The churches of Mattatuck : a record of bi-centennial celebration at Waterbury, Connecticut, Novermber 4th and 5th, 1891, Part 1

Author: Anderson, Joseph, 1836- ed
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: New Haven, Press of the Price, Lee, & Adkins company
Number of Pages: 306


USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Waterbury > The churches of Mattatuck : a record of bi-centennial celebration at Waterbury, Connecticut, Novermber 4th and 5th, 1891 > Part 1


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17



Gc 974.602 W291an 1241148


GENEALOGY COLLECTION


L


7


ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02199 3008


C


T HE CHURCHES OF MATTATUCK : A RECORD OF A BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION AT WATERBURY, CON- NECTICUT, NOVEMBER 4TH AND 5TH, 1891.


EDITED BY JOSEPH ANDERSON, S. T. D., PASTOR OF THE MOTHER CHURCH, MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY, THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION, ETC.


NEW HAVEN : PRESS OF THE PRICE, LEE & ADKINS COMPANY. 1892.


1211148


TO MY PEOPLE.


NOT MINE ALONE, THIS STORY OF THE PAST.


MINE THE DIM OUTLINE,-OTHER HANDS HAVE CAUGHT THE CHANGING COLORS OF THE CENTURIES VAST


AND LIFE'S SWEET CHARM INTO THE CANVAS WROUGHT.


NOT MINE; AND YET I FONDLY PRESS MY CLAIM ! HAVE I NOT WATCHED THE PICTURE SLOWLY GROW, ADDING, THE WHILE, EVENT AND DATE AND NAME- SOME TOUCH OF LIGHT-TO WIN PERFECTION SO ?


AND NOW, O FRIENDS LONG LOVED, MY FINISHED TASK TO YOU I BRING. THAT IT SHOULD SPEAK OF ME IN ANY TIME TO COME, I DO NOT ASK ;


BUT LET IT TEACH YOU EVERMORE TO BE


TO THAT GREAT PAST MORE JUST, RESPONSIVE, TRUE, WHENCE THROUGH THE YEARS GOD'S MESSAGE COMES TO YOU.


MAY 4TH, 1892.


JOSEPH ANDERSON.


PREFACE.


It appears from an Indian deed of 1657, and from certain entries in the colonial records in 1673, that the name by which Waterbury was first known was Mattatuckokė,-which means, "the place without trees," or, " the badly wooded land." The name, like all Indian geographical names, was accurately descriptive; but whether it was originally applied to the treeless meadows of the Naugatuck, which are so extensive in this part of the valley, or to some other badly wooded place, cannot now be pos- itively decided. However this may be, the name was used but a short time by white men ere the termina- tion okë (meaning "land " or " place ") was dropped, and the name in its shortened form, Mattatuck,came to be applied to the entire region afterward incor- porated as the town of Waterbury. This territory embraces to-day the towns of Waterbury, Watertown, Plymouth, Thomaston, Naugatuck and Middlebury, a large part of Wolcott and Prospect, and portions of Oxford, Litchfield and Harwinton.


The Congregational churches of this region may without impropriety be designated " The Churches of Mattatuck," and this is the name assigned to them on the title-page of this volume. These churches, although scattered over so wide a field, and not all in close fellowship with one another, are brought into a well defined group by virtue of their common descent from the church organized


1


viii


PREFACE.


at the centre of the ancient town in 1691. The aim of those who had charge of the bi-centenary of the original organization was to have this entire group of churches represented in the public services by their pastors.


The papers read by these pastors, and the ad- dresses made by other speakers, are reproduced in full in the following pages. The addresses of those who spoke without manuscript were stenographi- cally reported. Of the paper by the Rev. E. B. Hil- lard, of Conway, Mass., only a synopsis was given at the celebration. While histories have been pub- lished elsewhere, in pamphlet or book form, of the other older churches of the Waterbury group- Watertown, Wolcott and Naugatuck-no history of the church in Plymouth has hitherto appeared except in a series of articles in a local newspaper. As Plymouth is with one exception the eldest daughter and has been the most prolific of all, and as her record strikingly illustrates the painful pro- cess by which derivative churches and towns were brought into being in early Connecticut, it seems appropriate that Mr. Hillard's transcript of Ply- mouth history should be given in full.


