USA > Connecticut > Middlesex County > Middletown > A brief history of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Middletown, Connecticut : with biographical sketches > Part 2
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The New York Churchman of February 1, 1939, published just after Dr. McConnell's death, characterizes him as "one of the master minds of our American Christianity. Great among the great, McConnell led them in intellectual acumen and literary pro- duction." It also quoted Dr. McConnell as saying, "If preaching is not actually a sacrament, it would probably come as near being within the definition as anything could be." The article further states, "The Church has moved into a higher level of knowledge and thought since Dr. McConnell's day, where the new generation of the theological students, even in conservative seminaries, are taught the results of biblical criticism and the symbolical interpre- tation of the creeds is accepted by all. We of today are the in- heritors of brave pioneers who opened up new fields. Theirs was
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the struggle and the pain, the risk and the cost; ours is the larger liberty and the greater toleration. One of these pioneers was Dr. McConnell,-gentle, humble, keén, fearless and above all intel- lectually honest. He helped to make it possible for a new genera- tion to be Christians." Fortunate indeed, was our parish to have had his ministrations for six memorable years.
Dr. McConnell held membership in several well-known clubs: the Century Club in New York, the Union League, the University Club, and the Historical Society in Philadelphia, and he was a former president of the Scotch-Irish Society of Pennsylvania.
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THE REV. A. DOUGLAS MILLER Rectorship 1882-1883
THE Rev. A. Douglas Miller was Dr. McConnell's immediate suc- cessor and the sixteenth rector of our parish. March 1, 1882, one month after Dr. McConnell left, he began his work here, coming from Hartford, Connecticut, where he had been rector of St. John's Church for six years.
He had been in Middletown hardly a year when he received a call to a church in California, where it had long been his desire to serve. He resigned his position here but the vestry were loath to have him sever his connections with the parish, and a committee was appointed to ask him to reconsider his resignation. But his decision was final and he left here April 23, 1883.
During Mr. Miller's short rectorship, he gave full evi- dence of his ability as a leader. He divided the parish into fifteen districts with a parish visitor appointed for each district. He was an outstanding preacher and with his other duties preached in the German language at the newly organized St. Andrew's Mission. It was in Mr. Miller's rectorship that the vestry voted January 30, 1883 to introduce the boy choir, whose services were to continue so successfully for nearly fifty years. It was with the keen regret of the vestry and the people that he severed his relations with the parish.
Besides serving the church here, Mr. Miller held other rector- ships : in Hartford and New London, Connecticut ; Brooklyn, New York; and San Francisco, California. He died in 1929 in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. Mr. Miller was succeeded in the Church of the Holy Trinity by Dr. J. Lewis Parks.
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THE REV. A. DOUGLAS MILLER
THE REV. J. LEWIS PARKS, S.T.D. 1848 - 1912
D' R. James Lewis Parks was born in New York City in 1848, the son of the Rev. Martin Parks and Georgina Clough Mabry. His brother, Leighton, later rector of St. Bartholomew's, New York, was also born in that city in 1852. J. Lewis Parks studied at St. James College in Maryland and at the General Theological Seminary, from which latter institution he was gradu- ated in 1871. The same year he was made deacon, and the follow- ing year was ordained priest. In 1886 Hobart College conferred on him the honorary degree of S.T.D. His first ministerial charge was in the mountains of Tennessee where he engaged in missionary work. In 1875 he became rector of Trinity Church, Winchester, Tennessee. In 1880 he was called to St. Paul's Church, Oakland, California. Following his rectorship there he served for a short time as rector of Christ Church, Schenectady, New York and it was while in Schenectady that he received a unanimous call from our church.
Our records state that at a special parish meeting held April 25, 1883 it was voted to call to the rectorship, vacated two months before by Rev. Mr. Miller, the Rev. J. Lewis Parks, then in Schenectady, New York. Dr. Parks accepted the call and entered on his duties here June 8, 1883. His family, which consisted of Mrs. Parks and himself and their four children: Harriet, Mabry, Philip, and Waring, moved into the new rectory, occupied so short a time by the McConnell family.
During his ministry the work of the guilds and societies, in- cluding clubs for both men and boys, increased greatly and the need of a parish house became imperative. April 11, 1887 it was voted to obtain plans for such a building, and a year later, March 23, 1888, the urgent need of a parish house was again presented at the annual meeting.
