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“by Mrs. Anna Gilman, with valuable assistance given by Mr. Frank Nash and Mrs. Elsie M. Durling, in the preparation. This history was
written for the dedication service held on March 9, 1930, following the remodeling of our church building.”
It is to help each and all, older and younger, to the knowledge of the beginnings of history of Baptist faith, as represented by this church in its century of
residence in Hingham, with the helps and hindrances which came to the faithful ministers and laymen, who have carried on so unfalteringly, and because of
whose labor we are able to realize this last and most glorious achievement, that we present this record of facts.
Prior to 1814, there is no knowledge that an individual, professing Baptist
sentiments, resided in Hingham. In this year, 1814, Mr. Nathaniel T. Davis moved to this town and he, with his wife, and Miss Hannah Beal were the only
people of the Baptist denomination, found here for several years.
Then a few people, who had been attending other churches of the town, “were
convicted of their sin and their need of a Saviour and were hopefully brought to believe in Christ as their only and all-sufficient Saviour.”
The first prayer meeting was held at the home of Brother Davis, in 1818
. Mr. Asa Wilbur, who was visiting in town, was present at the meeting. He was a member of the Second Baptist Church of Boston. This church was afterward
known as the Tabernacle Church, located at Bowdoin Square.
For two years, evangelistic preaching was enjoyed, Mr. Ensign Lincoln, being the first person of our denomination who preached here.
The beginning of these services was also in 1818. The prayer meetings continued to be held and Brother Wilbur was often present and continued to visit and help financially for a number of years.
In this same year a Sunday School was organized. This claimed to be the first Sunday School in Hingham. Its meetings were held in the schoolroom in front of Derby Academy, which was before the hill was cut through Main Street.
The school was collected and organized by Nancy Studley, Polly Barnes, Hersey Lincoln (afterwards Mrs. Rufus Lane) and Hannah Kingman.
There was an attendance of ninety pupils on the first Sunday. This school was an independent school. Three of the women organizers were connected with
the Baptist, who were holding the services just mentioned and when a little later, the church was organized, the school became a Baptist Sunday School.
In 1820, for the first time the ordinance of baptism was administered by Dr.
Baldwin, minister at the Second Baptist Church, Boston, to Joshua Beal, Polly Barnes and Nancy Studley. A large crowd gathered by the water side
at the Harbor to witness the scene, it being the first time they had ever seen the sacred rite thus administered.
These few and inexperienced Christians needed a spiritual helper and leader and, “
as there were others, seekers for the truth as it is in Jesus,” it was thought advisable to have preaching more frequently.
They applied to the Baptist brethren in Boston to obtain someone to come and preach steadily. Being unable to obtain a Baptist minister, as they desired, a
Congregationalist was sent, who preached three successive Sabbaths. Interest was awakened and in spite of discouragements and trials, their united efforts were blessed in a number being converted.
In August 1823, the friends in Boston thought best to engage a room for public services. A room was obtained at the Harbor, which was by no means
attractive. There was no plastering on the walls. A small pine table and a chair constituted the pulpit furniture and boards nailed on blocks were the only pews.
Though it was uninviting and unsuitable, these few Christians entered it with thankful hearts and it became a “Bethel” to many souls.
Following this advance in establishing themselves in worship according to their belief, a strong opposition was manifested.
Those who took active part were reviled and ill-treated as they passed through
the streets. In the assemblies they were subjected to many annoyances. People came to disturb and if possible to break up the meetings. Often near the
building guns were fired and other disturbing noises were made.
The minister had frequently to pause in his sermon until quiet and order were
restored. The opposers even resorted to law but failed to accomplish their purpose and, as has often been the case, the persecution served rather to advance than retard the cause.
They continued to worship in this place for nearly a year under these trying conditions. A Mr. Pierce, who labored here for a while, proposed forming a
church, which should be organized as a United Society without a particular name. This was much against the feelings and views of these Christians as
they were decidedly Baptist in sentiment, and so the project was defeated.
