Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1888-09-07
HISTORICAL.
The Old Church on the Common"



fifty years. and who have behcld the lovely
and extended view over into the West Riv
er valley and up aud down the Connecticut
valley from the belfry windows of the Old
! Church on the Common, must find an illus
trativc fitness in our text TO our subject to-
night But there is the moral relation more
emphatically present to those who, old or
young, now love Brattleboro for its spirit
it, graces, the high and Independent charac.
ter Of its thought and life for it is that
Old church, with the people who loved it
and worshppcd in it, and in "A Christian
way occasionally contended in it, that has
given the essential tone and quality to our
village-the peculiar bent or flavor Of life
which is ours apart.
There are those living among us who
clearly remember the building Of the Old
house of God some time in the year 1919.
Ihe boys and young girls watched the frame
go up from the hill on the west of the com
mon, with view uuohstrurted 10y the pres
rnt abundant growth Of trees. They re
| call large number of people on the ground
| partly because of the necessities Of the
work Of raising such frame, partly be
cause Of the dream of Rev. Caleb Brge
who dreamed that two men were 10 be slain
| IN the effort, aud for whom, after all went
we'll and safely, the crowd Justify and iron
! ically chcered and partly because the
| event itself was So signal m the history Of
the town as to call out the residents. It
! came 10 bee ia TIN, way The Rev William
! W ellis, for % years "a dissenting minister at
| Broom,gruvc, " orcestefShire, Eng, who
came to Brattleboro IN ~ for the two fold
noble purpose Of preaching the gospel and
| with his own hands supplying his necessi-
| ties, and Who had breu for twenty years
ID 4. i 1... q 81.
town church at West Brattlehoro, this
father in the gospel had not limited his work
to- the regular services. but held Bible meet
INK, in the school house at the west end Of
what D., uuw the common. This he could
| do more easily, IA he lived up ON the West
River ROAD, just beyond the present Asylum
Retreat Population grew IN the east vii
lage. The schpui house meetings became u
perInancncy, and. as the town would not
vote two church buildings and one parish,
"A separate society became necessity.
Therefore it wa, formed, and the Rev. Mr..
Wells, who at the age of ~ had given up
ni, larger charge IN March, 1874, was in
yitcd 10 he tine minister, and began regular
services in the school house ON the first sun
lay ia April, 1874.
ON the 2Dth of April of the same year
the narrative Of our parish record begins
"a number at inhabitants of Erattlehoro
having assembled at the public house Of Sa-
lem sumner for the purpose of making ar
rtu-cmcut- for the erection OF House Of
Public Worship. organized for hu-lnr>, 10y
appointing F-IrE Kingsley moderator and
Ezra CLARK clerk, and voted ST. " That the
persons who compose this meeting. and 9th
rr- who may hccumr associated, form our
selves INTO socirty by the name Of the
i;rattrboro Village Meeting house Society
for the purpose of purchasing land and
"r"tius thereon "a house of public worship
tor the convenience of the inhabitants OF
~aid lirattleh0ro and the adjacent towns -
voted cd TO choose "a committee to pur-
chase land of tirmdal L. Ellis situate at
3 he north end of the village, ON the plain
iym- between the roads to Newiane and
'utnpV also tu contract for building the
church, to raise the money and sell the
pews. This first committee consisted Of
Francis Guodhuc. I.cmuel Whitney and Eli
sergeant. The subscription paper forth
coming starts of with the names Of Pelcg
Kingsley. Fran els Goodhue and William
fessenden for 500 each, and contains Il
names, standu. for three subscriptions Of
500, two of $500. one Of $50. one of : Sl4O
seven Of 500, and none less than ten
dnllars-une Of $40, one of Slj. aud the
thus started with "A rush fingered somewhat
IN execution. The records mark successive
meetings for painting pews and steepe
securing pulpit aud communion furniture,
and So ON and It resulted that the ediiice,
which was completed IN the main in 1915,
was not actually dedicated until August %,
lNlb. This was about a month after the
formal organization of the church. which
was accomplished July -, 1916, when If
members Withdrew from the mother church
and set apart MIR. John Holbrook as deacon
The Lords supper was first celebrated in
the house ON the ,th of July bcfprF the
| organization of the church or the dedica-
tiun of the edilice and thus IN the charac-
trrl>tlrally independent and vigorous spirit
which proceeded to its privileges ON no
mans authority. but under the grace Of
tod
We find in the records of the society
meeting of sept. p, 1916, that the thanks
of the society, through their clerk. bc made
to MIR. John Holbrook and to Gen. Arad
| Hunt for the liberal donation Of bell to
this society this is the he'll that broke " hen
the society was divided in lS:ill and voted
! that the thanks of the society he made,
| through their clerk, to MIR. Ebenezer Hunt,
! Ir., of Northampton for the donation of
/ clock to the society"
| Before we look more closely at the aspect
| and the annals of the old church, let us re
| gard for n moment the cherished ministry
| which virtually closed with the opening of
! the new house thus provided The Rev.
