History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts - citizen hylbom blog

who had known it in its latter years. It was un-
painted, both inside and outside. The pulpit stood
on the north side, opposite the great south door,
which was the principal entrance. Another door-
way, on the easterly side, gave additional facilities
for ingress and egress. In two corners stairways
gave access to the gallery; and the description
quaintly adds, " The east stair was for women and
the west stair for men, and they could not get
together in the gallery without getting over the
railing."
"Wlhle the newly admitted inhabitants of the
southern portion of the town were striving with
their neighbors of the elder section, several fami-
lies of the north end presented their complaints.
The great distance at which they lay prevented
attendance upon the ministry, except in the finest
weather ; and many of them preferred the nearer
way to Eeading. Seven of them were members of
the Reading church as early as 1720. They jieti-
tioned to be set ofl:' in 17:J6, but for some reason
their application was not successful. A proposi-
tion to erect two churclies in Maiden appears to
have been made about this time; but a negative
vote of the town caused the petition to be renewed
in 1729; and ten families, and "some of the
wealthiest," with their farms, were annexed to
Eeading with the free consent of the town. The
section thus lost shortened the town about a mile,
and is now known as Greenwood. The peculiar
configuration of the soutliern portion of "Wakefield
clearly shows the extent of territory which tlie old
town of Eeading then gained.
Tlie new meeting-house was nearly a year in
building. On its completion, a town-meeting was
held, and "there was a unanimous Vote to meet
therein to carry on the Worship of God for tlie fu-
ture." To this tlie inhabitants of both sections,
joining freely in the vote, assented. It was claimed
that the liouse was near the centre of the town and
much more convenient for the soutliern than for
the northern people, " both by Reason of the near-
ness of the House and Goodness of the Roads."
Although the people of the southern district had
taken a part in the passage of the vote just men-
tioned, their pacification was far from being real.
The first sermon in the new house was preached
by Mr. Emerson, August 16, 1730; and, four
Sabbaths later, the malecontents held a service
by themselves. After this their meetings were
frequent; and some attempts to maintain stated
preacliing appear to have been made, although no
MALBEN. 123
regular place of worship may have been provided,
and an organization was not effected for several
years.
While .the people of the south district absented
themselves from the town's meeting-house, they
continued, as they were legally bound, to contribute
to the support of Mr. Emerson, and to this matter
of fancied injustice they often alluded, with em-
phasis, in their frequent petitions for a separation.
xV.t length, in 1733, they petitioned to be made
" a distinct Township or Precinct," with Pember-
ton's Brook as its northern bound. This was ask-
ing a liberal division, as the new meetuig-house, to
which thirty families, living within the bounds of
the proposed new town, still resorted, was within
thirty rods, and was the first building north of
Lewis's Bridge. The town opposed a division, as
being a measure which would " necessarily tend to
the impoverishing the Town and bring them into
the utmost Difficulty, Confusion, and laying Such
Burdens as will be grievous to us and our Pos-
terity." The petition was unsuccessful ; but, the
next year, the seceders took another step forward,
and a council of neighboring churches em-
bodied what was for fifty-eiglit years known as the
Maiden South Church ; and a meeting-house was
soon after raised upon land given by Jonathan Sargeaut
for that purpose. This location was upon
the height since known as Nelson's Hill, near the
centre of the farm which had descended from Wil-
liam Sargeant, who first " broke the seals " to the
infant church of Maiden ; and it was reached by a
way twenty-six feet wide which led from the highway.
The meeting-house was never fully com-
pleted, and it is said to have been in a very
dilapidated condition hi 1787. The members of
the new church afterwards complained that, having
borne their part " at great Cost in Erecting a fine
substantial meeting-house" for the other part of
the town, and having "waded thro' so great a
Charge," they were " oblidged to Erect a nother."
A second petition for separation representing that
they had " been at the charge of building a ineet-
ing-House for the publick worship of God and for
Several Years past maintahied a Gospel Minister
amongst them for the Comfort and Conveniency of
them and their Families," was made in April, 1735 ;
but it met the fate of the former.
Rev. Joseph Stimpson of Charlestown was or-
dained as the first pastor of the South Church, Sep-
tember 24, 1735; and an unsuccessful attempt
was made to have the town assume the payment of