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HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS, 
 
 DISCOURSE, 
 
 DELIVERED AT LEBANON. N, H. 
 
 rHANKSGIVING DAY, NOVEMBER 35» 1830 : 
 
 EMBKACINO THE LEADING EVENTS IW THE 
 
 CIVIL AND ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY 
 
 TO THE CLOSE OF RET. ISAIAH POTTER'S MINISTRY. 
 
 / 
 BY PIIINEHAS COOKE, 
 
 Pastor of the Congregational Church in Lebanon. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY REQUEST OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 CONCORD : 
 
 PRINTED BY ASA M'FARLAND 
 1831 = 
 
 '}'!- 
 
25 /'On 
 
THANKSGIVING SERMON 
 
 DEUTERONOMY, 8: 2. 
 
 " And thou shall remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee 
 these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to 
 know what ivas in thine heart, whether thou icoiddest keep his commaTtd- 
 ments ornoy 
 
 The usual way the pions mind pursues to strengthen its confidence 
 in God, is to recall former dispensations of divine providence, and 
 thence derive motives for future trust. Moses, in the chapter includ- 
 ing the text, avails himself of this circumstance, to induce Israel to con- 
 fide in God, and render obedience to his commands. They were at a 
 stage in their journey, where the account of God's merciful dealings 
 with them was calculated to elicit their devout gratitude. They had 
 filled up their forty yeiirs in Uie wilderness, and stood on the bank of 
 Jordan, a favorable land-mark where to record the first portion of their 
 history, on their way to the promised land. To refresh their remem- 
 brance, their leader recites some cf the most interesting providences 
 of God towards them and their fathers, that they might in future set 
 their hope in God. This should be a leading object in all historical 
 recollections.. With this distinctly in view, let us trace the former 
 -dealings of God with the inhabitants of this town, and see if we do not 
 find motives of renewed confidence in our heavenly Father, and oc- 
 casion for sincere regret, that he has been served no better. 
 
 In doing this, I purpose to review our civil and ecclesiastical history in 
 separate order. The charter granting civil immunities to this town is 
 dated July 4, 1761, in the first year of the reign of George III. ; just 
 fifteen years before the declaration of American Independence. The 
 number of Grantees was sixty-two. The majority of these at the time 
 resiipdat Mansfield, Connecticut, where several of tiie first proprie- 
 tors' meetings were holden. Their first meeting is dated October 6, 
 1761, in which Mr. Nehemiah Estabrook presided as moderator, and 
 Mr. John Salter was clerk. The date of the charter is the same with 
 Plainfield, in this vicinity, two years earlier than Cornish, aad three, 
 than Claremont. niis accounts for a committee appointed by the pro- 
 prietors, September I, 1762, composed of Capt. Nathaniel Hall, INIr 
 John Hanks, and Mr. John Birchard, '' to lay out a horse-road from <hc 
 '.»ld Jorl IS'o 4, no'.v Chailsalcwn. fo Lebanon,'' Sixty- eight jeais f?gc 
 
4 
 
 Ine country between this and Charlestown was not sufficiently open to 
 admit the passage of a horse. How the wilderness has become a fruit- 
 iiil field, and thedcsert a fold, tor flocks and herds ! 
 
 The settlement in this town began near Connecticut river; and the 
 first families with their effects came in boats fromCharlestoWn.* Such 
 enterprize, manifested in the settlement of new countries, I do not say is 
 peculiar to Americans ; but I think no nation has ever discovered more 
 bold and persevering marks of it, than arc to be found in our own his- 
 tory. Instead of settling the place adjoining the one already occupi- 
 ed, it was no uncommon thing at that day, for a few families to advance 
 into the wilderness fifteen or twenty miles beyond any other settlement, 
 and there commence the attack on the forest. This was in many re- 
 spects the fact with the first settlers in Lebanon. 
 
 It was evidence of no small courage for a few families, at that day, td 
 plant themselves in the woods, insulated and remote from neighbors, 
 where savage beasts had not yielded their possession to the dark forest, 
 rtnd where savage men had not been driven from their lurking places. 
 These perils of the wilderness were borne with that fortitude by the 
 lathers, which it is not certain would be found in their children, should 
 they be placed in similar circumstances. 
 
 In the winter of 1762, four men hazarded the undertaking to reside 
 in the western part of the town. Their names were Levi Hyde, Sam- 
 uel Estabrook, William Dana ; the name of the other not ascertained. 
 During a severe snow storm, Mr. Dana came near perishing, while ab- 
 sent from his companions to feed their oxen at a place called Beaver 
 Meadoio. It is said a man came to them from the north during the 
 winter, having deserted from the British garrison. 
 
