- tee to collect materials for a history, and after five years' effort, the collection, consisting of books, rec- ords, papers, and reports from ministers, churches. Quarterly and Yearly Meetings, was placed in the IV PREFACE. hands of Rev. I. D. Stewart, to prepare the work for publication. To sit in calm judgment on the acts of such godly- men as were the fathers of the denomination — to dis- card prejudice, and do justice in all cases, is no easy task. Macaulay says, " No history can present us with the whole truth, but those are the best histories which exhibit such parts of the truth as most nearly produce the effect of the whole. He who is deficient in the art of selection, may, by showing nothing but the truth, produce all the effects of the grossest false- hoods. History has its foreground and its back- ground ; and it is principally in the management of its perspective that one artist differs from another. Some events must be represented on a large scale, others diminished, and a great majority will be lost in the dimness of the horizon." The wiiter endeav- ored to keep these suggestions of the eminent historian in mind, and profit by them. His first and great desire has been, to be faithful to truth. Facts have not been withheld because they involved acts, or prin- ciples of action, now disapproved. Neither have acts or declarations been stated and there left, without allusion to the modifying circumstances that attended them. The object has been to present those men and their work, not as they would appear in our day, but as they truly were in their own day. The author has endeavored to trace actions back to motives, and re- sults to causes. Especially has he studied to under- stand and reveal the inner life, that directed and char- acterized the outward act. It is interesting to know the facts pertaining to the outward life of the fathers ; the time, place, form, and manner of their worship, and the rise, progress, and decline of the cause. But PREFACE. V he wlio would see the power and glory of their day- repeated in ours, will be far more interested in hav- ing opened to his understanding their inward life — the secret of their power and success ; in short, how such men accomplished such results. The difficulty of wisely discerning and clearly unfolding the spirit- ual life of a people, can be realized only by those who have set themselves down to the task. It is hoped, however, that the reader will here find the clue to their esoteric as well as exoteric life. The arrangement of a suitable plan was a difficulty not easily surmounted. No other history presented one that seemed adapted to the work in contemplation ; and the one finally adopted is thought to combine the greatest number of advantages, with the fewest disad- vantages. It is original in several respects, and the three divisions of the subject-matter into introduction, local incidents, and general developments, character- ize the several Introductory, State, and Decade chap- ters. After the, most unwearied effiDrts to present the public with a history of the Freewill Baptists that shall be, so far as this volume goes, complete, truth- ful, and satisfactory, the author is keenly sensible that errors may be found on its pages. Nothing less could be expected, in view of the many merely allu- sive and fi-agmentary statements that have been fur- nished him ; and a still more unfortunate fact, that not a few of them, coming from different individuals, are even contradictory. And many who have anx- iously waited for the book, will doubtless lay it aside after a hasty perusal, dissatisfied with the omission of personal incidents of great interest to them, or with the brief manner in which they have been stated. 1* VI PREFACE, The*only apology to sucli friends is, all things consid- ered, tlie authtor has done the best he could. Personal interviews and continued correspondence ^ have been held with clergymen in various parts of the connection, and many have been the facts and suggestions thus obtained. Great is the obligation due these men, especially to Rev. Silas Curtis, chair- man of the Committee for gathering the materials here embodied. The following works have been freely considted, and have been the principal sources of information : The Religious Magazine, Religious Informer, Freewill Baptist Magazine, Quarterly Mag- azine, and Register ; The Herald of Gospel Liberty, Morning Star, and Repository ; The Lives of Randall, Stinchfield, Colby, Thornton, Marks, Bowles, Phin- ney, and Elias Smith ; The Records of Yearly Meet- ings, Quarterly Meetings, and churches ; and the reports from 23 Yearly Meetings, 104 Quarterly Meetings, 650 churches, and 700 ministers. New Hampton, N. H., 1861, CONTENTS, CHAPTER I. INTR ODUCTI ON. SECTION I. THE KEQUIB.ED MISSION OP THE FREEWILL BAPTISTS. Page Remarks 13 New England Intolerance 14 The Ministry Unsanctified 16 Religious Coercion 18 Doctrines Ultra -Calvinistic 21 State of Religion Deplorable. . . 23 A Change Demanded 25 SECTION 11. THE APOSTOLIC TYPE OF THE FEEE- AVILL BAPTIST MISSION. The Bible— God— Christ- Atone- ment — Spirit's Aid — Freewill. 27 Perseverance — Ministry-Church Worship 28 Baptism — Communion 29 Traces of the Baptists 29 General Redemption 30 SECTION III. RANDALL AND HIS FIRST CO- LABORERS. Randall's Childhood •. 32 Conversion 34 A Congregationalist 37 A Baptist 40 Duty to Preach 40 Persecution 42 Settles at New Durham 43 Disowned by the Calvinists... . 45 Ordination 46 Descriptive Remarks 46 Lord 47 Lock 48 Shepherd 49 Tingley 50 Weeks 51 Hibbard 52 CHAPTER II. THE FIRST CHURCHES. New Durham Church 53 Randall's Enlightenment 55 Church at Hollis 57 Church at Acton 58 Church at Tam worth 59 Church at North Strafford 59 Randall's Journey to Maine. . • • 60 Churches in Maine 63 The Shakers 65 Trials in New Durham 70 Weeks in Parsonsfield 70 Randall in Maine 71 CHAPTER III. THE QUARTERLY MEETING. Preliminary Measures 74 Convention 75 Organization 75 Second Session 77 Circular Letter 78 Third Session 80 Allen's " Two Mites" 81 Business of Q. M 81 Trials in 1785 84 Whitney's Ordination 85 Letter to C. Baptists 87 Merrill and McCorson Ordained 90 Q. M. at Parsonsfield 91 CHAPTER IV. THE FIRST DECADE. Object of Decade Chapters.... 93 Review 93 Statistics 94 Constitution of the Church.... 96 RulingElders 98 Discipline 99 CONTENTS. Page Free Communion 99 "Washing Feet 101 Church Stock 103 Persecutions 105 CHAPTER V. THE TEAELT MEETING. Randall's Affliction 107 Winslow's Letter 107 John Cotton 108 Declension 108 Re-organization at New Dur- ham 109 John Buzzell 113 Church in Waterborough 114 New Durham Q. M llo Yearly Meeting llo Sessions of the Q. M 116 CHAPTER VI. niSTOEY IN MAINE. Lock Reclaimed 119 Sandy River Churches 120 Stinchfield 121 Trial in Gray and New Glouces- ter 121 Ordination of Leach 122 Edgecomb Q. M 124 Farmington Q. M 125 Weeks Lost 126 Ordination of Tufts 128 Church Trials 129 Gorham Q. M 130 Stinchfield Humbled 130 Buzzell in Parsonsfield 131 Revival in Parsonsfield, &c 132 Parsonsfield Q. M 134 Ordination of Stinchfield 134 Hutchinson and Bailey Ordain- ed 135 Revival in New Gloucester. . . . 136 Revival in Bristol 137 Ordination of Blaisdell and Lord 139 Churches and Ordinations .... 140 CHAPTER VII. NEAV HAMPSHIRE. Ordination of Buzzell 141 Ordination of Townsend 143 Church in Wolf boro' 143 Shepherd Restored 144 Ordination of D. Lord 145 Gilmanton Iron Works 145 Ordination of Knowlton 146 Canterbury 147 Ordination of Young 148 GoodQ. M's 149 Day of Fasting 150 Yearly Meeting in 1798 150 Page Ordination of Ballard 154 August Q. M 155 Ordination of Aaron Buzzell. . . 156 Yearly Meeting 158 Unity Q. M 159 Richard Martin 160 Otis, Boody, Pottle and Jack- son 161 Churches and Ordinations.... 162 CHAPTER VIII. TEEMONT. Church in Straff"ord 163 Help from New Hampshire. . . 168 Church in Corinth 169 Ordination of Batchelder 169 Revival in Tunbridge 169 Joseph Boody 170 Joseph Quinby 170 CHAPTER IX. THE SECOND DECADE. Review 171 Statistics 172 Denominational Name 173 Call to the Ministry 176 Education of the Ministry 178 Counsel to the Ministry 179 Support of the Ministry 181 Elders' Conference...'. 187 Woman's Labors 190 Church Covenants 192 Church Polity 193 Dismission of Members 194 Support of the Poor 195 Regulating Committee 197 Lawsuits 198 Military Parades 199 Rules of Order 200 The Press 201 Devotional Spirit 201 CHAPTER X. MAINE. Lock's Secession 205 Brunswick and Standish 206 Stinchfield's Labors 207 Death of Hutchinson 208 Stinchfield's Illness . 210 Revival in Edgecomb Q. M.... 211 Act of Incorporation 212 Ordinations in 1804 213 Yearly Meeting at Gorham. . . . 214 Ordinations in 1805 215 Yearly Meetings at Wilton. . . . 216 Secession in Knox 217 Revival in Lincolnville 217 Revival in Georgetown 218 Revivalin Saco 219 CONTENTS, rs Revival in Standish 221 Revival in Woolwich 222 Revival in Raymond 222 Revival in Gray and New Glou- cester 222 Churches 223 Ordinations and Death 224 CHAPTER XI. NEW HAMPSHIRE. Church at New Hampton. Quarterly Meeting there . Gilford church Meredith Unity Q. M Assessment Singing on the Road Joseph Quinby Fall of Ballard Randall's Sermon Madison Ordinations Randall's Illness Fall of Pottle Legislative Recognition.. Revivals Yearly Meeting in 1806.. Randall at Sutton Osgoodites Death of Knowlton Randall's Last Labors. . . His Last Sickness His Last Letter His Death Churches Organized Ordinations Deaths CHAPTER XII. VERMONT AND CANADA. Randall in Vermont Joseph Boody, Jr The Praying Boy Joseph Boody, Sen Wm. S. BabcOck Stephen Place Aaron Buzzell Strafford Q.M Hardwick Q. M Hatley and Stanstead First Church in Canada Moulton Ordained Yearly Meeting Trials in Hardwick Q. M Churches and Ordinations.... CHAPTER XIII. THE THIRD DECADE. Review Statistics 225 226 227 228 228 228 229 230 230 233 235 235 236 238 239 240 240 241 242 242 243 246 246 251 252 252 253 254 254 254 255 255 256 256 257 257 258 259 260 260 261 261 263 264 Page Inconveniences at Q. and Y. M's 265 Reflections 266 City Churches 266 Class Meetings 267 Polity Changed 267 Churches Reject Members... . 268 Church Records in Q. M 268 Buzzell Secretary of Y. M 269 Elias Smith 269 DisafFections 272 Angel Delusion 275 CHAPTER XIV. MAINE. Revivals 277 Montville Q. M 277 Yearly Meeting at Buxton. . . . 278 Colby at Montville 278 Leach's Letter.' 279 Whitney at Newfield 280 Burbank's Conversion 280 Great Revivals 280 Daniel and Samuel Hutchinson 280 Colby at Eastport 281 Clement Phinney 282 Prays for a Universalist • 282 Rand's Attack 283 Buzzell's Reply 283 McGray in Nova Scotia 284 Cochranism 285 Lock's Letter 289 Revivals in Farmington Q. M. . 289 State Constitution 290 Churches and Ordinations 290 Deaths 291 CHAPTER XV. NEW HAMPSHIRE. Great Revivals 292 Yearly Meeting at Sandwich. . 292 Colby's Labors I... 293 Recovery of a Sick Woman. . . 294 Joshua Quinby 295 Sandwich Q.M 295 Weare Q.M 295 Charitable Society 296 Revival in Meredith 297 Death of Shepherd 297 Death of Knowlton and Jack- son 298 Joseph Boody, Sen 298 Discouragements of 1816 299 Revivals 299 Ministers in the Legislature. • . 300 Toleration Act 301 Religious Informer 301 Conference at Mrs. Randall's. . 301 Randall Estate Purchased.... 302 CONTENTS. Churches Organized 302 Ordinations and Deaths 302 CHAPTER XVI. VERMONT. John Colby 303 His Journey to Ohio 303 Builds a Meeting House 304 Yearly Meeting at Tunbridge . 305 Punds for Indigent Ministers . 305 Clarissa H. Danforth 306 Daniel Quimby 307 Charles Bowles 307 Miss Danforth in Wheelock Q. M 310 Prayer for Colby 310 Reuben Allen 311 Huntington Q. M 311 Churches Organized 312 Ordinations and Deaths 312 CHAPTER XVII. RHODE ISLAND. Colby's First Visit 313 Church at Burrillville 314 A Quarterly Meeting 314 Other Ministers 315 Great Gale 315 Governor Jones 315 Death of Colby 316 White Settles in Rhode Island 318 Clarissa H. Danforth 318 CHAPTER XVIII. NEW YORK. Nathaniel Brown 319 Church in Bethany 319 Colby's Tour 320 Jeremiah Folsom 220 Bethany^ Q. M 320 Missionary Tours 321 Cheney at Attica 321 Herman Jenkins.... 321 Church in Holland 321 Hinkley at Parma 322 Lewis at Walworth 322 Dean at Benton 323 Boston Church 323 Erie Q. M 324 Benton Q. M 324 David Marks 324 Churches and Ordinations 325 CHAPTER XIX. PENNSYLVANIA. Colby's Tour 326 Crooker, Chase, Gould and Wil- liams 327 Page Cookstown Q. M 328 Churches and Ordinations 328 CHAPTER XX. OHIO. Stedman at Rutland 329 Colby's Tour 329 Athens Q. M 330 Dudley, Moulton and Cheney. 331 Ohio Yearly Meeting 332 Dudley and Hinkley 333 Churches and Ordinations 334 CHAPTER XXI. THE POtTRTH DECADE. Review 335 Reflections on Colby's Tour. . . 336 Clarissa H. Danforth 338 The Press 339 Religious Magazine 339 Life of Colby 339 Religious Informer 341 Proposed Union of Freewill Baptists and Christians 341 Ordinations 343 War with England 344 Moulton Arrested 344 Clark in the Camp 345 Scarcity of Provisions 346 Spotted Fever 347 CHAPTER XXII. MAINE, NEW BRUNSWICK AND NOVA SCOTIA. Lewis Joins the Christians.... 349 Lock's Gift of a Farm 349 Death of Tingley 349 Parsonsfield and Gorham Q. M's United 351 Free Mission Society 351 Death of Blaisdell 352 Exeter Q. M 352 Elias Hutchins 353 Montville Q. M 353 Maine Charitable Society 353 Phinney at Richmond 353 BowdoinQ.M 354 Burbank and Manson 355 Farwell and Lewis 355 Hamiltonism 355 Death of Bullock and Sturgis. . 356 Morning Star 356 McGray in Nova Scotia 356 Revivals 357 Two Yearly Meetings 357 Farmington Q. M 358 Free Mission Society in Edge- comb Q. M 358 Enoch W. Bradford 358 CONTENTS. Trial with McFarland 359 Death of Hibbard 359 Anson Q. M 360 Norton and Higgins 360 Death of Lamb and Lock 361 Hathaway on the Penobscot. . . 361 Death of Bradford 362 Churches 362 Ordinations 363 Deaths 364 CHAPTER XXIII. NEW HAMPSHIRE. Yearly Meeting at Strafford. . . 365 Sale of Liquor 366 Cheney Leaves 366 Death of Otis and Babcoek.. . . 367 David Marks 367 Eli Towne 368 Church at Contoocookville... . 368 Lewis at Ellsworth 369 John A. Rollins 369 Death of Martin and Quinby. . 370 Death of Mrs. Randall 370 White's Sermon 371 Dover Church 371 Free Baptist Churches in Vt. . . 371 Great Falls Church 372 Great Yearly Meeting 372 General Conference 373 Chase Leaves 373 Clark at Dover 374 Young and Harriman 374 Churches 375 Ordinations and Deaths 375 CHAPTER XXIV. VERMONT AND CANADA. General Prosperity 376 C. H. Danforth 377 Concord Chiirch 377 Woodworth's Letter 377 Yearly Meeting 378 Charitable Society 378 Dover Q. M 378 Bowles at Enosburg 379 John S. Carter 380 "Woodman's Letter 381 Indian Stream Churches 382 Burbank and Manson 383 Morse at Montpelier 384 Bowles' Visits 385 Enosburg Q. M 385 Stanstead Q. M 385 Martha N. Spaulding 386 Society for Support of the Min- istry 386 Masonry 386 Page Death of Moulton 387 Death of Jackson 387 Churches 388 Ordinations and Deaths 388 CHAPTER XXV. RHODE ISLAND, MASSACHUSETTS? AND CONNECTICUT. Great Revivals 389 Greenville Church 389 Ray Potter 390 Quarterly Meeting 390 Eli Towne... 391 Marriage of Miss Danforth. . . . 391 Josiah Graves 391 Morse at Pautucket 393 Rehoboth Church 393 Susan Humes 394 ZalmonTobey 394 Freewill Baptist Magazine. . . . 395 Death of Thornton 395 Lowell Church 395 Allen Brown 396 Loring at Middleboro' 396 Itinerancy 396 Church in Middleton 396 Olneyville Church 397 Martin Cheney 397 Churches and Ordinations 398 CHAPTER XXVI. NEW TORK AND CANADA. Owego Q. M 399 Richard M. Carey 400' David Marks 402 Holland Purchase Y. M 404 Andrew Banghart 404 Jenkins in Canada 405 Talcott Patching 406 Death of Folsom 406 Darling and Lyon 407 Great Revivals 408 Ontario Q. M 408 Carey at Little Valley 409 Marks and Straight in Canada 409 Chenango Q. M 410 Colby's Life 410 Trials in Bethany Q. M 410 Mission Society 410 Susquehannah ' Y. M 411 Marks' Illness 411 Masonry 412 Trials in Ontario Q. M 412 Carey's Labors 412 Jenkins in Canada 413 Proposed Union in Canada... . 414 Churches 414 Ordinations and Deaths 415' Xll CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXVII. PENNSYLYANIA. Page Jackson Churcli 416 Jenkins' Letter 416 Mount Pleasant Churcli 417 Gibson Q. M 417 Troy and Cookstown 418 Northwestern Pennsylvania. . . 418 Newbold in Bedford Co 419 Churches and Ordinations 420 CHAPTER XXVIII. OHIO AND INDIANA. Marcus Kilborn 421 First Chiirch in Indiana 421 MaineviUe Church 422 CoUins in Northern Ohio 423 Marks' Labors 423 Huron Q.M 424 Athens Q.M 425 Dudley in Marion Co 426 Dudley Visits Kilborn 427 Miami Q.M 427 Yearly Meeting 428 Death of Towne 428 Northeastern Ohio 429 Cheney at Conneaut 429 Marks in Ohio 429 Marion Q.M 430 Blilborn Travels 430 Hutchins' Labors 431 United Baptists 432 Medina Q.M 433 Wayne Q.M 433 Churches and Ordinations 434 CHAPTER XXIX. GENERAL CONFERENCE. Polity Developed 435 Conference of Elders 436 General Conference Proposed. 436 Fage- Preliminary Measures 437 First Session 438 Peep at the Body 438 Business 440 Ordination of Colored Men. . . . 440 Itinerant Ministry 441 Doctrines Published 441 Second Session 442 Delegates 442 Independent Methodists 444 Masonry 444 History of F. Baptists 445 Third Session 445 Meetings of "Worship 446 Sermon by Place 447 CHAPTER XXX. THE riETH DECADE. Review 449* Statistics 450 Ruling Elder 450 Itinerant Ministry 451 Support of the Ministry 452 Ill-Requited Ministry 454 Wives of Ministers 458 The Press 460 Hyran Book. 460 Register 461 F. Baptist Magazine 461 Morning Star 461 Life of Randall 462 F. Baptists in North Carolina. 463 Correspondence with the Gen- eral Baptists 463 Missions 465 Sabbath Schools 465 Temperance 466 Education 467 Masonry 469 Hinderances to Success 470 Secret of Success 470 H I S T 11 Y OF THE FREEWILL BAPTISTS CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION SECTION I. THE REQUIRED IMISSIOX OF THE FREEWILL BAPTISTS. Remarks — New England Intolerant — The Ministi-y Unsanctified — Re- ligious Coercion — Doctrines Ultra-Calvinistic — State of Religion De- plorable — A Change Demanded. The student of history is not satisfied Avitli the mere record of events. He would know the originating causes and modifying circumstances ; how the secret springs of action were touched, and the events produced. Authors have not felt themselves at liberty to disregard this desire, but in history, whether civil or ecclesiastical, their first effort is to prepare the way for a correct understanding of the subject itself. So the history of the FreeAvill Baptists cannot properly begin with the church at 'New Durham, or the life of Ran- dall. The inquiring mind will ask, why was another do- nomination sprung into existence, when the Christian world was already distracted Avith opposing sects ? To answer 2 14 REQUIRED MISSIOJT. tliis question satisfactorily, we must go back to the days of our denominational fathers, and live with them amid scenes of temporal want, spiritual dearth, and fiery trials, "We must also familiarize ourselves with the spirit and practice of existing churches, in order to understand why there could be no more fraternization with them. It will be necessary to gO' still further back, and consider a variety of causes that had been long operating upon the public mind^ preparing it to demand a change in the prevailing religion of the day. Without more or less knowledge in these respects, the full mission of the Freewill Baptists cannot be under- stood, or their pi'inciples and labors properly appreciated. Could the past controversies among Christians be for- gotten, and justice have her due, no man of peace would be disposed to lift from such scenes the obscuring veil which time is weaving. But, in a work like this, justice to the honored dead, and the cause in Avhich their lives were spent, requires a true statement of facts. In making such a statement, we utterly disclaim any Avant of kind- ness, or Christian sympathy, towards those denominations from which our fathers felt themselves repelled. And it is just to make this admission, that if the softened doc- trines, tolerant spirit, and approved piety, they manifest in our day, had characterized them in our fathers' day, the demand for the Freewill Baptist denomination would have been far less imperative. Intolerance. The eaidy settlers of New England were Puritans of the purest class. We may smile at their aus- terity and grieve over their exclusiveness ; but, after all, they were " the men for the times." And had they only modified their institutions so as to have met the changing circumstances of the times succeeding, their praise avouM have been more complete " throughout all the church- es." But it was their misfortune to live in an age when religious toleration was everyvfhere denied ; when the power of truth to work out her owq triumphs was every- where distrusted.. NEW ENGLAND INTOLERANCE. 15 In exiling themselves on our uninviting shores, they never intended their settlement as an asylum for all.^ They regarded it as both their right and duty to protect themselves and children from all error. But they fell themselves into two grievous errors : — " The supposed necessity of uniformity in public loorsliip — and The connec- tion of Church and State.'" The first forbade religious toleration, and the second led to the defence and support of religion by legal means. The Cambridge Platform, adopted in 1648, was an ecclesiastical constitution ; and for more than a hundred and fifty years, magistrates were active in executing its requirements,^ Twenty-five years after its adoption, President Oakes, of Harvard College, said, " I look upon toleration as the first-born of all abominations." ^ The Plymouth colony was less intolerant than the Mas- sachusetts, but each regarded its members as one family, and the government as a paternity. On this ground they sought to exclude all men of heretical doctrine, and often exercised undue authority upon dissenters from the general faith and practice. Roger "Williams was banished for the avowal of his religious convictions. Dunster, the first President of Harvard College, was indicted, tried and fined, for the expression of Anabaptist opinions.'* The Quakers were used with still more severity, because it was more daringly provoked.^ They would return to the colony after having been banished, and a few were pub- licly whipped or personally mutilated, and four suffered 1 Bancroft's History of the United States, Vol. I., p. 463. ^ This Platform was " agreed upon by the Elders and Messengers of the Churches and General Court in 1648." — Neal's History of N. E. Chap. XVII., contains eleven Sections on " The Power of the Civil Magistrate in Ecclesiastical Matters," and says, '■'Heresy, vending corrupt and pernicious opinions which destroy the foundation, open contempt of the word preached, and the like, are to be restrained a-VLii punished by them." 3 Belknap's His. ofN. H. ^ Pierce's His. of Harvard University. ^ Grahanie's Colonial His. of the U. S, 16 KEQUIRED MISSION. death on the gallows.*^ Men who publicly called in c|iies- tion the authority of magistrates in things of religion, who opposed infant sprinkling, or petitioned for civil and religious privileges, were either fined, imprisoned, or ban- ished.^ These acts of cruelty were suppressed by an order from the crown in 1661,^ but the spirit of them long survived. For a century and a half afterwards, this same desire for rigid conformity was often manifest. Ministers, legally settled in every town, claimed entire jurisdiction in all matters pertaining to religion. All dissenters from the '' standing order" [Congregationalists] were regarded as intruders, whose heresy in doctrine and innovation in practice must be suppressed. Religious intolerance was one of the great evils of the age, and Calvinistic Baptists were doing a good wol-k tow- ards its correction. But men were wanted, Avhose free doctrines and liberal spirit would practically set the great love of God and the free principles of the gospel in vivid contrast Avith the narrow policy of sectarian men. This was confessed by some, and even those Avho now deny that a mission of free people was required for the early completion of this work, will admit that our present priv- ileges must be ascribed, in no small degree, to the zealous efforts of Freewill Baptists. Ministry. The first ministers of New England were not only pious men — " mighty and abundant in prayer" — but they were learned men, and with them was found most of the colonial literature. A classical education was considered of such importance, that candidates for ordina- tion were examined in the " three learned languages," ^ and 6 Bancroft. ^ Hildretli's His. of the U. S. s Williamson's His. of Maine, Vol. II., p. 277. ^ Early in the last century a Convention of ministers assembled in Boston and published proposals for the "Trial" of candidates for the ministry. One of the rules was this : — " He shall be tried how far he is acquainted with the three learned languages, [Latin, Greek and Hebrew] and with the Sciences commonly taught in the Academical Education." — Mather's Ratio Disciplinw. MlHrl^IlY rNSAN€TIFIED. 17 some were rejected because of their inability to meet the required test.^'' The old records both of churches and towns abound in votes to employ a " learned" minister,-^ and only such Avere considered as qualified to preach the gospelJ^ 80 much reliance was placed upon education that some, having this qualification, were inducted into the sacred ofiice, though destitute of experimental piety. A Congre- gationalist clergyman, in speaking of one whose ministry of fifty years' continuance began in 1760, says, "At a period when so many in the sacred office in New England were evidently unconverted, and consequently Arminian, Mr. F steadfastly adhered to the ' faith once delivered to the saints.' " ^^ George Whitefield, while travelling in New England, raade this record in his journal : — " The reason why congregations have been so dead, is because they have dead men preaching to them. * * * It is true, indeed, God may convert people by the devil, if he pleases, and so he may by unconverted ministers ; but I believe he seldom makes use of either of them for this purpose." On his third visit to New England, twenty clergymen in the vicinity of Boston, acknowledged that they were unconverted ministers till he came among them.i4 10 Hildreth, Vol. I., p. 382. '1 New Hampshire Churches, [A Congregational work.] 12 Bjf a statute in 17G0, an assessment for the support of a minister was not legal " unless he be educated at some university, college, or public academy, where the learned languages, the arts and sciences were taught ; or had received a degree from some public seminary ; or could show testimonials from a majority of the settled ministers in the county where he proposed to settle, that he had sufficient learning to qualify him for the work of the ministry." — Williamson's His. of Maine. '3 N. H. Churches, p. 232. The Centennial Address before the Men- don Association of Congregationalists in Mass., in 1851, alludes to the " half-way covenant," and says, "No prudential reasons could arrest the evils of this radical innovation upon the constitution of our churches, not the least of which evils was the introduction of unconverted men in- to the ministry. This teoful fact was even justified," i* Stevens' His. of Methodism, Vol. I., p. 478. 2* 18 REQUIRED MISSION. The salary, learning and commanding influence of tlic ministry, induced many to look in that direction as the surest road to fame and affluence. " For many years after the first settlement of the country," says Trumbull, " they were consulted by the legislature in all aifairs of importance, civil and religious." They were not only pas- tors of the church, but ministers of the town, legally set- tled and sustained. The consequence was, a strong ten- dency to conform to a worldly policy. To meet and correct this evil, was another part of the Freewill Baptist mission ; and never did men insist more determinfedly on any point, than has the denomination on the unquestioned piety and high spiritual attainments of its ministry. Other qualifi- cations might be wanting, but this, never. Coercion. The distinction between civil and ecclesiastical authority in New England, was formerly less marked than at the present day. The principles of religion then had a controlling influence in all the afiairs of life, especially those of the government. The error of the Puritans did no\f consist in their carrying religious principles into polit- ical action, but in their reliance upon political and civil action for the support of religion. Human nature is prone to extremes, and never did Christian men push their prin- ciples to greater extremities in this respect, than did the " Pilgrim Fathers." In 1633 an ordei^was passed that " none but members of churches should be admitted as freemen." ^^ Thirty years afterwards this law was so far modified that all freeholders, twenty-four years of age, might have the right of suffrage, though not members of the church, provided the minister of their town would certify that they were /' orthodox in their principles," and " not vicious in their lives." 1^ This law was not without its conciliatory influ- ence, but it produced no substantial change in the elective franchise, as none but the well affected could obtain the required certificate. 15 Belknap's His. of New Hampshire. '^ Hildreth's His. of U. S. RELIGIOUS COERCIOX. 19 When tlic New Plampsliire colonies united with Massa- cliusetts in 1641, their freemen and dejmties to the General Court were not required to be church members. This step in liberality alarmed many, who denounced it as the entering wedge of impiety, that would surely open the way to atheism. The Puritans justly regarded the preached gospel as a public good, and that every person Avas at least indirectly benefited thereby. But it was their error to rest the support of the gospel on the same basis with that of the civil government, and compel every citizen to share in the expense. The Cambi'idge Platform declares (Chap. XL), " That not only members of churches, but all who are taught in the word, are to contribute unto him that teach- eth in all good things ; and that the magistrate is to see that the ministry be duly provided for." The settlement and support of the ministry was left no longer to the zeal of the churches, but laws were soon passed requiring every town to support a minister, the burden to be laid " upon the whole society jointly, whether in church order or not." 1^ The common mode of settling a minister was for the church to give him a call, and then the town, at a legal meeting, would concur in the invitation and vote the re- quired salary. If there was no church to take the incipi- ent steps, the town proceeded in the selection of a candidate. Ministers were often settled in this way for life. Towns not only voted the salary, which was assessed and collect- ed the same as other taxes, but, on settUiig a man, a " settlement" was usually voted, much larger in amount than the annual salaiy, that he might provide himself with " See Hildreth's His. of U. S., Vol. I., p. 393. Also Hutchinson's His. of Mass., I., 376, where he says, " In 1654, County Courts were empowered to assess the inhabitants of the several towns that neglected the support of the Ministry." In Boston the ministry were supported by free weekly contributions. Williamson's His. of Maine, says, Vol. I., p. 356, " Penal laws were enacted, which required each town to pro- vide means for supporting a pious ministry." 20 REQUIRED MISSION. a home among his people ; and, as Increase Mather says, " in Qi'der to some Subsistence of his family, in Case he dy among them»" These laws underwent various modifications, but in all their changes the Puritanic principle Avas triumphant, that every man, as a good citizen, was not only bound in duty to attend meeting, but he must support the minister ; Voluntarily if he would, from necessity if he would not. About ten years after the rise of the Freewill Baptists, the laAV was so amended in New Hampshire and some other States, that a person, to be exempt from taxation, was required to be a member of some other than the Con- gregational denomination, and prove that he regularly attended meeting elsewhere on the Lord's day. Sat- isfactory evidence was not always at hand, and taxes were assessed. In default of their payment, the parish collector has been known to enter the dwelling of honest poverty and take " the peA\'i:er platters," ^^ " table, chairs, and andirons," and to sell "at vendue the cow of the poor laborer." ^^ If an appeal was made to a higher tribunal, courts and juries were often tinctured with the spirit of the laws, able counsel was employed at the expense of the ' tOA^^l, and the plaintiff was liable to be ruined by a law- suit, and perhaps imprisoned. Nor did this legal support of religion affect individuals only. ToAvns, when delin- quent in the payment of their minister, were sometimes admonished to duty by a suit at law." ^o Men who were thus compelled to build meeting houses they nev'Cr entered, and to support ministers they never heard, became prejudiced against religion itself. The tide of popular indignation ran high, and near the com- is Hildretli's His. of U. S., Vol. I., p. 407. '9 Barstow's His. of N. H., pp. 422-442. 2" In 1801 tlie minister in Warner sued the tovra for the arrearage of his salary, and collected it. — N. H. Churches. In 181-5 the minister of Gilmanton commenced an action against the town for his salary arrearages, and to avoid a lawsuit, the tovm. assessed itself $1,402, to meet his demand. — History of Gilmanton, N. II. DOCTRINES CALYINISTIC. 21 menceraent of tlie present century all were exempt from further taxation at their express request ; but it was not till our denominational fathers had resisted the conipiil-ory support of religion for tJiirty-jvine years, that the "Toler- ation Act " swept from the statute book the Tast vestige of these obnoxious laws. This subject has been thus largely discussed, to sliovv^ that the first Freewill Baptists had occasion and were in duty required to oppose the principle of a '■'■ hireliiicj" ministry. So pernicious in its effects was the whole sys- tem of religious coercion, that they felt themselves com- pelled for the time, to stand upon the extreme ground of voluntary corLtributions privately given. We may hear them reproached as opposed to salaried ministers, and the effects of that opposition may still be felt in some of our churches, but, before we join with their traducers, let us remember the peculiar circumstances in wliich they were placed. Doctrine. Prior to the rise of the Freewill Baptists, the people were faithfully indoctrinated in the tenets of personal, unconditional election and reprobation — the abso- lute perseverance of the saints, — and the dogma that " God ordains whatsoever comes to pass." These doctrines were presented in all their naked deformity, and urged over and over again upon those whose power of endurance enabled them to attend iipon such ministrations. Neal's History of ISTew England says, " The whole body of the New England clergy are Calvinists." And Mather says, " In two hundred churches, not one is Ar- miuian." Baptist ministers were decidedly Calvinistic, and about the year 1770 their cause received a new impulse, partic- ularly in New Hampshire. Revival ministers travelled, preached, bapti5:cd, and formed churches. While laboring for the salvation of sinners, they had little occasion to present the frightful skeleton of Calvinism ; but they had it with them, and when the religious intei'est declined or 22 REQUIRED MISSION. the truths of a free salvation were taught by others, then the hare hones were brought forth. Lest our judgment may be called partial and severe, we will let Benedict, their learned and accredited historian, speak for himself. Having spent a long life in his Baptist researches, he says, 2^ " "We must bear in mind that all were set down as Arminians who did not come up to the highest point of Hyper-Calvinism. Our old ministers in this region, half a century since, would have denounced as unsound in the faith, the great mass of our community of the present day, both in Europe and America, Fuller and Hall among the rest." At the close of his impartial history, he discusses several questions of general interest, and among others, " The Three great Evils among the Baptists.'''' The second, as announced in his own words, is, " Hyper- Calvinism ; or what Robert Hall denominated, ' thick skinned Antino- mianism.' This has been the bane of the denomination for about two centuries past." He then speaks (in 1848) of the great change within the last balf century ; but he seems not to have understood that the mission of the Free- will Baptists had in any degree produced it, or his faith- fulness as a historian would have led him to acknowledge the fact. The doctrine of infant baptism was of almost universal practice in Congregational societies. So essential was it considered, that the veiy first opportunity was sought for the christening ceremony. In some towns almost the entire population had ^'received baptism in infancy, either under the half-ioay covenant, or by parents in full com- munion," ^2 so that not one in twenty received baptism, or any substitute therefor, at the time of admission to the church. The Baptists were right on this question, but over against it might be set thxiir close communion. A return to the landmarks of Bible truth was strongly demanded ; and, in the doctrine of our fathers, the demand was fully met. •I History of the Baptists, p, 580. -« N, H. Churches, p. 262. DOCTRINES CALVINISTIC. 23 Impiety. When the proportion of men not pious had greatly increased in the colonies, they became clamorous for privileges in the church, since they were compelled to aid in its support. Tliey asked these privileges for both themselves and their children. " Great debates arose about this time among the New England ministers con- cerning the right of grand-chjldreit of church-members, to the sacrament of baptism, whose immediate parents had not entered into the Communion."^^ The General Court called a synod at Boston in 1662, and submitted this ques- tion : " Who are the Subjects of Baptism ?" The decis- ion " recognized all baptized [sprinkled] persons as mem- bers of the church, and their children as entitled to baptism."^* The churches were greatly agitated, and zealously opposed this decision, but most of them finally acquiesced, as none but the regenerated were admitted to the Lord's Supper. This scheme of receiving into church memb'ersliip all persons sprinkled in infancy and *■' not scandalous in life," though not professedly pious, Avas mainly the result of civil authority, and was called the " half-way covenant." Bur- ring the eighteenth century large numbers tMis " owned the covenant," and were received ; sometimes hundreds under the ministry of a single man. In many places the distinction between full communionists and " half-way cov- enanters" was but little regarded, and thus unconverted per- sons became the acknowledged members of the church."^^ Men were urged to unite with the church, though unac- quainted with experimental religion.^^ Nor can we won- der at this, as in some instances the minister himself was a stranger to grace. The " half-way covenant," in its practical operation, greatly lowered the standard of piety, loosely held the reigns of discijjline, and developed that "liberal" policy 23 Neal's His. of N. E., p. 331. ^4 EneyclopEEdia of Relig. Knowl. 2» Dr. Increase Mather, in his " Discipline of the Churches of N. E." 26 N. H. Chvu-ches, pp. 84, 181, 184., 24: REQUIRED MISSION. Avliich ripened into Unitai'ianism, and in the beginning of the present century divided the body. After the first and second o-enerations of the Pil"-rims had passed away, piety began to decline. Their descen- dants adliered to the forms of worship with Jev.'ish tenac- ity, but the pious sjririt of their fathers was no more. The annual sermons on election day after the first half century abound in remarks like the following i^" " O what a sad metamorphosis hath there of late years pass- ed over us in these churches and plantations ! Alas I How is New England in danger this day to be lost even in New England — to be buried in its own ruins." " Wheth- er we have not in a great measure forgot our errand into the wilderness, is a solemn and serious inquiry." " Have we not reason to expect that ere long our mourners ^^'ill go up and down, and say, ' How is New England fallen ! The land that was a land of holiness hath lost her holi- ness.' " In 1719 Increase Mather said, " There is too much Cause to complain of a Gradual and a Grov/ing Apostasy from the Religious Disposition that signalized the first Planters of the Neio English Colonies. The Spirit of the ivorlcl has too far brought a Death upon the Spirit and Poioer of Godliness." Revivals were few in number and limited in extent. There was in several places an unusual religious interest in 1735, and in 1740, '-41 and '42, it became so general that it has usually been called the " Great Awakening." George "Whitefield was then " ranging" on his first tours through New England. Others caught his spirit, and preaching faitlifully, thousands were brought to Christ. But while the Spirit wrought powerfidly Satan raged ma- liciously ; and, transfonning himself into an angel of light, some were led off in delusion. Taking advantage of " disorders and imprudences," heartless professors united with wicked opposers, and pul- pits were closed against these " new-light " preachers. The "' Princes' Christian Histories. STATE OF PIETY DEPLORABLE. 25 old spirit of Puritan intolerance Avas again revived, and laws were enacted against their measures. The spirit of revival soon began to decline ; the " Sep- arates," who left the churches, soon lost their identity as a class, and a spirit of formal conservatism again rested doTiTi upon the churches. This was the state of things when the mantle of Whitefield fell upon Randall. So low was the state of religion at the close of the last century, that the author of " New Hampshire Churches," says " evangelical Christians were not more than one to twenty- three of the whole population." The Congregationalists counted their members in ten-fold greater numbers than any other denomination. The Baptists had planted them- selves permanently in all the colonies ; the Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and Quakers, had each a few churches, but neither of them presented salvation, full and free, on the simple condition of repentance and faith, so as to meet the wants of the masses. No Methodist had then made his circuit in New Eng- land, and other efficient laborers of later date were none of them in the field. Calvinism, in its most unlovely forms, held undisputed sway. The love of God was but faintly seen, gilding with radiance the hopes of man, for it lay obscured behind the dark clouds of unconditional election and reprobation. The all-fulness of Christ was seen in the Bible, but not believed, because the doctrine of election was so explained as to limit the provisions of the gospel to the chosen few. The sinner continued in his sins, and the professor clung to an old hope, because both were taught that nothing could be done, till God, by his irresist- ible spirit, was pleased to move them to action. Divine wrath was knoAvn to rest upon the "vvicked, but there was no salvation for all ; and if there was, the will of man was not free to choose the way of life, till special motives were presented to him as one of the elect. Left to a forlorn hope, man sat down in gi'ief : over his sad condition, or his thirsty soul drank in the pleasures of 3 26 APOSTOLIC TYPE OF F, BAPTIST MISSION. life, only to suffer a more intolerable thirst. But Godliaa never been unmindful of his creatures ; and so deliver- ance came from an unexpected source, and in an eventful period of our country's history. The doubtful issue of the Revolution was then pending, and while the fixes of freedom were burning on the altar of almost every heart, there lived in the " hiU country " of New Hampshire and Maine, men of clear heads and warm hearts, who declared their belief in the freedom of the tvill, and the fulness of the gospel. " The common people heard " them " gladly," for they had been more oppressed with the doctrines of ultra Calvinism, than by the injustice of British taxation. There was a providence in the entrance of those godly men into the gospel field. After reading the following pages, it will not be doubted that He who called Abraham and Jeremiah, the twelve disciples and Paul the apostle, called also the fathers of our denomination. Putting his spirit into their hearts, and his word into their mouths, he sent them forth to preach a free and full salvation, unen- cumbered with the forms of worship or the doctrines of men. SECTION II. THE APOSTOLIC TYPE OF THE FEEEWILL BAPTIST INHSSION. The Bible— God— Christ— Atonement— Spirit's Aid— Free AVill— Perse- Terance — Ministry — Church — ^^Vorship — Baptism — Communion — ^His- torical Traces of the Baptists — Glance at the Doctrine of General Ee- demption> The religious wants of Ncav England, as stated in the preceding Section, indicate the nature of the required sup- ply. On a more careful inspection of the subject, it will be found that the FreewiU Baptists did not introduce a new religion, they only labored to re-construct the apos- BIBLE GOD CHRIST ATONEMENT. 27 tolic platform ; and, standing upon it, their success was the apostolic spirit revived. This will be seen of them as ii body, in the running statement of their doctrinal posi- tions, which here follows. They believed, the Bible " is given by inspiration of Ood," and is our only rule of faith and practice. They believed in God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit ^ of infinite attributes and righteous providences. They could say, " Christ is aU, and in all, to us." He was the Author of their salvation, and their all-pre- vailing name with God. He was in them " the hope of glory," and they in him could " do all things" required. They trusted in him themselves, and commended him to others, as an all-sufficient Saviour, Since it had pleased the Father that Jesus " should taste death for every man," and since he " gave himself a ransom for all," they had no hesitancy in saying, " he is the propitiation for our sins ; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the wliole world" Like the apostles, they believed in a general atonement- They believed in the Holy Spirit as a *' guide into all truth," a help under all " infirmities," and an everlasting comfort to the soul. Their own strength was weakness, their wisdom, folly, and their " righteousness as filthy rags." But when Divinely impressed with a sense of duty, and *' endowed with power from on high," they " conferred not with flesh and blood." Their belief in the necessity of the Spirit's aid, has seldom been equalled. They believed in the foreknowledge of God, but denied that it necessitated the acts of man. Both the invitations and threatenings of the gospel, its warnings and admoni- tions, imply free moral agency ; and they impressed upon dying sinners the words of our S-^viour : " Ye will not come unto me tliat ye might have life." Such are the motives to piety and the freedom of choice, that the per- sistent sinner was assured that he would stand self-con- demned, eternally reiterating the sentence, " Thou hast 2B APOSTOLIC TYPE OF F. BAPTIST MISSION. destroyed thyself." So important Avas their estimate of this sentiment — freewill — that it was reproachfully forced upon them as a part of their denominational name. Because persons had been " once enlightened," and ." made partakers of the Holy Ghost," their final salvation was not regarded as certain ; but the caution to them was, " Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall." The fathers could give only this assurance : " He that en- dureth to the end shall be saved." Hence, " the persever- ance of the saints," as an article of faith, like the salva- tion of sinners, was conditional. A divine call to the ministry, was regarded as no less essential than in the days of the apostles. That " no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron." And they Avould lay hands on no man till convinced that " the Holy Ghost said. Separate me" this candidate for the ministry. They taught that " the workman is worthy of his meat," and said, " Let him that is taught in the word, communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things." But this support must be voluntary. They gloried in say- ing, " Thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly." They made no charge for their services, but said, " Freely ye have received, freely give." The church was regarded as a divine institution ; and, prior to membership, each one " must be born again." Discipline was faithfully administered, that Christ might abide in the body, and " purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." They believed that there . was growth in gi-ace, and progress in Christian experi- ence. In worship, little reliance was placed on the outward form, but everything depended on the spirit within. Theirs was heart worship ; and its manifestations were sometimes .liable to criticism. They recognized God as a spirit, and true worshippers to be such only as " worship him in spirit and ijQjtruth." They could say, " The Spirit itself bear- HISTORICAL TRACES OF THE BAPTISTS. 29 eth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." And without this witness there was no rest to their souls. Repentance, faith, baptism, church membership, and communion, was the order of obedience. The conditional assurance of Philip to the eunuch, was made to all applicants for baptism : " If thou believest with all thy heart, thou may est," And they could not think themselves the obedient followers of Christ, unless they were " buried wiih him in baptism," The communion of saints was the communion of the fathers. The observance of this ordinance in remem- brance of Christ, was so fraught with his presence, that it was not in their hearts, neither was it in accordance with the spirit of the gospel, to restrict any child of God, even by inference, from coming to the Lord's table. The Christ- like sentiment of the heart, as well as the kind invitation from the mouth, was, to every one who could discern " the Lord's body," " Come with us," Thus did the early Freewill Baptists cut loose from the traditions of the church, the doctrines of men, and the time-serving policy of the age ; and, planting themselves on the word of God, they believed what it taught, and practiced what it required. In so doing they were pre- pared to meet the demands of the times ; and great was the blessing of their labors in the conversion of sinners, the revival of spiritual worship, and the restoration of primitive Christianity. Historical Traces of the Baptists are found from the days of Christ, along the earlier pathway of Christians, through the Dark Ages, and down to modern times. Mosheim^ and Neander,^ the two most eminent historians of the church, both affirm that in the first century baptism was administered by immersion. The heresy of baptismal regeneration led to the baptism 1 Vol. I., page 87. '^ VoL I., p. 310. 