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On August 3, 1885 a special and very impressive service was held in the church. It was a service in commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of the first Episcopal ordination of the priesthood and diaconate in this country. It was attended by Bishop Williams and a large number of clergy and lay people. The momentous event being commemorated took place, as has been previously stated, in Christ Church, our first church edifice here.
During Dr. Parks' rectorship the church received one of the most important gifts in its history. In memory of her husband, Julius Wadsworth, Mrs. Cornelia de Koven Wadsworth gave the tile flooring in the church. Mrs. Wadsworth first gave the beauti- ful and costly marble pavement of the sanctuary and, later, com- pleted paving the whole of the chancel, the choir, and the aisles of the church. The work was begun in 1889 and completed in 1891. This munificent gift gave a beauty and a distinction to the interior of the church which is a source of lasting appreciation and gratitude from all who worship there.
Meanwhile; due to overwork, Dr. Parks' health broke down and he was obliged to take an extended leave of absence. During his illness, through Bishop Williams' watchful care and the services of Professor W. A. Johnson of Berkeley, who was engaged to sup- ply for the time, the work of the parish went on with little inter- ruption. In 1889, restored in health, Dr. Parks returned to take up his work which he continued for two years longer. During his ministry the activities of the Parish Church together with those at All Saints' and St. Andrew's were so many and so arduous it is on record that he declared, "Three clergymen would find active em- ployment in the parish." The fact that two of his predecessors, Dr. Goodwin and Dr. McConnell, had broken down in health, because of over-work, would seem to warrant his conclusion. May 14, 1891, Dr. Parks saw Bishop Williams lay the cornerstone for the much- needed parish house. Later that year, although only one-third of the proposed edifice was completed, it was formally opened.
After serving this parish eight years Dr. Parks accepted a call to St. Peter's Church, Philadelphia. His resignation, which took effect October 27, 1891, was received with deep regret. He had endeared himself to the people and had served the parish with singular ability, energy, and earnestness.
Dr. Parks remained at St. Peter's nearly five years. On April
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A
THE REV. J. LEWIS PARKS
29, 1896, he accepted the rectorship of Calvary Church, New York City, a church of considerable prominence. Several of his prede- cessors there were men of outstanding leadership, three of whom later became bishops. His immediate predecessor was Henry Yates Satterlee who became the first bishop of Washington, D. C. Dr. Parks served Calvary Church for fourteen years, resigning in October 1910. He was then made rector emeritus of the parish and was given a stipend for life. After resigning from Calvary Church, he declined the rectorship of the Hampton Parish in Vir- ginia and accepted a lectureship in the General Theological Semi- nary.
Calvary Church was Dr. Parks' last parish, for a period of ill- ness followed his resignation from there, the seriousness of which was further aggravated by the death of his second son, John Waring Parks, after a short illness. He had been very active in his father's church as usher, teacher in the Church School, and a worker in the Men's Club. Dr. Parks died of pneumonia at his home in Brooklyn February 18, 1912, and the interment was in Kensico Cemetery.
Rev. Theodore Sedgwick, a graduate of Berkeley Divinity School, and still remembered by some members of our church, was his successor at Calvary Church. At the time of Dr. Parks' death he said of him: "I had first known Dr. Parks in 1887 in Middle- town, Connecticut, when I was studying for the ministry. For three years I taught in his parish ; the present rector of St. George's was in my class (Dr. Karl Reiland). I was also a lay reader there. Later, after my ordination, he asked me to come to St. Peter's in Philadelphia as his curate. This made me feel that he cared for me as I cared for him, and I was sorry not to be able to go. To enter into his labor at Calvary is as the student carrying on the work of his master. Dr. Parks was a scholar. He was eloquent of expression and his range of learning was wide. With all, he had a tender heart and comforted the people with his gentle sympathy."
Dr. Parks was succeeded as rector of our church by the Rev. E. Campion Acheson.
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THE RIGHT REV. EDWARD CAMPION ACHESON, D.D., S.T.D.
1858 - 1934
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EDWARD Campion Acheson was born in Woolwich, Kent, England, April 7, 1858, the son of Alexander and Mary Campion Acheson. His father was an officer in the British Army and while Edward was still a young boy he went with his family to live in Ireland, where his father was stationed at that time. He received his early education in private schools in Ireland and in England.
