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Congregational Church 
 
 IN CHATHAM 
 1720 — 1920 
 
 HISTORICAL ADDRESS 
 
 ON THE 
 
 Two Hundredth Anniversary 
 
 OF THW 
 
 ORGANIZATION 
 
 CHURCH 
 
 Hv WllvLlA.M ('. SMITH 
 1 1 
 
 CHATHAM MOMTOK FKIXT 
 
 C. A. GUILD, Mur. 
 
 1020 
 

 ("hatlKiiii Cliurrh, Organized June 20. 1720. 
 
 Firs: Coiiiirt'iintioual Pai-isli, {"hathaiii, Organized Oct. 
 18, 1824. 
 
 Orili(i(|()x Congregational Society of Ciiatluini, Organ- 
 ized .Jan. 12. 1869. 
 
 If 
 
Historical Address 
 
 Two hundred years ago the people of the infant town 
 of Chatham gathered together at a little square meeting 
 house by tlie roadside just west of Great Ilill and organized 
 a clmroli. It was a small affair. That was the day of small 
 things. The town was small; the county was small; the 
 Colony was small. But the little church grew and flourished. 
 It is in existence today, and it is our privilege and pleasure 
 at this time to trace its growth and progress and to esti- 
 mate, as best we may, the powerful influence it has had 
 tlirough the centuries over tlie lives of successive genera- 
 tions of worshippers. 
 
 The organization of tlie churcli was by no means the 
 beginning of religious activity in the town. Tlicre had been 
 religious gatherings probably from the time of its settle- 
 ment iifty years earlier. Williain Nickerson, the first settler, 
 is said to have coiiductiMl ncighbt)rlu)od or family services 
 more or less frecpiently, as long as he lived, the settlement 
 at that time being almost entirely of the Nickerson kindred. 
 As early as 1671) the Plymouth Colony Court ordered the 
 inhabitants to raise aniong themselves five pounds i)er year 
 in ruoney or other substantial goods and deposit it "in the 
 hands of some faithfull person, to lie kept in stocke towards 
 the inabling of them to build a meeting house or a house for 
 a minnester. '■ How much progress was made in carrying out 
 this order, we have no means of knowing. After the death 
 of Mr. Nickerson, which occurred about 1690, a number of 
 families came in from neighboring towns and settled, and 
 conditions were so improved that about 1696 ]Mr. Jonathan 
 Vickery of Hull, Mass., was induced to settle among them 
 
as their preacher, being doubtless the first permanent spirit- 
 ual leader. Mr. Vickery was not an ordained minister; he 
 was a layman, a fisherman by vocation, but possessing un- 
 usual gifts of mind and spirit. The village gave him a lot 
 of land on which to build and helped him to erect a dwell- 
 ing for his I'amily. This dwelling stood by the roadside at 
 West Chatham a little northeast of the railroad crossing 
 there. 
 
 ]\Ir. Vickery had been settled only a few years when 
 largely, no doubt, through his cfiforts the village was in- 
 duced to undertake the construction of a meeting house. At 
 a meeting of the village held Feb. 15, 1700, it was voted 
 to "bild a meten house of 20 and 2 foot floor and 13 foot in 
 the wall." For this purpose they "made chose of Gorg 
 (lodfree and William Nickerson [son of the first settler] to 
 lok after and see the Avork be don and at the same meten 
 the inhabetence ded agree Avith Edward Small to be the fore 
 workman to get the tember and to frame the hous Avith the 
 help of the inhal>tance and the inhab])etence ded agree 
 to take thare tomes and goo out Avith FdAvard Small to get 
 the tember tAvo days a pcse tell every man had took his 
 torn." It Avas also agreed "that every man that had 
 a feme should dr;ig on lode to plase \of the tember." 
 Ji^dAvard Small is set doAvn in the record;^, as a ship car- 
 penter. He may have been the only carpenter of any kind 
 in the little settlement. The work Avas carefully planned. 
 The frame was to be hcAvn out of the native forest, but the 
 boards and other finishing must be sought elscAvhere. There 
 were no saAV mills in this part of the Cape, for the reason 
 lliat Ihere Avere no mill streams to set them in motion. Noav 
 f']ilward Small liad settled on the Cape only a fcAV years be- 
 fore, having come from Oyster River, (noAv Durham) Ncav 
 Hampshire, to escape the depredations of the Indians of that 
 region. Tie had a father-in-biAV and ollior relatives still liv- 
 ing at Oyster liiver, and there Avere a number of saAv mills 
 there. So it Avas planned to get the boards from Oyster 
 
River, and William Eldredgc, who had a small sloop or 
 coasting vessel, was employed to go thither. He was fur- 
 nished with a letter from Mr. and JNIrs. Small to father John 
 Woodman in Oyster River and in course of time he brought 
 back with him, says the record, a thousand feet of good 
 boards. The first meeting house was therefore constructed 
 of native timber and of plain boards from the forests of 
 New Hampshire. It was a square building with its four ' 
 roofs rising and tapering to a point and looked much like 
 the district school houses of a later date. It was probably 
 not shingled and surely not plastered. Whether glass or 
 oiled paper let in the light is uncertain. It stood undoubt- 
 edly on the south s-ide of the road in that part of the old 
 cemeteries where the oldest graves are to be found. 
 
 Mr. Vickery gathered his flock into this rough, plain 
 building and a period of prosperity and contentment seemed 
 to lay before them, when siuidenly he was taken away from 
 them by a disaster, which cast the village into a state of 
 gloom for many montlis and which must have seriously re- 
 tarded its spiritujil and material growth. On April 80, 1702, 
 lie went out in an o\nm boat with a party of villagers, prob- 
 ably on a fishing or whaling trip. The boat in some way 
 was overturned and all were drowned. J\Ir. Vickery left a 
 widow and seven children, the oldest scarcely of age. After 
 a few years the family sold out and removed to Truro, where 
 some of them had married and Avhere descendants may be 
 living today. Edward Small, the foreworkman, Nicholas 
 Eldredge and William Gaboon also perislied at tliis time, 
 all leaving large families. 
 
 For several years after tlie death of Mr. Vickery, 
 the people secured the services of Mr. Gershom Ilall 
 of Harwich, another lay preacher, whose services were ap- 
 proved by the people. In 1706, however, they decided to 
 have a "college man/' which in those days meant a Harvard 
 College graduate, the sole business of the college at that 
 time being to train ministers. Accordingly Mr. John Lati 
 
6 
 
 mer was hired. lie was iiuiuarried and this was his first 
 charge. He was well liked and might have continued with 
 them, but did not find the field promising. His successor 
 was Rev. jMatthew Short, another young Harvard graduate, 
 whose stay, like his name, was short. 
 
 It is a curious fact, which may be noted in passing, that 
 even in this early time, people were very pessimistic about 
 the future of the place. According to the ideas and mode of 
 life at that time, it did not seem possible for it ever to 
 amount to much. Land was then the source of p,ll wealth, 
 and a farm of less than fifty acres was small. It was incon- 
 ceivable to them that this little peninsula, foiu* miles square, 
 could ever sustain more than a handful of people. Some of 
 those who had settled here became discouraged and about 
 1711 an exodus began to Delaware and other places, which 
 took off nearly a third of the population. 
 
