ated at Harvard College, in 1803. Having completed his professional studies under the instruction of his father, the late Levi Lincoln, an eminent counsellor at law and Attorney General of the United States from 1801 to 1805. He was admitted to the bar of Massachusetts in the county of Worcester, in 1806. Soon after, he removed to Portland, where he commenced practice. He was appointed County Attorney of Cumberland by Governor Sullivan, and discharged the duties of that office with fidelity and ability. In April, 1810, he removed to Boston, where he remained until July, 1813, when he returned to Portland. His health having become impaired, he went to his father's house in the autumn of 1814, and died, at Worcester, April 17, 1815, aged 31 years. He was an eloquent advocate, and a splendid writer. The only acknowledged publications of his, which have been preserved, are these-An Oration, delivered at Worcester, July 4, 1805: and, an Oration before the Bunker Hill Association on the 4th of July, 1810, at Boston; both of them passed through several editions.

TRISTRAM GILMAN graduated at Dartmouth College in 1800-pursued his legal studies in the office of Dudley Hubbard, at Berwick, in the county of York and was admitted to the bar, it is supposed, about 1812. He was admitted to practice in the Supreme Judicial Court, in Cumberland county, May Term, 1814, and as Counsellor at May Term, 1816. Mr. Gilman commenced his practice at Berwick, afterwards he removed to Wells, and then to North Yarmouth, his native place; and after a short time he returned to Welis; so that Mr. G. belongs more properly to the York bar. He died in 1829.

EZRA B. PIKE graduated at Bowdoin College, in 1829, pursued his legal studies in the office of Stephen Longfellow, and was admitted to the practice in Cumberland County in 1832. He was a young man of much promise, cut off by death a few weeks

after his admission. HENRY PUTNAM graduated at Harvard College in 1802, and pursued his legal studies in Massachusetts,-was admitted to the bar about 1807, and settled in Brunswick, where he continued in practice several years; but much of his time was devoted to other pursuits. Mr. Putnam returned to Massachusetts, where he died several years ago.

ANDREW L. EMERSON was born at York, about 1802, graduated at Harvard College, 1820, and was admitted to the practice in Cumberland county in 1824. He opened an office in Portland, where he continued until his much lamented death, in 1834. His early decease afforded but few opportunities to exhibit his legal learning and professional talents. Mr. E. was deservedly respected for his private worth, and the urbanity of his manners and deportment. He was a member of the senate of Maine one year, and, it is believed, another. It is unequivocal evidence of his popularity, that Mr. E. was the first mayor of the city of Portland, and he held that office at the time of his death.

GEORGE WASHINGTON PIERCE was born in Baldwin, in 1805, and graduated at Bowdoin College in 1825-received a regular legal education, and was admitted to the practice of law in 1828. Mr. Pierce settled in Portland, where he continued in very respectable practice until his death in 1835. Mr. Pierce's reputation for professional acquisitions, and talents, stood high, and gave the promise of future usefulness and eminence. He was a member of the Maine House of Representatives from Portland one or two years. He was appointed Attorney for the State in the county of Cumberland-and just before his death received the appointment of Reporter of the decisions of the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine.

The foregoing is a very hasty sketch. The compiler is deeply sensible that his notices are but imperfect-that they should have been the result of much fuller preparation and reflection; and, more especially, they should have been the work of an abler hand.

ECCLESIASTICAL REGISTER;

OR A

COMPLETE SYSTEM OF ECCLESIASTICAL AND PAROCHIAL REGISTRATION :

CONTAINING

DIRECTIONS AND BLANK FORMS FOR REGISTERING BY A SIMPLE METHOD THE VARIOUS FACTS WHICH ARE PROPER TO BE PRESERVED IN REMEMBRANCE BY ANY CHURCH-DESIGNED FOR ALL RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS.

By LEMUEL SHATTUCK, Esq.,

Home Secretary of the American Statistical Association.

[The following plan of ecclesiastical and parochial record is the result of much thought and reflection. The author has paid great attention to statistics, especially to statistics of this nature, and has examined with great care the ecclesiastical and civil registration of other countries, and is now preparing plans for such registration in the United States. Though the present plan is in some respects minute, it is much Jess so than the French system It is probable that blank books for ecclesiastical and parochial registration on this plan, will be prepared for the accommodation of those ministers who may choose to supply themselves with them, for copying or arranging their existing records, or for commencing new registers. We earnestly recommend this subject to all clergymen, of all denominations of Christians.-EDS]

