Special Notes on the conventions used in Volume 2
The second volume of the Church Records was begun by the Reverend Joseph Willard shortly after his ordination on November 25th 1772. Volume 2 was carefully maintained during the tenure of Rev. Willard and his successor Rev. Joseph McKeen. The title on the spine of the book, “Records First Parish Church 1775-1802” is an incorrect characterization, since entries exist from as early as 1772 and as late as 1820.
Though meticulously pre-numbered, the pages are not arranged in strict order. When it was started, the book was pre-numbered and divided into roughly equal sections meant to contain records of baptisms, Communions, Covenants, Membership, Marriages, Burials and Church Meetings. Over time, the section allocated to Meeting Minutes proved to be too small and additional minutes were written elsewhere in the book wherever space could be found. Besides the previously mentioned sections , there are pages to which scraps of paper have been glued. Some of these are obituaries from local newspapers and others are family records attested by the Minister. Several parts of the book contain only blank pages.
The volume was rebound in fine brown leather in 1900 by Edward L. Perley of Salem. Its dimensions are 8 ½” by 7’ and contains 466 numbered pages. The book has a table of contents but no name index.
After rebinding, two membership lists were pasted into the volume: One at the first page (page 0.3 -0.20) includes members who were admitted from 1765 to 1812. It is an incomplete copy of the second list, pasted into the volume at page 209, that shows Church members admitted from 1735 up to June 4 1820. Notations next to both insertions indicate that they were found by the Church Clerk after the book was bound.
Entries in the First Parish Record book were made by a succession of individuals between 1772 and 1950 that included the Minister, the Clerk and even lay members when no one else was available. They were written in longhand script in the style and conventions appropriate for their time. Some of these conventions vary from what we are used to seeing today.
Volume 2 is in a very fragile state. Being one of the most heavily used volumes in the First Parish collection, the binding is wearing and the pages are becoming increasingly torn and difficult to turn. It is for this reason that the decision was made to digitize and archive the pages. The original has been enclosed in a custom clamshell box and placed into safe storage.
Membership List 1764-October 4, 1812
Notes on Ordination of Rev. Joseph Willard November 15, 1772
Notes on the death of Rev. Joseph Champney February 23, 1773
Notes of Ordination of Rev. Joseph McKeen May 11, 1785
Admissions to Full Communion March 14, 1773-July 4, 1802
Church Meetings October 17, 1803 - 23 November 1803
Admissions to own the covenant February 14, 1773- July 4, 1802
Baptisms December 6, 1772-December 25, 1803
Obituary of Robert N. Lee 1908
Membership List 1735-June 4, 1820
Burials November 27, 1772- December 20, 1803
Church Meetings November 9, 1802-September 9, 1803
Marriages November 26, 1772-July 4, 1802
Church Meetings January 3, 1773-June 21, 1802
Front Pages (Pages 998, 0.0-0.20 in the index): The inside front cover contains a typeset leaflet describing the Church’s collection of silver and other relics. It was probably printed in the late 1830s. Penciled onto the notice is a description of the whereabouts of the Robe used by the Rev. Joseph Champney from 1729 to 1773. The next leaf contains a statement by James Masters, the Church Clerk describing the location of the first Volume of the church records as of 1915. This location is reiterated in additional statements by Clerks in 1944 and 1950. Volume 1 remains in that location today. On the next page are three newspaper articles concerning the death of Joseph Willard as well as another brief article concerning Joseph Wood, Church Clerk about 1743.
Membership List 1764-October 4, 1812 (pages 0.3-0.20 in the index): These pages were glued into the book by the Church Clerk with this explanation written vertically next to them: “Members of the Church. This Mem. was found after the Book was rebound- 1900”. It is not clear why this particular list was felt to be so important, because a second more complete membership list- one from which this list was obviously copied is also pasted into the book. The list consists of 17 pages of names arranged in order of their becoming members of the Church. Next to each member’s name is the date of their joining, and notations of their death or dismissal. The lack of at least one of the first pages makes this an incomplete c compilation. It may have been copied from the master list at the time of the creation of the Baptist Society in 1805.
