EXETER. The settlement of Exeter commenced in 1638. The founder and
first minister of the place was the _Rev. John Wheelwright_, mentioned
by Dr. Belknap as "a gentleman of learning, piety, and zeal." He came
from Lincolnshire, England, and landed at Boston, Ms., May 26, 1636.
"He and Mary, his wife, were admitted to the Boston church, on the
12th of June." A settlement had been made, as early as 1625, at Mount
Wollaston, afterwards Braintree, Ms. In 1634, Boston was enlarged,
so as to include Mount Wollaston. Mr. Wheelwright became preacher to
the people at that place. These circumstances account for his being
mentioned in some publications, as having removed to New Hampshire
from Braintree; and in others from the church in Boston. Antinomian
sentiments were imputed to Mr. Wheelwright. He was a brother of the
famous Mrs. Ann Hutchinson, whose Antinomian zeal brought her into
public notice. At a Fast in Boston, in December, 1636, Mr. Wheelwright
preached one of the sermons. It gave offence, as it was judged to
reflect on ministers and magistrates. He was said to have asserted,
"that they walked in such a way of salvation as was no better than a
covenant of works:" and also, that "he exhorted such as were under a
covenant of grace to combat them, as their greatest enemies." [_Neal's
New Eng._, Vol. I. p. 186.]
Mr. Wheelwright was summoned, by the civil court, "to give in his
answer explicitly, whether he would acknowledge his offence, in
preaching his late seditious sermon, or abide the sentence of the
court." His answer was, "that he had been guilty of no sedition nor
contempt; that he had delivered nothing but the truth of Christ; and,
for the application of his doctrine, that was made by others, and not
by himself, he was not responsible." [_Neal's N. E._, I. 190.]
Not being inclined to comply with the request of the court, that he
would, "out of a regard to the public peace, leave the Colony, of his
own accord," he was sentenced "to be disfranchised, to be banished
the jurisdiction, and to be taken into custody immediately, unless he
should give security to depart before the end of March." Appeal not
being admitted, and declining to give bail, he was taken into custody,
but released the next day, on "declaring himself willing to submit to a
simple banishment." [_Neal's N. E._, I. 191.]
Mr. Wheelwright, having purchased lands of the Indians at Squamscot
Falls, with a number of his adherents began a plantation in 1638,
which, according to agreement made with Mason's agent, they called
Exeter. "Having obtained a dismission from the church in Boston, _they
formed themselves_ into a church; and judging themselves without the
jurisdiction of Massachusetts, they combined into a separate body
politic," &c. [_Belknap_, I. 37.] This combination continued three
years. The names of those dismissed from Boston were John Wheelwright,
Richard Merrys, Richard Bulgar, Philemon Purmont, Isaac Gosse,
Christopher Marshall, George Baytes, Thomas Wardell, William Wardell.
[_Dr. Belknap from Boston Chh. Records._] "When Exeter came under the
jurisdiction of Massachusetts, Mr. Wheelwright, being still under
sentence of banishment, with those of his church who were resolved
to adhere to him, removed into the Province of Maine, and settled at
Wells. He was soon after restored, upon a slight acknowledgment, to
the freedom of the Colony; and in 1647 accepted an invitation from the
church in Hampton, and settled as colleague with Mr. Dalton." "After
his dismission from Hampton church he went to England, where he was in
favor with Cromwell, with whom he had in early life been associated
at the University of Cambridge in England. After Charles II. came
to the throne, Mr. Wheelwright returned to New England, and took up
his residence at Salisbury, where he died, November 15, 1679, aged,
probably, about 85 years." [_Dow's Hist. Address at Hampton._]
Neal, although his sympathies were with the opponents of Wheelwright,
mentions him as being "afterwards an useful minister in the town of
Hampton." Dr. Cotton Mather, while he justifies the proceedings of
the court against Mr. Wheelwright, accounts him "a man that had the
root of the matter in him." Having quoted at large Mr. Wheelwright's
address to the government, Dr. Mather says, "Upon this most ingenious
acknowledgement, he was restored unto his former liberty, and
interest among the people of God; and lived almost 40 years after,
a valued servant of the church, in his generation." Referring to
some publications of the day, in which Mr. Wheelwright was charged
with being heretical, Dr. Mather said, "_this good man_ published a
vindication of himself, against the wrongs that had been done unto
him." In this vindication were quoted the words of Mr. Cotton--"I
do conceive and profess, that our brother Wheelwright's doctrine
is according to God, in the points controverted." Mr. Wheelwright
also produced "a declaration from the whole general court of the
Colony, signed by the secretary," in which "they now signify, that
Mr. Wheelwright hath, for these many years, approved himself a sound
orthodox, and profitable minister of the gospel, among the churches of
Christ." [_Magnalia_, II. 443.]