30 APOSTOLIC TYPE OF P. BAPTIST MISSIOM. of infants, and to sprinkling as a more convenient mode. The first historical allusion to this subject, is the opposition of TertuUian, near the close of the second century. But soon after his day, the march of error was irresist- ible ; and, with other innovations, that changed the apos- toHc church into a papal hierarchy, sprinkling became the established mode. Opposition, however^ was made in every age, by per- sons noted for their learning, position or piety ; and by large and influential bodies of dissenters. The Novatians, scattered over the Roman empire from the third to the sixth century, and the Donatists, who flourished in Africa about the same time, were generally orthodox on the sub- ject of baptism. 3 The Greek church has ever practised immersion ; and the Pauhcians, a numerous sect of Greek dissenters in the East, commencing in the seventh century, and called by MOner, " The Restorers of the New Testa- ment order of things," restricted baptism to believers. That pious and persecuted people, knoAvn as the Wal- denses and Albigenses, from the twelfth century onward, practised believers' baptism in the apostolic manner. The Anabaptists of Germany had their origin anterior to the Reformation, and, though erroneous in some respects, their views of baptism were Scriptural. Traces of the Baptists are found in England, at intervals from the sixth century to the death of Wickliffe. From that time onward, their continued existence is a historical fact. The first Baptist church in America was organized at Providence by Roger Williams in 1 639 . At the commence- ment of the next century the number of churches was sixteen, and before its close they amounted to a thousand. A Glance^ Historically^ at the Doctrine of General Re- demption^ discovers no controversy on the subject till the fifth century. Pelagius, a man of piety and great erudi- Benedict's History of the Baptists. GENERAL REDEMPTION. 31 tion, then defended it by arguments that Augustine re- garded as unscriptural ; and thus the Pelagian controversy commenced. Both parties took extreme ground, and, finally, a medium position was more generally adopted-, which recognized predestination as conditional. In the sixteenth century John Calvin of Geneva, a theologian of great power, revived the doctHnes of Augustine ; and he, in turn, was opposed by James Arminius of Holland, who was equal to the task. From that day to this, the Chris- tian world has been divided between Calvinism and Ar- minianism. Benedict, in his history of the Baptists, says, "It is evident that the Dutch and German Baptists have, gener- ally speaking, been of an Arminian cast." He also says that in England they have " long been divided in their views on the atonement, whether it is general or f articular ." The first controversy on predestination among the English re- formers, was in queen Mary's reign, when those who be- lieved in the freedom of the will were called '■^ freewillers"'^ At the time Massachusetts was settled, about one-fourth of the English clergy were Arminians. In speaking of Roger Williams' church, Benedict makes this honorable admission : "In my opinion it is fair to admit that this body in early times, and for a long course of years afterwards, had it been in England, would have come under the General head." The same was true of the first Baptist church in New York city. He gives a list of fifty-eight churches formed prior to 1750, and in a note says, " A considerable num- ber of these old churches were of the General Baptist or- der." It is thus seen that the position of the Freewill Baptists is not only scripturally sustained, but historically endorsed. * Neal's History of the Puritans, Vol. I., p. 65. 32 RANDALL AND HIS CO-LABORERS. SECTION III. RANDALL AND HIS FIRST CO-LABORERS. Nativity — ChUdhood — Apprenticeship — Conversion — A Congregational- ist — Leaves the Church — ^A Baptist — Duty to Preach — Persecution — Settles at New Durham — Disowned by the Calvinists — Ordination — Descriptive Remarks — Lord — Lock — Shepherd — Tingley — Weeks — Hibbard. At the entrance of Portsmouth harbor is a rough but fertile island of about five hundred acres. It is three miles distant from the city, and is now connected with the mainland by a substantial bridge. Here was commenced one of the first settlements in New Hampshire ; and, with a population that never exceeded a thousand, it early be- came an incorporated to^vnship by the name of New Cas- t\e. On this island lived Capt. Benjamin Randall. He laid no claims to a noble ancestry, and yet, being an hon- est man, he was one of Nature's noblemen. His wife was connected with families of influence, and was herself a strong minded and pious woman. Benjamin, their first son and future glory of the family, was born February 7, 1 749. Like Samuel, he seems to have been " lent to the Lord" in his infancy ; and in early child- hood he was the subject of strong religious impressions. His early training and religious convictions directed his youthful mind to the great work that characterized his riper years. At the age of nine he accompanied his fa- ther to sea ; and, when not at school, this was his employ- ment till eighteen. But the profanity, recklessness, and entire want of Christian privileges in a sea-faring life, were so repulsive to his high sense of propriety and relig- ion, that he was then placed, at his own request, as an ap- prentice with a sail-maker in Portsmouth. At this time Portsmouth was much the largest town in the state, and a Randall's childhood. 33 place of considerable business. The advantages of a res- idence here till he was twenty-one, were many, and no one sought more earnestly to profit by them. He never neg- lected his seasons of fasting and prayer, or the Sabbath- day worship of God, whatever were the influences around him. He sometimes allowed himself to engage in dancing and similar recreations ; nor did he often feel condemned in this, so long as he had before him the example of church members, and could fall back upon his own carefully ob- served forms of devotion. There were times, however, when the folly of his life, and the emptiness of his religion, left him no hope amid the overwhelming convictions of a guilty conscience and the reproving spirit. Shame and fear would then keep him from his devotions for a time, but afterwards, by more frequent and fervent prayers, he would soon consider his account as balanced. At the time when Mr. Randall stepped from his minori- ty into the scenes of responsible life, the facilities for ac- quiring an education were very limited. Common schools were established in every town, but their continuance was short and their advantages poor. That very year was Dartmouth College opened in the wilderness at Hanover, with " two or three log houses," for the education of In- dians and such as purposed to be missionaries among them. It was more than ten years after this before the first Acad- emy in the state was founded, and Capt. Randall had not the means of sending his son abroad. Such opportunities, however, as the country afibrded, were improved, and he acquired a good " mercantile education," which was more than the people generally possessed. Being now twenty-one years of age, Randall returned to New Castle. The same year, 1770, George "White- field made his last visit to America. Various were the feelings with which this man of God was regarded. Those who were liberally minded and truly pious, received him 34 RANDALL AXD HIS CO-LABORERS. as a servant of the Most High ; but bigoted professors and opposing sinners, rejected him as a vagi-ant fanatic. When the news of his arrival in Portsmouth was an- nounced in New Castle, Mr; Randall's spirit of opposition was so bitter that he would gladly have seen him, and every other travelling preacher, whipped out of town. But the people generally went to hear the famous man, and Mr. Randall went with them. He afterwards said, " The power with which he spoke was a torment to me." But great as was his opposition, an unrecognized influence con- strained him to attend day after day. The searching truths and stirring appeals to which he listened, only har- dened his unbelieving heart. It was on Friday that he heard him for the last time. The Sunday following, his own minister was to preach in Portsmouth, and Randall went over with him. He says, " It was September 30, that memorable day ! That blessed day to Whitefield, that blessed day to me !" At noon, a stranger came riding slowly along the street, and, as he rode, in a clear but sub- dued tone, he cried, " Mr. Whitefield is dead. He died in Newburyport at 6 o'clock this morning." With this an- nouncement came an arrow from the quiver of the Al- mighty. It pierced the heart of Randall, and sent a thrill of anguish through his soul. He had fortified himself against the power of God in the living preacher, but now he was taken unawares and entirely disarmed. He says, "A voice sounded through my soul, more loud and start- ling than ever thunder pealed upon my ears. Whitefield is dead !" " Whitefield," said he, " is now in heaven, but I am on the road to hell. He was a man of God, yet I reviled him, and spoke reproachfully of him. He taught me the way to heaven, but I regarded it not. that I could hear his voice once again ! But ah, never, no nev- er shall I hear it again, till, in the judgment of the great day, it will be ' a swift witness ' against me." Such were the reflections of his agitated mind. Re- Randall's conversion. 35 turning home, he took his room and gave himself up to meditation. His former religion, in which he had so con- fidently trusted, was now seen to be entirely worthless ; and such was his discovery of himself, that no person seemed more vile. The tempter would then come and say, " Why all this distress ? You have not been a pro- fane and wicked man, but a man of prayer, moral in your habits and respected by the people. Dismiss all these fears, and let the good deeds of your life now be the satis- faction of your soul." But a miserable comforter was he ; for it was the state of his heart, rather than the manner of his life, that now troubled him. At times he became more calm, endeavored to direct his thoughts to other subjects, and employed himself in writ- ing, that he might thus divert his attention. But the preaching of Whitefield still sounded in his ears, and was sometimes brought by the Spirit more fully to his remem- brance ; and then his distress would again roll in upon him like an overwhelming flood. He refused to be com- forted ; not because there was no mercy with God, but be- cause he was just, and the justice of God forbade all hope. He had no clue to the mystery of " God in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself," hence, he could not see how a sinner like himself could be saved. It was the justice of God that everywhere stood out before him, and he could not endure the thought that there should be an infringement upon any of his attributes. He finally said, " It would be better for me to be damned, than that God's justice should be infringed." He was not willing to be lost, since God is " not willing that any should perish," but he felt constrained to say in the words of Dr. Watts, " And if my soul were sent to hell, Thy righteous law approves it well." For more than two weeks his daily experience was, " Weeping, woe, and lamentation. Vain desires and fruitless prayer, Shame, and hell, and condemnation. Doubt, distraction, and despair." 36 RANDALL AXD HIS CO-LABORERS. He thought of Jesus as the Saviour of the world, but he could not trust in him, for the Lord is " ix just God and Saviour." One day, as he was musing on his unhappy state, his mind being more tranquil than usual, the Avords of the apostle came fi*esh to his recollection, (Heb. 9 : 26) : " But now, once in the end of the Avorld, hath he appear- ed to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." They made no particular impression, but as they occurred a second and third time, he began to reflect upon their mean- ing. " To put away sin by the sacrifice of himself!" Is it not possible, he thought, that in some way " he appear- ed to put away" my sins ? He began to hope, and even believe, that it might be so ; for he dared not limit the infi- nite God. It Avas no prayer that he was now ofiering for the removal of his guilt, and yet this was his all-prevailing desire ; and while thinking of Jesus, making a " sacrifice of himself " to put away sin, he thought of him as his only hope; and his burden of mind was gone. All was calm and peaceful. That was the glad hour of his trust in the Saviour. For a moment he feared that God had left him to his former indiiFerent and hardened state ; and he cried for returning conviction. He was soon satisfied that God had not left him, but it was his condemnation that was gone-. " Previous to this discovery of my guilt," he says, " I was in love with the world and its vani- ties. They are now loathsome to me, and I know that I love God and long after righteousness. "What, then, is this, but a change in my heart, wrought by the power of God ? This is conversion, this is what is meant in the Scriptures by being ' born again.' As soon as I believed this, I gave glory to God ; and O, what love, joy and peace filled my soul ! I now saw the Lord to be ' a just God and a Saviour,' while in Christ I beheld a blessed sacrifice for sin, to the full satisfaction of Divine justice. O the lovely character of Jesus ; he is ' my transport and my trust.' His precious name was all that I could repeat. MEETIKG IN PORTSMOUTH. 37 It seemed to me that, if I had ten thousand souls, I could trust them all Avith Jesus. The enrapturing views of God as my friend, of Christ as my Saviour, of the atonement as free and full, were such as no language can describe." The time of this remarkable change was October 15, 1770.^ Having hired a sail-loft, and commenced business for him- himself in New Castle, he was married Nov, 28, 1771, to Miss Joanna Oram, a woman every way suitable for the place she was called to fill. The family altar was at once erected, and the propriety of uniting with the church was soon considered. All their associations having been with the Congregationalists, they never thought of uniting else- where. When the minister was acquainted with their desire, he encouraged them, and said, " I will propound you next Sabbath." But the step being an important one, Randall desired an explanation of the covenant and its ob- ligations. Taking a copy home, they duly considered the subject, and, after fasting and prayer, subscribed their names. It was in November, 1 772, that they were received into the church. The immoralities which he soon found in the church so grieved his soul, that the next summer he often partook of his food without relish, and arose from his bed without rest. He became so pressed in spirit that he revealed his feelings to a few of the most devoted in the church, who agreed with him to hold a meeting on Sabbath and Thurs- day evenings, for " singing, prayer, and the reading of a sermon, or some other good book." Their minister at first approved of these meetings, and conviction rested up- on the minds of the people. The report that, " Randall wants to be a preacher," greatly crushed his spirit, and his going to other Congregational meetings occasionally, seeking for more spiritual food, alienated from him the feelings of his pastor. In March, 1775, Mr. Randall went to the " Separate" 1 It was the same year in which the General Baptists in England es tablished the New Connection. 4 38 RANDALL AND HIS CO-LABORERS. meeting house in Portsmouth to hear an Englishman ; and what should be the text but the very words that had been blessed to his salvation: "But now, once in the end of the world, hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacri- fice of himself." No sooner was the text announced than the joys of his first experience again filled his cup of bless- edness, and he longed to declare what the Lord had done for his soul. The sermon Avas practical, and highly exper- imental. At the close of the service, Randall advanced to the pulpit stairs, and, taking the hand of the minister, intended to tell him only a little of his rich experience ; but, in the fulness of his joy, he spoke so freely and audi- bly that all in the house could distinctly hear. Having obtained his consent to preach in New Castle, Randall went home rejoicing. He did not, he could not, keep si- lence, such was his desire to "prepare the way of the Lord." With joyful anticipations he called on his pastor^ but, to his utter surprise, found him indulging in the same spirit towards the stranger that he had himself previously cherished towards Whitefield. The use of the meeting house was positively refused ; and here was another un- looked-for trial. When the day of the meeting arrived, both the minister and the people came, and the ofiicers of the town opened the house. It was a precious season to Randall, though with it came an additional trial. One of his brethren in the church, being intoxicated, so disturbed the meeting that he was carried from the house. A com- plaint was lodged with the pastor, who refused to enter- tain it, or afterwards to recognize Randall who brought it. Randall visited and reproved the oifending man, who wept and thanked him for his kindness. The day of communion was approaching, and what to do he did not know. The church generally sympathized with the pastor, and Randall supposed that the emblems would be refused him, and if so, then he would insist upon a trial. But in this he was disappointed ; and so he ex- amined himself, and did eat of the bread and drink of the BAPTISM. 39 lOl people, the declaration of open communion would then ob- \y have rendered them stiil more obnoxions in the eyes of ■others. But the question soon became a practical one in New Durham, and then there was no hesitancy in meeting it. Early in 1785 the church voted that " We believe it duty, for the future, to give leave to such brethren as are not baptized by immersion, whom we fellowship in the spirit, to commune with us occasionally if they desire it ; and to have the liberty of all church privileges," They believed it '■'■duty" to have an open door to the Lord's ta- ble, for aU "approved Christians, who " desire" to come. ■" The liberty of aU church privikges," evidently had ref- erence to those of worship, so that while they were knowa as Baptists, they showed themselves to be free Baptists, In December following, the Quarterly Meeting agreed *' to receive such as we have satisfectory evidence to be- lieve are united to Christ by a living faith, are tender to know duty and do it, and are willing to be under disci- pline." This agreement was unanimous, with the excep- tion of a licensed exhorter ; and the next year it was reconsidered, and unanimously re-affirmed. Three years after this is the first record of " a general invllation being given." Thus early and permanently was the question of communion settled on the broad basis of Christian char- acter, where John Bunyan had placed it one hundred years before, and in defence of this position Robert Hall wag then a strong advocate. It was regarded as an ordinance of the gospel, to which all true believers had a right ; and yet, as pre-requisites, the mode of baptism was ignored, church membership implied, and a spirit of faithful obe- dience required. The " Washing of Feet" as a gospel ordinance, was nev- er received with universal favor. When the subject of free communion was first considered in the New Durham church, in 1781, this question was introduced, and for two or three years elicited great interest, and diverse feelings. The church did not declare it obligatory upon Christians, 9* 102 THE FIRST DECADE. but, in a tolerant spirit, " Voted, Liberty to those that be- lieve it duty ' to wash one another's feet.' " Nathaniel Buzzell, a Ruling Elder, and Deacon Davis were grieved with this action, and, after meeting, gave free expression to their feelings. A conference was called the next Sab- bath, " between meetings," when they publicly objected to the act of washing feet, as an innovation among the ordi- nances of the gospel. Nothing could be done to effect a reconciliation, and they left the meetings. In January, 1782, Buzzell confessed his want of charity towards those who felt it duty to observe the washing of fsfet, and was restored amid great rejoicings. A kind letter of admoni- tion from Randall in June, written by vote of the church, touched the heart of Davis, and he was restored. For many years this rite continued to be observed by the ministry, in connection with communion at Quarterly and Yearly Meetings, but its observance was left optional with all. It was never observed with any great frequency or regularity ; the first instance on record being at North Strafford in 1783. Many churches provided themselves with a couple of basins, and a supply of napkins, and, af- ter communion, it was often customary for the male mem- bers of the church, who believed in the practice as an or- dinance, to gather into a group by themselves, with one of the basins and a part of the towels, and there, not only show, but cultivate humility, by washing and wiping each other's feet. The females, by themselves in another part of the house, did the same. The foot was held over the basin, a little water in the hand was poured upon it, and then it Avas wiped dry ; and thus the ceremony did not oc- cupy a minute's time with each person. It was claimed by those who entered heartily into this observance, that it was often among the most precious seasons of their ex- perience. A more careful investigation of the subject, and consid- eration of oriental customs, led to the conclusion generally, that Christ enjoined the practice upon his disciples, not as CHURCH STOCK. 103 a religious rite, but an act of hospitality, that would call into exercise their Christian humility. The practice grad- ually went into disuse, and when the subject was last un- der discussion, in 1831, the unanswerable arguments of Burbank and Caverno confirmed the denomination in the position previously and generally taken, that the washing of feet is not a gospel ordinance. Church Stock was the property of the church gathered from its members, for meeting its necessary expenses, and for benevolent purposes. It consisted of money, provis- ions, clothing, «fec. Eleven months after the organization of the New Durham church, there was " in store one hun- dred and eighty-five continental dollars."^ Many churches had their poor to provide for, and to meet the travelling expenses, at least, of ministers who visited them, espec- ially such as visited them by invitation. To meet these wants, the Quarterly Meeting in June, 1786, voted " to exhort the several branches to raise Church Stock for the use of each branch." This proposition was generally ap- proved ; and the New Dui'ham church said it was " excel- lent and apostolic." The subject was often before the Quarterly Meeting, and great efforts were made to reduce it to system, and equality. It was an easy matter to pass resolutions in Quarterly Meeting, in favor of Church Stock, but quite a different work to go into the churches and collect the money. The subject was commended to the churches in the Circular Letter of 1788, as follows : " Beware of covetousness ; consider that ' the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof;' that you are not your own, but are bought with a price. We are apprehensive that there is a too general neglect of Church Stock, and of contributions to the necessities of the needy. By with- holding more than is meet has tended to poverty, grievous poverty of soul, and what is far worse, has awfuUy dis- honored our most kind, loving Lord and Master." The 1 This " continental" money was the paper currency of the country, then greatly depreciated in value — ^perhaps ten-fold. 104 THE PmST DECADE. next year the records say, " With regard to Church Stocky we find to our grief that it has been very much neglected." The importance of this fund was clearly seen and deeply felt by some. But clear views and deep feelings on the part of a few will not bring money, while the masses nei- ther see nor feel. And here was the neglect ; and the con- sequences have blasted many a promising harvest. Large fields of usefulness are now unoccupied, many churches have become extinct, and in many respects has Zion lan- guished, simply because the luxury of giving has not been foreseen, and the idolatry of covetousness has not beeu understood. Without giving up their favorite project of Church Stock, the Quarterly Meeting agreed in 1789 to raise a general fund for its own distribution. The churches were advised " to lay aside more or less yearly, or oftener, for charitable uses, to be brought in to chosen men, and by them distributed to the needy, according to their discre- tion and wisdom." Joshua Coombs, of Little River, Me., was appointed Treasurer, and each church was desired to choose a collector and report every quarter. Here was systematic benevolence on general principles, but the effort was not very successful. Times were hard, and money was scarce, so that trials and discouragements often looked those Christian pioneers sternly in the face ; and, as they faltered not, ungrateful must be that posterity that refuses to honor their devotional and sacrificing spirit. While upon this subject, we may anticipate a few things belonging to the next decade, and not refer to it again. In 1794 the New Durham Quarterly Meeting voted, " That each Monthly Meeting [church] collect a Stock for its own benefit by equality. That one or more be appointed to apportion the sum which the Monthly Meeting concludes to raise ; and that each member convey to the Treasurer his proportion, in such species^ as may be most convenient * For several years after the Revolutionaiy War, there was so little money ia circulation that, in many business transactions, "barter" ncc- PERSECUTION. 105 for him ; or he deemed a transgressor." Many churches complied with the instruction, but others did not, and as the vote could not execute itself, they were left without means. The appropriation of this stoCk was for various purposes, under the direction of the church. The New Durham records speak of " fifty cents a week" for the support of a poor sister ; " fifteen shillings to Eld. Ran- dall's family to supply them with bread-corn in his absence to the Yearly Meeting ;" " f 12" at one time, and " $14" at another, for " the use of a pasture during Yearly Meet- ing ;" " $4 for the use of a horse by Randall to Marsh- field, Ms.," &c. The Persecution experienced by the fathers, was not, to any great extent, physical abuse, but opposition to their worship and labors. For years they were obliged to pay their " minister tax" to the " standing order," in many towns. When the Loudon and Canterbury church pub- licly discarded Calvinism, one of its members had just been released from a long and expensive lawsuit, in which it was decided that dissenters mwsf pay their assessed taxes. A member of the "Wolfborough church refused to pay, and his cow was taken. Rev. Joseph Goodwin, of Maine, had his horse taken for the same reason. It was of little use to resist the parish collector, and the taxes were gen- erally paid ; but the influence of such taxation was irrita- ting and oppressive. And, because the fathers publicly and privately opposed the whole system, they and their ef- forts were, in turn, opposed. The right to worship separately from the " standing or- der," was denied ; and such worship as that of the " Ran- dallites" was intolerable. Their doctrines were misrepre- sented, and their excesses greatly magnified. They were essarily took the place of cash. This fact explains the following records of the Canterbury church. " March 6, 1796. Voted to sell ten bushels of rye from the Church Stock to purchase things for the communion table." " June 7th, Voted to send one bushel of wheat and one-half bushel of rye to the Yearly Meeting." 106 THE PIBST DECADE. reproached as " freewillers ;" and, since their meetings could not be suppressed, the disturbance of them was of- ten justified. They lived in the midst of reports, false as they were foolish and scandalous. On one occasion, as Tingley went to fulfil an appointment, opposers had be- come so excited that legal measures were taken for warn- ing him out of town. When the officer came to serve the writ, he was so agitated with rage or fear, conscious guilt or Divine reproof, that he could not read it ; and, after two or three ineffectual attempts, Tingley, in compassion, read it for him, and, returning the paper, continued un- hesitatingly about his " Master's business." In that day, as in the apostles' day, it was said, " con- cerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against." Its free doctrines were declared to be heretical, and its free worship to be disreputable. Every progres- sive step was contested, and their extinction, as a people, was perseveringly sought. 1 790, J RANDALL'S AFFLICTION, 107 CHAPTER V. THE YEAELY MEETING, AND HISTORY OF THE TWO PRECEDING YEARS, 1790—1792. Randall's Affliction — ^Winslow's Letter — Cotton — Declension — ^Re-or- ganization at New Durham — John Buzzell — Church in "Waterhorough — ^New Durham Quarterly Meeting — ^Yearly Meeting-Sessions of the Quarterly Meeting. The year 1790 commenced with a state of religious apathy in most of the churches. But few attended the Parsonsfield Quarterly Meeting in March^ and those few brought disheartening reports from all quarters. Randall was distressed, and in May his affliction was further in- creased by an attack of the influenza, a sweeping epidemic^ that brought him very low, and forbade his attendance at the Quarterly Meeting with his own church in June. When partially recovered, he was summoned to the dying bed of hie honored father in Ossipee, twenty-two miles distant, and found him speechless ; and in a few hours the strug- gling spirit left for the land of rest. The funeral was at New Durham, where the son, in feeble health, preached from Ps. 37 : 37. " Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace." At the September session of the Quarterly Meeting, a letter was received from Kenelm Winslow and wife, of Lewiston, saying, " We believe that you deny election, the perseverance of the saints in Christ, and the sover- eignty of God. We desire that you would grant us a 108 YEARLY MEETING, ETC. [1790. dismission from your church, or we must take it," &c. This letter produced quite a sensation in the meeting, and it was thought best to pass no longer unnoticed such cruel aspersions. A lengthy reply was returned, by order of the Quarterly Meeting, denying the charges, and explain- ing the doctrines. They were admonished to cherish and manifest a different spirit, or they would be dealt with as transgressors. A class of ill-mannered, self-righteous, contentious per- sons usually attended the Quarterly Meeting at Gorham, and so great was the annoyance, that Gorham, for several years, was called " the seat of war." At the November session, their obtrusiveness in the conference was a great trial, and on the Sabbath they publicly opposed and con- tradicted the speakers. These things were endured with patience, and were sanctified to their more close adherence to Christ. The singularities of John Cotton came under considera- tion at this meeting, and the Quarterly Meeting " con- cluded that said Cotton has a gift to improve in the church, but it is possible he has sometimes spoken too much, or spoken after he should have left off," The Re- ligious Magazine says, " This Cotton had an excellent gift of exhortation, but it may be said of him as it was of Elias, ' he was a man subject to like passions as Ave are ;' and sometimes his zeal for God carried him to a great length, and exposed him to great persecutions." There have been John Cotton's in every age of the church ; men who mean well, and whose determined purpose is to re- prove sin. They scorn the idea of adapting their efforts to the peculiar circumstances of men and times, and disre- gard the peaceful avenues to the heart, when a more offensive one is most direct. Their unacquaintance with human nature, and their disregard for the rules of propri- ety, render them fit subjects of our Saviour's admonition : " Be ye wise as serpents and harmless as doves." The long dark night of religious declension, that had 1791.] DECLENSION IN NEW DUEHAM. 109 rested down upon the churches for six years, was now, at the close of 1790, becoming dark in the extreme. Church Stock, Monthly Meetings, and discipline were sadly neg- lected, and Zion, Avith her broken walls, lay everywhere exposed. " This was said to be the most dark and trying time that ever these people experienced. "^ Ministers travelled, preached, and did what they could ; individual Christians, in many chvirches, sustained the covenant }neetings, and struggled on, but the attendance was small, and little or no impression for good seemed to be made. It was one of those distressing periods, that occasionally come in the history of the church, when iniquity abounds,, and the love of many waxes cold. But the Lord was pre- paring them for more efficient service, by showing them the insufficiency of human wisdom and strength. He knew just how far and how long to test their adherence to his cause, before granting deliverance. Christians mourn- ed with increasing sorrow, over the desolations of Zion, and the sinner's dreadful end. Having learned that there was no hope in man, they went to God for help, and their plea was the language of Joshua : " O Lord, what shall I say when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies ?" " What wilt thovi do unto thy great name ?" In New Durham, the state of things was daily becom- ing more hopeless. Early in the year 1791, Randall wept, as it were, " between the porch and the altar," praying as did one anciently, " Spare thy people, O Lord,, and give not thy heritage to reproach." No heart was more susceptible of deep emotions than his, and through this whole struggle, he says, " I did not feel in the least discouraged, but was resolutely determined, by grace, to persevere." He was always prepared to point inquiring- sinners to the Lamb of God ; and, when pardoning mercy was experienced, his harp of praise was always in tune. No efforts were too great to save the perishing, or reclaim • Religious Magazine, Vol. I., p. 60. 10 110 YEARLY MEETING, ETC. [1791. the wanderer ; and, when all had failed, he pursued the even tenor of his way, as undisturbed and trustful in God, as though all things had worked according to his desires. And this spirit he infused, in a wonderful degree, among his associates. He now visited through the church, conferring with the living members as to what could be done, and at the Monthly Meeting in March, it was foimd that a great majority of the members were backslidden, and Avould do nothing to sustain the meetings or discipline of the church. They came to this conclusion : " Our covenant obligations are broken ; we are no longer a church in visible stand- ing, and we believe it most for the glory of God that a public declaration be made to that effect." This public confession was made on two successive Sabbaths, and produced great excitement. The 13th of April Avas the day appointed for the organization of the new church. As Christians are required to walk in " all the command- ments and ordinances of the Lord blameless," they first decided what were the more important commandments, and the ordinances were specified. The following is an abridged copy, but contains all the ideas of the original draft. 1. Non-conformity to the World. Christians are com- manded not to conform to the world in its customs, fashions, and idle conversation ; nor countenance them who do, but rather reprove them. 2. Liberality. They are to do good to all, communi- cate to the Church Stock, and admonish the covetous. 3. Pride. They should not exalt themselves, debase others, or adorn their person with ornaments or superfluous apparel. 4. Business. They should not follow the customs of the world in trade, but do as they ivould be done by, and not as they are done by. 5. Latcsuits. All difficulties between Christians should 1791.] KEORGANIZATION AT NEW DURHAM. Ill be settled by the church ; but an unbelieving debtor may foe sued, when " he is better able to pay, than the brother is to go without it." 6. Exhortation. Christians should be ready to speak of religion as well as earthly things, since God has been pleased to say, " They that feared the Lord, spake often one to another." 7. Secret Prayer is a positive command. 8. Family Worship should be sustained by reading the Scriptures, by prayer^ and discoursing upon religion in the family. 9. Family Government should be exercised over chii- -dren and domestics, and they restrained from evil practices and encouraged in virtue. 10. Bearing Arms. True Christians cannot " bear car- nal weapons," but should possess "a kind and loving disposition^" The Ordinances of baptism, the Lord's supper, and the washing of one another's feet, should be observed. The covenant was then signed, and the whole number, twenty-one in all, bowed before the Lord, and besought him for the uniting spirit of love that would join their hearts in one«^ Different opinions were entertained as to the propriety of this church action, and Randall expected nothing less from the Quarterly Meeting ; but, after making a statement of the facts before that body, he says, " The brethren from distant parts made no objection." Buzzell's Life of RaE- dall expresses the opinion, that " it would have been bet^ ter for the brethren to have stood by their first covenant, and used timely labor with transgressing members, accord- ing to Scripture rules." This little church of living members was now well united, and ready for Christian labor. They at once set * These articles and the covenant were laid aside prior to the year ISOS.—Neio Durham Records, Vol. II., p. 151. 112 YEARLY MEETING, ETC. [1791. tliemselves about the work of reclaiming their former brethren, and thus endeavored to fulfil their obligations under the old covenant. In a few instances they were suc- cessful, but in most cases they were coldly received, and greatly blamed. The church and pastor moved steadily onward, prejudices died away, acknowledgments were made, sinners were uneasy, and it was soon evident that the Lord was in the place. At the first Conference, May 7th, every member spoke, and it was a precious season. The next day, the word was preached with power, the or- dinances were administered with more than usual solemni- ty, and the power of conviction seemed irresistible. A meeting was appointed for the next day, and " as many as fifty were at once inquiring with tears what they must do to be saved, or praising God for redeeming love." Meet- ings were held every day, and sometimes evenings, busy as were the people in this seedtime of the year. Chris- tians Avere faithful, converts could not keep silence, and new cases of conviction and conversion Avere of daily oc- currence. The Quarterly Meeting came June 11th, and gave a neAv impulse to the Avork. A sermon was preached Sabbath morning, and the entire afternoon Avas spent in exhortation, " Avith much of the Divine presence." Mon- day was spent in social and public Avorship, and at the AA'a- ter, where seven Avere baptized, " the Holy Ghost descended most blessedly." It appears from the journal of Randall that June 8th he baptized two ;^ 10th, tAvo ; 11th, one ; 13th, seven; 14th, five ; 16th, one; and thus the AA'ork Avent on till, in three months, sixty-seven were added to the church. NeA'er were the praises of God more joyful- ly sung ; and they Avere all the sweeter from the contrast of present scenes with those long years of declension, through Avhich they had sorrowfully journeyed. " The ministers appeared to be clothed with salvation ; their tes- timonies were clear and pointed ; and they waited for the ^ John Buzzell and Simon Pottle ; both afterwards entered the minis- try. 1791,] JOHN buzzell's conversion. 113 putting forth of the good Shepherd. Each one appeared to know his lot. When they preached, or prayed vocally, they spoke one at a time, and the rest heard or joined [in spirit], and at the close, added their — Amen.'"'^ Brighter days were now dawning upon languishing Zi- on, as she was " coming up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved," and the spirit of revival became quite general. Whitney went to Kittery, Me., early in the season, where many experienced religion, and a church was embodied. In a letter to the Quarterly Meeting in June, they say, " There is great union among us, and a number more appear to be under deep concern." Soon after Christmas, in 1789, a stranger called at the house of Randall one evening, inquiring for the residence of a friend living in the vicinity. It was the young man who had opened a school in an adjoining neighborhood the week before, and this interview led Randall to visit and patronize it^ The teacher was a constant attendant upon his meetings, and, while teaching others, was himself all winter secretly desiring to learn of Christ, The even- ing after his school closed, was spent by the teacher at the house of his spiritual instructor. The interview was closed by prayer, and that same night, on the way to his boarding place, mourning over his sad and lost condition, and crying for mercy, deliverance came. The next day being the Sabbath, he confessed Christ in the public coii- gregation, and thus did John Buzzell return to Middleton a Christian man. In April, 1791, just twelve months after his conversion, and when twenty-five years of age, he preached his first sermon, and in his own town. Various were the opinions of this effort. Some said he is a good man, others said, nay, but he deceiveth the people as well as himself. There was considerable opposition, but the meetings continued, and his brother Aaron was the first to find mercy, and he became an efficient co-laborer and able minister of the "* Religious Magazine, Vol. I, p. 82, 10* 114 YEAKLY MEETING, ETC. [1792. cross. Seven others, without ministerial counsel, " after solemn prayer to Almighty God, for wisdom and under- standing, entered into a solemn verbal agreement to con- sider themselves a church of Christ, and to take the Scrip- tures of truth to be their only rule of faith and practice." A Monthly Meeting was established, and, in about three months, nearly forty persons, most of them heads of fam- ilies, united with this Christian "band. None of them had been baptized, but aH of them were soon after, and they became a branch of " the church of Christ in New Dur- ham." The gracious work extended into Brookfield, Wolf- borough, Barnstead and Pittsfield, where many turned to the Lord. At the last named place, a church was now or- ganized. The principal laborers were Randall and Boody as ministers, and David Knowlton, Isaac Townsend and John Buzzell, as unordained preachers, assisted by many ■exhorters, both male and female. There had been a band of Christians in Waterborough, Me., for several years, so many of them in 1785 that the Quarterly Meeting sent a committee " to see if those of Massabesec wiU embody, and travel in visible order." A church was now organized at a place called Ossipee Hill, and this town became the residence of Tingley. Revivals were also enjoyed in Raymond and Bristol, and " this year was one of release to many souls." The year 1792 commenced on Sunday, and Randall preached at New Durham from Ezra 7 : 9, " Upon the first day of the first month began he to go up from Babylon." He was Divinely assisted, and the efiect was astonishing. Prosperity continued to attend the church, and its numbers and graces were constantly increasing. One hundred and twenty-six members were connected with the church ; of this number, ninety-five were accounted active members, and resided in no less than fifteen different towns. To leave them uncared for, in their inexperience, would have been cruel ; and to organize independent churches in their scattered condition was nnadvisable. Randall saw the ne- 1792.] NEW DURHAM Q. M. 115 cessity of some new arrangement for meeting the wants of the people in their several localities, by securing to them the means of grace, the counsel of experienced men, and a bond of union that would be their hope and strength. A plan was at length matured, and approved by all who ex- amined it. A general meeting was notified to convene at the house of James Lock in Barnstead, May 23, 1792, and delegates were present from four Monthly Meetings. There were eight from New Durham, six from Strafford, four from Pittsfield, and three from Middleton — twenty-one in all. Randall was chosen moderator, and John Buzzell clerk, Randall then presented his " Method for the Better Regu- lation of the church at New Durham," which was adopt- ed, and each Monthly Meeting was to provide itself with a clerk and book of records, and attend to its ordinary dis- cipline. Delegates from these branches were to meet once a quarter, and at this Quarterly Meeting their records were to be examined, and any desired assistance given. The Quarterly Meeting organized in 1783 was to become a Yearly Meeting, and thus a new order of things was ar- ranged. This meeting at Lock's became a permanent or- ganization, and the times of its sessions were fixed on the third Wednesday in January, May, August and October, Then and there commenced the New Durham Quarterly Meeting. On the ninth of June the old Quarterly Meeting, em- bracing all the churches, convened at the house of Randall, " The Method" for the organization of local Quarterly Meetings, as given above, was presented, and after due consultation, was unanimously adopted. This organiza- tion was no longer called a Quarterly Meeting, but as- sumed the name of Yearly Meeting ; not because it held only a yearly session, but because it held only a yearly session in the same place. The transactions were record- ed in the book previously used, and the meetings continued much the same as before this change, only they gradually 116 YEARLY MEETING, ETC. [1792. took less and less notice of personal matters and strictly local interests, and gave attention more particularly to gen- eral subjects and referred business from the Quarterly- Meetings, It was, in reality, the same meeting, wherever its sessions were held, and business, commenced in one state, was often finished in another. It was usually des- ignated by the name of the town, or state, or part of the state in which it was held ; as the Parsonsfield, or Maine Western Yearly Meeting, in February ; the New Durham, or New Hampshire Yearly Meeting, in June ; the Edge- comb, or Maine Eastern Yearly Meeting, in September ; and the Gorham in November. The organization of the denomination was now more complete. Individual Christians in any particular locali- ty united in tlie formation of a church. To it they wer-e amenable, and to it, also, they appealed for redress in their gi'ievances. The church was a home — a family circle — where social joys Avere often pure and precious. Church- es reported to the Quarterly Meeting, and, to a certain ex- tent, were amenable to it. They were not then the inde- pendent bodies they have since become ; but, for several years, both churches and ministers considered themselves under the supervision of the Quarterly Meeting, whose authority was greatly respected. The plan contemplated the establishment of a Quarterly Meeting wherever a suf- ficient number of churches were conveniently located ; and this has since been executed. Quarterly Meetings became responsible to the Yearly Meeting, when the plan was ful- ly consummated, and the Yearly Meeting was the highest tribunal in the denomination, and took cognizance of all questions of general interest. Thus, the year 1792^ marks another era in the denomination. At this time there had been thirty-four sessions of the * It was this same year that the first Methodist society was formed in Boston (being the third in New England), by Jesse Lee, the apostle of New England Methodism. His first sermon in this land of the Puri- tans was in 1789. 1792.] SESSIONS OF THE Q. M. 117 Quarterly Meeting ; five at New Gloucester and four at Parsonsfield in March ; eight at New Durham in June ; eight at "Westport in September ; and two at Hollis, and seven at Gorham, in December. Randall was absent but once, or twice at the most, and was then detained by sick- ness. The other ministers were usually present, especial- ly Tingley. As Moderator, Pelatiah Tingley, John Whitney, Nathan Merrill, Thomas Stillwill and Andrew Cobb, served once each ; Daniel Hibbard served seven times, Samuel Weeks nine, and Benjamin Randall thirteen times. As Clerk, Job Macumber, Geoi'ge Philbrick, Nathaniel Fi'eeman, and Joshua Coombs served once each ; Ebene- zer Brookings twice, Benjamin Randall four times, and Pelatiah Tingley twenty-four times. 118 MAINE, [1792. CHAPTER VI. HISTORY IN MAINE. 1792—1800. Lock Reclaimed — Sandy River Churches — Stinchfield — Trial in Gray and New Gloucester Church — Ordination of Leach — ^Edgecomb and Farmington Quarterly Meetings — ^Weeks Lost — Ordination of Tufts — Church Trials — Gorhani Quarterly Meeting — Incident — ^Buzzell in Parsonsfield — Revival in Parsonsfield, HoUis and Waterborough — Parsonsfield Quarterly Meeting — Ordination of Stinchfield, Hutchin- son and Bailey — ^Revival in Bristol — Ordination of Blaisdell and Lord. The Quarterly Meeting, established in 1783, soon put a new aspect upon the face of things in the feeble churches. The organization of the Yearly Meeting, and the arrange- ment for local Quarterly Meetings in 1792, may be re- garded as the second epoch in the history of the denomi- nation. Starting, as we now do, from this period, with permanent, enlarged, and constantly increasing interests to claim our attention, it is no longer advisable to traverse the entire territory covered by the churches for the record of events in chronological order. As this would be too wandering and complicated, the local history in each State will hereafter be given, for a decade of years, in a chapter by itself. And as there has always been a great- er number of members in Maine than any other State, the usual geographical order will be followed. The arrangements detailed in the preceding chapter wer** not perfected at once, and, for a time, both churches and Quarterly Meetings reported to the Yearly Meeting ; and they did it irrespective of the State in which it was hekL The first session of the Yearly Meeting, after its change 1792.] look's kestoration. 