In the service devoted to the derivative churches, two or three of those churches were not heard from. That Northfield had a place among the "grand-daughters " was a fact I was not aware of until after the celebration was over. The relation of Oxford to Waterbury I was not sure of. I have prepared (not without considerable labor) sketches of these churches, also of the church at Terryville and the little church at Reynolds Bridge, and for the sake of completeness have included them in


ix


PREFACE.


this volume, where they may be found in their proper chronological order.


In preparing the various addresses and papers for the press I have added bibliographical and other notes which may be of service to those desir- ing to pursue still further the history of a church, a district or a period. I have also prefixed some historical memoranda, by the help of which the proper place of Waterbury in the early develop- ment of Connecticut may be definitely recognized, and have given a careful account of the bi-centen- nial celebration itself, reproducing therein the pro- gram of the entire series of services. Other mat- ters connected more or less closely with the occasion are given as " addenda." The additions thus made- including a full index-constitute about one-fifth of the volume, and represent the earnest desire of the editor to give to it such completeness as was possible within prescribed limits. In this way may also be explained-in part at least-the long delay in the publication of the book.


In the public celebration, but little reference was made to those who have served as pastors of the First church since the death of Mark Leaven- worth, and accordingly this record of that celebra- tion contains only their names and the dates of their pastorates. Some of these men were undoubt- edly as able and devoted, and as well worthy of commemoration, as those whose lives are here recorded. But the exigencies of the occasion were such that, although materials were not wanting, detailed accounts could not be presented. To com- plete the history of the mother church, even on the basis which the present compilation indicates,


x


PREFACE.


would require a second volume, giving biographies of the pastors of the present century and an accu- rate account of the relations of the church to our other churches and to the large and busy life of the Waterbury of to-day.


JOSEPH ANDERSON.


Waterbury, May 4th, 1892.


CONTENTS.


INTRODUCTION. PAGE


THE BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION,


3


HISTORICAL DATA, -


18


I. THE FIRST CHURCH IN WATERBURY.


DR. JOSEPH ANDERSON'S HISTORICAL DISCOURSE,


-


25


II. THE WATERBURY CHURCHES.


WORDS OF INTRODUCTION, 57


DR. EDMUND ROWLAND'S ADDRESS, -


59


REV. W. P. ELSDON'S ADDRESS, -


63


REV. A. C. EGGLESTON'S ADDRESS,


68


MR. D. F. MALTBY'S PAPER,


72


REV. J. G. DAVENPORT'S POEM,


.


76


III. THE MOTHER AND THE DAUGHTERS.


THE CHURCH IN FARMINGTON, 93


THE CHURCH IN WATERTOWN,


99


THE CHURCH IN PLYMOUTH, -


108


THE CHURCH IN OXFORD, -


I31


THE CHURCH IN WOLCOTT, 136


THE CHURCH IN NAUGATUCK,


-


141


THE CHURCH AT NORTHFIELD,


148


THE CHURCH IN MIDDLEBURY, -


-


153


THE CHURCH IN PROSPECT, 160


THE CHURCH IN THOMASTON,


-


163


THE CHURCH AT TERRYVILLE,


165


THE CHURCH AT REYNOLDS BRIDGE,


-


169


xii


CONTENTS.


PAGE


IV. EARLY AND LATER PASTORS.


JEREMIAH PECK, BY MISS S. J. PRICHARD, 173


JOHN SOUTHMAYD, by MISS PRICHARD, - 184


MARK LEAVENWORTH, BY HON. F. J. KINGSBURY, 197


DR. H. B. ELLIOT'S ADDRESS, 209


DR. GEORGE BUSHNELL'S ADDRESS, -


215


V. REMINISCENCE AND CONGRATULATION.


REV. J. L. R. WYCKOFF'S ADDRESS, 227


REV. J. S. ZELIE'S ADDRESS, 233


PRESIDENT FRANKLIN CARTER'S ADDRESS,


240


ADDENDA.


LETTERS FROM ABSENT FRIENDS, - 253


RELICS OF THE DEAD, 257


INDEX, - . . -


265


INTRODUCTION.


INTRODUCTION.


I.


The first public reference to a celebration of the bi-centenary of the First Church in Waterbury was made on Sunday, March Ist, 1891, at a com- munion service in which the two Congregational churches of the city participated. It was sug- gested that as the 26th of August, the true anniver- sary of the organization of the mother church, was for various reasons an unfavorable time for the celebration, it should take place in the autumn.


