Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-12-04


7 herds, who were in every case, men OF
sound minds, liberal education, well
| yersed IN. the doctrines of the gospel,
wise in counsel, sympathetic in pastoral
I visitation, and of fefyent piety; and as
a result of the labers and teachings of
| such men, the church has in an unusual
/ degree been fostered and fed. IT 1T
/ can be said of any of the present mcm-
bership that IN any respect they are un-
! sound in doctrine or practice, it is at
! .tributable to instructions elsewhere, re-
/, ,ceiyed, and not to the preaching or
|. practice OF the good men here referred
!. to; for whatever else the church may
have been called TO lament, she has never
had to mourn over.heresy IN the precept
/ and practice of her ministry.
A. church with so many tokens OF di-
| vine assistance, may justly and CRATE
| fully celebrate her jubilee, and from her
semi-centenHial standpoint review her
/ past history, and concentrate her forces
/ for. still greater conflicts and richer re-
suits in the vineyard of her Lord. 5 Z.
| 1t may seem strange to some lovers of
| our principles and practice, that into
this central town of our State, SO beau
tifGlly nesting in the lap of the Green
| Mountains, there should have been no
Baptist church planted before the year
| 1928; and so there was for as far back
as 1907, a small but vigorous Baptist
|. church was in existence at Center Rut-
/ land, but when it was formed, or what
was its previous history. there is no rec
I ord extant. They had no house of wor
ship, and like the primitive Christians,
I they met and worshipped in private
| dwellings,, for the most part at the house
/ of Allen Pooler. The Rev. Mr.. Hurl-
burt was their minister at the time, la
boring for them in word and doctrine
until 1909, when he resigned, and for an
indefinite period they were without pas
toral care. They enjoyed, however, the
occasional ministrations of Rev. Sylvia
nus HAYNES, of Middletown, Rev. Clark
Kendrick, of Poultney, Rev. William
McCuller, of Ira, Rev. Joseph w. Saw
yer, of Whiting, Rev. VIM. Harrington,
of Pittsford, and other itinerant min
listers.
Prominent among this little band of
Baptist communicates were Deacon
Griffith, Deacon Weller, Allen Pooler,
Nehibiah Angel, Jedediah Walker,
Benjamin Farmer, Esq, Joseph Rodg-
ers, Caleb Whipple, Fri Kendall, Daniel
Ford, Samuel Griggs, Ebenezer Rawlins,
PhiIander Grifiths, and few noble de-
voted women, among whom were Mrs.
Griffith, Mrs. Weller, Mrs. Angel, Mrs.
Allen Pooler, Mrs. Mary Pooler, Mrs.
Daniel Ford, Polly Ford, Susan Ford,
Mrs. Jesse Thrall, Mrs. Beta Rodgers,
Mrs. G. Dyer, Mrs. Capt. Jenkins, Mrs.
Woods, Phebe Briggs, Polly and Fanny
Daniels and Leapy Maxy. These de-
voted men and women were for the
most part poor in the things of this
world, but rich in faith and good works,
with bright hopes of better things to
come, and all of them have been trans
ferred from the church on earth to the
church triumphant in heaven.
In the years 1894, becoming re-
duced by death and removals, the meet
ines of this first church were discOntin-
tinued and their organization broken up,
the members uniting with other neigh
boring churches.
In 1918 several families of Baptists
moved from Center Rutland to Mill
Village, now known as the Pooler Dis
trict, and Immediately commenced to
hold meetings at the house of Daniel
Ford and at the school house these
were mostly meetings for prayer and
praise and conference, with an occa-
sional sermon by some neighboring or
| itinerant minister. For five years these
pious and devoted men and women
maintained the means of grace under
adverse circumstances and all kinds of
weather; and there are few still living
who date their first religious impressions
from the distractions and admonitions
they then and there received.
In 1928 this little band organized
themselves into a Baptist church, of fif-
| teen members, viz: Amos Weller, Den
mis- Weller, Joseph Barney, Experience
| Barney. Benjamin Farmer, ,Salome Ford,
Daniel Ford, Susanna Ford, Adonijah
Ford. Polly Ford, Allen Pooler, Eliza
beth Pooler, Campbell Simpson, Anna
Greene, Martha Fuller.
This church thus constituted COM
pleted their organization by the adoption
| of the 81 Articles of Faith y and Cove
nant." and the choice of Daniel Ford as
| Moderator and Adonijah Ford as Clerk.
On the 25th day of November, in ac-
cordance with previous vote of the
church, and in response to letters missive
sent by them to neighboring churches,
% Council of Recognition y convened
in the house of Daniel Ford, consisting
of ministers and delegates from the
churches in Poultney, Hubbardton,
Brandon, Whiting, PittsfoFd, Ira, East
! Clarendon and SIiddletown. Elder
Isaac Fuller was duly appointed Mod
! orator, and Elder j. w. Sawyer, Clerk.
! After careful consideration of the
reasons for the organization of the
| Church and the presentation to the
council of the g Articles and G Cove
I nant, it was voted to proceed to the
/ service of recognition. in the following
manner;
/. Conseerating prayer by Rev. Isaac
4. Sawyer. q. :
g Right Hand Of Fellowship, by Rev.
/ Isaac Fuller. :'.,
| s. Charge tothe Church, by Rev. Abel
i Woods. .-s..
i All: these services were performed
in due form and with becoming; solem-
nifty. III E ss.t. =. -. i. -,
I On the 6th of May, 1924, the church
/ voted to extend a call to Elder Isaac
Fuller to preach for them half the
time. which service he. accepted, and
continued to discharge until near the
close of 1926:
/ Elder Isaac Fuller was faithful SER
want in the ministry, and good chris.
/. tian. His labors: were. mostly itinerant
and missionary. Helived to an advanced
age. and died at ? Poultney some 25 years
+ ago. & I-..t S,sel . - .L-5s.. )
/ In. December, 1896, the church called
/ Rev. Hadley Proctor, of China, Me-, to
.Ethe .pastorate, which he accepted, and
4: his labors commenced with the opening
i of the year 1897, and continued until
L 1884; seven years of earnest labor and
gracious ingathering of souls. s