ONE of the most important parochial duties of every clergyman is to make and transmit to his successor a full and accurate account of all his official acts. This should be done for the benefit of his own character and reputation, for the gratification and information of his parishioners and his successor, and for the general good which such records would confer on the history of the church and the cause of religion. Some clergymen duly appreciate the importance of this subject, and are careful to make some kind of a record of this kind, by which their acts, and the proceedings of the church, with which they have been connected, might be preserved in remembrance. There are in existence some records made by the early pilgrim clergymen which are invaluable to us, illustrating as they do the important religious movements of the times in which they lived; and there are some made in these later times, which will no doubt be highly esteemed when the authors of them are remembered only by the history of their own official acts transmitted by records. Such records are the only authentic sources of information to illustrate the condition of the church, the progress of religion and the ecclesiastical history of the age. Without them other information will be vague and imperfect. Though some clergymen pay considerable attention to this subject, yet the importance of full and accurate ecclesiastical records has not generally been sufficiently regarded by those on whom the duty of keeping them devolves. As there is at present no efficient system of public civil registration in operation in this country, ecclesiastical registration is the more expedient and necessary.

The author has had occasion to examine the existing records of various churches, and he has seen a great deficiency in the method of keeping them. From the negligence of some ministers, the want of a correct plan of registration, or some other cause, they are much less valuable than they might be made, if a proper system were devised, and the clergy were careful to see it uniformly adopted, and carried into execution. Some churches have no records at all, the proceedings of others are found only on loose pieces of paper, of others the records of a whole pastor's life, while connected with his people, are comprised in a few pages, and give no definite idea of the actual history, proceedings, or statistics of the church. No church has such records of baptisms, admissions to the communion, marriages, deaths, and proceedings, as would determine the personal history or identity of individuals, or as would be of any use in forming the basis of a correct system of the statistics of the church, or the vital statistics of religion. They might be made, without any material increase of labor, very valuable in all these respects; and to supply, in some measure, the wants, in regard to the people of the parish interested, of a system of public civil registration. They might be the repository of the most valuable facts, and the source of information to the individual church, and the religious public generally, to illustrate the progress of society and the development of those great principles by which man is advancing to a higher state of enjoyment and perfection on earth, and by which he is preparing for the purer and holier enjoyments and perfections of another life. Clergymen seem not to have reflected sufficiently on this subject, and are not aware of the importance of ecclesiastical records. The examination of various records, and considerable reflection is necessary, before we can clearly see what is wanted or is necessary; and it is not supposed that clergymen generally have sufficient time

to devise a proper system-but if one was presented, all would probably approve and adopt it.

The records of different churches, and of different religious denominations, have been examined to ascertain the manner in which they are kept in this country and in Europe, and after having devoted considerable reflection to the subject, the author believes that a plan might be devised, which would be a great improvement on any existing system, and one which would be generally adopted. The design of such a work would be to exhibit a simple, uniform, and systematic plan for ecclesiastical records, applicable to every religious denomination.

The First Part should contain printed forms for recording on a new plan and in uniform style, biographical notices of the different ministers and officers of the church, the baptisms, admissions to the communion, marriages and deaths; and also the annual statistics, both personal and financial.

The Second Part should contain blank pages for entering the votes, proceedings, and miscellaneous records of the church.

The notices of the different clergymen should embrace every one whether dead or living from the first organization of the church, each in chronological order, and should contain-1. The name, date and place of birth; the name of the parents; the places where the preparatory, the collegiate, and the theological education were obtained; the date of the settlement and dismission; whether previously or subsequently settled over any other parish, the date and place of such settlement, and the date of dismission; the age, date, disease, place, and particulars of death.-2. Brief view of his character and success in the ministry, and references to any printed biography, work, or articles by such clergyman.-3. The name, place of birth, and parentage of the person whom the clergyman married; the date and age at marriage; and the names, date of birth, and other facts respecting his children. Every clergyman should compile, as far as proper, such a notice of himself.

Then should follow a register of the donors to the permanent funds, and of the officers of the church, embracing the deacons, or elders, clerks, and other officers. The particulars to be recorded are specified in the forms, (see Schedule No. 2,) being the name of the person, and of the office, the date of admission to the communion, and of the election to office, and the date of removal from office, and the cause, whether by dismission, resignation, death, or otherwise, and the age of such removal. Under the head of remarks, references may be made to the pages in the second part, where the proceedings of the church or other facts in which they are concerned, may be found recorded. It may be thought expedient to insert in the proceedings and miscellaneous records, biographical notices and additional particulars respecting these officers, or respecting some of the men.bers of the church, in which case the page of such notices should be placed against such name in the printed form of the register.

