Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1906-02-14
.rur ooNeREeArroSAL CHURCH,

-. n 1929. and dedicated Jan. IL,
~. stopds next to the Asa Ciough house
io,t dsscribed. The writer was present at
dsdicstion and sat in his fathers pew,
nm right side OF tho broad aisle.
~, i,yocaticn and scripture readings
-. bv Rev. James Fitzpatrick, pastor of
49, Rsptist church; sermon by Rev.
y, ,-.bsm sewall, jr., pastor OF the church,
s,om Hag. 2, 9th, ''The glory of this latter
hou.e shall be greater than the former,
18th the Lord OF Hosts"
Tho dedicatory prayer was by Rev.
o,,-au Tenney, Of Ellsworth, and the
.r,sing prayer by Father Fisher. The
souse was well filed by an attentive au-
aiance. and all of the services were of a
h;gbIv interesting character to the writer,
,hsv being the first of the kind he had at
landed. That was sixty-two years agoi
And the writer's thought, as he narrates
,hs occurrence is, "How many beside him
ssfare alive this day of that filled house
=, active. living human beings2" He
hears no answer to his mental inquiry,
m, he knows full well that only few; IL
few even have survived the wear and
tear Of departed years.
In this meeting house the celebration of
the centennial OF the church organized
in i772 with fourteen members, vas
held Dec. 81, 1873. At that time the
church membership in full, as per roll,
had reached i3s, most of whom had been
called to the church above.
Rev. Stephen Thurston, of Searsport,
former member of the church, preached an
historical sermon OF great interest, giving
ansccount OF the chief incidents in the his
toy of the town from its settlement, and
Of the church from its gathering, which
vas printed by vote Of the church. At the
evening services, brief addresses were
made by Revs. Tenney, of Ellsworth;
Thurston, of searsport; Ives, of Castine;
Hauston, OF Deer Isle; Raymond, OF Blue
bill; Prof. Fletcher, OF the Eastern State
normal school; Rufus Buck, esq, of
Baeksport. and 9th r.. Letters were read
from former Pastors Stone and Bunker,
also from Revs. Josiah Fisher, NJ. L. Rich
ardson, IL. A. Wines, L. A. Rand, Prof.
Joiham sewalI OF Bowdoin college, Rev.
Oh Pond, OF Bangor theological seminary,
and from many absent sons and daughters
oiths church.
poem was read by Augustus Stevens,
written By J. G.. Harvey, of Portsmouth,
Nh, for the occasion, and a centennial
hymn by Miss Maria F. Wood. A sum OF
money amounting to $500, or more, was
gwen BY absent members of the church
and town which was made fund, the in
cone to be used for church purposes.
The closing woris OF Mr.. Thurston's
sermon we're:
"a century hence where shall all we be
iOand? One thing we know. These taber-
nacles will be taken down and laid in the
grave. The living will perhaps heedlessly
ttample over our sleeping dust. Our very
names will be forgotten. Those then
living will not know that we ever lived
and acted our little part. Our last sleep
shall continue ages after that period. But
where will be our immortal spirits?''
THE RAY-srEvESs- NORTON PLACE
and house still stands opposite the meet
ing house, The land was sold to Ma
ihaniel Hartford by Nathan Parker in 1908
for so, The house was built by Nathaniel
Hartford and Enoch Bidges and sold to
Matthew Ray in 1912. He was black
smith and edge-tool manufacturer, with
factory and trip hammer run by water
power upon the Mill stream in the village,
above the bridge at Main street. He re-
moved from the town to Bangor before
Ei0, and Is supposed to have died in that
city He married, May -, 1910, Roxana
Aickerson, by whom he had
l. Louisa, born April /, 1911; married
Asa Qough, jr.
= Eunice Staples, born June 10, 1913;
married Joel Parker.
8. Harriet Newell, born Feb. %, 1916.
4. George Whitfield, born May Is, 1878;
a'ed IN 1873 or 1850, on way to California.
o. William Nickerson, born May 8, 1870.
o. John Hopkins, born Feb. IS, 1922;
died March 10, 1922.
4 Roxana, born Feb. %, 1923.
Mrs Roxana Ray, mother of above chill
uen' died March 20, 1923, and Mr.. Ray
married Harriet Hinckley, daughter of
as@lah and Amer (Horton) Hinckley, Aug.
~ ISZS BY this marriage the birth OF
one child is entered in the Blue Hill
records, viz:
o. Mary Elizabeth, born Aug, "a, 1880.
mrs Harriet Ray, mother of this child,
uied in March, 1si7.
Narnum Stevens, son of Theodore and
Dotcas losgood) stevens, born Oct. 10,
.,e4' with his family, was the occupant of
.His place in the earliest remembrance of it
" writer. Mr.. Stevens was black
snt'n by trade, but gave up that business
- W MS sons later in life. He died Oct. 5,
'O' aged seventy-six years. He married
D Z 1913, susannah Brown, daughter of
t'enehilah and Edith Wood Hinckley,
t "orh FEB. 81, 1893, and died on May IS,
49, aged sixty-four years and three
@l'H'hs' Their children were:
FL Ll'za Holt, born Sept. /, 1920; died