History of the camp-meeting and grounds at Wesleyan Grove, Martha's Vineyard for the eleven years ending with the meeting of 1869; with glances at the earlier years

Front matter

H I S T 0 E Y

OF THE

CAMP-MEETING AND GROUNDS

Preface

The History of the Martha's Vineyard Camp-meeting, published some eleven years since, met with much favor. That History covered twenty-four years, and, including the meeting held at Westport Point in 1845, gave brief descriptions of twenty-four camp-meetings. These annual assemblages have been continued through an additional eleven years, and the writer of the former book has been repeatedly requested to furnish an account, in which the late wonderful changes in the exterior arrangements should be noted. Believing the appropriate time has arrived, he has finally decided to comply, and now offers the following volume, which he believes will be found to be as complete as the means of making such a work will allow. Such as it is, he commits it to the public, in the hope that it will help to remove existing prejudices against such gatherings generally, and thus promote those great interests to which the institution itself was designed to contribute.

The author takes pleasure irf presenting the following cordial indorsement of this book by the Methodist clergymen of Boston : —

"Resolved, That we hear with great pleasure that Brother H. Vincent has prepared a history of Martha's Vineyard Camp-Meetings, and that we will commend it heartily to all those who are interested in that world-renowned Camp- Meeting."

Appendix

Act

of Incorporation.

...

List

of Officers for 1869.

...

Rules of the Camp-meeting.

...

•256

Resolu

DIRECTIONS TO VISITORS.

Persons from Boston and vicinity, wishing to visit the Camp-meeting Grounds, should take a New Bedford train, either from the Providence Railroad station, via Taunton, or the Old Colony Railroad station, via Fairhaven. These trains connect at New Bedford with the Vineyard steamer.

From Providence, Worcester, Hartford, and almost every other part of New England, they can make connections at the same point.

From NeAv York, Brooklyn, and all places beyond, the route is by rail, or by steamer to Newport, Rhode Island, and then by rail to the steamer at New Bedford, Massachusetts, or by Portland steamer direct to the landings at the grounds.

Introduction

IN a former work there was given in the Introduction a description of the location of the Wesleyan Grove and its surroundings ; in this, as preliminary to what is to follow, it may be of some intei-est to, note a few things respecting the island itself, which is the scene of the occurrences to be related, its business, and its resources.

Martha's Vineyard was discovered by Gosnold in the year 1602, about eighteen years before the landing at Plymouth, and was visited and settled by white men but a few years later than the last-named place. As on the main land, its native inhabitants have mostly disappeared, and the forests in which they roamed have, to a great extent, faded away under the hand of cultivation.

Some people singularly suppose that this island forms a part of Cape Cod.

It would seem unnecessary to state that the Vineyard, being an island, is no part of that cape, al-

IO INTRODUCTION.

though it lies opposite to what may be properly called its head, or upper end. This island is a little less than twenty miles long ; with the adjacent island of Chappaquiddic, which is usually regarded as an appendage, and, in great part, is parallel with it, it is twenty-one miles. Its greatest width is nine and a half miles ; average width, five miles. At its nearest point it is about four miles from the main land, and from the city of New Bedford, by an air line, about twenty miles. From the same city to Edgartown, — situated on the eastern portion of the island, — it is about thirty miles distant. Located on the southern coast of the State of Massachusetts, it forms the south side of the Vineyard Sound, the great marine thoroughfare of this part of North America. On its northern and eastern sides the island is indented by bays and harbors, two of which harbors — Holmes Hole and Edgartown — are known as important to commercial interests. In the first named, immense fleets of vessels often stop for fair winds and tides, and the last is one of the safest and best harbors, in all winds and weather, on the coast.

The southern and eastern portions of the island are quite level, with, for the most part, a light, sandy soil, while the northern and western portions are hilly, rocky, and largely composed of heavy loam

INTRODUCTION. II

and various kinds of clay. There is some good farming' land, especially in the western section. The southern and eastern portions seem to have been formed, in a remote antiquity of the world, by the wash of the ocean which bounded them ; while it is probable the northern and western parts were, at some distant period of the long past, severed from the continent, and, having from that period endured the ever-wearing tides and waves, have contributed their share to the formation of the great marine highway before named. The south-eastern portions, also, which seem to have been similarly formed, are of late, by some strange counterforces of the same ocean, being washed way, and by the tides and waves formed into bars and shoals. Within the memory of those now living, nearly a quarter of a mile in width, for a distance of a dozen or more miles, has been lost to the island, small ponds being narrowed or wholly obliterated, and arable lands and meadows either covered with beach sand, or submerged by the force of the dashing sea. Near the shore as it extends around Chappaquiddic, where once were meadows, there is now a ship channel. But still the island stands, and doubtless will as long as the solid earth endures.