Table of Contents: (page 999 in the index): This single page contains the original page separation intended for the book:
Admissions to Full Communion March 14, 1773- July 4, 1802 (pages 7-21): This is a list of individuals who were admitted to participate at the Lord ’s Table, a symbolic way of recognizing full members in good standing. Individuals are listed by the date they were admitted, with cross-references to their baptism performed as an adult. This section includes two pages, 9 and 10 that were misfiled to just before the table of contents. Except for one entry in August 1783, there are no admissions recorded between December 30, 1781 and June 19, 1785 because no Minister was presiding during that time.
Covenants for Communion (Page 23-27): There are two separate oaths written here, to be recited in public worship in order to be admitted to the Church. The first was a standard oath recited by those who had been properly dismissed from their prior church and recommended to the Beverly Church. These individuals were said to be “admitted to full communion” The second, called the Baptismal or “halfway” covenant” was to be recited those who wished to have their families baptized but who could not-or would not- become full members of the Church. These individuals were said to have “Admitted to own the covenant” This second covenant became necessary because of the ever-growing population living in Beverly without proper dismission from another Church. Both covenants were copied into the volume in 1877 by Church Clerk Stephen Baker from a slip of paper he found.
Church Meetings October 17, 1803 - 23 November 1803 (pages 30-34): This section of meetings focuses on the ordination of Rev. Abiel Abbot, beginning with an acceptance speech written by Rev. Abbot that was read to the first church congregation. It represents an extension of meeting minutes beyond those recorded on page 466.
Family Records (page 37, 39, 41-43, 45,47): These pages were reserved for certain family records of births,, marriages and deaths as extracted from other Church records. Included here are early records of the Gage, Rantoul, Haskins/Hoskins, Beckford and Lovett families.
Admissions to own the covenant February 14, 1773- July 4, 1802 (pages 71-88): This is a list of the individuals who took the second oath. They were not considered full members but were permitted to have their children baptized and be buried from the Church. Individuals are listed in the order they took the oath. From November 25, 1781 to June 19, 1785 there are no entries, probably because there was no Minister presiding at Church during that time.
Baptisms December 6, 1772-December 25, 1803 (pages 89-183): This is a list of individuals who were baptized in the church. The vast majority of those listed were infants and small children but some were baptized as adults, as part of admission to full communion or owning the covenant. Where the Minister was visiting, his name is noted which gives an interesting glimpse of the pattern of “pulpit sharing” during the time. Between February 10, 1782 and April 17 1785 the handwriting used to record Baptisms changed markedly, prone to misspellings and poorly formed letters. This is most likely because a lay member of the Church took on the job of recording until a new Minister could be found. After the entry for September 12 1802, there is a notation that “from the time of the removal of Dr. McKeen to the installation of his successor, the record of baptisms was omitted except for some names that were supplied to the new pastor for record”.
Deaths 1898 (page 185): This page contains a notation of the death of three venerable church members. It is not clear why their names are included here instead of a later volume of records.
Membership List 1735- June 4, 1820 (Pages 208-209.20 in the index): This list of members of the Church appears to be the more comprehensive list. On page 208 is a notation from James Masters, Clerk of the church that “These members of the church on the following page was found after this book was rebound in the year 1900”. The following 20 pages were pasted into the volume in front of page 209. At the top of the first page is the notation: “Members in full communion with the first church in Beverly 1804 and Continued”. Individuals are listed in order they became members. Notations to the right indicate date of death or dismission. The list was maintained for some time after 1823, for there are notations dated as late as 1830.
Burials November 27, 1772- December 20, 1803 (pages 283-353): This is a list of individuals who were buried in the old Burial Ground. It is interesting to note that young children are unnamed even if they had been baptized and many wives were buried without their given names. At the end of the entries for 1781 is a notation that “the following register of burials from January 1782 to May 1785 is probably not very accurate but is the best which can be reliably obtained.”