Register of Baptisms.-So long as we have no system of public registration, and indeed whether we had such a system or not, it is important that the ecclesiastical records be so kept as to afford the source of evidence to ascertain facts, important in a civil point of view, concerning individuals. It is the practice of some churches to record the date of birth as well as baptism. This practice should be universal. The cases are frequent where apprentices have to consult the records of baptisms to ascertain the date when they would arrive at 21 years of age. It is very often important to prove the date of birth to determine the just distribution of estates. The date of baptism does not, as usually recorded, indicate the age, or hardly an approximation to it, since it may take place at any age. The entries of baptisms should be made in chronological order. It will then be easy to ascertain the number in a year or in any definite period of time. It is customary with many churches to regard all persons baptized in infancy as particuJarly under the care of the church; but it would be impossible from any existing records to identify those who sustain this relation. All the facts specified in the forms are necessary to identify individuals, and to give the pastor that knowledge which he ought to possess in relation to those who are the baptized portion of his society, or in any way particularly under his care. Those clergymen who record the names of sponsors may

do it under the head of remarks.

Register of Marriages -The form for this record prescribes the particulars to be recorded, and is designed to conform to a system of public civil registration, which the author has prepared, that clergymen may easily make the returns required by law, without any extra labor. Nothing so required should be omitted if it be possible to obtain the necessary facts. Both parties, male and female, should be described, as set forth in the schedule, and entered in one ruled space and numbered, as one entry, the same as the baptisms. It is important in many respects to identify the parties and their parents, and to show their age, sex, and condition at marriage. There are many important civil questions which arise wherein it is necessary to prove the date of a marriage, as well as the date of birth. In order to do this readily the parties should be particularly described, and the date, the officiating clergyman, and the witnesses, properly entered.

Register of Admissions to the Communion.-The design of this, like the other forms, is to preserve a sufficient number of facts that every member of the church may be easily identified, and that the clergyman possessing such knowledge may be aided by it in the discharge of his duty. If the personal history of every member of the church were known to the clergyman, he would better understand their wants, and be able the better to adapt his instruction to their condition. It is important also that these facts should be known to show the influence of the profession of religion on age, sex and condition of life.

Register of Deaths.-The design of this register is to preserve the principal facts respecting any person who dies in the parish, whether a member of the church or not. These facts may be known by the headings in the form. The particulars in this register which differ from the others already described are the "cause of death," "place of interment," and whether a "communicant or parishioner." All these are important, especially the disease or cause of death, which should be particularly and carefully inserted.

These forms will perhaps be sufficiently explicit without further explanation. It may not, however, be amiss to give some general directions applicable to all the registers of baptisms, marriages, admissions to the communion, and deaths. The running title of the Schedules should be filled up by the insertion on each page of the name of the church, town, county and State where situated, the dates when the first and last entry on the page were made, and the name of the clergyman or registrar. Under the head "No." each entry in each form should be numbered, No. 1, being the first entry in the Schedule, and the others in succession, until the book be full. In all cases where a date is to be entered, the day of the month, as well as the year, should be specified. Under the head of "Names," whether it be the individual who is the subject of the entry, or the father, the mother, the officiating clergyman, or the witnesses, the Christian name and surname should be inserted in full. Under "Age," the years, months and days should be specified in the baptisins and deaths; in the marriages and admissions to the communion, the entry of the year only will be sufficient. Under" Sex and Condition," the entry should be "bachelor" or "maid," "husband" or wife," "widower" or "widow," as the fact may be, except in case of children baptized, when the entry should be "boy" or 'girl." Under Place of Birth," should be entered the town, county and State where born; and under Place of Residence," the same entry should be made. Under "Occupation," the profession or trade of the individual should be stated. Under "Manner of Admission" to the communion, it should be specified whether the individual was admitted by profession, or by letter or certificate; and under "Manner" of removals, whether by death, dismission, or excommunication. Under "Causes of Death," the disease or accident which caused the death should be stated. Under

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Officiating Clergyman," the name of the individual who performed the ceremony should be inserted in full. Under "Remarks," a reference should be made to the numbers in the other registers, identifying them with the same individuals who are entered on more than one register, whether as baptized, married, admitted to the communion, or died; and also in all the forms to the page in the second part, if it contain the record of any proceeding in which the individual is mentioned, or any separate biographical notice is inserted.

Statistics. The first table (see Schedule 7) is designed for recording annually, on the first day of January, an abstract of the records, exhibiting the numbers of communicants, admissions, removals, baptisms, and Sunday school scholars, according to the respective subdivisions of each as indicated in the form. Such a table, exhibiting the annual abstracts from the first organization of the church, might be easily compiled, and would give in a simple form a very important view of its state and progress. Statistics of this kind are now required by the State Conventions or Associations of many religious denominations, but the author is not aware that individual churches preserve a copy of these returns in the proceedings of their own church.