 The next year several families came in from Connecticut. Mr. Wil- 
 liam Downer with his wife and eight children arrived here July 1 1 , 1763, 
 and were the first family that came to the place. In the autumn of that 
 year, Oliver Davidson, Elijah Dewey and James Jones, arrived with 
 their families. All these spent the following winter, and no lives were 
 lost. It is evident a merciful providence shielded these men, women 
 and children from the wintry blasts, and deep snows of those days, 
 when they were so poorly provided with comfortable habitations. | 
 
 The two following years several families more came from Mansfield, 
 Lebanon, and other towns in Connecticut. Those who arrived be- 
 tween the years 1761 and 1766, may properly be considered the first 
 settlers. Besides those already named, we find the following : Na- 
 
 * To this place, for some time the first settlers were obliged to go for their 
 millinc;. And on one occasion, owing to the miits not being in ordei, they were 
 obliged to go to Montague, Mdss., a distance of f)0 miles. The voyage (Cm th.r 
 inan'went by water) was performed in twenty-one d<-?y?. His family, and oth- 
 clT, sn might well be expected, anxious for his' return, began to conclude he was 
 drowned. M length Hie r-^nop arrived, freighted with a carg-o most welcome 'o 
 ihe v,.hM" r.jiDny. 
 
& 
 
 thaniel Porter, Asa Kilburu, Samuel Meacham, Josepli Dana, Jona- 
 than Dana, Huckin Storrs, Silas Waterman, Jedediah Hibbard, Charles 
 Hill, John Wheatley, Jesse Cooke, Zalmo« Aspinwall, ^Joseph Wood, 
 James Hartshorn, and Nathaniel Storrs. 
 
 The tirst town meeting, of which any record remains, was Septem- 
 ber 12, 1765, in which John Wheatley presided. Were I to single out 
 an individual, to whom thi.s town, in its early days, was specially indebt- 
 ed for his exertions in its belialf, I would name John Wheatley, Esq. 
 He was the first town clerk ; for nearly twenty years, the first civil 
 magistrate ; the first school-master, and the first representative under 
 the present constitution of New Hampshire. To all his acknowledged 
 qualifications for civil life, v.as added piety, and such religious gifts aa 
 made him a suitable person to lead in the meetings of the Church, in 
 tlie absence of the minister. He was the first man who fixed his hab- 
 itation amidst the lofty pines on this plain, where has since risen this 
 pleasant and flourishing village. 
 
 During this year the orave ijanl in the west part of the town was 
 laid out, on land belonging to Mr. Charles Hill. It is said to be the old- 
 est north of Charlestov/n. The first adidt buried in it, was IVIr. Oli- 
 ver Davidson ; the first young man, INIr. Ezra Perkins. Previously to 
 the interment of these, two or three children are said to have died in 
 tov/n. What a multitude since have been gathered to the congrega- 
 tion of the dead .'' Our fathers, where are they ? The places partic- 
 ularly appropriated for the dead, now in town, are five. The town is 
 said never to have been visited v/ith an epidemick. Ihc annual num- 
 ber of deaths have probably been one to eighty-five, or ninety inhab- 
 itants. 
 
 The first school regularly organized v.as in I7C8. It was kept in a 
 log school-house, east of the present residence of Capt. Joseph Wood, 
 in what is now district No. 3, In 1775 there were four school districts. 
 Now there arc sixteen, and the average number of scholars attending 
 during the last winter (1830) was 615. 
 
 About theyear 1770, tlic families in town v/cro numbered, and found 
 to be forty-two, containing one hundred and ninety-five souls. This niim- 
 bering was made to asccitairi the relative distance of each family from 
 the spot contemplated as the site of a inecitvg-housc. The first house 
 of worship was erected in 1772, and stood a little west of the old grave 
 yard. Some years after, it was removed, and rebuilded on the hill near 
 Elihu Hyde's, that it might be more central to the increased popula- 
 tion. It was here occupied until the one now standing en the common 
 was built, in the year 1792. 
 
 In r»larch, 1771, the tovv-a voted to give a portion of their territory 
 ^djoiniuij Hanover, rontamirg 1 140 nrrrs, to Dr. E'cazrr V»"heCiockV> 
 
6 
 
 school, should such schuol be established. This land is still the prop- 
 erty of Dartmouth College, and is called the College Graitt. At that 
 time it was the intention of the venerable founder of Dartmouth Col- 
 lege to form a parish, including the above giant and College plain, by 
 the name of Dresden, which in fact was the name given to it for a 
 number of years. For some reason no incorporation was obtained, and 
 the plan failed. 
 
 Owing to the above grant, but especially to the contiguity of the two 
 places, there has ever been an endeared connection between this town 
 and the seat of learning in its neighorhood. Many of our sons * have 
 availed themselves of a public education, and some have reflected hon- 
 or on their Jllma Maicr. 
 
 The days now came on in the history of this town, and of our coun- 
 try, which emphatically tried men's souls. The colonies were assailed 
 with war — war with one of the most powerful nations on the globe. 
 This direful calamity, though it first fell on the more vulnerable points 
 of the nation, socn reached, in its various bearings, every family in the 
 land. The firing at the battle of Bunker Hill was literally heard in 
 this, and the adjoining towns. Never did air become the vehicle of 
 greater alarm. Over hills and mountains, through valleys and plains, 
 the hollow murmur creeps, to tell the children of the Pilgrims their lib- 
 erties must be purchased with their blood. 
 