Dr. Mather's own opinion of Mr. Wheelwright was expressed in a letter
to G. Vaughan, Esq., in 1708. "Mr. Wheelwright was always a gentleman
of the most unspotted morals imaginable; a man of a most unblemished
reputation." "His worst enemies never looked on him as chargeable with
the least ill practices." [_Belknap's Biog._, III. 338.]
The sermon of Mr. Wheelwright which gave offence in 1636, is still
preserved in manuscript. The Hon. Jeremiah Smith, late of Exeter, N.
H., who had read it, and who was fully competent to judge of its legal
bearings, said that he found in it no ground for a charge of sedition.
The charge was "wholly groundless, there was not the least color for
it." [_Judge Smith's MS._]
Mr. Wheelwright was settled over the first church in Salisbury, Ms.,
Dec. 9, 1662. [_Rev. J. B. Felt._] In 1671, at the ordination of Rev.
Joshua Moody, at Portsmouth, Mr. Wheelwright gave the Right Hand
of Fellowship. One of Mr. Wheelwright's descendants, of the ninth
generation, Rev. Rufus Wheelwright Clark, is now pastor of that church
in Portsmouth. Mr. Wheelwright's last will "names his son Samuel,
son-in-law Edward Rishworth, his grandchildren Edward Lyde, Mary White,
Mary Maverick, and William, Thomas, and Jacob Bradbury." [_Farmer's
Geneal. Reg._] Thomas Wheelwright of Wells, was also a son of Rev.
John Wheelwright. For an interesting account, containing other facts
respecting Mr. Wheelwright, see "Collectanea" by Hon. J. Kelly, in
Exeter News Letter, May 24, 1842.
Two of the descendants of the Rev. Mr. Wheelwright, of the seventh
generation, are now living in Newburyport. Abraham Wheelwright, Esq.,
and Ebenezer Wheelwright, Esq., both merchants. The first is the oldest
man in the place who is still able to walk abroad, having attained to
the age of 90 years. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and
was distinguished for patriotism and bravery. He was in the field with
Washington in most of his actions, and was several times taken prisoner
by the British, but always effected his escape.
"The first church formed in Exeter became extinct a few years after
its formation." [_Dow's Hist. Address; Farmer & Moore._] "An attempt
was made by the remaining inhabitants of Exeter to form themselves
into a church, and settle Mr. Batchelder, who had been minister at
Hampton." This the general court prohibited, on account of their
divisions; and directed them to "defer gathering a church, or any other
such proceeding, till they, or the court of Ipswich, upon further
satisfaction of their reconciliation and fitness, should give allowance
therefor." [_Belknap's Biog._, I. 58.]
The _Rev. Samuel Dudley_ was the _second minister_ in Exeter. It does
not appear that there was any formal church organization there, during
his ministry. In some circumstances, a minister labored with a people
several years, before a church was formally organized. Rev. Joshua
Moody was ten or twelve years in the ministry at Portsmouth, before a
church was gathered in that place.
Mr. Dudley was son of Gov. Thomas Dudley, who came to New England in
1630, and of whom Farmer speaks, as "a man of approved wisdom and
godliness." Gov. Dudley was, however, among the most zealous of those
who effected the banishment of Wheelwright. Cotton Mather says, "His
orthodox piety had no little influence unto the deliverance of the
country, from the contagion of the famalistical errors, which had like
to have overturned all." [_Mag._, I. 122.]