The lagoons, ponds, harbors, and suiTounding waters of the island are very favorable for fishing ; and

12 INTRODUCTION.

there is but very little part of the year in which fish of various finny tribes cannot be obtained by the hardy inhabitants. The facilities for boating, the cooling sea breezes, the pleasant drives, and comfortable state of the atmosphere at night, even in the heated term, — all contribute to render it an exceedingly desirable summer retreat. Of the attractions of the island, in addition to those just glanced at, allusion needs only to be made to the view of the boundless expanse of the blue ocean, and the dashing of the waves at the " South Shore," and the varied-colored cliffs of the ever-proudly towering Gay Head.

The principal business of the island has been that of whaling. The late rebellion, as it is well known, made sad inroads here, as elsewhere, upon this branch of maritime adventure ; but the people are now beginning, in some small measure, to renew investments in the same occupation. May God save us and the country at large forever hereafter from the pirates of our own shores, and from the treachery of the fatherland !

Sources of wealth lie embedded in vast masses beneath the surface, especially in the north-western parts of the island. Reference is here made to the various kinds of clay found there. For many years clays for mechanical purposes have been exported, in considera-

INTRODUCTION. 13

ble quantities, both from Gay Head and from other localities along the Sound Shore. There has also lone been a brick-yard established at a place called the " Roaring Brook." But the extent and value of the mines of mineral wealth here have been but partially known and estimated, till within a few years past. After various ownerships, and the acquisition of very considerable tracts by purchase, ' the brick-yard, with the added premises, has lately passed into the hands of Hon. Nathaniel Harris, of Brookline, at a cost of fifty-five thousand dollars. The establishment bears the title of the " Vineyard Brick and Tile Works." The formation of the brick is now done by steam power. Eighty-live tons of clay and sand are used per diem, making about sixty bricks per minute, and about thirty thousand per day. The kiln department can contain one million bricks duly piled for burning. Clays are also exported from different wharves along the shore. As an additional index to the varieties of mineral wealth existing here, there is, a mile or two distant from the establishment above named, a Paint Mill on a large scale, and still farther north-easterly an establishment by a Peat Company.

On this island of the ocean, — thus hastily and imperfectly described, — near what is known as the East

14 INTRODUCTION.

Chop or Bluff of Holmes Hole harbor, from which site are fine views of the water, fleets of vessels, and neighboring towns, is the justly-celebrated Wesleyan Grove, in which, at convenient times for thirty-four summers, the Methodists, with many of other denominations, have assembled to offer their devotions to God, and to put forth special efforts for the advancement of His cause.

The grove, as a suitable location for holding a camp-meeting, was first brought to notice by the late Jeremiah Pease, Esq. The place for the stand was selected by four or five brethren of Edgartown, of whom the writer of this book alone survives.

HISTORY

OF THE

Chapter I. Sketches Of The First Twenty-four Years

THE first camp-meeting held here was in the year 1835, commencing August 24. The ground had been leased, and a portion of it cleared of underbrush. A rough shed was erected for the preachers' stand, the interior of which was their lodging-room, rye straw being furnished for their bedding. Fortunate was he of the " cloth " who could get an extra bundle for his pillow. The seats for the audience were of plain, rough boards, without backs. The entire area cleared wras small, and but nine tents graced the circle. Some of these were quite rudely constructed. A few hundred people attended ; probably not over a thousand heard preaching at any one time. The Presiding Elder of the District being unable to be present, Rev. Thomas C. Pierce, since deceased, was chosen to superintend. It was an excellent meeting ; the number of converts reported was sixtv-hve.