 With peculiar weight did these trials fall on the new .settlements. 
 They were compelled to exchange the axe for the fire-arms, the plough- 
 f^hare for the sword, before the land had yielded scarcely a competency 
 for themselves and their families. The names of Lulhcr Whealley^ Ed- 
 vmrd Slapp, Eleazcr Malhcr Porter, David Millingion, and Capt. Joseph 
 Eslabrook are mentioned as those who lost their lives by going into the 
 war. Luther Wheatloy was mortally wounded in the battle near Still-- 
 water, September 19, 1777, and died the 30th of the same month, aged 
 17. In remembering all the way which the Lord thy God led thee 
 these forty years in the wilderness, it will be profitable to reflect that 
 the present peace and prosperity of this town is connected with the 
 loss of some of its first citizens, whoce deaths helped to purchase the 
 freedom we now enjoy. 
 
 At the close of the war, the people of tiiis and several other towns 
 lyinfT near the river, were perplexed awhile with their political relations, 
 in 1773, a pamphlet was read in town meeting, containing the Consti- 
 tution of Vermont ; whereupon it was voted unanimously to accept 
 their government, and come under its jurisdiction. This connection 
 did not last long, and was first broken ofl' by our sister State. In 1780, 
 
 * About forty arc enrolled on the catalogue ending with the class of 1829.— 
 \niong the first cthicalcMl, wc find the names of i:xperience Estabrook, Ez'-'kivi 
 OllMirn. Elijah T^c^yrv. •^.nivv] ^v-c^.i. n X^ .'■■; " ,1,^, Hi.ni-, P P. 
 
" the town agreed to govern themselves according to the laws of Con- 
 necticut, in those acts which refer to the peace and good order of 
 towns." Here is seen a trait of character truly cstimahle. In those 
 days, when there was no ruler in Israel, and every man did what was 
 right in his own eyes, our fathers, instead of abandoning themselves 
 to disorder and misrule, made what provision they could to maintain the 
 peace of society. It was this moral principle — this disi)Osition to self- 
 government^ which laid the foundation for our national compact. The 
 sons of the Pilgrims, by birth, education and religion, were fitted for 
 a republican government. For such a blessing they looked many years 
 previous to the revolution. To obtain it, they fought and bled ; and to 
 be prepared for its enjoyment, they suppressed the riot-stirring elements 
 of passion in their own breasts. They united, at this time, with the in- 
 habitants of Dresden, in appointing a Commiliee of Safety, to whose au- 
 thority all disorderly persons were to be amenable. Mr. Bezaleol 
 Woodward and Mr. Simeon Dewey, of the last named place, and 
 Dea. Nehemiah Estabrook, of Lebanon, were the first committee of 
 this kind. This committee was not deficient in p.ower, for it was ab- 
 solute. They could depute any man at a moment's w'arning, and 
 clothe him with all the authority of high Bailiff, and send him to appre- 
 hend whom they pleased. When the prisoner was tried, and the de- 
 cision passed, there was no appeal. Notwithstanding, they were 
 poorly furnished with the means of punishment. No publick prison 
 then to receive their convicts. They might indeed be, and proba- 
 bly were, a terror to evil-doers, but were quite deficient in the usual 
 implements of justice, to reward the wicked according to their works. 
 In March, 1778, "the Committee of Safety, and the Selectmen, 
 were authorized and instructed by the town to exert their influence to 
 suppress tippling-hoiises.''' More than fifty years ago our fathers dis- 
 covered a foresight highly creditable to them, that the free use of ar- 
 dent spirit was injurious and destructive to the w^elfare and peace of 
 society. At that day the ichole town might be considered a Temperance 
 Society. Their vote clearly implied it. Their doings, it is presumed, 
 excited no alarm that a union was designed between Church and 
 State. During the last half century, the people in our country have 
 freely indulged the opposite course, until intemperance has slain its 
 thousands, and tens of thousands. Of late, a happy re-action has 
 commenced, and the w^ise, the good and the patriotic, are uniting to 
 redeem the land from this terrible scourge. That true wisdom has ad- 
 vanced with the age of the world, is yet to be proved. In the year 
 1779, soon after the burning of Royalton, Vt. by the Indians, the in- 
 habitants of this town were much alarmed for fear the savages were 
 about to attack Newbury, in the same State. Soldiers were raised 
 
8 
 
 end sent north ia seouiiiig parties, while others were considered minute 
 men, ready for any exigency tliat might occur. This alarm was of 
 short duration, and was the last before peace was declared between us 
 and Great Britain. 
 
