or afterwards shall own as afores such Determination to be by giving notice thereof in writing unto the clerk of the new parish within the sd three months and in default thereof to belong unto the old parishThat the petitioners be exempted from paying any Taxes unto the old parish for this present year or to the support or maintenance of the minister in the old parish or any thing relating to the ministerial Tax that sd New parish have power to choose all officers necessary for managing parish affairs or to raising money for ye support and maintenance of the ministry, and that the petitioners have Liberty to bring in a Bill accordingly In Council, September 9th 1755 Matthew Livermore The within Votes of the House read & concurr'd Theod' Atkinson Secry Clerk. Answer of the Town Committee of Exeter to the foregoing. To His Excellency Benning Wentworth Esq. Captain General Governour and Commander in Cheif in and over his Majesties Province of New Hampshire and to the Honourable his Majesties Council and House of Representatives convened in General Assembly. We being chosen by the Freeholders and Inhabitants of the Town of Exeter to represent said Town, and on the behalf of our Constituents to make answer to a petition preferred to this Honorable Court by a number of Freeholders and Inhabitants of said Town praying that they and their Estates may for the future be exempted from paying to the support of the ministry in the old meeting House seeing they represent in their petition, that a minister was settled contrary to the minds of many of the petitioners In Answer to which, We humbly beg leave to reply as follows 1st Many of the petitioners especially those that entered their Dissents against the settlement of our Minister the Revd Mr Woodbridge Odlin were those that first invited him to preach in this place and were the Cheif Instruments of his being called from a remote place to labour among the people here, Who had he not esteemed their invitation to Him a call from God might now have been serving the Interest of the Redeemers Kingdom in a distant part, But the said Gentleman being Induced by the Importunities of the said petitioners and others in the Town accepted of the Invitation to employ his Labour among them for a considerable Time, of the expiration of which the Church & Congregation being sensible of the Infirmities of their aged pastor, tho't an assistant with him in the ministry and pastoral care of their souls would be for his & their comfort & having had a long Tryal of our present minister by a considerable majority were well satisfied with Him and made choice of him in a way agreeable to the Laws of the province. The Town proceeded at their annual meeting march 28, 1743 To Chuse a Committee to agree with and settle the said Mr Odlin by a considerable Majority, And this Committee was further confirmed in their office by said Town, at a meeting of the Freeholders & Inhabitants June 13: 1743. Those petitioners that entered their Dissents being present and voting with the Town at said meetings, as to the Validity and Regularity of the Settlement it was agreeable to the Majority of Town & Church approved of and ratified by a venerable Council called by this Church 2. Those who dissented against the settlement of the said minister among the petitioners are many of them such as rent themselves of from the Church Counter to their Covenant Engagements or Church Relation, & Contrary to the Platform of Church Discipline, and their setting up is disallowed off as being contrary to the Known order of our churches, and a Council of ten churches have in their Judgment upon the case declared their disallowance of those Brethrens withdraw as being very unjustifiable and reproachful to Religion. 3. Those petitioners do not profess themselves to be of any different persuasion from the Church they belonged to, but acknowledge they are settled upon Congregational principles and that they could hold occasional Communion with our minister & Church, and if so why not stated? What need of supporting a Seperate Interest to the prejudice of Religion and the peace Interest of the Town. 4. We would inform the Court that there is but about twenty five of the petitioners that entered their Dissents against the settlement of our Minister the rest of them consisting of such persons as have moved into Town or come of age many of which posses no Estates in the Town and some that were forward for the settlement at that Time have for what Reasons we Know not been prevailed with to Join with Them 5. The Town has already been divided into so many parishes that we conceive it is unreasonable & what would render it very inconvenient & detrimental to the Town, for a number of persons that dwell in the midst of us (which have no propect of being better accomodated than they might be at the old Meeting house) to be exempted from supporting the charge of the public ministry, where they with their Families might conveniently attend, and we apprehend that we are not at present more than sufficient to support the charges of one parish with other public charges 6. We apprehend it is unreasonable that the petitioners their Families and Estates should be exempted from paying to our Minister, in that several of their Families attend public Worship at the Old Meeting House and there is no prospect of their being inclined to alter their Sentiments 7. We concieve that the countenancing a Number of persons in setting up for themselves without sufficient Reasons that are not of different persuasions from those they went of from will be a tendency to the subversion of all Order in Towns & Churches Wherefore from the consideration of the ill Consequences of Countenancing them in their irregular proceedings the great Disorder & Confusion that may thereby be introduced into Towns & Churches, we conceive will have a Tendency to the destroying of all order and running all into the utmost difficulty, if their petition shou'd begranted. Things being in such situation we cannot but apprehend that fixing them on a civil Establishment will be encouraging unwarrantable seperations and destructive to the peace and Order of the Churches in the province For these & other weighty reasons that might be offered (which will occur to your minds) We humbly Pray. That your Excellency & Honours in your great wisdom would dismiss so unreasonable a petition which we conceive tends to the Subverson of Religion. ZEB" GIDDINGE Result and advice of an Ecclesiastical Council, in Exeter. We the Elders & delegates of the third church of Christ in Ipswich, the two Churches in Cambridge & the third in Glocester Convened in Council July 29th 1755 in Exeter at the Mutual request of the Pastor & the first Church in s Town and a Number of the brethren called the New Gathered Church to Judge of all matters of difference subsisting between them in order to lead them into a happy Reconciliation & restoration to Christian Comunion and fellowship- After humble Supplication to God for direction in this Important affair and full hearing the parties came to the following Result: 1st Notwithstanding any Greivances the Brethren of the New Gather'd Church (so called) may have met with or apprehended they had met with from their late Rev'd Pastor and the brethren of the Church yet we Judge their manner of withdrawing Comunion from the Church was disorderly, And that such a conduct tends to destroy the peace and order of these churches, but we Apprehend some Charitable allowances are to be made in favour of these brethren Considering the Circumstances of those times and their plea of unacquaintedness with the order of these Churches. 