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THE CHURCH ON THE GREEN
Gc 974.602 W27d 1513949
M.C
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01150 7396
THE CHURCH ON THE GREEN
THE CHURCH ON THE GREEN
THE CHURCH ON C THE GREEN
The first Two Centuries of the First Congregational Church at Washington, Connecticut 1741-1941
by
WILBUR STONE DEMING
HARTFORD BRENTANO'S 1941
Copyright, 1941, by Wilbur Stone Deming
Designed by Laurence Gomme Printed in the U. S. A. by H. Wolff, New York
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1513949
TO ALL THOSE who, in the years that have gone, have given themselves to the work and fellowship of this church and who have thus helped to make it a vital in- fluence in this community.
Preface
T HE KEEN INTEREST of many residents of Washington in the history of their town has made possible the writing of this book. It would not be possible to mention by name all who have explored or written about the history of this com- munity. To Miss Amy Kenyon, Mrs. A. C. Titus and many others I am under deep obligation. Much laborious spade work has been done by them and I have reaped the fruits of their labors. A book that was solely dependent upon church records and resolutions would necessarily be dull and techni- cal. The town history papers kept in the Gunn Memorial Library are of great value to any one who would understand the history of this town.
This book is primarily the story of a New England Con- gregational Church during two centuries of its life. The sub- stance of the book has been largely determined by the records of the Ecclesiastical Society and of the church, supplemented by other material as mentioned above. Readers will note that a great deal of information has been left out of the book. This can be explained on the basis that the records are by no means complete. It can also be explained on the simple ground of the impossibility of putting everything in. In fact
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PREFACE
it has been the desire of the writer to trace the story of the church in its significant developments and interests rather than to quote statistics or discuss routine matters. The author would therefore apologize to all those who may feel that insufficient attention has been paid to what this or that person may have done on behalf of the church. He readily recognizes the many limitations of the book.
Indirectly this narrative endeavors to observe the Ameri- can scene in its various national epochs in terms of this particular community. True enough, the members of the First Congregational Church of Washington have been but one segment of this community. Yet they have been typical of the community as a whole and in the early days the affairs of the church and the town were closely identified. In fact, until the incorporation of Washington as a separate town in 1779, Judea was a parish under the authority of the committees appointed by the members of the Ecclesiastical Society and of the church.
I wish to thank all those who have given generously of their time and of their advice in the preparation of this book. A number have kindly put at my disposal old letters or records which are in their possession. I am under obligation to Joseph I. West and to John Trevor of Yale University for assistance in the preparation of photographs. A word of appreciation is due to those members of the Bi-Centenary Committee who have aided in the publication of this book. I wish to thank all the subscribers who by their loyal support have made the publication possible. I want to express my sin- cere appreciation to Laurence Gomme for his generous assistance in preparing the book for publishing.
My thanks are also due to S. Ford Seeley and Dr. F. W. Wersebe for their generous help in the securing of sub-
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PREFACE
scriptions, and to Mrs. Ruth Hollister for her aid in pre- paring the index.
Readers will note certain items in the book not directly related to the history of the Congregational Church. It was thought that their inclusion would add to the general interest.
The writing of the book has been a labor of love. No one can perform such a task without coming to have a new ap- preciation of the years that have gone and of the men and women whose sacrifices and services have given us our great American and Christian heritage.
WILBUR S. DEMING.
April 30, 1941.