 The time now approached in the history of this town, and of New 
 Hampshire, when a Constitution of government was to be formed, con- 
 sonant to the principles of civil and religious freedom, for which they 
 had, in common with their fellow-citizens, bore the mighty ^struggle in 
 the war for independence. At the time the charter for this town was 
 obtained, John Wentworth was Provincial Governor. The British 
 government was dissolved in 1775, and the people formed a Provincial 
 Convention, of which Matthew Thornton was President. In 1776, a 
 temporary Constitution was framed, to continue during the war with 
 Great Britain. Under this Constitution, Meshech Wearc was annu- 
 ally elected President. A ijew and permanent Constitution took 
 place in 1783, in the formation of which, this town, with the rest of the 
 State, was invited to participate. Their first representative to the 
 State Convention, as has been observed, was John Wheatley, Esq. 
 The inhabitants of this town, with others at that day, were exceeding 
 jealous of their rights, lest the government about to be organized 
 should not guaranty their dear-bought liberties. This is discoverable 
 in the instructions given their representative ; and on one occasion in 
 recalling him. 
 
 There is no period in the history of the American Republic, or of 
 the individual States, more critical than when they were about to form 
 for themselves civil government. While fighting their common foe,, 
 they had the strongest motives for union. That variety of elements 
 which composes society, will in such a case be drawn together, as with 
 the force of chemical attraction. But when the common enemy is subdued, 
 and a plan must be devised how they canbest protect and enjoy their dear- 
 bought blessings, there appears what a celebrated statesman calls " the 
 wilderness of free minds." To bring these minds to unite in a form of 
 government, while they had such loose and undefined notions of legis- 
 lation, required vastly more skill than to govern them in the ranks of 
 an army. He, who allayed the storm of war, was pleased to hush 
 into peace the mixed elements of society, and control the mass of 
 mind, by the influence of patriotism, virtue, and religion. In a few 
 years, the world, for the first time beheld the sublime spectacle of an 
 extensive community, governing themselves by the gentle reins of a 
 representative Republic. To behold America governing herself, was 
 a more astonishing sight than to see her conquer her enemies. ,To 
 an European st,atesman, the ease and promptitude with which this 
 infant nation formed for themselvea a free and efficient government. 
 
9 
 
 and Ihe happines-, they so soon enjoyed beneath its protection, was a 
 phenomenon never before seen in the science of legislation. No 
 doubt many eyes from abroad were looking for the destruction of a 
 people by anarchy and intestine commotion, who could not bo sub- 
 dued by arms. But the power that conquered, saved. The men 
 who bought peace at so dear a rate, knew how to enjoy it ; while all 
 the glory is due to Him who rules the destiny of nations ; causing the 
 wrath of man to praise him, and restraining the residue. 
 
 II. As proposed, let us now trace the ecclesiastical history of the 
 town. 
 
 In Dec. 17G2, before the purchasers came to the place, they ap- 
 pointed a committee to treat with proprietors of townships adjoining, 
 to unite with them, to make provision for the preaching of the gospel. 
 Soon after, they voted a tax on each proprietor for the same purpose. 
 Here is a movement in the first owners of Lebanon that deserves com- 
 mendation. Behold a company of men in Connecticut, having pur- 
 chased a township in New Hampshire, and about to commence its 
 settlement, planning how they can have the gospel. And this, before 
 a .single farm is cleared, or framed house erected. Like their puritan 
 fathers, they must have iJic gospel in the wilderness. And where 
 could they more need it ? Their fathers' God was their God ; the 
 roligion of their lathers, their religion — Provision must be early made 
 to adore the former, and enjoy the consolations of the latter. What 
 has diminished the value of the gospel so much in view of some' of their 
 descendants ? 
 
 The first inhabitants did not come here merely to advance their 
 worldly interests. Higher motives seem to be mixed with the enter- 
 prize. Had they been assured that they would not have enjoyed the 
 institutions of religion for a course of years, it is probable that many 
 of them would not have left the sanctuary of their fathers at the time 
 they did. In their emigration, one object was to extend the limits of 
 the Church. The pious part imbibed a portion of the spirit of the 
 FouxpER of the neighboring College, who came about, the same time 
 from the same section of country ;* and whose leading object, it is well 
 known, was to extend the boimdaries of the Redeemer's kingdom. 
 Occasionally, in the first years of their pilgrimage, they heard the 
 gospel from the lips of that good man, whose voice at the time, in the 
 region around, reminds us of him, " who cried in the wilderness, 
 prepare ye the way of the Lord, make Ins paths straight." 
 
 The prosperity of this tov.n is more indebted to the regard for re- 
 ligion manifested by the fathers, tlian perhaps some of their descend- 
 
 * I.e!)anon, ^'onii 
 I! 
 
10 
 
 anJs imagine. It is tlie will of lieaven.. that every enterprize, sanc' 
 tioned and sustained by tlie spirit of the gospel, shall be successful 
 The prayers of pious parents cause the balmy dews of heaven to fall 
 round the dv/ellings of their children, long after the lips which utter- 
 ed them are shut up in death. 
 