The meeting of 1836 commenced August 22. In the absence of the Presiding1 Elder, Rev. James C. Boutecou was chosen Superintendent. Some additional improvements had been made upon the grounds. Good order was maintained. The work of grace was mostly in the church and among backsliders, many of the latter being reclaimed. About twenty were converted. Among the preachers of this year were Revs. Phineas Crandall, Shipley W Willson, and David Leslie, the last-named afterward a missionary to the " Flat Head Indians " beyond the Rocky Mountains.

1837. The meeting commenced Monday, August 14, and was held, as it had been the two years previous, between Sabbaths. Who presided does not now appear. Rev. Phineas

Crandall was the Secretary. One of the most prominent of the preachers was the venerable Asa Kent, since deceased. The number of tents had increased to twelve. The number of ministers present was seventeen, and the largest congregation was thought to number two thousand. The number of coifversions was about the same as the year preceding.

1838. The meeting this year commenced Wednesday, August 28, and held over the Sabbath. The Presiding Elder was present, and preached one of the sermons. Revs. F. Upham, J. T. Burrell, and A. Kent were also among the number who preached. Rev. Franklin Fisk gave a report of the meeting for Zion's Herald. Converts about twenty. Glowing descriptions of the grove and of the meetings were published in these early jrears.

1839. The fiftn °f tne series commenced on the 14th day of August, and held over the Sabbath. The number of tents had increased to seventeen. Including the Presiding Elder there were twenty-six ministers in attendance. Rev. Jared Perkins of the New Hampshire Conference, Rev. John Allen of Maine, — known as

" Camp-meeting John Allen," — and Rev. John Adams, — styled " Reformation John Adams," — and the venerable Daniel Webb, and Isaac Bonney, were among the preachers on the occasion. Rev. S. W. Coggeshall was the Secretary.

1840. The Committee appointed for the purpose the preceding year, obtained a new lease for five years. The names of that Committee were, Thomas M. Coffin, Isaiah D. Pease, and Jeremiah Pease. The meeting commenced August 10. Rev. Bartholomew Otheman, the Presiding Elder, was present, and had charge of the exercises. It was at one of the business meetings this year that this grove received the name of " Wesleyan Grove." Quite a number were converted, several of them after the regular camp-meeting services were concluded.

1 84 1. Rev. B. Otheman was again Superintendent. The celebrated temperance lecturer John W. Hawkins was present, and addressed about three thousand people on Sabbath afternoon. At all these camp-meetings it was customary to have, at some time, a Love Feast and the Sacrament. Isaiah D. Pease, Esq., Sheriff of the County, was appointed Committee of Arrangements for the ensuing year.

1842. The meeting began on August 17, and was under the same Superintendent, Rev. B. Otheman. The plan of the preceding year, of having two Secretaries, — one for the records, and another for reporting the meeting for the Herald, — was continued. Rev. Charles S. McReading was one of the two this year.

1843. August 9. It is not now certainly known who was the president of this meeting, but it is thought to have been the Rev. B. Otheman, then Presiding Elder of the New Bedford District. Rev. David Patten was reporting secretary. The subject of preserving the Sabbath inviolate was much discussed at the meetings of the preachers and tent-masters ; and a Committee, consisting of A. U. Swinerton, H. Vincent, and J. Lovejoy, was appointed to address our community on this subject. The number of conversions is not now definitely known, but was quite large.

1844. The meeting began on Wednesday, August the 2 1 st. This was the tenth held in this beautiful grove. Rev. F. Upham, of the New Bedford District, was our Superintendent. Rev. A. H. Newton preached the first sermon.

The second was by the venerable Lewis Bates, since gone to his rest. Among the ministers in attendance was Rev. Brother House, of New Bedford, who was "in labors abundant." Connected with this meeting, which was a good one, is cherished the remembrance of the timely conversion, among others, of Abraham Lewis, of Edgartown, who retired early from the camp, and died suddenly, ere the tent's company had arrived home. Whether wisely or not, it was decided to discontinue the camp-meetings here, and go to some other location. The fixtures were disposed of, and Rev. F. Upham was chosen a committee to fix on a site for holding a meeting the following year.

1845. The place fixed upon was Westport Point, in the County of Bristol, in this state. Rev. F. Upham was President, and H. Vincent Secretary. Noble men were there. The names of such heralds as Isaac Bonney, Daniel Webb, J. S. House, and Charles Pitman, D. D., live in history, and in the affections of many hearts. Dr. Pitman was the great preacher of the occasion. He not only preached here, but also on the steamer on her return trip to New Bedford.

