Morning journal and courier., 1882-10-10
SALEM, Sept, 20, 1713

this city will be specially interested in the l ancient epistle
 SALEM, Sept. 20, 1713.
 HoNoEED AND DEAR FRIEND Through ye goodness of Providence we arrived here in this place after dusk Tuesday night and are now staying with your Brother Thomas at ye Precinct. The reason we got there so late was because we were detained long time at ye ferry, ye boat was on ye Charlestown side, and ye roads were very bad and ye streams very high account of ye great rains. MT. Appleton of Cambridge did not get here until Wednesday at o'clock his horse being weary, so he tarried all night at Reading. Your brother Thomas says ye place has grown very much since you lived here and that ye church has got 40 members who off from MT. Moves church in SalemtoWn (13 men and 27 women) and ye town has granted ye Precinct acres of land, and ye Promise e5 year for five years, for ye support of ye Gospel in ye Precinct Ye church have made choice of ye Revd Beni Prescott for their Pastor, and have voted him E60 year and 15 cords of woUd for his salary when single, and E75 when he shall be married. MT. Prescott is the oldest son of Esq. Jonathan Prescott of Concord, and is 6 promising man about p yrs. old, and be- trothed to Elizabeth Higginson, 8 comedy daughter of MT. Jo n Higginson. Ye new Meeting House is situated in pleasant valley | near a stream of water in ye village and about mile from Town bridge, Ye services l in ye meeting house began by reading a part l of ye 10th Psalm by Rev. Cotton Mather After which he read Q portion from Thos Aliens i7eyit0ti0To to utiasty sinners Mir. Hubbard your excellent minister, then of fered prayer and Psalm was sung to & most solemn tune, ye oldest deacon reading line l by line in solemn voice, so that ye whole l congregation could join. MT. Bowers of l Beverly next offered A Ordination l and consecration. with ye laying on of ye | hands of ye elders. Mir. Appleton of Cam
 bridge preached ye sermon from 2nd Cor, | 2nd, l6 verse, last clause, ''Who is sufficient sung, and then Mir. Shepard gave ye charge, 1 and the Rev. MT. Greene of ye village ye 1 hand of fellowship, and Mir. Garnish of l Wentham made ye concluding prayer. There | was an immense concourse of people in ye | house, that every part of ye house was 1 crowded and some were on ye beams over ye l heads of ye congregation. Ye Governor was l in ye house and his Majesty's Commissioners l of ye Customs, and they set together on 8 1 high seat by ye pulpit stairs. Ys Governor appeared very devout and attentive. Altho' | he tavors Eplscopacy and tolerates ye quak- CTS, and Baptists, he is a strong opposer of ye Baptists. He dressed in Black velvet | coat bordered with gold lace and puff brooches and gold buckles st ye knees, and white l stockings. There was disturbance in ye II l groes, Mulattoes, and Indians, and negro l called Pomp Shorter belonging to Mir. Gard | ner was called forth and put in ye broad aisle, where he was reproved with great aw- fitness and solemnity. He was then put in ye Deacon's seat between two Deacons in | view of ye whole congregation, but ye sexton 1 was ordered by Prescott to take him out be- cause of his levity and strange contortions of l countenance giving great scandal to ye grave
 deacons, and put him in the lobby under ye stairs Some children and mulatto woman, was reprimanded for laughing at Pomp Shorter. When ye services at ye house were ended, ye council and l other dignitaries were entertained
 at ye house of MT. Epes on the hill near by
 and we had bountiful table, with bears
 meat and venison, the last of which was from a fine buck shot in the woods near by.
 Ye Bear was killed in Lynn Woods near
 Reading After ye blessing had been craved
 by MT. Garnish of Waltham, word came that ye Buck was shot on ye Lords day by Pequot, an Indian, who came to MT. Epes
 with Iye in his mouth, like Annanias of old.
 Ye Council thsreupon refused to eat of ye
 venison, but it afterwards agreed that 1 Pequot should receive 40 stri pes save one for lying and profaning the Lords day, restore
 Mir. Epes the cost of the deer, and counciling
 a just and righteous sentence on ye sinful
 Heather, and that blessing had been cravsd
 on ye meat. ye council partook of it, but MT.
 Shep ard whose conscience was tender on ye
 poi mt of venison.
 Ye people are much rejoiced to have ye
 Gospel Ordinances established among them,
 and ye house is well built 3 stories high 2s by 42 feet with oak timber and covered witt
 one and one half inch plank, and with clap
 boards upon that, and it is intended to have ye inside finished with clustering when ye
 Precinct are able. Ye pulpit and ye deacons
 seat are made of good oak and 8 green cush
 on ye pulpit given by MT. Higginson.
 had ye above particulars from MT. Drake v
 builder of ye house, who is a man of consid
 erable requirements. He also told tha
 he prepared g. box to put under ye foundation l containing ye year of our Lord that "
 building was begun and various particular
 about ye framing of ye church. He also pu in copper coins of ye reign of our blessed Sovereign Queen Ann and epistle to y sovereign who shall reign over these Prov
 inces whan ye box shall be found and anoth CT to ye Household of faith in ye Salem, Mid de Precinct, exhorting them to maintain y doctrine of ye founders, to ye utter confusion and sham of all Baptists, Mass mongers, ant other heretical unbelievers. MT. Trush, who i himself Cody man and member o ye church, would not agree to put ye box under ye house, as they thought i savored of presumption and vain glorying J and some of them would not agree to ye sen timents of ye letter to ye Household of faith put he privately put ye box under ye pulpit
 when ye house was near built enclosed il
 bricks and good clay Mr. Trush said tha ye frame of ye house will stand two or thre
 hundred years if it is well covered from y ], weather. There have been great rejoicing | with in Boston on account of the gloriou
 news of peace and may ye Lord long contin
 ue ye blessing and avert ye judgments W : deserve. LAWRENCE CoNANT. Secretary Northrop.
 communication has been presented t.
 the State Board of Education asking them t.