119' from the Quarterly Meeting, was held at Westport, Sep- tember 1, 1792, and the church at New Durham, and several in Maine, sent cheering reports. Confessions were received, and trials in four different churches were remov- ed. The November session was held at Gorham ; and the reports brought the gratifying intelligence of union and steadfastness generally, and of revivals in Raymond ^ New Gloucester and Gorham. In the summer of 1792, Edward Lock, having lost his interest in the Shakers, removed to Maine, and settled at Chesterville on Sandy river. Meetings were established, and he preached alternately on each side of the river dur- ing the season. In September he attended the Yearly Meeting at Westport, and made a public confession of his wrong-doings. For ten years his life had been worse than useless to the cause of Christ, but so penitent and sincere did he seem, that the friends restored him to their confidence and fellowship. Being placed on a committee with Randall and Dea. Otis, for the settlement of difficul- ties in that vicinity, he opened the way for acknowledg- ments at Woolwich, Georgetown, Bristol, and Westport, by repeating his own confession and asking forgiveness. Other backsliders folloAved, and their mission was entire- ly successful in every church. So great is the power of true penitence for one's own sins, and of Christian ten- derness towards others, that here is one of the great secrets of success in reaching the erring and sinful. The subduing power of the cross lies in the streams of love that everywhere flow from Christ, the inexhaustible foun- tain. Lock returned from the Yearly Meeting greatly strength- ened, and the winter following saw many brought to a saving knowledge of the truth. He baptized several in Farmington, and, March 29, 1793, twelve united in church fellowship under his pastoral care. Francis Tufts and John F. Woods were appointed Ruling Elders, and were subsequently ordained. Tufts came from Nobleborough^ 120 MAINE. [1793. ten years before, removing his family and household effects on horseback, — his children in " hanyards made of basket- stuff." He followed up the east shore of the Kennebec at low water, and, crossing over to Sandy river, he travelled through the woods the last day, by a line of spotted trees. In 1790 he went to Boston, Avith two others, and purchas- ed of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, (for themselves and other settlers), the entire to"waship of Farmington, for £400. His position in society gave him a wide and con- trolling influence, which Avas Avisely exerted in building up the cause of Christ. Woods came from Dunstable, Mass., four years before, with ox teams, being tAventy- three days on the road. He Avas a leading citizen in toAvn, and eminently useful. These three men, Lock, Tufts and Woods, were not only pioneer settlers, but pioneer Chris- tians, and founders of Free Baptist churches in the Sandy river valley. Assistance Avas requested from the next Yearly Meet- ing that convened in Maine, and Randall, Tingley, Hib- bard, Wliitney, and Dea. Otis, AA-ent to their aid September 21st. Lock was first examined, as to his former course, and his answers were no less satisfactory at home, than had been his confession abroad. He was therefore pub- licly acknoAA'ledged as a brother beloved, and administra- tor of the ordinances " by vii'tue of his former ordination." Members of the church Avere found to be in full felloAvship Avith each other, and thus Avere they prepared for a glori- ous meeting the next day, which was the Sabbath. On Monday they all came together again, and the church of twenty-seven members — sixteen of them males — AA'as re- ceived into the fellowship of the Yearly Meeting, amid songs of praise and shouts of joy. The exercises closed Avith " a solemn charge given to Eld. Lock in behalf of the meeting, and in regard to that place in particular." The spirit of revival was there, and from this living chm-ch in the wilderness, there " sounded out the word of the Lord" through all the Sandy river country. 1793.] EPHRAIM STINCHFIELD. 121 At the same Yearly Meeting in "Westport, a request was made fox* " some of the Elders (Randall in particular) to travel a circuit northerly and easterly, to break bread and preach to the hungry and famishing people." It seemed impossible, all things considered, to grant this request, but the committee sent to Canaan — Whitney, Hibbard, and two laymen — were requested to extend their visit to Twenty-Five Mile Pond, [now Burnham]. At this meeting, also, the proposition to hold " a meet- ing of all the Elders, exhorters, and public speakers," in connection with the next Yearly Meeting, was adopted ; and hence arose the Elders' Conference. ^ Ephraim Stinchfield was born in New Gloucester in 1761, and experienced religion when twenty years of age, at the time of Randall's first visit to that part of Maine. He neglected baptism, grieved the Spirit, and lost his re- ligion. In 1792 he heard Randall preach again in Ray- mond, and resolved to " arise and be baptized." This purpose he immediately executed, and united with the Gray and New Gloucester church the next Sabbath. In December was his first effort to preach. After speaking a few moments, he became so embarrassed that he could not proceed, and sat down. Some took it for granted that he had mistaken his calling, and great was his trial with himself. But this failure was not his only one, and some unfriendly members of the church charged him before the Yeai'ly Meeting, with having " wounded the cause of God by endeavoring to preach six or seven tim^s, and could not." With an increase of his self-reliance and trust in God, he became a very strong and useful man. Before the expiration of his first year's membership, Stinchfield became very much grieved with the low state of piety in the church, and the want of sympathy between himself and pastor-^Nathan Merrill. His griefs, as laid before the church, were, that its members neglected family prayer and Monthly Meeting, would join hands with the ' See Second Decade. 11 122 MAINE. [1794, world in its pleasures and " frolics," and engage in " train- ings," tlius giving countenance to war. No effort was made to relieve his mind, and he laid the subject before the Yearly Meeting. Committees were repeatedly sent to the church, different opinions were entertained as to the cause of the trials, and different reports were present- ed. The facts showed that the church was sadly diseased with worldly-mindedness, even in a dying condition. In it8 final action, the Yearly Meeting had occasion to rebuke the church with severity ; to remind Stinchfield that he had complained too much, and labored too little in cor- recting the wrongs ; and to confess itself faulty in some of its proceedings. A reorganization of the church became necessary, and Merrill, persisting in the belief that Chris- tians might innocently encourage military parades, no longer cooperated with his brethren, who were almost unanimous in the contrary opinion. This was a sad de- fection, and the trial, which continued in one form or an- other for four years, was the most serious one the Yearly Meeting had to encounter in its early history. At the November Yearly Meeting in Grorham, the Ray--, mond branch renewed its request for the ordination of Zachaiuah Leach. He was a native of Cape Elizabeth^ born in 1765, and, in commencing business for himself, removed to Raymond, where he shared the toils and pri- vations of a new settlement. September 29, 1791, he became a Christian, and his experience being a singular one, is given in his own words : — " I had been consider- ing the subject of religion for a long time, and had often prayed in secret. As I was present at a baptism, and heard the candidates answer questions concerning their hope in Christ, an overpowering sense of my own lost condition came over me. A friend assisted me in retiring a short distance from the water, and there I cried aloud for mercy. The Lord heard, and heavenly peace filled my soul. I returned to the water just as Eld. Merrill step- ped upon the shore with the last of the rejoicing candi- 1794.] leach's ordination. 123 dates, and in season to hear him say, ' Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.' ' Is there room for me ?' I inquired. ' If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest,' said the servant of God, then filled with the spirit of his Master. ' I believe, and want to be baptized,' was my reply.'* And he was then baptized. Faithful to all his convic- tions of duty, he soon began to preach. The request for his ordination now came before the Yearly Meeting, and it was first agreed to hear him preach. The fourth day of the meeting, at 10 o'clock, A. M., was the time assigB- ed for the trial of his call and abiKty. It was a fiery or- deal for a modest young man to thus stand before an audience of experienced Christians, and many of them ministers, all watchful of his success. In this instance the fear of man took advantage of his humility, and got the better of his trust in Christ, so that he was well nigli confounded as he rose. The older ministers saw his em- barrassment, and at once entered into earnest prayer and great travail of soul for his deliverance. This brief exer- cise was followed by a most profoimd silence ; and when it seemed no longer endurable, Leach, still standing before the audience, at length relieved both himself and the peo- ple, by declaring the great darkness and emptiness of his mind. He then read Rev. 22 : 17, " The Spirit and the bride say come," &c. Light from on high dispelled the darkness of his mind, the empty treasure of his heart was replenished, and in this " trial sermon" he not only drank of "the water of life" himself, but pressed the cup of salvation to the lips of panting penitents. The vote was unanimous for his ordination, and the council immediately repaired to Raymond, where he wag ordained November 6th. Randall preached from Ez. 33 : 7, " So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watch- njan unto the house of Israel ; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me." His 124 MAINE. [1795. Boul was imbued with the subject, and he spoke like an ambassador direct from heaven. Ministers received the application made to them, and sat trembling under a sense of their awful responsibility ; while the candidate for ordi- nation was entirely overcome with the view of the work before him, and of his own insufficiency. Scarcely a per- son in the crowded congregation was unmoved, and for more than an hour, at frequent intervals, the sighs of the sinner alternated with the shouts of the Christian. John Buzzell, Hibbard, and Weeks, performed the other ser- vices, and, says the former, " it was the most solemn ordination I ever attended." The branch at Raymond soon became a distinct church, and, under the long pastor- ate of Leach, a faithful under shepherd, it was strong and prosperous. After the New Durham Quarterly Meeting had been in successful operation for more than two years, and was prov- ing itself a support and blessing to the New Hampshire churches, there was a strong desire for a similar organi- zation in different parts of Maine. At the Yearly Meeting in "Westport, September, 1794, two new Quarterly Meet- ings were authorized — the Edgecomb and Farmington. The Edgecomb Quarterly Meeting was to include the churches at Little River [now Durham], Brunswick, and aU those on the seaboard east of the Androscoggin, viz. : "Woolwich, Parker's Island [Georgetown], Squam Island. [Westport], Edgecomb, 1 Bristol, Back River [2 Bris- tol], Seguntecook [Camden], New Canaan [LincolnvHle] . and Ballstown.^ The time and place for organizing the Edgecomb Quarterly Meeting were January 21st, 1795, at Westport. Such was the severity of the weather that no delegates from abroad could attend, and, it being Sat- urday, a few of the Westport brethren met and adjourned till Monday. On that day two delegates from Georgetown ' " Ballsto-n-n formerly included all those frontier settlements in the wilderness, from Whitefield through Windsor and Liberty to Mont\-illc." ^Stephen Parsons. 1795.] FARMINGTON QUARTERLY MEETING. 125 arrived, and at 11 o'clock the meeting was opened hy prayer ; Daniel Hibbard was chosen Clerk, delegates were chosen to the Yearly Meeting, and a letter was prepared and approved ; but no other business was transacted. The sessions were soon fixed on the third Wednesday in January, May, August, and October. There were a few unordained preachers and Ruling Elders in the Quarterly Meeting, whose labors were useful, but, unless Whitney was then living within its limits, Hibbard of Westport was the only ordained minister. And about this time he not only ceased to preach abroad, but complained that his labors were not appreciated at home. Continued efforts were made to bring him into more active service, and he rose above his depressed feelings, after a few years, and was a substantial pillar in the Quarterly Meeting. From this unpropitious commencement did the Edgecomb Quar- terly Meeting soon take its position, and, braving every adverse influence, and adhering tenaciously to the use of means, its prosperity has been great. The Farmington Quarterly Meeting lies principally in the valley of the Sandy river, a western tributary of the Kenne- bec. Immediately after the Yearly Meeting that author- ized its formation, Randall, Buzzell, and one or two others, visited those churches. They preached at several places, and administered the Lord's supper, generally for the first time ; and they greatly encouraged the hearts and strength- ened the hands of God's people. Before they left Phillips, every adult in the settlement became hopefully pious, and it was a happy sight to see all the people in town, aged, middle aged, and youth, each careful to lay up for himself a treasure in heaven, and all come to the table of their dying Lord. At the time this Quarterly Meeting was formed, it em- braced all the churches east of the Androscoggin, down to the northern boundary of the Edgecomb Quarterly Meeting — five in all. They were Farmington, Uppertown [Phil- lips], Belgrade, Seven Mile Brook [Anson and EmbdenJ, 11* 126 MAINE. [1795. and Twenty-Five Mile Pond [Burnham, or Unity]. On tte same day appointed for the organization of the Edge- comb Quarterly Meeting — January 21st, 1795 — delegates met at Belgrade and organized the Farmington Quarterly Meeting. Its sessions, as then established, were to be held on the third Wednesday of January, May, August, and October, alternately at Belgrade and Farmington. There was doubtless an understanding in the Yearly Meeting as to the times when the Quarterly Meetings — New Durham, Edgecomb, and Farmington — should hold their sessions, for they were all appointed on the same days. Lock was the only ordained minister in the Farming- ton Quarterly Meeting, and, from a beginning thus small, did it continue to prosper, till not less than sixty churches have, at one time or another, been connected with it. For several years the Quarterly Meeting was a general rather than a delegated body, and the business was done by such members from the churches as found it convenient to attend. At the first session, it was " Voted that there be an assessment made, according to what every male member possesseth, to defray necessary charges in the church." Each church fixed the amount necessary for sustaining the cause and maintaining the poor. It has already been said that Parsonsfield was one of the frontier towns when the church was there organized. Twelve years had since elapsed, and settlements were more general in town, and had extended several miles northward. Suitable roads and bridges, however, had not been constructed, but those first settlers needed the gospel, and Rev. Samuel "Weeks felt himself called upon to supply their wants to the full extent of his ability. In the winter of 1795, he attended an evening meeting in Porter, an adjoining tOAvn, and, on his return, while crossing a branch of the Ossipee, the ice broke, his horse stumbled, and he was thrown into the water. In the con- fusion of his misfortune, and the darkness of the night, he 1795.] WEEKS LOST. 127 lost his path, and could not find the spotted trees, marked for the guidance of travellers. He wandered about, and called for help, but called in vain. Not daring to proceed in any direction, lest he might go still farther from settle- ments, he decided to make the best of his condition, and wait till morning. His drenched clothes were soon fro- zen, and he began to feel the drowsy sensations of extreme cold creeping over him. To fall asleep in that situation, he well knew would be to sleep in death ; and so he wal- lowed back and forth in the snow, sometimes leaning against a tree for rest, till he dared stand still no longer. In spite of his best efforts, it seemed at times as if he must yield, not so much to the severity of the cold, as to the pressing demands of his benumbed senses, and sleep for awhile. He succeeded, however, in keeping himself awake ; and thus passed a long, cold night in January. As the morning dawned, he found the path, and soon came to a settlement, faint, exhausted, and severely fro- zen. He was taken home, suffered intensely, and was obliged to have every toe on both feet wholly amputated. That awful night was too much for his physical, nervous, and mental nature. He was never afterwards free fi'oni- suffering, and his mind, sympathizing with the body, be- came impaired. He once rallied for a year or two, and was somewhat like himself again, but soon relapsed into a state of despair, from which he never recovered. For thirty years he neither preached nor did any kind of business, but spent most of his time in reading his Bible, which became so worn by the turning of the leaves, that the margin was entirely gone, and, in many places, a part of the printed page. Unfortunate man ! he fell at his post, disabled for active service ; and, after suffering physically and mentally for thirty-seven years, he departed for the land of rest, June 19, 1832, aged 86. " No chilling wind nor poisonous breath Can reach that healthful shore ; Sickness and sorrow, pain and death, Are felt and feared no more." 128 MAINE. [1795. Wlien the Yearly Meeting convened at Westport in September, the Eclgecomb Quarterly Meeting Avas in doubt whether to sustain, or give up its organization, as it had but one minister residing within its limits, and he was not very active at this time. Brethren from those churches were exhorted to halt no longer, but arise and sustain their meeting. " A most wonderful relation by Sally Parsons,^ as to her trials and deliverance," was followed by an ap- peal to the churches ; and the Quarterly Meeting from that time never faltered. The November session of the Yearly Meeting was held with the church in Gorham, which was found to be in a very low, tried condition ; and the church at Gray and New Gloucester had become nearly extinct, owing to the trial already noticed. Randall was publicly charged as the cause of these declensions, by his encouraging the disaffected ones in both churches. But the record says, '^ On examination, found the above charge to be very un- just, which was acknowledged." After this, the Gorham church publicly confessed that it " had been misinformed and somewhat jealous of Randall, and had judged him wrongfully." The church in PhiUips had previously requested the or- dination of Francis Tufts, and it had been deferred be- cause of non-acquaintance with his gift. All were now of the opinion that he was weU-adapted to public useful- ness, and the Yearly Meeting, in September, sent a com- mittee to Sandy river, with discretionary power as to his ordination. A part of them immediately went to Phillips, where he was ordained as Ruling Elder ; a sermon being preached on the occasion by Ephraim Stinchfield, himself unordained. By virtue of this ordination. Tufts not only administered the ordinances, but preached extensively. The Farmington and Anson churches were now favored with precious revivals. ^ See Second Decade. 1796.] CHURCH TRIALS. 129 A church of sixteen members was embodied in Leba- non, September 24th, by Rev. John Buzzell. His first visit to tliat place was to attend a funeral, and so large was the congregation that they repaired to an orchard, where he stood upon a table, and preached to a weeping audience. He was soon requested to go there and baptize ; John Blaisdell, afterwards an eminent minister of the gos- pel, being one of the first converts. In 1796 there was much irregularity in many of the churches, trials existed, and several of the public gifts were either withheld, or obtruded upon the people. The churches in Gorham and Westport were in trouble ; and Parsonsfield, Gray and New Gloucester, and Durham, were in a low, scattered situation. Committees had visit- ed them, and a few in each place had renewed covenant, and only a few. Farmington said to the Yearly Meeting, " Think of us, and send us some help." Raymond sent a request for help, saying, " We are weak, bordering on divisions, with complaints of various kinds." The Farmington Quarterly Meeting, early in the season, appointed Lock to travel among the churches, preach the word, and administer the ordinances once in three months, or oftener. In September, a special Regulating Commit- tee from the Yearly Meeting, with Randall as chairman, visited these churches. At Seven Mile Brook [Anson and Embden], the reading of sermons on the Sabbath, in the absence of a minister, had caused division. The subject was considered, and all agreed " to drop reading authors, and wait upon the Lord." At Farmington a trial existed in regard to open communion, which was satisfactorily adjusted in accordance with the views of the denomina- tion. At Phillips the church was divided as to the right of women to speak in meeting, and the committee satisfied all that it was not only right, but might be a duty. Peace was restored in all these churches. The Quarterly Meeting now voted that Francis Tufts be requested and authorized to apply to the General Court 130 MAINE. [1796. in Massachusetts,^ for an act of incorporation for the churches, that they might be relieved from religious taxa- tion. The effort was unsuccessful. At the Yearly Meeting in Gorham, November 7th, there was an unusual degree of the Divine presence ; and another Quarterly Meeting was authorized, to be called the Gor- ham Quarterly Meeting, embracing the churches in the westerly part of Maine, viz. : Gorham, Buxton, Hollis, Waterborough, Parsonsfield, Gray and New Gloucester, Raymond, and Poland. When and where the meeting was organized is not known, as the records do not commence till January, 1799. But it did organize immediately, and regularly reported itself to the Yearly Meeting. Stinchfield relates an incident that occurred this year, which, condensed, reads as follows : " In October I had an appointment to preach in the upper part of Lewiston, and on my way there, left an appointment to preach in the lower part of the town in the evening. The meeting was at the house of a Calvinistic Baptist, and the minister, and many of his church, were present. I spoke with freedom, and was followed by several, in approbation of what they had heard, particularly the man of the house, at whose urgent request the meeting was appointed. At the close of the service many lingered, and a stranger asked, ' Are you what is called a freewiller f ' I am,' said I. ' Do your brethren in general believe as you have now preach- ed ?' ' They do,' was the reply. ' It is strange,' said he, * how people will misrepresent things. I was loath to come to this meeting, but I bless God that I came. My soul has been fed.' Some of the Calvinists found fault, but I felt strong in the truth, and, in my own estimation, put them all to silence. " I came home the next day, feeling that I ' had run through a troop, * * and leaped over a wall ;' but I had forgotten to acknowledge that it was in the strength of the Lord that I did it. Feeling strong in my o^v^\ * Maine was then a District— a part of Massachusetts till 1820, 1797.} CHURCHES ORGANIZED. 131 strength, I sent an appointment where I had never preach- ed, and left word for' the minister and people of the Con- gregational society to be notified. I attended, and, in the midst of my discourse, was so confounded with the fear of man that I knew not what I said. The minister objected to some of my positions, but I could say little in reply. For three months I never appointed another meet- ing, and, in that time, passed through an awful furnace. So much for getting self-important." Very precious revivals, though not extensive, were en- joyed this year in Parsonsfield, Buxton, Gorham, Ray- mond, Durham, and "Woolwich. The Yearly Meeting in 1797 convened at Parsonsfield,, in February, and the four Quarterly Meetings 'were all reported, besides letters from several of the churches. It was generally a low time, and a day of fasting and prayer was appointed, which proved a very great blessing to the churches. Samuel Tasker, a Ruling Elder from New Durham, had attended a few meetings in Newfield during the two preceding years, and John Buzzell had preached there oc- casionally. A few had been converted, and, on the 6th of March, Randall, Tingley, and Buzzell met with them, and embodied a church of three members, all men. The next year Nathaniel Jordan removed to Newfield, and in him the church found a reliable support. His spirit was ex- cellent, and his gift in prayer and exhortation made way for him, not only in town, but in adjoining towns, where he held social meetings, and revivals followed. Under the labors of Stinchfield, revivals were enjoyed in Waterborough and Lincoln ville. A church in Bristol first reported to the Quarterly Meeting this year, under the name of the " Back River " church ; and a tolerable degree of prosperity appears to have attended the churches in Maine. Early in 1798, Rev. John Buzzell removed from New Hampshire to Parsojisfield, where he lived and labored for 132 MAINE. [1798. more than sixty years. He attended that memorable Yearly Meeting in New Durham, N. H., in June, a full account of which is given in the next chapter, and return- ed with his soul all imbued with the spirit of Christ. He was living at this time in the same house with another pious man, and the two families came together for morn- ing prayers. One Saturday morning, four youths, then living in the two families, became affected, and followed in prayer for themselves. Their salvation was the first thing to be sought, and, the news of their anxiety spread- ing through the neighborhood, many came in, either to pray for the penitent, or receive for themselves the prayers of others. From 8 o'clock in the morning till 12 at uight, the time was spent in prayer, singing, and relig- ious conversation ; two having found mercy in the mean- time. A meeting was held the next day, June 17th, at a large barn in the south part of the town, and, just as the after- noon service was about to commence, one of the young men that had found peace the day before, spoke a few words expressive of his feelings, and exhorted others to become Christians. Some thoughtless youth were ob- served to make sport of this, and Buzzell, grieved in spirit, said, " I feel impressed, my young friends, to address you in the words of Christ — ' Woe unto you that laugh now, for ye shall mourn and weep.' " It seemed as if he spoke by inspiration, and the power of God accompanied the remark. At that moment Sally Parsons, from Edgecomb, commenced an exhortation that carried conviction to every heart. The very person that had been most forward in exciting the levity, was the first to fall upon her knees and call for mercy. Others followed her example, till, in the course of the afternoon, forty or fifty were mourning over their lost condition. There was no more preaching for the day, but many prayers, and much personal instruction. As night approached, some retired to the house and con- tinued their prayers and praise. Meetings were held 1798.] HOLLis And WATiiKBOEOiTGg. 133 somewhere in town every day, and, midsummer though it was, for three weeks two daily prayer meetings were sus- tained, one at sunrise, and the other at sunset, of just one hour's continuance. During this revival. Weeks seemed to rise above his despairing state of mind, and hopes were entertained, for a year or two, that he would be himself again. So general was the work in town, that another church of about one hundred members was this year organized. Nor was Parsonsfield the only place watered by this re- freshing shower ; but every adjoining town shared in the gracious work. In Limington, a church was orgaBized soon after, through the effort^ of Deacon Andrew Cobb and Elisha Strout, who had recently removed hither from Gorham. Very precious revivals were also enjoyed at HoUis and Waterborough. At the former place the revival began on this wise : A gentleman was building a house, and as the time for its occupancy drew nigh, the young people began to tease him for a '•'■ house-warming."^ Desirous of turning their attention from vain amusements to substan- tial joys, the owner invited Mr. Buzzell to preach at his house on the evening of his removal. The attendance was large, and he was Divinely assisted in speaking from the text, " This day is salvation come to this house." The first who manifested a desire for salvation was the leader in parties of pleasure ; and his desires were real* ized before the meeting closed. Others were interested, and many soon rejoiced in the Saviour's love. The church in Waterborough became large and flour* ishing ; and about this time Levi Chadbourne commenced preaching there, who soon joined the Calvinistic Baptists, and all the church with him, save eight members. These eight rallied around the standard of free salvation, and another church was organized by Tingley, which became ^ Name given to a promiscuous party gathered on the evening of qne'ft removal into a new house. 12 134 MAINE. [1798. strong and useful under the labors of Henry Hobbs, who this year commenced preaching. In the Edgecomb and Farmington Quarterly Meetings, there was no particular interest, and several of the church- es were in a low, divided state. Nine persons were reject- ed from the latter Quarterly Meeting at one time, and the year was one of gi'eat trials. The Parsonsfield Quarterly Meeting was organized in 1798, embracing the churches in the westerly part of the Gorham Quarterly Meeting, viz. : Parsonsfield, Liming- ton, HoEis and Waterborough. The church in Newfield joined soon after. Samuel Weeks, John Buzzell and Pel- atiah Tingley were the only ordained ministers at first, but no records can now be found prior to 1829. Stinchfield went to the eastern part of the State in Au- gust, and preached in many of the new settlements on the Penobscot river. He went up as far as Marsh Bay, and was greatly comforted by sweet meditation on the prom- ise, " He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." He preached in a barn at Bris- tol on his return, from Gen. 19: 17, "Escape for thy life." The audience was, at first, indifferent, but soon be- came attentive, and appeared to receive the seed of truth, sown in great faithfulness. The harvest was gathered a little more than a year after Avards. The ordination of Ephraim Stinchfield had been re- quested, and postponed from time to time, tiD it finally came before the Yearly Meeting in Gorham. Some were still unacquainted with his gift, and it was proposed that he should preach a " trial " sermon. He did so Novem- ber 8th, and it proved to be his ordination sermon. All doubts were removed, and he was immediately inducted into the sacred ofiice. Buzzell made the prayer, Randall gave the charge, and Tingley the hand of fellowship. While upon his knees, with the hands of the presbytery upon his head, a young man by the name of Hamblin, 1799,] REVIVAL AT LINCOLNVILLE. 135 who had been convicted during the sermon, fell from his seat, and began to cry for mercy. He found peace that .same day, and afterwards became a minister in the Chris- tian denomination. A revival followed this meeting, and the church was greatly strengthened. Joseph Hutchinson, of Windham, was ordained this year, but when, where, and by whom, we cannot tell. Allusions are made to him as an active Christian in 1790, and his life, though short, was useful. John M. Bailey, of "Woolwich, was also ordained this year, by Timothy Cunningham and Dea. Daniel Duntou, neither of them being ordained ministers at the time, though ordained as RuKng Elder and Deacon. The records of the Gorham Quarterly Meeting com- mence with the year 1799, two years after its organiza- tion, when Rev. Zachariah Leach was chosen Clerk. The Edgecomb Quarterly Meeting convened at Lincoln- ville in January, and great efforts were made to reconcile the disaffected members of that church. On the last day of the meeting, they "reentered on the business of the Canaan branch [Lincolnville], in the course of which there were great travail of soul and cries to the Lord for aid, when there was a very great and marvellous breaking forth of the power and glory of Grod ; and eighteen breth- ren and sisters appeared to break through their shrouds, and manifested a determination to come up to the work of the Lord. All glory to God."^ The gracious work thus begun, continued for more than three months, bringing many of all classes to the feet of Jesus, and up to the joys of the higher life. At the opening of the May session, a solemn season of devotion was enjoyed, in view of God's sparing mercy to the living, and the sad removal of Ebenezer Brookings, of Woolwich. He was instantly killed a few days before, by the falling back of the stump of an overturned tree, while at work under its roots. He was one of the original ^ Records of the Edgecomb Quarterly Meeting, p. 29. 136 - iiAiNE. [1799. members of tlie church, and its Ruling Elder and principal pillar for seventeen years. Early in the season, Stinchfield visited the Farmington Quarterly Meeting, and found the churches generally in a low state. At Belgrade and "West Pond plantation [now Rome] many were converted — not less than twenty in one meeting. After an absence of four weeks, he found, on his return, that the Lord had not only visited New Gloucester, but his own family. Several young ladies had called at his house one morning, in distress of mind because of their sins. His wife conversed and prayed with them, they prayed for themselves, and thus the entire day was spent without food or labor ; but in the evening, four of the anxious found peace. The next week he bap- tized three of them, his own daughter being one of the number ; and the occasion was the more joyful to him, since it was the first time he had administered the ordi- nance. He returned to Belgrade the first of July, and baptized, and united with the church there, sixteen of the happy converts. The year commenced with a good religious interest in many places in "Western Maine, and the converts from New Hampshire came to the Yearly Meeting in Parsons- field, in large numbers. A good revival was progressing in that town, and Randall preached to the converts from Solomon's Song, 8:5, " Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved ?" The sermon was appropriate and powerful. Hundreds could say that they were coming up out of the wilderness of sin, leaning upon Christ as their beloved, while many Avere saying, " O that I knew where I might find him !" It was an evening meeting, and continued through the night, and most of the next day. Five there indulged a hope in Christ, and others did soon after. The great revival in New Hampshire, that commenced with the Yearly Meeting the preceding year, and contin- ued through the present year, was the wonder of the 1799.] EEVIVAL IN BRISTOL. 137 times. At the August session of the Edgecomb Quarter- ly Meeting, Levi Temple, who had attended the Yearly Meeting at New Durham, in June, was requested to give a relation of what he there saw and heard. He did so, at considerable length. " The account," says John Mc- Farland, " seemed to kindle such a heavenly fire in our souls, that the place where we were assembled appeared filled with the glory of God, and our hearts and voices, with one accord, gave praise to God and the Lamb." Buzzell attended the Farmington Quarterly Meeting at the same time, and " gave an account of the wonderful works of God in the "Western Quarterly Meetings, to very great satisfaction." One of the most sweeping revivals was this year expe- rienced in Bristol, that ever blessed the State of Maine. As Stinchfield was on his way to the October Quarterly Meeting, to be held in that town, he heard of the gracious work and hastened on. One of the fij-st salutations with which he was there greeted, came from a pious lady, who said, " I am glad to see you. You have come now to reap the fruit of your labor. The seed of this reforma- tion was sown fourteen months ago, when you preached at the barn. This people never forgot that sermon ; I have ever since observed an uncommon solemnity on their minds." The work had been in progress for a month, and many were now anxious for baptism. The afternoon meeting of the second day was appointed at the water-side, for the administration of the ordinance. The place was one of Nature's favorite baptistries, being " a beautiful cove on the sea-shore, surrounded by rising land, except where it opens into the ocean." The occa- sion was one of interest, the day — October 17th — was delightful, and the attendance was large^ Some had come from love to the cause, some from a desire to find the Saviour, some from curiosity, and some from opposi- tion. A substitute for a pulpit was hastily constructed of drift-wood, and about one o'clock the services com- 12* 138 MAINE. [1799. menced. StincMeld preached from Acts 2 : 41, " Then they that gladly received the word were baptized." Be- fore the sermon was ended, many fell under the power of God, and lay on the grass, or the beach, crying for mercy. Among the number were several of a boat's crew, that came from Pemaquid [a part of Bristol], in high glee, to enjoy the novelty of the scene. Eleven of the twelve were there convicted of sin, and soon convert- ed. After sermon, the candidates briefly related their experience, and many of them referred to the sermon in the barn, as the time when their attention was first seri- ously called to the subject. The interest awakened by the sermon, did not languish during the relation of expe- riences, and rather increased when the administration commenced. As the candidates came up from the bap- tismal waters, the countenances of many were radiant with the love of God then filling their hearts ; and their shouts of glory could not be suppressed. Forty-one thus fol- lowed their Saviour in this blessed ordinance. It seemed as if the day of Pentecost had again come, and was open- ing its blessings upon them. Old saints responded to the shouts of praise from the young, and mingled with these, were the cries of wounded sinners ; so that, as when Zerubbabel relaid the foundations of the temple, " the noise was heard afar ofi"." The supper was administered the next day, and about sixty converts came to the table with Christians of longer experience. Colonel Mclntire and family, with several of his neighbors, constituted the company that went to the baptism by boat, and, at his request, a large meeting was held at his house on the 19th inst. Here, too, the Lord was present, and several found delivering grace. In the short space of five days, sixty were baptized and added to the church. Stinchfield says, " I concluded that I should never doubt any more, whether I could see any of the efiects of my "preaching at the time, or not. And sweet was the 1799.] J. BLAISDELL AND G. LORD ORDAINED. 139 comfort I experienced in contemplating that God lias said, ' In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening with- hold not thy hand ; for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.' ' They that sow in tears, shall reap in joy.'" It will be remembered that Rev. Edward Lock had been associated with the Shakers more than half the time since the establishment of Free Baptist churches, and did not drink in of the free spirit of his brethren. He still adhered to the usages of the Calvinists, against free com- munion, and the dismission of members to other denomi- nations. These doctrines he taught with unyielding per- sistency in the Farmington Quarterly Meeting, in direct opposition to the known action of the Yearly Meeting, In November, the Quarterly Meeting reported itself " un- der great trials," but, as they extend into the next Decade, they wiU here be no further considered. By request, the Yearly Meeting in November sent a committee to Coxhall, to attend to such business as might be found necessary to the interests of religion in that place. A council from the New Durham Quarterly Meeting [N. H.] convened with the Lebanon church November 21st, and ordained John Blaisdell and Gershom Lord. Blaisdell was an excellent pastor, and his favorite theme in preaching was, the love of God as seen in man's redemp- tion. His labors at home were wonderfully blessed, and a large portion of his townsmen became members of his own church. " Lord appeared to be a serious young man, had an extraordinary gift of speaking, and was much ad- mired by many ;" '^ but a lawsuit between him and the clergyman of the place, being decided against him, he soon left for the eastern part of the State. Revivals, in addition to those already mentioned, were this year enjoyed in Newfield, Waterborough, Gorham, Raymond, Poland, Hebron, Durham, Georgetown and Lincoln viUe. '' Religious Magazine, p. 194. i40 MAINE, [1799, The following churclies have been reported as organized during this decade : In 1791, Kittery and Waterborough ; '92, Boothbay and Raymond ; '93, Farmington and Wil- ton ; '94, Belgrade, BaUstown, Embden and Phillips ; '95, Buxton, Burnham and Lebanon ; '97, Newfield; '98, Limington, 2 Parsonsfield and Poland ; '99, Berwick and Kittery, and Hebron. The ordinations during this decade, as abeady noticed, were seven — Zachariah Leach, Francis Tufts, Ephraim Stinchfield, Joseph Hutchinson, John IM. Bailey, John BlaisdeU and Gershom Lord, 1792.] ORDINATIONS. 141 CHAPTER VII. NEW HAMPSHIRE. 1792—1800. Ordination of Buzzell and Townsend — Church in Wolf borough — Shep- herd Restored — Ordination of Lord and Knowlton — Gilmanton Iron Works — Canterbury — Ordination of Young — Good Quarterly Meetings — ^Day of Fasting — ^Remarkable Yearly Meeting in 1798 — Ordination of Ballard — Quarterly Meeting in August — Ordination of Aaron Buzzell — ^Yearly Meeting — Unity Quarterly Meeting — ^New Interests — Rich- ard Martin — Ordination of Otis, Boody, Pottle and Jackson — Churches Organized — Ministers. It has already been said that the Yearly Meeting was not originally local in its jurisdiction, but took cognizance of requests and events from any and all parts of the denomi- nation. Neither was the line of distinction between its appropriate business and that of the Quarterly Meeting very clearly drawn. Hence, requests were presented to the Yearly Meeting in "Westport, Maine, for the ordination of John Buzzell and Isaac Townsend, of New Hamp- shire ; and they were so far entertained as to put John Whitney on the ordaining councU, in behalf of the Yearly Meeting. Seven others were added from the New Dur- ham Quarterly Meeting, and they met at Middleton, the residence of Buzzell, October 24th. He first preached a sermon, " to the great satisfaction of those who were chosen to hear him on trial." He then " gave a relation of his conversion and call to the ministry ; was examin- ed and cross-questioned on many points ; and then, the whole council, one by one, gave in their minds, and all agreed that he is called, qualified and authorized by the 14:2 NEW HAMPSHIEE. [1792, Lord to preach the everlasting gospel." ^ Townsend then came before the council, and passed a similar examination, save the " trial" sermon, and was unanimously approved as one called of God to preach the gospel. In this connection it may he observed, that an ordina- tion day was then one of the great days of the year. Under the stiU prevalent influence of the old Puritan prac- tice, the town defrayed the expenses Avhen a Congrega- tionalist was ordained, often including a public dinner, and sometimes the rum{!). Hence, men, women and children were all desirous of attending. A procession was sometimes formed, led by a band of music, as many of the living can well recollect, and, while the solemn work of inducting a man into the gospel ministry was progres- sing in the sanctuaiy, buying and selling, drinking and carousing, horse-swapping and horse-racing, were the or- der of the day without. At Middleton there was nothing calculated to call out " the baser sort," but the simple fact that there was to be an ordination ; and that was enough. Notice of the time and place had been given, in anticipation of the council's decision, and the news spread as on the wings of the wind ; so that everybody was on tiptoe, awaiting the occasion. The day after the examination, when the council and can- didate repaired to the place of ordination at ten o'clock, not less than two thousand people had assembled, and, to their very great grief, the works of wickedness had begun. But it Avas one of the customs of the times, for which they were not responsible, and there being no alternative but quiet endurance, the exercises commenced at the appointed hour. Randall preached from 2 Cor. 5 : 20, " Now, then, we are ambassadors for Christ," &c. Weeks pray- ed at the laying on of hands, and gave the charge, and Whitney gave the hand of fellowship. Says the candidate, " Many heard with candor, perhaps a thousand, and it may be that mqre than a thousand more, whose souls were as ^ Records of the New Durham Quarterly Meeting, Vol. I., p. 11. 1792.] ORDINATION OF TOWNSEND. 143 precious as theirs, hardly so much as received the seed by the wayside." The day following, October 26th, Townsend was set apart to the work of the ministry, at his own house in Wolf bor- ough. On the same day, a Congregational church of eight members was organized, and a minister ordained, in another part of the town ; and those services being under the direction of the town authorities, the general attrac tions were all there, so that the pious, order-loving peo- ple were left to the peaceable enjoyment of their own privi- leges. The attendance, however, was large, and the meeting solemn. Townsend Avas the son of a "New Light" Congre- gational clergyman, and born in New Market, in 1756. He experienced religion when only eight years of age, enlisted as a soldier in the time of the Revolution, was taken prisoner and carried to Halifax, and, after his dis- charge, settled in New Durham, where he was baptized by Randall, and united with the church in 1782. He soon removed to Wolf borough, and commenced preaching, his manner of communication being instructive rather than awakening. Six days before his ordination, a church of eight members was embodied there, which was the first in town. The covenant is still extant, and in Randall's hand- writing. The first members of this church were tried and oppressed. At a legal town meeting in August, say the records, it was "Voted to give Mr. Ebenezer Allen a call to settle as a minister of the gospel in this town." He accepted the call, and was ordained as above stated ; but under a protest from eighteen persons, declaring that they should not aid in his support. Most of them were members of Mr. Townsend's congi-egation, and were alike unmoved by threats or persuasions. The efibrts of half a dozen years for the collection of their tax proved unavailing, and it was finally determined to make an example of one of their number ; so the cow of Thomas Cotton was taken 144 NEW HAIUPSHIKE. [1792. for his parisli tax. The Quarterly Meeting interposed, and sent the following petition : " To the Gentlemen^ Selectmen of the town of Wolf borough : " This certifieth that Thomas Cotton is a member of this Quarterly Meeting of Baptists, in good standing, and has been so for the space of three years or more, and we think it is reasonable that he should be exempt from pay- ing ministerial tax to any other denomination. As it is his desire to be released, therefore we pray you to con- sider it. John Shepherd, Moderator. Benj'n Randall, Clerk. " Quarterly Meeting, New Durham, ) August 23d, 1799." i A resort to such means for sustaining religion could not be successful, and, during the fourteen years of Mr. Allen's subsequent life and labors, only eighteen were added to the church. After his death, its decline was unchecked, so that in 1834, when a new church was organized there, not a remnant of the old one was found with which to build. Returning from the November Yearly Meeting in Gor- ham. Me., Randall's horse stumbled, and precipitated him upon the ground. He acknowledged the hand of Provi- dence that kept himself from injury, but the loss of his horse, by a fracture of the shoulder, was a loss indeed, since he was unable to supply its place, and, without one, he could no longer travel and blow the gospel trumpet. At the very next church meeting, it was proposed by his brethren to provide their pastor with another horse, al- though, by so doing, they knew full well that they would deprive themselves of a greater proportion of his labors. But they had been trained in the school of unselfishness, and the encouragement received from the Quarterly Meet- ing soon enabled them to effect their purpose. Allusion has ah'eady been made to John Shepherd, Esq., 1793.] GILMANTON IRON-WOKKS. 145 of Gilmanton, a leading layman in the establishment of Baptist churches with free principles. But he was stag- gered in faith and purpose, when his pastor, Edward Lock, joined the Shakers. At times he was strongly in- clined to cooperate with them himself, and did so, perhaps as much as with any people. After wandering about for ten years, and being ill at ease in his situation — Lock having removed to Maine, and returned to his brethren — Shepherd attended the Quarterly Meeting at Barnstead in January, 1793, and so reported himself that the following action was taken ; " Voted unanimously to receive broth- er John Shepherd into our fellowship ; he being returned with a confession of his backslidings, and desiring to have a place in the church." From this time he was an effi- cient laborer in the cause, second to none in his interest, efforts, or the places of trust he was called to fill. The Yearly Meeting convened at New Durham June 8th, and continued four days. The attendance was large, reports were encouraging, and baptisms were administered every day. Not less than a thousand persons were pres- ent on the Sabbath, many of whom came to spend that sacred time merely as a holiday. Daniel Lord, of Kittery, Maine, was ordained at this meeting on the 11th of June, by Randall, Tingley, Weeks, Whitney and Buzzell. He was a native of Berwick, and a brother of Revs. Tosier and Gershom Lord ; of good abilities and marked piety. He had been preaching for ten years ; his wife usually read the hymns and the Scrip- tures, he being nearly blind, and totally so during his last years, which were spent with a son in New York. Randall and others had preached occasionally in that part of Gilmanton called the Iron-Works, since the year 1785, and several had been converted. A Monthly Meet- ing was established, but no record was kept, or has been preserved, prior to 1793, Avhen there seems to have been a church organization, and the next year it was acknowledg- ed as a member of the New Durham Quarterly Meeting. 