On the 20th of September, the question of a pub- lic celebration having been laid before the congre- gation of the First church, it was voted that public services be held on the 4th and 5th of November, that the Second Congregational church be invited to a special participation in it, and that the stand- ing committee secure the appointment of a suitable committee of arrangements, on which both churches should be represented. The invitation was accepted by the Second church, and a committee of ladies and gentlemen was appointed, numbering forty.


At a meeting of this committee on the 5th of October, the Hon. S. W. Kellogg was appointed chairman, and Dr. E. O. Hovey secretary. The work of preparation was divided among the follow- ing special committees:


4


BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.


On public services : The Rev. Joseph Anderson, D. D., the Rev. John G. Davenport, A. S. Gibson, Dea. D. F. Maltby, O. H. Stevens, Miss Sarah J. Prichard, Mrs. Cornelia M. Benedict, Mrs. D. F. Webster.


On hospitality : Mrs. L. I. Munson, Mrs. H. L. Welch, Mrs. H. C. Griggs, Mrs. W. E. Riley, Miss Martha Kendrick, Mrs. J. R. Smith, Mrs. G. E. Terry, Dea. G. W. Beach, S. M. Judd. 1


On church decorations : Mrs. F. B. Rice, Mrs. E. L. Bron- son, Mrs. G. L. White, Mrs. A. C. Peck, C. M. Upson, A. J. Blakesley.


On finances : Earl Smith (treasurer), J. H. Bronson, Israel Holmes, Elisha Leavenworth.


On printing and publication : C. F. Chapin, R. R. Stannard, Miss Anna L. Ward, Miss Helen Sperry.


The other members of the committee of arrangements were as follows : Mrs. Charlotte F. Blackman, Mrs. Cornelia A. Buel, Miss Mary E. Cook, Miss Margaret Croft, Miss Susan Spencer, H. F. Bassett, A. S. Chase, W. H. Cooke, C. P. Goss, Dea. Eben Hoadley.


On the 23d of October a circular letter was sent out to pastors and others, giving an outline of the two days' program which was in preparation, and conveying "a cordial invitation to be present at the celebration " to


all the churches in the city of Waterbury and within the bounds of the ancient township, to churches in the vicinity, to former members of the First church, still surviving, and their descendants, and to friends of the old church wherever they may be.


A list of the Congregational churches existing within the bounds of ancient "Mattatuck" was given, and it was announced that most of these, as well as all the Protestant churches of the city, and also the Congregational church in Farmington, "the mother of us all," would be represented in the exercises of November 4th and 5th by their pastors


5


PREPARATIONS.


or prominent members. The hope was also expressed that the "daughter churches" would appoint delegations to be present at some, if not all, of the services.


The hopes and promises of the letter of invita- tion were pleasantly fulfilled. The committee on public services was so fortunate as to secure the acceptance of all, without exception, who had been invited to take part in the several public meetings, and the other committees fulfilled their various duties with zeal and success.


The arrangement of the interior of the church received careful attention from the committee on decorations and their assistants, and was consid- ered unusually artistic and appropriate. On the main walls of the church, between the windows, were hung large tablets in the form of shields, bearing the names of the churches descended from the mother church and the dates of their organiza- tion. On the gallery across the rear of the audito- rium were the names of the "granddaughters "- churches derived from the church in Plymouth. On the end wall, facing the congregation, was a large and elaborate tablet, containing the names of all the pastors of the First church and the dates of their pastorates, and high above the choir gallery, on either side of the organ, were panels bearing the dates, 1691 and 1891. The woodwork behind the pulpit, constituting the front of the choir gal- lery, was covered with a mass of foliage consisting of laurel branches, and bearing the inscription, "Farmington, 1652, the Mother of Us All," and on the other side, " Waterbury, 1691." The pulpit plat- form was occupied with masses of flowers and foli-


6


BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.


age-plants, and rustic baskets, filled with flowers and trimmed with autumn leaves, hung from the peaks of the arches between the columns on either side. The tablets on the walls were also adorned with masses of autumn leaves.


The only decorations elsewhere were those in the church parlors, consisting of newly framed por- traits of a number of the pastors and deacons. Deacon Edward L. Bronson, some time before his death, began collecting photographs of his prede- cessors in office, and Mrs. Bronson continued the work. Having brought together all that could be procured-making an unbroken series from 1818 to the present day-she had them mounted and placed in two frames of antique oak in time for the celebration. Portraits of six of the pastors-a series extending from Joel R. Arnold to Dr. George Bushnell-were also placed in an appropriate frame and hung upon the parlor wall. Above this was placed a small photograph of the church edifice preceding the present one, and on one side an engraved portrait of the present pastor and on the other a similar portrait of the Rev. Luke Wood, pastor from 1807 to 1819. This last was the gift of the Rev. Francis T. Russell, rector of St. Margaret's diocesan school, who, in a letter regretting his necessary absence, said :


I can do a better thing to show my interest than to be present myself, which is, to ask your acceptance of an excellent likeness of my dear grandfather. I will ask you to insert the dates of his pastorate, and have it framed with reference to the place you may prefer to have it occupy.


