The Portland daily press., 1895-10-09
THE FIRST PARISH BELL.
some Interesting History in Connection
With 1t.


With 1t.
A reader of the PRESS speaking OF
church bells in Portland, asks If the ola
First Parish bell is not the Oldest, be-
cause the First Parish church was the
first established east OF Wells.
The present First Parish bell dates only
from 1862 1t is, or was, before the st.
Dominic's church bell was elevated TO
position the largest in Portland, weigh
ing 334O pounds. 1t was cast atithe foun-
dry of Jones & Co. of Troy, N. Y, and
bears upon it's sidesEthe following inscrlp-
lions: on one side,
OLD FIRST PARISH,
PORTLAND, ME-.
THOMAS SMITH, 1877.
SAMUEL DEANE, 17e4.
ICHABOD NICHOLS, 1909.
HORATIO STEBBINS, 1856.
O Lord, our Good, how excellent is Thy
Name in all the earth.
ION the other side,
First bell, 1858.
Second, 1904.
Third, 1862.
Jones & Company, founders, Troy, N.
Y, 1862.
The admirable piece Of work was
hoisted into position September Sth in
the 136th year of the church organiza-
tion, and in the eighth of tho passionate
of the fourth minister Horatio Stebbins.
And it is a remarkable coincidence that
the secondIbell..wa suspended on Septem-
Der 7th and the present on the 9Th, the
9TH being Sunday.
The BELLS predecessor, the. second bell,
came from England in 1904, weighing
1921 pounds, and was hoisted in position
September 9TH of that year. In the spring
of 1926 it was taken down when the old
tabernacle was removed to make way
for the present stone ediflce, in the tower
of which it was placed in 1926 During
more than half a century ita summoned
the people to worship, called together
the various courts in three halls OF JUS
tice, led by it's deep diapason the melan-
cholly procession of two generations to
the tomb, including the venerable pastors
Deane and Nichols, one in the Slst and
the other the 18th year, the deacons Sam
uel Freeman and Woodbury. Storer, who
sat under the preaching of the first three
pastors of the church; DIR. Coffin, Mat
thew Cobb, Asa Clapp, Robert Boyd,
David Ross, Judge Mellen, Mr.. Longfel-
low and..other well-known citizens.
The first bell, which preceded these
other two, was procured from England
by Alexander Ross, a Scotch merchant
who carried on a large business in Fort
land for "a years before the Revolution.
1t weighed little over 800 pounds and
cost e123, IA shillings, and two pence, or
about $415 3d. 1t was the first bell used
by a Protestant church in Maine. Faith
or Rasle's, in his Catholic ohapeli at Nor
1ideewook, was older. This first bell was
suspended July 1, 1858 on a frame erected
near the meeting house as there was no
porch or tower connected with the church
at that time. In 1850 the tower was
built, and in 1851 the tall spire that bat
tied storm and breeze for 81 years. The
first bell was introduced amidst serious
opposition in the parish 1t was consid-
cred an innovation. a novelty not to be
tolerated in Puritan worship, an imita-
ton of hated Catholic usage. The oppo-
nents, living on the other side of Back
Cove. threatened to secede and establish
new parish. But time and custom
healed controversies and the parish be-
came very fond of their bell. There was
the same violent opposition when the
bass viol and other musical instruments
were introduced into the choir, and also
when the organ was bought, that too, be-
came a fresh source of trouble. The old
first bell kept on ringing for 45 years,
ringing out six SUGGESTIONS for new pas
tors, ringing out the venerable first pas
tor who had officiated for 60 years, ring
ing out all the old stock who had sat I'M
der his preaching, ringing it's dirge lover
the ruins of the village caused by the
conflagration Of 1775, while the sides OF
the edifce supporting it, were shattered
by Mowatt's cannon balls.