 At this juncture Kev. Hugh Adams was called to assume 
 charge of the. religious work. He was likewise a Harvard 
 graduate, a man of courage and energy, but of more self 
 esteem than discretion. He had been in the ministry a num- 
 ber of years in South Carolina, wliere he liad a somewhai 
 stormy career in several parislies, not remaining long in any 
 one of them. He began tlie work here with energy and 
 really did much good in spite of IVis failings and deserves 
 to be remembered with gratitude. Had it not Iiecn for the 
 activity of JMr. Adams, it is doubtful when the village would 
 have secured incorporation as a town, or have acquired 
 confidence in itself. Mr. Adams told it that it ought to be- 
 come a town Avith all of the present town of Harwich an- 
 nexed to it, and that it should oi'ganize a church forthwith 
 and make him its pastor, and he proceeded to set matters in 
 motion to secure these ends. He drafted a long petition to 
 the General Court, to which were attached the signatures of 
 the village officials. He presented this to the General Court 
 in person and zealously sought action thereon. He was, 
 however, only partially successful. Harwich people were 
 
not ready to join us, and tlie town was incorporated with 
 the limits it now has. 
 
 His efforts to organize a church also met with failure 
 on account of the opposition of the churches in the adjacent 
 towns. His activity stirred up enemies, especially the tavern 
 keeper whom he criticised unsparingly. The latter, however, 
 was a man of ability and influence, and generally repelled 
 the attacks of Mr. Adams, both in the courts and before the 
 Governor. In the end the "unsteadiness" of their minis- 
 ter, as they then termed it, alienated a large part of his 
 congregation and he was obliged to retire. He went to 
 Dover, N. H., where he held a pastoi-ate for twenty years. 
 Farmer, the historian of New Hampshire, writes of him as 
 follows: "He was an eccentric character and was from his 
 singular notions often embroiled in disputes witli the people 
 with wliom he was associated." His meteoric career in 
 Chatham came to an end in the spring of 1716, and the 
 people turned again to I\Ir. Gershom Hall for spiritual 
 leadership. 
 
 Two years later, in the spring of 1718, they secured the 
 services of Rev. Josepli Lord. He was likewise a Harvard 
 graduate and came from South Carolina, where he had been 
 pastor of a church near Charleston about twenty years. But 
 he was a different type of man from Mr. Adams. He pos- 
 sessed sounder judgment and better nerves, and brought 
 with him a reputation for success in his former pastorate. 
 His wife was the daughter of former Gov. Thomas Hinckley 
 of Plymouth Colony. His brother-in-law. Rev. Nathaniel 
 Stone, had already been settled many years in the ministry 
 in the neigld)oring town of Harwich. When Mr. Lord 
 came, conditions were quite different from what Mr. Adams 
 found \hem. Rev. Samuel Treat of Eastham, who had 
 led the opposition to the now church at Chatham, had 
 passed away ; some new families had come in from East- 
 ham, the tavern had changed hands, and the former 
 tavern keeper had left town. ]\Ir. Lord was persuaded 
 
to become the permanent minister. The terms of his 
 settlement were as follows : his salary w'as to be 80 
 pounds annually, payable one-half in the spring and one- 
 half in the fall; within four years he should l)e paid 100 
 pounds additional as a settlement ; he should have the use 
 of a parsonage and a new one should he l)uilt when tlie exist- 
 ing one proved unsuitable. 
 
 When he projiosed to tlie people tlie organization of a 
 new church, no opposition developed. Accordingly a church 
 council was' duly convened at Chatham on June 15, 1720. 
 at which the proposed new cliurch was regularly organized 
 and oflRcered, and INIr. Lord installed as pastor, himself 
 preaching the installation sermon. No adequate account of 
 this historic occasion has come down to us, but we knoAv 
 that it was attended by ministers and delegates from the 
 nearby churches, if not from all the Cape churches. The 
 town paid Mr Richard Knowles, the tavern keeper, for the 
 entertainment of the visiting delegations. Tlie. church itself 
 was then supported by the town in tlie same manner as the 
 schools are today. 
 
 Owing to the unfortunate loss of the church records by 
 fire in 1861, no full account, or history, of the church so 
 founded is possible We are obliged to gather together from 
 the town records and from various scattered sources such 
 fragmentary items of information as can be found and to 
 weave them together into something like a connected narra- 
 tive. The old records, we are told, written in the splendidly 
 clear handwriting of the early ministers, were full of inter 
 esting information which is now entirely lost, for no one, 
 so far as known, ever copied or published any but the most 
 fragmentary portions of the book. In spite of this, however, 
 we are able to supply considerable of the missing informa- 
 tion. We know that the male members of the church so 
 founded Avere seven in number, and we know the names of 
 six of these seven. They were the pastor. Rev. i\Ir. Lord, 
 Thomas Atkins, who was the first deacon, Capt. John Atkins, 
 
his l)rother, Moses Godfrey, Elisha Mayo, and John Collins. 
 Tlie seventh inemher was j)robal)ly Jonutliau Collins, brother 
 of John. The ciiureh was organized on the plan of the 
 "halfway covenant," so called, wliich provided i"or a sort of 
 halfway nieiiibersliip in the church, in addition to the regu- 
 hir ineinhershii), hut two of tlie seven members above men- 
 tioned dissented from this ])r()vision of the creed, wliile as- 
 senting to the rest of it. l>y virtue of this covenant per- 
 sons baptized in infancy, who were willing to subscribe to 
 the church covenant and articles of faith, and were correct 
 in their life, were to be considered ehurcli meiul)crs so far 
 as to entitle them to liave tlieir children baptized. Such 
 persons were not allowed to unite with the church in the 
 observance of tlie Lord's Supper. 
 
 No sooner had the little church been started on its 
 career, than it was l)rought almost to destruction by rea- 
 son of a controversy which arose between j\lr. Lord and 
 two of his church mem])ers, Messrs. Godfrey and Mayo. 
 The trouble arose out of a misunderstanding in regard to 
 sending delegates from the church to a church council held 
 at Billingsgate, now Wellfieet, in November, 1720. Mr. Lord 
 claimed that at a regular meeting of the church members 
 he and Dea. Thomas Atkins were authorized to attend the 
 council. Messrs. Godfrey and Mayo said that no vote was 
 taken on the matter, and that a majority of the meeting 
 were in fact opposed to sending delegates. Tt is not neces- 
 sary or fitting at this time to go into the details of this dis- 
 agreement, wliich Avas but a side issue in a much larger con- 
 troversy arising out of the settlement of Rev. Samuel Osborn 
 over the church at Eastham. The result was that an Ec- 
 clesiastical Council was called to meet at Chatham in the 
 latter part of 1723, which failed to heal the breach and at 
 length, i\ressrs.' Godfrey and Mayo were excommunicated, 
 l)ut were at once received as members by the church at 
 Eastham, over which Mi'. Osborn presided. Mr. Lord, how- 
 ever, held resolutely to his course, and although the outlook 
 
10 
 
 was dark for a time, he pulled the church through, member- 
 ship gradually increased, and at his death in 1748, it was in 
 a flourishing condition. 
 