In 1881 he left England to take up his residence in Toronto, Canada. Here, he entered the employ of a mercantile house, mean- while studying at both the University of Toronto and at Wycliffe College, the latter a divinity school in Toronto, from which he was graduated in 1888. He was ordered a deacon of the Church of England June 10, 1888 in Toronto. From 1888 to 1889 he served as curate of All Saints' Church in Toronto. July 14, 1889 he was ordained a priest of the Episcopal Church in New York City, where he was curate at St. George's Church from 1889 to 1892 under the Rev. Dr. William S. Rainsford. In 1891 New York University, on examination, conferred on him the degree of Master of Arts.
On June 8, 1892 he married Eleanor Gertrude Gooderham, daughter of George and Harriet Dean Gooderham of Toronto, Canada.
Bishop Acheson's first association with the diocese of Con- necticut came when he was called to succeed Dr. J. Lewis Parks as rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Middletown, April 17, 1892. He accepted the call and served the parish, the only parish he ever had, until November 4, 1915 when he was consecrated suffragan bishop of Connecticut at a service held in Middletown in the church where he had served for more than twenty-three
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THE RIGHT REV. EDWARD CAMPION ACHESON
years. On March 10, 1926 he was elected bishop-coadjutor of the diocese and, on October 16, 1928, on the retirement of Bishop Chauncey B. Brewster, he became bishop of the diocese-the sixth bishop of Connecticut, the oldest diocese in America and one of the six largest dioceses in the country. He served the Church in this capacity until his death at his home in Middletown January 28, 1934.
Besides Mrs. Acheson, Bishop Acheson left three children and six grandchildren: Dean Gooderham Acheson, a graduate of Yale and also of the Harvard Law School, who served as Undersecre- tary of the United States Treasury early in the Roosevelt adminis- tration, and is now Assistant Secretary in the State Department. He married Alice Stanley of Detroit, Michigan, and they have three children : Jane Stanley, wife of Dudley Bradstreet Williams Brown, David Campion, and Mary Eleanor, wife of Lt. William Putnam Bundy in the Army of the U.S.A. The second son, Ed- ward Campion a graduate of Williams College, is teaching at George Washington University, D. C. where he is a professor in the Department of Economics. He is also the author of several books. Edward Acheson married Elizabeth Murrell of Richmond, Virginia. Margaret Campion Acheson is the wife of Gardiner Scudder Platt of Montclair, New Jersey. They have three children : Eleanor Acheson Howard, Deborah, and Jeremy Acheson Platt.
Bishop Acheson was a soldier as well as a minister of the gospel. While he was a student at Toronto University, he was a member of the Queen's Own Rifles and with this company went in 1885 to Saskatchewan, in the Canadian North West, to help put down an uprising of several thousand Indians led by Riel, a French-Indian half-breed. Across hundreds of miles of snow- covered wilderness, the troops marched to Battleford to rescue six hundred persons huddled in a stockade there, defended only by a small band of Northwest Mounted Police. Before the campaign ended, Private Acheson had distinguished himself by his coolness and personal bravery under fire and was awarded the Saskatche- wan medal for gallantry and also cited for the Victoria Cross. Mr. Acheson became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1894 and always took an active interest in community, state, and national affairs.
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When the first World War broke out, Bishop Acheson and Dean Frank W. Nicolson of Wesleyan University were in Rome, stranded with hundreds of other Americans. Ambassador Thomas Nelson Page named them on a committee to relieve the distress of their fellow countrymen and to arrange for their safe transporta- tion back to America. This they did, serving in both Rome and Naples. During the latter part of the War, Mr. Acheson was in France as an active field worker for the American Red Cross and as chaplain for the 26th Division. While serving with the troops there, he met many Connecticut men, among them boys from his own parish who will always cherish fondly the memory of those meetings. Among the bishop's interesting experiences in this connection, was one that occurred in northern France on the outskirts of the city of Orléans. Serious trouble had de- veloped in his car and he stopped there at the site of an American camp and went to the garage connected with it. His car was looked over and he was told it would be ready the next day. Anxious to get on his way, he said, jokingly, "If you had a Connecticut man here, I wouldn't have to wait." He was told there was a Connecticut man with the outfit, that he had gone to town but would be back soon. The bishop waited for him to return and he proved to be William Miller, son of Mrs. Susan Miller, one of the bishop's parishioners. "Bill" saw to it that the car was fixed without delay and, after the bishop and he had had dinner together, each went on his way rejoicing over their unexpected meeting.