13 146 NEW HAMPSHIKE. [1795. This year the church in New Durham received an ac- cession of thirty-one members, and the next year twenty- six were added. At the October session of the Quarterly Meeting in 1794, neither David Knowlton, an unordained preacher^ nor any other member from Pittsfield, was present. Such a delinquency was not allowed to pass unnoticed ; and Randall, by instruction, admonished them as follows : " We are this day convened at our Quarterly Meeting, and have a good day, through grace ; but feel somewhat grieved at finding — David's seat empty. We wonder at you, brethren, that none of all your meeting are present, when the weather is so pleasant, and the travelling so good." The request for the ordination of Knowlton in 1795 was referred from the Quarterly Meeting to the June session of the Yearly Meeting, and a council of five ministers, each to be accompanied by a layman, was chosen and sent to Pittsfield, It convened with the church August 12th, and the following extract from the church record is here inserted at length, as a specimen examination by the fathers : "1. Chose John Buzzell Chairman. "2. Chose Benjamin Randall Clerk. "3. Queried with the candidate as follows : " ' Dost thou believe that the Lord has called thee to preach the gospel ?' " Answer. ' Yes.' " ' Dost thou believe it will be for the glory of God that hands should be laid upon thee, if the council should find satisfaction ?' " Answer. ' I dare not draw back.* " ' Then give us a reason of thy hope ; relate the deal- ings of God in bringing thy soul from bondage into liberty, and thy call to public improvement.' " He did so ; all of which was satisfactory to the coun- cil. Questions were proposed as to the fall of man — hlsr 1795.] CHUKCH IN CANTEKBmiY. 147 restoration by Jesus Christ — the obligations of the preach- er — the difference between t]\p pla,n of redemption and the work of salvation ; and all were answered to great satis- faction. " The church was then asked if brother Knowlton an- swered in a good measure to the character given in 1 Tim. 3 : 1-6 ; and the answer was in the affirmative. It was asked if he had a good character from them who are with- out. The answer from without was in the affirmative. Was the church unanimous in sending to the Yearly Meeting for a council ? After some explanation, all were agreed for his ordination. The council desired to withdraw for twenty minutes, when they agreed upon his ordination, and how to proceed," Daniel Lord made the opening prayer, Buzzell preached from 2 Tim. 4:5: " But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry." Randall made the consecrating prayer, and gave the charge, and Boody gave the hand of fellow- ship. Knowlton was one of the early settlers in Pittsfield, and early a member of the New Durham branch in that town. His health was often feeble, and when unable to attend the Quarterly Meeting, he usually reported himself by letter. The Quarterly Meeting agreed to hold all of its ses- sions at New Durham, and, as the burden of sustaining them was found to lay heavily upon Randall, it was " Voted that each Monthly Meeting communicate to Eld. Benjamin Randall, for the support of the Quarterly Meet- ing (it being at his house) as they shall believe in their hearts to be needful, from time to time." He afterwards sought the repeal of this vote, but the Quarterly Meeting believed it was right, and declined to change it. In August of the preceding year, Randall went to Can- terbury and baptized seven, who, with others previously baptized, were embodied as a church. Dea. Otis, of 148 NEW HAJIPSHIRE. [1796. Strafford, labored there the next spring, and a reformation ensued, though great was the opposition. John Buzzell visited the place soon after, and says, " The converts seated themselves close around me, and received the word with gladness, while opposers mocked, made faces at me, twisted their bodies and limbs into all kinds of postures, and some even sat on the floor grinning at me, and every little while giving me the lie, and charging me with false doctrines." But he was not dismayed, the Lord stood by him, and several were converted and baptized. Winthrop Young, an influential man, had now begun to preach, and his heart, house and purse were open. When Buzzell left, he gave him a horse, the first he had ever OAvned, though he had been an itinerant preacher for more than four years. In October the church numbered twenty-one members, and was visited by a committee, who gave them the hand of fellowship as a member of the New Durham Quarterly Meeting. Few churches have struggled into being through greater conflicts than the one in Canterbury. The old church, in 1779, was the first to declare for freewill and free salva- tion. Then came the Shaker delusion, that took both pastor and people, leaving a very small remnant. In later years, the " Osgoodites " made great disturbance, and popular sentiment was decidedly against the church and its members. It was made disreputable to' attend their meetings, otherwise than from curiosity ; and, as a sect, they were regarded as religious outlaws, whose meetings might be disturbed with impunity. This fact accounts for the church action in July, when it was " vot- ed that Seth Turrell be appointed to keep order in the meeting." On the 28th of June, 1796, a council from the Yearly Meeting met with the church, and Winthrop Young vvas ordained by Whitney, Buzzell, Randall and Boody ; assist- ed by John Shepherd and Aaron Buzzell as Ruling Elders. Young was born in that part of Barrington now called 1796.] ORDINATION OP YOUNG. 149 Strafford, in 1753, and is known to have been a member of the cburch there in 1782, He taught school in early life, removed to Canterbury in 1787, and was pastor of the church for thirty-five years. He possessed wealth, was large in stature, of strong mind, and great piety. Before him, every one felt himself to be in the presence of a 7nan. Says one ^ long associated with him, " As a preacher, brother Young did not excel in elucidating his text, or in a logical presentation of his subject, but when he came to the practical, or experimental, part of his discourse, he moved like a giant, applying the truth, and carrying eve- rything before him. Oftentimes there would be such cry- ing out in all parts of the audience, that, had it not been for his stentorian voice, not a word could have been heard. Powerful as he was in preaching, he was still more so in prayer. Randall has been heard to say, ' "We have no man among us that can pray like brother Young.' " During the summer months peace and prosperity reign- ed in the Quarterly Meeting, and the record of the August session closes with these words, written by Randall's own hand : " A sermon by Eld. John Buzzell was followed by a great number of testimonies, borne with a very great degree of life and fervor ; and by many prayers and sup- plications, with strong cries and ardent groanings for the prosperity of Zion, the return of backsliders, and the awakening of poor sinners. And never did the power of the Lord appear more visible at the administration of the ordinances than now. how marvellous, wonderful, and glorious ! All glory, glory, glory to our all-glorious Father ! O let every thing that hath breath, praise the Lord." At the opening of the October session, all "joined repeat- edly in prayer, with strong cries for more mortification, more sanctification and advancement in the Divine life." These prayers were interspersed with " needful exhortations ^ Rev. Thomas Perkins. 13* 150 NEW HAMPSHIRE. [1798. from more than one, and some blessed meltings of soul." Says Randall, " The word of the Lord was made good to our souls, as we tasted the sweet fulfilment of that promise, ' Before they call I will answer, and while they are yet speak- ing I will hear.' " The reports brought intelligence of only a single revival, and some of them spoke of coldness and trials. In view of this state of things, November 1st was appointed as a day of humiliation, fasting and prayer. It proved a very great blessing to the churches, and many allusions were made to it in their next reports. Pittsfield said, it was " a refreshing day." Canterbury called it a " won- derful fast ;" and Gilmanton said, " it was a marvellous day of the power of the Lord." In 1797, revivals were enjoyed in New Castle, New Durham, Pittsfield, Canterbury and Middleton. The Yearly Meeting in 1798 was one of the most re- markable scenes in modern times. It commenced on the morning of June 9th ; ministers were present from all parts of the connection, and hundreds of others were in attendance. Since the day of fasting and prayer in No- vember, there had been an increasing spirit of union among Christians, and of confiding trust in God, as the records of the two previous Quarterly Meetings clearly show ; and the people doubtless came in this spirit to the Yearly Meeting. The first day's session was held in Randall's barn, and as soon as the people were seated, an uncom- mon solemnity pervaded their minds. After singing and prayer, as usual, a most solemn silence ensued. No one felt disposed to enter upon business, for the Spirit seemed not to lead in that direction. God was evidently there. Says John Buzzell,^ " The power of God seemed to fall upon the people, in some measure, as it did upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost. The whole assembly appeared to be shocked, and it was difficult to tell who first felt the impression. The first person that I heard speak was a young man, who arose, and, in a most feel- 3 Life of Randall, p. 172. 1798.] THE YEARLY MEETING. 151 ing manner, confessed his disobedience to God, to his parents, and to those who had been his instructors ; and then asked forgiveness of all present who knew him. He then stated that God had forgiven his sins, changed his heart, and put a new song into his mouth, even praise to God. In a most powerful manner, he then exhorted all, both old and young, male and female, to ' come, taste and see that the Lord is good.' " This young man was Hezekiah D. Buzzell, of Gilman- ton, afterwards an efficient minister of the gospel ; and such was the Divine energy with which he now spoke, that many youth, in different parts of the assembly, began to weep. Some of them soon fell upon their knees, cry- ing for mercy ; and, after a few minutes, it was difficult to distinguish one voice from another, so many were intent on salvation, each for himself. Till this time, the minis- ters were together on the stage, but some of them now passed among the people, conversed with, and prayed for, those in distress. Some of the penitents would cry aloud for mercy ; some would fall upon the floor, and lay mo- tionless for a considerable time, and then, recovering their strength, would shout alo^^d the praises of God. But there was a diversity of operations by the same Spirit. "While some lay motionless and silent, others, in their prostration, continued begging for mercy till deliverance came. While some were on their knees, loudly pleading with God, others retained their seats, uttering not a word, but offering mental prayer ; and their silent struggles and genuine faith were equally successful with the vociferous efforts of those who made the most ado. In much the same manner did the exercises continue through the entire day, with the following exception : " Randall was one of those who were tried with the work," ^ and earnestly desired the people to refrain from such excited and disorderly manifestations. His great influence at once restored comparative quiet, but it seemed * Buzzell's Life of Randall, p. 174. 152 NEW HAMPSHIRE, [1798. the stillness of death, and he began to fear that he had acted the part of Uzzah, in attempting to steady the ark of the Lord. So many persons of strong feelings and ner- vous temperament were enlisted, who would do nothing under restraint, that he thought it better for the work to proceed, even with improprieties, since the Lord was cer- tainly in it, than to harshly check their zeal, and perhaps grieve the Holy Spirit from their midst. He again stood before them, confessing that he would not, for his life, limit the power of Grod, or prescribe how he should work, and said, " Brethren, look not to me, but to God, and obey him in all things." Just at night, a few gathered by themselves and organ- ized the Yearly Meeting, even while the place was vocal with the sobs of the penitent and the shouts of the redeem- ed. Evening meetings were held in diiFerent parts of the town, but there was no time for preaching, as heavy-laden sinners claimed personal attention, and thrice happy con- verts longed to exalt the Lord their God. The second day, which was the Sabbath, witnessed, if possible, a still greater interest. Two thousand people convened at the meeting house, and the order of exercises was much the same as the day preceding. Instead of sermons, exhortations of great power were given in and around the house, prayers were freely offered for the con- victed, inquirers were directed to Christ, old saints re- joiced, and young converts sung for joy. There was, confessedly, but little order in the services, as the occa- sion partook so largely of the Pentecost spirit, and the enthusiasm of Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Honest professors, who stood aloof from the exercises, were amazed ; and many opposers were confounded, while others derided those worshippers as crazy fanatics. All kinds of reports were in circulation, good, bad, and indifferent ; and every one desired to see and hear for himself. Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that the number present on the third day should be 1798.] THE YEARLY MEETING. 153 nearly three thousand. They repaired to an open field, where Isaac Townsend preached a sermon, " well calcu- lated to inform the understanding in respect to the way of salvation." This was followed by exhortations, prayers, and the same manifestations as -on the previous days. To many, the Spirit came, not only unsought, but against great apparent efforts of resistance. Leaders in wicked- ness were often among the first to fall, and, by the third day, no sinner felt himself secure, do what he might, against the mysterious influence. Says Buzzell, " It was really astonishing to behold the events which took place on that day. Some of those who appeared to be the most bitter opposers, and the best shielded against the work, were taken. In one instance, I observed three young men, who appeared to have been very much guarded through all the meeting. As they were standing on the outside of the assembly, one of the ministers felt impressed to speak to them. They saw him approach, and immediately ran for the woods. "When about twenty rods from the congregation, they were over- taken by the mysterious power, and all fell to the earth, crying aloud for mercy, and did not arise till they were able to say that their sins were forgiven. They, in turn, became efficient preachers, and thus the work went on." The meeting on Monday evening was one of " marvel- lous power, and held until midnight." Penitent inquirers still lingered, and prayer was made, or instruction given, till morning light dawned upon them ; in which time " a number were brought to rejoice in the Lord." On the fourth day, by previous appointment, the meet- ing was at the water-side, where Randall baptized six persons, residents of as many different towns. The work of conviction and conversion there went on through the day. The voice of weeping would sometimes alternate with that of rejoicing, and then both would mingle in what Buzzell was pleased to call, " the most harmonious tune." 154 NEW HAMPSHIRE. [1798. In those four days, not less then one hundred professed to find peace, and most of them were strangers in New Durham. Returning to their several homes in distant towns, they declared what the Lord had done for them, and thus did the work extensively spread. Scarcely a town in all that region was left without a blessing, direct- ly or indirectly, from that meeting. Doors were opened in all directions for preaching the gospel, ministers were endowed with power from on high, and the Yearly Meet- ing in 1798 has ever since been regarded as the begin- ning of better days with the struggling cause in New Hampshire. One of the six that were baptized as above stated, was Jeremiah Ballard, of Unity. He had preached considera- bly with the Methodists, but, being dissatisfied with his baptism, he attended the May session of the Quarterly Meeting, and preached " a very quickening discourse." He related the circumstances attending his conversion, spoke of his call to preach, and the success of his labors ; " all to the satisfaction of every member present," and asked for such advice and assistance as the Quarterly Meeting, in its wisdom, should see fit to give. His ad- dress was pleasing, and his style of speaking was both flowery and impressive. So fuUy would he enlist the sympathies of an audience in prayer, that he seemed to lead his hearers into the very presence of God. But pru- dence forbade any ofiicial endorsement of the man at first sight, and he was requested to attend the Yearly Meeting in June, and bring such recommendations as he could con- veniently furnish. We meet him again at the Yearly Meeting, and on the third day, a few delegates retired for business from those exciting scenes, and before them Ballard rehearsed his Christian experience and call to the ministry, presented satisfactory certificates, signed by more than sixty per- sons, and requested assistance in embodying churches, and authority to administer the ordinances. A council 1798.] ORDINATION OF BALLAED. 155 with discretionary power, consistiBg of Randall, Buzzell, and Daniel Lord, with two Ruling Elders and two Dea- cons, was sent to Unity. They met July 2d, and agreed to his ordination; but here an unexpected difficulty arose. The original proprietors of Unity had reserved a lot of land for the first minister ordained in town, and objec- tions were now made to the ordination of Ballard, and the authorities refused the use of the meeting liouse, imless he would quitclaim all right to the land j, in which case they would make him a small present. In reply to this proposition, the council said, we do not ordain minis- ters for the sake of land, nor would we have the candi- date accept a present under these circumstances, or sur- render his rights. And yet, to avoid contention, and " abstain from all appearance of evil," it was agreed to '^' escape to the mountain," just beyond the limits of the town, and ordain there, as Christ had selected a similar place for the choice of his disciples. The sermon was delivered in the house by Randall, after which the coun- cil, and most of the congregation, repaired to a distant eminence, and finished the ordination services. Favora- ble as were the opening auspices of Ballard's public ca- reer, the sad story of its close is near at hand. In con- nection with his ordination, a church was there organized that promised much under the labors of a preacher then thought to be deservedly popular. Let lis now go up to the August session of the Quarterly Meeting, and hear the results since that marvellous Year- ly Meeting in June. It convenes at New Durham, and every church in the State, save Straffiard, reports great prosperity. Canterbury says, " No discord, but a won- derful outpouring of the spirit of God. Seventeen added within the last four weeks." Gilmanton says, " All dif- ficulties removed, a blessed awakening, and a number brought ovit of darkness into God's marvellous light." Kittery, Maine, says, " The Avork of God is very won- derful." Lebanon, Maine, " No difficulties, religion is 156 NEW HAMPSHIRE. [1798. lively." Micldleton, " Had a blessed revival, and the work still goes on." New Durham, " Brotherly love pre- vails, the work of the Lord is the most glorious we have ever seen, about ninety souls brought out of darkness since the Monthly Meeting in June." Pittsfield, "Back- sliders are returning, and a number of souls have been brought to rejoice in God." Unity, " The work of the Lord doth increase, and additions are made from time to time." ^ On the second day a sermon was preached early in the morning, after which it was intended to proceed to busi- ness, but such was the spirit of devotion, that worship continued without intermission, till the shades of night suggested that it was time to close. There were present, not only many chosen brethren from the churches, but two hundred converts, all of whom had become Christians since the Yearly Meeting. Never, perhaps, was preach- ing more spiritual, exhortations more powerful, prayers more prevailing, faith more undeniable, or praise more joyfully sung. Randall says, " It appeared the most like heaven upon earth, and glory in the bud, of anything we have ever experienced." And when the emblems of Christ's body and blood were received, so strong was the faith of the communicants, that the scene was glorious beyond description. But how diversified are the scenes of life ! To-day our cup of joy is full. The morrow comes, and we are drinking the very dregs of sorrow. Aakon Buzzell, of Gilmanton, a brother of John Buzzell, was before the meeting as a candidate for ordi- nation. In relating his experience and call to the minis- try, he had just said that his love for the cause had led him to lay all upon the altar — not only himself and his small possessions, but his family, even, had he given to the Lord. Conference was satisfied, and was arranging the ordination services, when a messenger entered, and abruptly exclaimed, Death ! The wife of Aaron Buzzell is dead ! The announcement was overwhelminsr in its 1798.] ORDINATION OF AARON BUZZELL. 157 effect upon the meeting ; but no one seemed to bear up vmder it with moi'e fortitude than the bereaved husband. He was leaning upon the arm of the Lord when the intel- ligence came, and he found it a sure support. He instant- ly repaired to the place of her departure for the better land, and learned that she had left home that morning, expecting to witness his ordination. While riding joy- fully along in company with her brother, Hezekiah D. Buzzell, she was observed unexpectedly to alight from her horse, and, in a moment, to lie prostrate upon the ground. Before the least relief could be afforded, and without a farewell expression, her happy spirit had left for a mansion in glory. Instead of an ordination, were preparations for the funeral ; and the grace of God was found to be sufficient for the afflicted companion, as he lay the fond wife of his youth, and the mother of his children, in the low, cold lap of earth. At the next Quarterly Meeting, October 18th, he re- ceived ordination, and in 1801 removed to Strafford, Vermont, where, for more than fifty years, he was one of the fathers of our interests. Aaron Buzzell was born in Barrington, 1764, but spent the early years of his life in Middleton, where he experienced religion in 1790. He was baptized by Randall in the evening, at a Quarterly Meeting in Ncav Durham, while the full orbed moon, in imcloudcd majesty, smiled upon the scene. The next year he began to speak in public as an exhorter, and travelled seven years with his brother John, before he ap- pointed meetings for himself. He was a sympathetic speaker, and " so given to weeping," says Rev. Peter Clark, " that, at the close of his discourse, I have seen the floor, in a semicircle at his feet, visibly sprinkled with his tears." The low state of religious interest at North Strafford was under consideration at the August Quarterly Meeting, when some spoke discouragingly of farther efforts to save 14 158 NEW HAMPSHIRE. [1799, the church, and a large majority disapproved of Boody's accepting a seat in the State Legislature, False reports were carried to them, of what was said and done, and they were sorely grieved. The next Quarterly Meeting sent a letter of explanation to the church, and appoint- ed different committees to attend the three intervening Monthly Meetings, and the result was all that could have been expected. The pastor was encouraged, the church revived, and sinners converted. At a meeting in Pittsfield, September 12th, Eaudall be- ing present, five related their Christian experience, and were baptized amid great manifestations of the Divine presence. Three of them, David Knowlton, Jr., Ebenezer Knowlton, and Samuel B. Dyer, soon entered the ministry, and were pillars in the church. The year 1799 commenced with a good religious inter- est in many places. The Quarterly Meeting held its Jan- uary session at Canterbury for the first time, when the second church in Gilmanton, near Eld. Shepherd's, was received. So marvellous were the displays of Divine power at the last Yearly Meeting, that every one was anxious to attend the present session ; and this^ anxiety increased as the time drew nigh. The meeting convened at New Durham, June 8th, and the attendance was very large. No sooner had the services commenced, than the presence of God was wonderfully manifest. Prayers of faith, songs of praise, and exhortations in the spirit, were the order of the day. Towards night a few were called together, who organized the meeting and adjourned. A short sermon was preached on the Sabbath by Jeremiah Ballard, and the remainder of the time was spent as the day before had been ; and several were hopefully converted. On Mon- day, heard the letters and verbal reports, which were now very refreshing. The records of all the Quarterly Meet- ings were then read, as was the custom, and following is a synopsis : 1799.] CHURCH IN SANBORNTON. 159 Neio Durham Quarterly Meeting. General engagedness, large additions, good order, and reformations in most of the churches. Edgecomh. The revival increases in Lincolnville, noth- ing new in other parts. Farmington. The work of God is very glorious, not less than fifty have been brought to rejoice in the Lord since the Yearly Meeting in February. Gorham. Glorious increase of the work, with consider- able additions. Parsonsfield. Considerable engagedness, some addi- tions. Unity. General interest, but nothing special. The last named Quarterly Meeting began its informal sessions the year before, and it was now " Voted that all the branches and scattered members west of the Merri- mack river be established into a body, called the Unity Quarterly Meeting. Soon as the reports and records of the Quarterly Meet- ings had been read, all farther business was postponed to the next morning ; and the large congregation repaired to a beautiful green, and sat down on the grass to hear the word of truth by Daniel Batchelder, of Corinth, Vermont. A table was spread for communion, but such was the out- pouring of God's spirit upon the people, the great labor of saints, and the awakening of sinners, that there was no opportunity for receiving the elements ; the spirit of com- munion, however, was freely enjoyed. Thirteen professed to have found the Saviour that afternoon., By request of the New Durham Quarterly Meeting, Ballard visited the few brethren in Warner, on his return from the May session, and in August they reported " a most glorious work of God," under the labors of Dea« Kent of Canterbury, whose ordination was requested. In June, a few Christians in Sanbornton covenanted to- gether, and established a Monthly Meeting, and, from that time onward, social meetings were regularly sustained on 160 NEW HAMPSHIKE. [1799. the Sabbatli. In 1806, these brethren, sixteen in number, were a branch of the Gilford church. Ballard now preached in Deerfield and Nottingham, where sinners were converted, and permanent religioup interests were established. A letter to the Quarterly Meeting from Stratham brought the cheering intelligence of a precious revival in that place. A revival was also enjoyed and a church organized in Burton [noAV Albany j . John Jewell held meetings there in 1796, and several Avere converted. By appointment from the Quarterly Meeting, Randall and others visited them the next year, and found them well engaged in their Master's service ; but, as the committee " could not see with their speaker," they were not recognized as a church. Richard Martin, of Gilford [then a part of Gilman- ton], attended the Quarterly Meeting in August, at New Durham, and Randall says, " preached a most refreshing, strengthening and comforting discourse." The meeting commenced at one o'clock, and the sermon was followed by many testimonies and the Lord's supper, so that it did not close till " near candle-light." This was Martin's first attendance at a Quarterly Meeting, and never did a man forsaken by brethren seem more at home. He was a na- tive of Lee, born in 1755, and when a boy was appren- ticed to a rope-maker in Portsmouth. He experienced religion in Lee, under the first efforts of Elias Smith, whose fame was afterwards somewhat celebrated. He alone bore the principal expense of Smith's ordination soon after, and then commenced preaching himself, as a Baptist. He was ordained in 1795, and the next year removed to Gilford. In October, 1797, a council of Calvinistic Baptists met there to organize a church. In the examination it was found that neither he, nor the proposed members of the church, were Calvinists, therefore the council dissolved. He soon organized a church himself, and was its constant pastor for twenty-five years. It joined the Quarterly Meeting the next year, and soon became one of the strong- 1799.] OTIS, BOODY, POTTLE AND JACKSON. 161 est churches in the denomination, Martin was a pious and useful man ; he travelled but little, except to attend Quarterly and Yearly Meetings, where he usually preached. The remarkable outpouring of the Holy Spirit since the Yearly Meeting in 1798, had greatly multiplied the calls for preaching, and had resulted in the establishment of many new interests that needed to be cared for. But th* Lord never enlarges his vineyard without calling into it an increase of laborers. This year witnessed the acces- sion of six to the ministry in the New Durham Quarterly Meeting, besides Richard Martin, The ordination c^* John Blaisdell and Gershom Lord, of Lebanon, Me., has already been noticed ; and at the October Quarterly Meet- ing, Dea. MiCAjAH Otis of Strafford, Joseph Boody of New Durham, Simon Pottle of Middleton, and Dr. James Jackson of Eaton, were all ordained at the same time. The services were at a school house in New DuiP- ham October 18th, and Randall preached on the occasioii from 1 Cor, 9:16: " For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of ; for necessity is laid upon me ; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel !" It was an im- pressive scene — four men on their knees before the Lord, under the consecrating hands of the council, while Rev. Daniel Lord was calling upon God to endow them *' witli power from on high," Otis was a native of Dover, and now fifty-two years oi' age. He was a member of that branch in Strafford, which became an independent church in 1779, and through all the trying conflicts of that people he stood unmoved. Possessed of an ample share of this world's goods, he was able to travel at his own expense ; and having a revival gift, and living a holy life, his labors were blessed to the salvation of many, Boody, a nephew of Joseph Boody of Strafford, was a native of New Durham, and had been an active Christian for eight years. He had been in northern Vermont for 14* 162 NEW HAMPSHIRE. [1799. several montlis, encountered great opposition, and had been quite useful. Pottle was a native of Stratham, had lived in New Dur- ham, where he served as Deacon, and settled in Middle- ton when Buzzell removed to Parsonsfield. He was a ready speaker, but his active temperament and want of caution, often involved him in difficulties that proved his ruin. Dr. Jackson was a practising physician and useful man. His labors were mostly devoted to the interests of the people in his own town, and many of them became mem- bers of the church over which the Holy Ghost had made him overseer. The churches known to have been organized during this decade, were, in 1791, Middleton and Pittsfield ; '92, Wolfborough; '93, Gilmanton Iron-Works; '94, Canter- bury ; '98, Unity and Gilford ; '99, Second Gilmanton, Madison, Warner, and one in Marshfield, Mass. The Sandwich church was organized in one of these years, but which is unknown. The following men were ordained in New Hampshire during the Second Decade : John Buzzell, Isaac Town- send, Daniel Lord, David Knowlton, Winthrop Young, Jeremiah Ballard, Aaron Buzzell, Micajah Otis, Joseph Boody, Jr., Simon Pottle and James Jackson. 1791.] LITTLE EARLY INTELLIGENCE. 163 CHAPTER VIII. VERMONT. 1791—1800. But little Early Intelligence — Church in Straiford — Help from New Hampshire — Church in Corinth — Ordination of Daniel Batchelder — Revival in Tunbridge — Boody and Quinby in Northern Vermont. It is to be regretted that the traces of the early church- es in Vermont are so fragmentary. Only a glimpse now and then can be caught of their condition in the last cen- tury ; and the efforts in planting them, with one excep- tion, are mostly forgotten, or have been unfurnished for the history. But enough is known to justify the state- ment that the cause of free principles had to struggle into existence through much the same opposition in Vermont as in New Hampshire and Maine. It would seem, how- ever, that the influence of the " standing order" was less intolerant and controlling ; and the Calvinism less ultra and objectionable. The principles of free salvation took deep root in that virgin soil, and are still abiding in the second and third generations of the people. The number of strong churches has never been large, but from them, and even some of the feeblest ones, have gone forth the first men to raise the standard of the cross westward of New England. And in every period of our history has that state furnished her quota of ministers to the cause, many of her ablest ones having spent their best energies in other fields of labor. A letter dated Strafford, Vt., Sept. 10, 1791, and ad- dressed " To the Baptist church in New Durham, N. H.," 164 VERMONT. [1792. was duly received. It was written by Samuel Rich in behalf of others, and said, " We now think it expedient to come into church order, as the word of God directs ; and being informed by Bro, Dickey of your standing and or- der, it being agreeable to our minds, we request some of the Elders of your church to come, as soon as possible, to our assistance ; as we are exposed to many snares, and are alone as to sentiment in this part of the world." Here was a true Macedonian cry ; but as Randall had just returned from a journey of five weeks' absence to Maine, was engaged to make another, and the Quarterly Meeting was approaching, it was not convenient for him, or any other minister, to visit them immediately. The best that could be done was to send them a letter of con- gratulation and encouragement, with the assurance that messengers would visit them at the earliest possible con- venience, and saying, " In the meantime we pray you to be steadfast and unmovable, and ' keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.' " It was not till the next July that Randall and John Buz- zell made a tour to Vermont. They bore with them a let- ter of commendation, and were gladly received. It ap- peared that a j'oung man by the name of Robert Dickey, from Epsom, N. H., and a member of the New Durham church, had come to Strafford, and was in the employ of a relative as a hired laborer. After mourning over the profanity and general wickedness of the people, Dickey began to exhort them to repent, and flee from the wrath to come. Having " an excellent gift of exhortation," and having had the confidence and encouragement of Randall, he continued to warn the people ; and many were wise enough to heed the admonition, notwithstanding the scoffs of the wicked. About thirty were hopefully converted and happily engaged in the worship of God. Hearing of the revival, others came in, and soon the tares of secta- rianism were sown with the good seed of the kingdom. Several were baptized, Calvinistic articles of faith wer« 1792.] CHURCH IN STRAFFORD. 165 presented and tacitly received, and a church was organ- ized. Such was the state of affairs when Eandall and Buzzell arrived. They tarried a nunaber of days, preached fre- quently, visited extensively, and baptized several. The converts were divided in their doctrinal views, but united in their church relations, and being filled with the Spirit, they believed it possible to live in peace, having softened their high-toned articles of faith. Without objections, they were allowed to make the trial, and were recognized as an independent church. In this condition Randall and Buzzell left them, fearful that they could not walk togeth- er, because they were not agreed in the doctrines of com- munion, election, and final perseverance. This journey was attended with great fatigue, being performed on horseback through a new, and much of the way a wilderness, country. The heat was oppressive by day, and their lodgings were more than once the hard floor by night. It was attended with some expense, be- sides the loss of a fortnight's time ; and their receipts amounted to " four whole pistareens," — about eighty cents — which Eandall divided equally between himself and his travelling companion. Buzzell declined the moiety ten- dered him, but Randall said, " You shall have it. Take it and carry it to your wife." The fears of Randall were soon realized. The breth- ren in Vermont could not let the difference in their doc- trinal views rest, neither could they discuss those views in love and forbearance. A spirit of alienation soon crept in, and a mutual council was called. A letter received at New Durham requested Randall or some of the " most able members" to come to their assistance. Accompanied by a lay brother, he visited them again in February, 1793, and met in council six others from Calvinistic Baptist churches in the vicinity, for the settlement of their diffi- culty. As the division involved principles that neither party could surrender, the council advised a separation. 16€ VERMONT. [1792. But some were undecided with which division to go ; and, to make a finality of the matter, it was agreed that Wil- liam Grow, a Calvinist, and Randall should each preach a discourse, embodying his own views on the " five points" of Calvinism, and then they would " poll the house." The sermons were accordingly preached, after which the churcli took the broad aisle, and Grow standing on one side of the house and Randall on the other, the members were called upon to follow the minister of their choice. Ten stood with Grow and fifteen with Randall. Neither division was then organized as a church, but " a solemn word of Ciiution, advice and exhortation was given by several," that they would strive to live in Christian " love and union, and not be consumed one by the other." Having *' joined in solemn prayer," the council dissolved and the congregation dispersed. Among the fifteen that stood with Randall were two men of note. Dickey, noted for what he had done in the commencement of the revival, and subsequently in the ministry, though sad to relate, afterwards joined the Shakers ; and Nathaniel Brovra, noted for his future la- bors. He soon entered the ministry, preached success- fully in Vermont, afterwards removed to New York, planted our first churches in that State, and organized the first Quarterly Meeting beyond the limits of New Eng- land. Randall, on his return, informed Buzzell of the tried state of the brethren in Vermont, and advised him to go to their relief. He did so immediately, and performed the entire journey, of one hundred and ten miles, on foot, through the snows of February, on the last days of that unpleasant month for travelling. He found them, not on- ly at variance with the Calvinists, but divided among themselves, and greatly disheartened. He preached sev- eral times, visited frcm house to house, and encouraged them as best he could ; but no human poAver could move them to action. Like Elijah under the juniper tree, they 179-.] CHURCH IN STRAFFORD. 167 were ready to die. At tlieir last meeting he called them into a room by themselves, told them of his anxiety for their spiritual life and labor, the pains he had taken to af- ford them aid, and the apparent failure of his effort. " Now," said he, "I a'sk it as a parting favor, that you sit down in silence with me for one half hour, and think of your condition." A request so reasonable, under the circvimstances, they could not refuse, and all were seated. But the burden of that thoughtful hour ! Some recalled to mind the mercies of God, and their own obligations of love and obedience. Others were awake to duty, but striving with their Maker, while Buzzell was earnestly engaged in mental prayer. God was in that silence ; and after fifteen or twenty min- utes, one of the number could suppress his convictions no longer, and, in a most contrite and affecting manner, con- fessed his wanderings from God, asked forgiveness, and declared his purpose to live for Christ. Eight others in quick succession followed his example, and the power of God was manifest beyond description. These nine then entered into a covenant engagement, and thus was consti- tuted our first church among the green hills of Vermont. No record can now be found of its struggles for the first ten years, but tradition says it came up through great tribulation. In 1793 this church sent both letter and del- egation to the Yearly Meeting in New Durham, and re- ported itself as toiling on through many discouragements. For a few years it was a lone star in the State, and has been one of different magnitude, at different times, but its shining has always been visible. Kandall was here again in January, 1794. He found the church well engaged, and his confidence in its success was greatly strengthened. At the New Hampshire Year- ly Meeting in June, a letter, full of encouragement and expressive of fellowship, was sent to the church by Rob- ert Dickey, its delegate ; and another was sent to individ- uals in Strafford who claimed to be members of the church 168 VERMONT. [179-. of New Dnrham, but declined to imite with that branch. It said, " Dear brethren, we exhort you, in the love of our all-glorious Redeemer, to join fellowship with them. We exhort one and all of you, who, by your divisions and controversies, have given the enemy cause to speak reproachfully, to confess your faults one to another, and to all who have beheld the same." At the Yearly Meeting in 1795, Eandall, John Buzzell, Joseph Boody, senior, Isaac Townsend and Daniel Lord, were appointed to visit this church in turn ; each one to be accompanied by a layman chosen from his own church. It was thus that this church, a kind of missionary station, was cared for, and cherished in its infancy ; and with con- fidence did it look to the Yearly Meeting in CA'ery season of adversity. In 1796 it said, "We are distressed on every side, and we pray that you would consider our case, and do that for us, or with us, that you shall judge most for the glory of God." In October of the next year, the church reported to the New Durham Quarterly Meeting, both by letter and delegation, that coldness and trials were stiU its lot. Rev. Winthrop Young, Ruling Elders Aaron Buzzell and John Shepherd, with Deacon Kent, were sent to Strafford bearing a letter, Avhich said, " We are grieved to hear that there are such disorders among you. We would have the brethren and sisters who went to your parts from the Monthly Meeting at Gilmanton, join you, and assist in your difficulties. They were mem- bers in good standing with us. Note such persons as walk not according to the gospel rule, and have no fellowship with them. Don't be afraid of offending men, but always be afraid of offending God. It is a reproach to the cause of God to have disorderly members countenanced in the church ; and we cannot show our love to God, to his cause, nor to the souls of transgressors, any more than by being faithful to them, and by cutting them off." The names of the Committee were given, and the letter then says, "They are authorized to transact any business which they may 1799.] CHURCH IN COKINTH. 169 find necessary to be done, even to reject any who may be ripe therefor." The committee investigated the discipline of the church, and the religious standing of its members, and found them better united than they had been. One, however, was found to be obstinate in his wrong-doings, and a letter of rejection was given to the church for him. The reader will not fail to notice that here is seen the acknowledged authority of the Quarterly Meeting over the members of the churches, and the delegation of that authority to a committee, to be exercised at their discretion. In 1798 Jeremiah Ballard, of Unity, N. H., came up the Connecticut valley, preaching at various places, and at Corinth several became Christians, and a church of about fifteen members was organized. This was the sec- ond church in Vermont, so far as is now known, and from its members six have entered the ministry. The first was Daniel Batchelber. He passed a satisfactory examina- tion at the New Hampshire Yearly Meeting in 1799, and Tingley, Young and Ballard were chosen as an ordaining council. For some reason, they did not attend to their assignment on the first Thursday in July, the time specifi- ed in the records ; and perhaps it was postponed, that the council might act in concert with a committee, consisting of Tingley, Young, Daniel Lord and Aaron Buzzell, chos- en at the same meeting to visit the " brethren in the State of Vermont." Be that as it may, he was ordained at Corinth October 4th, and it was the first ordination by our people in the State. The pastoral relation was sus- tained between Batchelder and the Corinth church for twenty years. Daniel Batchelder and Nathaniel Brown held meetings in Tunbridge this season, and a revival commenced that resulted in the formation of a church the next year. Nathaniel King was one of the converts, and furnished Joseph Boody, Jr., from New Durham, the best hospital- ities of his house, and defended him from insults, as he 15 170 VERMONT. [1799, was greatly opposed while preaching for a few days in town. Boody then went to northern Vermont, where he was the first to preach a free gospel. At Hardwick, as he says,i five merabers of the Calvinistic Baptist church were excluded because they sympathized with him, and their property was distrained and sold at public auction to pay the arrearage of their ministerial tax. He travelled con- siderably, and reformations attended his labors, though for six months he saw not a minister that gave him a word of cheer. Rev. Joseph Quinby was the first minister that visited Sutton, and a revival followed. He preached free doc- trines, though connected at this time with the Baptists in Sandwich, N. H. He also preached in Lyndon and Wheelock, and saw some of the harvest, but churches were not organized till a year or two afterwards. The churches known to have existed in Vermont at the close of the eighteenth century, were Strafford, organized in 1793, and Corinth, in 1798 ; and Daniel Batchelder was the only man that had received ordination. * " Sketch of the Travels and Labors of Eld. Joseph Boody." — Bepos- itory. BEVIEW. 171 CHAPTER IX. THE SECOND DECADE. 1790—1800. Review — Statistics — Denominational Name — Call to the Ministry — ^Ed- ucation of the Ministry — Counsel to the Ministry — Support of the Ministry — ^Elders' Conference — ^Woman's Labors — Church Covenants — Church Polity — Dismission of Members— Support of the Pooar — Hegulating Committee — ^Military Parades — Rules of Order — ^The Press —Devotional Spirit. There was a wide difference between the state of relig- ious interest in the beginning of this decade, and that at its close. The long, dark night of declension had then been gathering over the churches for several years, and the multiplied trials within the church were equalled only by the indifference and wickedness without. Occasional beams of sunlight cheered the hearts of those toiling men ; but it was faith, and not success, that held them true to their work. After the first year or two, omens of better days appeared, and they began to prepare the way of the Lord. One of the most encouraging signs of the times, was the fact that professed Christians began to feel ill at ease in view of their own religious state. Next was ob- served a spirit of mourning over the desolations of Zion ; and then, a burdened desire for the salvation of souls. These inward convictions soon showed themselves in out- ward manifestations ; — as God worked in, they worked out. And being co-workers together with God, the last few years of the eighteenth century, were years of great prosperity. 