 A new parsonage was built liy the town for j\Ir. Lord 
 iu 1721, in size and appearance like the old Sears house, 
 which some of the older people will remember. It stood on 
 the north side of the road and west of the meeting house. 
 Church attendance so increased that in a few years the 
 matter of building a new meeting house began to be dis- 
 cussed. Some wished to construct galleries in the old 
 church and continue it in use for a time, but in the end it 
 was decided to build a new house, take the old one down 
 and use the material as far as it would go in the new one. 
 Mr. Lord, writing about the affair in 1780, gives us a glimpse 
 of conditions then existing. "There had been essays," he 
 writes, "to have the meeting house built two or three years 
 sooner, but it met with great opposition and one of the 
 pleas against it was that our crops and fishing voyages 
 failed. However, at last a major vote overruled the opposi- 
 tion, and it was carried on with great difficulty last year. 
 It is observed that the success of our fishing the last year 
 is wonderful. For they (of observers) that say the least of 
 it, say that it is double to what was ever known before, 
 and according to the cxactest account that I can get at 
 present, the prices of the fish that has been all sold amounts 
 to £744 10s." From which the pastor concludes that it is 
 well to cast one's l)read upon the waters. 
 
 Concerning the cost and method of construction, the 
 town records are singularly silent, l)ut apparently about 525 
 pounds was appropriated by the town in all. The work 
 was directed by the selectmen and three agents appointed 
 by the town. These meji were Dea. Thomas Atkins, Daniel 
 Sears, and Samuel Taylor, the selectmen and Capt. Joseph 
 Harding, Ensign William Nickerson and John Rider, the 
 agents. Tlie building, when completed proved to be a sub- 
 stantial, permanent structure, and served its purpose about 
 
11 
 
 a hundred years, being once enlarged and repaired in 1773, 
 and repaired again in 1792. Its dimensions were to be those 
 of the South meeting house in Eastham, but there is no 
 record of what those dimensions were. Judging, hoAvever, 
 from other meeting liouses built on the Cape and elsewhere 
 about this time it is safe to say that it was a square building 
 or nearly square and that its four roofs rose to a point sur- 
 mounted by a turret. In 1719 the town of Truro voted to 
 build a new meeting house 22 feet in the wall, 40 feet long, 
 and 36 feet broad, which was pro])ably about the size of the 
 Chatham building. The vote was that it be placed near or 
 on the same spot or lot of land as the old one. It was in 
 fact placed on the north side of the road in front of what is 
 now the north section of the old cemeteries. The building 
 had galleries on the east, west and south sides. The en- 
 trance was on the south opposite the pulpit. There was no 
 plastering on the inside, simply rough boards and beams. 
 Benches, arranged on each side of a centre aisle, were used 
 to seat the people. There were no pews. At that time pews 
 in a meeting house were considered to be such evidence of 
 wealth and worldly display on the part of the owner as 
 to be rigidly excluded from God's Temple. Exception was, 
 however, made in the case of the minister's wife. She pos- 
 sessed the only pew in tlie new house. 
 
 It should be understood that this locality, where the 
 first two meeting houses were located, was then, and re- 
 mained for over a hundred years tlie centre of the town, 
 so far as there then was any centre. Here was the sun dial 
 to give the correct time, tlie pound for stray cattle, the wind- 
 mill for grinding llieir grain, the tjivern, where men met to 
 make trades and hear the news, and tlie parsonage where 
 they all went wheji in trouble. Few people realize in this 
 day the large place the minister then filled in the com- 
 munity. He was the only educated man in the i)la('e and 
 was relied uj)()n by the straight-forward i)eople of those 
 days for all sorts of assistance. They had so few trained 
 
1^ 
 
 men in those days that they could not afford to throw any 
 of them away. He was called upon not only as a physician 
 for spiritual ills, but for physical ills as well. lie not only 
 preached on Sunday, but was called upon to prescribe in 
 sickness, being supposed to have some knowledge of medi- 
 cine, and he was further expected to know some law. He 
 was oftentimes preacher, pastor, doctor, surgeon, lawyer, 
 and judge all in one. It is difficult to conceive of anyone 
 holding a higher, more responsible or more useful position 
 in the community than these early graduates of Harvard 
 College htAd in these Cape Cod towns in the early part of 
 the eigliteenth century. 
 
 As time went on and the people began to acquire more 
 property, their ideas about Jiaving pews in the meeting 
 house gradually underwent a change. On March 19, 1739, 
 it was voted in town meeting to build pews in our meeting 
 house in the vacant room, and also to plaster the said meet- 
 ing house. Subsecjuently a committee was chosen to set out 
 the pew ground, to set a valuation on the same, and to 
 decide who should have the first and succeeding choices. 
 Those who paid the highest tax for building the meet- 
 ing house were to have the choice of pew ground, accord- 
 ing to the amounts they had paid. Mr. Thomas Doane had 
 the first choice, then ]\Ir. John Collins, Ensign William Nick- 
 erson, John Covel, John Eldredge, Daniel Sears, Daniel 
 Howes, Ebenezer Eldredge, John Nickerson, Joshua Atkins, 
 William Nickerson 4th, Maziah Harding, and Jonathan God- 
 frey in the order named. The space allotted for these pews 
 was under the galleries and around three sides of the meet- 
 ing house, next to the wall or sides of the building. The 
 space in front of the pulpit, now considered the most de- 
 sirable part of the house, Avas still used for the benches, on 
 which the greater part of the people sat. Each owner of 
 pew ground built his own box pew at his own expense and 
 according to his own taste. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Lord's pastorate over the church he had 
 
13 
 
 founded continuedv for nearly thirty years. He was rigid, 
 perhaps domineering, but he gave faithful service, holding 
 before the people a high standard of conduct and life and 
 demanding the same of them. lie gradually l)uilt the church 
 up until at his death in 1748 it stood upon a secure founda- 
 tion, enabling it to weather the storms of a century and a 
 half after his firm guidance could no longer be had. Dur- 
 ing his pastorate he admitted 14:i i)ersons to full communion, 
 13 to the half-way covenant, and l)aptized 492. He en- 
 joyed the unique distinction of founding and bringing to 
 success and stability two different churches in two different 
 parts of the English Colonies, one in the South and one in 
 the North. Roth of these clmrches are still in existence. 
 During his long life he lield only these two pastorates. 
 