On his return to the United States, the bishop was responsi- ble for the active organization of the Red Cross branch in Middle- town. He was ably assisted by Mrs. Acheson who, at her own expense, erected the building in the rear of the Central National Bank for the housing of material and for a meeting place of work- ers. It was the headquarters of the Middlesex County Chapter of the American Red Cross, where workers of all creeds and classes gathered daily to work. This building was said to be the only one in the United States erected solely for Red Cross activities.
In Bishop Acheson's full and varied career he held many posi- tions of trust and responsibility and had many scholastic, as well as other honors conferred upon him. In 1916 Trinity College, Hartford, conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Sacred Theology. Wesleyan University and Berkeley Divinity
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School also gave him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity that same year. In 1917 his own college, Wycliffe, conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity.
Bishop Acheson served on several committees of the House of Bishops. He was also a member of a committee which met with the Legislature in Hartford when Connecticut ratified the 21st amendment to the Federal Constitution. He was chairman of the committee on the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the elec- tion and consecration of 'Samuel Seabury as first bishop in the United States and first Bishop of Connecticut. Bishop Acheson was a trustee of Berkeley Divinity School for many years and president of the Board of Trustees from October 1928 until his death in January 1934. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Ridgefield School. He was a member of the Masonic Order of St. John's Lodge, Middletown, and was affiliated with the Cyrene Commandery, Knights Templar of this city. He also served as associate grand chaplain of the Grand Lodge of Connecticut.
Bishop Acheson was consecrated bishop in the Church of the Holy Trinity November 4, 1915 at a very solemn and beautiful service in the presence of six bishops of the Church, a large num- ber of priests, deacons, divinity students and other friends. The preacher was the Rt. Rev. Edwin Stevens Lines of Newark. Dr. Frank F. German sang the Litany.
At the time of Bishop Acheson's death he was, admittedly, the first citizen of the state and probably. known by more people than any other individual in Connecticut ; and the news of his death came as a sad, personal loss to his many friends and acquaintances both here and in Canada. His funeral was held in the Cathedral Church in Hartford and was attended by about one hundred fifty clergy- men, prominent laymen, and other friends who filled the church. The Rt. Rev. F. G. Budlong, bishop-coadjutor of the diocese, officiated, assisted by Rt. Rev. C. B. Brewster, retired Bishop of the diocese, Rt. Rev. William K. Sherrill, Bishop of Massachusetts, and the Rt. Rev. James De Wolf Perry, the then Presiding Bishop of the Church. Bishop Acheson was buried in Pine Grove Ceme- tery, Middletown, where a beautiful Celtic cross marks his resting place.
Shortly after his death, memorial services for him were held in various churches throughout the diocese. March 11, 1934 a
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Middlesex Archdeaconry memorial service was held in the Church of the Holy Trinity with Archdeacon Sidney W. Wallace making the address. On May 15, 1934 a Diocesan memorial service was held in the Cathedral Church in Hartford, which was attended by Bishop Budlong, the Bishop of New Hampshire, the governor of the State, the mayors of Hartford and Middletown, clergy from all parts of the diocese, lay delegates, and officers of different organ- izations, besides other distinguished citizens and friends who filled the cathedral. The sermon was preached by the Rev. Dr. William A. Beardsley of the Standing Committee of the diocese.
Memorials in memory of Bishop Acheson have been estab- lished in various churches in the diocese, among them a tablet carved on the wall in the sanctuary of the Cathedral in Hartford. This was given by the Diocesan Branch of the Woman's Auxiliary. Also in the Cathedral are two credences given by some of his friends. A credence was also placed in his memory in St. Paul's Church, Wallingford; and a memorial tablet in the vestibule of the Church of the Holy Trinity was given by some of his oldest friends in the parish. Bishop Acheson's family completely redecorated the Church of the Holy Trinity and installed two beautiful sanctuary lights in his memory. They also modernized in his memory the echo organ in Trinity Church, Portland, connecting it with the large organ.