172 SECOND DECADE. The reorganization of the New Durham church was a step of questionable propriety, but God certainly overrul- ed it for good, as he might have done their faithful efforts for its renovation under the original organization. That very precious and long-continued revival in New Hamp- shire, also those extensive ones in Maine, particularly Bristol, confirmed the fathers in the free doctrines they proclaimed, as being not only the true doctrines of specu- lative theology, but of practical salvation. They were unwavering in the faith themselves, and commended their religion to others with a confidence that insures success. An itinerant ministry and working laity, gathered in from abroad, without losing at home. The borders of Zion were extended along the coast of Maine, and hard upon the track of pioneer settlers in the interior did the men of God follow with the free doc- trines of the cross. And when the tabernacle of the Lord was pitched in the Sandy river valley, its lengthening cords and strengthening stakes, soon secured for it a per- manency in that locality. In New Hampshire, Zion's King was enlisting followers by the hundred, and the ex- tent and progress of his conquests were, at times, unpre- cedented. Crossing the Connecticut river, permanent in- terests were established in both central and northern Vermont. During these ten years, thirty-three churches are knoAvn to have been organized, besides a large number of branch- es established, that soon became distinct churches. Eigh- teen ministers were ordained, besides the accession of Richard Martin and Edward Lock. Nathan Merrill ceased to cooperate longer with the people of his early choice. The Quarterly Meeting, that had been in successful operation for nine years, and that embraced all the church- es, changed its name in 1792, and, gradually, its sphere of action. It became a Yearly Meeting, but six local Quarterly Meetings supplied its place within as many DENOMINATIONAL NAME. 173 years ; and the number of churches, names of ministers, and the number unordained in each, at the commence- ment of the present century, is believed to have been as follows : New Durham Quarterly Meeting contained fifteen church- es ; and its fourteen ministers were, John Blaisdell, Joseph Boody, Joseph Boody, Jr., Aaron Buzzell, James Jack- son, David Knowlton, Daniel Lord, Gershom Lord, Rich- ard Martin, Micajah Otis, Simon Pottle, Benjamin Ran- dall, Isaac Townsend, and Winthrop Young, besides at least ten unordained preachers. Edgeconib Quarterly Meeting had eleven churches ; and its three ministers were John M. Bailey, Daniel Hibbard, and John Whitney, and two unordained. Farmington Quarterly Meeting had eight churches ; and its two ministers were Edward Lock and Francis Tufts, and there were three not ordained. Gorham Quarterly Meeting had six churches ; and its four ministers were Joseph Hutchinson, Zachariah Leach, James McCorson, and Ephraim Stinchfield, and three un- ordained. Parsonsfield Quarterly Meeting had seven churches ; and its three ministers were John Buzzell, Pelatiah Tingley, and Samuel Weeks, and two unordained. Unity Quarterly Meeting had four churches ; and its two ministers were Daniel Batchelder and Jeremiah Bal- lard, and there were two or three unordained. Hence, as near as can now be ascertained, there were then one Yearly Meeting, six Quarterly Meetings, fifty- one churches, twenty-eight ordained ministers, and twenty- two unordained. The estimated number of members was about two thousand. Denominational Name, Thus far in the history has no distinctive name been given to this people, because they had assumed none for themselves. All the first ministers had been members of the Baptist denomination, and they still claimed to be. They wanted no distinctive name, 15* 174 SECOND DECADE. hence, their records, for several years, speak of them sim- ply as Baptist ministers and Baptist churches. And when the Quarterly Meeting was organized in 1783, the first sentence of the records says, " The Baptist Quarterly Meeting convened," &c. They did, however, often speak of themselves as " The Church of Christ;" and Buzzell's Religious Magazine, published in 1811, claims this as the appropriate name of the denomination. In the preface, he says, " The first church was gathered at New Durham, N. H., in the year 1780, and was called The Church of Christ. Every church ought to be governed by the New Testament rule, and call itself by no other name than the Church of Christ. I am very certain that this has been the true meaning and intention of this people from the beginning." The author had the best of opportunities for knowing what he here afiirms, and this statement is confirmed by various rec- ords. No other term of designation than the Church of Christ, is used in the old records of the Bethany [now Genesee] Quarterly Meeting for eight years, or down to 1821. And yet a careful examination of the subject leaves it somewhat doubtful whether the phrase, " Church of Christ," was used as a general appellative, or a denom- inational name. But it is equally certain that they claim- ed to be Baptists, and that theirs was the Church of Christ. As the church at New Durham was the oldest, was large and influential, and as Randall, whose judicious counsel was everywhere sought, resided there, and was pastor of that church, the term " New Durham Church," or " New Durham Connection," was sometimes given to the denomination. In fact, some of the other churches, when organized, wished to enjoy the counsels of Randall and his church, and were then recognized as branches of the New Durham church. This was the case with the Tam- worth and Second Strafford churches, and of some in Maine. The language of Buzzell implies this, when he says, in connection with the above quotation : " All the DENOMINATIONAL NAME. 175 churches which have since been gathered have been con- sidered in connection with the Church of Christ at New Durham." A letter from Vermont to the Yearly Meeting in 1801 was received, with the following address : " To the Church of Christ, New Durham connection." As they everywhere declared that God had made a general provision for the salvation of men, they Avere op- probriously called " General Provisioners." And as they declared that the will of man Avas/ree, they were, more generally, and derisively, called " Freewillers." Other names, such as " Randallites," " New Lights," " Open Communionists," &c., were given them by their enemies, Avhile they gave themselves no name, save that of Baptist, Antipedo Baptists, or Church of Christ ; but neither of these titles was allowed them. Having no name that the public would recognize, save those given in reproach, they often speak of themselves, in their early records, under the general term of " Communi- ty," as, " the people," " the churches," " the ministry of this community." The certificates given by the ordaining council to Otis, Boody, Pottle and Jackson, in 1799, speak of no less than five of the above names, and begin as follows : " This certifieth that , of '■ — , being a regular member of the Church of Christ, commonly known by the name of the New Durham church ; also a member of the community in general, commonly termed General Provisioners, or Freewill Baptists, was ordained," &c. Here, for the first time, in all the old records or histori- cal papers, do we find the term FreeAvill Baptist, and till now has the name been purposely omitted in this history, save in the Introductory Chapter. Let it be remembered that Randall and his associates refused to acknowledge the name Freewill Ba'ptist for twenty years after the separa- tion, and when they first placed it upon their records, in preserving a copy of the above certificates, it was certainly 176 SECOND DECADE. not received with favor. Many of the fathers lived aud died objecting to the name, but a majority finally acqui- esced in its use. As the denomination has too often been content to occupy the retired place assigned it by others, so the name finally assumed, was by no means the one of their choice, but the one their opposers had fastened upon them. The term Freewill Baptist continued to be used only occasionally till five years after, when the denomination was acknowledged by the New Hampshire Legislature with said title. Since then it has been more generally re- ceived ; though there have always been those who prefer- red the original name, " Church of Christ," or, if that is inadmissible, many would prefer " Free Baptist," as a more expressive and appropriate name, since we believe, not only in free "will, but free salvation and free commun- ion. In view of the name assumed, Buzzell has preserved this saying of Randall : " The devil always overshoots the mark when he attempts to reproach the people of God. The disciples were contemptuously called ' Christians ' at Antioch, but that has become a name of the highest na- tional respect. So the name ' Freewill ' may, in process of time, become a title of high respect in the Christian world." A Special Call to the ministry has ever been the faith of Freewill Baptists. The idea of such a call gtands close- ly connected mth that of a special providence, and grows out of the free and intimate communion of the Holy Spirit with living Christians. Since the blessings of salvation are provided by God, it is for him to publish the glad tidings by Avhom he will. No man is at liberty to enter the ministry from mere choice, or any other motive than that of a Divine call. It has been well said,^ " that an essential call to the ministry consists in a state of mind, or disposition towards it, which may be denominated » Freemll Baptist Quarterly, Vol. VI., p. 384. CALL TO THE MINISTRY. 177 ' desire,' induced by the Holy Spirit, and confirmed by Divine Providence." And, as Butler's Theology says, " The will of God is to be sought on the subject ; and it is to be learned in a rational way." In deciding the ques- tion of a call to the ministry, one is not to be influenced by his own mere feelings ; for there may be a natural in- clination to the work, or there may be at first a strong aversion to it. But he must feel an abiding conviction of God's pleasure in that direction ; and under this convic- tion, the true Christian minister will find, not only great peace of mind, but that his sweetest pleasure wiU be in the work to which he is conscious God has called him. And, having a Divinely begotten relish for it, he wiU be the more successful. Nor is it enough for the person himself to feel conscious of his call, but the church also is supposed to understand the mind of the Spirit, and aid the inquirer in searching for duty. Any man has reason to distrust his impressions, if the church gains no evidence of his call. The fathers placed great reliance on this part of the evidence of one's call. Hence the " trial " sermon, so generally required, that all might satisfy themselves. And the examination of David Knowlton, previously given, is but a sample of the examinations generally in ascertaining the opinion of the church. And however earnest and persistent was any one in claiming to be Divinely called, and, conse- quently, asking for countenance, his pretensions were utterly disregarded when unsustained by the church. An instance to the point was the case of Bradbury Green, a member of the same church with Knowlton. He would hold meetings under his own appointment so long as any would attend, and then he would obtrude himself as a preacher, upon the appointment of others, or the social meetings of the church. He was not only rebuked by the Quarterly Meeting, but the Yearly Meeting wrote him, saying : " We are much grieved with thee, on account of thy going about and appointing meetings as thou dost, for 178 SECOND DECADE. we do not believe it is for the glory of God." And yet he must and would preach. It was then voted unanimously that he " never was called to be a public preacher of the gospel ;" but this did not silence him. After being an- noyed with his preaching efforts for ten or a dozen years, though generally considered as a Christian man in other respects, the Quarterly Meeting, at the close of this de- cade, admonished the people not to " receive him as a pub- lic speaker, or allow him to have a meeting in their houses." Such responsibilities were unhesitatingly as- sumed when the cause of Christ required it. Submissive as the early Freewill Baptists were to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, their great prudence in de- ciding upon the call of others to the ministry, must for- ever exonerate them from the charge of credulity, in re- ceiving as valid testimony the mere impressions of the candidate, or of his particular friends. The facts of their frequent postponement, and ultimate refusal of applica- tions for ordination, when the harvest was so great and the laborers so few, and that only four were ordained dur- ing the first twelve years, shows conclusively that they heeded the injunction, " Lay hands suddenly on no man." Education did not receive much attention from any dis- senting sect, as a preparatory means of usefulness. Hav- ing seen human learning exalted, even to the neglect of piety, in some instances, the fathers reversed the order, and made piety an absolutely essential qualification for the ministry, while no prescribed literary attainments were required. There is no evidence of opposition to education on the one hand, or of its glorification on the other. The truth is, that beyond the ordinary means furnished by common schools, and general reading afterwards, educa- tion was simply neglected. The all-prevailing desire was to have the heart right in the sight of God, to have a knowledge of the Bible and experimental religion, and an endowment from on high. Having these qualifications, and, of course, good common seijse, and a readiijess to COUNSEL TO THE MINISTRY. 179 communicate, the amount of one's education was hardly- taken into the account of his qualifications for the minis- try. Under these circumstances, opposers of religion have traduced some of those useful men, and repeated the jeers of Celsus, the first writer against Christianity, " that wool- workers, cobblers, leather dressers, the most illiterate and vulgar of mankind, were zealous preachers of the gos- pel." The Counsel asked by a minister when contemplating a removal from one field of labor to another, is an interest- ing feature of those early times. In 1797, the Edgecomb Quarterly Meeting not only invited John Buzzell to settle within its limits, but laid the request before the Yearly Meeting. Buzzell himself referred the subject to the New Durham Quarterly Meeting, of which he was then a mem- ber, and that body, in turn, referred it to the churches. Action was taken thereon in the Monthly Meetings, and most of them left it with him to decide as he might see his duty most clear. He declined the invitation. The next year he was invited to remove to the Farmington Quar- terly Meeting, as his labors were more needful there, than in New Hampshire. The advice of the Yearly Meeting was again asked, and the question was again left optional with him ; and this invitation was also declined ; but the one from Parsonsfield, about the same time, was accepted. The Edgecomb Quarterly Meeting next applied to Ephraim Stinchfield, of the Gorham Quarterly Meeting, but obligations to his aged parents would not permit the removal of his family from New Gloucester. He could, however, appropriate a part of his labors abroad, and the Yearly Meeting " Voted that brother Ephraim Stinchfield be a member of the Edgecomb Quarterly Meeting, accord- ing to their request." Rev. Aaron Buzzell had been to Strafibrd, Vt., where his labors were very acceptable to the people, and, in 1799, he was invited to settle there. He asked advice, and the Yearly Meeting " Voted that Eld. Aaron Buzzell have hi* 180 SECOND DECADE. liberty to answer Strafford request, respecting his re- moval to that place." From the many instances of this kind on record, there seems to have been a general desire, though not universal, to take counsel in answering a call for settlement. This asking advice of the Quarterly and Yearly Meet- ings, and the manner in which it was given, not only show a desire to be in the path of duty, where the most good would be accomplished, but they seem to imply a kind of supervision in those bodies over the labors of the ministry; For years the records of the churches were read in the Quarterly Meeting, and it being thus acquainted with their condition in detail four times a year, counsel was given, committees sent, or ministerial labor provided, as circum- stances requ^ired. A careful survey of the field was taken at every Quarterly Meeting, not only to supply the desti- tute and aid the feeble churches, but to occupy promising outposts, where there was a hope of establishing churches. In this light, the Quarterly Meeting was practically a Home Mission organization. Rochester, Somersworth and Farmington were regularly supplied with preaching by arrangements made in the New Durham Quarterly Meeting from session to session. Other Quarterly Meet- ings did the same, sending out laborers into unoccupied fields, and gathering clmrches through their own instru- mentality. Sometimes objections were made, as in the case of Townsend of Wolf borough. He declined an ap- pointment in 1797, and said, " I do not feel free that the meeting should have power to send me any where you please, or think needful." He was asked to consider that the gospel had been provided by an infinite sacrifice, and had everyAvhere been extended only by the sacrifice of somebody. The earnest appeals of his brethren relaxed his purpose, and the record says, " he concludes to give himself up to the government of the meeting." In those days, when the amount of labor assigned at the Quarterly Meeting was tenfold greater than now, min- SUPPORT OP THE MINISTRY. 181 isters did not feel themselves at liberty to disregard the word of God, which says, " Ye younger, submit your- selves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another." It is within the recollection of many of us, that our aged brethren, when appointed to some service against their personal wishes, would rise and say,^ " Brother Moderator, I yield to the opinion of Confer- ence, not because I am pleased with the appointment, but because I am commanded to be in subjection to my breth- ren." The Support of tlie Ministry was one of the important questions in the early history of the denomination. When the fathers were called into the gospel field, no church gave them an invitation to locate, with the promise of sup- port. Indeed, there was no pecuniary inducement for a man to enter the ministry ; but, rather, the self-sacrificing prospect of doing it "at his own charges." The fields were white, the harvest was wasting, God was calling, and man was inviting ; but human compensation entered not into the arrangement of those times, though God had said, on his part, " Whatsoever is right, that shall ye re- ceive." This promise, however, was not understood to mean that the gospel laborer would receive from the peo- ple a just equivalent in temporal things ; for the Lord knew too weU man's love of money, to stand as universal security for ministerial support. The word of truth in their hearts, each minister might say, was " as a burning fire shut up in my bones," and there was no alternative but preach or die. They went forth, wherever the provi- dence or Spirit of God opened the way, asking not for re- muneration, but feeling that it was reward enough for the time, to be in the path of duty, and see sinners turning to the Lord. But, having families dependent upon the avails of their labor, they could not give themselves so fully to the work as they would, or as the cause, otherwise, seem- ed to require. 16 182 SECOND DECADE. The dijBTerence of opinion as to the real views of tte early Freewill Baptists on this question, requires a state- ment of those views, sustained by facts and illustrations. It is clear, beyond all question, that, in principle, they did not differ essentially from Freewill Baptists of this day as to the duty of sustaining the ministry. Their doctrine was that the minister should be compensated for the time and energies he actually devoted to the church. If the six days of secular time were appropriated to his o^vn in- terests, his sermons on the Sabbath, delivered without preparation, could not, in justice, claim much remunera- tion from the church. If his time was given to the cause, then should he be sustained ; and they not only believed, but distinctly taught, that it was the Lord who had or- dained that " tJiey who preach the gospel should live of the gospel." The united testimony of the aged, Avho associa- ted with Randall, is to this point — ^He always opposed a stipulated salary as " worldly order," whereas, the minis- ters of Christ should go forth trusting in God and the church. And if the church did not provide for the minis- try, whose labors it enjoyed, the curse of God would rest upon it. Says Rev. Thomas Perkins, " Randall was not opposed to the support of the ministry, but urged it as a duty ; yet it must be voluntary, and without any stipulated agree- ment." But his objection to a " stipulated agreement" did not cut off all understanding between church and pastor, as to compensation. It is on record that a complaint was brought into the Yearly Meeting against Daniel Hibbard for preaching at "Westport for money. His reply was, that the wants of his family absolutely required all the avails of his labor through the week, or an equivalent. The church and people desired his labor, in part, for their own spiritual good, and proposed to pay him in full for all the time devoted to their interests. This proposition he ac- cepted, and Randall defended and sustained him in the aiTangement he had made. SUPPORT OF THE MINISTRY. 183 In 1795, the church in Wilton, Me., " voted to raise a sum of money by an equality, for the support of the gos- pel, and chose Assessors, Treasurer and Collector." In 1799, the Farmington Quarterly Meeting " voted that if the Yearly Meeting could supply us with a teaching Elder, we would support him and his." In 1800, the New Dur- ham Quarterly Meeting raised one hundred dollars by as- sessment on the churches, and with this money a horse was hired for the use of Daniel Lord, and one was pur- chased for RandaU. Three years afterwards twenty dol- lars were appropriated to Randall's support by the Quar- terly Meeting. At the same time the New Durham church chose a committee of three to visit him " during his sickness, and provide such things and means as they may think necessary for his comfort, and report to the next Monthly Meeting." Two years after the death of Randall, the records of the church at New Durham read as foUows : " After unit- ing to ask wisdom of the Lord, took into consideration the way and manner in which Eld. Moses Cheney and family should be supported the present season. Voted that a comnaittee be chosen to provide some suitable place for him, and report to the next church meeting." At the next meeting. May 9th, the committee reported that they had engaged a tenement " for twelve months at twenty- four dollars in produce at the current price," and the re- port was accepted. It was also voted that all " the mem- bers contribute towards the support of Elder Cheney and family, as they feel free in their own minds, and deliver it to him themselves." Such votes of churches and Quarterly Meetings recog- nize the principle of ministerial support as now regarded, but they are not to be taken as an expression of general acknowledgment of the obligation, on the part of the church. Rev. Richard M. Carey, of western New York, devoted himself almost exclusively to the ministry, and says, " During my most extensive labors I received no 184 SECOND DECADE. salary, though some administered to my wants in a pri- vate way. But these presents, as they were called, for twelve years of my most active life, could not have ex- ceeded fifty dollars a year ; not that I ever preached against a minister's being paid for his labors — God him- self has settled that question, ' The laborer is worthy of his hire' — but had we waited till we could have been sus- tained, we never should have seen the church arise." It will thus be seen that facts sustain the position that the fathers were not wrong in principle, but their error was in its application. And this part of the subject has mitigat- ing circumstances that exonerate them from blame. It was their misfortune to live in an age when religious taxation and coercion were the laws of the land ; when a radical change was demanded, and a sacrifice required to efiect it. They surveyed the ground, counted the cost, and made the sacrifice. They stepped out before the world, and took their stand upon these two immutable truths — the support of the ministry is a Divine require- ment, and that support must be voluntarily given. The first position needed but little vindication, and they said almost nothing in its defence, lest their arguments would be construed in favor of coercion. Their opposition to compulsory means for supporting religion was constant and determined ; and so far did they carry their notions ■of voluntary support, that it generally amounted to almost no support at all. The people took advantage of their freedom from taxation ; and, because the support of re- ligion was to be voluntary, they regarded it as optional, forgetting that the moral obligation remained, though the legal was repealed. On this point was the deficiency of instruction, and the embarrassments in giving it, conse- quently the sacrifice of the early ministers. It was then an untried experiment to leave the support of religion to the voluntary contributions of the people ; but it was the gospel ground, and the Freewill Baptist ministry were ready to hazard their all in the trial, hav- SUPPORT OF THE MINISTRY. 185 iHg full confidence in the ultimate results. So anxious were they in securing their end — the removal of all legal and coercive means for sustaining the cause of Christ — that they voluntarily subjected themselves to great privations and self-denials. They not only refused all legal support, but generally declined all stipulated agreements, receiving only what individuals were disposed to give. And during this transition state, this action and reaction, this break- ing down of a long-established, compulsory usage, and the building up of a voluntary one, — during this time of near- ly forty years in their early history, the Freewill Baptist ministry stood as a pledge to the world, that religion would be sustained, and the spiritual wants of the people would be cared for, without the aid of civil law. They despised a legal salary, and many of them utterly refused all compensation. Such a revolution in the church could not be effected without sacrifices, and God raised up those self-denying men for this same purpose, to show Avhat could and would be done, by a church cut loose from State patron- age and dictation. The world was slow to believe that religion could be sustained, much less advanced, by re- leasing the people from their legal obligations ; and so God gave freely of his spirit to the fathers, and they laid aU upon the altar of consecration ; they cared not for fee or reward, and would be satisfied only when men were left free to sustain religion, as they were to accept it. And they were successful. The credit of this change by no means belongs to the Freewill Baptists alone, but the extent of their influence in the work has never been ap- preciated by the public ; and the trials they experienced, the privations they endured, the sufferings of ministers' families, left with limited supplies, while the husband and father was often absent, preaching without compensation — these scenes will never be painted on the canvas of time, save here and there an incident that has been snatch- ed from oblivion's grasp. 16* 186 SECOND DECADE. The question of ministerial support, as it now stands, has been reached on the part of Freewill Baptists, by three distinct and successive steps : — First. The creation of a public sentiment against taxation for support. Second. The reaction of this effort, which practically denied the obligation of support. Third. The restoration of the principle that God requires the support of his ministry. The advantages of the last step have been but recently se- cured, and reaction from this effort is also to be feared, as there are ministers to be found who wiU go or stay, just as their salary shall furnish a motive. The extreme caution of the fathers, in acting above all suspicion of monied interest in their efforts to promote re- ligion, has been seen in their going out of town for the ordination of Jeremiah BaUard, and thus forfeiting his right to the ministerial land of Unity. A similar case occurred in 1803, when David Knowlton, Jr., was ordain- ed in Barnstead, N. H. No minister had been ordained in that town, and by right of priority the ministerial land would be legally his ; but, to relieve the council from all suspicion of ordaining for money, and to place himself above all insinuations, he signed a paper before hands were laid upon him, relinquishing " all right and title he might acquire by such ordination to ministerial land in said tOAvn, granted to the first settled minister." ^ The same year the church in Bradford dared not accept from the tovra. its share of the money raised to hire preaching, lest the curse of Achan should rest upon it. The Quar- terly Meeting being consulted, advised the acceptance of the money, since the proposition came from the town, and the money could be deposited with the church stock for incidental expenses. From our stand-point it may seem that a different posi- tion from that taken by the early ministry might have been better, but we cannot fuUy understand the trying cir- cumstances of their day. It is to be regretted that for so 2 Elders' Conference, Vol. I., p. 33. ELDEKS' CONFERENCE. 187 many years — half a century with some of the churches — there was no system, and nothing reliable in their very meagre support of the ministry. But when we contem- plate a feature of their mission that has been attended with unfavorable results, and think of expressing disapproba- tion, the recollection of their trials encountered, their difficulties surmounted, and their work accomplished, there is so much to approve, we can only say, they were but men, and very good, very godly men are liable to err. The Elders' Conference was established in this decade, and became an important auxiliary in the cause of Christ. The ministry felt the need of an association for themselves more particularly, than the Quarterly or Yearly Meetings were, and it was agreed at the Yearly Meeting in West- port, Me., in 1793, to hold " a meeting of all the Elders, exhorters, and all public speakers, the day previous to the Yearly Meeting in Grorham, to endeavor to inform and regulate each other in respect to opinions, doctrines, and practice." The importance of such a meeting is more clearly seen when we remember that there was then no approved system of theology, embodying the great doc- trines of the Bible, no periodical as the organ of the de- nomination, and no well-established usage on which to rely. Ministers of different localities differed in faith and practice, in some particulars, so that, to secure uniformity among themselves, this new movement, like every other advance step taken by the fathers, was prompted by duty — a kind of necessity. The record does not say that this proposed meeting was held at Gorham in November, but the doubt is scarcely admissible that those men failed in fulfilling a recorded agreement. It is certain that there was an " Elders' Meeting " in connection with the Yearly Meeting in New Durham the next June, that " continued by adjournment from day to day, with much satisfaction :" also in Gor- ham the autumn following, but no record of these meet- ings has been preserved. After a few sessions they were 188 SECOND DECADE. discontinued, but in 1797 the meeting was unanimously reestablished. It was not regular in its sessions till 1799, when the Yearly Meeting in June agreed to hold an " Elders' Conference " at Rev. John Buzzell's in Sep- tember. This was a profitable meeting, and was perma- nently established at his house in Parsonsfield, on Friday folloAving the November session of the Yearly Meeting. Buzzell says, " This meeting was for the purpose of delib- erating on the affairs of the connection, and more especially for the examination of public gifts, and giving and receiv- ing such instruction as relates to public improvement, both in preaching the word and disciplining the churches." It was the design to make this a general meeting^ and that both ordained and unordained preachers should all attend it ; but, so tiseful did it prove, that a similar meeting was soon established in connection with each session of the Yearly Meeting and of all the Quarterly Meetings. Anticipating future dates, it may here be observed that one was established in the New Durham Quarterly Meet- ing in 1801, and its transactions were recorded and thus preserved. Here young men were instructed and trained in things pertaining to the ministry. The record says, " The New Durham Quarterly Meeting, in view of there being so many public speakers belonging thereto, most of them young and inexperienced, think it expedient that there should be an Elders' Conference." The first session convened at Gilford, August 21st, and continued two days. In answer to the question, " Who is entitled to a seat in this Conference ?" it was voted, " All teaching elders, all ruling elders, all deacons,^ and all those who are public speakers, — who appoint and take the govern- ment of a meeting ; and the most perfect order is to he oh- served." The number present was fifty-three — eight min- isters, fifteen ruling elders, ten deacons, and twenty unor- dained preachers and exhorters, three of the latter being females. They were seated in the order above named, 3 Deacons were then ordained officers in the church. ELDEKS' CONFERENCE. 189 ministers occupying the front seats, ruling elders the sec- ond range, deacons the third, and in the rear sat the unor- dained speakers. The first action of this Conference was to consider " many things which are not expedient, but very unbe- coming, such as vain words, lightness, loud laughter," &c., &c. Some were personally reproved, and confessed their improprieties ; and the record says, " We found it a most excellent and instructive school." At the next session it was agreed that this Conference should not be a public meeting, as publicity would, in a great measure, defeat its design. Eight young men were then licensed to preach ; and the possibility of a Christian's falling from grace, and being finally lost, was freely discussed. Four of the young ministers acknowledged that they had been greatly enlightened by the discussion, and all but one, Simon Pottle, in a Conference of fifty-one, were agreed in believing the doctrine. The record of one of the sessions in 1802, says, " Then there proceeded a great deal of very needful and edifying conversation with regard to doctrine, and the danger of high-mindedness, haughtiness, self-importance, the necessity of meekness, sobriety, a grave and well-ordered life and conversation ; and also that those who are preachers should endeavor to avoid all harsh and coarse expressions, odd gestures, and should let their moderation be known to all men." The influence of these meetings was highly beneficial, and they furnished quite an opportunity fo^ improvement ; occurring, as they did, four times a year, and continuing, as they did, from one to two days, including much of the intervening night. The lectures, as we may popularly call them, of those wise, some of them learned, and all of them experienced men, must have been interesting, in- structive and useful. Without this Conference, the minis- try must have been more illy prepared for and less success- ful in their work. It was indeed " a most excellent and instructive school." 150 SECOND DECADE, Woman was sometimes called to fill very important places in the Jewish church, and some of Christ's highest commendations have been tributes to her memory. She was " last at the cross, and first at the sepulchre," show- ing her strong affection for Him whose gospel was to raise her from heathen servility, and give to her, as well as to man, the privilege of being a co-worker with God. The apostles found many women to be " helpers in Christ Jesus," and in every age of the church they have render- ed essential service. This is not the place to discuss the question of woman's appropriate sphere of action, but to record the facts of her successful labors. The early history of the Freewill Baptists would be wanting in truthfulness, did it pass unnoticed those few women who labored in the cause with a spirit not akin to much of the retiring modesty of our day — ^that modesty which excuses persons from effort and responsibility in personal labor and social meetings, because they are women. It has, from the first, been proclaimed as woman's right and duty to act and speak for her Saviour ; and this she has been encouraged to do in promiscuous meetings, as well as in those of her own sex exclusively. If the church neglected to report itself to the Quarterly Meeting, or sustain its meetings, and brethren were " at ease in Zion," sisters, impressed with the obligations of their church relations, sometimes stepped forward and assumed duties that should have been performed by oth- ers. The branch, or church, at New Castle, N. H., re- ported by letter for the first time in 1787, over the signa- ture of Abigail Amazeen. The branch at Lewiston was more than once reported by Eliza Grafham, or Hannah Thorn. Mrs. Thorn, the mother of Eev. Benjamin Thorn, was a very energetic and godly woman. Such was her interest in the cause, and her desire to attend Quarterly and Yearly Meetings, that several times she performed the journey from Lewiston to Westport, a dis- tance of thirty-five miles, on foot. Taking her breakfast 8ALLT PARSONS. 191 at home, she would walk to "Westport, and attend meeting there the same evening. Mary Savage, of Woolwich, to whom allusion has already been made, is the first name on the records as a female la- borer in the gospel. She went to New Durham in 1791, and spent nearly a year there and in towns adjacent, doing what she could. The melting power of her exhortations was often irresistible, and so great was the effect with which she sometimes spoke at the Quarterly or Yearly Meeting, that a note of the fact was entered upon the book of records. Her knowledge of human nature, and her great spiritual discernment, enabled her to labor with marked success, in reconciling Christians who were at variance. It was during a general revival in Westport, about the year 1792, that Sally Parsons ^ experienced religion. Her father, when he learned the fact, was so unreconciled to the idea of his daughter's being a despised Baptist, that he at once disowned her as his child, and required her to leave the house. In obedience to this stern requirement, she immediately left, and, crossing the threshold, feU upon her knees at the door, and earnestly prayed the Lord to forgive her dear father, and bless her mother, brothers and sisters, who were aU. in tears and sobbing with grief. The mother forwarded her clothing and other articles she might need, to a neighbor's house, which the Lord had opened as her temporary home, requesting her return as often as her father's absence would allow. The daughter was gone, but the influence of her meek and faithful pray- ers could not be expelled. Under the controlling hand of a wonder-working God, other members of the family were led to Christ, till the father, instead of seeing one, finally saw all brought to Jesus' feet. After a few years, his own heart began to relent, a spirit of penitence gradually appeared, and the daughter was invited home, just before her marriage with a son of Randall, and was liberally •* She was a sister of Stephen and Jotham Parsons. 192 SECOND DECADE. provided with all necessary things for her bridal day. What an illustration is this of that Scripture which says, " Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee ; the remain- der of wrath shalt thou restrain." How much this parental severity had to do with her convictions of duty to travel and tell the simple story of Jesus' love, and the kindness of her heavenly Father, we do not know ; but suffice it to say, for several years she travelled considerably, and was very useful in the feeble churches. In 1797, a contribution was taken at the Yearly Meeting in New Durham, and a horse, saddle and bridle were purchased for her use, so long as she should see her way clear to travel and labor in the cause, by ex- liortation, prayer and personal effort. When she mar- ried Benjamin Walton Randall of New Durham, four years afterwards, the Yearly Meeting relinquished all claim to this property. A committee from the Yearly Meeting, with Randall as Chairman, visited the Farmington Quarterly Meeting in September, 1796, and found the church in Phillips divided in opinion as to " women speaking in public ex- hortation and prayer ; some having doubts whether it is right." The committee soon satisfied all present of its Scriptural propriety, and this decision was placed on the Quarterly Meeting records. There has ever been a difierence of opinion, as to the particular exceptions to the rule that men only are called to preach the gospel. A few Avomen have felt themselves called to this work in different periods of our early history, and, while some in the denomination could give them no encouragement, they desired not to stand between them and the full obedience to their honest convictions of duty. Others have thought that women were truly called of God to the work. This number has greatly diminished in later years, so that now it doubtless constitutes a small minority. Church Covenants were invariably used for the first twelve years. During this time the New Durham church CHURCH POLITY. 193 was organized and reorganized with a written covenant each time. The two churches in Strafford and the one in "Wolf borough, N. H., and the churches in Gorham, Dur- ham, Gray and New Gloucester, and Raymond, Me., were all organized before the close of 1792, and were aU known to have had written covenants. It is true that no allusion to covenants is found in some churches whose records are lost, and the knowledge of whose organization has been otherwise preserved ; but whenever an allusion is made, it is invariably in favor of their use. They were approved by Randall, and introduced by him at home and abroad. It was reserved for other men in later years to first ques- tion their utility, and oppose their continuance.^ A step in that direction was taken in 1791, when a few converts in Middleton, N. H., with John Buzzell as their preacher (neither he nor they having been baptized), " entered into a solemn, verlal agreement, to consider themselves a church of Christ." A few years after this, covenants were not so generally u.sed in the organization of church- es, and were discontinued in some which had previously used them, as was the case in New Durham. The influ.- ence of Elias Smith's loose notions of church order, is believed to have hastened their disuse, which was never universal, though for a time it was quite general. Their use was again revived, and, after the first half century, be- came nearly universal. The Polity of the church underwent but few changes in this decade. At the Yearly Meeting in 1796, it was agreed that " Elders in fellowship with the Yearly Meet- ing, when sent out to preach and baptize, may receive such as desire it [admission], they having fellowship with them ; and that such members, by virtue of their being baptized, should be considered members of our community in visible standing." 5 See this subject discussed in the Morning Star, Vol. XXI., Nos. 22 —30, by Rev. A. K. Moulton. 17 194 SECOND DECADE. Near the close of this decade, the demand for the ad- rainistration of the ordinances was greater than the minis- try could readily meet, and both deacons and ruling elders who had been ordained, were encouraged to baptize ; and some of them did so in the absence of a minister. The Dismission of members to other denominations was at first declined, under the following circumstances : Sam- uel York, of Durham, Me., requested of the Quarterly Meeting in 1791, a letter of dismission and commendation to the Calvinistic Baptist church with which he could be better convened, and with whose doctrinal views he more fully agreed. The answer, signed by Randall and Tingley as officers of the Quarterly Meeting, was this : '"'■ Dear Friend : — "We have had thy case under consid- eration, and have no desire to imprison thee, nor can we cause any one to believe the truth without sufficient evidence. As to thy moral conduct, we have nothing to charge thee with ; but to give thee a dismission to a peo- ple who hold doctrines that we believe to be contrary to the Scriptures of truth, would be acting inconsistently j and we are bound in love to pray thee to be very cautious and act as thou canst answer in the great day of ac- counts. K thou goest off from us, remember that thou must answer for thyself, and not we. Farewell." The same view of the subject was taken the next year, on the request of Kenelm Winslow, even after he had removed the trials occasioned by making his request in an unkind spirit. In 1795 the Gray and New Gloucester church gave members letters of dismission and commenda- tion to " a predestinarian church," and the Yearly Meet- ing thought such a course was " inconsistent." A more liberal policy was now advocated by some, the question was considered in the light of Christian liberty, and a change soon came over the denomination in this respect. In 1797 the Farmington Quarterly Meeting asked, " If a SUPPORT OF THE POOR. 195 member leave our community and join with another denomination, is that a transgression sufficient for which to cut him off?" The answer of the Yearly Meeting was, *' If the member's moral conduct is good, we ought to give liberty of conscience." This answer was not satis- factory to the Quarterly Meeting, and the next year it asked for the Scripture proof. Stinchfield was instructed to write the Quarterly Meeting in defence of this " liberty of conscience," and the Yearly Meeting was unanimous in its approval of the letter, save the delegates from Farming- ton. A trial ensued in the Quarterly Meeting, principally through the influence of Edward Lock, whose narrow views led him to oppose the denomination on the questions of free communion, and the dismission of members. A majority of the Quarterly Meeting was right on the com- munion question, but in sympathy with Lock on the dis- mission of members to other denominations. Committees were sent to their assistance, who enlightened many, and when the question came up in Quarterly Meeting to con- cur with the Yearly Meeting, the discussion was " long and tedious." The yeas and nays being taken, the affirm- ative, headed by Rev. Francis Tufts, numbered fifteen, and the negative, headed by Rev. Edward Lock, numbered only seven. This was probably the final agitation of the question. " The Poor have the gospel preached to them " under the Christian dispensation, and as -to the supply of their temporal wants, Christ says, " Whensoever ye will, ye may do them good." Contributions were raised for the " poor saints " by the apostles, and the early Freewill Baptists often did the same. The New Durham church made permanent arrangements for the support of an aged and infirm sister, by paying " half a dollar a week for her board." The church in Pittsfield supported one of its members for years, by a few individuals boarding him in turn. In 1812, " it appeared to be the minds of the brethren in general," says the church record, " after con-. 196 SECOND DECADE. sidering the great and good alteration there is in the laws of the land, and the good provision there is made for all the poor of the town, who are weU used, that we need not take it upon us to make a separate provision for them. We conclude to inform the town of the alteration in our minds, and let it help support brother Bickford, if it does not too much hurt the feelings of old brother Knowlton." The mind of that good old man was not altered, but he left it with his brethren to do as they should think best, saying, when consulted, " it will be no trial to me." Obadiah "Worth was " a very poor, distressed and helpless cripple," entirely dependent upon the charities of his brethren. He had found a temporary home beneath the hospitable roof of Dea. Head, of Tamworth, N. H. ; but he had been, not only warned out of town, but offi- cially removed, lest he might become a public charge. In his orphanage and poverty he had returned, and was liable to a second expulsion and the infliction of twenty lashes, which punishment was threatened. Under these circumstances the Quarterly Meeting interceded for him in 1802, and addressed a letter to David Oilman, Esq., whose authority would execute the sentence, if compas- sion for the innocent man did not interpose. Thirty dol- lars of the Quarterly Meeting stock were appropriated for the payment of his board, but, objections being made, the vote was reconsidered, and a contribution of $21,33 was then taken, $7,00 at the next Quarterly Meeting, $13,34 were taken at the Yearly Meeting, and thus was he sus- tained for several years. One of the town paupers in Farmington, Me., was a member of the church, and the question of his support being agitated, was brought into the Yearly Meeting in 1806, where the decision was unanimous, save the two delegates from Farmington, that " he ought to be taken from the town and maintained by the church." The church stock often consisted of not only money, but provisions and clothing for the poor. REGULATING COMMITTEE. 197 The Regulating Committee performed an important work during tlie latter part of this decade. At every session of the Yearly Meeting, and at most of the Quarterly Meet- ings, committees "were sent out to heal divisions and cor- rect improprieties. In 1796 the Yearly Meeting at New Durham took the state of religion into consideration, and especially " the necessity of setting the gifts in order." The subject occupied the attention of Conference a part of two days, and, " after profitable conversation, with strong cries and supplication to the God of all grace for wisdom to direct in efibrts for the advancement of his cause, and the salvation of precious souls, it was unanimously agreed that there be a committee appointed, having the approba- tion of the Yearly Meeting, to examine the state of the several branches in the connection, and to set the various gifts in their appropriate places." The committee, as first constituted, were Revs. John Buzzell, of Middleton, N. H,, and Zachariah Leach, of Raymond, Me., and ruling elders John Shepherd, of Gilmanton, N. H., and Samuel Hinckley, of Georgetown, Me.^ In September the committee was increased to eight in number, by the addition of Revs. Edward Lock and Joseph Hutchinson, and ruling elder John F, Woods, and Daniel Dunton, all of Maine. The following is a copy of their certificate : " This certifies, whom it may concern, that Elders John Buzzell, Zachariah Leach, Edward Lock, Joseph Hutchinson, John Shepherd, Samuel Hinkley, John F. Woods, and brother Daniel Dunton, are, by this meeting appointed, and have the approbation of the same, to ex- amine and set in order the difierent gifts throughout our community. Any two of them, with the addition of such counsel as they may think needful, may constitute a ® It is a fact worthy of notice, that almost all committees raised in Quarterly and Yearly Meetings Avere composed about equally of minis- ters and laymen. Even deacons or ruling elders were usually members of an Ordaining Council. 