2dly We Judge the Reflections of the Separating Brethren upon the late Pastor & the Other brethren of the Church (Calling them oppos ers of the work of Gods Soverain Grace &c) to be unbecoming Expressions, savouring of an uncharitable Spirit or of too great abounding in their own sense and opinion of things, and we should have been glad if they had been more full and Express in Acknowledging the warmth & Severity of their Expressions. 3dly With respect to receiving to Comunion the members of other churches who are under admonition: we declare that such a practice is utterly inconsistent with the order and peace of these churches, and that if this New Gathered Church (so called) retain any such members it is Just matter of offence to the churches of Christ, and in order to any reconciliation with these churches it is our Judgment that they deny such members any further fellowship in Special Ordinances till they are restored to the Charity of the Churches to which they respectively belong or regularly dismissed. 4thly Provided the New Gathered Church (so called) shall manifest their consent to and acceptance of the Judgement of this Council as above and their readiness to Practice agreably hereto, wee advise the Pastor and first Church in this Town to forgive their brethren whatsoever has been offensive in their late Transactions and not withstanding the Exceptionable stepps they have taken towards their being formed into a Church State, Yet that they own them as a Church of our Lord Jesus Christ and their Pastor (so called) as a minister of Christ and receive them to Christian comunion in all Ordinances and acts there of as they do other Churches. 5thy And upon their Complying as above we recomend them also to the fellowship & comunion of all the other churches in the land walking in the faith & order of the Gospel: At the same time Earnestly recomending it to the New Gathered Church (so called) to pay all due respect to the churches of Christ, and to Exercise great caution that they avoid every thing which may greive or offend them: And now dear brethren of the New gathered church (so called) we have proposed such terms for your being accepted into comunion with the churches as upon a Mature Impartial weighing matters we think highly reasonable for you to comply with, and such as we Judge necessary, to secure the Interest of Religion, the honour of Christ, and the peace and Safety of these churches. We therefore cannot but hope that God will convince you of your duty here in And incline you to a hearty complyance herewith- And as to the Rev Pastor and beloved brethren of the first church, we cannot but hope, that considering the times which have pass'd over us, and the present Circumstances of your Seperating brethren, you will upon their Submitting to and accepting of our Judgment & advice forgive them in whatever has been by them Greivous or offensive to you & receive them, (together with the person whom they acknowledge for their Pastor) in their respective capacities and treat them accordingly by all propper acts of Christian Fellowship & Comunion, And now Revd Hond & Beloved it will be to us matter of Joy and thankfullness to see the people of God in this place thus united in holy fellow ship: And we Earnestly Exhort & beseech you in the bowels of our Lord Jesus Christ to forgive one another as you hope that God for Christs sake will forgive you, and that you would Embrace one another as in times past in the Arms of Love & Charity, And that there be a friendly interchange of all acts of Christian, brotherly Comunion as occasion may Call for, And that there be a carefull avoiding Everything in Speech or behaviour, that may grieve or offend Each other, and if there should be some different sentiment as to some particular points, that there be a careful preserving the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Finally brethren farewel, be perfect be of Good Comfort, be of one mind, live in peace and the God of Love and peace shall be with you, Amen, Exeter Aug 1 1755. Voted unanimously A true copy. Attest Sam Cook. Scribe SAM WIGLESWORTH, Moderator Acceptance of the foregoing Result and Advice. At a meeting of the New Gatha Church of Christ in Exeter-August 4th 1755, Voted-That we consent to and accept of the Judgment and Advice of the Council mutually chosen by us and the first church of Christ in said Town-as is contained in their result dated August 1st 1755-and sign'd by the Revd Samuel Wigglesworth as moderator-and we hereby manifest our Readiness to practice agreeably thereto. Voted likewise-That a copy of the above be sent to the Revd Woodbridge Odlin, to be communicated to the first Church of Christ in Exeter. } behalf of the Samuel Gilman ) Ruling Eld's in Church. Province of To the Honble His Majesties Councill For the ProvNew Hampsh'ince of New Hampshire These certifie that the sum which was voted by the Town of Exeter to the Revd Mr. Woodbridge Odlin this Present year was for his Salary only, & not for any Arrearages due to him from the Town. But as there was something due to him from the Town at that time, The same is Included in the Town Rate for the Current Year and not in the Ministers Rate. All which is Humbly Certified by your Hon" most Hum1 Servants Exeter Sept 8th 1755. Josiah Gilman Selectmen of Exeter. Concurred, but care must be taken in the act to have Provision that the Town may choose officers to make the ministerial rate-and also to repair the churches reciprocally That all arrearages if any be paid by both as if not separated. The act will not Pass without these articles are Inserted. Petition of John Odlin and others for power to call Parish meetings, &c. To His Excellency Benning Wentworth Esq. Governor and Commander in Cheif in and over his Majesty's Province of New Hampshire, the Honble his Majestys Council & House of Representatives in General Assembly Convened Dec. 6th 1763. Humbly shews John Odlin, Josiah Sanborn and Sam' Brooks, all of Exeter in said Province: That by an Act Pass'd in the twenty ninth year of his Late |