 Mr. Lord's death occurred in June, 1748. Nearly a year 
 elapsed before a successor was installed. The choice fell 
 upon Rev. Stephen Emery, a young man, a graduate of Har- 
 vard College, the son of Rev. Samuel Emery of Wells, Me. 
 He had obtained a few years' experience as pastor of a 
 church at Nottingham, N. H., a frontier settlement harassed 
 by Indian raids. Tlie fact that he had visited the Cape in 
 1747, and tliat his bi'(>ther-in-law. Rev. Josepii Crocker, Avas 
 settled over the Soutli P;irish of p]astham, now Orleans, may 
 have inclined him to prefer a pastorate in tliis section of the 
 State. The town voted to give him 800 pounds as a settle- 
 ment payable in two years, also an annual salary of 170 
 pounds payable in ]\lay and Octol)er, four loads of salt hay 
 delivered in September annually, and twenty cords of wood 
 delivered annually by November 1st, sixteen of oak and four 
 of pine. In INIay 1749 the town agreed with Capt. Joshua 
 Godfrey to go with his vessel to Exeter, N. II., and bring Mr. 
 Emery's goods for 50 pounds. Daniel Sears, Jr., agreed to go 
 by land, finding himself and two ho-rses, and bring ]\Ir. 
 Emery's family for 47 pounds. As Mr. Emery preferred to 
 build and own his own house, the town voted in August to 
 
14 
 
 sell the house which ^Ir. Lord had occupied and to let the 
 ministerial land for a term of years, which was done. 
 
 Mr. Emery came to a fairly prosperous settlement of 
 about 100 families and about 500 people, partly farmers, 
 partly fishermen and sailors, small in comparison with the 
 other Cape towns, but with a long established government 
 and a fully organized and well supported church. It was a 
 community similar to that in which he had been bom and 
 reared, and he doubtless found it easy to understand its 
 people. Regarding his personality, very little has come down 
 to us. He was evidently a good preacher. Benjamin Bangs, n 
 merchant of Harwich, records in his diary May 24, 1747, 
 "Mr. Emery preached here exceedingly well," and again 
 Jan. 22, 1749, ' ' Mr. Emery preached here from Galatians 2 : 
 19th, two excellent sermons." He was not contentious like 
 Mr. Adams, nor adamant in his opinions like Mr. Lord. Yet 
 he had many tilings during his pastorate calculated to stir 
 a man of less forgiving nature. The old idea that no church 
 should be tolerated except the established church, was being 
 rudely assailed. The doctrines of the Baptists or Anabap- 
 tists, as they were then called, were being widely dissemin- 
 ated. In 1744, sliortly before the close of ]\Ir. Lord's minis- 
 try, one Elisha Paine of Canterbury, Conn., an itinerant 
 preacher and exhortcr of the Anabaptist faith, visited the 
 Cape and had great success, especially in Harwich and vicin- 
 ity, in securing converts. He was a son of the Cape, his 
 parents having removed from Eastliam to Connecticut a))out 
 30 years before. He was a fluent and fervid speaker and 
 produced a great impression upon his hearers. Altliougli 
 he did not remain long upon the Cape, his work was con- 
 tiiiucd by others; a cliurcli was finally formed at Harwich, 
 having a number of Chatham adherents, and on Feb. 23, 
 1749, Joshua Nickerson of Harwich became their pastor. 
 These people were variously styled Separatists, New Liglits. 
 aid Anal)aptists. The first members or attendants of this 
 church from Chatham included Stephen Ryder, Ebenezer 
 
15 
 
 Nickerson, Ebeuezer Nickcrsou, Jr., Baruubas Eldrcdge, 
 Joshua Eldredge, Nathaniel Covell, and Nathaniel Bassett. 
 Mr. Emory came to tlie church at Chatham just as this 
 movement, lieretofore unparalleled on the Cape, was in full 
 swing. What his attitude toward it was, we have no means 
 of knowing, but it is clear that the number of Anabaj)tists 
 in Chatham grew very slowly during his ministry. A few 
 families, chiefly those who had first joined the movement, 
 continued steadfastly with it. There were in town a])out a 
 dozen or fifteen families called Baptists in 1780, near the 
 close of Mr. Emery's career. 
 
 So successful, indeed, was Mr. Emery that in 1773 it 
 became necessary to enlarge the meeting house by the addi- 
 tion of two wings, one on the east side and one on the west 
 side. At the same time extensive repairs were made, new 
 windows put in, a porch l)uilt in front, and the whole build- 
 ing re-shingled and painted. New pews were put in, where 
 the enlarged space allowed. Mr. Richard Sears was emi)loyed 
 to bring from Maine the necessary timber and boards and 
 land them at the Old Harbor. A committee was appointed 
 to superintend the work, consisting of John Ilawes, Seth 
 Smith, Joseph Atwood, and Samuel Collins, being the Town 
 Clerk and Selectmen of that year. The plan on which the 
 work was done probably would not be followed today. The 
 carpenters agreed that if the town would furnisli the rough 
 timber and boards, they would go ahead and re-build the 
 meeting house, furnishing all finisliing material themselves, 
 and take their chances of securing payment out of tlie sale 
 of th(^ new pew ground that would be contained in tlie two 
 wings added. Whether this was a good bargain I'or the con- 
 tractors, history does not state. 
 
 Let us remember that this building stood facing the 
 roiid in the Henry Emery neighborhood at the old cemeteries. 
 As romod(ded, it was a plain building, its roofs sloping north 
 and south, with ga])le ends, as they were then called, on the 
 east and west, wdth no steeple, and with a porcli in front fac- 
 
16 
 
 iug the south. J'ictiire to yoursoli" the Great Hill to the east, 
 a level plain stretching to the west, a cemetery in the rear 
 and a deep valley in front on the other side of the high- 
 way, and you will have a fair idea of the setting of the old 
 church. The records too tell us how it was painted. The 
 town voted, say the records, "to paint the meeting house 
 as follows, viz. : the frunt and the Iavo gable ends to be 
 painted with a stone couler, and the porch, back side and all 
 over the roofe with a Spanish brown, and the inside as fol- 
 loweth, the pulpit and frunt of the gallerys and the sids all 
 with stone couller. " 
 
 During Mr. Emery's ministry there were many dark 
 and trying days for the Town. From 1755 to 1762 the 
 French and Indian Wars drew away many of the young 
 men ; then a wave of emigration to Nova Scotia swept off 
 more than one-third of the population ; following this an 
 epidemic of small pox carried off about two score and 
 marked others for life ; then came the Revolution: which 
 nearly destroyed the fishing and trading business of the 
 place and brought it to such straits that it could neither 
 maintain its schools nor sustain its minister. Mr. P^mery, 
 however, remained faithful and helpful to his people, and 
 lived long enough to see the dawn of a new era of free- 
 dom and prosperity for them. He died ^lay 24, 1782, after 
 a ministry of ^53 years, the longest in the history of the 
 church. His ministry and that of Mr. Lord covered a 
 period of 62 years. He admitted to the church 135 members 
 and baptized 681 persons. It is written of his father, Rev. 
 Samuel Emery of Wells, Me., that "he was charita))le and 
 of a quiet temperament, performing his duty without osten- 
 tation, with zeal and courage, fulfilling in an eminent degree 
 the apostolic precept, 'as mucli as in you lieth, live peace- 
 ably with all men.' " I am inclined to think that the son 
 inlierited many of the father's qualities. Mr. Levi Atwood, 
 who doubtless wrote from traditional information, describes 
 him as "a smart, energetic man" and as having a successful 
 
17 
 
 ministry. The town was much in arrears in paying his 
 sahxry, and it was several years before an adjustment was 
 made with his widow. 
 