17* 198 SECOND DECADE. quorum to do any business with any branch of our con- nection they may be called upon from time to time to transact : And shall make a report of their proceedings to this meeting. Benjamin Randall, Moderator. John Buzzell, Clerk. " Edgecomb, September 7th, 1796." This was an important committee, and it was clothed with almost unlimited power ; but they seem to have never abused their trust. They entered at once upon their work, and other ministers were usually called to their aid ; the reports show that Randall was often associ- ated with them. They sought out young men, who were trembling in view of their call to the ministry, and en- couraged them forward. In churches that were destitute of pastoral labor, they ordained ruling elders, and " from that time the churches began to be more regular in all their proceedings, and the cause began to j&ourish in all parts of the connection." '^ The committee continued their services for about three years, and, having accom- plished the main work assigned them, were discharged in 1799. Thus early did the Yearly Meeting resign its supervision over the churches, lest this wise arrangement for good might result in evil. Lawsuits. It is a sad alternative that compels any man to appeal to the civil tribunal for the possession or security of his rights, but when " brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers," it shows a deplorable want of Christian spirit and principle. The early fathers regarded this subject in its true light, and discountenanced all resorts to legal means for securing moral rights. The people in Georgetown, Me., were taxed for the support of the ministry, and, because the committee having the money in charge, appropriated it exclusively to the Congregationalists, they were prosecut- ed. Some in the church doubted the propriety of carrying 7 Religious Magazine, Vol. I., p. 148. LAWSUITS — MILITIA. 199 on the prosecution, and the opinion of the Quarterly Meet- ing was sought. It advised the church to say before the world, " If they will venture the curse of keeping the money, we wiU resign it, and take the blessing of oppres- sion for Christ's sake." The position of the New Durham church on this question has already been stated in the account of its reorganization. At the Quarterly Meeting in Gorham in 1791, it was ascertained that two members were about to engage in a legal controversy, and the following letter was addressed to the plaintiff : " Dear Friend : — We are grieved to hear of the unhap- py difficulty subsisting between brother John "Woodman and thee. Our souls mourn, our hearts are pierced, that two of our professed brethren should be at such odds as to go to latv, or threaten so to do, and not have matters of controversy settled by the brotherhood. And since friend Woodman declares his Avillingness and desire for peace, we cannot but believe that thou, dear friend, wilt comply with the same ; in doing which thou mayst save much of the Lord's money, and keep from more deeply wounding the cause of our most lovely Friend, who has paid our ten thousand talents. O how are our hearts ready to break, in view of the stumbling blocks cast in the way of poor Christless souls. " To , New Gloucester." Like prudent men, they foresaAv the evils of litigation, and thus sought to hide their disaffected brethren from the reproach of dishonoring religion, and wasting " the Lord's money." The Militia were required to be enrolled, inspected and drilled ; and thus was the spirit of war kept alive, though no occasion for fighting was claimed to exist. Many Christian men, though loyal subjects in every other re- spect, refused to bear arms from conscientious scruples. They would neither fight, nor learn the art of fighting ; 200 SECOND DECADE. and tlie calling out of the militia — those " trainings" and " musters" of annual occurrence — were regarded by most of the Freewill Baptists as a public nuisance. The pro- priety of yielding obedience to this legal requirement came before the Quarterly and Yearly Meeting, not as a politi- cal question, but as a moral one ; and in 1791 it was " Concluded unanimously that it is not consistent for the soldiers of Christ to use carnal weapons." It was also voted to " petition the authorities" for release from mili- tary duty, and efforts to this end were repeatedly made. For many years this subject was occasionally under dis- cussion, and military operations Avere always disapproved, generally with great unanimity. It Avas even voted that " no Christian can consistently take a commission." Rules of Order are needful in deliberative assemblies, and good men, even, have found it necessary to subject themselves to the salutary influence of wholesome re- straints. In 1793 the Yearly Meeting "Voted to estab- lish it as a standing rule in this meeting, after it is opened for business or worship, that it shall be esteemed a trans- gression for any to whisper or talk ; or, if any, even the greatest stranger, come in, to salute him." At the next Yearly Meeting it was agreed to choose a committee on business, at the opening of each session, to whom aU qviestions for the action of the meeting should first be submitted. This committee were to mature and introduce the business so as to facilitate its performance, and afford more time for attendance upon the meetings of worship. This rule was afterwards adopted by several of the Quarterly Meetings. The churches were, at first, required to have their rec- ords read in every Quarterly Meeting ; and, in*1797, it was " Voted that the minutes of each Quarterly Meeting, in future, be brought to and read in each Yearly Meeting." It was thus that the Yearly Meeting sought to keep itself informed of the condition of the churches, and the action of the Quarterly Meetings, that its counsels and final A DEVOTIONAL SPIRIT. 201 decisions might be understandingly given. And, in the absence of a denominational organ, for publishing the pro- ceedings of these bodies, the action of the Quarterly Meet- ing was to be reported back to the churches by delegates, and the minutes of the Yearly Meeting, or a copy of them, were sent to the several Quarterly Meetings whenever it could be done. The Press, so far as we now know, was not made avail- able by the fathers in this decade, for the advancement of truth, save in a single instance. In 1793 they republish- ed, and extensively circulated, a sermon by Jeremiah Walker, entitled, " The Fourfold State of Calvinism Ex- amined and Shaken." The Devotional Sipirit of the fathers, is one of the first characteristics observed in studying their lives. They could not speak of Jesus but in terms of ecstasy, and their multiplication of extolling adjectives, only shows that lan- guage was too feeble to express the joys they experienced. He was all in all to them. His promises were the Alpha and Omega of their hopes ; his presence, the burden of their prayers ; and his love, as experience alone can pre- sent it, the moving power in their appeals to sinners. Their trust in Christ for salvation was implicit ; and their reliance on him for strength in the successful discharge of duty, was entire. There were heartless men among them, but as a class, their walk was close with God. And yet they were often charged with the belief that they could save themselves. Never was a charge more false and slanderous. Because they taught that man had the same power of choice in accepting or rejecting the gracious pro- visions of the gospel, as he has with reference to any other proffered gift, it was an illogical conclusion that charged them with the belief that man could save himself. No people ever taught more clearly that it was the grace of God alone that provided salvation, and without a continu- ance of that grace, man could do nothing effectually in securing it. 202 SECOND DECADE, They were reproached by the world, and built not their hopes upon its promised blessings. Their expectations were from God, They lived by faith ; and it was living. They did not profess religion, so much as they enjoyed it. They prayed, and they believed. They asked, and they received. And when the Holy Spirit came, he was re- ceived, not with fastidious restraints, but with open hearts and strong emotions. If their feelings did run free and high, and the manifestations of them were oftentimes im- pulsive, and sometimes apparently extravagant, the ardor of their love, and the zeal of their experimental knowl- edge, enabled them to reach thousands of hearts that would have been unaffected by the cool and merely intellectual communication of the same truths. Fanaticism is an evil, ever to be deplored ; but a studied formality, or a luke- warm interest, is equally destructive to the life and power of religion. Either formality or lukewarmness is more dangerous to reflective minds, because more likely to take possession of the soul. The aU-prevailing desire of the first Freewill Baptists to worship God "in spirit and in truth" — ^the only acceptable mode of worship — led them to place no very high estimate upon forms and external services. They went not, however, to the extent of some of their successors, whose rejection of all system has been most unfortunate in its influence. Randall's personal ap- pearance, his correctness in keeping all the early records, and his tenacity for prompt and wholesome discipline, show that he was emphatically a man of order. If he did not fully endorse the sentiment that " Order is Heaven's_/??-s^ law," he evidently believed that it held a very prominent place in the work of God, and should in his church. A regular order of exercises in Divine worship was usually observed, but it was not stereotyped ; and it seems to have been their purpose to conform; in all things, to the indications of the Spirit, rather than the rules of custom. Religious meetings were then less frequent than now, and worship- A DEVOTIONAL SPTRIT. 203 pers often attended with great inconvenience ; hence, they made the most of the occasion when it was enjoyed, begin- ning early and closing late, often following the sermon with exhortations, prayers, and songs of praise. And they were careful, also, to call in no help in their devotions that would strengthen the form, rather than the spirit, of their worship. Hence, the Quarterly Meeting in 1789, after duly considering the subject, agreed that " it is not right to give the lead of singing in public worship to those who are unbelievers." It is not true that " sing- ers are always sensitive," but it is a fact that great Avisdom is needed in the arrangement of choir singing, so as to render it most conducive to acceptable worship. In all the early churches of New England, singing had been strictly congregational, and the music exclusively A'-ocal. When the reading of the psalm or hymn was fin- ished, the deacon, to supply the want of books, rose up in front of the pulpit and repeated the first two lines. These were immediately sung by all who could, and by some who could not, unite in harmonious praise. Then the two following lines were read and sung, and this alternate reading and singing continued through the entire hymn. But choir singing was coming into vogue at the close of the last century, and a " Singing Society " in New Dur- ham, proposed, with an air of authority, to do the singing, at least one-half of the day, unaided by others. The cor- respondence between this society and the church covers four pages of the i-ecords, and was thus concluded on the part of the latter : " As God is a Spirit, and they who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth, it is nothing but his Spirit that makes the union in worship pleasing in his sight. If a society ever so large, and un- derstanding the rules of singing ever so well, should come together without that Spirit, it could, at best, only please the ears of men, and not the great heart-searching God. * * * We heartily wish you well, but cannot believe 204 SECOND DECADE. it will be pleasing to God that his worship should be led by any, unless they are believers in Christ." Special seasons of fasting and prayer were occasionally observed, and they, too, show the strong devotional feel- ing of the fathers. Those special fasts in view of Ran- dall's settlement at 'New Durham, the encroachments of the Shakers, and the declension in the New Durham Quarterly Meeting in 1796, and in the Yearly Meeting in 1797, were exceedingly profitable, because spiritually ob- served. And those interruptions in business meetings for seasons of devotion, show the sympathy of the heart with God. Even on their way to meeting, as they have jour- neyed on horseback alone, or in company, the spirit of prayer has so filled their hearts, that, for miles together, through unsettled tracts of country, vocal prayer has been ofiered by one and another. These travelling prayer meet- ings were not very common, but it was their usual practice to sing the praises of God, more or less of the way to and from Quarterly and Yearly Meetings. In fact, study their character, in whatever place, relations or circumstances Ave find them, the impression is ahvays received that they were a devout people. 1800.] lock's secession 205 CHAPTER X. MAINE. 1800—1810. Lock's Secession — ^Brunswick — Standish — Stinehfield's Labors — Death of Hutchinson — Stinehfield's Illness — Revivals in Edgecomb Quarter- ly Meeting — Act of Incorporation — Ordinations in 1804 — ^Yearly Meet- ing at Gorham — ^Wilderness — Ordinations in 1805 — Yearly Meeting at "Wilton — Secession in Knox — ^Revivals in Lincolnville — Georgetown — Saco — Standish — ^Woolwich — ^Raymond — Gray and New Gloucester — Churches — Ordinations — ^Death. Allusion was made %t the close of Chapter VI., to a trial in the Farmington Quarterly Meeting with Eev. Ed- ward Lock. Being left with a small minority at home as well as abroad in his illiberal views on communion and the dismission of members, he agitated those questions no longer, but, in other ways, greatly disconcerted the Quar- terly Meeting in its progressive measures. By request of aggrieved members, John Buzzell and Henry Hobbs at- tended the January session of the Quarterly Meeting at New Portland, and the still controlling influence of Lock gave them a cold reception. But they opposed his selfish schemes, defended the denomination, and attended a few meetings at Anson, where a dozen were converted, and an extensive revival followed. The Quarterly Meeting had long felt the need of the Yearly Meeting's influence within its limits, and, under present circumstances, the church in Parsonsfield consented to give up one session, so the February term in 1800 Avas held at Anson. It was a time of painful interest. Lock had matured " a plan for forming a community of Chris- 18 206 MAINE. [1800. tians, who were to hare all things common ; theii' property to be thrown into one common stock, with himself to con- trol, if not to possess, the whole." ^ Obligations to this effect had been signed by several, also articles of faith, " contrary to the order of the Yearly Meeting." A com- mittee of seven, with Rev. Joseph Plutchinson as chair- man, labored faithfully with him, but all in vain, and suspension was the only alternative. He stood in this relation for half a dozen years, disfellowshipped by the denomination, and was finally disowned. Says one^ that knew him well, " Elder Lock was possessed of more than ordinary mind and talent, and apparently zealous in the cause of truth, but never, perhaps, did he possess that dis- interested devotedness to the Redeemer necessary in a minister of the gospel. He partially succeeded in draw- ing off a few, but when his plan was more fuUy under- stood, it resulted in an entire failure, the loss of Christian confidence, and the prostration of his moral character." The Quarterly Meeting now became more harmonious, and at the September Yearly Meeting, a grateful and en- couraging report was received, and '^ a number of heart- felt confessions " were made by those who had been par- tially dra-wn into the snare, among whom Avere Rev. John Whitney, and ruling elder J. F. "Woods. Meetings had been held in Brunswick for seven years, by Randall, Tingley, Whitney and Buzzell, as they trav- elled that way, usually at the house of William Alexander. A church was now organized, and he began to enlarge his house for the better accommodation of the meetings. This suggested the idea of a meeting house ; and a small one was erected the next year, at an expense of $300. John Buzzell attended a series of meetings in Standish the December previous ; thirty-three sermons were preach- ed, and about forty converted. At his next visit there, for baptism, a deacon of the Congregational church said to him, " My minister thinks hard of you for coming 1 History of Farmington. ^ Judge Parker. 1801.] CHURCH IN STANDISH. 207 into his parish to preach." " I know of no reason why he should," said Buzzell, " for I wish him well, and every other man." " I do not know how your commis- sion and ordination run," said the deacon. " They run parallel with sin," was the reply ; " and my commis- sion you may read in Mark 16 : 15, ' Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.' " A church was soon organized there by Stinchfield ; and the branch in Lewiston was also organized as a church about this time. The reports at the November Yearly Meeting were all encouraging ; every Quarterly Meeting was enjoying a revival spirit, and in Gorham and Farmington the good work had already commenced. The difficulties at West- port had been amicably adjusted, and, at the Quarterly Meeting in Bristol, Hibbard made " a very solemn con- fession of his backslidings in the work of the ministry, and fainting in times of adversity." This relieved his brethren from a grievous burden, and inspired all with new life and interest. The church in Bristol had recently received considerable additions, and Christians of other denominations united heartily in the worship. During this year Stinchfield travelled several times to Kennebec and Sandy rivers, and preached in several places between the Kennebec and Penobscot, " where many sinners were alai'med, and turned to the Lord." In Limington he was invited home from an evening meeting by a man under conviction, whose wife and daughter were in the same state of mind. Soon after entering the house, he felt an unusual spirit of prayer, and proposed that all should call upon the name of the Lord. They did so, and, before rising from their knees, aU were rejoicing in Christ as their Saviour. He says, " In the course of this year I rode between two and three thousand miles, preached about two hundred times, and baptized thirty- four, besides taking care of my family." Early in 1801, the Gorham and Parsonsfield Quarterly 208 MAINE. [1801. Meetings united, and continued so till 1822, wlien they again separated. The proceedings were recorded in the Parsonsfield book of records, which is now lost, and with it are gone many of the facts concerning the cause in western Maine. The Edgecomb Quarterly Meeting com- menced the year with a good religious interest in many places, especially Camden and Thomaston ; and a commit- tee was chosen to visit all the churches, and awaken them to duty, if possible. Francis Tufts and Moses Dudley reported to the Far- mington Quarterly Meeting that they had made a tour to the Penobscot valley, and found its inhabitants " a har- dened people ;" but, returning through Cornville, " they found some loving brethren, and a glorious work of God in progress." They baptized nine, and organized a church, one of its members being John Trefethren, the confidential friend and fellow laborer of Randall in establishing and sustaining those prayer meetings in New Castle, N. H., twenty-five years before. The church in Belgrade had been in a low, distracted state, and a portion of the members noAv resolved to come up to the help of the Lord. A revival followed, and an addition of eleven members. In connection with his attendance at the Yearly Meet- ing, Eandall spent most of the month of February in the Parsonsfield Quarterly Meeting, and during March he was in the Edgecomb Quarterly Meeting visiting, preaching, and otherwise aiding the cause by his unfaltering zeal and judicious counsel. An event transpired early in this season, that carried sadness to many hearts. It touched the sympathies of the denomination in a way they had never been reach- ed before. Nearly twenty-two years had now passed since Randall stood up alone before a public meeting in Gilmanton, and so nobly answered, "why he did not preach the doctrine of election as Calvin held it." From that day he went forth to do battle for the Lord in defence of the free principles and full provisions of the gospel. 1801.] DEATH OF HUTCHINSON. 209 And never again did he stand alone. Other men, strong and spiritual, rallied around him: Churches had been organized, tiU more than sixty beacon lights were no-w shining in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. More than fifty watchmen, a majority of them ordained men, had ascended the walls of Zion, obedient to their Master's call. A very few had gone down, but to no one had G-od thus far said, " Come up hither." That summons was first made to Eev. Joseph Hutchinson, of Hebron. For thirteen years he had been in public service, and, says Stinchfleld, " A more pious', honest, faithful feUow-labor- er I never knew." The following incident will illustrate his great conscientiousness. Having spent an evening with his wife at a neighbor's house, they returned with- out praying. Reflection brought reproof, and he imme- diately went back, a cold winter's night, and commended the family to God. His peace was then undisturbed ; and he could not aiFord to lose such a blessing by the neglect of a duty so easily performed. At the commencement of the year, he was visiting through the church in company with a brother, and seem- ed impressed with the necessity of diligence. He would call upon a family, speak a few words with them about the welfare of their souls, kneel down and pray, and has- ten to the next house. The church was revived, sinners were awakened, he was taken sick, and, in the midst of this interest, on the 24th of February, was summoned away by death. He was in the full vigor of manhood, being forty years of age ; but " the Lord seethnot as man seeth," and " shall not the Judge of all the earth do right ?" The funeral was attended by Stinchfield, and a large num- ber of mourning friends. Two of his sons, Joseph and Samuel, and one of his nephews, Daniel Hutchinson, had experienced religion more than a year before, and all of them soon entered the ministry. The February session of the Yearly Meeting convened in Mount Vernon in 1802. The weather was inclement, 18* 210 MAINE. [1802. the travelling bad, and the attendance small ; Edgecomb and Farmington being the only Quarterly Meetings report- ed. Stinchfield tarried there and at Belgrade for a few days, and then journeyed eastward, holding meetings in WaterviHe, "Winslow, Clinton, Unity, and Knox, accom- panied, not only by a brother in the ministry, but the Divine blessing. This was a wilderness country, roads were bad, snow was deep, and many of the people lived in log houses, or camps built of evergreens. These ser- vants of Christ encouraged themselves with the hope that at LincolnviUe their trials would be ended, but in this they were disappointed ; for the church was in a divided state. As Stinchfield sat musing one evening over the compli- cated trials of earth, the words of Dr. Watts came imcall- ed to his mind, and he said, " Give me the wings of faith to rise "Within the veil, and see The saints above, how great their joys ! How bright their glories be !" " Once they were mourning here below," &c. Faith looked upward, the veil parted, and whom should he meet in his contemplations, but Paul, the apostle ? His sufferings for Christ at once checked the murmurings of Stinchfield, who soon bowed before the Lord in grate- ful acknowledgment of mercies received. They visited most of the churches in that section, and returned after an absence of six or seven weeks. Having preached and baptized several times in Otis- field, and being worn down with labor and anxiety, he was quite ill, one night, as he retired to rest. He coughed much, and found, in the morning, that he had bled considerably. "Weak in body, and depressed in spirit, he thought of leaving his dear family unprovided for ; and, as he thought thereon, he wept. By grace Divine, he was enabled to commit all into the hands of the wise Disposer of all events, and a spirit of heavenly resignation filled his soul. For six months he was unfit for service, 1S04.J TEAKLY MEETING AT MOUNT VERNON. 211 frequently raising blood ; but he accomplisbed a good year's labor, having preached two hundred and thiriy-four times. Randall attended the Yearly Meeting in Woolwich, September 4th, at the house of John Card, and spent the entire month in preaching to the churches, and witnessing the displays of Divine power. The church in "Westport received an addition of nineteen members. The Farmington Quarterly Meeting held its sessions regularly, but it was in a low, tried state. Not a church was added during the year, and only twenty-four members were added. Half of the churches did not report to the Quarterly Meeting, and it was voted at the August session tbat the churches should look up their gifts, and report the same, that ruling elders and deacons might be ordain- ed in every destitute church, and discipline enforced. The year 1803 was one of prosperity to many of the churches in the Edgecomb Quarterly Meeting. At "West- port " the work spread marvellously ;" and while the September Yearly Meeting was in session, Stinchfield prayed with such power at a baptismal scene, that several were convicted, and he went to Edgecomb soon after and baptized upwards of thirty. Several committees were chosen at this meeting to visit the churches, and Randall spent a month in this work. The Quarterly Meeting con- vened at Bristol in October, and most of the churches were reported. At the close of public worship the second day, " before the communion service was ended, the glory of God filled the house in such a wonderful manner," that seven or eight were converted. An Elders' Conference was then established. The Yearly Meeting was held at Mount Vernon, in Feb- ruary, 1804, under circumstances similar to those which caused so small an attendance two years before. The report from the Edgecomb Quarterly Meeting said, " The work of the Lord spreads gloriously in the Wilderness, ^ ^ This was a frontier settlement in Knox. 212 MAINE. [1804. wliicli blossoms as tlie rose ; and in Edgecomb it is mar- vellous." Sickness prevented Randall frona attending the Yearly Meeting in "Woohvicb, September 1st, but be sent an epistle which, the record says, " caused mourning at first, and then rejoicing ; also deep examination and con- firmation." " Prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him," and he was able to attend the Yearly Meeting in Parsonsfield the November following. Both of these sessions were unusually interesting ; es- pecially the one at Woolwich. Meetings were also held at Georgetown and Westport on the Sabbath, and such was the number of awakened sinners that came together on Monday, and such was the spirit of devotion in the Yearly Meeting, that business was suspended, and the forenoon was spent in " exhortation, prayer and praise." Two were baptized at noon, and Stinchfield preached in the afternoon. At this time he was the most active minister in the Edgecomb Quarterly Meeting, and usually presided over its deliberations, though he still lived at New Gloucester. He left home in January, crossed the Kennebec at Hal- lowell, followed up the river through several towns, and then turned eastward, preaching in most of the frontier • towns till he came to the Penobscot, thence doAvn that river, and along the coast to Camden, where he tarried a few days, witnessing great displays of Immanuel's power. He preached several times in Bristol, Edgecomb, New Castle, and other towns, and returned from this long journey physically exhausted, but spiritually strengthened. He soon took another journey into the Farmington Quar- terly Meeting, and saw the beginning of extensive revivals in Anson and "Wilton. As the Legislature of New Hampshire now recognized the Freewill Baptists of that State as a Christian denomi- nation, a general and enthusiastic effort was made to secure a similar recognition in Maine, and thus relieve themselves from taxation to the Congregationalists. At I 1804.] ORDINATIONS. 213 the November Yearly Meeting, it was " Voted that it is the mind of this meeting to petition the General Court of Massachusetts,* that all the Freewill, Antipedo Baptists in said State maybe incorporated into a society by the above name." Tingley, Buzzell, Stinchfield, Hobbs and Tufts, and laymen Amos Rich and Eliphalet Haskell, were chosen a committee to draft a petition, appoint agents, and otherwise prosecute the business. Ephraim Stinch- field and Francis Tufts were appointed agents, and soon left for Boston. Their petition was received, but not granted. After pressing their suit at five different ses- sions without success, the idea of obtaining one general act of incorporation was relinquished, and the several parish societies were incorporated without opposition. Having secured their end at the close of this decade, their taxation ceased, their public property was secure, and their rights of worship were more generally respected ; but they were stiU regarded as a despised people, unworthy of Christian fraternization. While employed in this agency, Stinchfield became ac- quainted with the ministers in and aroimd Boston, calling themselves Christians, and often preached in their church- es. His denominational zeal and views of church polity underwent some change by this intercourse, but their modification did not alienate him in the least from his brethren ; it only enlarged his catholic spirit. He once preached on Boston Common. Thomas McKinney, of Lincoln ville, was ordained Jan- uary 18th, the Quarterly Meeting being in session there at the time. Timothy Cunningham, of Edgecomb, was ordained as ruling elder early in the season ; he afterwards preached extensively, but received no other ordination. He lived to serve his generation in the cause of Christ thirty-two years after this, and died an octogenarian. * Maine was not an incorporated State, but a District of Massachu- setts. iJl4: MAINE. [1805. Adam Elliott, of Brunswick, was ordained August 16th, the Edgecomb Quarterly Meeting being held there at the time. After ten years of pastoral service, he was dis- charged from earthly labors. Ebenezer Scales, of "Wilton, was ordained at the Quarterly Meeting in Anson, October 21st. He was for- merly from New Hampshire, where he received license, — was a progressive man, always prompt in the march of benevolent and Christian effort, and eminently useful as a revivalist, and in planting churches. At the advanced age of nearly four score and ten, he went home to his re- ward. John Trefethren, of Cornville, was ordained at the same time and place with Scales, as ruling elder. His early associations with Randall have been already no- ticed, and from this time he was a good pastor and local preacher. The Yearly Meeting in 1805 held its three sessions in Maine, within the limits of the three Quarterly Meetings, as usual. The winter session was in Wilton, but a previ- ous snow storm had blockaded the roads, so that no one attended from beyond the limits of the Quarterly Meeting. Its September session opened at "Woolwich, with many prayers and faithful exhortations. In November it con- vened at Gorham ; the reports were good, and the meeting was memorable, not only because of the controversy with Elias Smith, to be noticed hereafter, but on account of the great religious interest. On Sabbath morning, the audi- ence, of more than a thousand in number, repaired to a beautiful pasture, there being " much grass in the place," and listened to a most eloquent discourse from Smith. The record says, " He was succeeded by a great number of very powerful exhortations, which continued until near sunset. Evening meetings of great interest were held in different parts of the town, and the next day Eandall preached in the same pasture, where the interest was far in advance of that on the preceding day, and the meeting 1805.] QUARTERLY MEETINGS ORDINATIONS. 215 continued equally late. The evening services at the meet- ing house closed at a seasonable hour, but anxious souls were still intent upon finding the Saviour, and several tar- ried for hours in prayer and conversation with them. A more interesting session of the Yearly Meeting had never been held in Maine, and quite a number there gave their hearts to the Lord. At the October Quarterly Meeting in Waterborougli, the work of revival commenced, and it soon became glo- rious ; other churches ' also shared the Divine blessing. The Farmington Quarterly Meeting this year passed through trying scenes, yet it received the "Winthrop church of thirty members, gathered by Samuel Williams. An addition of fifty members and two churches — Knox and Lincoln — was reported to the first session of the Edgecomb Quarterly Meeting. An isolated settlement called the " "Wilderness," had commenced in Knox about four years before, and a good religious interest had been constantly sustained. A revival commenced in the latter part of the season, and continued till, in a settlement of thirty families, not a person over ten years of age was to be found that had not become hopefully pious. Forty had been baptized, and the church then numbered seventy members. "When Stiuchfield visited them in January, 1806, and baptized the last eight, it was a rural paradise ; and he says, " It reminded me of the happy day when the whole earth shall be filled with the glory of God." Soon after the opening of the August session in Dur- ham, " the melting power of the Lord came down in a manner so marvellous that no business was done for sev- eral hours." On the last day Stinchfield preached in a grove to a weeping audience, after which a precious sea- son was enjoyed at the Lord's table, and the meeting closed with the baptism of six happy converts. Samuel "Williams, of Avon, was ordained at the Quarterly Meeting in that place January 20th. He was a rough, strongman, not unfrequently regardless of oth- 216 MAINE. [1807. ers' feelings. After several years of successful labor in Maine, he removed to south-western Pennsylvania, and first planted the Freewill Baptist interest in that part of the State. Samuel Applebee, of York, was ordained at the Elders' Conference in Somersworth, N. H., August 23d. He had been preaching for a time with good success, and now he desired baptism and union with the denomination. His ordination was requested, and all were agreed in its pro- priety, notwithstanding the peculiar circumstances under which it was about to occur. While the Conference con- tinued its business, Rev. Abijah Watson and others re- paired to the Avater, where baptism was administered, after which the Conference adjourned, and all walked into a beautiful field, where the ordination services were per- formed. At the February session of the Yearly Meeting in, Wil- ton, in 1806, the spontaneous desire of Christians to praise the Lord, and of sinners to seek the Saviour, was so great, that, after the sermon by Tufts Sabbath morning, there was no farther opportunity for preaching, or the commun- ion, for two days. February 2d, 1807, Eandall left home to attend the Yearly Meeting there again, and proceeded as far as Lew- iston, where he was arrested in his journey by a violent and continued snow-storm. Calmly yielding to the will of Providence, he turned homeward, visiting his friends, and often preaching on the way. A very few had preceded the storm, and the Yearly Meeting was small in numbers, but great in power. At the close of a sermon by Leach, on the Sabbath, about twenty came forward, and not only sought, but found the Saviour. He preached again the next day with equal effect, and "prayer, praise, and ex- hortation took up the time till night came on." The August session of Farmington Quarterly Meeting was held at Belgrade, in the barn of Eev. Asa Libby. Ebenezer Scales and Moses Dudley preached on the Sabbath, and \ 1807.] ORDINATIONS. 217 it Avas " a glorious meeting, a refreshing season through the whole day." The Elders' Conference was now accus- tomed to meet at sunrise, that its sessions might not inter- fere with the business or the worship of the Quarterly- Meeting. Stinchfield labored successfully in the eastern part of Maine, and at Kittery, and other places in the western part of the District, where he baptized " not far from seventy." During the year he preached four hundred and thirty-six times. Notwithstanding these revivals, this year, on the whole, was one of many trials, great labor, and comparatively little harvest. Humphrey Purrington experienced religion in Harps- well, and united with the Congregationalists in 1775. Af- ter serving in the Revolutionary war, he settled in Bow- doin, and united with the Baptist church. A part of the church were Arminians, and finally Purrington and ten others were rejected as heretics. In 1805 they united together under the name of " Christian Band," not know- ing as their peculiar views were embraced by any others. Purrington was the leader, and preached considerably, large accessions being made to their number. When he became acquainted with the Freewill Baptists, he found them to be his own people, and was ordained in Decem- ber, 1807. But brighter days began to dawn upon Zion with the opening of the next year. A report came to the January session of the Edgecomb Quarterly Meeting that fourteen members of the Knox church had withdrawn, and set up a separate meeting. This called for a committee, and the seceders were found to be well meaning persons, but led on by a man of fiery spirit, and great conceit. Stinch- field continued there nearly two months, effected a recon- ciliation, saw many converted, and twelve united with the church. Thus were the efforts of Satan to destroy, over- ruled for the glory of God. At Lincolnville, Stinchfield witnessed one of the most 19 218 MAINE. [1808. extensive revivals in which it was his good fortune to la- bor. About the time of his arrival there, a young woman under deep conviction as a sinner, retired to the woods, one night, for prayer. Her unusual absence awakened uneasiness in the family, and, search being made, the sound of her voice soon revealed the place of her retreat, and the anguish of her soul. Mercy was found ; the neighborhood was awakened, and great was the anxiety to hear the gospel. Meetings were held once, twice, and sometimes thrice a day, attended with great demonstra- tions of Divine power. The all-absorbing interest was to find or praise, the Saviour ; and, to meet the pressing wants of the occasion, a school house was engaged for a week, and notice given that it would be open from ten in the morning until ten in the evening, for religious servic- es. During that memorable week, there was not an hour, •within the specified time, when inquirers were not there, intent upon the salvation of their souls. Stinchfield says, " I preached fifteen times and baptized twenty-eight. It Was one of the happiest weeks in my life." The work ex- tended with equal power into Hope, Camden, and Thom- aston. He continued there till the last of August, when he says, " Upon a moderate calculation, there were four hundred persons hopefully converted, about one hundred and seventy of Avhom I baptized before returning home." Churches of other denominations received large accessions. At Waterville he next spent a few Aveeks, witnessed a few conversions, and baptized eight. A revival commenced at Georgetown in July, and pro- gressed with great power through the remainder of the year. At the Quarterly Meeting in October, fifty-six had been added to the church, and from that time Stinchfield was there, unwearied in his labors. When the Yearly Meeting convened at Parsonsficld, the very last of Octo- ber, his hands were full, and he wrote "a very refreshing letter" to atone for his absence. He remained till the last of December, baptiz^ed seventy-six, and thought the 18'G8.] REVIVAL IN SACO. 219 number of conversions amounted to about two hundred. The sum total of the additions reported to the October Yearly Meeting, " within a little more than two months, was two hundred and fifty-four." At the May session of the Farmington Quarterly Meet- ing, several churches reported revivals, and backsliders were there reclaimed, and sinners converted. WhUe the Elders' Conference was in session in the house of Rev. Francis Tufts, on Monday, others were engaged in wor- ship at the barn. And it was not uncommon in those days, for laymen and women to sustain interesting social meetings, and witness the conversion of sinners, while ministers were attending to their own peculiar business. The Parsonsfield Quarterly Meeting convened in the north part of Saco, the last of August, and four ministers were present — Tingley, Buzzell, Leach and Hobbs. The people came in multitudes, so that no building would ac- commodate them, and seats were prepared in a grove, where they sat down, in number about two thousand. The exercises were opened by singing, prayer and exhor- tation. The reading of the reports from the churches, especially those giving accounts of revivals, was interspersed with, and followed by, exhortations to the people. A sermon was preached in the afternoon by Henry Hobbs ; and his heavy voice, sounding off on the still, damp air, arrested the attention of a young man, " more than a mile distant." That solemn sound was accompanied by the spirit of conviction, and, calling for mercy, he soon found pardon. Such was the conversion of Rev. Henry Leach. The sermon Avas followed by many stirring exhor- tations, and a lad, twelve years of age, the eldest son of Rev. John Buzzell, rose to speak, and, being small, he was placed upon the shoulder of a large man, where his youthful exhortation was given with much effect. Before the meeting closed, many offered the publican's 220 MAINE. [1808. prayer, " God be merciful to me a sinner." The con- gregation was increased the next day, and, by the third day, almost every house in that vicinity had become a house of prayer. Young men and maidens, old men and children, were the subjects of this work. The meet- ing was protracted, the ministers attended alternately, the weather was fine, and their worship in the grove by day, and in private houses by night, was, comparatively, un- molested. For three weeks the glorious work went on, and about one hundred and fifty were converted. On one occasion Buzzell and Hobbs administered the ordinance of baptism under signal manifestations of the Divine favor. The candidates were examined in the grove, after which the people, sixteen hundred in number, repaired to the water, a mile and a half distant, with books in their hands, singing as they walked. Just as they reached the narroAV stream, a dark cloud was seen rising in the west, and soon the distant thunder was heard. In terrific grandeur the cloud rolled up, the light- ning flashed, and the thunder roared, producing, for the moment, not a little sensation. But God was pleased to favor his ordinance, and the cloud divided, so that, while the rain fell in torrents both north and south, the baptis- mal scene was deliberately progressing, unannoyed by the few scattering drops. In forty minutes the work was done ; forty-one had followed their Saviour in baptism, and the hand of fellowship had been given. The sun again smiled through the parting curtains, the gorgeous bow spanned the departing cloud, and the people dispersed, praising the Lord. The same administrators soon after baptized forty-nine others at different times, and the work still continued. Saco village was visited in mercy, and many were the meetings in the old Congregational house, where the people of all classes not only met, but found and praised the Lord. In after years that gracious work was denominated, " the grove reformation." 1809.] KEVIVALS. 221 In Standish the work commenced in this wise : A lit- tle girl from that town, having become a Christian at the grove meeting in Saco, desired baptism. By request, Zachariah Leach sent an appointment there, for preaching the word and administering the ordinance. The word preached was so searching, the experience related so im- pressive, and the scene at the water so solemn, that many- were convicted, and at once decided the great question of life, that they, too, would be Christians. From that glad hour the revival commenced, and soon Standish and G-or- ham were deluged with the floods of Divine grace. The work continued through the winter, and two hundred and fifty were converted ; some of them living in other towns. Leach and Samuel Hutchinson baptized one hundred and fifty of the number. Coming up from the baptismal wa- ters on one of those joyful occasions. Leach was impress- ed with the serious countenance of a young man, in the front ranks of the crowd, and, taking him by the hand, said, " Come, now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord." These words, and the accompanying remarks, were blessed to his awakening ; and thus was brought to the knowledge of the truth, one of our most eminent min- isters. Rev. Joseph White. In addition to these great revivals, the work was very precious in other towns. Twenty-four were added to the church in Shapleigh, forty-nine in Phillips, and we know not how many in Anson, Farmington, Newfield and Wells. In the latter place a church of nine members was embodied by Eev. Nathaniel Webster, of Tamworth, N. H., all of whom had separated from the Calvinistic Bap^- tists. In addition to these great revivals, not less than eight ministers received ordination this year, whose names are given at the close of the chapter. The revival interest in 1809 continued through the year. In Bristol, Knox and Dixmont, the work was good, but more extensive in Georgetown and Woolwich. Fifty-four united with the church in the former place, although 19* 222 MAINE. [1809. twenty left, and united with others in the formation of a Methodist class. But in "Woolwich the saving power of God was wonderfully manifested. Stinchfield commenced his labors there the last of February, and March 1st was observed as a day of fasting and prayer, for the baptism of the Spirit upon the church, and for the salvation of sin- ners. The same evening six came forward, leaving all for Christ, and the work soon spread rapidly, extending through Wiscasset, so that on the 16th of May, when he left, seventy had been baptized and had united with the churches in those two places. One of the number was a young man that had been speechless for a year, in conse- quence of severe sickness. On the day of his baptism, when raised from the water, he shouted three times intel- ligently, and was mute again for several months, but his speech was finally restored. Throughout the Edgecomb Quarterly Meeting there was a good religious interest. At the January session in Lin- colnville, nearly a thousand persons were present, and, there being no house of worship for their accommodation, meetings were held at three private houses at the same time, and the Lord's supper was administered at each place. From Standish and Gorham, where the woi*k was so powerful last year, it now appeared on the other side of Lake Sebago, and Raymond became the scene of convert- ing grace. It commenced at the Quarterly Meeting held there in May, nor did it cease till seventy were brought to the feet of Jesus, Zachariah Jordan being one of the num- ber. Many of the inhabitants in Gray and New Gloucester returned from the above-named Quarterly Meeting con- vinced of their great need of religion. At the August session in Durham, some of them resolved to hesitate no longer, and the reformation then began. Stinchfield was absent on a three months' tour in York, WeUs, Kittery and Portsmouth, where he baptized seventy in .the time, 1809.] STATISTICS. 223 and, on his return, the last of September, he found that the church was sustaining its meetings with great inter- est, unaided by ministerial help. Christians were not only awake, and sinners were not only finding the Saviour, but, by waiting upon the Lord, they renewed their strength and became spiritual giants. Seventeen were baptized the next day after his return, and, for more than a year, he gave himself almost exclusively to the work in his own town, and those immediately adjoining ; the revival con- tinuing all the while. For seventeen years had he been praying for such a day ; and now he saw, not only his neighbors, but all of his own family, save the very small- est of his children, brought to Christ. The estimated number of conversions was three hundred, and before twelve months had elapsed, Stinchfield had baptized in G-ray and New Gloucester alone, one hundred and fifty- four. It was in this revival that he " baptized the last of his one thousand who had gone forward within eleven years." Henry Hobbs and Elias Smith were efficient co- laborers in this revival, and baptized many, particularly in Poland. In Gorham, Standish and Raymond, there was more excitement, and less permanency in the work. Not only young women, but able-bodied men of peculiar tempera- ment, fell prostrate, under what they called the great power of God ; and this "swooning" was regarded by many as a virtue, and prayerfully sought. Its influence, as then cherished, was prejudicial to a thorough work of grace on the heart, and a full trust in Christ. In November, the Farmington Quarterly Meeting re- ported an addition of one hundred within the two previous months, the Farmington and Cornville churches being wonderfully blessed. Churches are known to have been organized in this period as follows : In 1800, Brunswick, Lewiston, New Portland, and Standish ; '01, Cornville, and Mount Ver- non ; '03, Prospect, Starks, Thorndyke, Vienna, and 224 MAINE. [1809. Wilderness ; '05, Bowdoin, Knox, Liucoln, and Winthrop ; '06, Avon, and Wiscasset ; '08, Wells ; '09, Charleston, Dixmont, and Freeman. The Ordinations were as follows : — In 1800, Thomas Wilbur ; '01, Henry Hobbs, Samuel Lord, Nathaniel Webster, and Edward Savage ; '02, Daniel Hutchinson ; '03, Hezekiah Sawtelle ; '04, Timothy Cunningham, Adam Elliott, Thomas McKinney, Ebenezer Scales, and John Trefethren ; '05, Samuel Applebee, Ephraim Grant, Asa Libby, Ebenezer Brown, and Samuel Williams ; '06, Samuel Hutchinson, and Samuel Wliitney ; '07, Humph- rey Goodwin, Benaiah Pratt and Humphrey Purrington ; '08, Jesse Burnham, Ezekiel Elliott, William Paine, George Parcher, John Lamb, Ephraim Stevens, Chris- topher Tracy, and Daniel Young ; '09, Moses Dudley, and Moses McFarland ; and Samuel Hutchins near the close of this decade. The Death of Joseph Hutchinson in 1801 has already been noticed, and was the only one during these ten years. 