all eternity. He was first chosen deacon and afterwards elder, and he was the last that held that office. In those days the office of elder was one of great consideration. An elder was regarded as the virtual representative of the church, and on an equality with the pastor. He was bound to keep a watchful eye over the doctrines preached as well as the principles and practices of the brethren.

The Elder's house stood on the west side of the road near Eel river bridge. The house in which Mr. Josiah Morton now lives was a new addition attached to the ancient house, which was taken down about thirty years ago. Elder Faunce had two sons and two daughters, and the descendants are very numerous.

Rev. Jacob Bacon, who had been a minister of Keene, New Hampshire, about ten years, was installed over the church of Plymouth, in 1749, of which he continued the beloved and respected pastor till 1776, when the connexion was dissolved by mutual consent, the society stilll diminishing in consequence of the war. Mr. Bacon preached about eighteen months at Plympton, second parish, (now Carver) whence he retired to Rowley, where he died 1787, in the eighty-first year of his age. Mr. Bacon was born at Wrentham, 1706, graduated at Harvard College 1731.

October 3d, 1754.—Mr. John Torrey, son of the former deacon, was chosen to that office. In the autumn of the year 1755, the Rev. Mr. Leonard labored under many infirmities of body, and, in the spring of 1756, he asked a dismission, which the church granted on certain conditions. The precinct agreed to give him £160, lawful money, and he removed his family to Norton, June, 1757-dismission from his pastoral relation to the church not to be completed till another minister was settled. The connexion with the Rev. Mr. Leonard being thus dissolved, the church used unwearied endeavors for the resettlement of the gospel ordinances among them; but it was two years before their desirable purpose could be accomplished. Among the numerous candidates, were a Mr. Sproat, then settled in Connecticut, afterwards minister in Philadelphia; Mr. Whitney, Mr. West, and not less than four or five others. At length the church and congregation were happily united in the choice of Mr. Chandler Robbins of Branford in Connecticut. The votes in the church being thirty-three to two, in the parish fifty-two to nine. The stipulated annual salary was £100 lawful money, with the improvement of the parsonage, and the privilege of cutting firewood from the parish lot. The parish also agreed to build for his use a parsonage house, which is the one now standing on the north side of Leyden street, and occupied by the present pastor.

Mr. Robbins was solemnly ordained to the work of the ministry, January 30th, 1760. The churches assisting on this occasion were, the first, third, and fourth, of Bridgewater; the first of Rochester; the first of Plympton; the first of Middleborough; Abington; Halifax; Bristol; Taunton; Raynham; Berkley; Milton; and Branford, in Connecticut. The sermon was preached by Rev. Philemon Robbins, of Branford, the father of the pastor elect. On the same day that Mr. Robbins was ordained, the church, pursuant to agreement, and by the advice of the council, gave Mr. Leonard, who was personally present and assisted in the laying on of hands, a dismission in the most cordial terms, and a free and hearty recommendation to other churches. In 1783, the third church and congregation united with the first church and congregation into one parish. The meeting-house belonging to the third parish was demolished, and the lot disposed of, leaving an alley-way, six feet wide, through said lot.

In 1794, about fifty persons of high standing in the parish, not in all points satisfied with the ministry of the Rev. pastor, advanced proposals for a separation, and a formation of a new religious society, offering at the same time to erect a new house for worship. This proposal received attention at the hands of the pastor and church, and committees were chosen by the parties. Interviews and consultations ensued, compromise and reconciliation were attempted, but in vain. On the side of the church, the most rigid adherence.to rules, precepts, and doctrines, was manifested. The applicants, too honorable to torture the feelings of a conscientious minister, and deeming the peace of society too precious to be disturbed, yielded to the stronger side, consenting still to pay their proportion for the support of preaching preferred by the majority, and contenting themselves with the report of their committee, which closes as follows: Upon the whole, the committee are constrained to lament the narrow policy of the church, in excluding from its communion many exemplary christians, merely on account of their different conceptions of some points of doctrine, about which learned and good men have entertained a great variety of opinions, and this circumstance is more especially a source of regret at this enlightened period, when the principles of civil and religious liberty are almost universally understood and practised; for, whatever stress some persons may be disposed to lay on matters of mere speculative belief, the benevolent genius of the gospel will teach its votaries, amidst all their differences of opinion, to exercise mutual candor and indulgence that they may, if possible, preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.'

June 30, 1799.-Rev. Chandler Robbins, D. D. departed this life, aged 61, after a ministry of 39 years over the ancient church and congregation in this town. He was born at Branford in Connecticut, August 24, 1738. His father was Rev. Philemon Robbins, a native of Cambridge, Mass. who graduated at Harvard College 1729. He graduated at Yale College 1756, and he is said to have been there distinguished as a correct classical scholar, and besides common acquirements in the classics, he learned the French language, which he read, wrote, and occasionally spoke, through life. In his church records, Í I find one instance in which he performed the marriage ceremony in the French language. Early impressed with the truth and importance of the christian system, and qualified, by divine grace, for the gospel ministry, he commenced a preacher of this holy religion before he reached the age of twenty.' During his ministry he was ever anxious to be instrumental in softening the callous heart of impiety, and silencing the tongue of infidelity: and his exemplary piety and religious zeal were calculated to shield him from the reproaches of those who dissented from his doctrines. In him was an example of religion united with taste and accomplishments, courteous manners with an amiable cheerfulness of disposition. The funeral solemnities of Dr. Robbins were performed in the meeting-house, when the throne of grace was addressed in an impressive manner, by the Rev. Mr. Shaw, and an ingenious discourse was delivered by the Rev. Mr. Sanger. His remains were deposited in the Plymouth burial ground, with the puritan fathers, the parish by a committee, directing the solemnities and defraying the expense. On a subsequent sabbath the Rev. William Shaw delivered a well-adapted discourse, which was published and dedicated to his bereaved family and flock.