A short passage from Farmer should be introduced here, not merely as
relating to the persecution, which led to the settlement of Exeter,
by Wheelwright, but as it gives a just representation of the Puritan
character in those times. "Through the whole of his life, Governor
Dudley opposed and denounced what he deemed to be heresy with an honest
zeal, which, in these days of universal toleration, is sometimes
referred to, as a blot upon his fame. But the candid and judicious, who
are acquainted with the history of the Puritans, and the circumstances
under which 'they came into a corner of the new world, and with an
immense toil and charge made a wilderness habitable, on purpose there
to be undisturbed in the exercise of their worship,' will never be
found censuring and railing at their errors. They will rather wonder
at the wisdom of the views, the disinterested nobleness of principle,
and self-sacrificing heroism, displayed by these wonderful men, to whom
the world is indebted for the most perfect institutions of civil and
religious freedom known among men." [_Am. Quar. Reg._ Vol. XV. 301.]
Mr. Dudley of Exeter is noted in Fitch's MS. as "a person of good
capacity and learning." [_Belknap_, I. 53.] He was born in England
in 1606. In New England, he resided in Cambridge, in Boston, and in
Salisbury. He was Representative of Salisbury in 1644. His ministry
in Exeter he commenced in 1650, and died there in 1683, aged 77.
In 1656 the inhabitants of Portsmouth voted "to give an invitation
to Mr. Samuel Dudley, son of Thomas Dudley, the Deputy Governor of
Massachusetts, to be their minister, and to give him a salary of eighty
pounds a year." He accepted the proposition, and agreed to visit them
the next spring; but it does not appear that he ever came. [_Adams's
Annals of Portsmouth._] Mr. Dudley's first wife was Mary, daughter of
Governor Winthrop. She died at Salisbury, April 12, 1643. He had a
second and a third wife. Besides his descendants of the name of Dudley,
there are numerous families in New Hampshire, and elsewhere, who trace
their descent from Mr. Dudley of Exeter. Among his descendants were the
wife of Gen. Henry Dearborn; the wife of Rev. John Moody; the wife of
John Burgin; the wife of Gov. James Sullivan; the grandmother of Tobias
Lear, Washington's secretary; and also the mother of Gov. Langdon.
For a long list of descendants of Rev. Samuel Dudley, see Exeter News
Letter, Aug. 31, 1846.
The _Rev. John Clark_ was the _third_ minister in Exeter.
A church, which continues under the style of the First Church in
Exeter, was _organized_ in September, 1698. In the Hampton Church
Records is the following entry: "1698. Sept. 11, Dismissed, in order
to their being incorporated into a church state, in Exeter, Mr. Moses
Leavitt, Mr. Henry Wadley, Jno. Scribner, Mrs. Elisabeth Clark, Mrs.
Elisabeth Gilman, wife of Cap. Gilman, Mrs. Tipping, Mrs. Deborah
Coffin, Goodwife Bean, Mrs. Mary Gilman, Mrs. Elisabeth Wadley, Mrs.
Sarah Dudley, Sarah Sewal, Deborah Sinclar. And Mr. Wear and Cap. Dow
were chosen, messengers of the church, to assist in the ordination of
Mr. Jno. Clark, at Exeter." The persons who have been mentioned, as
having been formerly admitted to the church in Hampton, (most or all of
whom lived in Exeter,) constituted nearly half the number, who entered
into a church state at Exeter.
The most ancient volume extant of the records of the present "First
Church of Christ in Exeter" commences thus, "The order of proceeding in
_gathering_ a particular Church in Exeter."
"After conferring together, and being mutually satisfied in each other,
we drew up a confession of faith, and the terms of the covenant, which
we all signed, the sabbath before ordination. And having sent for the
Rev. Mr. J. Hale, (who preached the ordination sermon,) Mr. Woodbridge,
Mr. Pike, Mr. Rolfe, Mr. Cotton, and Mr. Toppan, who accordingly came;
and on the twenty-first of September, 1698, Mr. Hale, Woodbridge, Pike,
and Cotton, laid on hands, Mr. Pike praying before the imposition
of hands; Mr. Woodbridge gave the charge; Mr. Cotton gave the right
hand of fellowship; and we were, by the elders, and messengers, of
the several churches, _owned as a Church of Christ_, and John Clark
declared to be a minister of Christ Jesus." No doubt Mr. John Hale, of
Beverly, was the preacher. He had recently married the widowed mother
of Mr. Clark. The other ministers mentioned were undoubtedly Rev.