 The Church was organized, Sept. 27, 1768, in the presence of 
 Rev. Bulkley Olcott, of Charlestown, and Rev. James Wellman, of 
 Cornish. It was founded on the plan o( the pedo-baptist Churches of 
 New England. In the preamble to their Covenant, they express 
 themselves as follows : " As God, through the mediation of his Son, 
 has erected for himself a Church and visible Kiv-gdom on earth, collected 
 from such ruins of the apostacy, as return and fear him, and desire to 
 pay a grateful remembrance to his Son, as their crucified Saviour: 
 so we, sinftil dust and ashes, desire to subscribe with our hands unio 
 the Lord, and give vp ourselves in an evei'lasting covenant to God. 
 We esteem it an unspeakable privilege, that sinful dust and ashes may 
 thus come and covenant tcith the great God, and he achnowhdgcd by 
 him as his Church on earth.'^ At the close of this, follow several- 
 articles, very similar to those which the Church now observe. They 
 are subscribed by Joseph Dana, John Whcathy, Azariah Bliss, John 
 Slapp, Jonathan Dana and Zaccheus Downer. 
 
 June 24, 1772, a short time previous to the settlement of Mr. Pot- 
 ter, a Confession of i^mV/i was adopted, embracing the various doc- 
 trines, as received by the evangelical Churches of New England. 
 These articles, the same in substance to those the Church now have, 
 it will be seen are Calvinistic, or orthodox. The meaning of the lat- 
 ter word is " sound in opinion and doctrine, not heretical." Doc- 
 trines like these, the founders of the Church were not ashamed to 
 acknowledge, whatever may be the opinion of some of their descend- 
 ants. 
 
 The Church, with the town, now began to look for a pastor. Sev- 
 eral ministers were employed previous to Mr. Potter. We find the 
 names of Niles, Treadway and Wales. To the latter they gave a call 
 to settle, but he did not incline to accept. 
 
 The Rev. Isaiah Potter, after two seasons of probation, was con- 
 stituted the Pastor of this Church and people, August 25, 1772. He 
 was ordained in the open air, on a stage erected for the purpose, on 
 land adjoining Connecticut river, the west side of the road, near 
 " Bayley's Ferry," The Sermon on the occasion was delivered by 
 the Rev. Mr. Olcott, of Charlestown. By those present, the services 
 were said to have been solemn and interesting. At the close, the 
 newly constituted pastor afTectionately addressed his flock, especially 
 
11 
 
 the younger part, exhorting them not to have any vain amusements, 
 dancing and the like, for such recreations would be quite unsuitable 
 with the religious services they had just witnessed. This, while it 
 shows the spirituality of your first pastor, manifests that sense of pro- 
 priety which the sober minded, both ministers and lay brethren, have 
 ever exhibited. Men of reflection, laying no claims to piety, readily 
 sec a most obvious incongruity in following religious scenes with 
 thoughtless merriment. However incompatible such things are, the 
 enemy of all good influences the thoughtless and the gay, to get up 
 halls on the eve of ordinations, and during revivals of religion, that 
 with a kind of maniac desperation he may shew his dislike to every 
 thing holy. 
 
 At a Church meeting, October 29, 1772, Joseph Dana was elected 
 an officer in the Church, and was their first deacon. The first time 
 the sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered, was November 
 15, 1772. Thus in nine years from the first settlement of the town, a 
 Church was organized, a minister settled, and the ordinances of the 
 gospel enjoyed. 
 
 " Can God furnish a table in the wilderness ?" once inquired the un- 
 believing Jews. For the faithful in Christ, such a table is furnished, 
 not only with temporal, but with spiritual food. At an early day it was 
 spread for the little band in this place. Our fathers at their first arri- 
 val seem to have adopted the resolution of the Psalmist — " Surely 1 
 will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up unto my 
 bed ; I will not give sleep to mine eyes, nor slumber to my eye-lids, 
 until I find out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty God 
 of Jacob. Lo we heard of it at Ephratah, we found it in the fields ot 
 the wood." Enclosed in the dark shades of the forest, they were seen 
 by few eyes, except those of angels. In company with their altar and 
 their God, they resembled the " Pilgrim Fathers," when they first en- 
 joyed the holy ordinances in this western wilderness. 
 
 March 24, 1775, Deacon Joseph Dana, advanced in life, resigned 
 his ofiicc in the Church, and Nehemiah Estabrook and Jonathan Da- 
 na v.ere chosen deacons in the Church. 
 
 July 24, 1777, was observed by the Church as a day of fasting, hu- 
 miliation and prayer, "on account of the distress of the war, and the 
 :iear approach of the enemy after Ticonderoga was given up." 
 
 They who estim.ate things merely by human reason, and weigh all 
 events in earthly balances, and expect in the tug of war that victory 
 will t©^ with the St ronger;t physical force, would in the days of the 
 American revolution have concluded that the assailants in the end 
 would be conquerors. But to (hc:-e who view fho subject in fho li^lil 
 
of justice, and know how deeply the pious in our land felt tlieir depen- 
 dance on God, and while they fought bravely they prayed fervently, 
 it is no mystery that the nation became free and independent. It is a 
 decree of heaven that " righteousness exalteth a nation," and that oppres- 
 sion and robbery shall not go unpunished. It is doubtful whether his- 
 tory furnishes a parallel, since the Jews in their best state, where so 
 much supplication was made to heaven during a war, as in the Ameri- 
 can Churches. 
 
