Page:The librarians of Harvard College 1667-1877.djvu/31

LIBRARIANS OF HARVARD COLLEGE. 25 and those of Natick in particular." In the Columbian Centinal appear some essays on electricity by him. In 1784 he issued a pamphlet to prove that "a publick, formal and explicit confession" was not necessary for admission into the Christian church.

AUTHORITIES: Allen, ''Amer. biog. and hist. dictionary'', 2d ed., 1832, p. 63. Bacon, History of Natick, 1856, pp. 65-71. Bigelow, History of Natick, 1830, pp. 59-69, 77-83. Moore, Sermon at Natick, 5 Jan., 1817, pp. 13-14. Wyman, ''Geneal. and estates of Charlestown'', 1879, i. 44.

1753-1755.

John Rand, born in Charlestown, 24 January, 1726-7, was the son of Jonathan Rand, a hatter, and Mellecent Estabrook. He graduated in 1748. In the spring of the year in which he took his master's degree (1751) he taught for a few months the town school of his native place. By the following vote of the Corporation, 21 May, 1753, he was appointed Librarian: "That Mr. Rand be College Library-keeper for one year from this Day, and that he be allow'd for that Service the Sum of six Pounds, provided He take due Care of the Trust in that regard reposed in Him according to ye Library Laws." He retained the office two years.

In 1756 the town of Lyndeborough, N. H., determined to establish a church, and invited John Rand, who had been preaching there occasionally, to become the first minister. His ordination did not take place until 7 December, 1757. The society voted to give him, in addition to a settlement of forty pounds, an annual salary of the same amount, a certain quantity of wood, and "one shilling each for each soul in town, and to increase the number of shillings according to the increase of the number of souls." His ministry was a short one, for he was dismissed 8 April, 1762. Some time previously he had married Sarah, daughter of John Goffe, of Derryfield, now Manchester, N. H., and he now moved to the latter place. After leaving Lyndeborough he does not seem to have preached regularly, but ministered at times to a few friends of the Episcopalian faith, to which denomination he was said to have inclined. He entered to some extent public life, holding a commission as justice of the peace, and after his removal to Bedford in 1778, being town clerk there and representing the town in the New Hampshire constitutional convention. He died in Bedford, 12 October, 1805.

Rand was a man of some prominence in the communities in which he lived, but in his personal affairs he never prospered. Perhaps his family of seven children and his own somewhat roving disposition kept him in poverty. His friends often had to aid him financially. John Hancock and other creditors at one time signed a paper granting him exemption from arrest for certain debts.

AUTHORITIES : Clark, Hist, address at Lyndeborough, Sept. 4, 1889, 1891, pp. 41-42. Hist, of Bedford, N. H., 1851, pp. 269-271, 326. Wallace, John Rand in Granite monthly, x. 1, (Jan., 1887). Winsor, Memorial hist, of Boston, 1882, ii. 321. Wyman, ''Geneal. and estates of Charlestown'', 1879, ii. 786.

1755-1757.

Mather Byles was born in Boston 12 January, 1734-5. His father, Dr. Mather Byles, was for many years the pastor of the Hollis Street Church in Boston. Mather the younger graduated from Harvard in 1751, and took his A.M. three years later. Other degrees granted to him were A.M. (honorary) by Yale in 1757, and S.T.D. by Oxford in 1770. He was Librarian for two years from 1755 to 1757. It was during his Librarianship that Benjamin Franklin attempted to start a general subscription to procure funds for the increase of the Library. In a letter dated at Philadelphia, 11 September, 1755, and addressed to Thomas Hancock, he expressed great interest in the College and his feeling of the necessity of a fund to provide for the purchase of books. He enclosed a subscription paper to be circulated and signed by such friends of the College as should be ready to give a sum of money annually for five years. He also sent his own order for the payment of "Four Pistoles, or Four Pounds Eight Shillings Lawful Money." Of this gift he wrote, " 'Tis but a Trifle compar'd with my hearty Good-will and Respect to the College, but a small Seed, properly Sown, sometimes produces a large and fruitful Tree; which I sincerely wish may be the good Fortune of this." But this seed must have fallen on barren ground, for no further subscriptions were made nor was Franklin's own order ever collected.

In the spring of 1757 Byles preached to the Congregational church at New London, Conn., and that society unanimously called him, 28 July, to the pastorate. At his ordination, 18 November, 1767, the sermon was preached and the charge delivered by his father. His ministry here, lasting a little over ten years, was much disturbed by the constant quarrelling between his parish and the Quakers in the town. In April, 1768, Mr. Byles astounded his congregation by announcing, in a special parish meeting, that he had become a convert to Episcopalianism, and requesting an immediate dismissal, as he had already received a call from Christ Church in Boston. His salary in the new position was to be £100 a year and a dwelling- house, - more than he was receiving in New London; he offered, however, to return the sum