1800.] churCh in new hampton. 225 CHAPTER XI. NEW HAMPSHIRE. 1800—1810. Church at New Hampton — Quarterly Meeting there — Gilford — Mere- dith — Quarterly Meeting at Pittsfield — ^Unity Quarterly Meeting — As- sessment — Singing on the way to Quarterly Meeting — Joseph Quin- by — Fall of Ballard — ^Randall's Published Sermon — Madison — Ordina- tions — ^Randall's Illness — Fall of Pottle — Legislative Recognition — Revivals — Yearly Meeting in 1806 — ^Randall at Sutton — Osgoodites — Death of David Knowlton, Jr. — Randall's Last Labors — His Last Sickness — His Last Letter — ^His Death — Reflections — Churches Or- ganized — Ordinations — Deaths. In the summer of 1799 Daniel Elkins of Gilford preached on Meredith Hill, and in the autumn, M. Holman Rollins attended several meetings there, and a revival soon com- menced, which extended into New Hampton, where it be- came very general. Rev. Winthrop Young of Canterbury was the great instrumentality in this work, and a church of sixty-four members was organized Jan. 6, 1800. Thus commenced the FreewiU Baptist interest in New Hamp- ton ; meetings were held in every school district in town, and the gracious work continued for twenty months. In the midst of this revival the town proceeded to settle a minister in the legal manner. The records say, " New Hampton, March 20, 1800. " At a public town meeting duly notified and held this day at the meeting house in said town ;***** Voted, 73 votes, to settle Mr. Hibbard as a gospel minis- ter, and 45 against it." 226 NEW HAMPSHIlftE. [1800. The meeting adjourned to May otli, and then a "Pro- test" from the Freewill Baptist society was presented, with a desire that it might be entered upon the town rec- ords, and the following certificate, signed by forty-six citi- zens, was filed with the Selectmen. '■'■ To the Selectmen of New Hampton : " Whereas, you have lately called a town meeting, and voted to raise a certain sum of money to hii-e preach- ing in said toAAii, this is, therefore, to certify that we, the subscribers, have no fellowship Avith raising money to pay those who preach for hire, or divine for money ; and, as the constitution we live under gives liberty of con- science, we wish to continue a free people, and desire you not to tax us with any part of such sum, or sums, as may be raised for such use, as we are determined not to pay it." Such were the laws at the commencement of the pres- ent century that they were thus relieved from taxation ; but they did not stop here. A petition was also presented to the same meeting for the use of the house for Quartei'- ly Meeting, and their share of the time on the Sabbath ; also for their share of the property " given by the origin- al grantors for the support of the gospel." The use of the house for Quarterly Meeting was obtained, (but nothing more,) and the May session convened there on the 21st of the month. The reports from most of the churches were cheering, giving accounts of precious revivals and large ad- ditions ; especially in Canterbury, Second Gilmanton, Mid- dleton, Albany, Thornton, and New Hampton. In the afternoon of the second day, business was suspended for worship and communion ; and Randall says, " Truly it was a most w^onderful season. No doubt but more than two hundred communed together, and the glory of God came down." The devotional interest on the third day greatly exceed- ed that of the second, so that no business was attempted 1800.J QUARTERLY MEETING AT NEW HAMPTON. 227 till near noon. Rev. Jeremiah Ward, for several years a Calvinistic Baptist clergyman, then came hefore the Quar- terly Meeting and proposed to unite with the Freewill Bap- tists, as his views coincided with theirs^ so far as he un- derstood them. By request he commenced " a very par- ticular account of the wonderful dealings of God with his soul, which was attended with such evidences of the Spir- it'^s presence and the power of God," that for '•'-four hours" he was compelled to yield the floor to those who were filled with songs of praise, shouts of joy, cries for mercy, and confessions of guilt. When there was a little cessation, Ward completed his remarks, and all were satisfied, but no definite action was then taken on his proposition, such was their caution in the reception of ministers. Randall was clerk of the meeting, and closes the record with these remarks : " We have reason to bless God that we have had a most wonderful, soul-refreshing season, perhaps greater than ever experienced before. The work of the Lord broke out in New Hampton about eight months past, a Monthly Meeting has since been establish- ed, and the number now consists of 114 baptized mem- bers. Ninety-four of them have been baptized since January last, and twenty at this meeting ; all, or chiefly, by our dear and precious brother. Eld. Winthrop Young. All glory to God in the highest." The independent church in Gilford, of 141 members, organized by Richard Martin two years before, asked for admission to the Quarterly Meeting, and the request was granted, after a committee had visited the place, and unan- im.ously reported in its favor. This church soon held a Monthly Meeting in each of the towns of Gilford, Laco- nia, Gilmanton, Sanbornton and Andover, with a leader in each branch. At the general Monthly Meeting in Gil- manton (Province Road) , each branch was reported by its leader, and the whole number of members at one time amounted to 250.. 228 NEW HAIVIPSHIRE. [1800. The Yearly Meeting at New Durliam, June 14th, fully sustained the reputation of that body for gi-eat spirituality and power. The record of Saturday says, "Before we could finish reading the reports, the glory of God came down like a Pentecost shower, and nothing coiild be done but to adjourn the business until Monday, and attend a meeting of worship." The congregation on Sunday num- bered 2000 strong, and, though at home, Randall could not be excused from preaching. On the 5th of August, 'Rev. Simon Pottle preached in the northwest part of Meredith, and at midnight, when the meeting closed, nine had been converted. A church ^^'as soon organized, and Pottle became its pastor. The August session of the Quarterly Meeting was held at Pittsfield, and all the churches, with two or three ex- ceptions, reported a good interest, and most of them revi- vals. Nearly three hundred had been added since the May session. After " a very refreshing discourse" by Martin, and many exhortations of great power, it Avas supposed that between two and three hundred partook of the Lord's supper. At the communion season, vocal praise was offered by one and another, till approaching night reminded them that other appointments must be met. A committee previously sent to the Unity Quarterly Meet- ing reported that it was in " a very broken and irregular condition ; has great need of help, which must be very soon." Randall spent three Aveeks within its limits, and did Avhat he could to establish it on gospel principles, but the churches were either discoi^raged, or had embraced the fanatical views of Ballard. At this Quarterly Meeting it was agreed to raise 8100 by voluntary assessment on the churches, each to " make a re- turn of its valuation to the Quarterly Meeting in October, on pain of being considered transgressors." From the returns then made, the wardens assessed the churches as folloAvs : Albany, $4 ; Berwick, 3 ; Bridgewater, 4 ; Canterbury, 1801.] QUARTERLY MEETING AT NEW HAJIPTON. 229 6 ; 1 Gilmanton, 6 ; 2 Grilmanton, 6 ; Gilford, 20 ; Leba- non, Me., 3 ; Middleton, 4 ; New Castle, 2 ; New Hamp- ton, 10 ; New Durham, 10 ; Pittsfield, 11 ; Strafford, 5 ; Thornton, 3 ; and "Wolf borough, 3. Bradford and Mere- dith united after the inventory had been required, but they made a return, and shared with the rest. The New Durham Quarterly Meeting was to convene again at New Hampton May 20th. About forty Chris- tian friends, on their way through Laconia, had fallen into the company of each other, and arrived at the farm- house of Samuel Crockett just before noon. He kept " pilgrim's tavern," and would have them all stop and dine. Two hours were spent in either cooking, eating, singing, prayer, or devout conversation ; when, man and beast being refreshed, they journeyed onward to the Mer- edith church, where a meeting was held in the orchard of Dea. Pease. By the time they were ready to depart the next morning, the procession numbered one hundred strong, all on horseback, constituting an imposing and holy caval- cade. Randall led the van, and a couple of hours' ride brought them to the place of meeting. As they approach- ed, all united in a song of praise. The hills and woods resounded with the song, and the effect upon themselves and those at the house of God, who bade them welcome, was peculiarly impressive. The meeting of business soon commenced, and " the most beautiful order was observed through the whole audience," of five hundred in num- ber. As they reassembled the next day, it is said that " the glory of God so filled the house that there was no room to enter upon business for the space of two hours and upwards. The scene was indescribably glorious." At the Yearly Meeting in June, the intelligence from New Hampshire and Vermont was most cheering. An- other committee was sent to the Unity Quarterly Meeting, protesting against the " exti-avagances " there practised,, and received a promise of reform. 20 230 NEW HAMPSHIEE, [1802, Rev. Joseph Quinby^ of Sandwich, was at this Yearly Meeting, seeking an acquaintance with the Freewill Bap- tists. Mr. Jewell, who preached alternately with him, was a decided Calvinist, and several times summoned his colleague before the church for heresy ; but he was always acquitted, Dea. Thomas Colby, the father of Rev. John Colby, was his principal defender. The Association called Quinby and the church to an account, and Dea. Colby, un- willing to have his minister lose the confidence of his friends by a violent controversy, said to him, " Youjpreach and I'll fight." And such an advocate did he show him- self to be, that, being a man of exceedingly curly hair, the moderator said, " We could do well enough if it was not for that man whose hair grows into his head at both ends." The result was a withdrawal of the entire church from the Calvinistic Baptists, in 1799, save Jewell and three or four others. Quinby now requested that his church and people might be farther instructed in the faith and practice of the Yearly Meeting, and, after Randall and Martin had visited them for that purpose, they united with the Freewill Baptists. Both Randall and Stinchfield preached in Dover with good success, and the year was one of general prosperity. The additions to the New Durham Quarterly Meeting were 7 churches and 635 members. The vagaries of Ballard culminated in 1802. His in- discretions were apparent in less than two years after his ordination, and committees were sent to reprove and cau- tion him. Ballard confessed to Randall that he " supposed he had been imprudent, and had given occasion to the en- emies of the cause to cast reproach upon it," and promised to reform. But it was a promise repeatedly broken ; and, finding that a crisis was approaching, he declared his in- dependence. The copy of his letter to the Yearly Meeting covers 1 He had been preaching free doctrines there for ten years — was or- dained in 1798. 1802-] JEREMIAH BALLARD. 231 three and a half pages of the records, and the following extracts are given, not so much to show the rottenness of the faction, as the soundness of the body, " Dear Brethren : — These lines will inform you of the reasons of my withdrawal from your connection. The chief is, that, although you profess to have no other disci- pline than the Scriptures, yet the manner of your putting it in force appears to me, in many instances,, to be repug- nant thereto, "1. Eld. Randall, who is said to be the first and chief among you, denies to a travelling preacher, who spends all his time for the good of souls, the privilege of making his circumstances or wants known to his brethren. And denies the brethren the right of inquiring about the same ; asserting that the former and latter originate in covetous- ness and pride, and the rankest degree of ' hirelingism,' and every way unscriptural." [Randall, who copied this letter into the Yearly Meeting records, appended this mar- ginal note to the charge, which was endorsed by the Year- ly Meeting : " This is false, and what Eld. Randall never advanced^ first or last"~\ "2. The government is not in the right place. Eld. Randall, to show his unwillingness that ministers should lord it over God's heritage, has taught that all should speak, and all vote. By Paul's writings it appears there were men called by the Holy Ghost to rule, and the peo- ple were called by the same Holy Ghost to submit to it. " 3. I don't believe the ordinations are rightfully man- aged, in being confined to times, persons and places, so that if the persons [councilj fail, the one to be ordained must be entirely useless in that respect, and the work of God suffers. " 4, The ministers do not travel in order as Christ sent them out, two and two. "5. I do not think that Randall and the church give the liberty in worship which the Scriptures justify, or the Spirit leads to." [A marginal note in the record says — ** That is, kissing, dancing, jumping," &c.J 232 NEW HAMPSHIRE. [1802. " 6. More burdensome than either of the above, is the fact that Randall and the church declared to me when I joined, that they held to open communion with all Chris- tians, but now refuse those holding to different tenets." [A note says, " That is, to Universalists."] " Therefore I do notify you, my brethren, that I have withdrawn myself from your visible order, and wish you to give yourselves no trouble in labor about the matter, for I am irrecoverably gone." As personal efforts and repeated committees had accom- plished nothing towards a reform, he was new excluded. Ballard had almost alone gathered the churches in the Unity Quarterly Meeting, and for two or three years had stood side by side with his brethren in every good word and work, endearing himself to all. But his mind was not well balanced, and Satan, taking advantage of his weakness, had flattered his vanity and led him into gross improprieties. And now, the honor of God and the in- terests of religion were more precious than personal friend- ship, or the remembrance of former usefulness ; and they stood up like men, and said, we " have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness." A few unordained preach- ers sympathized with him for a time, but they were re- proved and restored. Most of the churches in the Unity Quarterly Meeting had either imbibed his spirit, or were discouraged ; and the Yearly Meeting annulled its organi- zation, advising the few churches that had any vitality to unite elsewhere. Ballard soon removed to Ohio, where he saw the error of his ways, and became an exemplary man. But he could not recall his pernicious influence. Many had been ready to follow him into error, that did not return with him to the truth. In darkness they lived, in sorrow they died. Others retained their standing in the church, but were so tainted in spirit that their useful- ness was almost entirely eclipsed. The Quarterly Meeting was held for the first time at 1803.] DE, DANA — EANDALL. 233 Newbury, in August, and proved a very great blessing to that feeble cburch which had separated from the Calvin- istic Baptists the year before. Cheering was the in- telligence of revivals in Lebanon, Meredith, Giknanton, Canterbury and Deerfield. The Quarterly Meeting was now in excellent order and discipline, the churches were prompt in reporting, and revivals were frequent, Josiah Magoon and Dr. Simeon Dana were ordained at New Hampton December 8th. Dana was a native of Lebanon, studied medicine, and, going to New Hampton just before the great revival in 1800, proposed to settle as a physician, saying to Magoon, " If the people should de- sire it, I will teach a district school, singing school, or dancing school." He was told that his services in the last respect would not be wanted, and, being one of the first to experience religion, for more than half a century he lived in town, a most worthy citizen, successful physician and useful minister. Early on the first day of the year 1803, EandaU sought a place of retirement, and not only reviewed the past with thanksgiving, and rededicated himself to God, but implor- ed Divine wisdom and guidance for the future. And never was such an act more appropriate, as the time of trial and church labor had commenced in New Durham. The strong current of religious interest for previous years had borne into the church some who had not carefuUy counted the cost of a Christian life, and others who had not moral principle or manly firmness sufficient to resist the influences for evil. One after another was summoned before the church, and not unfrequently several were on trial at a time. Their work as a church, was to " strength- en the things which remain, that are ready to die ;" and the records plainly show that, in the effort, true Chris- tian kindness was happily blended with firm, dignified re- proof. Hallibut Herri ck was on a journey to Maine with his family, and at Rochester was detained by the sickness and 20* - 234 NEW HAMPSHIRE. [1803. death of a small child. Randall preached the funeral sermon February 27th ; and Mr. Herrick requested a copy of the discourse for publication. It was written as nearly verbatim as possible, and immediately published ; and was republished twenty-five years afterwards, at the Morning Star office. As this is the only sermon of the thousands preached by him, that has come down to usj a full outline is here given : Text. Luke 18 : 16, " Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not ; for of such is the kingdom of God." /. The Moral State of Children. 1. Man was created free and holy. 2. By sin Adam became guilty, and his posterity de- praved, 3. Christ made an atonement for all. 4. It restores children to unconditional mercy. 5. Depravity implies no guilt, till one voluntarily yields to its tendency. 6. Hence, " little children" are heirs of God. II. Adults must he Converted^ to he of such as " is the kingdom of God." 1. All have sinned. 2. Regeneration is essential. 3. God alone can change the heart. 4. Man must yield his will to God, repent and be- lieve. 5. The change is great and glorious. III. The Christian is Childlike. 1. He is free from condemnation. 2^ Both are kept by God, being mortal, tempted, and prone to evil. 3. No guilt is incurred, but in a voluntary, sinful act. 4. Christ is an Advocate for both. IV. " Of such is the kingdom of God." 1. All little children. 1803.] BUZZELL AND WATSON. 235 2. All adults who repent, believe, and become child- like. Application. 1. This doctrine is full of consolation. 2. It is so to these afflicted parents. 3. We are greatly encouraged to seek the Lord. 4. Appeal to Sinners — to Christians. The churches generally were enjoying great prosperity, and Strafford, Canterbury and Lebanon reported a revival interest at every Quarterly Meeting during the year, so that in six months the reported additions were three hun- dred and thirty-three. In Madison the excitement was almost unparalleled, sweeping through the town with ir- resistible influence. Deep conviction had pervaded the public mind for a considerable time, and the report to the Quarterly Meeting in October says, " By the first of Au- gust it became so great that almost the entire time, day and night, was spent in religious exercises. Reports having gone out, people from various towns came to see for themselves, many of whom were struck to the heart and converted. Profane and vicious persons came to laugh and jest, but, under the mighty power of God, they fell down, lay speechless a considerable time, and then arose in praise to God. Fifty-one have been baptized by Eld. James Jackson, and added to the church, and the work has not in any great measure abated, only it is more conformed to order." Hezekiah D. Buzzell of Gilmanton, and Elijah "Watson of Andover, were ordained this season ; and devoted their services to the cause of Christ for more than half a cen- tury. Buzzell had been a gay leader among his youth- ful companions, and, becoming a Christian, he led many of . them to Christ. Watson had struggled hard in his boyhood against the depressing influences of poverty — laboring with his father by day, and reading by the light of pine knots at night, such books as could be found in 236 NEW HAMPSHIRE, [1804. the neighborhood. "When seven years of age, he earned coppers enough to buy a Testament, which was more to him than the most extensive library would have been without it. He was deeply interested in its truths, pray- ed over it in secret, and even then commenced preaching, often in tears, though his audience was only the flock in his father's yard. Mr. Tollman of Troy, father of the late Rev. Benja- min Tollman, was a Christian man, but a member of no church, because he was not a Calvinist. Hearing of a young man in Unity, whose preaching was spiritual, and whose doctrines were free, he sent for him to visit Troy, and preach the word of truth in that part of the State, The young man — Nathaniel JMarshall — compKed, and an extensive revival was enjoyed in Richmond. He was sent to the New Durham Quarterly Meeting in October, for ordination ; but " it was thought incompatible with duty and Scripture to ordain a minor, without the knowl- edge of his father." Rev. Nathaniel Webster and Timo- thy Morse were sent to Richmond, where some thirty or more were baptized, and a church was organized. The revival continued till more than seventy became members, and the next year Marshall was ordained. For a time he was an humble and successful preacher, of engaging man- ners and fluent speech. But he was not man enough to receive the people's compliments without injury, and his early promise disappointed their future hopes. Randall took cold on his return from Maine in February, 1804, and was in feeble health for several months. A hard, hoUow cough, and a hoarse, husky voice, betrayed the unsoundness of his lungs, and awakened the apprehen- sion of his friends. He was not at the August Quarterly Meeting -vvith the Lebanon church, held at Dea. Clark's, across the Connecticut, in Hartland, Vt., but he sent an epistle, which was joyfully received. It speaks of his feeble health, the expectation of his meeting with his brethren no more, and his resignation to God's wiU. He 1804.] Randall's illness. 237 reviews the peculiar doctrines of the denomination, and most emphatically expresses his confidence in their cor- rectness. He cautions his brethren lest a desire to be great, and conform to the world, should find place among them. He pleads for the cause in Portsmouth, and asks the prayers of Christians in his behalf. The reading of the letter awakened the deep sympathies of Dea. Otis, and he unburdened his mind in a few touch- ing remarks, suggesting " that the Quarterly Meeting would consider the present feeble state of father Eandall's health, and his circumstances, and draw from the Quar- terly Meeting stock some stated sum of money, to procure such things for his comfort as may be needed in his sick- ness." Twenty dollars were appropriated, and many fervent prayers were then offered for his recovery. At the Yearly Meeting in September, continued prayer was made for him, and soon he was convalescent. He was never again free from hoarseness or a troublesome cough, but for three or four years longer he led the hosts of active laborers. In addition to other expressions of kindness towards Randall, the aforesaid Quarterly Meeting chose a commit- tee to investigate reports in circulation against him. They were traced to a member of the church, who declared to the committee that " the connection did worship Randall, and got down upon his knees, and held up his hands, to show how they pray to him. He also said that if Randall should murder a man, and could conceal it, he could preach the next day." Such malicious charges could not be endured, and he was immediately rejected. The New Durham Quarterly Meeting was then the only one in the State, and it was advancing with great pros- perity ; five churches and two hundred and sixty-four members being received the present year. A proposition was made to divide it, but, after referring the question to the churches — thirty-six in number — it was decided in the negative. 238 NEW HAMPSHIRE. [1804, In the midst of this onward career, every one stood aghast when the true character of Simon Pottle was pub- licly known. His life had never been entirely " unspotted from the world," but it was his secret sins that grieved the Spirit from his heart ; and, being left of God, he could but fall, though in the midst of a large church, and sur- rounded by confiding friends. At the Elders' Conference in May, " when the solemn question, in the fear and dread of the great Jehovah, was put to him, he did not ansAver uprightly." A committee of ten ordained men went to Meredith, and the investigation showed him guilty of very great improprieties, if not of actual transgressions ; and the church was advised to arise and sustain the meet- ings, independent of him. The Quarterly Meeting did not see fit to assume the responsibility of rejecting one on whom ordaining hands had been laid, and it was referred to the Yearly Meeting in Parsonsfield, where he was unanimously excluded. Randall presided on the occasion, was deeply affected, and made the declaration in tears, but with the firmness of conscious duty. It was the pur- pose of the fathers to make such events impressive, both upon themselves and others ; hence, special prayer was always offered in connection with the rejection of a mem- ber. The Elders' Conference that first tried Pottle was com- posed of thirty persons, all filled with sorrow for the wounded cause, and shame for a disgraced brother. Ran- dall was there, pale and sick ; but suffering more in soul than in body. Wishing to profit by the painful example before them, Conference requested him to give a short ad- dress to the young ministers. He stood before them as one about to depart for the spirit land ; and his words of counsel, as they fell from quivering lips, were received, not only as paternal, but as almost apostolic. If in word and spirit he seemed severe, his well known fidelity to Christ softened every expression, and gave him access to every heart. 1805.J LEGISLATIVE ACTION. 239 When certificates of regular attendance at a Freewill Baptist meeting were presented to a parish collector, they were often disregarded, under the plea that the law did not recognize any such meetings, and rather than have a lawsuit, the minister tax was paid. Under these circum- stances a proposition was submitted to the churches to know their opinion as to the propriety of petitioning the Legislature for an act of incorporation to include all the Freewill Baptists in the State ; and it met with almost unanimous favor. The subject was committed to six ruling elders, with Randall and Tingley for advisers, and after general arrangements had been made, was left with two of them, John Shepherd and Joseph Young of Gil- manton, to attend to the business. They took legal coun- sel, and concluded to ask only for the passage of a resolu- tion acknowledging them as a religious denomination. The request was granted as follows : ^^ Besolved, That the people of this State, commonly known by the name of Freewill Antipedo Baptist Church and Society, shall be considered as a distinct religious sect or denomination, with all the privileges as such, agreeably to the Constitution." Here ended all legal opposition to those Freewill Bap- tists who notified the Selectmen of their unwillingness to be taxed for the support of the Congregationalists. The Baptists, Methodists, and Universalists soon obtained a similar recognition of themselves. Dr. Ross Coon of Haverhill, a man of considerable wealth and benevolence, had been a practising physician for nearly forty years. He had been accustomed for a iong time to preach occasionally, and becoming acquainted with the Freewill Baptists, he was at home with them, and was now ordained, though his age was more than three score and ten. All the sessions of the Quarterly Meeting in 1805 were interesting seasons. At New Hampton in Janu- 240 NEW HAMPSHIRE. [1806. ary, there was " much exhortation to reach after holi- ness, which was very quickening." Randall preached the last afternoon, and the services continued " until dark." At the opening of the August session in Som- ersworth, "praise, prayer, exhortations and acclamations of joy, were heard for several hours." The meeting was then organized ; but under a temporary covering at the door, as a screen from the sun, hundreds continued their devotions the entire day. In those days of religious in- terest, some of the most refreshing seasons were enjoyed in the summer months. At this Quarterly Meeting Som- ersworth, Alton, Sandwich, Salisbury and Richmond re- ported from twenty to forty conversions in each place. But in old Gilmanton the three churches were most won- derfully blessed. In the first church, under the labors of H. D. Buzzell, the reformation, for a time, bore down all before it. Midsummer as it was, meetings were frequent both days and evenings, and many were brought to re- joice in the Lord. In the second church the work was scarcely less powerful, and in the third [now Gilford], under the labors of Martin, one hundred and thirty had been converted. Randall closes his journal for this year, by saying, " I have travelled two thousand and ninety miles, and attended two hundred and eighty-three meetings." The Yearly Meeting in New Durham, 1806, was one of great interest. On the Sabbath public worship " began early and held all day without intermission." John Buz- zell preached in the morning, and EKas Smith in the afternoon. As the people could not be accommodated in the house, two sermons were also preached to the multi- tude about the door. John Buzzell preached the after- noon sermon, and it was one of great power, while Smith was carrying everything before him in the house, where the excitement was so great that individuals " broke in upon him frequently." The meeting was held in Randall's orchard the next day, and the attendance was very large. 1807.] QUARTEKLT MEETING. 241 " Preaching and exhorting, prayer and praise, in a num- ber of companies about the orchard," continued through the day without intermission. It was June 16th, the day of " the great eclipse." " As the dark gloom came over the face of nature," sinners were cited to that awful day when God would hide his face from unbelievers, and a darker gloom than that of a total eclipse would gather round their guilty souls. The power of God attended the word of exhortation, and " sinners fell to the ground and cried for mercy in all directions." Many found pardon, and loud were the acclamations of praise to God. To- wards night all Christians sat down together and received the Lord's supper ; after which many of them attended to the " washing of the saints' feet." Thus passed the day that Elias Smith said " was the most solemn and awful time I had ever witnessed." At the May Quarterly Meeting in Sandwich, Randall preached one of his great sermons, and the people were so awakened that they " filled up the whole time till night." The October session was held at Richmond, for the first time. Revivals were reported from New Durham, Sand- wich, Madison and Ossipee. At the last named place the revival continued gradually, and with but little interrup- tion, for five years. At the commencement of the year 1807, Randall, in feeble health, was at Sutton, in sweet counsel with his brethren of the Quarterly Meeting. He preached in the morning of the last day from John 14 : 1, " Let not your heart be troubled," &c. The record says " it was a very enlightening^ convicting and edifying discourse ; and the whole day was filled up with prayer, praise, exhortation,^ weeping and rejoicing. The glory of God filled the place. Halleluja.h. ' Praise ye the Lord.' " Such was the pow- er with which he often spoke (some say usually) , that he would lead the spiritual Christian into the very presence chamber of the great Jehovah. And he would pour the 21 242 NEW HAMPSHIRE. [1807. light of gospel truth so fully upon the sinner's mind, that he could not fail to see and feel his need of religion. At the Yearly Meeting on the Sabbath, John and Aaron Buzzell preached to a crowded house, and Stinchfield and H. D. Buzzell preached to a much larger audience on the green, in front of the house. " The whole day presented a scene of glory and power ; sinners trembled and saints rejoiced." Revivals were enjoyed in Deerfield, Strafford, Durand [now Randolph], and some other places. An opposing faction came into notice this year, called Osgoodites, from Jacob Osgood of Warner, who was their leader. He was a member of no church, but his doctrin- al views and sympathies were generally with the Freewill Baptists. A proposition for his ordination was declined, under the circumstances, and soon he and his followers re- nounced all faith in ordinations, church organizations, and gospel ordinances. They claimed to be " the saints," and it was a part of their religion to denounce all denomina- tions in general, and the Freewill Baptists in particular. In connection with much that seemed spiritual in their worship, they indulged in low and personal remarks, ob- jectionable songs, and finally in kissing and dancing. Af- ter an inglorious career of more than forty years, Osgood died, and the surviving adherents were scattered. Rev. David Knowlton, Jr., of Barnstead, discontin- ued his ministerial labors in the preceding year, and, dur- ing the winter, it was evident that consumption was doing its fearful work. At the earnest solicitations of his father and brother, both of whom were ministers, he was re- moved to his father's in Pittsfield, where Randall visited him, March 9th. He was distressed in body, but peace- ful in mind, just ready, and even longing, to depart and be with Christ. Randall was strongly attached to the Knowl- tons, and to see one of their number, a promising young man, 27 years of age, called away from the whitened har- vest ; and to see the support that religion afforded in such 1807.] ranball's last sickness. 243 a trying hour, was too much for his sympathetic nature to bear unaffected ; but all were comforted with the Chris- tian's hope. The dying man lingered but two days on these mortal shores, and Randall was again there on the 14th., preaching his funeral sermon from Num. 23 : 10, " Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his." " Six ministers bore him to the grave, another walked with ^nd supported the afflicted widow, and about one thousand persons followed in the procession." So dies the good man, beloved and deplored. In the case of Knowlton especially, did his works follow him. His joyful sickness and triumphant death showed what religion could do ; and his associates, unable to with- stand the conviction yet longer, that they too needed sus- taining grace, sought the Lord in great numbers. For thirty years Benjamin Randall was the great champion in supporting the doctrines of general atone- ment, conditional election and perseverance, free commun- ion, and the voluntary support of the ministry. With these characteristic doctrines inscribed on his banner, he had founded a denomination upon " the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone." Its inner and outer life had been developed un- der his moulding hand and fostering care, for more than a quarter of a century, till it had become one of the great and permanent denominations of northern New England. We have seen how its founder has lived, and few will be satisfied without knowing how he died. A few pages will here be appropriated to a brief review of the last fifteen months of his earthly scenes. For a few years an increasing pallor of countenance and hoarseness of voice had been observed, and his deep, hollow cough had reminded friends that his days were fast numbering. Nor was he insensible of the fact, or less assiduous in labor. As chairman of an ordaining council to Ashby, Mass., he rode a hundred miles under the burn- ing rays of a July sun, and preached three times the Sab- 244 NEW HAMPSHIRE. [1807. bath following. Soon after retiring he was attacked with hemorrhage of the lungs, and continued bleeding moder- ately through the night. The next day he was quite weak, sat up but little in the forenoon, and raised blood occa- sionally ; but, in the afternoon, according to appointment, he attended the ordination of Stephen Gribson, and, haz- ardous as it was, not only preached the sermon, but made the consecrating prayer and gave the charge. His journey home was made in pain, but enlivened by pleasant interviews with friends on the way. In London- derry he dined with Gen. Stark, of Revolutionary memo- ry, and freely explained to him the doctrinal views of the Freewill Baptists. As he was about leaving, after a long and agreeable conversation, the hero of Bennington took him by the hand, and in tears said, " God bless you ! I am an old man of eighty years, and shall stay here only a little while ; but my wife is younger than I, and will probably outlive me. I shall charge her and my son, ever to receive you, and treat you respectfully." The gener- ous old soldier was mistaken in his expectations, for he survived his honored guest a dozen years. On reaching home, Randall was greatly prostrated ; the best medical aid was called ; and another attack of exces- sive bleeding convinced him that all farther labors for the present would be suicidal. The Quarterly Meeting was approaching, and not knowing when he should meet his brethren again, he Avrote a very kind and paternal letter ,2 from which we take the following extracts : " The cause of God is mine. My soul's care and de- light are to see it prosper. I married the connection in early life, and in that sense it is my spouse ; and, when able, have spared no labor, either of body or mind, night or day, cold or hot, far or near, for the advancement of the same ; but my labors are almost over, and I am about to receive my crown. I will take the freedom to give a The entire letter is in Buzzell's Life of Randall. 1807,] kandall's last sickness. 245 word of advice, as a father to his children, though with humility and respect. First, to my dear brethren in the ministry : We are on an eminence, in a certain sense, like a city on a hill ; all eyes are on us. "We profess to be the representatives of Jesus Christ. O, let us consider what an example he set for his ambassadors to follow. What humility ! what meekness ! what holiness ! what self-denial I what separa- tion from the world ! yea, and every thing that is amiable and lovely. For thirty years I have been making obser- vations on ministers of all denominations, our own as well as others, and many, when they first come into the minis- try, feel some good degree of humility ; yet how soon do they begin to feel self-important, think themselves some- thing great, and conform to the world. For Christ's sake, my brethren, let us be little, humble, cross-bearing disci- ples. O, beware of schisms and rents ; be not of such as cause divisions ; but mark such, and turn away from them. United we stand, but divided we fall," Randall was soon convalescent, and his active yet con- secrated spirit would allow him no rest but in his Mas- ter's service. In company with Knowlton, he attended the Yearly Meeting at Westport, Me., in September, and presided for the last time. He sat with delight in the meetings of worship on the Sabbath. He remained a few days with his son-in-law, Stephen Parsons, being much of the time " exceedingly distressed for breath, and afflicted with a violent cough ;" and, yet, he preached once at Woolwich. He continued his active labor, visiting and preaching occasionally about home, and, in November, attended the Yearly Meeting in Gorham, Me. In the Elders' Confer- ence he was very happy, gave much good advice, and " made fervent supplication to God for his blessing upon the connection." It was his last interview with his breth- ren, and it was so regarded at the time, by him and them ; consequently, the more solemn and impressive, 21* 246 NEW HAMPSHIBE. [1808. He was afterwards alternately better and worse, some days confined to the house, others, out visiting and preach- ing. Feeble and sick as he was, he closes his diary for the year with this entry: "Here ends my journal for 1807 ; having travelled only 2593 miles, and having been so much unwell, I have attended only 203 public meet- ings, besides weddings and funerals." After the middle of January he was confined to the house ; and to his bed most of the time after February. His cough became still more distressing, and all hopes of recovery were relinquished. He wrote a little, sitting in bed, read much, and conversed with all his friends ; and they were many who visited him in his last sickness. It was his delight to " search the Scriptures ;" noting the promises, and reestablishing himself in the doctrines he had preached for thirty years. While his body was wast- ing away, his mind retained its usual vigor and clearness ; and, says BuzzeU, " He was remarkably exercised with a care for the prosperity of the connection. He often ex- pressed a fear that they would grow popular, and conform to the world, as other denominations had done. And that by unwatchfulness they might let in among them, and fel- lowship those who hold and preach doctrines inconsistent with the word of God." This anxiety led him to address a long letter to the Quarterly Meeting, and it here follows, with the omission of some introductory remarks, and a part of his argument against annihilation. He enters in- to full sympathy with his brethren, and greatly magnifies the grace of God, and the ministerial office. " New Durham, May 14,. 1808. " To the Baptist Quarterly Meeting to he held at Ando- ver, N. H. " My very dear Brethren and Friends : — I feel to bless God that I am permitted once more to write you as a disciple of Jesus. * * * May the God of grace and consolation manifest his presence and 1808.] RANDALL'S LAST LETTER. 247 power in your midst, and so roll the weiglit of his cause upon your souls, that you will not meet only to salute each other and rejoice together ; but that you may feel impressed to consider the state of the connection in general, and not only consider and talk about it, but to actually take some measures to rectify the irregularities, and re- move the disorders prevalent. I am now a prisoner as to my body, and have been for four months past, lacking a few days, and none know (unless by experience) what distress and affliction I have undergone ; but, blessed be the God of all grace, I have a comfortable soul. My mind has been much exercised about the cause of God in general ; I have been led into the chambers of imagery, and have, clearer than ever, seen how eagerly men will catch at a word or doctrine that they imagine is Scrip- tural, and will stream away with it, preaching to others, and proselyting, without examining the Scriptures partic- ularly on the subject. This has caused me to search the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, a number of times, and collect a large catalogue of texts for the information and confirmation of my own mind. " I am sensible that our field is sown with mingled seed — I mean, there are preachers belonging to the con- nection, who preach doctrines different one from the oth- er; and these things ought not so to be. Some are ear- nest in preaching the impossibility of falling from grace, a doctrine (without doubt to me) which has destroyed its thousands, and is so contrary to Scripture and to that maintained by this connection, as a people, that I think the man who persists in preaching it, should be noted as not belonging to us. " Again, there is that new-fangled doctrine — the final end of the wicked (or that they will finally cease to be) — preached by some, said to be of this connection, which I think should not be allowed. My dear brethren, I appeal to you, if this is not the very doctrine the carnal mind 248 NEW HAMPSHIRE, [1808. wants to be true. Were I to believe it, I should tremble lest tbat life for which I hav« been so many years hunger- ing, thirsting, panting, and crying, would have an end also. Both states have the same duration, and when one has an end, both vrill. * * * The time was, when but one doctrine — the doctrine of Jesus — was known. Our preachers were content to be humble, plain men. O when shall I see such a season again ! O when shall I see ministers travelling in spirit, with agony of soul, go- ing softly and saluting no man by the way ! " my blessed brethren, I know your work is great, you need Divine wisdom and strength — nothing less is sufficient. I know your trials are many, within and with- out ; also your fears, lest you should not do your work right. And you go to it trembling, being sensible of its greatness and your weakness. But, brethren, be not dis- couraged ; the Lord will stand by you, and give you strength equal to your day. Only trust in him, he will be all that you need in every state, glory to his blessed name. I must set my seal and say, I have been married to Jesus almost thirty-eight years, and have been in the ministry thirty-one, and have found him in every state all that I needed. And blessed, blessed be his wonder- working name, I do to the present moment. I know the grace of God can and will do all for the soul that it needs, in time and eternity. It is everything in sickness and in health. It has been wonderful to me in all my long and tedious confinement. It has made my prison a palace, and I have never had one minute's discontentment or im- patience. Neither have I thought the time long, such has been the presence of God's overpowering love. I am confirmed more and more in the doctrines the Lord gave me to preach, am strong in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ ; and am now sitting, waiting for the will of my Father, whatever it may be, in life or death. And I know that he will do right. 1808.] Randall's last letter. 249 " O ye ministers of Jesus, how happy is your lot ! How glorious is your reward, not only hereafter, but here. Never speak a complaining word. Why, bless God, there is no state attainable this side of glory, so heavenly as when a minister of Jesus is wholly given up to the government of the Spirit, and, with the approbation of God, is preaching the blessed tidings of salvation to poor, perishing sinners. Lord, what a heaven of heavens it is ! How my soul is enraptured when I call to mind the glory I have had in the ministry ! This is reward enough to wear out a thousand lives, long as the longest. Ah ! take, take the world in welcome, ye mercenary hire- lings ; ye who preach for the sake of a living, with your lean, sordid souls ; and let me have the infinite reward of preaching for the glory of God and the welfare of souls, if I beg my bread barefoot to heaven. Cheer up, cheer up, ye poor, rich — ^weak, strong — trembling, courageous ministers of Jesus — ^the blessed Jesus — and not only wear out, but rejoice in it. " I am a poor, old, worn out servant ; and here I sit and see my flesh gone, and bones project, and rejoice that I have the testimony of my conscience that I have worn out in so blessed a cause. Though I know it would be blessed to depart, yet I think I would be willing to stay on these low grounds, until I wore out life after life in such blessed employment. I think now, if I had only my lungs and voice, however weak my body, I would blow the gospel trumpet until I died in the blessed work. But the will of the Lord be done. Amen. " O sinner, rouse, rouse soon, or you will be eternally undone. This is my last call to you (perhaps), tiU I meet you at the judgment-seat, as a swift witness against you. backslider, return soon, or be damned. O un- faithful, slothful preachers, I tremble for you. O trem- ble, tremble for yourselves ; for if you die so, great will be your condemnation. O saints, arise and shine. Hold on, and hold out, and I will meet you soon in glory. 250 NEW HAMPSHIRE, [180S. Pray as the Spirit directs, for your poor, unworthy Ben- jamin, " I die, your servant, For Christ's sake, Benj'n Randall." Comments will only detract from this letter, so full of interest, and worthy of prayerful consideration. It was a solemn, weeping, and yet rejoicing time in the Quarterly Meeting, when this dying testimony, these last words of counsel and congratulation, were read. An answer was immediately voted, and Eev. William Dana was appoint- ed to draft it ; but no copy has been preserved. The New Durham Monthly Meetings, in March, April, and May, were held at Randall's house, and were re- freshing seasons, especially the last, when H. D. Buzzell was present, and the Lord's supper was administered. He was often visited by those who had profited by his in- struction, and his wants were supplied by their liberal contributions. And the interview amply repaid them for their kindness, since, " The chamber where the good man meets his fate, Is privileg'd beyond the common walk Of virtuous life, quite in the verge of heaven." A brother in the ministry once said to him, " Don't you expect that when you leave this body, you will be re- warded for all your labor here below?" "No, blessed be God !" said he, " the Lord is not in debt to me. I expect to go to heaven when I die, but I don't expect to enjoy heaven as a reward for my labors. I have had my reward all the way as I came along, and expect the joys of heaven will be gratis." Free Grace was his theme, living and dying- His wasting body was tenacious of life, and he long survived the expectations of all. But his work was done, and every arrangement for the funeral had been made un- 1808.J RANDALL'S DEATH. 