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1
ADVERTISEMENT.
THIS work comprises nearly eight hundred pages of matter, closely connected with the history of Christ Church, Hartford. It is believed that it will interest many of the Churchmen of the Diocese, as well as many of the descendants of those who were formerly connected with the parish. The history of any body of Christians is also of value to the whole. It is printed on fine paper and in very readable type. The sketches of some of its former members and of some historical incidents in the town will, it is hoped, add something of value to the work. The illustrations are numerous, and in the highest style of the art. Attention is called to the list of Bap- tisms, Marriages, and Burials, comprising nearly two hun- dred pages, which will be of especial interest to the genealogist.
The price of the volume, in handsome red buckram, has been placed at four dollars. My share of the work has been one of love and duty; if every copy should be sold at this price it would fall short of remunerating the gentleman by whose generosity and interest in the parish it is now presented to the public.
Copies may be procured of Belknap & Warfield, 77 Asylum St., Hartford.
GURDON W. RUSSELL.
January, 1896.
CHRIST CHURCH, HARTFORD
CHRIST CHURCH. 1895.
L
CONTRIBUTIONS
TO
Ebe history
OF
Brist
Church, Hartford
I. COMMEMORATIVE SERMON By Rt. Rev. Thomas M. Clark, D.D., LL.D.
II. ANNALS OF THE PARISH By Charles J. Hoadly, LL.D.
III. REPORT ON THE FUNDS OF THE PARISH
IV. ABSTRACT OF PRINCIPAL VOTES, WITH COMMENTS AND ADDITIONS By Gurdon W. Russell, M.D.
V. LIST OF BAPTISMS, MARRIAGES, AND BURIALS FROM 1801 TO 1895
HARTFORD BELKNAP & WARFIELD 1895
F104 H& K7
Gift Jamen
Goodin
F 15 '09
... ..
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
I CHRIST CHURCH
2 VIEW OF CHANCEL, 1829-1879
3 VIEW OF ORGAN GALLERY, 1829-1879 .
19 /
4 CHRIST CHURCH, 1792-1829 . 33
5 FACSIMILE OF CERTIFICATE OF CONSECRATION
56
6 LEASE OF PEWS, 1805 60
7 LEASE OF PEWS, 1822 71 81/
8 GURDON W. RUSSELL
9 FACSIMILE OF ASSOCIATION, 1786
IO REV. MENZIES RAYNER
II REV. PHILANDER CHASE
12 OLD CITY HOTEL BUILDING
13 REV. JONATHAN M. WAINWRIGHT
I4 RT. REV. THOMAS C. BROWNELL
15 REV. NATHANIEL S. WHEATON
16 REV. HUGH SMITH
17 REV. GEORGE BURGESS
305
I8 REV. PETER S. CHAUNCEY 362
I9 REV. THOMAS M. CLARK
20 REV. RICHARD M. ABERCROMBIE
395
21 REV. GEORGE H. CLARK
412
423 /
23 HENRY WILSON
437
444 / 24 REV. WILLIAM F. NICHOLS
25 REV. FLOYD W. TOMKINS, JR.
26 REV. LINDALL W. SALTONSTALL
27 VIEW OF WEST INTERIOR, 1892
481
28 VIEW OF CHAPEL, 1835-1879 499 +
29 VIEW OF GANGWAY FROM CHURCH STREET, 1835-1879 505
30 MITRE OF BISHOP SEABURY . 523
31 GROUND PLAN OF CHRIST CHURCH, 1895 530 .
To face Title Page '
13 /
157~
I66 196 .
220
225 .
245, 255 290
38I /
22 REV. ROBERT MEECH
471 _
475/
T A prayer for the Parish. Afmighty Bod, Who hast built Thy Church upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus
Christ Himself being the Chief Corner-Stone ; Grant that, by the operation of the Holy Ghost, all Christians may be so joined together in unity of Spirit, and in the bond of peace, that they may be an holy temple acceptable unto Thee. And especially to this people give the abund- ance of Thy grace; that with one heart they may desire the prosperity of Thy Holy Apostolic Church, and with one mouth may profess the faith once delivered to the Saints. Defend them from the sins of heresy and schism: let not the foot of pride come nigh to hurt them, nor the hand of the ungodly to cast them down. And grant that the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered by thy governance, that Thy Church may joyfully serve Thee in all godly quietness; that so they may walk in the ways of truth and peace, and at last be numbered with Thy Saints in glory everlasting ; through Thy merits, O Blessed Jesus, Thou gracious Bishop and Shepherd of our souls, Who art with the Father and the Holy Ghost one God, world without end. AMEN.