 His successor was Kev. Thomas Koby, who was the 
 son of Rev. Joseph Roby of Lynn, I\Iass., and a graduate 
 of Harvard College in the class of 1779. He was a young 
 man without previous experience and was called to suc- 
 ceed a veteran in the ministry. He had many misgivings, 
 both on account ot his age and on account of his lack of 
 friends and relations in this part of the State, as his inter- 
 esting letter to the Church shows, and hesitated long before 
 accepting the charge, but the urgent requests of the people 
 persuaded him to undertake the task. He was installed 
 Oct. 22, 1783. In October, 1786, he was married to Lucretia 
 Sturgis, daughter of Samuel Sturgis, Esq., of Barnstable. 
 At this period there were about a dozen families living at 
 East Harwich and vicinity, most of them ])elonging to the 
 Kendrick family, who regularly worshipped with the Chat- 
 ham congregation. They paid a fixed sum yearly for each 
 member of the family so attending in Chatham. 
 
 Mr. Roby's ministry appears to have been satisfactory 
 and successful, in spite of his inexperience. Certain it is 
 that the attendance so increased that it was found neces- 
 sary to enlarge the seating capacity of the meeting house. 
 In 1792 the town voted to enlarge the porch and place the 
 stairways to the galleries therein, also to close up the east 
 and west entrances. In the vacant space in llie auditorium 
 where the stairway's were and in the aisles to the side doors, 
 they voted to place pews. At the same time the house was 
 repaired and painted on the outside. It is likely that Mr. 
 Roby would have been content to i-emaiu witli tlie church 
 for a very long period, had not misfortune suddenly over- 
 taken him. Within one week he lost both his wife and his 
 motlier-in-law and found himself left with tliree small chil- 
 dren to bring up and with no near relatives to help care for 
 them. He had been dissatisfied also for some time with his 
 
18 
 
 salary which was 80 pounds yearly ; the town was not dis- 
 posed or was unable to increase it, and he finally asked for 
 his dismissal, Avhich was granted by the town Sept. 28, 1795. 
 He had held the pastorate about 13 years, during which 
 time he had admitted to the church 66 persons. He removed 
 to Maine, where he obtained another church and married 
 again. 
 
 His successor here was Rev. Ephraim Briggs, son of 
 Rev. Ephraim Briggs of Halifax, Mass., and a graduate of 
 the class of 1791, Harvard College. He was likewise a 
 young man, seeking his first pastorate. He was ordained 
 here July 20, 1796. He was a faithful, hard-working pastor, 
 a man of ability, and popular with Ids parishioners. The 
 histories mention the fact that he was something of a chem- 
 ist for those days and was one of the first to manufacture 
 epsom salts and magnesia. During his pastorate the move- 
 ment toward the doctrines of the ^Methodists assumed con- 
 crete form in this part of the Cape. A society was organized 
 at East Harwich in 1797, a small meeting house was Iniilt 
 there in 1799, and such was tlu^ growth of the sect that in 
 1811 the first house was abandoned and the present meeting 
 house erected on its present location near the Chatham line. 
 A considerable num])er of Chatham families became inter- 
 ested in this ncAv church, and the movement had a steady 
 growth. ]\Ir. Briggs established close and cordial relations 
 with his people, his brother. Rev. Isaac Briggs marrying a 
 daughter of Hon. Ricliard Sears, and his untimely deatii in 
 1816, at the age of 47 years, was deeply lamented. He held 
 the pastorate twenty years and during tliat time admitted 
 91 metnbers and ba])tized 349. His salary was 85 pounds 
 annually. 
 
 He was succeeded by Rev. Stetson Raymond, son of 
 Samuel Raymond of Middleboro. With the call to Mr. Ray- 
 mond the succession of Harvard graduates, who had con- 
 trolled tlie destinies of the church for over a hundred years, 
 was briikoti. never again to be restored. Mr. Raymond was 
 
19 
 
 a graduate of Brown University in the class of 1814. It 
 was another case of a young man and his first pastorate. 
 Ifis salary was fixed at $650 and the use of the parsonage. 
 Whon Mr. Raymond took charge, religious conditions were 
 rapidly changing. The old order was passing away. The 
 halcyon days of the old church, when it had no rivals, when 
 all cheerfully united in religious worship and supported a 
 minister of the highest class and training, were rapidly 
 passing away. Up to tliis time those who were dissatisfied 
 with the teachings of the old church, and they were not 
 very numerous, had joined societies in Harwich of the Bap- 
 tist or ]\Iethodist persuasion. These people after a time had 
 succeeded in securing exemption from ministerial taxes in 
 Chatham, thereby relieving them from the support of two 
 cliurclu'.s. Hut the spirit of dissent was now rapidly spread- 
 ing. New creeds and ideas were appealing to people. Upon 
 the correct inter])retation of one or more verses of Scripture, 
 in the belicif of many, lumg tlie problem of their everlasting 
 salvation. Religious controversies filled the air. Each one 
 claimed he had the correct way of living and thinking and 
 the directest path to everlasting bliss. These controversies 
 inevitably stirred up bitterness and the persecutions which 
 some of these followers of the new ideas claim to have 
 suflfered, read like some of the pages of medieval history. 
 That period of dissent and dissension has passed away. We 
 have begun to see that these differences do not really touch 
 the great basic principles of Christianity ; that it is not so 
 vastly important what we think of certain passages of 
 scripture, as it is that we order our own lives daily accord- 
 ing to the great plain and undisputed teachings of the Bible, 
 that pulling together is. vastly better than religious war- 
 fare. But while tliese new creeds were gathering converts, 
 there was undeniably great tension of feeling, and the path- 
 way of the old faith was beset with rocks and pitfalls. 
 
 The first real rivals which the old church had within 
 the town, were the Methodists, who established a society 
 
20 
 
 here in 1816. Their example was soon followed by the Uni- 
 versalists in 1822, and by the Baptists in 1821:. One won- 
 ders how the old church survived all these defections follow- 
 ing one upon another so rapidly, and one is still more as- 
 tonished to find that in the midst of it all Mr. Raymond 
 conducted two revivals, one in 1817 and one in 1824, which 
 together brought 46 members into the church. This alone 
 is ample proof of his success. Mr. Raymond was dismissed 
 from the church JTune 24, 1829, after a ministry of 13 years, 
 during Avhich he admitted to the church 107 members and 
 baptized 156. Owing to the absence of records, it is not 
 possible to state why the relations with Mr. Raymond were 
 severed, but it is understood that Mr. Raymond, in view 
 of his success, considered that he was not properly treated 
 and felt very much injured. He became pastor of the 
 Trinitarian Church at Bridgewater, where he remained 
 many years. 
 
 During Mr. Raymond's pastorate, the opposition to the 
 regular church had grown so strong that it was found to 
 be impossible to continue it longer as an institution sup- 
 ported by the town. The town records show that at a town 
 meeting held August 9, 1824, "the town voted not to raise 
 $500 for Mr. Stetson Raynu)nd. Then the hearers of Mr. 
 Raymond voted to raise $500 for his support this year." 
 This ended the connection of the town as such with the 
 church. The members of the church then met and organized 
 themselves into the First Congregational Parish of Chatham 
 on Oct. 18, 1824. 
 
