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A CHRONICLE OF TWO HUNDRED YEARS of St. John's Church
Compiled by
H Nelson Stiles
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GEN
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 02955 2970
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Gc 974.602 N815s Stiles, H. Nelson. A chronicle of two hundred years of St. John's Church
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2019
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A CHRONICLE OF TWO HUNDRED YEARS of St. John's Church
Compiled by H. Nelson Stiles
Published by St. John's Episcopal Church, North Haven, Connecticut Commemorating the two hundredth Anniversary April 24, 1959
Allen County Public Lifesy 900 Webster Street PO Box 2270 t Wayne, IN 46801-8
Copyright 1959, St. John's Parish, North Haven, Conn.
PHOTOLITHOPRINTED BY CUSHING - MALLOY, INC. ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1959
DEDICATION
This book is respectfully and gratefully dedicated to the men whose faith conceived and brought into being St. John's Paris; and to the men, women, and children, who have, under God's guidance, maintained this parish for two hundred years.
FOREWORD
Every undertaking, whether begun long ago or recent- ly, can be truly understood only as we are able to know its beginnings, its development and its growth. Only by know- ing the background, by trying to understand the course of its history, be it a short history or a very long one, can we know really where we are at this moment and where we may go, and ought to go from here. History is of im- mense value and interest, not as a place in which to dwell, but as a road that has led to this present place but does not stop here. It leads on into the future - beyond the horizon which we now see. As we can look back over the road that has been traveled and by which through God's good grace we have been led to this point, so we are as- sured that also by God's good grace we shall move on and forward beyond the present horizon into the future in which the road will continue to open to us.
It is with this thought in mind that I commend to your interest and study, this very excellent little volume.
This seems also an appropriate place to express the very great appreciation of all of us in St. John's Parish for the fine and important work of H. Nelson Stiles, the author of this book, to Mrs. Polly Mansfield Earle for her help and collaboration, to Mrs. Constance Dayton for her line drawings, and to Miss Mabel Ives who typed the man- uscript.
Joseph T. Urban
Rector of St. John's
Easter, 1959
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1718-1759
When the Reverend James Wetmore of Northfield, Massachusetts accepted a call to the newly formed Con- gregational Parish of North Haven in 1718, there was little indication that the studious theologian would become the source and center of a religious rift that would eventually result in his resignation and the founding of an Episcopal Parish in North Haven, destined to be the first in the New Haven Colony.
Originally an outgrowth of New Haven Colony, North Haven in 1716 petitioned the General Assembly for separa- tion. The isolated homes of the adventurous early settlers who ventured from New Haven seeking more land and more room in the wilderness of the fertile Quinnipiac Valley had already begun to increase. The devout colonists whose home places clustered together throughout the valley made the weekly sabbath trip to New Haven to worship, often under hardship circumstances. Men, women and children fre- quently made the long trip on foot when other transporta- tion was not available, returning exhausted from the jour- ney. In 1716, when permission was granted by the Assembly, a new Congregational Parish was formed, then known as North Parish, later North Haven. The society formed was called the First Ecclesiastical Society and it was here that the Reverend Wetmore came two years later.
There was no church building and services were held in the homes of parishioners but particularly often in the home of Ebenezer Blakeslee. When the first pastor ar- rived the church building was only a frame. It was not
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completed for several years and in the meantime ser- vices continued to be conducted in members' homes. The probable date of completion was 1722.
North Haven at this time was no different from other typical New England towns settled by deeply religious people whose antagonism and resentment against the Church of England, which they had so lately left behind, was still very much alive. It was therefore a great shock to the members of his church when the Reverend Mr. Wetmore showed definite leanings toward the Episcopal Church. It was not long after his installation in 1718 that the scholarly minister joined with a group of clergymen from surrounding towns who met at Yale College to study and discuss English books of theology.
