Part 7 Growing Pains
Once the church was established at the corner of High and School Streets the ebb and flow of membership had a continuing effect on the growth of the parish. Stephen Hubbard who had been instrumental in starting the Sunday School program found that by the middle years of the Civil War that there were as many as 230 members of the religious education program housed in the church. As the number of children participating in church activities grew, so did the adult membership.
Benjamin Freeman who had been appointed to pastor the Ferry Village Church in 1863 was a very popular pastor who was called to duty elsewhere for the next few years but was returned to the village in 1871. He ministered to the flock for nearly four more years. It was during his second appointment that actual adult membership for the first time climbed over 100. Because of this increase the board of stewards and leaders authorized the first major building campaign since the new church had been built. Two thousand dollars was raised to add seating capacity by installing 28 more pews, each of them added by sale of the pew. The church not having a major face lift before this time came under construction and all of the debt that had accumulated during the war years was retired.
Reverend Freeman was one of two pastors up until this time that was to have served through reappointment. The other pastor having been appointed twice at this point was Uriel Rideout. He had presided at the opening of the Ferry Village Church during his first appointment. Many were happy to have Pastor Rideout back, but unfortunately, as young as he was, he was not well. Most of his remaining days were spent with one malady after another and he died long before his age would have indicated he should at age 52. For the rest of his time O. H. Stevens replaced him. In the records there is no indication that Mr. Stevens was fully ordained as his ordained ministry actually began in the year 1869, the year after the death of Pastor Rideout. Therefore, Mr. Stevens was perhaps the first Pastor to serve as an interim appointment in the history of this church.
The Civil War years were not easy years on the Congregation relative to maintaining consistency in the pastors who were appointed to the Village Church. During the decade of the 1860’s there were 9 pastors appointed to this pulpit. While Sunday School may have grown it was difficult to maintain a consistent adult population. One would have to assume that consistency also depended to a degree on the ebb and flow of the male population due to the demands of war. While it was limited, the draft was used for the first time to bring the Union armies up to strength to fight the Confederate army. Quotas were established by town for the draft. It was possible for those who could afford it to pay the Draft Board in one of two ways to remove their names from those who were called. It was possible for the draftee to pay a specific amount of money to simply avoid being called. The other means by which one might avoid the draft was by getting someone else to simply take your place. While we would question the Christian ethic in avoiding the draft it is likely that some members of this congregation could not avoid the draft, others may have paid to avoid leaving home and still others may have chosen to serve in someone else’s place.
One of the reasons why that may have been the dilemma for church members was in part because the demands of this war for wooden ships began to decline. Most of the shipyards that had been bustling locations of business during the first half of the 19th century were producers of outstanding wooden ships. With the invention of first the Merrimac and then the Monitor out of steel plate for the navies of the Confederacy and the Union the day of the wooden cargo ship was limited. Shipyard growth ceased and those that had been prosperous in the past continued on, but at reduced production through the 1880’s. This decline was beginning to become obvious during the Civil War years through the reduction in ship building related jobs. One would assume that those folks employed in the yards, but losing their jobs might be open to military service while those still trying to keep the yards functioning would be more reluctant to go and be willing to pay their way out.
We would also have to assume that while the yards were being reduced in force that would also have an effect on other village businesses. One would find that village shop owners absorbed a lot of the cost of living by carrying local residents on their books, sometimes for many years and in some cases actually absorbed a lot of debt of both the church and residents over time. That practice could be found to exist on local business records well into the twentieth century.
The 1870’s it was hoped would bring back some of that financial well being, but the whole nation seemed to suffer down turns in the northern and southern economies as a result of the aftermath of the Civil War.
Once the church was established at the corner of High and School Streets the ebb and flow of membership had a continuing effect on the growth of the parish. Stephen Hubbard who had been instrumental in starting the Sunday School program found that by the middle years of the Civil War that there were as many as 230 members of the religious education program housed in the church. As the number of children participating in church activities grew, so did the adult membership.
Benjamin Freeman who had been appointed to pastor the Ferry Village Church in 1863 was a very popular pastor who was called to duty elsewhere for the next few years but was returned to the village in 1871. He ministered to the flock for nearly four more years. It was during his second appointment that actual adult membership for the first time climbed over 100. Because of this increase the board of stewards and leaders authorized the first major building campaign since the new church had been built. Two thousand dollars was raised to add seating capacity by installing 28 more pews, each of them added by sale of the pew. The church not having a major face lift before this time came under construction and all of the debt that had accumulated during the war years was retired.
Reverend Freeman was one of two pastors up until this time that was to have served through reappointment. The other pastor having been appointed twice at this point was Uriel Rideout. He had presided at the opening of the Ferry Village Church during his first appointment. Many were happy to have Pastor Rideout back, but unfortunately, as young as he was, he was not well. Most of his remaining days were spent with one malady after another and he died long before his age would have indicated he should at age 52. For the rest of his time O. H. Stevens replaced him. In the records there is no indication that Mr. Stevens was fully ordained as his ordained ministry actually began in the year 1869, the year after the death of Pastor Rideout. Therefore, Mr. Stevens was perhaps the first Pastor to serve as an interim appointment in the history of this church.
The Civil War years were not easy years on the Congregation relative to maintaining consistency in the pastors who were appointed to the Village Church. During the decade of the 1860’s there were 9 pastors appointed to this pulpit. While Sunday School may have grown it was difficult to maintain a consistent adult population. One would have to assume that consistency also depended to a degree on the ebb and flow of the male population due to the demands of war. While it was limited, the draft was used for the first time to bring the Union armies up to strength to fight the Confederate army. Quotas were established by town for the draft. It was possible for those who could afford it to pay the Draft Board in one of two ways to remove their names from those who were called. It was possible for the draftee to pay a specific amount of money to simply avoid being called. The other means by which one might avoid the draft was by getting someone else to simply take your place. While we would question the Christian ethic in avoiding the draft it is likely that some members of this congregation could not avoid the draft, others may have paid to avoid leaving home and still others may have chosen to serve in someone else’s place.
One of the reasons why that may have been the dilemma for church members was in part because the demands of this war for wooden ships began to decline. Most of the shipyards that had been bustling locations of business during the first half of the 19th century were producers of outstanding wooden ships. With the invention of first the Merrimac and then the Monitor out of steel plate for the navies of the Confederacy and the Union the day of the wooden cargo ship was limited. Shipyard growth ceased and those that had been prosperous in the past continued on, but at reduced production through the 1880’s. This decline was beginning to become obvious during the Civil War years through the reduction in ship building related jobs. One would assume that those folks employed in the yards, but losing their jobs might be open to military service while those still trying to keep the yards functioning would be more reluctant to go and be willing to pay their way out.
We would also have to assume that while the yards were being reduced in force that would also have an effect on other village businesses. One would find that village shop owners absorbed a lot of the cost of living by carrying local residents on their books, sometimes for many years and in some cases actually absorbed a lot of debt of both the church and residents over time. That practice could be found to exist on local business records well into the twentieth century.
The 1870’s it was hoped would bring back some of that financial well being, but the whole nation seemed to suffer down turns in the northern and southern economies as a result of the aftermath of the Civil War.
posted by Arthur Tordoff | 10:55 AM
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