EXPLANATORY
A COMPLETE, consecutive history of the Parish of Christ Church is not proposed in this volume. The vote of the Vestry passed May 2, 1893, con- templated an Index of the Parish Meetings, an Extract of all votes of importance, and an Ab- stract of the Trust Funds of the Parish. This abstract is embodied in the Report of the committee to the Vestry of January 2, 1894, in which a full history of the several Funds is to be found, together with some other matters not originally contemplated, which strictly belong to a history of the Parish. The indexing has been put into the hands of Mr. Frank Farnsworth Starr.
The Report on the Funds was accepted and ordered to be printed, and it was desired that I should undertake the extrac- tion of the "important votes." This has been done according to my best judgment, and there has been added to these votes such comments and further information as seemed proper as forming, or belonging to, or aiding in forming, a history of the Parish.
This volume, therefore, can only be termed A Contribution to the History of the Parish of Christ Church. I have neither the time or the ability to make it a complete history, but willingly bring together such materials and knowledge as I have, and such as has been given by others, trusting that in the future some one may be found for this work who will furnish a more worthy and rounded whole than is now contemplated.
At the semi-centennial of the consecration of the present church building in 1879, there was a Commemorative Sermon by a former Rector of the Parish, Rev. Thomas M. Clark, now the Bishop of Rhode Island, which contains much which pertains to its history ; and also an Address by Mr. Charles J. Hoadly called The Annals of the Parish, from its early beginning to the time of the consecration in 1829. This is very full, and of great value ; the narration is concise and direct, and the historical information
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CHRIST CHURCH, HARTFORD.
concerning individuals could not, probably, have been given by any other person.
This volume, then, consists of the Sermon of Bishop Clark, the Annals by Mr. Hoadly, the Report of the Committee on the Funds, the Extracted important Votes, with some comments by myself, together with a List of Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, from 1801 to 1895. The interested reader can dig out from these materials a pretty complete history of the Parish, and can put it into such shape as best suits his own fancy ; the facts being given him, he is not wholly beholden to another for his opinions. It may not be always the best way to write history, but at this time, and under the present circumstances, it is the best which can be done.
If complaint should be made that an unnecessary and almost painful minuteness has been displayed in this Contribution, it should be remembered that there is here furnished the materials of a history, rather than a complete history of an early and prom- inent Parish of this Diocese. It is as if the private and domestic life of individuals were given to furnish a history of a town or a state. Not that all the factors necessary to form a correct and compact whole would here be found, but so many of them, and so important, as constituting the very foundation of the whole, that they cannot be ignored or slightly considered.
It is supposed that in common with many parishes there has not been such a careful keeping of records and papers, as is desirable and proper for us as members of a corporation which is to continue, probably, longer than the lives of any of us. The indifference or carelessness which is here shown, it is true is but a counterpart of that which has been found, and will in the future be found, in civil life whether of town or state. If the materials are wanting, if the items which go to make up a correct history are lost, how can our history or future judgments upon it be relied upon as correct ?
To the few members of the Parish from whom information has been sought, the writer feels under great obligations. What- ever considerations of duty may have influenced me to undertake this work, and whatever weariness of labor may have been expe- rienced in carrying it on, are fully gratified and compensated for by the interest which has been shown in it all though its produc- tion, by members of the Parish, and especially by one through whose generosity it is now presented to the public.
The different votes or resolves of the Parish and of the Vestry are prefaced with a P. or a V. as a sufficient indication of their
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CHRIST CHURCH, HARTFORD.
origin. As the work is not broken into chapters but proceeds in a continuous line, there need be no difficulty in determining dates, if the regular procession of years is closely observed. Some such system of annotation seemed necessary. The carefully pre- pared Index by Mr. Starr will be found very helpful. The photo- graphs of the different rectors are supposed to represent them at an age which corresponds, or nearly so, to the time in which they were connected with the Parish.
The Appendix contains many matters which could not prop- erly be included in the body of the work, and will be regarded with interest by the descendants of those who formerly were active in the Parish. The record furnishes the names of those who were members of the Church and were prominent in social and civil life. Some matters previously omitted are to be found in the Addenda.