 After i\Ir. Raymond's dismissal, there was no perma- 
 nent pastor for a period Rev. Mr. Scovil was hired for a 
 year and after him was Rev. Mr. Fletcher for several mouths, 
 followed by Rev. John F. Stone, avIio was the last to preacli 
 in the old meeting house. The old building had seen a cen- 
 tury of service. In spite of additions and alterations, it no 
 longer met the needs of the town, as the centre of popula- 
 tion was fast changing from the plains west of Great Hill 
 
21 
 
 to the present centre in the southeasterly part of the town. 
 To move the old building was out of the question, and it 
 was therefore decided to leave it to the pew owners who 
 claimed it, to be torn down and distributed to various parts 
 of the town. It may interest some of you to know that a 
 window from this old meeting liouse is still doing service in 
 the barn of the late George T. Snow, having been preserved 
 by his father, the late Nathaniel Snow. 
 
 Concerning tlie new meeting house, Mr. Levi Atwood in 
 his historical address on an occasion similar to this twenty- 
 five years ago, gives the only available information. "At a 
 meeting of the Society," he says, "held May 27, 1830, it was 
 voted to build a new meeting house, and after much voting 
 and reconsidering, it was decided to locate on the land now 
 in use by the Congregational people and others as a ceme- 
 tery. The building committee were Isaac Hardy, Joshua 
 CroAvell, John Seabury, Collins Howes, and James Atwood. 
 The house they built was a neat, up-to-date, well finished 
 structure and the committee were justly proud of their job. 
 Its cost was $2,920.77. It received the unfavorable criticism 
 of some who believed ih very plain worship, seeing in this 
 elegant house much to condemn, especially the crooked pew 
 arms. The pews were sold at public auction Feb. 10, 1831. 
 The sale was satisfactory and no difficulty was found in 
 paying the bills." "The new church had a steeple but no 
 bell and about this time, the parish wishing to make a little 
 more sound, secured a nice sounding bell paid for by sub- 
 scription. A church bell in town was a new thing and the 
 janitor not being well posted in the rules, rung with all his 
 might at the close of each service." It is this building 
 erected in 1830, somewhat remodeled and moved to its 
 present location, in which we now worship, and it is the 
 same bell, whose tones we now hear. Soon after the comple- 
 tion of the meeting house, a parsonage was erected on the 
 lot adjacent to the meeting house and west of it, "a large, 
 commodious, two story building." Rev. Mr. Stone con- 
 
22 
 
 tinued his miuistry during these building operations and a 
 year or two after. He admitted eight members to the 
 cliurch. 
 
 After him Rev. Isaac Briggs, brother of Rev. Ephraim 
 Briggs, a former pastor, occupied the pulpit for two years 
 from 1834 to 1836. lie was a graduate of Brown University 
 and came only as a temporary supply. He is described as 
 "a good sample of the ancient ministry, sound, solid and 
 solemn." In November, 1836, came Rev. John A. Vinton of 
 Braintree, a graduate of Dartmouth College in the class of 
 1828. He admitted nine members to the church during 
 his brief pastorate, which was cut short by his death in 
 1838. Next followed Rev. Charles Rockwell, a graduate of 
 Yale College in the class of 1826, who was installed here 
 May 27, 1838. He had been a chaplain in the U. S. Navy 
 and had traveled much. In the spring and summer of 1810 
 there was a partial revival and in the following two years 
 a larger one. Mr. Rockwell was a genial, social man and 
 seemed well suited to a parish made up largely of sailors 
 and their families. 
 
 "Although sound in the faitlT, " says Mr. At wood in 
 the address already mentioned, "Mr. Rockwell was some- 
 what akin to the new school, and in very marked contrast 
 with former ministers, and was inclined to new and im- 
 proved methods. The Congregational Vestry was built 
 down town on Cross Street during his ministry and proved 
 a useful building, and was in good service for twenty-five 
 years, when it was no longer needed. ]\Ir. Rockwell was 
 specially interested in the young people, particularly the 
 boys, and had them faithfully trained, and a good number 
 of the promising lads stationed in the church choir. His 
 influence over tliem was good morally, spiritually and in- 
 tellectually. His sermons were made especially interesting 
 to the young and be had the faculty of drawing them to 
 the church service, when instead of being a dull, dreary day, 
 the Sabbath was the 'day of all the week the best.' " 
 
23 
 
 '*j\lr. Kockwell married while in Chatham, ]\Iiss Polly 
 Howes, a very worthy young lady, the daughter of Capt. 
 Thomas Howes. Like many others he was not perfect 
 {ind one of liis failings was a faculty of saying the wrong 
 thing at tlie wrong time, which involved him in unpleasant 
 litigation, and after six years liis pastorate terminated. H 
 was on the whole successful, resulting in considerable addi- 
 tions to the church." January 1, 1846, there were 32 male 
 and 107 female church members. 
 
 "Kev. E. W. Tucker, a man of unusual mildness and 
 modest piety was called in 1846 at a salary of $485. This 
 salary Avas fixed b,y each man marking the sum he was will- 
 ing to pay and taking the average, which was $485.13, which 
 Mr. Tucker willingly accepted, without the 13 cents. He 
 and his excellent wife were very frugal in their mode of 
 living and saved something from this salary. His pastorate 
 continued six years, when he was dismissed at his own 
 request. He was very successful as a pastor with marked 
 revivals and general prosperity. Pifty-soven were added to 
 the cluireh and 44 were baptized. The meeting house was 
 enlarged during his ministry by opening the central part 
 of the house and putting in twenty new pews which was 
 thought necessary to accommodate those who wished to buy 
 pews but could not obtain them. The expense was about 
 $1200. The proceeds from the sale of the pews was suf- 
 ficient to pay the bills and leave a surplus with which was 
 purchased the chandelier now in use." 
 
 Rev. Noadiah S. Dickinson was called Aug. 16, 1852, 
 at a salary of $650, afterwards increased to $750. He "was 
 a profound Bible schola>" and aimed to touch tlie l)ottom of 
 every subject lie grapi)led with. He liad a successful pastor- 
 ate, added li) to the church, and baptized 33. He was very 
 dignified in his profession, but cordial and agreeable on 
 acquaintance. He was noted for the length and depth of 
 his sermons, of wliich he had two every Sabbath^ forenoon 
 and afternoon, both fully written out." He resigned after 
 
24 
 
 a pastorate of six years largely on account of ill health. 
 The first clmrch organ in town was introduced into the 
 meeting house during his pastorate, but not without opposi- 
 tion and criticism. 
 