Up to this time the pulpit had been supplied by many different ministers, Wayland, Bentley, Peak, Collier, Lincoln, Nelson, Gray
and Glover. Among them was Rev. Thomas Conant, of Scituate, who was engaged to come and labor as often as his other engagements would permit. Deacon
Wilbur became responsible personally for the expense thus incurred.
Finding the room, which they had been occupying so very unsuitable, both in
accommodations and location, they deemed it advisable to move to a more commodious place.
Learning that a building in a more quiet place was to be sold, they thought it
best to make an effort to procure it. Making it a subject of prayer, they were confident a way would be provided. Mr. Ebenezer Shute, of Boston,
consented to buy the building, costing about $450, provided they could find someone to arrange the bargain.
So great was the antipathy against evangelical religion that the purpose for
which the building was to be used was not stated. Captain Laban Hersey made the purchase and took the deed in his own name, subsequently transferring it to Mr. Shute.
They continued for two or three years in this building, using an upper room fitted up for their religious services. This building was located near Hobart’s Bridge,
and was later occupied by M. & A. McNeil as a store and at present by Mr. Greenfield.
On March 9, 1828, twenty people, Nathaniel Davis, Issacher Fuller and the
rest women, were established as a Branch of the Second Baptist Church of Boston, Rev. James D. Knowles, pastor. This Branch was publicly
recognized, Brother Davis receiving the right hand of fellowship for the church, and on the same Sabbath the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper was observed.
On September 21, 1828, Harvey Ball
was ordained as an evangelist, with Rev. J. D. Knowles, Rev. Henry J. Ripley and Rev. William Collier assisting, and became the first settled pastor.
In this year, 1828, the history of music in the church begins, for
Deacon Caleb S. Hunt, having moved from Boston to Hingham, organized a choir, which it is said he led in a very efficient manner for many years.
At a church meeting held December 13, 1828, a committee was chosen to solicit subscriptions for a church building.
There was a difference of opinion about the location and, as upon other
occasions, they resorted to prayer and all came harmoniously to the same decision. A site was selected on the corner of Main and Elm Streets where this church now stands and soon afterward $500 was paid to
Thomas Loring and Sophia Whittemore on the land. This was conveyed July 1, 1829, to Asa Wilbur of Boston and Quincy Hersey of Hingham.
The church was erected at the cost of $3,300 all of which with the exception of $500 was paid when they entered on the third of December 1829. Dr. Daniel Sharp preached the dedicatory sermon.
We have heard that the members were accustomed to hold prayer meetings on the piles of lumber during the time of the building of the church. Another note of
interest gives us the fact that on March 7, 1829, the society voted to purchase a “bass-viol” and made an appropriation of five dollars to pay for it, “if a
sufficient sum cannot be otherwise obtained.”
At a special meeting of the Branch held at Sister Rachael Lincoln’s on October 5, 1833, it was voted that, “
Whenever we shall come to the determination to settle a pastor (Mr. Ball having left them), that we ask the Second Baptist Church of Boston for a separation from them and that we form a separate church.”
On March 12, 1831, the church invited Mr. Timothy R. Cressey, who was a student at Newton Theological Institution, to become their pastor.
On April 16, 1831, they asked for dismissal from the Second Church.
May 5,
1831, the Ecclesiastical Council convened and set apart Mr. Thomas Cressey to the work of the gospel ministry and on the same day it was voted
that the Branch Church become an Independent church, and so it became the First Baptist Church of Hingham, Massachusetts, with fifty-one members.
On May 8, the
first communion as an independent church was celebrated.
In 1832, during Mr. Cressey’s pastorate, a vestry was built under the church
and the first meeting was held in it in December.
Mr. Cressey remained with the church three years and twenty-eight were received into membership, twenty-one being by baptism.
On May 10, 1833, we find that a clarinet was introduced as a musical instrument, for it was voted, “to pay the amount of $18 for a clarinet, which had
been previously purchased by some individual and used in the Baptist Meeting-house and that the clarinet shall be the property of the church and shall be under their direction,” so the records read.
For the next two years, the church was without a pastor, Rev. John G. Naylor supplying the pulpit much of the time.