John Wilde, a superior singer, was there from Duxbury. It was a large gathering; but the difficulties attending the approach to the place by water, and some other considerations, led to the determination not to hold another meeting there. It was voted to hold two camp-meetings the next year, one at East Greenwich, R. I., and another at Wareham, Mass. The parting scene here was, as usual, quite affecting.

1846. The meeting was held, as agreed upon, at East Greenwich, with favorable results. On examination it was thought inexpedient to hold the meeting at Wareham, or vicinity. There being some delay for consultation, and no other site being recommended as eligible, the Methodist Church in Edgartown, in consultation with Rev. B. Otheman, Presiding Elder of the new Sandwich District, requested him to appoint a camp-meeting at the Wesley an Grove, which he did. Brother Sirson P. Coffin, by appointment of the Quarterly Methodist Conference of this church, obtained of the proprietors a lease of these lands for five years, to hold camp-meetings. A new stand and seats were constructed, and all preliminaries duly arranged.

Rev. F. Upham presided, and Rev. D. Patten, Jr. was the Secretary. Prayer and praise were again heard in this Grove. Dr. C. Pitman was with us. There were some twelve or fifteen converts and a general quickening.

1847. This meeting commenced on Monday, August 23, and closed on the following Saturday. Rev. F. Upham again presided. The venerable Daniel Fillmore and John W- Hardy were present at this meeting. The good results of such a meeting cannot be enumerated in a single paragraph ; but among them was the conversion of about thirty persons.

The meeting for 1848 commenced August 8. Rev. Thomas Ely, who succeeded Mr. Upham on the New Bedford District, presided. The sermons were by Revs. E. Grant, J. E. Gifford, W Richards, W. Cone, J. Cady, R. W. Allen, T. Hardman, J. Livesey, D. Webb, J. Lovejoy, Robert Allyn, W. Livesey, H. Baylies, C. H. Titus, R. Livesey, F. Upham, N. Goodrich, S. W. Coggeshall, and H. W. Houghton. There were about forty conversions. Father Webb, who had been in the ministry about fifty years, was requested to preach his semi-centennial sermon the next year.

1849. The meeting commenced on the 20th of August, holding between Sabbaths. Rev. T. Ely was again Superintendent. Sirson P. Coffin was Chairman of the Committee of Arrangements. He was authorized to obtain a lease of the ground at reasonable rates for ten years. All expenses were met. A new well was ordered to be dug. The place seemed, if possible, more delightful than ever before. Here were ministers of different ages — the \^oung soldier, the men of middle life full of vigor, and the venerable fathers with silvered locks and furrowed cheeks. " The names of Webb, Bates, Otis, Hardy, and others are, and will remain, historical. The first named, in accordance with the vote of the preceding 3'ear, delivered his semi-centennial address. There were, in all, about fifty tents. It was computed that about fifty persons were converted, fifteen of them after the sermon of the last evening.

1850. Rev. T Ely was again in charge. Among others who preached were Webb, Burnham, Atwater, Otheman, Hobart. The meeting was larger than ever before. There were of all classes eighty-seven tents. Many professors of religion experienced a deepening of the work of grace, and it was estimated that, in the judgment of charity, one hundred were converted. The place was the admiration of strangers, many of whom were in attendance. Mr. Coffin had obtained the ten years' lease. The yearly rent, as stipulated, was thirty dollars. A Committee on Improvements, of which Preston Bennet, Esq. was Chairman, was appointed. They afterward reported through Rev. B. Otheman, recommending the new seating of the ground, and the providing of other additional fixtures.

1851. Rev. Mr. Ely, of the New Bedford District, presided for the fourth time. Jeremiah Pease, Sen. was reappointed Chorister, having acted in that capacity for many years. There were, of all sorts, about one hundred tents, and, by estimation, between three thousand five hundred and four thousand people in the congregation on the Sabbath. The weather was very fine most of the time. The introductory sermon was by Father Bates. There were sixty ministers present. Thirty-four persons professed conversion ; among them an aged sea captain, living in the vicinity, and owning much land.

He was then in his last sickness. He died soon after, and went, we trust, to better possessions

above.