 After listening to supplies for a period, the churcli in 
 Marcli, ISGO, called Rev. Edward B. French of Ilolliston. 
 "Mr. French was a talented young man of pleasing person- 
 ality, iind though l)oiiig without ministerial experience and 
 liaving many difiiculties to encounter, was successful as a 
 pastor during the sliort term of two years. He had an in- 
 teresting revival and added 24 to the church. Being am- 
 bitious and patriotic, he resigned at the beginning of Wv 
 Kebellion and enlisted in the service of his country, being 
 the first volunteer from Chatham." He became a Chap- 
 lain in the Army. The parsonage was burned during the 
 ministry of ]\Ir. French, while he and his wife were absent 
 at prayer meeting on Sunday evening, Sept. 29, 1861, result- 
 ing in the loss of the building, all the Ixdongings of Mr. 
 French and the valual)le records of the cliurch covering 
 nearly 150 years. 
 
 j\Ir. French was succeeded in 1862 by Rev. Alexander 
 C. Childs, who remained about two years. He was a quiet, 
 modest, clerical appearing man and his pastorate was suc- 
 cessful, but not marked by any special interest." On March 
 23, 1863, the Society voted to build a new parsonage, but 
 not on the old sire, and the building committee were 
 authorized to locate it on some suitable piece of land nearer 
 the village. The committee were John Emery, Samuel Ilig- 
 gins, Josiah Hardy, Levi Atwood, and Sears At wood. Tlie 
 house was located and built where it now stands near the 
 Soldiers' Monument, on the old Scars place. 
 
 Rev. George Ritchie was the next minister, called in 
 June, 1865, at a salary of .^800. "During his ministry, at a 
 meeting held March 5, 1866, the Society voted to move 
 the meeting house from its location on the cemetery grounds 
 to its present location about a mile to the east and nearer 
 
25 
 
 the centre of population. The vote as recorded was, on 
 the fence 1, No 11, Yes 16." Owing to the marked opposi- 
 tion of many living? in tlie north and west parts of the 
 town, an oifort was made to reconsider tlie vote at a 
 snl)seqnent meeting, but it failed. Quite a number of those 
 wlio tliought the change inadvisal)le, severed their connec- 
 tion with the Parisli at tliis time and joined the Metiiodists. 
 The moving committee were Josiah Hardy, John Emery, 
 Seth Ryder, Eben B. Harding and Samuel Higgins. Money 
 was raised by subscription to pay tlic bills, l)ut the expense 
 of moving and remodeling was considerably above the es- 
 timates, being over $8000, and it became necessary to mort- 
 gage the property for a consideralde sum at a time when 
 the membership had considerably fallen off. The mortgage 
 was gradually reduced after a time and finally by a heroic 
 effort of friends at home and abroad fully paid off, after it 
 had been hanging over the Society about 15 years. i\lr. 
 Ritchie was a talented man and a good speaker, but owing 
 probably to difficulties arising out of the removal of the 
 meeting house, his ministry was not spiritually productive, 
 and he resigned after about two years. 
 
 Rev. Ogden Hall was called in 1868, at a salary of $800. 
 He found the financial and legal affairs of the church in a 
 tangle and devoted much of his energies in trying to 
 straighten them out. Through his efforts the old parish 
 organization of the church was abandoned, a legally organ- 
 ized Orthodox Congregational Society was formed, the meet- 
 ing house and parsonage conveyed to it by the old parish 
 officers, and matters put in shape so that a legal mortgage 
 of the property could be made. Mr. Hall's work was very 
 valuable at this time and shows him to have been a man of 
 good business judgment, but his efforts seem not to have 
 been wholly appreciated by those whom they were intended 
 to benefit, and he resigned in November, 1869, although re- 
 maining in town and assistincr the church for some time 
 
2G 
 
 after. At this time the membership of the church had been 
 reduced to 30 males and 76 females. 
 
 He was succeeded in 1870 by Rev. Hiram M. Day, a man 
 of sterling integrity, a Christian gentleman, faithful and full 
 of good works. He labored zealously for six years, when he 
 resigned, much to the regret of the church. His wife was a 
 strong and lielpful associate in his work. His sop, Arthur, 
 became prominent in editorial work on religious publications. 
 He was succeeded in 1877 by Rev. Peter B. Shiere, who 
 was at first successful, but managed to stir up opposition 
 and in 1879 it was voted 9 to 18 to dismiss him. He had, 
 however, made firm friends who remained loyal to him and 
 sought to extend his pastorate. A schism in the church re- 
 sulted and the meml)ership was still further reduced by the 
 resignation of his followers, when it was found that he 
 would have to go. 
 
 Rev. Isaiah P. Smith succeeded him in 1880 and re- 
 mained about two years. His ministry was not noteworthy. 
 He was followed by Rev. Louis P. Atwood, whose salary 
 was $600. "Mr. Atwood was a hard worker, a fluent 
 speaker, and an energetic, wide-awake man, and was fairly 
 successful." His ministry continued from j^ear to year un- 
 til January, 1889, when he insisted upon his resignation. 
 His son, Alfred H Atwood, is now prominent in rcligior.s 
 work in the State of Missouri. His successor was Rev. Sam- 
 uel P. Andrews, who l)egan his service in the summer of 
 1889 at a salary of $650. He contiinied i)astor till -lannary, 
 1896, wlion lie resigned. He was instrumental in bringing 
 into the cliurch over :50 ]i(H)ple and was dismissed with re- 
 gret. His wife died (hu-iiig liis pastorate and lie. hiler iiinr- 
 ried one of his faitliful })arisliioners, ]\Iiss ^lyra lOmery. 
 His successor was Rev. 1). W. Ricliardson, a scholarly 
 man, somewhat advanced in years. He and his wife were 
 highly esteemed, lie i-cmained nearly four yeai's, being 
 succeeded in 1900 by Rex. Frederick Parker, a young 
 man, who was installed and ordained in November, 1900. A 
 
27 
 
 new church organ was purchased during liis pastorate. 
 He remained only two years and was succeeded hy Rev. 
 Truman 1). Cliikls at a sahiry of $650. He was a good man, 
 but not gifted. lie resigned in V.H)') and was followed hy 
 Rev. Andrew (iihson, a fluent, hut not i)oIished speaker, who 
 did good woi-k at the outset, hut fell under a cloud, which 
 ended his usefulnt'ss hei-e and he resigned. Rev. Samuel II. 
 Emery, who canu' early in 1J)11, was an able preacher and 
 pastor, much beloved by the people. He had sought this 
 small charge on accouni of his healtli, Init he had already 
 neai'ly finished his work. He passed away before he had 
 completed his second year. 
 
 His successor, Rev. Ralph H. Abercronibie, who came in 
 1[)\'A, was a good nuin, socially well esteemed and helpful in 
 the music. He continued till 1918. His successor, Rev. Jack 
 Hyde, a gifted young man, full of enthusiasm, not afraid of 
 work, was successful in attracting large congregations from 
 the outset of his ministry. No such numbers of people had 
 filled the chureli witiiin tlu> memory of the oldest member. 
 It seemed as if new life was stirring in the community. 
 After a time ]\Ir. Hyde supplied also on Sunday the pulpit 
 at Harwich Centre, where he repeated his success at Chat- 
 ham, and later he preached also at Welltleet. The attend- 
 ance continued strong for about a year, when the novelty 
 having worn oft', many fell back into their old non-church- 
 going habits, which proved too strong to break. Mr. Hyde 
 was al)ly assisted by i\Irs. Hyde, whose work, especially with 
 the young people, was highly effective and beneficial. 
 Twenty-seven people were admitted to the church during 
 his brief pastorate of about a year and a half. He was sud- 
 denly called back to service in the Navy, with which he had 
 been connected before accepting the pastorate here. What- 
 ever others may think of the results of his work, his strong 
 personality and frank, manly, eloquent and rousing sermons, 
 have, it seems to me, supplied a tonic which this church 
 sadly needed and which will prove of value in the days to 
 
28 
 
 come. If his pastorate has done nothing more than to make 
 the church dissatisfied with the old order of trying to sup- 
 port on a meagre sahiry a very ordinary minister when 
 a union with some other church will enable them to com- 
 mand the services of able men, it will have done a great 
 work, and contributed wonderfully to the future success of 
 the church. 
 