MINISTERS OF THE FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF WASHINGTON
REUBEN JUDD 1742 to 1747
DANIEL BRINSMADE
1748 to 1793
NOAH MERWIN
COLLEAGUE OF MR. BRINSMADE
1785 to 1795
HERBERT B. TURNER
1884 to 1892
1933 to 1935
CYRUS W. GRAY
1813 to 1815
ROBERT E. CARTER 1894 to 1925
STEPHEN MASON 1818 to 1828
PASTOR EMERITUS TO TERTIUS VAN DYKE
GORDON HAYES
HAMISH C. MATHEW
ACTING PASTOR
EPHRAIM LYMAN 1852 to 1863
W. H. H. MURRAY 1863 to 1864
WILLIS S. COLTON 1866 to 1876
GEORGE S. THRALL 1877 to 1881
WILLIAM CRAWFORD
1882 to 1883
EBENEZER PORTER 1795 to 1811
1829 to 1851
1925 to 1935
WILBUR S. DEMING 1935
Contents
1. The State and the Steeple 3
2. Backgrounds of the Church 17
3. Establishing the Church 27
4. The Colonial Era 37
5. The War of Independence 53
6. The Turn of the Century 61
7. Revivals 79
8. Church Discipline 86
9. The Church and the Indians 99
10. The Slavery Issue 112
11. Civil War Days 124
12. Years of Continuing Growth 143
13. Mr. Carter's Pastorate 162
14. Recent Events 179
15. The Church and the Schools 196
16. The Parish House 209
17. Looking Forward 219
Index 227
Illustrations
The Church on the Green frontispiece
The Former Exterior of the Church facing page 14
The Former Interior of the Church 15
Ebenezer Porter 30
Stephen Mason 31
Gordon Hayes 46
Samuel W. Pond 47
Gideon H. Pond 62
Ephraim Lyman 63
William H. M. Murray
94
Willis S. Colton 95
George S. Thrall 110
William Crawford 126
Herbert B. Turner
127
The Hall on the Green 142
Robert E. Carter 158
Tertius Van Dyke
159
Wilbur S. Deming
174
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ILLUSTRATIONS
The Interior of the Church
175
The Parish House 190
The Parsonage 191
The Gunn Memorial Library 206
St. John's Church 207
THE CHURCH ON THE GREEN
1
CHAPTER ONE
The State and the Steeple
T HERE IS no feature of the Connecticut countryside more familiar to the traveler than the church steeple, reach- ing above the spreading elms or silhouetted against the evening sky. One may indeed think of the steeple as a symbol of the state, a state founded by a church-loving people. For no sooner had homes been established in a given area by a group of pioneer colonists than they began to think about the construction of a meeting-house. From the earliest days, the church was the center of village life and loyalty. The steeple looked down upon the people and reminded them of their God.
The settling of the state is a romantic story, a story of courage and incredible hardships and persistent faith. It is a story of hills and rivers, of forests and stones, of human ingenuity matched against the resources of nature, of men and women determined to carve out for themselves a new life in a new land. It is a story of human liberty that found ulti- mate expression in a great political document, namely, the Constitution of the State of Connecticut. The people of Connecticut are justly proud of their state. It may be small in area but not in significance.
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THE CHURCH ON THE GREEN
It is not our purpose in this brief introductory chapter to do more than briefly touch upon the characteristics and living conditions of the early colonists of Connecticut.
The earliest settlement was in the vicinity of Hartford where in 1636 there were three settlements, at Wethersfield, Hartford and Windsor. The most famous leader among them was Thomas Hooker who had led a group from the banks of the Charles River near Boston to the present site of the state capitol. It may be that he found the Massa- chusetts theocracy rather cramping for his personal re- ligious views. At any rate we know that he held opinions which in those days were distinctly liberal.
Two years later there was a settlement at what is now New Haven under the leadership of the Reverend John Davenport. Being rather prosperous Londoners, this group of two hundred and fifty settlers had purchased ample lands and had established themselves for the purpose of ordering their affairs "by those rules which the scripture holds forth to us." Meeting in a barn, according to Odell Shepard, they agreed that "church members only shall choose among them- selves magistrates and officers to have power of transacting all public affairs of this plantation and of making and repealing laws."
Before many years passed, the sons and daughters of the Connecticut colony began to push out into the wilderness. It was about 1720 that the pioneers reached the hills now included in Litchfield County. It was in 1741 that the first preaching service took place in Judea, now called Wash- ington. In the years that followed, the hardy settlers of Connecticut continued to push on into the wilderness, some of these journeys taking them a long way. Along the rivers and trails, they pushed their way year by year, establish-
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THE STATE AND THE STEEPLE
ing settlements and building their churches and their schools. Those who reached the present Middle Western States called the area the Western Reserve of Ohio.