 On the day of fasting just named, the members of the Church re- 
 newed their covenant with God. October 12, 1781, the Church elect- 
 ed Zaccheus Downer for one of their deacons ; and on the 18th of 
 April fallowing, Theophilus Huntington was appointed to the same of- 
 fice, in place of Dea. Dana removed from town. 
 
 On April 28, 1782, occurred an event, on seme accounts the most 
 remarkable this Church has yet witnessed. It was the gathering in the 
 first fruits of a revival of religion, amounting to fifty-three persons. 
 These were added in one day. Not long after, thirty-three more were 
 added at one time. Considering the number of inhabitants then in 
 town, which did not probably exceed 500, and it can hardly be suppos- 
 ed that the like was to be found in New England. In these days of re- 
 vivals, such additions in our large towns are no very common event. 
 This highly interesting occasion made, as it ought to, a suitable impres- 
 sion on the Church. We observe them at the time making public 
 confession of their sins to God, and asking forgiveness of God and of 
 each other. 
 
 The remark, though common, is worth repeating, that a season of 
 revival is a sifting time with professors. The Holy Spirit is near, and 
 believers inquire. How shall we meet him .'' The answer is, " up, sanc- 
 tify yourselves — stablish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord draw- 
 eth nigh." Then commence deep self-examination and thorough 
 heart-searchings. Then sin is viewed in the light of God's counte- 
 nance, and discoveries are made which produce self-loathing. Then 
 begins a mourning, on account of backslidings, like the mourning of 
 Hadadrij^man. Then Christians abhor themselves on account of un- 
 belief and remissness of duty. Did not the mem.bers of the Church 
 humble themselves at such seasons, there would be wanting one im- 
 portant evidence that a real work of grace was in operation. 
 
 At the time the above were admitted, the members then belonging 
 to the Church, and those previously added, amounted to 204. Con- 
 sidering its infancy, there was probably not a more flourishing Church 
 in this region. And we have the testimony of christian observers in 
 other places that this was the fact. Its prosperity v/arrants the belief 
 that it was built on the foundation of the prophets and apostles, Jesus 
 
1 t^ 
 
 Christ himself being the chief corner stone. The evidence ia ulbo 
 conclusive that the doctrine dispensed, was the faithful exhibition of 
 the truth. The remark has been made by aged Clergymen, that at the 
 time your first pastor was settled, the number of those denominated 
 " revival ministers" in New Hampshire v.as less than ten ; and that 
 he was one. By " revival minister" is understood one who considers 
 (he greatest blessing attending his ministry to be a " season of refresh- 
 ing from the i>rescnce of the Lord," resembling that on the day of 
 Pentecost, and who would do all in his power to promote such a sea- 
 son. There is evidence that a portion of the spirit of Edwards, Bel- 
 lamy and Braincrd, dwelt in the first leader of this flock. 
 
 That the Church endeavored strickly to maintain the discipline of 
 God's house is equally evident. Their records plainly shew a holy 
 concern, that the household of faith be kept from heretical sentiments 
 and irreligious practices. "March 3, 1784, the Church voted that they 
 consider it unbecoming in a profession of godliness, for young persons, 
 professors, to practice frolicking and vain mirth ; likewise, for elderly 
 persons to indulge in idleness, in foolish talking and jesting — that they 
 will set a watch about them in future, and refrain." 
 
 All consistant christians of this day fully concur in the above resolu- 
 tion. " Let every one that nameth the name of Christ, depart from 
 iniquity." 
 
 In the year 1787, Deacon Jonathan Dana having returned to reside 
 again in town, it was proposed to the Church by Deacon Huntington, 
 that he be requested to accept his firmer office in tlic Church. It will 
 be recollected that the latter was chosen in the place of the former, 
 when he removed from town. That the proposal should come from 
 Deacon Huntington to have Deacon Dana re-instated, when the con- 
 sequences were his own retirement from oflice, discovers a temper be- 
 coming a disciple of Chrisc. 
 
 " Be kindly affectioned one to another v*ith brotherly love ; in hon- 
 or preferring one another." "At a Church meeting, November 21, 
 1788, Deacon Dana having removed from town the .second lime, the 
 Church requested Deacon Huntington again to take his seat, and serve 
 them as a deacon." " He that humblcth himself shall be exalted." 
 Some time after this, the date not mentioned, Mr. Nathaniel Storrs was 
 appointed a deacon. Those who have been named may be considered 
 the early oflicers in the Church. 
 