 On account of the loss of membership resulting from 
 the differences in 1879 over Kev. ^Ir. Shiere, the churc'i 
 found itself so reduced in numbers as to be unable to sup- 
 port a minister without assistance from outside sources. It 
 appealed to the Congregational Home ^Missionary Society 
 for aid and with the exception of one or two pastorates, it 
 has since then received a substantial sum each year from 
 that Society toward the pastor's salary. At the present time 
 it is not so aided. 
 
 This review of the outward life of this ancient church 
 organization would not be complete without some mention 
 of the faithful leaders who from time to time were chosen 
 to assist and uphold the pastor in his office and to keep a 
 watchful eye upon the affairs and interests of the church. 
 The early deacons were all men of prominence in the com- 
 inunity. Thomas Atkins, the first deacon, served the town 
 many years as Selectman and Town Clerk. Samuel Taylor, 
 Stephen Smith, Paul Crowell, Paul Crowell. Jr., Nathan Bas- 
 sett and John Hawes were all leaders in local affairs. These 
 men had charge of the church during the first century of its 
 existence. Those who followed them were not less faithful, 
 but the names of many of them have faded from memory. 
 Simeon Ryder, Elisha Harding and John W. Atwood are. 
 liowever, remembered. In more recent times Deacons Levi 
 Atwood and Francis B. Rogers are recalled as notable, both 
 for length of service and for faithful and earnest steward- 
 ship. They wortliily maintained the standards of their 
 predecessors. Special mention should be made in this con- 
 
29 
 
 nection of Deacon .\twoocl l)et'anse of liis valuable efforts to 
 preserve as far as possible tlie history of the ehiireh. I'>u1 
 for his historical address delivered on a similar occasion to 
 this twenty-live years aj?o. tlie pastorates of more recent 
 times would necessarily have appeared in this address merely 
 as a sei-ies of names witliout the least color or life. 
 
 In lookiiiiz- back o\ ei- the record of two hundred years a 
 few general facts may be observed. During the first century 
 of its existence tlie church enjoyed a steady, uninterrupted 
 growtli. It \\i\d ahnost no opposition. It was served during 
 this period by four Harvard graduates. During the next tifty 
 years it held its own in spite of the rise of new sects and new 
 doctrines which drew away many who Avould otlierwise have 
 been its members. During the last fifty years it has fought 
 a brave but losing contest against adverse conditions — con- 
 ditions which every country church has had to face what- 
 ever its creed. It is true that there have been during this 
 last period unfortunate differences from time to time, and 
 members have witlidrawn from the church, but the great 
 factor in the decline of church adherents has been the steady 
 exodus of the young, ambitious and strong members to the 
 cities or larger towns. It is this wliich has sapped the 
 vitality of tliis and many another country church more 
 than any other thing and wliich imposes on those remaining 
 behind an ever growing burden and responsibility. 
 
 What this church has meant to the thousands who have 
 gone in and out of its different houses of worship during 
 these long two hundred years, is beyond any power of mine 
 to estimate or conceive. IIow many it has sustained, how 
 many it has comforted, how many it has cheered, what 
 moving scenes have been enacted within its shrine, who can 
 tell! Who can estimate its power for good in this town 
 llirough all these changing years! In peace and war, in 
 plenty and want, in storm and sunshine, it has lield aloft 
 the high ideals of Chrislianity, and strove to guide the pass- 
 ing generations to higher and nobler thoughts and broader 
 
30 
 
 and saner lives. No institution which the world has ever 
 known in all the ages sets before us higher standards or 
 urges us to higher motives or nobler ideals, than the Chris- 
 tian church. It is the foundation on which all liberty, law 
 and order and intelligence are reared. Its powerful in- 
 fiueuce on the history and evolution of civilization is uni- 
 versally recognized and it is by recurrence to its basic prin- 
 ciples that all real progress is made. 
 
 Believing then that this old churcli, which tlirough all 
 these years has lighted the pathway and cheered the lives 
 of generation after generation of our forbears from the 
 very beginning of the town, has earned by its long and 
 faithful labors our sincere respect and gratitude and loyalty, 
 let us now on the threshold of a new century, in the light 
 of all it has been in the past, dedicate ourselves anew and 
 unreservedly to its continued service and support in the 
 years which are to come, believing that we have a heritage 
 to transmit to future generations, which will grow more 
 precious as the years accumulate. 
 
31 
 
 THE PASTORAL SUCCESSION 
 
 1830 
 
 1696-1702 Rev. Jonathan Vickery 
 170;3 and later Rev. Gershom Hall 
 
 1706-1709 Rev. John Latimer 
 
 1710 Rev. Matthew Short 
 
 1711-1716 Rev. Hugh Adams 
 
 1718-1748 Rev. Joseph Lord 
 
 1748-1782 Rev. Stephen Emery 
 
 1782-1795 Rev. Thomas l{o])y 
 
 1795-1816 Rev. Epliraim liri^gs 
 
 1816-1829 Rev. Stetson Raymond 
 
 Rev. Fletcher 
 
 Rev. Seovel 
 
 1831-1838 Rev. JohnF. Stone 
 
 1834-1836 Rev. Isaac Brings 
 
 1836-1838 Rev. John A. Vinton 
 
 1838-1845 Rev. Charles Rockwell 
 
 1846-1852 Rev. E. W. Tucker 
 
 1852-1858 Rev. Noadiah S. Dickinson 
 
 1858-1859 Rev. Calvin Chapman 
 
 1860-1862 Rev. Edward B. French 
 
 1862-1864 Rev. Alexander C. Childs 
 
 1865-1867 Rev. George Hitchie 
 
 1868-1869 Rev. Ogden ITall 
 
 1870-1877 Rev. Iliram i\I. Day 
 
 J877-1S79 Rev. Peter B. Sliierc " 
 
 1880-1882 Rev. Isaiah P. Smith 
 
 1883-1888 Rev. Louis P. AtAvood 
 
 1889-1896 Rev. Samuel B. Andrews 
 
 1896-1900 Rev. D. W. Richardson 
 
 1900-1902 Rev. Frederic Parker 
 
 1902-1905 Rev. Truman D. Childs 
 
 1905-1910 Rev. Andrew Gi])son 
 
 1911-1913 Rev. Samuel IT. Emery 
 
 1913-1918 Rev. Ralph IT. Al)ercrombie 
 
 1918-1920 Rev. Jack Hyde 
 
 1920 Rev. Inor Partington 
 

 
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 Meeting-house built in 1830. 
 
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 PRESERVATION TECHNOLOGIES, LP. 
 1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
 Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
 

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