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The following
article was written by David L. Williams, a member of the Anniversary
Committee. David has prepared several articles regarding our
interesting history. Look for them in future editions of The
Witness.
Barbara Tolstrop recently gave us a book
for our historical collection in our
Corey
Room
. It is volume five of the Register
of the Malden Historical Society (1918), which contains two
articles of interest to our Church. The first is "A Walk up
Salem Street
" by Deloraine Pendre Corey, and the
second article is "The Early Baptists of Malden" by George
Chamberlain.
Mr. Corey was President of the Malden
Historical Society in 1899 when he gave this address at the
Faulkner
School
. He was looking back as a boy
50-60 years ago. The remembered time is about 1840. We have
condensed, and taken some liberties in editing.
"We begin our walk on Baptist Row (now
Salem Street
) at the home of my childhood where the
great high school now stands. The street is Baptist Row, so
called because the
First
Baptist
Church
was gathered in a barn, which stood on
the north side of the road, where Mr. Davenport's house now is, and
because most of the people who lived in the vicinity were Baptists."
"The old Baptist meeting-house was an
uncouth barn of a house with immense windows and a squat belfry
in which hung a bell which rang the curfew at
nine
o'clock . This
house was built in 1804. In it were received my first
Sabbath-day impressions; and my earliest recollections thereof are of
three conditions:
1.) One of exquisite uneasiness, for
the day was hot, the seat was hard, and the sermon
was long.
2.) One of awe at the presence of the
Minister, Mr. Williams, and the contemplation of the way he pounded
the Bible.
3.) One of curiosity as to whether
the sighs and groans, which came from the gallery were from a
suffering baby or a dog. I was inclined to the first, but have
since learned that it was a double bass viol.
"Uncouth as was this old meeting-house,
it was endeared to many by loving memories. It was closed in a
blaze of glory by a ratification meeting in the days of (Pastors) Clay
and Frelinghuysen, when each little square of glass held it's
own candle, and the great chandelier with its glittering pendants
shone as it never shone before. The house was crowded; and the
eloquence of a brass band graced the occasion. Then spoke the
celebrated Rufus Choate, perhaps in some respects the most eloquent
man
Massachusetts
has produced. He was suffering from
a cold and spoke but a short time. One who followed him said
that after such a speech, his own poor words would be like the
rattling of beans in a tin pan compared with old fashion dog-day
thunder."
"The old meeting-house was put on rollers
and the last I saw of it, was being pulled by oxen, going up
Reading Road
(
Main Street
). Still standing were a vestry and
a hearse house, both painted yellow."
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Mr. Corey describes in detail the local
rives, ponds, and local farm-land and notes that in 1846 there were
only 779 children entitled to school privileges in the whole town of
Malden
, including the present cities of
Everett
and
Melrose
.
A Trip to the
Corey
Room
in Search of the First Annual
Meeting Records
We can be quite sure that there was no
annual meeting in early 1803 or 1804. The church was not
incorporated until 1820. This corporation was empowered to hold
property, in the amount of $ 20,000, and to lease or sell pews.
Also, any new member was required to pay his share of the assessment,
which of course applied only to male members (*Chamberlain, 1918).
Perhaps there was a meeting in 1821, but we find no record of it.
There are many records of the members, elders, ministers, and some
orders of worship for special occasions in the
Corey
Room
.
Printed records were found of a
Treasurer's Annual Report of the First Baptist Society of Malden,
April 1st, 1885 .
By 1887, this record included appropriations voted at the Society's
Meeting April 1, 1886. They listed for pastor's salary, $ 2,000,
for music and incidentals, $ 1,000, and contingent expenses, $ 1,000 (
$ 4,000 total). Actual expenses were $ 4,569.44, with the
pastor receiving only $1,000.04. The major source of
income was pew rentals
($ 2,662.93). The balance on hand was $ 195.06, and liabilities
were $ 2,735.83. There was a Church improvement fund of about $
800, and they carried insurance of $ 20,000, including $ 1,000 on the
organ.
Also, at about this time a booklet was
printed by A.G. Brown, Steam Book and Job Printer (Malden, 1882),
entitled "A brief History of the First Baptist Church, Malden; The
Declaration of Faith; The Church Covenant; and a List of Officers and
Members." In the 14-page history there is a record of a
meeting of 42 persons, who met in the house of Mr. Phillips and chose
Mr. Dyer as clerk. The date was
December 27, 1803 , which is the date we now celebrate as
our anniversary. A committee was appointed to call a council,
such that "the new church might be in fellowship with the surrounding
churches. The Council was composed of delegates from the Baptist
churches of
Boston
,
Newton
, and
Beverly
, and convened in the barn, when the
brethren and sisters, 42 in number, were duly constituted and
recognized as a church. Rev. Dr. Stillman of
Boston
preached the sermon of recognition."
At this service William Parker was given
the right hand of fellowship on behalf of the new church.
Chamberlain (1918) records that Mr. Pottle baptized over 40 persons
before the church was organized. in 1803. However, it appears
that Elder Pottle was not recognized as the pastor of the church, and
he represented himself as "Public teacher of a Religious sect or
denomination called Baptist in the town of
Malden
" in a letter dated
March 17, 1804 to Peter
Tufts. This is probably because Rev. Pottle held strong Arminian
(free will) sentiments, which were considered unsound by the more
Calvinistic (predestination) leaders of the Baptist Churches in the
area. One of the most interesting early records on this subject
is "The History of Wars and Fightings (without shedding of blood) in
the Baptist Church of Malden" written by John Sprague in 1812.
(More on this next time).
more...
____________
*Chamberlain
(1918) "The Early Baptists of
Malden
" in Register of the
Malden
Historical Society,
Vol. 5.
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