No story of the settling of Connecticut would be complete without a reference to the Indians who inhabited the land before the coming of the white man. As far as we know they were members of the Algonquin family, a tribe that was inferior to the Indians who resided in the valley of the Hudson. The Connecticut Indian paid tribute to the Iro- quois. It was a cruel age and it is not surprising that the colonists soon found themselves at odds with the Indians who doubtless resented their presence. The account of the defeat of the Indians at Mystic on May 26th, 1637, is not pleasant reading. The victory over the Indians was so com- plete in the early years, however, that there was little trouble in Connecticut from that time onward.
The settlers faced an unending struggle with the land. Visitors to the state are familiar with the numerous stone walls decorating pasture lands. They are an ever-present reminder of the industry of our ancestors who had to wring a living out of the rocky soil. Geologists tell us that the land of Connecticut was not only well sprinkled with stones in its own right but that the glacier thoughtlessly brought down numerous stones from northern New England during the glacial period. To clear the land of stones and remove the tree stumps and prepare the land for cultivation was no easy task.
The people who settled this state were a hardy folk. They were not unaccustomed to difficulties of many kinds. They were a freedom-loving people and descended from the tribes which had fought the Roman legions. The love of freedom had persisted during the centuries of residence on the east-
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THE CHURCH ON THE GREEN
ern coast of England, despite bitter persecution. The early settlers in Connecticut had suffered for their faith before coming to these shores. Their religion was therefore doubly precious and meaningful to them. They had endured because their faith was strong.
In a sense, therefore, they were prepared for the hard dis- cipline that awaited them on these shores. The Connecticut wilderness was no sinecure. Sitting in the comfort of our modern homes, it is difficult for us to visualize the conditions of life that existed during the seventeenth century. It was a cold climate. The soil was thin and not very fertile. There were few roads. Travel was usually on horseback and was slow owing to the hard going. The earliest houses were of logs but were soon replaced by frame dwellings. While each home had a large open fireplace, the dwellings were poorly heated. Food was simple and was cooked at the fireplace. All in all, life was exceedingly primitive during the early years, accompanied by continuous toil and worry over food, wolves and Indians.
Yet their faith was sufficient for the task. They had a pro- found consciousness of the presence of God in their lives, be- lieving that they were instruments of the divine will. In the preamble to the Fundamental Orders, they stated that they were joined in one commonwealth "to maintain and preserve the liberty and purity of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus, which we now profess, as also the discipline of the churches, which, according to the truth of said Gospel is now practiced among us." This faith in God's sovereignty controlled all their pub- lic and private actions. Rigid self-inspection was the rule and candidates for church membership were questioned in detail in regard to their faith. Salvation was not easily achieved and conversion was often of a rather violent nature.
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THE STATE AND THE STEEPLE
The struggle between the forces of good and evil was in- tensely realistic to the Puritan mind and whatever occurred took place, they believed, through the will of God.
George L. Clark, in his "History of Connecticut" relates ยท an incident in which two settlers spent a long evening in dis- cussion of the divine decrees. Finally one took his gun and stepped out into the darkness to return home. The other ex- claimed, "What's the use of the gun? If it is foreordained that an Indian should kill you, you cannot help yourself." "True," said the other, "but if it is foreordained that I should kill an Indian, I must be ready."
It is not surprising that such rigid and almost fanatical views could succumb to distortion or deteriorate into super- stition. The thought still prevailed in Europe that Satan was exploiting the world as the enemy of God. The verse in Exodus 22 : 18, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live," was a familiar one. It is stated that over a hundred thousand per- sons were put to death in' Europe during the three centuries in which the delusion of witchcraft prevailed. Connecticut was not free from this delusion and ten people were put to death during the craze. In contrast with other places, this small number is a credit to the common sense of Connecticut lawyers and ministers.
In many of the early communities, the meeting-house served both as a religious center and as a civic center. The site of the building was carefully chosen for the convenience of the settlers. The building of the meeting-house was a cooperative venture in which men gave their services as a labor of love. The "raising" of the building was usually done at a "bee" when all the voters came out to fit the timbers, beams and joists together, after the raising of the heavy
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THE CHURCH ON THE GREEN
frame. Heavy work required heavy drinking and both rum and cider were available in quantity.