It may be noted that little has been said about the religious experiences or teachings of the Parish, and that in this respect there is a marked contrast to the histories of some religious bodies. These are not judged uncharitably when it is said that there has been here a marked absence of those disputes on some points in theology which have disturbed the peace of numerous religious societies in New England. A close following of the fundamentals of our faith and doctrine and form of worship, as contained in the Bible and Book of Common Prayer, has had a restraining influence in preventing individual extravagances and eccentricities, which do not commend themselves to the sound judgment of the many.
Neither do I consider that it became me to discuss these points, being a layman and unfitted by previous study and occu- pation for the work. So I trust rather to the sound judgment and teachings of holy and learned men, who for ages have studied to place before us the true interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, and the example of primitive Catholic usage. A care- ful consideration of all of our services will show that we have not been neglectful of our religious obligations; and the Mother Church of Hartford may rejoice that so many of her sons and daughters have testified to their faith in the one and only true God.
G. W. R.
HARTFORD, December, 1895.
I
COMMEMORATIVE SERMON BY
THOMAS M. CLARK, D.D., LL.D. BISHOP OF RHODE ISLAND
[The following sermon by Bishop Clark was preached at the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the Consecration of the present Church, December 23, 1879. On the preceding Sunday, the 21st, Rev. Dr. George H. Clark, formerly rector of the Parish, preached a sermon from St. John xviii, 36. In the afternoon of the 23d, after prayer by the Bishop, the rector of the parish, Rev. William F. Nichols, made an Address, and Mr. Charles J. Hoadly read the Annals of the Parish. In the evening there was a Reception at Allyn Hall. The proceedings of this celebration with the sermons and addresses were sub- sequently published.]
.
CHANCEL, 1829-1879.
COMMEMORATIVE SERMON
Psalm xcvi, 6. " Honor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary."
Fifty years ago the building in which we are now assem- bled was set apart from all unhallowed and worldly uses, and consecrated to the power and majesty of God's great name. I give in full the record made of this event: "On Wednesday, the 23d day of December, 1829, being the day appointed by the wardens and vestry for consecrating the new church, the bishop and clergy, wardens and vestry, assembled at the old church, and, at eleven o'clock, walked in procession to the new church in the following order: First the vestry, after- wards the wardens, clergy, and bishop, where the service of consecration was performed agreeable to the rites and usages of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, by the Rt. Rev. John Henry Hobart, Bishop of the diocese of New York, acting in behalf of Bishop Brownell, who is absent on a western missionary tour. Prayers were read by the Rev. Professor Humphrey, and the lessons by the Rev. Professor Potter of Washington College ; the instru- ment of donation was read by the Rev. N. S. Wheaton, rector of the parish, and the sentence of consecration by the Rev. William Jarvis, rector of Trinity Church, Chatham. The sermon, which was truly eloquent, was delivered by Bishop Hobart, a copy of which has been requested by the wardens and vestry for publication." All the names men- tioned here have been struck from the roll of the living except one, the young professor who read the lessons, being now the revered bishop of New York.
In the farewell sermon which I delivered here in 1855, I find these words: "Others linger near you, who once stood in this pulpit and before this altar broke to you the bread of
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CHRIST CHURCH, HARTFORD.
life. One of your former pastors, still in full vigor of body and mind, is often seen within this chancel, always ready to render those services which are so acceptable to you all, and retaining the same interest in this church which once made him so useful as your rector. If you would see his monu- ment, 'look around you,' for he was the architect of the beautiful temple in which he fashioned your souls to heaven." It is only an act of justice to the memory of the late Dr. Wheaton that I should copy from the records of a parish meeting, held on the 8th of March, 1830, this testimonial without abbreviation : " Among the many whose liberality has been great, whose zeal has been excellent, and whose services have been important, the rector of the parish stands conspicuous, whether we recur to the incipient idea of build- ing, the provision of means, or to the design and ornaments of the edifice, presenting to the scientific observer utility, strength, and beauty, in a chaste combination of Gothic walls, with more than Grecian elegance. May we not also hope, by a just expression of our feelings on this occasion, a per- petual benefit will result to the parish ? While the massive walls of our church shall endure and the records of our parish shall remain, though every eye that beheld the foundation of the building laid shall be closed, and every tongue that wor- shiped at its consecration shall be silent, our record will remind both minister and people who shall come after us, of the practical compatibility of serving at the altar without neglecting the useful and ornamental arts and sciences."
