THE TOIVN'S CHURCH AND ITS DIVORCE. 359 



into the membership of the church seventy-seven persons, 

 besides performing all the general ministrations of the 

 parish. He died in the forty-third year of his age, 1740, 

 and was buried in the Central Cemetery. He never saw 

 the meeting-house now upon the Common, for it was not 

 built until 1747. 



Neither did the second pastor see more than the little 

 old meeting-house, for only five years were allowed to him 

 in his unfortunate * pastorate. Rev. John Fowle was 

 ordained December 31, 1741, and dismissed in 1746, the 

 year before the new meeting-house was built. The trouble 

 during his last year of service was submitted to five 

 referees outside of the parish, and a committee of three 

 were appointed to present to them the case for the pre- 

 cinct against Mr. Fowle. 



When this trouble was ended by the dismission of Rev. 

 John Fowle, the precinct began to build the larger meet- 

 ing-house which we see at present upon the Common, a 

 few rods north of the old one. 



It was a plain house forty-five feet by sixty feet, with 

 no steeple and no porch, the pulpit being built where it 

 now is against the long wall on the east side. A belfry 

 was built upon the roof at the north end, but no bell was 

 put into it for several years. 



Pews were put in at first by a number of persons who 

 paid in all, one half of the costf of the building for their 

 pew privileges. 



They were to build their own pews upon the space 

 deeded to them, which is called "ground" in the old 

 documents, but means only floor space, for the same sort 

 of "ground" was deeded by the precinct for pews in the 

 gallery. The ownership of these pews by private parties 

 was a long step taken by religious matters out of the hands 

 of the precinct. 



* He is supposed to have become mentally deranged. 



tThe total cost of the building was ^^3,975 I4-!'. 3^. of their depreciated currency. 

 (See Precinct Records, p. 77.) 



