Historical Collections, by John Warner Barber

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NORTHAMPTON. wealth at this time, that the ill-disposed paid but little attention to this timely measure.

The first minister of Northampton was Eleazer Mather, son of the Rev. Richard Mather, of Dorchester. He was ordained in 1661, and died in 1669, aged 32. Mr. Mather's health having declined, Rev. Joseph Elliot, in 1662, was invited to settle in the ministry here; he was the second son of Rev. John Elliot, of Roxbury, the celebrated apostle to the Indians; he afterwards settled at Guilford, Con. Rev. Solomon Stoddard was the next minister, was ordained in 1672, and died in 1729. His successor was Jonathan Edwards, the celebrated divine, who was invited in 1726 to assist Mr. Stoddard in the ministry. Mr. Stoddard "possessed probably more influence than any other clergyman in the province, during a period of thirty years. Here he was regarded with a reverence which will scarcely be rendered to any other man. The very savages are said to have felt towards him a peculiar awe. Once, when riding from Northampton to Hatfield, and passing a place called Dewey's Hole, an ambush of savages lined the road. It is said that a Frenchman, directing his gun towards him, was warned by one of the Indians, who some time before had been among the English, not to fire, because 'that man was Englishman's God.' A similar adventure is said to have befallen him while meditating in an orchard, immediately behind the church in Deerfield, a sermon he was about to preach. These stories, told in Canada, are traditionally asserted to have been brought back by English captives. It was customary for the Canadian savages, after they returned from their excursions, to report their adventures, by way of triumph, to the captives taken in the English colonies. Among the works which Mr. Stoddard published, his Guide to Christ, and his Safety of appearing in the Righteousness of Christ, have ever been held in respectful estimation." "He published the Doctrine of Instituted Churches, London, 4to, 1700, in which he advanced some sentiments that were not very well received in this country, such as the following:-- that the Lord's table should be accessible to all persons not immoral in their lives, that the power of receiving and censuring members is vested exclusively in the elders of the church, and that synods have power to excommunicate and deliver from church censures."

The Rev. Jonathan Edwards continued in Northampton more than twenty-three years, till he was dismissed in 1750. The causes which led to his dismissal were his endeavors to enforce what he considered to be his duty in regard to the discipline of the church, and likewise the opposition he made to the sentiment supported by his colleague and grandfather, Rev. Mr. Stoddard, that unconverted persons ought to be allowed to come to the sacrament of the Lord's supper. In 1751, he was settled at Stockbridge as missionary to the Indians, where he continued six years, preaching to the Indians and white people. Here he found leisure to prosecute his theological and metaphysical studies, and produced those works which will probably hand down his name to the latest