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When building the Northborough church he had two boys, Horace and Calvin Perkins, working for him, whom he had brought with him from Ashfield, Mass, the elder of whom, Horace, aged eighteen years, fell from the tower of the church and was instantly killed.

CHAPTER IV

THE THREE TOWN MINISTERS

I. JOHN MARTYN

John Martyn, Northborough's first minister, belonged to an old English family long settled in Boston. He was born in Boston, May 6, 1706 (old style), in North Square "hard by the North Church," which at that time and for many years thereafter, was the aristocratic residential district of the town. His father, Captain Edward Martyn (1665-1718), was a wellknown merchant and large property owner. He was one of

the prominent men of his time, and is said to have owned most of the land from Hanover Street to the sea, practically half of the North End of Boston. He was one of a committee who negotiated the several purchases for the cemetery (Copp's Hill burial-ground, to this day one of the points of historical interest). He was several times town commissioner and selectman; was a member of the Great and General Court; was a member of the committee that issued bills of credit to pay the debts incurred in the French and Indian Wars, the first paper money made in Massachusetts. He commanded the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company in 1715, then, as now, a great honor.* He died in 1718 and was buried in Copp's Hill burial-ground, in a tomb which he was granted liberty to make "provided he carry up the wall thereof next the Hway (highway) so as to be a sufficient fence."

John Martyn was the fifth son and eighth child in a family of eleven children. Upon the death of his father (soon after John had passed his twelfth birthday), his mother moved to Harvard, Mass. John was educated at Harvard College, graduating in 1724. Soon after his graduation, August 18, he married Mary, one of two daughters of Edward Marrett of Cambridge. The marriage took place at Concord, Mass., at the home of the young wife's aunt; and there the young couple probably lived for a year or two. At the age of twenty-one he was engaged in business in Medford, Mass. Some years later he resided in Harvard, Mass.

*Dr. Allen says he was a "sea captain." There is no evidence to that effect. He undoubtedly got his title of "Captain" from his connection with the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company.

The other daughter married Judah Monis, Hebrew instructor at the College, and a close friend of John Martyn. (See section headed "Judah Monis.")

At the age of thirty-nine his attention was turned to theological pursuits, and upon the organization of the new church. in the north precinct of Westborough he was an applicant for its pulpit. How he was received by the Ministerial Association of the neighborhood is interestingly told by Reverend Ebenezer Parkman, of Westborough. Mr. Parkman kept a diary, a small portion of which has been published. The following quotations are mostly from the unpublished part of the diary which is now in the possession of the American Antiquarian Society at Worcester.

"March 17, 1745. Mr. Martyn preached to the north precinct."

"March 18, 1745. Mr. Martyn made me a kind visit and dined with me.'

"April 9, 1745. "The association met here today present, Loring (of Sudbury), Cushing (of Shrewsbury), Gardner (of Stow), Barrett (of Hopkinton), Stone (of Southborough), Goss (of Bolton), Smith (of Marlborough), and Daivs (of Holden), At eve Mr. Martyn del. a large confession of faith. Debates upon his being approbated. Mr. Gardner made objections."

"April 10. Resumed conference about Mr. Martin. Gardner and he were advised to retire together. They did so and came in reconciled. . . . Further interrogatory with regard to his disuse of the Tongues and Sinners, etc. In a word, he was approbated by a certificate signed by every member."

June 11, 1745, there was a conference at Bolton, at which Mr. Martyn expounded his theological views more fully, in the course of which he said things that some of the other ministers did not approve of. Mr. Parkman says of this conference: "Mr. Martyn and Mr. Nat. Gardner, candidates, were there.

Mr. Martyn del. an Exercise on Matt. 16, 17 that no one member I think was satisfied with. He advanced that there would be no rewards in the future world according to mere works until the General Judgment. . . . I went home with Mr. Martyn and lodged there."

“June 12, 1745. In the morning there was a free conversation with Mr. Martyn about his sermon yesterday. The scheme being new and some passages offensive to all."