For four years his interest continued to mount as he read and studied the beliefs of the Church of England and the Episcopacy, soon to become a source of dissension among his parishioners. The climax came when the Rev- erend Wetmore and his six fellow students signed a docu- ment which included this statement: "some of us doubt the validity, and the rest are more fully persuaded of the invalidity, of the Presbyterian ordination, in opposition to the Episcopal. " This was shocking to a large number of the North Haven minister's parishioners and evoked a written protest. The protest was worded in such a way that it amounted to a request for his resignation. More- over at the annual parish meeting, a few weeks later, it was voted "to call a civic council of ministers and mes- sengers to hear, consider and determine the differences between our pastor and ourselves." Whatever action was taken by the council, we assume that Mr. Wetmore was no longer serving as pastor.
We find record of a special meeting held on January 16, 1723 and the following "Agreed on by ye society that they are willing Mr. James Wetmore their late pastor, leave them upon these terms: etc. . " These terms were evidently not entirely satisfactory, as the final financial arrangements were not completed until December 1723.
When Mr. Wetmore left the First Ecclesiastical So- ciety, several families also withdrew, how many and which
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does not seem to be recorded. It is certain that Ebene- zer Blakeslee's was one of them, for it was at his house that the first Church of England services were held. A short time later we find the families of Thomas Ives, Simon Tuttle, Nathaniel Tuttle, Samuel Brockett and Law- rence C. Clenton (Clinton) associated with the Episcopal movement.
Mr. Wetmore did not stay long in the area, and, with some of his associates, sailed for England in search of Episcopal ordination. Ordained he returned to the colo- nies, but not to North Haven, the scene of bitter action. He went to New York and then to a parish in Rye, where he served until his death.
We have dealt with Mr. Wetmore quite extensively for it is doubtful that, had he not taken his firm stand, the division and newly established 'temporary society' would have come about so swiftly.
There is no actual record of the formation of a par- ish or the election of any officers; however to quote from one historian, "In 1723, at Mr. Blakeslee's fireplace, a small temporary society was formed in sympathy with the Church of England. "
To quote further: "At this time there was but one Church of England clergyman in the colony, and there was not even one 'Church House'. The first 'Church House' opened for worship was Christ Church, Stratford, Connec- ticut, Christmas day 1724." There was no place in the New Haven Colony to which the North Haven group could turn for support, advice, or encouragement. Well founded tradition informs us that this group continued to hold ser- vices conducted by laymen, that their numbers slowly in- creased, and that sympathizers from Wallingford and Northford showed increasing interest.
This growing interest led eventually to a meeting at the home of Thomas Ives. At this meeting the decision was made to establish a Union Church. On Easter Mon- day (March 21st 1740) a second meeting was held, again at the home of Thomas Ives, and the Union Parish was a reality. The officers chosen were Thomas Ives and North Ingham, Wardens; Ebenezer Blakeslee, Aron Tuttle, Isaac
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Dayton, William Walter, Enos Smith, and John Mackay, Vestrymen; North Ingham, Clerk.
There was, at this time, only a handful of mission- ary Episcopal clergymen working in Connecticut. These missionaries were among those dispatched from London by The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in For- eign Parts, later referred to as the SPG. They were spe- cifically sent to a definite location which might consist of a resident parish plus one, two or three secondary par- ishes. In addition to all this they gave what assistance they could to the smaller missions in adjacent areas.
One such missionary was the Rev. Theophilus Mor- ris. Mr. Morris came to Christ Church, West Haven and worked in Derby, Waterbury, Simsbury, and perhaps one or two towns other than West Haven. As far as we can ascertain it was under the guidance of Mr. Morris that the Union Church was established. There is a note that Mr. Morris "made choice of Thomas Ives" as Warden; and in a letter to the Secretary of the SPG, written from Derby on June 20th, 1741, Mr. Morris speaks of having "taken another church into his care at Wallingford, which consists of twelve families. I engaged to attend them once a quarter, which they seem to be satisfied with, for they know it is as much as I can do for them. "
There is record of eleven men being present when this parish was formed. From these, eight were chosen as officers, five from North Haven: Ives, Dayton, Tuttle, Blakeslee and Walter. At least one of the men present was from Cheshire, then a part of Wallingford. Twenty- one more names were added at subsequent meetings.
The first consideration was a church building and soon a rough wood frame building was erected in the Pond Hill area, a short distance north of the present junc- tion of Pool and Scrub Oak Roads. One historian says that the size of the building is unknown, but Mr. Thorpe in his North Haven Annals states positively that it was about twelve feet square.
