Part 21 (1/2)

It was not until the arrival of the Rev. Seth n.o.ble[64], in 1774, that the church had a resident pastor, but in the intervals religious services were held on the Lord's Day at private houses, conducted by the deacons and elders of the church, consisting of prayer and exhortation, reading of a sermon and singing. Among the early deacons were Jonathan Burpee, Samuel Whitney, John Shaw, and Humphrey Pickard.

The elders were chosen annually.

[64] The Rev. Seth n.o.ble was grandfather of the Rev. Joseph n.o.ble who at this date (1904), is the oldest Free Baptist minister in the Province. For this information I am indebted to H. G.

n.o.ble of Woodstock, N. B.--W.O.R.

The records of the church, which are yet in existence, show that the promise, made by the signers of the original covenant, to maintain ”Brotherly watchfulness toward each other,” was by no means lost sight of for many of the entries in the church records are devoted to matters of discipline. In September, 1773, for example, two rather prominent members of the church, Israel Kenny and Benjamin Brawn, were called to account, and after due acknowledgment of their faults before the congregation were ”restored to their charity again.” One of the two offending brethren, who had been charged with ”scandalous sins,”

was elected a ruling elder of the church less than two years afterwards.

The year 1774, gave to Maugerville its first settled minister, the Rev. Seth n.o.ble, and the circ.u.mstances connected with his appointment are thus stated in the minutes of the clerk of the church, Daniel Palmer:

”At a meeting held by the subscribers to a bond for the support of the Preached gospel among us at the House of Mr. Hugh Quinton inholder on Wednesday ye 15 of June 1774.

1ly Chose Jacob Barker Esqr. Moderator in Sd. meeting.

2ly Gave Mr. Seth n.o.ble a call to settle in the work of the ministry among us.

3ly to give Mr. Seth n.o.ble as a settlement providing he accept of the call, one hundred and twenty Pounds currency.

4ly Voted to give Mr. Seth n.o.ble yearly salary of sixty five pounds currency so long as he shall continue our Minister to be in Cash or furs or grain at cash price.

5ly. Chose Esqrs., Jacob Barker, Phinehas Nevers, Israel Pearly, Deacon Jonathan Burpee and Messrs. Hugh Quinton, Daniel Palmer, Moses Coburn, Moses Pickard a Committee to treat with Seth n.o.ble.

6ly Adjourned the meeting to be held at the House of Mr. Hugh Quinton on Wednesday ye 29 Instat, at four of the clock in the afternoon to hear the report of the committee.

Met on the adjournment on Wednesday ye 29 of June 1774 and voted as an addition to the salary of Mr. Seth n.o.ble if he should except of our Call, to cut and haul twenty five cords of wood to his house yearly so long as he shall continue to be our Minister. The meeting dissolved.”

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH AT SHEFFIELD.]

The call having been accepted by Mr. n.o.ble, the people the following year set about the erection of a meeting house, which was to serve also as a residence for their pastor. In January, 1776, it was so far advanced that the exterior was nearly completed, for in David Burpee's book of accounts, under that date, there is a charge for work done by Messrs. Plummer and Bridges in ”clapboarding one third of the east end of the meeting house.” When finished the building was doubtless a very unpretentious little structure not at all like a modern church edifice and very unlike its successor, the Congregational church in Sheffield, but it was the first Protestant place of wors.h.i.+p erected on the River St. John.

In the order of survey of the Towns.h.i.+p of Maugerville, made by the Government of Nova Scotia in 1761, were the words ”You shall Reserve four Lots in the Towns.h.i.+p, for Publick use, one as a Glebe for the Church of England, one of the Dissenting Protestants, one for the maintenance of a School, and one for the first settled minister in the Place.”

In accordance with this arrangement Lot No. 15, where the Sheffield Congregational church now stands, was fixed on in the year 1764 as a glebe for the ”Dissenting Protestants.” Improvements were made upon the lot and a part of it used as a burial ground. The first meeting house, however, was not built there. It probably stood on lot 13, the property of Jeremiah Burpee and later of his son, David Burpee. In the church records we have the following minute bearing upon the subject, the meaning of which, however, does not seem perfectly clear:--

”At a meeting of the Subscribers for the support of the Preached Gospel held at the meeting house in Sheffield on the 15th day of December, 1788--

Chose Mr. Daniel Jewett Chairman.

”2ndly. Voted that the meeting house be set on the public lot in Sheffield.

”3rdly. Voted to remove the meeting house in Maugerville to the public lot in Sheffield if the proprietor thereof consents thereto.

”4thly. Chose Messers. Nathan Smith, Silva.n.u.s Plumer, Eben Briggs, Elijah Dingee and Jacob Barker, Esq., managers to remove the same.”

The meeting house was removed early in the spring, placed upon a stone foundation, a steeple erected, and many improvements made.

If the Rev. Seth n.o.ble had remained he would doubtless have had a grant of the lot reserved for the first settled minister in the towns.h.i.+p, but his removal in the year 1777 not only lost him the lot but caused it to pa.s.s eventually to the Rev. John Beardsley, rector of the church of England congregation.

Some years after he left Maugerville Mr. n.o.ble wrote to his former congregation respecting this lot but they gave him rather a tart reply: ”You was indeed told,” said they, ”that there was a lot of land in Maugerville reserved by Government to be given to the first settled minister in fee simple, and had you continued as such undoubtedly you would have obtained a grant of it. But when you left this country you then (in the eyes of the government) forfeited all pretentions to that privilege and the man that would ask for it in your behalf would only get abuse. By your leaving us the dissenters have lost that privilege and the Church of England minister gets the lot. Though we must observe that during Mrs. n.o.ble's residence here she had the improvement of it which was worth about five pounds per annum.”[65]