We marvel today at the beauty of many of the meeting- houses constructed in the early days. With simple tools and limited equipment, the builders often worked a miracle. Christopher Wren might well be proud of some of the Colonial churches dotting the Connecticut landscape, with their graceful pillars and lovely spires. It may be that some of the master carpenters possessed books on classical archi- tecture which they were able to consult. Be that as it may, we are amazed at their beautiful workmanship.
The high pulpit was customary for most church interiors and beneath it there was usually a pew for the singers. In many of the early churches the pews were square, of the box type. The seating was often done by a committee and ac- cepted by a vote of the community. In arranging the seating, social rank, wealth and political importance were all con- sidered. In the early days the men and the women sat apart on different sides of the meeting-house. It was important that each church have a way of reminding the worshipers that it was time for the meeting. In the absence of a bell, a trumpet might be blown or a drum sounded. But it was the ambition of each community to secure a belfry and a bell at the earliest possible moment.
The sermon was the most important part of the worship service and usually tested the endurance of the people. It is not surprising that our forefathers were called a stiff-necked people in view of their capacity to listen to a two-hour ser- mon, preached in a pulpit well above their heads. In addi- tion to the prayer and the sermon, psalm-singing was a sacred rite. The minister "lined out the psalm two lines at a time" and when the chorister had set the tune the people
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THE STATE AND THE STEEPLE
sang it, the process being repeated again and again. To sing loudly seemed to be a sign of musical talent. As an old man put it, in a religious dispute with a neighbor of a different church, "Well, we'll sing the loudest in heaven, howsomever."
Musical instruments were extremely limited. Neither the trumpet, the drum nor the jew's-harp were of a nature to in- spire high thought or reverence. The bass viol was often used for church services, later being replaced by the melodeon or the flute. The small reed organ did not come until later.
To sit in an unheated building for several hours with a zero temperature outside was a rigorous procedure. Marion Nicholl Rawson in her book, "When Antiques Were Young" quotes a letter written by a Connecticut woman in 1672 to an elder in the Meeting as saying "she and her neighbors have almost gotten their banes from exposure." Among the devices for keeping warm were heated stones, hot potatoes and earthen water bottles. In some places wolf skins were sewed into bags and nailed along the front edge of the seat. There were foot stoves of wood and tin, as also hand warmers of various types.
But winter was always followed by spring and summer. Then the problem was not one of cold but rather of drowsi- ness as the minister's voice droned on like a lullaby, putting people to sleep. On such occasions the tithing-stick was apt to come into use. The hard end of the stick with a rabbit's foot was reserved for the men and the other end of the stick with a rabbit's tail was used for the women.
Marion Nicholl Rawson tells of "Noggin Benny" Sleeper whose custom it was to take a Sunday morning nap during the sermon. One sabbath morning the text was "Where art thou, Oh sleeper"? Toward the end of the sermon the minis- ter reiterated the question in ringing tones which awakened
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THE CHURCH ON THE GREEN
the sleepers. From a northside aisle came an unconscious and guttural response : "Makin' wooden noggins, you old devil you-what be you wanting"?
The minister occupied a position of leadership in the com- munity and held a high place in the esteem of the people. He usually was the scholar of the area and did the work of the historian, keeping the record of local happenings. Prepara- tion for the ministry was usually obtained in the library of an older preacher with whom the student studied. When a minister was called to a particular church, a settlement was made with him, this being the financial arrangement between him and the church members. Money was scarce and there- fore the settlement often included payment in grain, wood and various items of food. It was customary to have donation parties when the parson's wood or food were running low. People placed the parson in a special category and thought of him as a charge to be kept. In the diary of a parishioner of the seventeenth century is this item : "Ponder more on ye godly discourse of Mr. Whiting touching sanctification and kerry him a load of woode."
Modern historians have poked considerable fun at the "blue laws" of early New England. The writer recalls a police commissioner in Boston who attempted to revive some of these early laws and who was soon replaced by a more modern-minded commissioner. Much of the publicity con- cerning the severity of early Connecticut laws was due to the history written by an Episcopal minister of Connecticut named Samuel Peters who held strong loyalist convictions and returned to England in 1774. Among the laws he listed were the following: "It was criminal for a mother to kiss her infant on the Sabbath-day"; "No one shall read Common Prayer, keep Christmas or Saints-days, make mince pies,
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THE STATE AND THE STEEPLE
dance, play cards or play on any instrument of music except the drum, trumpet and Jews' harp."