At the time when this church was built, ecclesiastical architecture in our country was at a very low ebb. There were a few seemly and some stately edifices scattered here and there over the land, copied for the most part from English models of the Sir Christopher Wren school, but there was not a pure and unadulterated specimen of Gothic to be seen anywhere. American architects, or those who called them- selves by this name, were inflicting upon the church copies of the temple of Bacchus, with bacchanalian adornments ; modified Puritan meeting-houses, buildings that were some- times mistaken for banks ; mixtures of pseudo-Gothic, Ionic,
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CHRIST CHURCH, HARTFORD.
Egyptian, and native, at the sight of which we still continue to groan. Some of these edifices have been deliberately removed or converted to other uses, and others have been destroyed by a timely conflagration. In our day churches have been erected which far surpass this building in splendor and grandeur of design, but none of them are as far in advance of Christ Church, Hartford, as this was of all others that existed at the date of its consecration. The interior arrangements and decorations were not in the beginning altogether in harmony with the general style of the building; but to-day we have the satisfaction of feeling that this reproach is removed, and though there are many fond mem- ories lingering around the old enclosure which went by the name of a chancel, with its lowly altar, more ambitions read- ing-desk, and still more elevated pulpit, all surmounted at first by a somewhat thin transparency of the Transfiguration, and afterwards by a stained window of which we shall say but little, we cannot help acknowledging that the interior of this church is now for the first time in keeping with the rich and symmetrical exterior, and if good Dr. Wheaton were with us to-day, I can imagine the satisfaction with which he would regard what you have now done to carry out and com- plete his original design.
It is not incumbent upon me to enter upon the earlier and more general history of this parish - that devolves upon one more competent for the task than I am ; but I would like to say a few words of some of the former rectors, with whom I have had a more or less intimate personal acquaintance ; leaving the sketch of the Rev. Menzies Rayner, who was rector from 1801 to 1811, in the hands of the historiographer of this occasion. First in the list stands the name of the Rev. Philander Chase, and will you allow me here to quote again from the discourse which I delivered here nearly a quarter of a century ago : "Some of you can recall the min- istry of the ardent and energetic Bishop Chase ; and perhaps you now remember that wintry afternoon when he preached his farewell sermon, while the snow was beating against the windows in the plain, old wooden building where you then
16
CHRIST CHURCH, HARTFORD.
went up to worship. You may have seen him starting the next morning in the storm, as he went forth relinquishing the comforts and refinements of the place where, he declares, he passed the sunniest portion of his eventful life, to discharge the rough work of a pioneer of the church in what was then a western wilderness." I do not know that any of those whom I address to-day can recall the scene, for it is now more than sixty years since he laid down his rectorship of this church, to become, two years afterwards, the first Bishop of Ohio, and in 1835, the first Bishop of Illinois. And as indication of the estimate that was placed upon his labors here, I quote from a long letter addressed by the wardens and vestry, in 1818, to the standing committees of New Jersey and Pennsylvania : "When he entered upon his paro- chial duties here he found the parish weak and containing scarcely thirty communicants, and when he quitted it he left it augmented in members and in attachment, and with com- municants increased to nearly one hundred and ten." The communication was intended to counteract certain objections which had been urged against his consecration as Bishop, and is upon the whole a very warm commendation of this remarkable man, but it contains the following somewhat peculiar sentence : "This zeal, the subscribers do not seek to withhold the confession, united as it must be (sic) because springing from, a warmth and ardor of feeling, may some- times have been felt to so great a degree as on some occa- sions probably to have transcended the limits of prudence." As there were very little of commonplace in the life of Bishop Chase, so there were no neutral tints in his character ; the lines were sharply drawn and the coloring was deep and strong. Right or wrong, he was not to be easily diverted from his course, and his own strong conviction that he was sure to be right was one of the secrets of his power. He was never ashamed of his Divine Master, and did not seem to know what the fear of man meant. One or two incidents in his life, which have been furnished by a respected clergyman of this diocese, will give a better idea of some of the salient points of his character than any general statements could do
I7
COMMEMORATIVE SERMON.