The second table (see Schedule 8) is designed to exhibit statements to be recorded on the first day of January, annually, containing the estimated population of the parish connected and worshipping with the church, the number of marriages and deaths which have taken place during the previous year, the funds, income and expenditures, according to the specified subdivisions in the form, and the amount of the various collections, and donations for charitable or religious objects, taken up in the church or society. In regard to the first item-estimated population, it is not supposed that a clergyman can take an accurate census of his parishioners every year, but by having the number of families belonging to it known, he can estimate the population very nearly. It would also be desirable that the number of the average attendance on public worship should be stated. If any thing has occurred which renders any year peculiarly prominent in regard to any entry in these tables, it should be explained by a note in the miscellaneous records,

and the page where such note is found should be inserted under the head of remarks. The records should also specify how the salary of the clergyman is raised, whether by tax on the parishioners, according to valuation of property, or by tax on the pews, by subscription, by income of funds or any other way; and also what collection of Psalms and Hymns is used, and the date of its introduction.

One very important object to be accomplished by having such records accurately kept, is to afford the means of ascertaining the annual statistics of the churches in regard to the number and condition of its members, and its pecuniary concerns. This subject begins to be regarded as important, but it is still receiving less than its proper share of attention. The manner in which our statistics have been usually presented to the public, is very imperfect, and does not exhibit the facts so as to show the general and comparative progress of religion, its increase or decrease, nor its influence on the different ages, sexes and conditions of life. This defect should not exist, but records should, in the first place, be correctly kept, and abstracts should be made, annually, which would exhibit the state of the church, the proportion of professors of religion to the whole population, the proportion of male and female professors, the specific ages of the professors, when they make profession and when they die, and the influence of religious character on the different ages and sexes, and on longevity, or in respect to different diseases.

There are various forms in which abstracts might be made from such records, exhibiting the facts in interesting and important points of view. Periodical statements might be occasionally made and recorded, (say once in five years or oftener,) in which the living members of the church might be classed according to their ages-those under 20, from 20 to 25, from 25 to 30, and so on, into divisions of five years each through life, distinguishing the males from the females, or they might be given for every age. The ages

of the members of the church who have died, during the same time, might be classed in the same manner, and the aggregate and average age ascertained, both males and females, of the dead and living. In this way the law of mortality for the church may be determined, and the average liability to death at any age easily ascertained.

There is an intimate connection between our physical, and moral and religious nature; and though the subject has often been alluded to, it has never been investigated in a proper manner by an exhibition of authentic facts to ascertain how far one influences the other. The statistics of the progress of the church, the condition and age of its members, &c., would be a good subject for an occasional sermon in which to present the philosophical, moral and religious inferences they would suggest.

Proceedings of the Church.-The page immediately following the printed forms should have the following entry only-" Votes, proceedings and miscellaneous records of the church." These should be fully and correctly recorded, and should contain all the votes and proceedings of the church at length, the votes and other proceedings at ordinations, installations or dismissions of ministers, and of the election of officers, and cases of church discipline. The first entry of records should be a brief account of the origin and formation of the church and society, specifying whether it embraces the whole or a part of the town in which it is situated, and the reasons for its formation, and the names of the original and inost active and important founders. Plans and descriptions of churches and houses of worship should be given, and the history of their erection and repairs, specifying the architect, contractor and expense, and how defrayed, the date and proceedings at length at dedication. The records should also contain an account of the various collections and donations for religious or charitable purposes, in the church or society, specifying the date, occasion, the object and the amount of each. Brief accounts and biographical notices concerning ministers, officers, donors and other important individuals, with numbers in the margin referring to the same individuals, recorded in the printed forms in the first part of the register. The confession of faith or covenant should be recorded in full.

Indexes.-Every volume of records should be provided with two indexes, one for the names and the other for the proceedings of the church, so that every name, whether male or female, and every matter, may be immediately referred to without unnecessary trouble or loss of time. This can easily be done by the proposed plan (see Schedule 1) Where the name of the same individual occurs more than once, the different pages should be inserted.

The facts for such a system of registration might be easily obtained by any clergyman by a little care and attention, without any interference with his other duties. And indeed the very act of obtaining and recording them would be a great advantage to him. It would lead him to a more intimate acquaintance with his people, their condition and character, and enable him to adapt his instruction more particularly to their wants. Every clergyman should supply himself with blanks for returns printed on detached pieces of paper, (see Schedules 9, 10, 11, 12,) and whenever any baptism, admission to the communion, marriage, or funeral is to take place, one of these blanks should be handed to those interested, to be filled up by them, and to be returned to the clergyman; o it might be done by the clergyman himself, on inquiry of the parties. After the