Messrs. Benjamin Woodbridge, minister first at Bristol, R. I., who
preached at Kittery in 1688, and, as early as 1699, in Medford; John
Pike of Dover; Benjamin Rolfe of Haverhill, Ms., who was killed by the
Indians; John Cotton of Hampton; and Christopher Toppan of Newbury. The
father of Rev. John Clark of Exeter was Nathaniel Clark, a merchant
of Newbury, and one of the early settlers of that town, who married,
Nov. 25, 1663, Elisabeth Somerby, daughter of Henry Somerby, one of the
grantees of Newbury. Nathaniel Clark was in the expedition to Canada in
1690, and died there, Aug. 25, aged 46, having been wounded on board
the ship "Six Friends." His widow, Elisabeth Clark, married Rev. John
Hale of Beverly, Aug. 8, 1698. Mr. Hale was chaplain in the expedition
in which Nathaniel Clark was mortally wounded. A particular account of
Mr. Hale does not belong to this article. Of his views and influence in
the affairs of the "Salem Witchcraft" see Amer. Quar. Reg. Vol. X. pp.
247, 248. In that account there is, however, doubtless a mistake as to
the original name of the widow of Nathaniel Clark. See also Magnalia,
II. 408, and Coffin's Newbury, p. 298. Rev. Mr. Clark of Exeter was
born at Newbury, June 24, 1670, gr. H. C. 1690, and ordained at Exeter,
Sept. 21, 1698; "married Elisabeth Woodbridge, a daughter of the Rev.
Benjamin Woodbridge, already mentioned, and granddaughter of Rev. John
Woodbridge, first minister of Andover, and also of Rev. John Ward,
first minister of Haverhill, June 19, 1694,--Rev. John Clark died July
25, 1705," aged 35. His children were Benjamin, Nathaniel, Deborah, and
Ward, who was the first minister of Kingston. The mother of Elisabeth
Woodbridge was Mary, daughter of John Ward.
The Woodbridge family has furnished a number of ministers distinguished
for talents, learning, piety, and an excellent spirit. Were the notices
of them collected, which are scattered in various publications, they
would form an interesting memoir.
_Rev. John Odlin_, the fourth minister of Exeter, and the second
minister of the present First Church, was son of Elisha, and grandson
of John Odlin, one of the first settlers of Boston. Rev. John Odlin
was born in Boston, Nov. 18, 1681, gr. H. C. 1702, ordained at Exeter,
Nov. 11, 1706. He married, Oct. 21, 1709, Mrs. Elisabeth Woodbridge
Clark, widow of his predecessor. Mr. Odlin was one of the proprietors
of Gilmanton. His son, Capt. John Odlin, was one of the settlers of
that town. Another of his sons, Dudley, was a physician. Elisha gr. H.
C. 1731, and settled in the ministry in Amesbury; Woodbridge was his
father's colleague and successor in Exeter. Mrs. Odlin, wife of Rev.
John Odlin, d. Dec. 6, 1729. His second marriage was Oct. 22, 1730,
with Elisabeth Briscoe, widow of Robert Briscoe, and formerly wife of
Lieut. James Dudley, and daughter of Samuel Leavitt. Mr. Odlin d. Nov.
20, 1754, aged about 73, nearly eleven years after his son became his
colleague. [_Farmer's Reg._; _Lancaster's Gilmanton_; _Exeter Church
Cov._] In 1743, May 18, the church "voted to concur with the vote of
the town in choosing Mr. Woodbridge Odlin to settle as a colleague
with his hon'd father the Rev. John Odlin." During the same month
"there were a number of the church separated from their communion."
The circumstances will be noticed in the account of the formation of
another church.
_Rev. Woodbridge Odlin_ was ordained colleague pastor Sept. 28, 1743.