Two projects initiated in the diocese by Bishop Acheson merit special notice : namely, the restoration of the Glebe House in Wood- bury, Connecticut, and the inauguration of an annual conference of the clergy. The Glebe House is the house in which lived the Rev. John. R. Marshall, rector of St. Paul's, Woodbury, from 1771 to 1785. It was in this house that on March 25, 1783, ten of the fourteen clergymen of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut, among them the rector of our church, Abraham Jarvis, met and elected Samuel Seabury, a native of Groton, to go to England to be, if possible, consecrated bishop-the first Episcopal bishop in the New World. The Glebe House had fallen into a bad state of dis- repair and a committee was appointed to make recommendations as to its fate. This committee recommended that the house be torn down and a boulder with a tablet on it be placed there to mark the site of the building. Bishop Acheson felt very strongly that it would be a mistake to demolish the building and asked
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that he be made a committee of one to consider the matter further and report back to the regular committee. The result was that he was made chairman of a committee to undertake the restoration and maintenance of this historic house. He was instrumental in securing the funds necessary for the work and also the assist- ance of experts in colonial architecture to direct the restoration, which was completed in 1925. At the Diocesan Convention in 1934, which met shortly after his death, a commission was appoint- ed to raise an endowment fund for the Glebe House to be known as the Bishop Acheson Memorial Fund, and a tablet was ordered placed there to commemorate his work. This house, which contains articles of historic interest relating to the times of Bishop Seabury and the early history of the Church in Connecticut, is open daily to visitors and has now become a sacred shrine-the birthplace of episcopacy in America. More than three thousand visitors register at the Glebe House each year.
A second project dear to Bishop Acheson was the annual con- ference of the clergy, initiated by him and holding its first meeting at the Choate School in Wallingford, September 1926. This con- ference has now become a regular event, and is looked forward to as a source of inspiration and help. Leaders in the Church are invited there to guide the clergy on matters of immediate impor- tance in the progressive thought of the day. So valuable are these conferences considered by the clergy that few, willingly, miss one.
One of Bishop Acheson's first assignments after his election to the episcopal office, was the oversight and care of churches in rural districts. His efforts in this field resulted in a general revival of interest in the small missions. Places which had been closed were reopened and much property improved. During his years as Diocesan, the number of communicants in the diocese increased from 54,756 to 57,766.
This biography so far has barely touched on Bishop Acheson's work in our own parish, the only parish he ever served.' The material accomplishments during his rectorship here were many and include the building of the present parish house, the new rec- tory, St. Andrew's Chapel, and the parish house at All Saints'. When Mr. Acheson wrote his letter of acceptance to the call to become rector here, he closed it with the words: "I pray God that our coming together may be for the good of His Church." How
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fully that prayer was answered can never be put in words.
It is comparatively easy to record his many official acts and cite material evidences of the success of his ministry; but the larger, more personal and spiritual results of his work are written, and can be written, only in the hearts and lives of the hundreds of men and women who have been fortunate in having him for their rector and their friend. His real monument is in the individuals he touched and inspired to higher purposes, nobler living, and stronger faith. That Bishop Acheson was greatly beloved by his parishioners goes without saying, and it was always a source of satisfaction to them that he knew his people loved him. On several occasions they gave him definite proof of their affection. More than once when it be- came known that he had declined calls to larger fields the vestry, for the people, expressed to him their joy at his decisions to remain here.
On the twentieth anniversary of his rectorship, at the annual parish meeting, resolutions were passed expressing gratitude for the privilege the parish had enjoyed in his twenty years of service, not only as a spiritual guide but as a loving and devoted friend, and also appreciation of the active and loyal cooperation that Mrs. Acheson had always given in all phases of the parish work. After the parish meeting, a reception was held for Mr. and Mrs. Acheson and they were presented with a beautiful mahogany hall clock, the gift of their grateful parishioners. Mrs. Acheson was also given a handsome teakwood screen by the women of the parish. The curate, the Rev. Ellis Dean, made the presentations. Mr. Acheson, in accepting the gifts, made a very feeling response and expressed his love for the people of his parish, and concluded by saying that nothing could make him leave Middletown. True to his word, nothing did, for even after he was made bishop he continued his residence here, and here he died.
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