 It will be recollected, near the beginning of the history of the Church, 
 that in its regulations it was denominated ^^ pedo-baptisl.'^ That its 
 members scrupulously regarded infeuit baptism as an ordinance of the 
 gospel, is evident from what appears on the records, in (he year 1786. 
 A member having removed from town requested a dismission tor the 
 
14 
 
 following reatiun — " That lie believed in believer'ss baptism, instituted 
 by Christ for us to follow ;" meaning, as is supposed, that he held with 
 the Baptirft denomination on this point. The church voted and sent 
 him the following reply : " Our faith is the same as yours, we hold to 
 none other but believer's baptism, ' instituted by Christ for us to fol- 
 low ;' and that it is in faith only that believers are to give themselves 
 and their seed to God in baptism, as Abraham, the father of the faith- 
 ful, gave himself and his seed to God in the covenant of circumcision, 
 that the blessing of Abraham might come on us Gentiles. But, Sir, if 
 you reject believer's baptism to their infant seed, herein we think you 
 reject an ordinance of God, in which you have covenanted to walk 
 with this Church. We have no desire to control your conscience, 
 but if you depart from your covenant obligation, in any divine ordi- 
 nance, it must be at your own hazard, for ice have no power to absolve 
 any one from covenant vov.'s. We wisii you divine direction, and that 
 the spirit of truth may teach and lead you into all truth. 
 
 Your fAends and brethren in the Chtirch^ Stc." 
 
 From this letter, it seems the church adhered strictly to their first 
 faith, and that they knev/ how to defend it. 
 
 There is an event, recorded by a funeral sermon preached by Mr. 
 Potter, which deserves a place in this account. ]Mr. Potter and three 
 others, by the names of Chamhcrlam^ Currier and -Br?;T(', were ci-ossing 
 the Mascoma River in a high freshet, a little north cf Hubbard's mill, 
 April 16, 1798. By some means they lost the management of the 
 canoe, and were drifting fast towards the falls belov/, when Blr. P. 
 leaping into the stream, sv/am ashore ; Chamberlain and Currier were 
 drowned. Bruce hanging to the canoe vrhile it v.ent over the falls, at 
 length made his escape by swimming. As might be v.cll supposed, 
 the event made a most deep impression on those preserved fiom a wa- 
 tery grave, and on the inhabitants generally. The text on which the 
 funeral discourse was founded, was in Job 1 : 19. — " Audit fell upon 
 the young men, and they are dead ; and I only am escaped alone to 
 tell thee."* 
 
 * Extract from the Sermon. 
 " While I tell you these things, you are to remember, llsat I have not only es- 
 caped to tell you the young men are dead, but in coniiectioii with the serious event, 
 as a minister of the gospel, to preach to you the great truth, in which you your- 
 selves are most highly interested : that there is a God, in whose hand your life and 
 breath is ; at whose disposal you are ; who is of purer eyes than to behold evil ; who 
 judgeth the righteous, but who is angry vviih the wicked every day. I am to tell 
 you that you are under the curse of the law, if you have not repented ; that your 
 i'cet stand on slippery places, while yet in sin, and that your danger is great, and 
 that you jnust repent, or perish. I am to tell you, this life is your probationary 
 season to prepare for eternity ; tiiat beyond this life, there i.s a heaven for tl."? 
 lighteous, into which they will enter, and dwell in the pvi'scuce of thair God, anJ 
 
16 
 
 From this to the close of Mr. Potter's ministry, are recorded no 
 events particularly deserving notice. Additions were frequently made 
 to the Church, and the whole number who united during the above pe- 
 riod, was 372. Out of this number have arisen twelve ministers of 
 the gospel ; some of whom have been the favored instruments of budd- 
 ing up large and flourishing churches. In this way ministers live m 
 their successors, perpetuating the gospel seed through the long hne of 
 successive generations, exemplifying that consoling promise, " Lo I 
 am with you alvvay, even unto the end of the world." 
 
 The faithful pastor who i.-j instrumental of raising up twelve others 
 to dispense the word of life, multiplies himself twelve times. The 
 church, while it exi:«ts on earth, is debtor to such a man. 
 
 Mr. Potter retired from his public labors, Sept. 19, 18IG, having per- 
 formed the arduous duties of minister to this people, forty-four years. 
 About eleven months after, he departed this life, aged 7 1 . When he 
 was ordained there were in town but 40 families. Two and half years 
 after his death the number of inhabitants was 1710. 
 
 More than forty years did your pious leader conduct you through 
 the wilderness, until you arrived at a respectable civil and religious 
 eminence. I'o say his influence was not p-eui and good in training this 
 people fi-om infancy to manhood, would be an act of injustice to his 
 memory, and ingratitude to God. The influence of a faithful servant 
 of Christ forty years, commencing with an infant settlement, is im- 
 mense. This influence is felt when the organ which exerted it is no 
 more. It has a posthumous existence. Though the ininisier is dead 
 the ministi'y lives. I see its eflects in the attachment to truth, apparent 
 in a portion of this people. I see it in the existence of a Church, 
 legitimate in its descent, steadfastly adhering to the sentim.ents and 
 principles which constituted her glory in her brightest days. 
 
