Jabez Chickering (minister)
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Rev. Jabez Chickering (November 4, 1753-March 12, 1812) was the minister of what is today First Congregational Church Norwood from July 3, 1776, to March 12, 1812.[1]
Personal life[edit]
Early life[edit]
Chickering was born in the Springfield section of Dedham, Massachusetts, present day Dover, on November 4, 1753 to Joseph and Rebecca (née Newell) Chickering.[2][3][4][1][5] The family lived at what is today 55 Haven St. in Dover.[2] Joseph, his six-year-old son and his four-year-old daughter all died within a week of each other in 1754.[2] Rebecca, her eight-year-old daughter also named Rebecca, and the 18 day old Jabez Chickering all survived.[2][3] After being taught religion by his mother, Chickering was found alone in his room praying one day when he was six years old.[3]
Rebecca remarried in 1757 to Deacon Joseph Haven, the first cousin of Jason Haven.[2] Joseph Haven's son, also named Joseph, studied under Jason Haven for the ministry.[2] Chickering studied theology under the minister in Springfield, Benjamin Caryl.[2][5] When Chickering's mother died in 1792, she left property to him and he then conveyed it to his step-brother, Noah Haven.[2]
In 1773-74, Chickering taught at the Colburn School.[4]
Family and later years[edit]
Chickering was graduated from Harvard College in 1774 with Fisher Ames and was a good student.[5][1][6][2][3][4] On April 22, 1777, Chickering married Hanna Balch, the daughter of Thomas Balch, his predecessor at the South Church.[7][4][3][8][9][10][5][11] They were married three years after the death of Hannah's father.[12]
Chickering and Hannah had six children, all raised in South Dedham.[12] One, a son, also named Jabez Chickering, was involved in the split of the First Church and Parish in Dedham and the Allin Congregational Church and the resulting lawsuit, Baker v. Fales.[13] The others were Lucy, Joseph, Elizabeth, Thomas, and Hannah.[12] Joseph became a minister and Thomas served in the military and fought in the War of 1812.[12] The daughter Hannah married Dr. John K. Briggs.[14][15] Chickering was 47 years old when his youngest daughter, Hannah, was born.[12] The family lived at 17 Walpole Street, the same house in which Chickering's wife grew up.[12]
Those who knew him described him as "a sprightly man, clear of voice, prudent and pacific in advice, remarkable in extemporary prayer.”[3] He would often carry peppermints to give to the children he met.[3] Chickering was a committed Federalist.[6]
He died, March 12, 1812.[1][16][3][4][5] For the nine months prior to his death, he was an invalid.[3]
Legacy[edit]
The First Congregational Church of Norwood affixed a plaque to his crypt in the Old Parish Cemetery.[3] As of 2002[update], his 1806 house, "a fine example of the Federal style," still stands at the corner of Chickering Road and Walpole Street in Norwood.[17] After his death, a memorial window in his honor was placed in the meetinghouse.[15]
Ministry[edit]
Chickering was settled as the minister in the Second Parish Church on July 3, 1776, and served until his death on March 12, 1812.[1][5][4][2][7][18][10][8][16][11] Manasseh Cutler attended his ordination.[7] Cutler was married to Chickering's wife's sister, Mary.[7] Chickering had two calls before he accepted the pulpit in South Dedham.[3]
In his 36 years at the church, he married 203 couples, added 78 congregants, and baptized 351 people.[3] He was a theological liberal but “without fear or interest he declared the whole counsel of God.”[3]
Library and charitable giving[edit]
On January 6, 1790, Chickering and 26 others began the Social Circulating Library for the people of South Dedham by lending out his personal collection.[19][20][21][22][8][23][24][16] In 1800, that library transitioned to the South Dedham Parish Library, for which there were officers, by-laws, and shareholders.[22][19] In that year, he donated $200 to the effort.[3] He collected 93 volumes to circulate, books that became the nucleus of the Morrill Memorial Library.[21][11] Today those books are on display at the Norwood Historical Society.[21][8]
Chickering held the books in a special bookcase he obtained from Thomas Balch.[3] That bookcase was later acquired and preserved by Fred Holland Day and is now held by the Norwood Historical Society.[3] In the final years of his life, Chickering gave his entire salary to charitable causes, including the library.[16][19][3][11]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Burgess 1840, p. 515.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 Lee, Elisha (Spring 2015). "The President's Letter" (PDF). Dover Tidings. The Dover Historical Society. VX (1). Retrieved June 4, 2021.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 Fanning, Patricia (January 29, 2020). "Rev. Jabez Chickering (1753-1812)". Old Parish Preservation Volunteers. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Slafter, Carlos (1905). A Record of Education: The Schools and Teachers of Dedham, Massachusetts, 1644-1904. Dedham Transcript Press. p. 74. Retrieved June 6, 2021. Search this book on
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Hurd, Duane Hamilton (1884). History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men. J. W. Lewis & Company. p. 57. Retrieved June 6, 2021. Search this book on
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Hanson 1976, p. 174.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Cutler, William Parker; Cutler, Julia Perkins (1888). Life, Journals and Correspondence of Rev. Manasseh Cutler, LL.D. R. Clarke. p. 56. Retrieved June 5, 2021. Search this book on
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Fanning 2002, p. 18.
- ↑ Grove 1997, p. 101.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Tolles 1973, p. 152.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Norwood 1906, p. 27.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 Fanning, Patricia (June 6, 2020). "Hannah Balch Chickering 1755-1839". Old Parish Preservation Volunteers. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
- ↑ Hanson 1976, p. 202-215.
- ↑ Grove 1997, p. 47.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Norwood 1906, p. 28.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Smith 1936, p. 107.
- ↑ Fanning 2002, p. 18-19.
- ↑ Grove 1997, p. 11.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Smith 1936, p. 279.
- ↑ Tolles 1973, p. 194.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 Grove 1997, p. 112.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 Fanning 2002, p. 45.
- ↑ Fanning 2002, p. 53.
- ↑ Canelli, Charlotte (May 18, 2009). "From the Library: Library is historic and modern". Wicked Local. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
Works cited[edit]
- Burgess, Ebenezer (1840). Dedham Pulpit: Or, Sermons by the Pastors of the First Church in Dedham in the XVIIth and XVIIIth Centuries. Perkins & Marvin. Retrieved May 3, 2021. Search this book on
- Hanson, Robert Brand (1976). Dedham, Massachusetts, 1635-1890. Dedham Historical Society. Search this book on
- Grove, John M. (November 1, 1997). Norwood. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-9022-6. Retrieved June 6, 2021. Search this book on
- Fanning, Patricia J. (2002). Norwood: A History. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-2404-7. Retrieved June 6, 2021. Search this book on
- Tolles, Bryant Franklin (1973). Norwood: the Centennial History of a Massachusetts Town. Centennial Committee, Town of Norwood, Massachusetts. Retrieved June 6, 2021. Search this book on
- Smith, Frank (1936). A History of Dedham, Massachusetts. The Transcript Press. Search this book on
- Norwood (1906). Norwood, One of the Newest and Most Progressive Towns in Massachusetts: Her Industries, Past and Present, Business Houses, Societies, and Advantages for Location. Ambrose Bros., Printers. Search this book on
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