The exercises were, Prayer by Rev. Wm. Allen of Greenland; Sermon
by Rev. Mr. Odlin from Col. i: 28; Charge by Rev. Caleb Cushing of
Salisbury; Right Hand by Rev. Mr. Rust of Stratham; and Prayer by Rev.
Joseph Adams of Newington. Rev. W. Odlin was born at Exeter, April 28,
1718; gr. H. C. 1738, m. Oct. 23, 1755, Mrs. Abigail Strong, widow
of Rev. Job Strong of Portsmouth, and daughter of Col. Peter Gilman.
Mr. W. Odlin d. March 10, 1776, aged 57. His children were Dudley,
Woodbridge, Peter, Elisabeth, Abigail, who was the first wife of Hon.
Nathaniel Gilman of Exeter, John, Mary Ann, who was wife of Thomas
Stickney of Concord, and Charlotte, wife of Jeremiah Stickney of Dover.
[_Lancaster's Gilmanton_; _Exeter Church Records_.] Rev. W. Odlin,
during his ministry of more than thirty-two years, baptized 1,276, and
admitted 36 persons to the church. [_Chh. Records._] The "Half-way
covenant," as it was often called, was then in use, and this accounts
for the great disproportion between the admissions to full communion
and the baptisms. "It provided that all persons of sober life and
correct sentiments without being examined as to a change of heart
might profess religion or become members of the church and have their
children baptized though they did not come to the Lord's table." [_Dr.
Hawes' Lectures_, p. 149.]
_Rev. Isaac Mansfield_ succeeded Rev. W. Odlin, and was ord. Oct. 9,
1776. The exercises were Prayer by the Rev. Mr. Tucker of Newbury;
Sermon by Rev. Mr. Thayer of Hampton, from Ezek. xxxiii: 7-9; Charge
by Rev. Mr. Fogg of Kensington; Right Hand by Rev. Mr. Webster of
Salisbury, 2nd chh.; Prayer by Rev. Edmund Noyes of Salisbury, 1st
chh. There were also invited on the ordaining council the churches in
Brentwood, Dover, Epping, Greenland, 1st in Cambridge, 2nd in Scituate,
and 2nd in Amesbury. Mr. Mansfield was born at Marblehead, Ms., in
1750, gr. H. C. 1767, also M. A. at D. C., 1770; married Mary, daughter
of Nathaniel Clap of Scituate, Ms. Mr. Mansfield, "according to his
agreement with the parish," was dismissed Aug. 22, 1787, by a council
of three churches, of which Messrs. Fogg, Langdon, then of Hampton
Falls, and Macclintock were pastors. The result is in the church
records. It does not state the circumstances which produced "such a
crisis as to render a separation eligible on both parts;" but the
council say, "We feel ourselves constrained by duty and love to testify
the sense we have of the valuable ministerial gifts and qualifications
with which God hath furnished Mr. Mansfield, and which have been well
approved not only among his own people, but by the churches in this
vicinity." During Mr. Mansfield's ministry of nearly eleven years, 245
were baptized, and 12 admitted to the church. Mr. Mansfield removed to
Marblehead. He became a magistrate, and was afterwards known as Isaac
Mansfield, Esq. His sons, Theodore and Isaac, were born in Exeter. Mrs.
Mansfield died in Marblehead, Feb. 11, 1806, aged 59. He d. in Boston,
Sept., 1826, aged 76. His father was also Isaac Mansfield, Esq., of
Marblehead: "a gentleman of handsome literary acquirements, and spent
his days in piety and usefulness." He died April 12, 1792, aged 72.
He is supposed to be the same who graduated at H. C., 1742. [_Alden's
Col._]
_Rev. William Frederick Rowland_ was born in Plainfield, Ct., in
1761, gr. D. C. 1784, also M. A. at Yale, 1787. He was ordained
in Exeter, June 2, 1790. The churches invited were Hampton Falls,
North Hampton, Hampton, 2nd Salisbury, 1st Newbury, 1st Newburyport,
Greenland, Stratham, 2nd Exeter, Brattle Street, Boston, Charlestown,
2nd Portland. The exercises were, Prayer by Dr. Macclintock; Sermon
by Dr. Thacher of Boston; Ordaining Prayer by Dr. Langdon; Charge by
Dr. Webster; Right Hand by Dr. Macclintock; Prayer by Dr. Morse. Mr.
