The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1896-04-28

streets and cast into prison. In this
same petition they declared that they
We're not "a wild, friekish people, with
an apish sort of religion" but were
honest, sober and industrious, But ii
was not until 1885, or forty years after
their organization, that they We're alto
gether freed from the last vestige of
this oppression. Such coercion is all
the more remarkable from the fact that
all other dissenters, including Baptists,
Quakers, etc, had already been set
free. The theory seemed to be that
people had no right to be Presbyteri-
ans, and that view continues to have
it's advocates.
Those early pastors We're remarkable
men. Mr.. Parsons was eminently
scholarly yet a fervid revivalist; fond
of rufIied shirt-fronts and gold lace ga
lore, yet devotedly pious and a prevail
ing prince in prayer; with beauty of
face almost feminine, yet capable of
majestic effects on occasion. Rev
John Murray, who followed him. was
native of Ireland, where he obtained IL
censure irregularly when only eighteen
years of age;a youthful error that en-
Filtered an otherwise noble life. He
built up at Boothbay the largest
church in Maine, and when he came to
NewbGryport, in 1881, he made this the
banner church of the Presbytery. His
oratory was wonderful, He never
preached less than an hour, and often
exceeded two hours. but held his i'm
mense audiences so they could not
leave. His little book, Bath Kol,'' or
"A Voice from the Wilderness" made a
great sensation in its day, with its firm
protest against heresy, blasphemy,
drunkenness and immortality. A por~
ton of the congregation withdrew UNI
der the latter part of his ministry, to
form what is now the Prospect Street
congregational church, in 1871; and yet
another division took place in 1884 I'M
der the ministry of Dr.. Dana, to form
the Second Presbyterian church.
Here. for the honor of religion. it
may be stated that about the year 1916,
healing acts" were passed condoning
all the schisms by which the body of
Christ had been torn up to that time
So far as DR.. Dana was concerned, the
mistake was in thinking him disloyal
to Calvinism because he clothed its
rugged truths with the flowers of rhe-
lOIlC. mo llIIlleI VI OIllp-
doxy ever lived than he and he did his
best to keep Andover seminary sound
to the core. He left Newburyport to be
president of Dartmouth college, but af-
forwards returned and ministered for
twenty years to the very church that
had withdrawn on his account. 1t was
during his pastorate in the Old South
church that Sunday school, Tract and
Bible societies were started here, pre-
vious to similar societies formed in
New, York and Philadelphia Samuel
J. Mills and his band of missionaries
were ordained in this church. So were
many home missionaries.
Rev. S. p. Williams, the successor of
DR.. Dana. had a less eventful pastorate
than he. and died in the harness after
six years Of faithful toll. The next
minister was DR.. John Proudfit the
.beloyed John" as he was called by
his MANY, friends He was followed by
Rev. Jonathan F. Stearns, who was at
one time the moderator of the General
Assembly ,of the United States, as well
as being publicly honored in other
ways. DR.. Proudfit was his successor,
who was afterwards an eminent pro-
fessor in the University of New York.