We find that the first deacons of the church were chosen in 1835 and that on
September 29, 1836, Mr. Waterman Burlingame was ordained pastor and continued for nearly five years, ending on August 4, 1840.
Once more there was a period of more than two years without a regular pastor. Rev. Charles M. Bowers, frequently preaching, until on September 28, 1842, Rev. Sereno Howe
was installed as pastor.
He continued for nearly seven years and seventy-five were received into membership.
In the next period of more than two years, while the church was again
pastorless, many different clergymen and students from Newton Theological Institution preached, among them was Mr. Jonathan Tilson.
He was called to be pastor, when he had completed his studies and began his labors September 28, 1851, being ordained November 5 of that year. During the summer of 1851 the meeting house was moved forward 18 feet and raised 3
feet, the vestry removed and a larger one built with a committee room in the rear of it. The interior was improved and a new pulpit and furniture were placed.
The elm trees which have made such an inviting approach to our church all these years, we believe, were planted at this time. It is said that the pastor set
them out, as he did the hedge, with the assistance of members of the church and society.
Again the women came to the front, for in 1859 an organized women’s society called the “Sewing Circle” is recorded, with the pastor’s wife,
Mrs. Martha Tilson as the first president.
Mr. Tilson’s pastorate was the longest in the history of the church, lasting twenty-five years and ending on September 24, 1876, with a record of one
hundred and fifty-six received into the church.
Mr. Tilson was a minister of the town as well as of the Baptist Church, and like Goldsmith’s village preacher, was “
a man to all the country dear.” His was a striking figure, with a gentle Christian face and a voice of kindly benediction. To
many outside of the town to speak of the Baptist Church meant Mr. Tilson.
Deacon Joshua Thayer, whose home was at the corner of Elm and Thayer Streets, died on February 26, 1874
. By his will he devised his homestead to the deacons of the church and their successors forever, in trust for the church and society, for the purposes of a parsonage. The first deacons to receive a
deed of this property were Joseph Ripley and Levi Hersey.
Rev. A. Stewart McLean came in 1877 and was pastor for a year, and again the church was extensively repaired at a cost of $1500.
About this time changes in the old box pews began to be made and the swinging doors disappeared, to be followed some years later by the pews themselves, making all today just a memory. In that memory are the
designated pews owned by special pewholders, and the little old stools and “crickets” and the turkey feather fan which could once be found back of the pulpit.
In
1878 Rev. Henry M. Dean came to the church from Dayton, Ohio, and began his pastorate which lasted eight years, ending in 1887.
It was during Mr. Dean’s pastorate that the change in the windows was made, the colored glass at that time much in vogue, replacing the clear glass panes.
Following him, on November 1, 1887, came
Rev. Edward S. Ufford. He was a man of musical thought and ambition, especially in Gospel singing and music. Just before coming to Hingham in 1885, he had written the words and melody to
that well-known hymn, “Throw Out The Life-Line.” This has been translated into twenty-nine languages and has had a sale of 5,000,000 copies.
During his pastorate of two years, the first baptistry was introduced into the church. Rev. Sylvanus E. Frohock was the next minister, coming in 1890 and remaining two years.
In the winter of 1891, 92, extensive improvements were again made in the interior. Perhaps these were the most remarkable of any up to the time of our
present changes, for new pews, a new baptistry, pulpit furniture, new hangings and carpet with an addition at the back of the church to accommodate the outstanding feature, the first pipe organ in the history of the church.
Up to this time varying types of organs had been used, gradually changing in size. Two men, Mr. William Gilman and Mr. Atkins Rich, declaring
themselves tired of the croaking and squealing of the one they had been listening to, set about raising funds for a new one and this to be a pipe organ.
The plan was based upon individual purchases of one or more pipes of which the papers state there were around 500.
When all the “Mites” and the “Mighties”
were collected and the organ installed, they had what was considered then a remarkable organ. A fine recital and a wonderful concert were given at the dedication.