Dr. Robbins manifested, unceasingly, an interest and solicitude for the cause of religion in general, and for the welfare and prosperity of the church and society of which he was the pastor. In theological sentiment, Dr. Robbins was strictly Calvinistic, believing the five points equally essential with any points in holy writ. He also adopted some of the peculiar doctrines and tenets of Hopkins, with which his sermons were often tinctured, to the displeasure of many of his hearers. His occasional sermons were delivered with graceful eloquence and animation, which seldom failed to receive the applause of his audience. When, in May, 1794, he preached before the convention of ministers, from Acts xx. 26: 'I am free from the blood of all men,' -coming out of the house, Dr. Clark of Boston, cordially thanked him for his excellent sermon. Dr. Morse asked him,

why he did that, since he did not concur in the sentiments which had been delivered? He replied, 'I love to see a minister act the part of an honest man. He observed to a friend,

that he felt it to be his duty on that occasion to offer a distinct exhibition of his own views of the christian salvation. His success in producing and maintaining the harmonious union of his numerous flock, was remarkable. But his peculiar suavity of manners and christian humility, with his felicity of expression, rendered his religious sentiments acceptable to many persons, who would not have well received similar sentiments from any others. He maintained, for several years, an extensive correspondence with English clergymen; one of these, whom he held in much estimation, was Rev. John Newton, rector of Olney, in London. Dr. Robbins coinciding with this gentleman in religious views, imported numerous volumes of his works, for the use of those of his parish who maintained similar sentiments.

A Doctorate in Divinity was conferred on him at Dartmouth College, in 1792, and by the University of Edinburgh, in 1793. His pastoral cares were very extensive, comprising the whole town, with the exception of Ponds' parish, subsequent to the year 1783, when the third church and society united with the first. In the discharge of his laborious duties, he was ever found faithful and kind. He preached chiefly without notes, having before him, as he termed it, the skeleton of his sermon. In prayer, he was peculiarly devotional and fervent. His voice was melodious, and his taste for music, both vocal and instrumental, was truly refined. Notwithstanding his parish was one of the largest in the commonwealth, and a considerable portion entertained sentiments opposed to those of the pastor, yet not a family but could unite under the same altar in the bonds of charity. Whatever may have been the diversity of opinion entertained by such a multitudinous assemblage, peace and harmony were seldom interrupted, nor affection and respect for the minister diminished, Dr. Robbins was consoled and encouraged in his ministerial labors by the accession of about fifty members to his church in the latter part of his life, and an uncommon engagedness in the cause of religion among the people of his charge. The poorest family in the parish would meet him at the threshold with delight, the sick and afflicted relying with perfect confidence on his cordial sympathy and condolence.

Dr. Robbins was destined to live during a remarkable period of our national history. In the revolutionary struggle he was a most zealous advocate for liberty and independence, and rendered essential advantages to the cause in his sphere of action.

He was among the foremost of our patriotic clergymen, and subsequently, when our political hemisphere was darkened by party spirit, he pursued a consistent course in the support of order and good government. He married Jane Prince, of Boston, niece of late Rev. Thomas Prince, the annalist of New England. This accomplished lady died September, 1800, aged 60 years.

Their children who lived to adult age, were five sons and two daughters; two of the sons were graduates of Harvard, one of whom died at Marietta, where he was settled in the ministry. Two sons and a daughter still survive.

Dr. Robbins's publications bore such strong marks of the divine, the gentleman, and the scholar, as to reflect much honor on his name and memory. They are as follow:

Replies to Essays of Rev. John Cotton, on the practice of the half-way covenant. -Sermon on the death of Madam Watson, consort of George Watson, Esq., of Plymouth.-Sermon on the death of Mrs. Hovey, wife of James Hovey, Esq.-At the ordination of Rev. Lemuel Le Baron, at Rochester, 1772. -At the annual election, Boston, 1791.-Address commemorative of the French Revolution, 1793.-Sermon on the anniversary of the landing of the fathers at Plymouth, December 22d, 1793.-Century Sermon at Kingston, April 2d, 1794, at the request of its subject, Ebenezer Cobb.-Sermon before the Massachusetts Convention of Ministers, 1794.-Sermon at the ordination of Rev. Eliphalet Gillet, at Hallowell, August 12th, 1795.-Address before the Massachusetts Humane Society, June 14th, 1796.-Sermon at the ordination of Rev. Ward Cotton, at Boylston, 1797.

After the death of Dr. Robbins, the pulpit was supplied by the ministers who composed the association to which he belonged, and the salary was continued for the benefit of the widow and family. The selection of a candidate to fill the office of pastor to this ancient church and congregation, was considered as a measure requiring great circumspection. A clear majority were in favor of a learned and enlightened clergyman, possessing liberal principles, free from all sectarian dogmas, who would preach the christian salvation in its pure simplicity; while a respectable minority manifested a conscientious adherence to the faith and doctrines of their late beloved minister, whose memory they cherished with filial affection. Their feelings and desires were to be consulted, and it would have been unkind to deprive them of their rights, or to control their opinions. The parish committee proceeded to the choice of a candidate, Mr. James Kendall, a native of Sterling, who commenced his proba

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