Outside of the church, in the rear of the chapel a collection of another kind had been arranged, for


7


PREPARATIONS.


examination by any who might be interested in memorials of those long dead. During the summer of 1891, while the old burying ground on Grand street was undergoing transformation into a park, and headstones were being taken away or buried out of sight, the pastor of the First church had several of the headstones-the oldest and those of special historical interest-removed temporarily to the church yard. At the same time he had the remains of the second and third pastors of the church disinterred, * with reference to a suitable disposition of them in ground belonging to the parish. It was at one time intended that the re-in- terment of these remains should take place in connection with the memorial service which had been arranged for Thursday afternoon, November


5th. This plan it was found necessary to abandon, but the ancient headstones were brought together and placed against the wall on the east side of the church yard in proper order, that all who wished might examine them. The following are the inscriptions upon them :


Here is | The Body of | Thos. Judd, Esq. | The first | Justice | Deacon | Captain | in Waterbury | who Died Jan'y | ye 4th A. D. 1747 | Aged 79.


Here lyeth | ye Body of Mrs. Sarah : | Judd wife of Decn | Thomas Judd. She | dyed Septr. ye 28, 1738 | in ye 69 year of | hur Age.


In Memory of | Thomas Clark | Esqr who departed | this life Novr 12. | 1765. In his 75th. | year.


* The place of burial of the Rev. Jeremiah Peck is not known.


A fuller statement regarding these disinterments will be found at the end of this volume.


8


BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.


Here lies the Body of | Timothy Hopkins | Esq. | who died Febry ye 5th | A. Dom. 1748 | Aged 57 years. | when this you See, | then think on me.


Here lies ye Body | of ye Revd John South | mayd Minister of ye Gos | pel for ye space of 40 | years : died Novr 14th | 1755 in ye 80th year of | his Age.


This stone is erected to the | Memory of the Rev. | Mark Leavenworth | Pastor of the first Church of | Christ in Water- bury, who | Departed this Life on the 20th | of August, 1797, in the 86th | year of his age & 58th of | His Ministry.


In Memory of Mrs. | Ruth, consort of Revd | Mark Leaven- worth | & daughter of Mr. | Jeremy Peck, who died | August 8th 1750 in the | 32d year of her age.


In Memory of | Mrs. Sarah Leavenworth | Relict of the | Rev. Mark Leavenworth: | who died | May 7th, 1808: | aged 82 .*


The public services in connection with the cele- bration occupied the larger part of two days, beginning on Wednesday afternoon, November 4th. The program distributed at the several ses- sions was very nearly as follows :


* Thomas Clark, to whose memory one of these stones was erected, was deacon of the church from 1728 to 1765.


Timothy Hopkins, whose remains were exhumed along with those of the second and third pastors, was the father of the Rev. Samuel Hopkins, D. D., the famous divine, from whom the Hopkinsian school of theology received its name, and better known to some readers as the hero of "The Minister's Wooing."


The headstone which bears the name of John Southmayd is a new one, an exact duplicate of the original, which, when removed, was found to be in several pieces. The reverse of the new stone bears the following inscription : " Replaced | in loving memory | by his | great-great-great-granddaughter | Lucy Bronson Dudley | 1891." The original stone is in Mrs. Dudley's possession.


9


ORDER OF EXERCISES.


ORDER OF EXERCISES.


WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON.


HISTORICAL SERVICE.


" I remember the days of old ; I meditate on all thy doings ; I muse on the work of thy hands."


ORGAN PRELUDE, by Mr. A. S. Gibson. Andante, op. 122, no. 2. G. Merkel.


INVOCATION, by the Rev. Joseph Anderson, D. D.


HYMN: "Be thou exalted, O my God."


READING OF SCRIPTURE, by the Rev. G. A. Bryan. Became a member of the First Church, May 5th, 1839.


PRAYER, by the Rev. George Bushnell, D. D. Pastor of the First Church from 1858 to 1864. HYMN: "O God, our help in ages past."


