The Humphreys family in America - citizen hylbom blog

than the Congregational denomination. Thus the settlement of a pastor was a 'town-meeting
affair.' Certain lands for his use were set apart b)' the township, and the salary was thus provided
for by a sort of Puritanical union of Church and State. When Mr. Humphrey was called to take
charge of the church and parish in Pittsfield, the terms in which the invitation was expressed
reveal the transition then taking place from the old parish system to that of modern times. The
change is indicated in the following e.xtract
:
'Voted, That in case the Rev. Heman Humphrey shall conclude to accept the invitation of
the town to settle over them in the work of the Gospel ministry, they will, and do, hereby agree
to grant him the sum of nine hundred dollars as his stated salary, so long as he shall continue
their minister as aforesaid : provided that he shall relinquish to the town all claims that he may
have to the ministry lands or property belonging to the town.'"
When he was installed, the whole town of Pittsfield virtually formed his parish. The Con-
gregational church, however, was in a very divided and critical condition. The church had been
rent a few years previously by a political convulsion. After seven years of division in separate
churches, and much bitterness of feeling and recrimination, there was found to be a strong and
general disposition to reunite. Both pastors resigned, the two congregations came together under
the old roof, and Mr. Humphrey was invited to undertake the task of promoting organic union.
This was a difficult work to accomplish. Neighborhoods and families had been involved in the
long standing and bitter quarrel which had disturbed the peace of the whole town. But under
the judicious management of Mr. Humphrey, and by the exercise of the benevolent spirit, patient
energy and M-ise counsels so characteristic of him, the old wounds were healed, the spirit of harmony
took the place of discord, and success crowned his labors both as preacher and pastor.
As illustrating his skill and prudence in winning the disaffected or the indifferent, an
instance is still repeated in that region of his conquering the heart of a farmer who had steadily
refused to attend the Sunday services:— " By visiting him in his harvest-field, and, without a word
of professional exhortation, engaging him in conversacion upon farming, and then taking his cradle
and cutting a swath of grain as if he had been used only to a farmer's life all his days, Mr.
Humphrey completely won the respect and admiration of his former opponent, who was known
thereafter among his neighbors as 'the man whom the minister cradled into the meeting-house.'"
As a writer and preacher Mr. Humphrey is thus described: "What is most observable in
his early productions is an intense earnestness and a certain robust quality. The sweep of his
sentences is like that of the arm which could reap an acre per day in the harvest-field. The
thought is clear and the manner of expression forcible and vivid. By practice he gained rapid
improvement, and soon became one of the most attractive preachers of the day. His voice was
strong and mellow, and his delivery animated, often powerful. His eloquence was never stormy,
but was frequently impassioned in a high degree. His strain was always dignified and lofty, and
he would sacrifice nothing to effect. He would make use of effect only so far as it might aid
him in promoting the triumphs of the Gospel. ' His Invocation ' in the Sanctuary was often as
solemn as if he expected the departed glories of the Shekinah to burst again into the house of
God. Though his preaching was in a great measure doctrinal yet he centered all his hopes and
all the hope of the world upon the Cross. His presentation of truth was designed to promote
an absolute dependence upon the Triune God as Sovereign, Sanctifier, and Redeemer. He was
satisfied with nothing less than the rectification of the affections as well as of the will."
Mr. Humphrey was wont, with devout thanksgivings, to refer whatever success attcniled
his ministry in Pittsfield to the abundant revivals with which the town was blessed during his
pastorate. The most remarkable of these occurred in 1S21, when the distinguished evangelist of
that day, the Rev. Asahel Nettleton, D. D., assisted him in his arduous labors. He gives this
account of its power: "The revival pervaded all classes, and extended to all parts of the town:
but principally affected heads of families, and the prominent men of the village. The whole face
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