Rowland m. Sally, daughter of Col. Eliphalet Ladd of Portsmouth. She
died Oct. 12, 1798, at the early age of 24. Extracts from the sermon
of Dr. Buckminster of Portsmouth at her funeral, may be found in
Alden's Collection, Vol. II., p. 66. Mr. Rowland's 2nd marriage was
with Ann, daughter of Col. Eliphalet Giddings of Exeter. She died June
13, 1811, aged 31. Her infant was buried with her. After a ministry of
thirty-eight years, Mr. Rowland asked and received a dismission. It
took place Dec. 5, 1828. The ministers of the council, whose result is
in the church records, were Rev. Messrs. Hurd of Exeter, Sanford of
Newmarket, Spofford of Brentwood, and Cummings of Stratham. Mr. Rowland
deceased June 10, 1843, aged 82, leaving four children, Sarah Ann, Mary
Elisabeth, William Frederick, and Theresa Orne. Mary Elisabeth died in
1845. The sermon at the funeral of Mr. Rowland was preached by the Rev.
Mr. Hurd. Mr. Rowland's father was Rev. David S. Rowland, gr. Yale,
1743; settled first at Plainfield, Ct., and afterwards at Windsor, Ct.;
where his son, Henry A. Rowland, was ordained his successor, in 1790.
During Mr. Rowland's ministry at Exeter, there were 128 admissions
to the church, and 295 baptisms. He possessed good talents, was very
respectable as a preacher, and gifted in prayer.
_Rev. John Smith_ was born in Wethersfield, Ct.; gr. Y. C., 1821;
ordained at Trenton, N. J., March 7, 1826; dismissed Aug., 1828.
Inst. in Exeter, March 12, 1829. Exercises on the occasion: Prayer by
Rev. Abraham Burnham of Pembroke, N. H.; Sermon by Rev. N. Bouton of
Concord; Prayer, Rev. Mr. Miltimore of Newbury; Charge, Rev. Dr. Dana,
Newburyport; Right Hand, Rev. Mr. Hurd of Exeter; Address, Rev. Mr.
Withington of Newbury; Prayer by Rev. Mr. Winslow, then of Dover, now
of Boston. Mr. Smith's "relation to the people of his charge in Exeter,
continued nearly nine years with mutual harmony and affection and
with much advantage to the cause of religion." [_Result of Council._]
At his own request, he was dismissed Feb. 14, 1838, and accepted
an appointment from the Amer. Tract Society, to superintend their
operations in New Jersey, and in Southern New York and vicinity. He
was afterwards installed in Wilton, Ct. During Mr. Smith's ministry in
Exeter, the number of admissions to the church was 170, and the number
of baptisms 139. The number of church members reported to the General
Association in 1836, was 226. Of the children of the Rev. John and Mrs.
Esther Smith, there were baptized at Exeter, James Dickinson, Jan. 7,
1830; Esther Mary, June 9, 1833; a second Esther Mary, Oct. 5, 1835;
and Walter Mitchell, June 4, 1837.
_Rev. William Williams_ was born in Wethersfield, Ct., Oct. 2, 1797,
grad. Y. C., 1816; studied theology at Andov. Sem., and with Pres.
Timothy Dwight. Settled in Salem over the Branch, since the Howard St.
Church, July 5, 1821; dismissed Feb. 17, 1832; settled over the Crombie
St. Church, which had separated from the Howard St. Nov. 22, 1832.
[_Amer. Quar. Reg._, Vol. VII., p. 260.] He was installed at Exeter,
May 31, 1838. Exercises on the occasion: Prayer by Rev. S. T. Abbott of
Seabrook; Sermon by Rev. Milton P. Bramin of Danvers; Prayer by Rev. S.