He was invited, December 9, 1745, to become the minister of the north precinct in Westborough (now Northborough) "by a clear vote." His letter of acceptance is dated March 29, 1746. He was ordained to the Christian ministry and settled as the minister of the town, May 21, 1746. He died April 30, 1767, after a ministry of twenty-one years lacking a few days.

GENEALOGY

John Martyn, son of Captain Edward Martyn, of Boston, born May 6, 1706; married Mary Marrett, daughter of Edward and Hannah (Bradish) Marrett. He died, April 30, 1767. She died Spetember 8, 1775.

THEIR CHILDREN

John, born 1730-married Abigail Baker.
Mary, born

Concord.

Richard, born

married Dr. Timothy Minot, of

married Susannah Allen Low,

of Marlborough, went to Connecticut.

Michael, born July 21, 1737 — married Zilpah Eager. married Anna Townsend, of Bolton;

Nathaniel, born

resided for a time in Harvard, and later went south.

The life of a country minister was not a bed of roses even in John Martyn's time. He had his troubles, but they were mostly financial. Presumably his salary ($166.66) compared favorably with those of other ministers of the time, and would have been adequate to his needs had it been paid regularly. But alas! and alack! the times were hard, the currency was in a state of fluctuation and the minister's salary was neglected; so much so, and so often, that he was compelled to address the following communication to the precinct committee:

REV. JOHN MARTYN'S JUST COMPLAINT

"To Bezaleel Eager and Others, Committee of the North Precinct in Westborough:

“GENTLEMEN,-You are not strangers to the terms or conditions upon which I settled in this place, neither need I tell you that they have never yet been complied with on the part of the precinct; and as you have the management of the public affairs of this precinct, I thought it therefore not improper to inform you of my uneasiness with respect to my salary from year to year. It is an old saying, that sufferers have leave to speak; and as I have been a very great sufferer upon account of the non-fulfilment of the contract from year to year, I think this, if there was nothing else, would be sufficient to justify me in my present complaints, without telling you that I look upon it a real injury to the people themselves to make no conscience of fulfilling their engagements. For let me tell you, if you have a house for the worship of God, a minister, and ordinances, only

for fashion-sake, you had better be without them; but if you really intend by them to get that good which God designs by bringing his kingdom so nigh you, how can you expect to reap those benefits, while you injure him who is appointed to bring you the messages of peace and salvation? Is it likely that any success will attend the means of grace among a people who show a manifest slight and contempt of them by their backwardness and unwillingness to maintain and encourage those that wait at God's alter? For is not the laborer worthy of his hire? Don't you acknowledge this in temporal things? for if you have a laborer for the lowest, meanest sort of work, has he not at least his food from day to day? And why must a minister maintain himself, at least nine or ten months of the year, which has all along been the case here, or suffer? Is the work of the ministry of so much less value than digging in a ditch? and can you suppose that persons will always think that anybody they deal with should be better paid than the ambassador of Christ; and that, if they keep their word and make good their promises to others, no matter whether they are kept with ministers or not? Is it not likely that this is oftentimes the case? If there had been fewer instances of it, even in this place, the conditions upon which I settled here had been better performed than they have been. And one great reason, though not the only reason, why the payment of my salary hath been delayed from year to year hath been the putting off making the rates in proper season; and what apprehensions they that are concerned have of public trusts and sacred oaths is very strange to me.

"Gentlemen, you know something of the difficulties and charges I have been put to to settle here, and the very small matter of assistance I have had from the people; and I must needs tell you, that, after all this, I take it very hard that I am obliged to take the very money which I should make use of to pay the debts I have contracted towards my building, to buy the necessaries of life; and not only so, but to be obliged through mere necessity to injure those I owe; whereas, if the precinct were faithful and just to their engagements, I need not be brought to this. I am very sorry I am obliged to write thus; but how can I avoid it, when I am a continual sufferer, and those whose business it is will not move in my behalf? It is a hard case, when a minister is obliged thus to complain, and what I wish there was no occasion for, but necessity puts me upon it; for four years have now passed, and though every year, according to agreement, I was to have my salary at two equal payments, yet more than half a year hath always run away, and sometimes more, before any rates have been made, and then some months after

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