Rev. Irving E. Usher
was with the church from August 1892 to 1895, and Rev. F. M. White from 1895 to 1898. They were followed by Rev. Maurice A. Levy
, who came while a student at Newton Theological Institution in 1898 and remained until 1901. It was here he brought his bride, they being the first young
couple to occupy the parsonage after it became church property.
Rev. Archibald A. Forshee came to the church in 1901, while he was a
student at Newton preparing for the ministry, and looking to the foreign field of missions as his goal.
Rev. Owen C. Brown followed in 1903 and remained until 1904. He was a
student at the time.
There have been seven of our girls who at various times have left us to go as minister’s wives. Some of these were direct descendants of the early pioneers of the church.
Rev. William D. Goble’s able and inspiring ministry began in 1904 and continued until 1907.
Following this ministry there was Rev. C. A. Reese, of Newton, as acting pastor during 1907
; and then one of the older ministers, Dr. George Bullen, who served the church from 1909 to 1913.
Rev. A. H. Bissell came in 1914
and remained until 1917. It was in this period, 1914, that a bronze tablet in memory of the founders of the church in 1828 and deceased members of the Sewing Circle, was placed on the wall of the church.
The funds for this were solicited by Mrs. Mary J. Humphrey, who at eighty years, was at that time the oldest living member of the church.
Somewhat later the old bell, which was cracked, having served since the building of the church, was replaced by a new one. It was carefully planned
that the new bell should have the same tone as the old one and thus the church should send out no uncertain sound even in its bell-ringing.
A very decided change was made when on October 16, 1916
, a meeting of the resident members of the church was called for the purpose of organizing the
Church into a Corporation and a vote was taken to that effect. A new constitution and by-laws were published together with the church covenant.
By this act of incorporation the so-called “Society” organization, which had existed ever since the church was established, passed from the future history of the church.
Rev. R. E. Tedford came to the church in 1917, as a young student at Gordon College, and remained until 1920. He too, brought a bride to the parsonage.
The year 1920 brought
Rev. A. A. VanSickle, and he did very earnest and effective work until 1923 when, after his graduation, he returned to his home location in the West.
That same year found Rev. C. E. Southard
installed as our pastor and his pastorate terminated in July 1929, lasting for six years.
In September 1924, the church auditorium was redecorated and new lights
added. It was voted that the then present church building be reconstructed and remodeled and that the new building be known as the Barnes Memorial Building, and that a tablet be placed bearing an inscription specified in the will.
The artistic tablet was donated by Mr. George A. French of C. H. Buck & Co., Boston, Massachusetts.
On February 7, 1929 the church established a fund known as the Organ fund, to
be used in procuring a new organ.
On May 28, 1929 the church approved the plans of the architect, Mr. Bruce C. Wenner.
The contract was placed with Mr. Jacob Tracy
on August 13, 1929, who not only was the lowest bidder, but who also contributed $2,000 towards the Building Fund. The completed contract, including the new organ, cost $55,000
— $25,000 from the Barnes Fund and $30,000 raised by the church.
May we pause here at the end of the century for a moment and look back along the line which we have been reviewing.
During this century of church history, we have passed through three wars and we note that there have been enlisted men from the Baptist Church in all of
them. We note too, that this church has voiced its attitude toward slavery, oppressions and intemperance in no uncertain way. We consider the various
activities of the church passing before us in their organizations. There was a band of “Earnest Workers” ready to step into the ranks of Christian Endeavor as that company approached.
There was a strong group of young women, at that time, who were King’s Daughters in very name and deed, working for the church.
Then there is the Sewing Circle and Missionary Society, finally walking together side by side, as one organization, having a slogan for the church, “One hundred
percent working and one hundred percent missionary.”
There are the good deacons who have been the “pillars of the church” and the
support of the pastors all along the way and the Sunday School which has been on the march even longer than the church with such a goodly number of faithful superintendents and teachers.
Thus shall we step out into the new century with our pastor, Rev. Marinus James, as our zealous leader, as heralds of Glad Tidings not only to Hingham but to all men everywhere.
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2004-2006 by First Baptist Church of Hingham, MA. All rights reserved.