The 18th Century

1734: After years of financial difficulties arising from the creation of the second precinct, along with being in ill health, Rev. Paine was granted a dismission from the church on April 15 and relocated to Boston. His health soon returned, and he became a successful businessman. His son, Robert Treat Paine, would go on to sign the Declaration of Independence in 1776. The Rev. William Smith of Charlestown, a Harvard graduate, was called to North Church and was ordained on December 4, 1734.

1744: Abigail Smith, daughter of Rev. Smith and his wife Elizabeth Quincy Smith, was born in the parsonage (the “Torrey Mansion,” named after the Rev. Samuel Torrey, who built the house), and was baptized at North Church.

1753: While a church committee was contemplating repairs and renovations to the meetinghouse, fire consumed the building. According to Rev. Smith: “Three barrels full of gunpowder were stored in the loft and when they exploded, they made a surprising noise.” A fourth meetinghouse was erected within the year, financed by the sale of pews to the highest bidder.

1760: Rev. Smith added a large ell to the parsonage.

1764: Abigail Smith, daughter of Rev. Smith, married John Adams of Braintree in the living room of the parsonage. The Adamses would go onto become one of the earliest political dynasties in the United States, with both John Adams and their son John Quincy Adams (Rev. Smith’s grandson) serving as Presidents of the United States.

1753-64: In 1753 and 1754, a set of communion ware – eight solid silver beakers and a can were – were given to the church. They were used until 1907, and shortly thereafter were put briefly on display at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

1770: A leather-bound Bible, printed in England in 1760, was given to Rev. Smith and was used on the pulpit for nearly a century. It is currently on display in the sanctuary in a glass case.

1776: A copy of the Declaration of Independence was read by Rev. Smith from the pulpit on August 11. This was the first public reading of the declaration in Weymouth. The Revolutionary War was in progress at this point, and the quota call from Weymouth was 10 men.

1783: Rev. William Smith died on September 17 at the age of 76, after 49 years of ministry at North Church. He leaves behind a complicated legacy, remembered fondly as a beloved and cherished pastor to the church and to the Town of Weymouth, but also as a slaveowner who continued in the practice up to its final years of legality in Massachusetts. His pastorate of 49 years remains the longest in this church’s history.

1787: After several years of struggling to find a new pastor, the church installed and ordained the Rev. Jacob Norton, another Harvard graduate, on October 10. He was a great scholar, a concerned Christian, and a controversial author. Norton was a second cousin to Abigail Adams, and he would go onto marry her niece, Elizabeth Cranch, in 1789.