! Mr.. Wells did not close his ahors till one
/ year and eight months later. at which time
| he went 10 England but his active history
belongs chiefly to the formative times, when
! his earnest and charitable faith and genial
/ piety were LAYING foundations in mems
! hearts and overcoming the rough and wild
spirit that was, in early days, proverblally
tno much the character of this town. Par
snnally and spiritually We see a kindly and
noble figure in this large hearted man. He
was man who would belong very Sympa-
| thctically tn the earnest school of men of
today, who, mrdiators and broad church
men in theology, touch very deeply the com
mon heart of men. that human heart by
which We liye'-men like Erskine, Maurice,
| Kingsley, Robertson. On that first commu-
mon Sunday he preached IL sermon defining
his position theologically. 1t was not kin
drcd task for him, More characteristic
was his reply to one who asked him if there
were Ariaus and Socmians in the region
that there We're worse men than that
thieves, immoral men With quiet humur
he was wont 10 call himself "a moderate
laNterian. Still the times, like our times,
demanded clear and deep convictions and
into his views | will not 20, except to refer
to the beautiful covenant beginning thus
"Admiring the infinite condeScensinn and
grace of God in opening door of life and
salvation to perishing sinners through the
death and mediation of Jesus Christ. This
was the covenant which he used aud intro
duced into the new church ON which, in
very simple, uuque~tiuning trust in the
atnnement of Jesus Christ. he rested his
personal hope, as when ON his deathbed, he
told Deacon Hohruok This is the cove
nant which continued in cordial use ON the
part of nearly generation after he had
ended his lahors in lSlS, and 10y which he,
being dead, yet speaketh MIR. Wells was
above all things a social man, welcome in
all homes, whore the hospitahle cup of tea
and long pipe always awaited him, and
where he would he full of stories of Odd
England lie not only was loved by the
old rather even more sympathetlcally 10y
the children. lie loved hsm. Once, when
hearing how a certain little boy had cried
for him, he said THAT is the highest
compliment you could pay me- He loved
Young men, and the letter he wrote to some
of them, pupils at the seminary in West
Brattlehoro, marks in its simple, direct and
manly appeal to the highest and best in
them, that lac both loved and kneir them.
He had rayer-meeting in his house for
them. His character was in his face his
experience was there, in kindly benevo-
lence. lie died beloved, and left the record
of man of charity, and for the sermon Of
his life such message as this "Be ye
kind one to another, tender hearted, for
giving one another, even as God for Christi
sake hath forgiven YOU"
1t was during the absence of Rev, Mr..
Wells in England that the society called
the Rev. Jonathan McGee to the pastorate
not reverend then, for he came to he
ordained Mr. Wells went TO England in
April, aud Mr.. Mctiee was called in Octo
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