 I see it amid many painful exceptions, in some pious youth, the 
 offspring of a believing ancestor, who was trained by its precepts and 
 ordinances. I see it among the aged, especially when some are brought 
 to witness their faith in the hour of dissolution. Their piety seems 
 like that of another age. It is faith of no sickly growth. It shows 
 many points of alliance with that once delivered to the saints. O that 
 I could see it more generally in the second and third generations. I 
 pity the man, when questioned about the religion of himself and fam- 
 ily, who can give no other answer than that his parents or grand- 
 parents were pious. Shades of my ancestors ! let me never attempt to 
 
 be happy forever ; and lliat tlicre is a hell, a place of unutterable torment and dis- 
 tress, for tiie wicked who continue in sin, and will not come lo C hrist Jesns foe 
 life ; and ail the time you live in sin on the earth, you are treasuring up wrath 
 against the day of wrath, and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God."' 
 
borrow a short-lived reputaliou by namirg your virtue.", while my own 
 conduct proves me unworthy such a lineage. 
 
 It w ere indeed an lionour to form a link in that bright chain which 
 connects the present generation with the pious founders of New Eng- 
 land. It is believed such links may be found among us. 
 
 I love to trace the unbroken line from some pious youth through his 
 immediate and remote ancestors to the little band which composed the 
 infant church in this town. From thence I follow it to a family in a 
 distant State. There it passes from generation to generation, associa- 
 ted Avith examples of piety, eminent in the church of God. Thence 
 it runs to the early fathers of New England, and shows its origin to 
 have been from those of whom the world was not worthy, and who 
 suffered the loss of all things for Christ. 
 
 The day is coming when to be one in such a lineage W'ould be 
 greater honour than to stand in the line of the Ctesars. 
 
 In conclusion, I would invite the people of this place to remember 
 all the way in which the Lord thy God hath hitherto led thee, and you 
 will find abundant reason for thanksgiving and praise. " Stand ye in 
 the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, 
 and ye shall find rest unto your souls." To know when you were the 
 most happy, you have only to compare the different portions of your 
 history before and since your first Pastor's death. Do you desire 
 union? What surer way to obtain it, than to return to your firsl love, and 
 do your firs! tvorks ? After walking together in the funeral procession 
 of your beloved pastoi', w hat evil angel hovered over you, and scatter- 
 ed among you the seeds of discord ? Alas, what a growth of ene^y, 
 hatred, jealousy and prejudice has sprung up on every side ? While 
 vou inhabit a town second in wealth to but one in the County, do not 
 forget those v/ho laid its foundation. Your fathers made their beds 
 with the leaves of the forest, and had for their covering the canopy of 
 heaven ; and you dwell in your "ceiled house.^," and sleep on down. 
 They, with their countrymen, fought and bled in the "tented field," 
 and you sit quietly beneath your vines and fig trees. They made sac- 
 rifices to establish the gospel ; at an early day enjoyed its precious con- 
 solations, died in its faith, and have transmitted the invaluable legacy 
 to you, their descendants. Will you receive it ? Are you thankful 
 for it ? Or do you spurn it, and pronounce their religion superstition, 
 folly ? If you wish to cherish the memory of their virtues you will 
 follow their pious example. Their enterprize, their temperance, their 
 religion, are worthy your imitation. Counteract, by energy of charac- 
 ter and purity of morals, the humiliating remark, that the descendants 
 of the first inhabitants usuallv decrenerate. The time is recollected bv 
 
17 
 
 some, now on the stage, when but two persons in town indulged the 
 vulgar and sinful use of profane language. By the virtues of your 
 fore-fathers, by due regard for self-respect, by the fearful responsibili- 
 ties, arising from moral accountability, I entreat you to fear God and 
 keep his commandments. 
 
 Christians, the subject awakens in your hearts a thousand grateful 
 recollections. You inherit the Bible and faith of your fathers. You 
 will not give them up. You will not exchange " old gold for new tin- 
 sel." " You will not hastily receive doctrines essentially different from 
 those transmitted you by your fathers, unless they are attested by a. 
 piety more deep, and fervent, and by a practice more pure and exem- 
 plary." Having seen in many instances, the happy issue of their 
 faith, tjou will not launch into the sea of experiment, on which so many 
 at this day float, heedless of the breakers in their path, and the rugged 
 coast on which they are in imminent danger of being shipwrecked and 
 lost. V^ith mournful pleasure, you will reflect on the days of other 
 years, when the candle of the Lord shone on the tabernacle of your 
 fathers, and when the good Spirit of our God revived his work emnng 
 than. The solemn fact that there is a less number of visilde believers 
 ia the town than when it contained only .500 people, will cause you 
 to weep for the slain of the daughter of Zion, and to pray, " Spare thy 
 people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach." Ycu will 
 pause — You will reflect, when such moral degeneracy presents itself to 
 view. ^' Awake, mvahe, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; aicahr, ax 
 in ancient days, in the igcncrations of old. O Lord, 7xvive thij rrork f;t 
 the midst of the Tjears ; in the midst cf the years make Irunvn, iu vcniih 
 remember mercy."' 
 
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