At the turn of the 19th century, there were only a limited number of terms that could be applied to the cause of death. For the most part, these had to do with common diseases or child birth but often were somewhat whimsical in their application. In the earliest records no cause of death is provided, but it is clear that the church began the practice at the request of the Town for better data. It is interesting to note that many diseases occurred in clusters and epidemics and this is clearly seen in the burial records. Some of the more interesting diseases mentioned in the First Parish Records are:
· Chin Cough (Whooping Cough)
· Hydrocephalus (Water on the brain)
· Consumption or Pulmonary Consumption (Tuberculosis)
· Parturition (child birth)
· Dropsy (bloating or swelling of the extremities)
· Atrophy (Atrophy inf. When it pertained to a child, Atrophy Finil if it pertained to the elderly )
· Quinsy (Tonsillitis)
· Alvine Flu (an infectious disease affecting the bowels)
· Putrid Fever (so named because households where it occurred often reeked of foul odors from the afflicted)
· Nervous Fever- known today at Typhoid fever
· Bilious Fever- one of a number of infections that resulted in excessive vomiting or diarrhea
· Smallpox
· Worms
· St. Anthony’s Fire- This condition could have been what we know today as Ergotism (poisoning by grain infected with a fungus) or Anthrax.
Church Meetings November 9, 1802-September 9, 1803 (pages 370-388, 0): It is during this period that 50 members of the Church submitted a petition to be dismissed and recommended to the third Congregational church (Dane Street). Also during this series of meetings was discussed what portion of the church stock should be distributed to the Dane Street church as a distribution for the members who were joining their Church. Page 0 contains the statement of monies paid by certain members of the Church to pay for this distribution.
Marriages November 26, 1772- July 4, 1802 (pages 391-425): This is a list of individuals who were married in the church. Individuals who were not from Beverly were so noted, as were individuals who were “residents” meaning they lived in town but were not affiliated with the Church. A common supplementary notation found in this section is the plus sign next to a name, which means a remarriage for that individual.
Church Meetings January 3, 1773-June 21, 1802 (pages 445-466): This is the section where Church meetings were supposed to be recorded. However, space was taken elsewhere in the volume (see above).
Use of the letter “f” instead of “s”. 18th and 19th century script conventions called for the writer to use the lower case “f” instead of an “s” particularly with a double “S”. The index always uses an “s”.
Special symbols “+” and “*”: These symbols occur within selected record entries. The plus sign may have been used to indicate the early death of an individual but this is not clear. The asterisk was used for many reasons, most often to indicate a missed sequence or to add a footnote. Their meaning within certain entries remains unclear.
Special symbol “=”: This sign was used to delineate a first from a middle name. The tradition of giving middle names to children started right around the turn of the 19th century.
Common abbreviations: Due to the constrained nature of the page, abbreviations were often used. Many have different meaning than what we know today. Wherever possible, the index preserves these abbreviations as they occur in the text. Capitalization, however, may not be consistent. Some common abbreviations found in the First Parish Records are:
· 2d Parish = The Congregational Church in North Beverly
· 3d Parish = The Dane Street Church was originally set off as the Third Parish Church in Beverly
· AE = Age at death
· B (Old English letter “B”) = Baptized by
· B.S. = Baptist Society (today we call it First Baptist Church)
· Dec’d = deceased
· Jun, jun’r, 2d, 3d and 4th were used in the Church to delineate one of several members of the Church of the same name by their age. Note that this is different than the way we commonly use them. today- to indicate “consecutive generations within a family with same name”.
· NS = New South Church (today we call it Dane Street Church)
· Vid: = reference (from Latin vide or “see”). This comment usually is found in adult baptisms where the individual is also being admitted to Full Communion in the Church
Use of raised letters to shorten names and words: The conventions of Old English script permit the shortening of words by replacing groups of letters with the last letter, raised above the preceding letters. For example, the word “daughter” can be shortened to “daur”. We preserved these abbreviations in the entries where they occur with the convention of a single apostrophe (dau’r‘).
Crossed Out Entries: Items that have been crossed out have not been transcribed.