HISTORICAL DISCOURSE, by the Rev. Dr. Anderson.


HYMN: "Great God, beneath whose piercing eye."


PRAYER, by the Rev. J. G. Davenport.


HYMN: "Let saints below in concert sing."


BENEDICTION.


ORGAN POSTLUDE, by Mr. A. S. Gibson. Fantasia, op. 176. Merkel.


WEDNESDAY EVENING.


SERVICE FOR THE WATERBURY CHURCHES.


" Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity."


ORGAN PRELUDE, by Mr. A. S. Gibson. Cantilene Pastorale, op. 15, no. 3. A. Guilmant.


IO


BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.


HYMN: "Thou Holy Spirit, Lord of grace."


READING OF SCRIPTURE, by the Rev. R. W. Micou. Rector of Trinity Protestant Episcopal Church.


PRAYER, by the Rev. L. W. Holmes.


Pastor of St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church.


THE LORD'S PRAYER.


HYMN: "O Lord and Master of us all."


WORDS OF INTRODUCTION, by the Rev. Dr. Anderson


ADDRESS, by the Rev. Edmund Rowland, D. D.


Rector of St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church. ADDRESS, by the Rev. W. P. Elsdon. Pastor of the First Baptist Church.


ANTHEM: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel." Benedictus in E., op. 6, no. 2. Dudley Buck.


ADDRESS, by the Rev. A. C. Eggleston.


Pastor of the First Methodist Episcopal Church. PAPER, by Mr. D. F. Maltby.


Senior Deacon of the Second Congregational Church.


HYMN: "O God, our God, thou shinest here." POEM, by the Rev. J. G. Davenport.


Pastor of the Second Congregational Church. OFFERING.


For the " Fund for Christian Visitation and Charity."


OFFERTORY, by Mr. A. S. Gibson.


A Russian Romance. H. Hoffman.


PRAYER, by the Rev. F. C. Baker.


Assistant Minister of the Second Congregational Church. HYMN : "Come, kingdom of our God." BENEDICTION.


ORGAN POSTLUDE.


" On the Coast." Dudley Buck.


II


ORDER OF EXERCISES.


THURSDAY FORENOON.


SERVICE FOR THE MOTHER AND THE DAUGHTERS.


" Behold, I and the children which God hath given me." ORGAN PRELUDE.


Adagio, from Sonata, op. 148. J. Rheinberger. HYMN : "See, from Zion's sacred mountain."


READING OF SCRIPTURE, by the Rev. F. E. Snow.


Became a member of the First Church, May 3d, 1868. PRAYER, by the Rev. H. M. Hazeltine. Pastor of the Church in Oxford.


ADDRESS, by the Rev. E. A. Smith.


Pastor of the Church in Farmington from 1874 to 1888. HYMN : " Daughter of Zion, from the dust." PAPER, by the Rev. Robert Pegrum. Pastor of the Church in Watertown.


PAPER, by the Rev. E. B. Hillard. Pastor of the Church in Plymouth from 1869 to 1889. PAPER, by the Rev. R. G. Bugbee. Pastor of the Church in Thomaston.


HYMN : "God of our fathers, to thy throne."


PAPER, by the Rev. I. P. Smith. Pastor of the Church in Wolcott.


PAPER, by Mr. Franklin Warren.


A Deacon of the Church in Naugatuck.


PAPER, by the Rev. W. F. Avery. Pastor of the Church in Middlebury.


PAPER, by the Rev. W. H. Phipps. Pastor of the Church in Prospect.


HYMN : "O God of Bethel."


BENEDICTION.


ORGAN POSTLUDE.


Agitato, Allegro, from Sonata, op. 148. Rheinberger.


I2


BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.


THURSDAY AFTERNOON.


MEMORIAL SERVICE.


" The righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance." ORGAN PRELUDE.


Offertory in F, Ashdown, no. 83. E. Battiste.


ANTHEM : "Lead, kindly Light."


Music by P. A. Schnecker.


READING OF SCRIPTURE, by the Rev. G. S. Dickerman. A descendant of the Rev. Jeremiah Peck.


HYMN : "Rise, O my soul, pursue the path."


THE Rev. JEREMIAH PECK, by Miss Sarah J. Prichard.


THE REV. JOHN SOUTHMAYD, by Miss Prichard.


THE REV. MARK LEAVENWORTH, by the Hon. F. J. Kingsbury.


A lineal descendant of the first three pastors. HYMN: "Father, beneath thy sheltering wing."