Calm judgment makes it clear that Peters' history was an exaggerated account because of his personal bias. Yet it is also clear that there were numerous laws of a repressive nature. Laws governing the keeping of the Sabbath were especially strict. The Sabbath really began on Saturday afternoon and from that time forward all unnecessary activities were to be suspended.
In the early days of the colonies it was not the custom for the minister to perform the marriage ceremony. This was usually done by a magistrate or one specially authorized to do it. It was not until the beginning of the 18th century that the Puritan minister assumed the function of solemnizing marriages.
In a somewhat similar manner, there were no religious services at a funeral in early New England. Perhaps this was due to the desire to break away from the custom of the Roman Church to say prayers for the dead. Lechford has given a picture of a funeral of New England in the 17th cen- tury, in the following terms : "At burials nothing is read, nor any funeral sermon made, but all the neighborhood or a goodly company of them come together by tolling of the bell, and carry the dead solemnly to his grave, and then stand by him while he is buried. The ministers are most com- monly present."
It must not be thought, however, that life for our Puritan forefathers was entirely a somber or drab affair. Human nature has a way of asserting itself and breaking through whatever barriers are seeking to bind it. This was true in early Connecticut. In pioneering days the "bee" was a popular form of community cooperation. It was a country
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THE CHURCH ON THE GREEN
gathering when neighbors came together to give a helping hand to one of their number who had a task too big for his own strength, or possibly for some improvement in the country-side. It was usually an all-day affair and accom- panied by a good deal of work as well as a good deal of play. There were bees for log-rolling and stump pulling, for barn and house raising and for breaking out the winter roads after a blizzard. There were bees for chopping a winter supply of wood and for removing large stones from a clear- ing. The women prepared a hot meal for every one and the young people were there to get all the fun possible. In moments of relaxation there would be the country dancing with the hornpipes and the reels.
In spite of the Puritan laws, there was a great love of dancing and many were the folk dances created in the early days, with the ladies lined up on one side and the gentlemen on the other. There was great competition among the fiddlers and prizes were sometimes given to the best fiddler in the county. Popular jig tunes of the early days are still familiar to lovers of the country dance, such as "Turkey and the Straw" and "Pop Goes the Weasel."
The early Puritans were fond of wit and of puns and used to chaff each other with a dry sort of humor. They found great amusement in outwitting each other in a business deal. "Boys will always be boys" and this was no less true in early Connecticut. Pioneer boys were fond of pranks as are boys today. They enjoyed contests in which they could compete in feats of strength and muscle. They lifted heavy weights and shattered distant objects with a gun. To be the "strong man" of a community was a great honor for any man. Wrestling matches were common. In lighter moments, boys loved to steal gates and hide them a mile away or paint front
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THE STATE AND THE STEEPLE
doors with maple syrup or roll a bucket of water under a neighbor's door. Winter sports were always popular, such as skating and sliding down hill.
Although magistrates often denounced shows as a waste of time, people were hungry for amusement and flocked to exhibitions of various kinds. The tavern was a favorite place for the performances of petty fakirs and the exhibition of amusing inventions. Wild animals were sometimes carried around in ox carts and exhibited to admiring crowds. But it was not until after the Revolutionary War that theatrical performances began to make their appearance in the larger towns and even then there was strong opposition on the part of clergymen. It must be confessed that the punishment of offenders was often a form of diversion of a rather cruel nature. The publicity given to such punishment was due to the idea that it would prove a warning to others.
During the eighteenth century the lottery was a popular form of amusement and apparently had the sanction of the community as a whole. Reputable citizens bought and sold tickets. Many schemes for public benefit were conducted and assisted through lotteries. Various colleges increased their endowments and various churches raised necessary funds in this manner. Bridges and roads and public buildings were built through lotteries.
The early tavern with its bar was a social center for the more roisterous spirits and had its familiar pastimes such as "pitching coins." When the weather was fine, chairs would be moved out doors where there would be sports or perhaps cockfights. The tavernkeeper was generally a man of hospi- tality and always willing to please his guests. To the tavern would come the inveterate peddler with his tinware for housewives. There also might come the traveling evangelist
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