Historians differ on the reason for the location of the church. One says that it was to take advantage of some glebe land. Another states that it was not for convenience
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but for expediency, - the need "to go into the wilderness" to avoid persecution. Certainly it is an historical fact that the Congregational Church was very much opposed to the establishment and growth of the Church of England, and frequently took strong measures against it. In this re- spect North Haven did not suffer as much as most Con- necticut communities. It would appear that the Rev. Isaac Stiles, who followed Mr. Wetmore as pastor of the First Ecclesiastical Society, was not as antagonistic as many of the Congregational clergy. The Rev. Mr. Lusk (Rector in 1880) tells us that "Mr. Stiles' conservatism and his charitable disposition toward the feeble and struggling minority saved the Church of England people here from the serious troubles experienced elsewhere. " The situa- tion in Wallingford was somewhat different, and in an ap- peal sent by the Union Parish to the Bishop of London we find this sad commentary: "With melancholy hearts we crave your Lordship's patience, while we recite that di- vers of us have been imprisoned, and our goods from year to year distrained from us for taxes, levied for the building and supporting meeting houses; and divers ac- tions are now depending in our courts of law in the like cases. And when we have petitioned our governor for re- dress, notifying to him the repugnance of such actions to the laws of England, he has proved a strong opponent to us; but when the other party has applied to him for ad- vice how to proceed against us, he has lately given his sentence 'to enlarge the gaol and fill it with them'. " Also a most important consideration must have been the geo- graphical location. The Union Church was to draw mem- bers from North Haven, Wallingford, Cheshire, Mt. Car- mel and Northford and, with the roads then in existence, the Pond Hill section was very nearly the geographical center of the area to be served. These, then, were the two most important factors in the location of the Union Parish.
Mr. Morris remained in the area for only two years. His successor, the Rev. James Lyon, took over in 1744, making Derby his resident parish. He also remained but a short time. After this the Union Parish was occasionally
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visited by the Rev. Ebenezer Punderson, who was already administering to several towns, some as far away as Guilford, Norwich and North Groton.
Sometime, around 1750 or 1751, attention became centered on Mr. Ichabod Camp, a young man who was act- ing as a lay reader in Middletown. He was desirous of going to England for ordination but lacked funds. Suffi- cient funds were raised by subscription in Middletown, Wallingford and North Haven to send him and after being ordained he returned to Middletown in 1753. The Rev. Mr. Camp was stationed in Middletown but, like other clergy of the day, also served other parishes. The Union Parish was his responsibility and under his leadership it grew considerably. By 1757 membership had increased to the point that the Wallingford people felt justified in with- drawing from the Union Parish in order to hold their own services in a more central place.
North Haven membership had also grown. Tradition- al records are indefinite, however the North Haven pa- rishioners decided that since the church building was so far from the center of town, and was in need of repairs, it would be wise to abandon it. This was done and ser- vices were once again held in homes.
At this time the Rev. Ebenezer Punderson had been transferred to his native New Haven, and gave three- fourths of his time to New Haven and West Haven, and one-fourth to North Haven. Under his leadership, it seemed that the time had finally come to organize an Episcopal parish.
1740
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1759
1759-1782
April 24th, 1759 is the most important date in the history of St. John's Parish. On this day members of the Episcopal faith gathered at the home of Ebenezer Blakes- lee in a meeting presided over by the Rev. Mr. Punderson. This meeting made the decision to organize a parish, and elected the following officers:
Ebenezer Blakeslee ) Mathew Blakeslee ) Wardens
Abraham Blakeslee )
Zophar Blakeslee ) Vestrymen
*
Barnes )
Oliver Blakeslee ) Clerk
*The original records give this as Capt. Barnes. Mr. Lusk records the name as Titus Barnes. Mr. Thorpe makes note that there was no Titus Barnes, and lists the name as Gershom Barnes. The "Subscription" shows sig- natures of Benjamin, Gershom and Titus Barnes, but does not designate any one as "Captain". Mr. Jacobus' gene- alogical records list a Titus Barnes who would appear to have been about 22 years old in 1759. Would he at that age have been a captain and so well known as such that he would have been designated only as "Capt. Barnes"? Without more authority than we have seen at present, we would hesitate to designate which Barnes was on the origi- nal vestry.
