Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1899-11-16
THE HISTORICAL ADDRESS.
Continued from First Pa ge. J

| (COnUlnueQ from FlrSt ia ge.)
demands of a great and growing ma
ton. The movement for the higher
education of women, which has pro-
duced such splendid institutions OF
learning, belongs to this period. 1t
has also brought new era of theolog-
lcal education, for no seminaries exist
ed for the training of ministers in the
early part of the century.
At the beginning of this century
missionary work was carried on in a
limited way by various state organza-
tions. In 1907 the editor Of the Gre
ligious Repository wrote: "We recol-
lect l or II societies within the Unit
ed States for the propagation of the
gospel in the new American settle
ments.' Since that time all the ma
tiOnal societies for home and foreign
work have been organized. Their
achievements have been among the
marvels of the century and their con
tributiOnS to Christian civilization
throughout the world are beyond
human estimate.
Nov. 9th, 1850, nineteen years be-
fore this church was organized, a char
ter was given to William Williams
and 60 others, for a tract of $4,000
acres of uninhabited wilderness land,
embracing this town. 1t was then
called Wildersburgh and remained UNI
settled until 1888 when colonization
began. From that time until 1913
the population increased and the emil
grants, who were chiefly from Massa-
chusetts and New Hampshire, pros
pered. The first town meeting was
held March 18th, 1893, when the
selectmen and other officers were
appointed. In the same year it was
voted to petition the general assembly
for a land tax and to choose commit
tee of five to lease all the public lands
except the administers lot," the lease
to run 'as long as trees grow and
water runs"
1t was also petitoned that the name
of the town should be changed from
Wildersburgh to something more
appropriate, and "that the man that
will give most towards building a
meeting house in said town, shall
name the town and the town will
petition the general assembly for that
name" The name of the town was
vendued and bid off by Ezekiel ID.
Wheeler, for the sum of f62 lawful
money, he being the highest bidder,
and said Wheeler named the town
'Barre." Like other New England
towns of last century an effort was
made to combine church and state and
manage ecclesiastical as well as civil
affairs by the town meeting. This.
however, does not seem to have met
with the approval of the inhabitants
of Barre, for though various rcSOlu-
ton were passed relating to the hir-
ing of minister and the building of
a meeting house, practically nothing
was done until societies of various
denominations were organized.
The town records show that ON
October 9th, 1896, a certificate was
filed, stating that eighteen persons
had formed a Universalist Society. In
the following yeara Methodist "class"
of twelve was organized under the
Rev. Ralph Williston of the Nershirc
Circuit and in February 1899 the
Rev. Joseph Crawford filed a H.
cate with the town clerk that three of
thi .class, heads of families, with.two
others, were of the sect of Chris tians
know by the name of Methodists. y To
this list thirteen names were added
the following October. On Aug. 10,
1902, a like certificate was filed nam
ing sixteen men who claimed to be-
long to the Baptist denomination. 1t
seems that this society, after an ex
istence of about a quarter of CEN
tury. became involved in a controversy
relating to Free Masonry, and was
disbanded The lands set apart for
the support of preaching in the town
were leased and the income appro-
priated in the proportion to the heads
of families constituting the various
religious societies. On Oct. II, 1899,
committee reported the following
divisions to the Universalist Society,
twelve dollars; to the Methodist
Society, eleven dollars and seventy
two cents; remaining for the rest of
the town, seventy-six dollars and sixty
two cents.
Though the Barre Congregational
Church is venerable as a centenarian,
it is by no means amongst the oldest
of it's faith and order in the state.
Sixty six Congregational Churches had
preceded it in time of organization,
the oldest, that of Bennington, hav-