1852. Rev. Pardon T Kenney, of the Sandwich District, and Rev. David Patten, Jr., of the Providence District, were both present. Mr. Patten was chosen the Superintendent of this meeting. A Committee on " Order " was appointed, of which Jeremiah Pease, Sen. was Chairman. The Finance Committee was reconstructed. Joseph Brownell, of New Bedford, was the Chairman. New tents were added. In all there were now about one hundred and forty-five. There were about sixty ministers present. Those of other denominations than the Methodist were always reckoned in. It will be seen that here, as elsewhere, there was -progress. This is a univeral law. This was one of the most wonderful meetings of the series. There were reckoned to be one hundred and forty conversions.

1853. Rev. D. Patten, Jr., Presiding Elder of the Providence District, was again chosen to preside. Love and Harmony prevailed. Dr. and Mrs. Palmer were present ; also that well-

26 CAMP-MEETING AT WESEEYAN GROVE.

known philanthropist, Deacon Moses Grant, of Boston. Notwithstanding the improvements made, still others were ordered. "Jesus received sinners still."

1854. Rev. Pardon T. Kenney, Presiding Elder of the Sandwich District, presided over this meeting. There was some increase in the numbers in attendance. The sermons were able, and the meeting interesting. Present, Rev. B. W. Gorham, of the Wyoming Conference, Samuel Norris, of New Hampshire, and R. W. Allen and H. V. Degen, of the New England.

Voted, in one of the business meetings, that the two Presiding Elders of the Providence and Sandwich Districts should preside alternately over this meeting. Captain William B. Lawton and Dr. Stevens, both of Providence, were chosen Choristers. It was voted to enlarge the main circle, so as to admit two more tents.

1855. This meeting commenced August 21, and closed on the 28th. Dr. Roberts, of Baltimore, was present, and preached. There were now two hundred tents. Rev. Charles H. Titus, Presiding Elder of the Providence District, presided. The Vigilance Committee were prompt in the enforcement of the rules. Sirson P* Coffin was the agent of the meeting. Henry Bradley, of Holmes Hole, was the Treasurer. The question of holding the camp-meetings over the Sabbath was again discussed, and the two Presiding Elders were requested to consult their several societies on the subject.

The meeting' of 1856 commenced August 14. Rev. Paul Townsend, Presiding Elder of the Sandwich District, whose turn it was to preside, being absent, Rev. Mr. Titus, of the Providence District, was chosen to fill his place. Rev. John F. Wright, of Ohio, late Book Agent at Cincinnati, was present, and preached ; also Rev. John N. Coombs, of Alexandria, a member of the Baltimore Conference. Father Wright represented the Colored People's College in Ohio. There were about seventy ministers present. This year, for the first time, a tax of fifty cents was laid upon each tent, great and small, to aid in defraying the expense of the meeting. Alonzo Smith, of Holmes Hole, was appointed Agent.

1857. The meeting commenced August 20. Many friends were on the ground this year quite in advance of the time of beginning. There were in all about two hundred and fifty tents, the larger portion, of course, family tents. Sixty ministers were present. Rev. Paul Townsend, of the Sandwich District, although he had just come from Eastham, where he presided, entered upon a similar responsibility here. The number of conversions was about fifty, among them that of a young Jew, who has since become a preacher. There were also several other young men of promise converted to Christ.

1858. The premises, including the camp-meeting site, having been sold by the owners last year, subject to the lease, they were reconveyed to the old owners during the year preceding this meeting. Rev. P. Townsend was again chosen President, with Rev. C. H. Titus as his Assistant. H. Vincent was reappointed Secretary, while Rev. W. Richards was to report the meeting for the Herald and Journal. Great numbers were in attendance, very many, doubtless, prompted to come by the great religious awakening in the country the preceding year. Notwithstanding the immense masses, excellent order prevailed.

Many distinguished strangers visited the place during this meeting, among them His Excellency Governor Nathaniel P. Banks, and Rev. Thomas Brainard, D. D., a prominent Presbyterian clergyman from Philadelphia. About twenty persons were converted. About sixty lots for new tents next year were engaged. Still greater improvements were designed.