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At the same meeting arrangements were made to have drawn up a document which is entitled "A Subscrip- tion". It seems only proper that we should record it here.
A Subscription
"We, the subscribers, having seriously and in the fear of God, Considered the melancholy divisions of Christ's mystical Body, His Church, which He has purchased with His own Blood, which, above all things, ought to be at unity within, and as much as may be, at all times to endeavor to preserve the unity of the Spirit, in the Bond of Peace, is the indispensable duty of every member of His Body, who is the Head over all things and the Judge of all men.
"Also disregarding the fear of Men which is a Snare, and having in the Fear of God examined into the Doctrine of the Church of England, summed up in the twelve Arti- cles of the Apostles Creed, which is the one Faith into which all her Members are baptized and in some measure acquaint ourselves with her Government by Bishops, Priests and Deacons which the greatest enemies of the Church of England acknowledge to have been the Govern- ment of Christ's Church for 1500 years together, and also being sensible of the expediency and Excellency of her worship by forms of Prayer in public which all may un- derstand, and join in glorifying our Heavenly Father with one Mind and one Mouth according to the Apostles Direc- tion and Command. Romans 15:6.
"Considering the particulars above mentioned we do profess ourselves Members of the national established Church of England and submit ourselves to the pastoral Care and charge of the Revd. Ebenezer Punderson the venerable societie's Missionary in Connecticut, but more especially in this town, hoping and trusting to be at all Times intreated in his Prayers and Blessings and pastoral labors so far as his extensive Charge will admit of; and humbly hope his Labors among us will not be in vain, nor our own, in working out our own Salvation with fear and Trembling; always considering the words of St. Paul - Hebrews 2:3 - how shall we escape if we neglect so great Salvation. "
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This "Subscription" was duly signed by the heads of the families interested. Mr. Thorpe in his North Haven Annals lists thirty-six names, and elsewhere states this to be the number. The Rev. Mr. Lusk speaks of forty- three signatures, but apparently did not list them. The Rev. Cuthbert C. Barclay, in his anniversary sermon, also lists forty-three names and the original records list for- ty-four. The complete list is recorded in the Appendix.
Following the organization of the Parish, the next step was to plan for a church building. This meant choos- ing a site, and soliciting aid to complete the building. The site chosen was what was then thought to be the northeast corner of the green and the soliciting proceeded so well that in the fall of 1759 a request was sent to the First Ecclesiastical Society asking their permission to build there. At a meeting of the Society, held on December 18th, this permission was granted. This act is an example of the friendly spirit existing in North Haven as opposed to the aforementioned antagonism recorded in many other towns.
The Rev. Isaac Stiles, pastor of the Congregational Church, died in May 1760. His successor was the Rev. Benjamin Trumbull. Dr. Trumbull wished to purchase the hill land east of the green. The west boundary of this land was not clearly defined, so the owner, Joseph Pier- pont II, secured the services of Oliver Blakeslee to sur- vey the property. This survey showed that the property of the Episcopal Church was entirely outside the "Green". When Mr. Pierpont completed the sale of the property to Dr. Trumbull, he reserved the plot chosen for the church, a piece six rods north and south and three rods east and west, and sold it to the Episcopal Society at the same rate per acre that Dr. Trumbull paid for the rest of the pro- perty. It is traditionally reported that Dr. Trumbull was desirous of obtaining the entire property, and objected to the reservation. Mr. Pierpont insisted upon it however, and Dr. Trumbull finally acquiesced with the statement that "it did not matter much - he would soon have the church for his barn. "
The church was built in 1760 on what is believed to
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have been the northwest corner of the present property. Mr. Thorpe says "the building stood nearly on a line with the front fence of the present rectory; a drive was con- structed around it. "
"It was 38 x 30 feet in size and faced the south. The exterior was plain without steeple, tower, bell, porch or cross. It was the usual style of the Church of England 'church-houses' throughout the colony before the Revolu- tion. The windows, however, for that day were very fine. There were three long, wide windows on the west and east sides, one in the north end a little east of center, and two small windows in the south end, one for light in the sing- ers' gallery which went half way across the south end on the east side of the entrance. Each of the large windows consisted of two long, wide sashes, each sash containing twenty panes of glass, surmounted by a half circular top sash. The windows were called 'crown-windows', as dis- tinct from Puritan straight-top meeting-house windows.