251 der his own direction, even the preparation of his grave- clothes. The frosty nights of autumn had come, and every hour was liable to be his last. He said, " All I wait for is my Saviour's command ; and my soul will then leave this body." These words were his last. " The chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof" were at the door, the summons came, and he was not, for God took him. He died October 22d, 1808, aged 59. The funeral services were on the 26th., when a ser- mon was delivered by John Buzzell, from 2 Tim. 4 : 7, 8, "I have fought a good fight ; I have finished my course ; I have kept the faith ; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day ; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." ^ Seventeen ministers were present. Six of the oldest bore his remains to the place of their final rest ; one walked with the bereaved widow, and the others followed the relatives, with the church, his physicians, civil and military officers, his townsmen, and a numerous train of sympathizing friends from abroad. The Quarterly Meet- ing record says, " The collection of people was such as had never been seen in this part of the country at a funeral ; it was like one of our Yearly Meetings." His biographer says, " It was the most solemn scene I ever witnessed ; and reminded me of the funeral mentioned in Acts 8:2,' Devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.' " His grave was in the beautiful family burying ground, prepared in his own field on New Durham Ridge, where the common marble slab told the place of his interment, and two or three simple facts of his life and death. After fifty years had passed away, and most of his colaborers were also gone, the connection, in its grateful appreciation of his ^ By request this sermon was prepared for the press, but never pub- lished. 252 NEW HA3IPSHIRE. [1809. heroic and saintly labors, placed a suitable Monument on the spot. It is of the best Italian marble, ten feet in height, standing upon a large granite block. On the four sides of the shaft are suitable and extended inscrip- tions. But little remains to be said of the reverend founder of the Freewill Baptists. His possessions, as estimated by the church assessors the year before his death, were $500, — consisting of a small house and a few acres of land. His treasure was in heaven. His counsels were wise ; his reproofs well deserved ; his doctrines were orthodox ; and his preaching was powerful. He was kind in spirit, strong in sympathy, controlling in influence, and abundant in labor. His integrity was incorruptible, and his industry almost incredible. He lived, not for him- self, but his race and his God. And, with a palm of victory and a crown of glory, he lives forever. The year 1809 was one of revivals in many churches, particularly Jackson, Albany, Sand-vvich, Ossipee, Mid- dleton. New Durham, Stratford and Pittsfield. Chueches Organized. In 1800, Bradford, Bridge- water, EUsworth, Meredith, New Hampton, New Castle, and Thornton ; 1801, Lebanon, Newbury, Somersworth, and Sutton ; '02, Brookfield, Deerfield, and Madison ; '03, Andover, Barnstead, and Richmond ; '04, Second Bridgewater, and Jackson ; '05, Alton, Piermont, Spring- field, and Troy ; '06, Ossipee, and Weare ; '07, Salis- bury ; '08, Second New Hampton ; '09, Croydon. Ordinations. In 1800, Israel Blake and Joshua Quinby ; '02, Simeon Dana, Abner Jones, and Josiah Magoon ; '03, Hezekiah D. Buzzell, David Knowlton, Jr., Abijah Watson, and Elijah Watson ; '04, Ross Coon, William Dana, Samuel B. Dyer, Daniel Elkins, Nathan- iel Marshall, and Timothy Morse ; '05, Ebenezer Knowl- ton, M. Hollman Rollins, John Stone, and Nathaniel Wilson ; '06, William Buzzell and Caleb Ingalls ; '07, 1809.] STATISTICS. 253 Stephen Gibson ; '08, David Bean, Christopher Bul- lock, and Josiah Shepherd ; '09, Moses Cheney and Wil- liam Dodge. Deaths. The only ministers known to have died dur- ing this decade were David Knowlton, Jr., in 1807, and Benjamin Randall, in 1808. 22 254 VERMONT AND CANADA. [1800- CHAPTER XII. VERMONT AND CANADA. 1800—1810. Randall in Vermont — Joseph Boody, Jr., — The Praying Boy — Joseph Boody, Sen. — ^Babcock — Place — Buzzell — Hard"vviek Quarterly Meet- ing — Strafford Quarterly Meeting — Bro^vn and King Ordained — Hard- wick Quarterly Meeting Received — Hatley and Stanstead — First Church in Canada — Quarterly Meeting — Moulton Ordained — Yearly Meeting — Trials in Hardwick Quarterly Meeting — Churches Organiz- ed — Ordinations. Early in the year 1800 Randall went to Vermont, where he saw the cause of Christ in prosperity, and in the north- em part of the State, where Joseph Boody, Jr., was labor- ing, several churches were organized. Boody preached ex- tensively, anoid great opposition. At a place near Mont- pelier, scandalous reports had preceded him, and no man would open his doors for a meeting, or furnish refresh- ment for himself or beast. The Avife and children of a wicked man in "Wolcott be- came interested in religion, and were forbidden to attend meeting, or sing and pray at home. The father soon overheard his little son, a stammering boy of thirteen, in prayer. His wrath was kindled, and James was ordered to leave the house, and return no more. Tears and en- treaties were of no avail, and the young Christian, with his little bundle of clothes, went out, not knowing whither he should go. The sun was low in the western horizon,, and he turned aside into one of his father's barns, in a distant meadow, to commune with God, and, perhaps, spend the night. It was a Bethel to his soul ; and just 1800.] WILLIAM S. BABCOCK. 255 then, that cruel father, having occasion to pass that way, heard what seemed to be tones of a human voice. Step- ping softly to the door, whom should he there find but his own banished child, in prayer to God ? And what should he hear as the burden of his prayer, but these simple words ? " O Lord, my father has turned me out of doors, because I sing and pray. Lord, wha,t shall I do ? Where shall I go ? O Lord, have mercy on my dear father. Do, Lord, have mercy on my father." It •was too much. That hard heart could not resist the Spirit of God under those circumstances ; and, starting from the scene he could no longer endure, his strength failed him, and he fell to the ground, begging for mercy^ The praying child was soon by his side, wrestling mighti- ly with God for salvation. Pardon was found ; and the father and son, hand in hand, returned to the house, where the fulness of joy cannot be described. The change in that man was only what the power of God can do, with the sinner's consent. Rev. Joseph Boody, Sen., of Barrington, N« H., made a tour into northern Vermont, in the autumn, and preached with good effect. He baptized eighteen in Sheffield, and on the same day a branch of fifty-six members was formed in connection with his own church in New Hampshire, more than a hundred miles distant. A church was now organized at Tunbridge by Daniel Batchelder, and the Strafford church received a large accession. William S. Babcock was the son of a wealthy mer- chant, who sent him to Yale College, to prevent his being drafted as a soldier. He afterwards settled in Spring- field, where he commenced studying the Bible in order to refute its teachings ; but it convinced him of the folly of his infidelity, and his great guilt as a sinner. He became a Christian in 1800, and at once commenced preaching ; his first sermons, about fifty in number, were written in full. From his infidel notions he passed over to the other extreme, and became noted for his ore- 256 VERMONT AND CANADA. [1801 . dulity, as his belief in the Angel Delusion ^ will show. Becoming acquainted with the Freewill Baptists, he found himself in union with them, and was not only baptized but ordained by Jeremiah Ballard of New Hampshire. Under date of May 4th, 1801, he Avrote a long letter to the Yearly Meeting in New Hampshire, requesting that his church might be instructed in discipline and received into fellowship. The reply was drafted by Tingley, and breathes the kind but cautious spirit of the fathers, saying, " As to openly announcing our fellowship with your branch, we think it not prudent now (as we would do nothing rashly) , and we are not certain but some incautious steps may have been taken by the Unity Quarterly Meeting ; and still, we would ' hurt not the oil and the wine.' " A com- mittee to the Unity Quarterly Meeting, of which Randall was chairman, proceeded, by instruction, to Springfield, and foimd Babcock, as they reported, to be " a man of good understanding, of liberal education, and very gifted, with the weight of the cause on his soul." The church he had gathered there numbered twenty-five members. They also met with Rev. Stephen Place, formerly from Rhode Island, but now of Weathersfield, an adjoin- ing town, where he had gathered a chvxrch of twenty-one members. These two churches then met together, and Randall " gave an account of the rise, progress, doctrine, and discipline of the Freewill Baptists," to the entire sat- isfaction of both ministers and people. Their union with the denomination was then consummated by giving the hand of fellowship. Rev. Aaron Buzzell now came into Vermont, and set- tled in Strafford, near the central part of the State, and was pastor of the church for thirty-seven years, and gen- eral counsellor in the cause of Christ. In the northern part of the State, Boody was active, preaching the gos- pel and planting churches. July 4th, several brethren > See Third Decade. 1802. EKOWN ORDAINED. 257 from the Hardwick, Sutton, Sheffield, and Danville church- es, met at Gideon Leavitt's in Wheelock for Conference. Rev. Joseph Boody, from Barrington, N. H., was chosen Chairman, and Rev. Joseph Boody, Jr., from Hardwick, was chosen Clerk, It was then " voted to hold a Quarterly Meeting, as we shall from time to time, think proper." •Other preliminary business was transacted, and the next day being the Sabbath, " the Lord opened the windoAvs of ■heaven, and showered heavenly manna upon all assem- bled." This was an unauthorized Quarterly Meeting, ac- cording to the polity of that day, and to the June session of the Yearly Meeting in 1802, both written and verbal reports were sent from Straffiard and Wheelock, speaking of revivals, and asking that a Quarterly Meeting might be established in each locality. Committees with discretion- ary power were appointed to visit each place. Tingley, John Buzzell, and Aaron Buzzell, and the representatives from Straffijrd, Tunbridge, Vershire, Corinth, and proba- bly Brookfield — met at Vershire, June 26th, and organ- ized a Quarterly Meeting, to be known as the " Straffijrd Association." After the organization of the Quarterly Meeting, ten happy converts came forward, related their experience, and were baptized ; the scene being unusually impressive. A meeting was held at the same place the next day, at the close of which Nathaniel Brown of Strafford was ex- amined with reference to his call and qualifications for the ministry. He was approved, and the ordination ser- vices were appointed at the town's meeting house in Strafford on the morrow. The " trial sermon " was ac- ceptable, and, in the afternoon., John Buzzell preached two hours and three-quarters, from the text, " Gro ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." The last part of the discourse consisted of four distinct address- es, made to ministers. Christians, backsliders, and sinners. Those of each class respectively, rose and stood while the address was being made to them. Never did Buzzell 22* 258 VERMONT AND CANADA. [1802. speak with greater freedom, or more apparent effect. He recalled to mind the struggles of nine years before, when he organized the little church of nine members in a pri- vate room, late at night ; and now it had become strong ; and before him was an audience of fifteen hundred, all hanging with intense solicitude on the words of his lips. Ordaining hands were then laid upon Brown, while prayer was offered by the venerable Tingley. The same council met Avith the church at Tunbridge, July 1st, and ordained one of its members — Nathaniel King — whose praise, for many years, was in all the churches. Eli Stedman was soon after ordained, and the Quarterly Meeting then had four ministers, five churches, and 330 members. From this store-house of gospel truth, the seed of the kingdom was soon carried to West- ern New York and Southern Ohio by two of the above- named men. Brown and Stedman. Two of the committee chosen by the Yearly Meeting to visit the northern part of the State — Joseph Boody of Strafford, N. H., and Aaron Buzzell, of Strafford, Vt., — met the associated churches at Wheelock, August 28th, and, after due examination, acknowledged them as the Hard wick [now Wheelock] Quarterly Meeting. Thg next day being Sunday, sermons were preached by each of the committee, and on Monday four men were ordained as deacons, two as ruling elders, and two — Eliphalet Max- field and Robinson Smith — were ordained as evangelists. Peleg Hicks, formerly a Calvinistic Baptist minister, and with him two churches, united with the Quarterly Meet- ing. It then had four ministers — ^Boody, Maxfield, Smith, and Hicks — eight churches — Hardwick, Sutton, Sheffield, Upper Danville, Lower Danville, Cabot, and the two from the Calvinistic Baptists, names unknown — and it numbered about 260 members. Sometime in the autumn, Boody and Smith went into Canada, by request, and great were the displays of Divine power that attended their labors, especially in Stanstead 1805.] GENERAL PROSPERITY. 259 and Hatley, where many were converted and churches were organized, the first in the province. The comraencement of the Freewill Baptist interest in Canada was thus : At the first burial in the town of Hat- ley, which was in 1800, the people assembled, but no Christian was recognized among them. The notorious Stephen Burroughs was there, and was asked to pray ; but for once did he hesitate at wickedness, and decline to offer his farcical prayers over the dead. Christopher Flan- ders, a Freewill Baptist layman from Newbury, N. H., had come into town the day before, and when it was known that he was a man of prayer, the blessing of God was earnestly invoked. He talked and prayed with the people, and settled there the next year, when a prayer meeting was established, some were converted, and in June, 1802, Avery Moulton, from Stanstead, and a Meth- odist minister, held a few meetings there, which led to the invitation of Boody and Smith, as above stated. After a few years Smith settled in Hatley, and the church enjoyed great prosperity. The Strafibrd Quarterly Meeting, in its report to the Yearly Meeting in June, said, " The Lord is with us in power and great glory ; the reformation spreads in a very remarkable manner ; large additions are common ; Zion^ enlarges her borders and strengthens her stakes, and breaks out on the right hand and on the left." The Hard- wick Quarterly Meeting said, " The work of God is very glorious in these parts ; large numbers are daily bowing to the sceptre of king Immanuel." The early records of the Strafford Quarterly Meeting being lost, but little in detail can now be gathered from the churches there. The Hardwick Quarterly Meeting was enjoying tolerable prosperity, though Boody returned to New Hampshire abouLt this time. Randall attended the January session in 1805, and preached, not only at the Quarterly Meeting, but in most of the churches. Revi- vals were enjoyed in many places, especially at Billymead 260 VERMONT AND CANADA. [1808. ]]now Sutton], in which John Colby, the celebi-ated evan- gelist, experienced religion. The evidences of his con- version vv^ere, at first, doubtful, but cherishing a feeble hope, he was soon basking in the sunlight of God's recon- ciled countenance. The first ordination in Canada was that of Avery Moul- ton of Stanstead. He came from Gilmanton, N. H., in 1800, and transferred his church relations from the Con- gregationalists in 1803. The next spi'ing he lost his house by fire, with aU its contents, including $40 in money, re- served as a payment for his land. But he faltered not ; in poverty and amid privations, he Avent from settlement to settlement, sometimes guided only by spotted trees, suc- cessfully preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ. His principal compensation was an approving conscience and the salvation of souls. Three of his sons afterwards en- tered the ministry. The Hardwick Quarterly Meeting held its regular ses- sions in 1807, but not a revival Avas reported for the year. The Lower Danville church now left the Quarterly Meet- ing, and rejected the name Freewill Baptist^ assuming that of Cliristian, as if that would make them less sectarian and more holy. The Strafford Quarterly Meeting was -marching boldly on, contending for the faith, and thus act- ing as a check upon the erroneous doctrines of others. In assigning the reasons why the Calvinistic Baptists had never been more prosperous in that part of the state, Ben- edict says, " One reason was the perpetual conflicts on the open communion question, arising from the prevalence of Freewill Baptists and the Christian Society." Delegates to the Yearly Meeting had requested that one of the four annual sessions might be held in Vermont. Af- ter two or three postponements of the request, it was unanimously granted ; and the Yearly Meeting convened at Bradford February 6, 1808. John Buzzell of Maine was chosen Moderator, and Simeon Dana of New Hamp- shire, Clerk. The attendance from abroad was not large, 1809.] TRIALS. 261 but the meeting was one of good interest. The Hardwick Quarterly Meeting was still in a low, tried state, and the churches had all they could do to hold their own against the tide of worldly influence, general backslidings, and alienation from the denomination. A request to the Year- ly Meeting for help, procured the appointment of a com- mittee, and Aaron Buzzell, James Spencer and Simeon Dana met with them at the May session, and rendered them essential aid. They say, in their report, " "We found them low and tried in their minds, weak as to government and order, and much separated from the connection through misunderstanding. Eld. Benjamin Page in particular con- fessed that he had been alienated for three years, and gave some cause that he had not added one member to the visi- ble order for that space of time. But by conversation with him, he appeared somewhat helped, and promised to attend the Yearly Meeting and conferences, and try to have the difficulty removed. We think that wise labor may produce good order, and a re-union take place." This state of things continued through the year, but in 1809 there was a decided improvement, yet nothing greatly en- couraging. A few churches in the Strafford Quarterly Meeting were somewhat revived, and the Yearly Meeting held at Strafford in February was salutary in its influ- ence. It is impossible to say how much the cause was strengthened, even numerically, by the addition of church- es and ministers, so incomplete are the records and re- ports ; but it is known that the following accessions were made : CnmiCHES Organized. In 1800, Cabot, Danville, Hardwick, Sheffield, Springfield, Tunbridge, Vershire, Walden, and West Danville ; '01, Lyndon, Sutton, and Weathersfield ; '02, Washington, Waterford, and Hatley and Stanstead (in Canada) ; '05, Calais, Concord, Dew- eysburgh, and Branston (in Canada) ; '08, Chester and Peacham ; and Bradford, time unknown. Ordinations. In 1800, Wm. S. Babcock ; '02, Eph- 262 VERMONT AND CANADA. [1809. raim Ainsworth, Nathaniel BroAvn, Natlianiel King, Eli- phalet Maxfield, Robinson Smith, and Eli Stedman ; '03, Benjamin Page, James Spencer, and Ziba Woodworth ; '04, Edward Ralph, and two in Strafford Quarterly Meet- ing, names unknown ; '05, Paul Holbrook ; '06, Avery Moulton (in Canada) ; '09, John Colby, David Norris and Benjamin Putnam ; and Daniel Chappel, time un- known. REVIEW. . 263 CHAPTER XIII. THE THIRD DECADE. 1800—1810. Review — Statistics — Inconveniences at Quarterly and Yearly Meetings — Reflections — City Churches — Class Meetings — Polity Changed — Churches Reject Members — Church Records in Quarterly Meeting — Buzzell Secretary of the Yearly Meeting — Elias Smith — DisaiFec- tions — Angel Delusion. The first ten years of the present century were fraught with interests scarcely less important than those of either of the preceding decades. As a period, it began with great prosperity, and closed with trials equally great. The organization of churches furnishes an index of the progressive state of religion, and the first year nineteen were organized, and the last, only four. The first five years they numbered forty-six, the last five, only twenty- five ; making seventy-one in all. But the accession of ministers was still greater ; eighty-one are known to have received ordination, and there were doubtless others whose names have not been ascertained. The vine ran over the wall of our national boundary, and took root in Canada East, where three churches were organized. Two Quarterly Meetings were organized — Strafford and Hardwick — the Unity was dissolved, and the Gorham and Parsonsfield were united. The Yearly Meeting had commenced holding one of its sessions in Vermont, and the disorganizing movements, to be noticed hereafter, did not effectually check the denomination's onward march. The great revivals in Western Maine, during the last 264 . THIRD DECADE. years of this decade, were all the more cheering because of the gathering darkness around so many other churches. Buzzell says " about nine hundred" were converted in two years, and during this decade he baptized 261. The preaching of that day was faithful, and conversions genuine, but the salutary influence of revivals was less abiding than now, for two reasons : — First, the itinerant labors of the ministry prevented them from watching over the converts, and instructing them in the progressive work of the Christian. When the revival interest in any place began to languish, the minister would generally feel that his work there was done, and leave at the very time when pastoral labor was most needed, and just when his departure would most depress the already ebbing tide of religious interest. Transient gifts could not meet the wants of the people, and no preaching was still more un- fortunate. Secondly, there was a want of confidence in organized Christian eifort, as will be soon shown. Re- pentance and baptism were faithfully enjoined, but many were not careful, as were the apostles, to see that converts were " added to the church." The death of Randall was sad in itself; but it was, for a time, still more sad in its effects upon the peace of the denomination. There were restless minds that respected the man, and feared his restraining influence while living ; but when dead, they seemed not to revere his memory, or heed his surviving counsels. Distraction threatened the ruin of the cause to which he and others had devoted their lives. But the clouds of adversity passed away, and all was calm and bright again. Twenty-five years after the organization of the first churches, an effort was made to ascertain the statistics of the denomination. At the last session in 1805, the Year- ly Meeting requested all the churches to report their num- ber to the Quarterly Meeting, and the Quarterly Meeting to report the amount to the Yearly Meeting. There were good men who feared that this enumeration would INCONVENIENCES. 2,6,5 be like David's numbering Israel, displeasing to God, and the effort was only partially successful. In June, 1806, there were forty-one churches in the New Durham Quarterly Meeting, and thirty-three of them reported 2636 members ; and the number of ministers was thirty- two. Strafford Quarterly Meeting reported 602 mem- bers. At the commencement of 1810, the statistics were as follows : One Yearly Meeting with four annual sessions ; six Quarterly Meetings ; and the estimated number of churches was about 130 ; number of members about 6000 ; and the number of ministers about 110. Inconveniences were then experienced at Quarterly and Yearly Meetings, such as are now unknown. They were often held in a private house, a barn, or the grove. If soldiers' fare in food and lodgings could be obtained, all were satisfied. Beds were divided for the aged and fee- ble, while others found rest without couch or covering. In New Hampshire especially, where great account has always been made of such meetings, it was impossible to provide comfortably for the masses in attendance. Says one familiar with those scenes, " At a Quarterly Meeting in Pittsfield, Elder Knowlton filled every bed in his house, and then twenty of us lay on the floor, and as many more slept in the barn." Regular meals were pro- vided so far as they could be, but a lunch was all that many received or desired. The more liberal in adjoining towns took their provisions along with them, or sent sup- plies beforehand. Tents were sometimes erected near the meeting, where refreshments were sold. But their want of accommodations was by no means their greatest annoyance. In these tents rum and cider were often sold ; and peddlers, with their various wares, often attended. As Satan anciently came among the sons of God when they presented themselves before the Lord, so rowdies went to New Durham when Christians there 23 266 THIRD DECADE. assembled for worsliip. While tiie pious were engaged in prayer and praise, the vain and reckless were drinking and carousing, trading and horseracing in the street, or dancing at some house in the vicinity. Such was the low state of morals, and the discountenancing tone of public opinion towards Freewill Baptists, that these evil's could not be suppressed, and had to be endured. No people in modern times have suffered more from popular reproach than Freewill Baptists ; and none have had more confidence in the correctness of public senti- ment, when permeated with Christian truth. No people were more indifferent to popular favor ; or more jealous of popular rights. They received no public benefactions, but were themselves public benefactors. They declared the church independent of State patronage or dictation, and brought religion, in its claims, down to the people, or, rather, the people up to the blessings of religion. They divested it of cold formality and worldly conformi- ty, and presented it to the people all robed in the gar- ments of spiritual simplicity, and energized with the power of an endless life. The early fathers served their genera- tion, and have gone to their reward. City Churches were regarded in all their importance, by comparatively few. Those great centres of influence, from which might radiate the most refulgent streams of moral light, were left unoccupied, while the most retired country neighborhood was sought out and visited with the gospel. In 1804, while nominally connected with the Freewill Baptists, Dr. Jones went to Boston, and thence to Portsmouth, N. H., laboring in the cause. Randall had several interviews with him at the latter place, and, to satisfy his fearful brethren that city life need not exalt the true Christian, he wrote to the Quar- terly Meeting, saying, " I bless God that he is the same humble Abner Jones he was at Lebanon ; and the Lord does use him blessedly. He tells me that he has planted a church in Boston, and has been a number of weeks in THE POLITY. 2^7 Portsmouth. Our preachers are not right in staying away from Portsmouth, as they do." Had this effort of Jones, so heartily endorsed by Randall, been followed up by others, instead of being so long a rural people, we should early have had strong and prosperous city churches. " Class Meetings " are not of recent origin among Freewill Baptists. They were established early in this decade, and reported regularly to the church. New Dur- ham church had a " class " in Barnstead, and another in Strafford. Meredith had one for several years in Centre Harbor, and another in Moultonborough, but these were held only once a month. The New Hampton church was at this time divided into six classes, with a leader in each, and their weekly meetings were very useful. The Polity of the denomination underwent some changes at this time. Hitherto Quarterly Meetings had generally allowed every Freewill Baptist present to speak and act, and the principal object in the choice of delegates by the church, was to secure a representation. In 1801 it was recommended by the Elders' Conference of the New Dur- ham Quarterly Meeting that chosen delegates should be sent by the church, who alone should constitute the busi- ness body of the Quarterly Meeting ; but this order did not become general for many years. The records of each Quarterly Meeting had always been read in the Yearly Meeting, and in 1803 it was enjoined upon the churches to forward their records to the Quarterly Meeting, " so that general information be obtained by the Quarterly and Yearly Meeting." But this was earnestly opposed for the two reasons, that it was burdening the Quarterly Meeting with unnecessary labor, and assuming an undue supervision over the action of the churches. As Republicans in the nation were then rising in triumph over the Federal party, that sought the concentration of power in the General Government, so, in the church., there was a rising party that opposed tke 268 THIRD DECADE. centralization of power in the Quarterly and Yearly Meet- ing. Though defeated in the above action, they called in question, the same year, the long-established practice of going to the Quarterly Meeting for authority to reject a member ; and here they were successful. By request from the two Vermont Quarterly Meetings, it was " Voted that the Discipline be so far altered as to give each branch [[church], with the assistance of a teaching elder, the privilege of rejecting transgi'essing members ; the letter of rejection to be read in the Quarterly Meeting, and re- corded in the minutes ; and the rejected member to have the right of appeal to the Quarterly Meeting, for a re- hearing." At the next session of the Yearly Meeting, an unsuccessful effort was made to repeal this vote, and the year following it was confirmed by the agreement " that any branch organized to receive members, has power to reject." Many were apprehensive that the churches, having no regular pastoral labor, would suffer most seriously from a lax and improper discipline, unless their records were subjected to Quarterly Meeting inspection. But large and impatient audiences were kept for hours by the reading of these records and the discussions on discipline, so that many who were unwilling to yield independence to the churches from principle, were glad to do it from policy. In 1804 the record of the New Durham Yearly Meeting says : " Upon request of the Third Monthly Meeting in Gil- manton, and supported by a number of other brethren, Voted to reconsider the vote requiring the Monthly Meet- ings to bring their books and read their minutes in the Quarterly Meeting ; but instead thereof, they may send a letter and give a general account of their standing. And be it particularly enjoined upon them to keep their records correctly." The churches and Quarterly Meetings in Maine at once conformed to this action, but in New Hampshire and ELI AS SMITH. 269 Vermont they came gradually into the practice. A few years after this, it was " Voted that all business of the church in any part of our connection in the future, be at- tended to in the church where it belongs." The acknowl- edged independence of the churches was followed by a few cases of ultra action at first, but it was ordered that all votes of the Yearly Meeting " establishing or altering the Discipline," should be copied into the Quarterly Meeting records, and from them transcribed into each church book, " so that uniformity of discipline may be established throughout the connection." A church in New Hampshire received a member that had been sprinkled instead of immersed, and had chosen him as Clerk. As Clerks were ex-officio members of the Elders' Conference, in 1806 it was " Voted that no unbap- tiized member shall be put into any office in any Monthly Meeting," At the October session of the Yearly Meeting in 180S, the following action was taken : " Whereas, our dear and well-beloved brother. Elder Benjamin- Randall, deceased on the 22d inst.. Voted that Elder John Buzzell take and keep the records of the Year- ly Meeting, and record the minutes of the same." After this the records are not so full as when kept by Randall, and they close abruptly in the midst of the ac- count of the New Hampshire Yearly Meeting in 1815, The fact that there are 140 blank pages in the book of records, suggests the inquiry whether the great search, a few years since, for the " Lost Records of the Yearly Meeting," from 1815 to the establishment of the General Conference in 1827, was not for an object that never had existence ? Is it not probable that, if the minutes were forwarded by the Clerks of the several sessions, they were never transcribed ? Elias Smith was never a Freewill Baptist, but such was his influence in the denomination for a time, that his true relation should be understood- He was born at 23* 270 THIRD DECADE. Lyme, Conn., in 1769, and, in early cliildhood, his parents removed to Woodstock, Vt., where he experienced relig- ion at the age of sixteen, and four years after united with the Calvinistic Baptists. He read every book he could buy or borrow, and, by reflection, made the knoAvledge it contained his own. He commenced preaching when twenty-one ; and two years after was ordained. He was not only fluent, but sometimes powerfully eloquent.. Hear- ing a Universalist expose the inconsistencies of Calvinism in the partial election of mankind, he immediately took the opposite extreme, and zealously taught that all had been elected to eternal life. In a few days he renounced Universalism without reembracing Calvinism, and was, indeed, unanchored as to denominational preferences. Two years afterwards, in 1803, he organized a church in Portsmouth, calling it simply a Christian church. Rev. Abner Jones, a Freewill Baptist, went to Portsmouth the same year, and from this, their first meeting, the names. Smith and Jones, were often associated. Jones soon began to warp off, and left the Freewill Baptists. Smith wrote many hard things against the Calvinists, and in 1804 was disfellowshipped. From this time they labored together, and hence arose the Christian denomination. In August, 1805, Smith attended the New Durham Quarterly Meeting at Somersworth, and, on inquiry, was told the manner in which members, ministers, and churches were received into the denomination. He was satisfied, and expected to unite at the next Yearly Meeting in Qor- ham, the November following. He attended that meet- ing, and the record says, " Came forward and related his experience and call to the ministry ; also his trials with regard to doctrine, and his present standing, and mani- fested a desire to be considered a member of our connec- tion." The question of receiving him Avas one of difficult solution. His accession would be that of " a host in him- self," and other preachers and several churches would be likely to come with him. He was Avith the Freewill Bap- ELIAS SMITH. 271 tists in all those doctrines that distinguish them from oth- er evangelical Christians, but he was found to be heretical on other points ; and here was the difficulty. He rejected all written creeds and denominational names, except that of Christian. He believed that the intermediate state was one of unconsciousness, and at the general judgment the wicked would be destroyed, both soul and body. Disrob- ing Christ of his Divinity, he left the world with only a finite Saviour, and with no reason why " all men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father." It was ad- mitted in the examination, that he then had a work in press, entitled " The Doctrine of the Prince of Peace," advocat- ing the above sentiments. Till this time, not a trace of Unitarianism, or annihilationism, can be found in the footsteps of the fathers ; and well might they hesitate when asked to receive them both. Some were unwisely tolerant, and ready to receive so great and good a man, but others objected, and the unanswerable arguments of John Buzzell and others led to the reference of the subject to the New Durham Quarterly Meeting, whence it originated ; but Smith withdrew his request, and there the question ended. In speaking of the Freewill Baptists, Sraith him- self says,i " But for one man I should have become a menaber with them, so far as to be held in fellowship as a fellow-laborer ; and that man objected on the ground of my believing that the wicked would be destroyed." The above discussion and disposition of the question re- sulted in no alienation of feeling, and Smith continued his associations with the Freewill Baptists in the most unre- strained manner. His sermons and publications were of- ten severe on the religious intolerance of the day, and Hon. Isaac Willey — a member of Congress from Rhode Island — remarked to him that the people of this country had a much better understanding of civil, than of religious, liberty ; and advised him to establish " a religious news- paper that should advocate the religious liberty that is in > Life of Elias Smith, p. 354. 272 THIRD DECADE. harmony with ovir civil liberty." The suggestion was re- ceived with favor, and September 1st, 1808, was issued at Portsmouth, the first number of " The Herald of Gospel Liberty." It has since claimed to have been the first ex- clusively religious neAvspaper published in the country, and was liberally patronized by liberal men. The sympathy of Freewill Baptists was with this little paper in its lead- ing designs, and it had quite an extensive circulation among them. Many failed to discriminate between its truths on liberty, and its errors in doctrine ; and as its editor continued to attend Yearly and Quarterly Meetings, and often preached in the churches, they were ensnared by his sophisms, and quite a number left the denomina- tion and associated with him. Others, who did not leave, were tinctured with his theology, and his extremely loose notions of church order and discipline, so that afterwards their peculiar views occasioned not a little perplexity in harmonizing and systematizing, for publication, the doc- trines and polity of the denomination. About the year 1817 Smith again became an avowed Universalist, and for ten years did all in his power to promulgate that doctrine. He then renounced Universal- ism, and made a written and humble confession, but "un- stable as water," he could not regain the confidence of the Christian public. Disaffected and Disorganizing Influences were manifest- ly at work from the time of Elias Smith's first introduc- tion to the Freewill Baptists. In his proposed union, it is doubtful whether he desired to unite with them as such, or have them unite with him^ No evil designs are im- puted to Smith, but this fact is unquestionable i if his free intercourse with the Freewill Baptists was not the cause, it was the occasion of great disaffection and severe trials. Aside from any influence he may have exerted, there was a growing spirit of uneasiness, so long as the circuitous route of business in the Quarterly Meeting lay through all the church records, and the final action of all DliSSENSIONS. 273 church discipline lay in the hands of the Quarterly Meet- ing. And when the independence of the churches was acknowledged, the inertia of the alienated feeling, in many minds, still bore them onward. They would be satisfied only with the most radical change. It would not subserve the interests of religion to call up from their merited obliv- ion those scenes of distrust and trial ; or here record the names of honored men who opposed the denominational polity. But suffice it to say, impetuous men chafed under the organized restraints ; Scripture-loving men did not find the terms Monthly Meeting, Quarterly Meeting, or Yearly Meeting, in the Bible ; and well-meaning men thought it sectarian to be called Freewill Baptists. The under-current of disaffection was known to be strong, but how strong none could tell, or dared to know; It some- times came to the surface as a disorganizing spirit, rip- pling and disturbing the quiet elements around. A prop- osition came from one of the strongest churches in New Hampshire, to " drop all party names," including the " Freewill name, and the former order of Quarterly and Yearly Meetings." And the " desire to keep no records, more than a list of the names of the persons baptized, as Elias Smith did,"^ was advocated wdth a zeal that seemed irresistible. Said John Buzzell, in writing upon tlie sub- ject a few years since, " The excitement ran so high that Dr. Simeon Dana, then Clerk of the New Durham Quar- terly Meeting, privately conveyed the first two volumes of records to the writer for safe keeping. The proposition was brought forward and canvassed in every Quarterly and Yearly Meeting, and pressed by a number of leading members." So prevalent did this sentiment become at one time in the Edgecomb Quarterly Meeting, that three of its sessions were held, not only wdthout record, but " without Moderator or Clerk." The Religious Magazine speaks of these perilous times, and says, " A number of brethren began to separate them- 2 Repository, Vol. VIII., No. 23,— Article by aohn Buzzell. 274 THIRD DECADE. selves from the community, and cry out against them, that they were all in bondage ! all in death ! in Babylon !" Conservative men had already begun to yield, and changes were taking place as fast as the general health of the body would allow. In 1808 the question came before the Yearly Meeting in this form : " As there are some preach- ers professedly of this connection, who separate themselves from us in business and labors, and unite themselves with other denominations, even without informing us of their trials, and appear to be sowing the seed of discord among our brethren, therefore, " Voted that the Quarterly Meetings look them up, and notify them to appear at our next Yearly Conference, to be held at Parsonsfield immediately after the Yearly Meet- ing in November ; and exhort them not to fail." The record speaks of the attendance of only one of the above class, who said, " In giving the hand of fellowship to Eld. Elias Smith, I had no thought, first or last, of leaving my Freewill brethren." Randall had foreseen the gathering storm, and besought his brethren, in his last letter, " to take some measures to rectify the irregularities, and re- move the disorders." But he was now gone, and the re- straints of his name and influence were no longer a check on restless minds. The question was becoming a serious one, and there was less to fear from those who were dis- posed to leave the connection, than from the disaffected ones who remained, and sought to change the denomina- tional polity. When and where this change would end, none could tell. With mingled emotions of hope and fear, all looked for- ward to the next annual meeting of the Elders' Conference. It convened at Gorham in November, 1809, and was a scene of long discussion and thrilling interest ; but no ad- justment could be reached. Unable to settle the question, and unwilling to part without a settlement, they agreed to refer it to the churches, and abide their decision, whatever it might be. The question submitted was this ; " Will ANGEL DELUSION. 275 you drop the name Freewill Baptist, and abolish Monthly, Quarterly, and Yearly Meetings ?" and never did contend- ing parties submit a question with greater confidence in the tribunal of ultimate appeal. Reports were made to the Yearly Meeting ^ in June, and the decision was almost unanimous in the negative. It was now agreed to call the churches no more by the name of Monthly Meeting, and that any business referred to the Quarterly Meeting by the churches " should be done in a sequestered confer- ence." And here the crisis was passed, and the contest ended. Buzzell says, " A large namber left," but harmony was restored. This was the first serious test to which the principles and polity of the denomination were subjected ; and it is gratifying to know with what unanimity they were sustained. The Angel Delusion was one of those foolish vagaries into which persons of disordered mental action, or of strong passions and excitable temperaments, sometimes fall. It was the elder sister of modern spiritualism ; born of the same mesmeric parents, and nursed into being by the same class of credulous friends. About the year 1809, or a lit- tle before, a young woman in Newbury, N. H., of fair standing and approved piety, Avould occasionally yield to overpowering emotions, and become utterly prostrated in her physical energies. In this state of apparent insensi- bility, she would lie for a time, and then, coming to herself again, she claimed to have been in communion with angels, and declared the messages that had been thus received direct from Heaven. Mysterious things were said and done, and the excitement became intense. Other women claimed to have interviews with angels, and a few men be- came the unfortunate dupes of their delusion. At one time several ministers were ensnared, but soon saw their error, and with penitence retraced their steps. During ' This Yearly Meeting was at Gilford, N. H., in 1810, it having been previously held at New Durham for eighteen years. 276 THEBD DECADE. the time, however, about fifty professed conversion under their preaching, based, as it was, upon angelic revelations ; an " Angel Society " was formed, and arrangements were partially made for establishing themselves as a colony in Penobscot County, Maine. The extent of their folly is illustrated by the following fact : One of the ministers desired an interview ynih angels himself, and earnestly prayed for it ; but a revelation soon came to him, through the principal medium, that this could not be ; but, by marrying her (which was the will of the Lord) , all the advantages of such interviews would be secured. " The will of the Lord be done," said he, and the marriage ceremony was at once performed. When the delusion had fully developed itself, all that was afterwards said by them about talking with angels was said in shame and penitent confessions. 1810.] MONTVILLE QUARTERLY MEETING. 277 CHAPTER XIV. MAINE. 1810—1820. Revivals — ^Montville Quarterly Meeting — Yearly Meeting at Buxton — Colby at Montville — Leach's Letter — Whitney at Newfield — S, Bur- bank's Conversion — Great Revivals — Daniel and Samuel Hutchinson Leave the Denomination — Colby at Eastport — Clement Phinney — ^His Labors in Gorham — Prays for a Universalist — Rev. Asa Rand's At- tack — ^Buzzell's Reply — McGray in Nova Scotia — Cochranism — Lock's Letter — Revivals in Farmington Quarterly Meeting — ^State Constitu- tion — Churches Organized — Ordinations — Death. An interesting state of religious interest had been enjoyed at South Parsonsfield for several months, and the work became marvellous at the North Road, early in 1810. Seventeen were converted in one evening, and forty-three the same week. The revival extended into Effingham and Cornish, till two hundred were brought to Christ. The Edgecomb Quarterly Meeting had become so nu- merous and extensive that several of the northern church- es were dismissed, and the Montville Quarterly Meeting is said to have been organized at Knox in 1810 ; but no additional facts concerning its organization have been learned, as the early records are lost. In October Jeremiah Bullock, son of Rev. Christopher Bullock, went to Limington, appointed meetings, and commenced preaching, though bu# recently converted. The people became interested, and many professed relig- ion aihidst great opposition. In December Bullock and fourteen others were baptized, and the work continued 24 278 MAINE. [1811, till one hundred and eighty were numbered among the converts. The August Quarterly Meeting, in 1811, was held there in a beautiful grove, and two thousand persons ea- gerly listened to the preached word. At a meeting for administering the Lord'^s supper, a few weeks after this, a thousand people were present, and two hundred of them partook of the consecrated emblems. The Yearly Meeting was held at Edgecomb " on the main," in September, and Zachariah Leach preached three times. Many were awakened, some then found m.ercy, and the gracious work continued through the year, extending into other towns. The November ses- sion was held at Buxton, and the reports brought revi- val intelligence from the western part of the State. Buz- zell preached Sabbath morning from Acts 17 : 7, " There is another King, one Jesus." Christ was set forth as the head of his own kingdom, and attention was called to his life, love, and doctrines ; to his humiliation and exalta- tion ; to his right to the crown, the nature of his laws, and the character of his subjects. He was followed in the afternoon by John Colby, from Vermont, a young man of great promise, who made a most solemn and moving appeal from the text, " Will ye also be his disciples ?" Not a few answered in the affirmative, and from that day salvation was sought and found by many. Colby went from the Yearly Meeting to Gorham, where some were convicted by his sweet singing as well as by his effective preaching, as persons had been in other places. Proceed- ing eastward, he preached in most of the towns between Edgecomb and Belfast, and attended the Quarterly Meet- ing in MontviUe, December 1st. His sermon, from Rev. 14 : 6, 7, " And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach," &c., was one of great power. When he came to enforce the requirement, " Fear God," he several times repeated hose words, and with every repetition there went a thrill 1812.J MONTVILLE CHURCH. 279 of conviction through the audience, piercing many hearts- Thirty persons dated their Christian experience from that meeting'. He thought of returning to Vermont the next morning, and had proceeded about half a mile, when he met persons coming to dissuade him from his purpose, as they thought the Lord had work for him in that place. He consented to remain, but great were his trials of mind for a few days. At the house of Dea. True he found his four sons tenderly inclined towards religion, and prayer was proposed. Af- ter the pious members of the family had prayed, Colby was burdened with solicitude for those who had not bowed the knee to God, and his supplications became intensely earnest. The more he plead in their behalf, the more burdened in spirit did he feel. His access to God was free, and it seemed that he could not cease praying till they should yield to Christ. For nearly an hour he wres- tled with the God of Jacob, when the Spirit came in mighty power, and all in the room were' on their knees begging for mercy. After about four hours more of ear- nest prayer, the spirit of supplication was withdrawn, and all was peace. Every one had found mercy, and all unit- ed in praise to God. From that time the power of the gospel was abundantly manifested, and fifty professed to have experienced a change of heart during the next two weeks. The reformation continued through the year, and about one hundred and thirty indulged a hope in Christ. He continued in Montville till Februaiy, when he organ- ized a church of ninety-seven members, called " The Church of Christ." There were no great revivals in 1812, like those in for- mer years, but ordinary prosperity was enjoyed. The Religious Magazine contains a letter from Rev. Za