ADDRESS, by the Rev. H. B. Elliot, D. D. Pastor of the First Church from 1845 to 1851.


ADDRESS, by the Rev. George Bushnell, D. D. Pastor from 1858 to 1864.


PRAYER, by the Rev. G. A. Bryan.


HYMN : "Silently the shades of evening."


BENEDICTION.


ORGAN POSTLUDE.


Sonata in C, op. 65, no. 2. Mendelssohn.


THURSDAY EVENING.


SERVICE OF REMINISCENCE AND THANKSGIVING. " The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day; the father to the children shall make known thy truth." ORGAN PRELUDE.


Toccata and Fugue in D minor, book 4, no. 4. J. S. Bach.


13


ORDER OF EXERCISES.


HYMN : "Before Jehovah's awful throne."


READING OF SCRIPTURE, by the Rev. J. P. Hoyt. Pastor of the Church in Cheshire.


ANTHEM : "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts." " Sanctus," from Communion Service. Gounod.


PRAYER, by the Rev. J. A. Freeman. Pastor of the First Church in Woodbury.


THE LORD'S PRAYER.


HYMN : "O mother dear, Jerusalem."


ADDRESS, by the Rev. J. L. R. Wyckoff. Pastor of the North Church in Woodbury.


ANTHEM : One Hundred and Twenty-second Psalm. In three numbers. Composed by A. S. Gibson.


OFFERING.


For the new Congregational Mission in Waterbury. OFFERTORY, by Mr. A. S. Gibson.


March of the Magi Kings. Dubois.


SONG : "The Ninety and Nine," by Mr. M. C. Baker. Music by Campion.


ADDRESS, by the Rev. J. S. Zelie. Pastor of the Church in Plymouth.


MEMORIAL HYMN :


" O God, to thee our fathers prayed."


ADDRESS, by President Franklin Carter, LL. D. A son of the First Church.


THE FORTY-SIXTH PSALM.


In seven numbers. Dudley Buck.


BENEDICTION.


ORGAN POSTLUDE.


Choral March, introducing " Ein' Feste Burg." Buck.


The anthem by Mr. Gibson (Psalm cxxii.) was composed for the celebration, and " respectfully dedicated to the Rev. Joseph Anderson, D. D."


I4


BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.


The "Memorial Hymn" sung at the Thursday evening service was written by Dr. Anderson. It is as follows :


MEMORIAL HYMN.


O God ! to thee our fathers prayed, When all the hills were forest-clad : In lonely vale, in woodland shade They worshipped, and their hearts were glad.


Here, day by day, their task they wrought; Here, week by week, thy courts they trod :


Their labor hath not come to naught, And they, gone from us, rest in God.


Gone ! but the echo of their praise Is in the air to-day, and we, True to the faith of olden days, Meet as they met, to worship thee.


Their faith we follow, and their zeal We emulate, assured that thou,


Who leddest them in woe and weal, Art nigh, to bless their children now.


Spirit divine ! thy blessing give : Here, 'midst the years, thy power display, Till dying souls have learned to live, Till all the lost have found their way.


Mr. Gibson presided at the organ at all the ser- vices of the celebration. The choir of the church -quartette and full chorus-led the singing at the Thursday evening service. The tenor solos were taken by Mr. Mark C. Baker, of Elmira, N. Y.


The committee on hospitality made full pro- vision for the entertainment of visitors from abroad. Between the forenoon and afternoon ser- vices of Thursday, a collation was furnished in the parlors of the church, to which about a hundred guests sat down. ៛


15


VISITORS.


The following is an incomplete list of delegates from "daughter churches," and other visitors from out of town. (Names already given in the program above are not included.)


Mr. and Mrs. R. D. H. Allen, Terryville.


Mr. and Mrs. C. I. Allen, Terryville.


Mrs. Chauncey Atwood, Woodbury.


Mrs. Frank Babcock, Terryville.


L. D. Baldwin, Plymouth.


Mr. and Mrs. T. P. Baldwin, Watertown.


Miss Sarah Baldwin, Watertown.


Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Barnes, Plantsville.


A. S. Beardsley, Plymouth.


Charles W. Bidwell, Watertown.


Mrs. Lydia A. Bidwell, Watertown.


Mr. and Mrs. Frank Blakeslee, Plymouth.


Miss Sarah Bradley, South Britain.


Miss F. Bronson, Middlebury.


Mrs. R. G. Bugbee, Thomaston.




Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.