"Inside, there was a center aisle four feet wide. At the north end there was first a small square box reading desk, above that a small square box prayer desk, and above that a plainly paneled pulpit with a board bench be- hind firmly fastened to the wall. On the east side of these, below the large window and facing the pulpit, was a small plain table loaned the parish for the time being. At the south end of the table was a communion rail with room enough for about eight communicants. The church had no furniture, not even a chair, owned by the parish, and did not have for some time.
"On the west side, beginning at the northwest corner, there were two box pews and ten seats running back to the door. On the east side, in the northeast corner was a plain, board seat for convenience, especially at commun- ion. In front of that two smaller box pews, and seven seats running back to the gallery stairway. The ceiling was about eighteen feet high with plaster finish and no pro- jecting timbers. There was no paint on the building, ei- ther inside or out, for a long while. The seating capacity was about one hundred. "
There was no bishop in the country to consecrate the
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new church. It was dedicated by the Rev. Mr. Punderson on St. John the Evangelist's Day, December 27th, 1761. For this service the church was decorated with Christ- mas greens. The music, under the direction of the first elected choiristers - Simon Tuttle, Samuel Mix, and Joel Blakeslee -, assisted by Oliver Blakeslee, was some- thing remarkable for that day and age. The congregation was sufficient to fill the church.
It might be of interest to note here that for many years "Quiresters" (Choiristers) were recorded as be- ing elected at the annual parish meeting, as were regular parish officers.
Although Mr. Punderson was transferred from New Haven to Rye, N. Y. , at this time, St. John's was without the services of a clergyman for only a short while. Par- ish records state "The Rev. Mr. Samuel Andrews returned from England January 23 Anno Domini 1762, missionary for three Parishes, Viz: North Haven, Wallingford and Cheshire, and delivered his first discourse February 14th at St. John's Church in North Haven, to an audience of one hundred people. "
Mr. Andrews was a native of that part of Wallingford which is now the city of Meriden. In the company of two other young men, he sailed for England early in 1761 to receive Holy Orders and returned in less than a year.
During the years that Mr. Andrews officiated in the area, he did much to consolidate and strengthen the par- ishes under his care, the responsibility of past mission- ary clergy. As an example, at a meeting of St. John's Par- ish held on December 20th, 1763, a joint agreement with the Episcopal Church in Northford "to release the Rev. Mr. Samuel Andrews three Sundays in the following year upon consideration that you pay to Mr. Andrews one quar- ter part of the rate due to Mr. Andrews from North Haven by next Easter from the date above. "
There is a list of baptisms, beginning with April 24, 1759. In the record of baptisms there is listed under the date of April 24, 1759, the baptism of Catherine, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Walter. This would be the first baptism of the newly organized St. John's Parish. There
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is a record of deaths, certainly only partial, beginning in 1769. From 1763 to 1784 the parish records tell very little. The Annual Meetings were held, but the only busi- ness noted is the election of officers. Beyond this there is nothing to tell us of the life of the parish, - its joys and sorrows; difficulties and successes.
Originally monies were raised by voluntary subscrip- tion. For many years the taxing authority lay in the hands of The First Ecclesiastical Society. Mr. Thorpe states that after a time the First Society turned over to the Sec- ond the tax money collected from those families associa- ted with the Episcopal Church, and from 1784 on St.John's set its own tax rate.
For sentimental reasons, we mention again Ebenezer Blakeslee, that leader in religious matters at whose home the First Ecclesiastical Society held their first meetings in 1716-17 and where a few years later, 1722-23, the first Episcopal services were held. The father of the Episco- pal Society lived to see the organization of St. John's Par- ish, and became its first Senior Warden.
His successor as senior warden was Samuel Pier- pont, the grandson of the Congregational Rev. James Pier- pont who was the donor of the "Green". To quote: "Thus was officially renewed the broken line of Pierpont church- men, the known genealogy of whom dates from the year 980. "
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