The clergyman says: "I was a delegate to the General Con- vention at Cincinnati, in 1850, from the diocese of Missouri. On our return to St. Louis I took passage in a steamboat, and on getting on board found Bishop Chase and his wife return- ing to Illinois by the same route. We had expected to reach home for Sunday, but the water in the Ohio was low, and we were frequently stuck on sand-bars, so that we were ten days in making the trip. We had on board about three hundred passengers. The Mississippi was then much nearer the far West than now, and the passengers were of much rougher material than would be found within five hundred miles of the same point at the present date. Few of them had ever been present at a liturgical service, much less seen a live bishop. After the dinner tables had been cleared on Sunday, all were summoned by the bell 'to hear the bishop preach.' The long saloon was crowded on both sides the row of tables, and at the head sat the old bishop in an arm-chair, as he was at that time accustomed to sit in addressing a congrega- tion. Opening his prayer-book, he read and remarked upon the fitness of two or three of the preliminary sentences, pre- paring the heart for worship. He then read and commented in like manner on the exhortation. That done, he said, ' Now, dear friends, let us kneel down and confess our sins to Almighty God,' This was a usage rather strange to most of the crowd, so but two or three churchmen present and a few women knelt. With a little deeper bass the bishop's voice rolled through the saloon, 'My friends, kneeling is the fit position in which to confess our sins to God !' A few more went down. But no half-way doings would answer. The old man roared in a voice of thunder, and bringing his fist upon the table with a force which made everything shake, 'Kneel down, I say, every one of you !' And down they all went, as if they had been shot."
In one parish of his diocese was a clergyman of consid- erable ability, but whose liberality outwent his regard for sound discipline. In the same vicinity were some people who were "in good standing in other respectable denomina- tions," whose character the bishop did not respect. Their
2
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CHRIST CHURCH, HARTFORD.
special offense was stealing timber from the public lands, which was not regarded as a sin, unless one was prosecuted for it. These people were in the habit of coming to the communion in this clergyman's parish, on the invitation which he was in the habit of giving to "members of sister churches to stay and partake with us." The bishop, intend- ing to be present on a certain Sunday, desired the rector to abstain from giving his broadcast invitation, and gave as a reason the unfit character of some of the people who would accept it. The rector refused to comply with the bishop's request. "Then," said the bishop, "I will read the rubric in your face." The rector gave his customary invitation, and, as good as his word, the bishop read in emphatic tones, "There shall none be admitted to the Holy Communion, until such time as he be confirmed, or be ready and desirous to be confirmed." The people of doubtful character did not commune that day. I have time only to add that Bishop Chase was a giant in his way, not merely in body, but in mind and soul; he was the kind of stuff out of which heroes are made, and this is not the material that takes the highest polish.
Much as they had occasion to revere their late rector for what he had done in their behalf, and also to love him for his essentially kind and noble qualities, it was probably, in some respects, a relief to receive, as his immediate successor, in 1817, the Rev. Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright, a young man of twenty-five, the bland and courteous gentleman, who was careful to give no offense in anything, that his ministry might not be blamed. Some few of you may, perhaps, recall to mind his wonderful gifts as a reader of the service, and his singularly persuasive eloquence in the pulpit. In con- trast with the fiery utterances of his predecessor, his words must have seemed to distil as the dew. He was always a most faithful and attentive pastor, full of tender sympathy in times of affliction, and of pleasant cheer in ordinary social intercourse. He remained here but about two years, wlien he was called, as might have been expected, to New York, of which diocese he was made bishop in 1852. As we see,
ORGAN GALLERY. 1829-1879.
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COMMEMORATIVE SERMON.
the tendency toward the Episcopate, which has so singularly manifested itself in the ministry of this church, had already set in - the parish being destined in the course of half a cen- tury to furnish a larger number of bishops to the church than any other in the land. 'On the occasion of Mr. Wainwright's resignation, the wardens and vestry addressed the following letter to the authorities of Trinity Church, New York: "Nor can we in justice to his character permit his departure with- out an expression of the satisfaction he has afforded us in the performance of his onerous duties here, which have been those of the faithful minister, the unaffected Christian, the charitable man, and faithful friend. We need only add, as members of the true, universal, and Apostolic church, that we pray with her daily that in preaching and living he may set forth her doctrine to your satisfaction and his own in- creased reputation."
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