W. Clark of Greenland; Charge by Rev. J. French of North Hampton; Right
Hand, Rev. J. Hurd of Exeter; Address by Rev. Edwin Holt of Portsmouth;
Prayer by Rev. Mr. Gunnison of Brentwood. Mr. Williams resigned his
ministry, Oct. 1, 1842, on account of the state of his health, taken
in connection with existing difficulties. Mr. Williams returned to
Salem, Ms., where he engaged in the study, and has been since in the
practice of medicine. The number of members of Mr. Williams's church,
as reported in 1841, was 217.
_Rev. Joy Hamlet Fairchild_ was born in Guilford. Ct., April 24,
1789, and was the youngest of sixteen children. His father was Lewis
Fairchild. His mother before marriage was Mehetabel Waterhouse of
Saybrook, Ct. Rev. Mr. Fairchild grad. Y. C. 1813, studied theology
with Dr. Ely of Monson, Ms., and settled in the ministry in East
Hartford, Ct., June, 1816; in South Boston, Phillips Church, Nov.,
1827. He was installed in Exeter, Sept. 20, 1843. Exercises on
the occasion were: Reading of the Scriptures, Rev. S. W. Clark of
Greenland; Prayer, Rev. R. W. Clark, Portsmouth; Sermon, Rev. N. Adams,
Boston; Prayer, Rev. J. French; Charge, Rev. Dr. Codman; Right Hand,
Rev. Mr. Hurd; Address, Rev. H. Winslow of Boston; Prayer, Rev. E.
D. Eldredge of Hampton. Mr. Fairchild resigned his office June 18,
1844. His reasons are thus assigned in his letter to the church. "I am
accused of a crime which I never committed, but which it is not in my
power to disprove. I do not wish to preach the gospel any longer than I
can be useful. And as my usefulness must now be ended, I hereby resign
my office as Pastor of this church." His pastoral relation was formally
dissolved by a Council, called at his own request, July 30, 1844. The
doings of the ecclesiastical and civil tribunals in his case are in the
hands of the public. After removing from Exeter he was installed over
the Payson Church, South Boston, Nov. 19. 1845.
Mr. Fairchild m. 1st, Cynthia Waterhouse of Saybrook, Ct., Oct., 1814.
Their children are Harriet Elisabeth, b. Sept. 2, 1815, m. Anthony
Ten Eyck, Esq., of Detroit, Mich., U. S. Commissioner at the Sandwich
Islands, where she d. Nov. 5, 1846; Lucius Hamlet, b. Jan. 26, 1819.
Mr. Fairchild m. 2nd, Mary Bradford, daughter of William Bradford,
Esq., of Philadelphia, July 18, 1825. Their children are William
Bradford, b. Nov. 2, 1828; Thomas Robbins, b. April 9, 1834, d. May 2,
1835; Florina Tomlin, b. March 13, 1838; Mary Joy, b. May 25, 1843, d.
July 10, 1843; Harriet Ten Eyck, b. Dec. 29, 1846.
_Rev. Roswell Dwight Hitchcock_, the present pastor, was born in East
Machias, Me., Aug. 15, 1817, gr. A. C. 1836, Tutor from 1839 to 1842,
theological education at Andov. Sem., before and after his tutorship;
stated supply at Waterville, Me., one year; ord. at Exeter Nov. 19,
1845. Exercises on the occasion were, Reading the Scriptures, Rev. J.
W. Newman of Stratham; Prayer, Rev. Homer Barrows of Dover; Sermon,
Rev. Orin Fowler of Fall River; Ordaining Prayer, Rev. J. Hurd; Charge,
Rev. O. Fowler; Right Hand, Rev. B. R. Allen of South Berwick, Me.;
Address, Rev. S. S. N. Greely of Newmarket; Prayer, Rev. James T.
McCollom, Somersworth. The father of Mr. Hitchcock, whose name was
also Roswell, was born in Hawley, Ms.; _his_ father removed from
Springfield, Ms. His mother's surname was, before marriage, Longfellow.
She was of Machias. Mr. Hitchcock m. Elisabeth Anthony Brayton, her
mother being of the Anthony family, which was ancient in Bristol Co.,
Ms.
(To be continued.)