These brief glances at the years covered by the volume written by the author, and published by Rev. A. B. Wheeler, in 1858, are given to help the conceptions of the reader of the following chapters, and also for the purpose of calling attention to that volume, in which the meetings of those years are so fully described. All who would have the complete History of the Encampment from the beginning, should procure that work, which is still for sale at the low price at which it was at first published.

Chapter II. Camp-meeting Of 1 85 9, Commencing Aug. 9

THIS year seemed to inaugurate a new era in the history of this encampment, and affords, therefore, a very proper beginning of this added volume of reminiscences. For the sake of accuracy, however, it must be stated that important incipient measures were adopted the preceding year, which culminated in this. The meeting having increased from year to year in the numbers attending it, larger and more substantial accommodations were now required. Already, as may have been seen in the description of the doings of the previous year, small wooden buildings, in a few instances, had taken the places of tents. These were indices of increased confidence in the permanence of the meetings in this location. Among the new fixtures of the place, were additional means of supplying to the encampment an abundance of pure water. There had also been erected the substantial wooden building previously contemplated, as a kind of headquarters of the encampment. This building was placed at a little distance from the main circle, near what was then the main entrance to the ground, "and near the foot of what is now Trinity Park. It is twenty-four by forty feet, two and a half stories high, and has several apartments, adapted to the varied wants, viz. : A large room for the storage of stray baggage, and as a place for general deposit, and in one corner of which a post-office was kept, pro tern. ; another smaller room, nicely finished and furnished, as an office for the agent ; another, devoted to lanterns and oil, and to the work of preparing the means of lighting the tents and the camp. In the second story is the Agent's lodging-room, the Finance Committee's room, and a large room sufficient to seat a hundred or more persons, in which were to be held the general business meetings of the ministers and tent-masters, and other officers of the encampment. The attic might be used for a lodging-room for strangers, and during the year for the deposit of tent-covers and other goods. Strange as it may now seem, this building was put up at an expense of a little less than a thousand dollars.

Other and extensive improvements had been made on the grounds. Immediately in the rear of the main circle — the circle of large tents ■ — had been laid out and prepared, an avenue forty feet in width, encompassing the entire circle. All carts, baggage wagons, and carriages designed to approach this circle were required to take this wide avenue, instead of entering the area, which was forbidden during the continuance of the camp-meeting and for a while previously thereto. Besides the annoyance thus prevented, this wide, open street made what were then the rear parts of the grounds much more airy and pleasant, many of the smaller tents having been moved back to the outer line of this thoroughfare. This main avenue was at first named Asbury Avenue, commemorative of one of the first bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, but the name was afterward changed to that of Broadway. One of the smaller avenues, branching off from the above, was called Fisk

Avenue, in memory of that most excellent scholar and divine, whose praise is in all the churches. This name has not been superseded. May it never be ! There had been many of these smaller avenues laid out, and, like the main one, cleared of underbrush and litter. There had also been cleared up, in what was then the southern part of the encampment, a nice park, first called Coke's Park, after the great missionary apostle, some time the co-laborer in the episcopacy with the venerable Asbury, but afterward changed to the more popular name of Trinity Park. Among other great conveniences provided was a bell, of considerable size, placed near the ministers' stand, to be used to announce the hours for public service, and those of rising in the morning and retiring at night.

Many of the churches in this section of New England, for their convenience as companies, and individual gentlemen, — members and others, — for the comfort of themselves and friends, were not a whit behind the managers of the meeting in their arrangements and preparations. More or less of this work had been in progress for a month or two previous. Several large new tents for companies had been located, and over a hundred new ones, of smaller sizes, had been put up in different parts of the grove.* Some of these had been fitted up at considerable cost, and with much taste.

Those who had been so much accustomed to camp-meeting scenes, and especially to the varying aspects of the meetings here, for a quarter of a century nearly, were quite astonished at the extent and village-like appearances of this encampment. To see streets (called here avenues) of houses — temporary though they were — was wholly unusual at the places of such gatherings. The weather at the beginning was beautiful, and as quite a collection of people had already assembled, the grove was vocal with prayer and praise. The beauty and loveliness of an evening view of the encampment, with its hundreds of tents lighted up, are seldom exceeded by anything in the world's panorama. This, of itself, would richly repay a visit to the place. The Rev. Dr. Parks, who was on a visit here from the State of New York, gave it as his opinion, that it was