"Don't know much about history..." - Part I

(Forgive the frivolous HT to Sam Cooke's lyric to Wonderful World...!)

As part of a workplace project I've been scanning through databases of historical documents from 1770 on.

I've found some scant but fascinating material there and via Google Books with some mention of the Lanesville Congregational Church--our church in Gloucester. Here are two snippets from 1856--I love the mention of "nothingarians" and "this sea-faring people"!

From Annual Report of the Massachusetts Home Missionary Society
By Massachusetts Home Missionary Society
Published by Press of T.R. Marvin, 1856

"27. Lanesville.—We give the pastor's own account of an important feature of the prosperity of this church and society, premising that, in the early history of religious services here, everything had the most discouraging aspect. Religious error had almost undisputed possession of the field, and all the early years of evangelical service were years of anxious, and of but feebly successful, labors. But we give the record of a pleasing change. " The greatest encouragement of this year has been the successful completion of a new meeting house, and the entire payment of the expenses by ourselves. The edifice cost about nine thousand dollars, is neatly and thoroughly furnished, and was joyfully dedicated to God in January last. Besides paying for the pews, we have carpeted the church, and obtained the Sabbath Hymn Book at a cost of five hundred dollars. The people have cheerfully straitened themselves to erect such a tasteful and commodious house of worship. Since its erection, our congregation has averaged twenty-five more each Sabbath, and the Sabbath school has increased considerably. Quite a number of purchasers are Universalists and nothingarians, and many have found their way to meeting who were never seen there before. In all this, we feel that God has greatly blest us, and that he will yet give a spiritual increase much larger. For this Christians are praying. The temperance cause has greatly flourished, eighty-six persons have taken the Washingtonian pledge. There is not a rum or beer shop in the place."

"27. Lanesville.—Rev. Mr. Burgess left this field in September last, and has-been succeeded by Rev. Thomas Morong, who has entered upon his work with great earnestness, and with encouraging prospects of success. There are many obstacles among this sea-faring people to the spiritual progress of the gospel; but our missionary seems disposed to make a vigorous experiment to ascertain the gospel's power to save the souls of that people. He' speaks of many encouragements: " Good and increased attendance on public worship; growing interest in the weekly prayer-meeting; the quiet religions feeling which has been manifested among the unconverted ; respectful attention among the young; increased contributions to aid in supporting the gospel and for benevolent purposes ; the softening down of prejudice against our church and doctrines."

"Don't know much about history..." - Part II

Another find--a single instance in A College of colleges of remarks by H.C. Trumbull--the esteemed author of Hints on Child Rearing (1890) and great-grandfather to our beloved TH and his siblings.

From A College of colleges. T. J. Shanks, Dwight Lyman Moody, 1887.
Mr. Henry Clay Trumbull :
I want to emphasize the suggestion that you would do well in reading any text of Scripture to be sure that you know the meaning of the words themselves, for unless you do, you are not likely to understand the precise meaning in which any of them is used in the connection in which you find it. I remember a man in North Carolina twenty years ago who preached a sermon from the text, "Lo, I come." "'Low," said he; "not high. The Lord Jesus comes to the poor and lowly." Some one wrote to me not long ago and asked: "Please tell us in what sense the word fire is used in our English Bible." After looking into the matter I said in reply that there were at least thirteen words translated by the English word fire, and in the Old Testament the range of meaning of these words is very wide. Take again one word we are using constantly—the word "amen"—in prayer. What does that word mean? There is one thing it does not mean: "So let it be." It does not mean that, no matter what any dictionary, abridged or unabridged, may say. Going back to the word itself in the Hebrew, and going yet farther to the word as it is still found in the Arabic, we find that it means "So it will be." In other words, it is not another pleading cry at the end of a prayer; it is an expression of trust in the One to whom the prayer is offered. There is a great deal of prayer without faith. I was in an insane asylum at one time—of course as a visitor. I have been in jail three times as a prisoner; but that was when Dr. Broadus and myself were not on the same platform. I remember the first time I was in battle. At the close of that day—it was the Lord's day—in the hospital, a Baptist Sunday-school teacher who was an officer in our regiment, and a South Carolina officer joined together and prayed for themselves and. for each other. Both were severely, and I think mortally wounded. Those two soldiers, who had been a few hours before in mortal combat, now joined in loving sympathy in love to Christ.
[A Voice—Tell us about Libby Prison.]
When I was in Libby Prison, an order came that one person was to be released. Every one wished and hoped that he was the one. When the inspector came in the morning and the name was called out, "Chaplain H. C. Trumbull," I can assure you I never valued my name as I did at that moment. Coming back to being in the insane asylum: There was one man there constantly asking for his dinner. He kept saying: "Dr. Butler, I wish I could have some dinner to-day. Doctor, I am afraid I shall not have any dinner. Doctor—Doctor—can't I have some dinner to-day?" "Yes, sir," said the Doctor; "you can have your dinner." "Doctor, can't I have my dinner to-day? Can't I have my dinner? Doctor—Doctor—Doctor—dinner! —dinner!—dinner! "Then the door closed. Now that was in a certain sense making known his wants, but there was none of the true spirit of prayer in it. And yet this word is used as a final cry—"So let it be." On the other hand, that one word in the Hebrew, which is really transferred to the "amen," as we have it here, is the very word employed with reference to Abraham when it is said: "And he believed [Hebrew word here] in the Lord, and He counted it to him for righteousness." I had occasion several years ago to work this out in the line of my studies. When I went to the Arabic and Syrian scholars, they declared themselves unable to give the full meaning of the word because there was so much in it. One man said when I asked him: "Well, it means so much I can hardly tell you how much it means. It means that if you so believe in a man that you lean on him, and you give yourself up wholly, and go right into him, and be a part of himself, and you will trust him because he is to be trusted, and you can't help trusting him—all that will give you some idea of what is in that word ' amen.' "At the end of a prayer in that sense, it means far more than as we ordinarily use it. I met an old soldier of the great Napoleon, and I asked him about his Emperor. "Ah," said he, "we believed in Napoleon. You Christians believe in God. We believed in Napoleon. If Emperor Napoleon say to his soldiers, 'Napoleon, go to the moon,' they would start. Napoleon fight the moon."