History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts - citizen hylbom blog

494 HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
near two hundred years before." lie graduated from
Harvard College in the class of 1 782, and the iionorary
degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon
him by Yale in 18UC. He died February 16, 1814.
After the death of Dr. Kendal, Isaac Fiske,
then chairman of the parish committee, invited
Joseph Allen, who had not completed his course
of studies at Cambridge under the elder Ware, to
supply their vacant pulpit as a candidate for settle-
ment. Shortly after Mr. Allen's health broke down,
and he took a long journey on horseback to the
medicinal springs at Ballston, New York, return-
ing late in the summer with health still impaired.
Finding, as winter set in, that he could not fulfil his
engagement, he requested and obtained a release
from it. Accordingly, the committee sent for young
Joseph Field, a graduate of Harvard in 1809,
still pursuing his studies in theology, and after
hearing him a few Sundays gave him a call, which
he accepted. He was ordained February 1, 1815,
President Kirkland, of Harvard College, preaching
his ordination sermon. Mr. Allen and other fel-
low-students rode over from Cambridge, though
the mercury was eight degrees below zero, to wit-
ness the ceremony and to congratulate liim on what
they considered, and what proved to be, liis good
fortune. The same day Professor Henry Ware, Sr.,
rode from Cambridge to Lunenburg in an open
sleigh, setting out, accompanied by his son and
eldest daughter, that bitter cold morning before
daylight, reaching Lexington before sunrise, driv-
ing a distance of some forty miles, and preached
the sermon at the ordination of David Damon at
Lunenburg, returning to Cambridge the same day.
Allen and Damon were college classmates of
Edward Everett, all being members of the class of
1811 at Harvard.
Dr. Joseph Field was born in Boston, December
8, 1788, fitted for college under Dr. Gardner, and
pursued his theological studies under Dr. Kirk-
land. He served as ciin])liiin in the army in 1812,
in the 3d regiment of iid'antry. He was tiie
first distinctly Unitarian minister in Weston, and
remained at tliis post for fifty years, till 186.^),
wlicn lie resigned as active ])astor, but, at llie ear-
nest iT.iurst'nf his peiiplc, e,mlinu(,l to i.r iheir
seni.ir |Mst,,r till his death, XoveinlHi- 11, ISC'.I.
\\v ivirivcd the iionorary ih'give of Doctor of Di-
\iniiy IVdni iiis Alma iVIatcr in IS 10. He was at
oncliiMi- a member of the Hoard of Overseers of
llarvanlColle-e. He was greatly lioiuurd and l..ve,l
by his people, " ami In a wid'e eiirle of fru nds,
for his genial spirit and amiable social qualities.
He wrote with ease ; his sermons were terse, clear,
and compact ; and in the day of his highest intel-
lectual vigor he was regarded in his own vicinity
as among the favorite preachers of his denomination.
.... He was not a man to be ever forgotten by
those who knew him in his best days." The semi-
centennial of his settlement was celebrated with
appropriate ceremonies, and the proceedings, in-
cluding his sermon on the occasion, were pub-
lished.
Eev. Dr. Edmund H. Sears, born April 6, 1810,
graduated at Union College in 1834, and at Cam-
bridge Theological School in 1837, was the suc-
cessor of Dr. Field. He was settled in Wayland,
February 20, 1838, removed to Lancaster, Decem-
ber 23, 1840, and returned to Wavland in 1848.
In May, 1865, he was installed as colleague pastor
with Dr. Field in Weston, where he remained until
his death, January 16, 1876. His last sickness
began with a fall, October 19, 1874, while work-
ing in his gMi'deii, by which he received injuries
from whieli lie ii(\ir recovered. He was "a most
fascinating writer," and is widely known by his
books, of^'whicli TIw Foin-lh Cn.^prl t/,e Heurt ,f
C/irisl, is perhaps the iiidst pupiilar. The exqui-
site poems, beginning, "Calm on the listening ear
of night," and "It came upon the midnight clear,"
will be held as classics of our language, and are
"enough to make a poet's reputation." ]\'o
stronger eulogy could be pronounced over any
man than is given by Dr. Chandler Eobbins in his
commemoration sermon, in 'which he says he yet
speaks " by the memory of his lessons, by the
force of his example, by the total impression of
his life, by the concentrated infiuence of his char-
acter."
From the settlement of Mr. Williams in 1709,
to the death of Dr. Sears, a period of one hun-
dred and sixty-seven years, there have been only
five ministers settled over this ancient church,
all of whom died here, where they so faithfully
toiled and lived, and now lie buried in our grave-
yards, almost within a stone's throw of each other.
The first Baptists in Weston began to gather
together in a small company about 1776, meeting
at each other's houses, mutually encouraging and
exhorting each other, when no pr("aeher eould be
liad, under the h-ad of Deacon Oliver Hastings,
who was baijtized in Fraiiiiiii,'liani in 1772. March
7SI,
lel Ti
llaiTinglon,
and Joseph