USA > Connecticut > Middlesex County > Middletown > A brief history of the First Church of Christ in Middletown, Connecticut for two centuries and a half, 1668-1918 > Part 2
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Mr. Collins died December 28, 1684, at the age of forty-two, in the very flower of his man- hood. Cotton Mather, who seems to have been fully conversant with his life and work, accords him generous praise. He says that " all the qualities of most exemplary piety, ex- traordinary ingenuity, obliging affability, join'd with the accomplishments of an extraordinary preacher, did render him truly excellent.
" The pastoral work with holy zeal he wrought, Teaching by doing- doing what he taught."
Mr. Mather adds that he " would have made an essay to have lamented the fate of this our Collins in verse," except that he could not equal the merits of the man, and that poetry had be- come so base as not to be trusted." Later, how- ever, he repented, and committed the folly of writing " An Elegy on the much-to-be-deplored Death of that Never-to be-forgotten Person. Its uncouth and bombastic lines assure us that the first thought of the writer was wiser than the second.
" Pitty, the Church of Middletown bespeaks, Set in the midst of sorrows, sobs, and shrieks."
And this is the close of the grotesque, un- musical rhymes :
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"Save Middletown, and cause the Place to thrive Under Fat Clouds, still, and that Bochim let By thy Provision be a Bethel yet :
Save every soul that reads this elegy ;
Like Collins let us live, like Collins dy. Amen."
CHAPTER IV. THE MINISTRY OF NOADIAH RUSSEL 1688-1713
After the death of the first pastor another was not secured for nearly four years, the long- est period the Church has been without an in- stalled minister in its entire history. It was not till the 24th of October, 1688, that Mr. Noa- diah Russel was ordained, just two weeks before William of Orange was welcomed to the shores of England. Of these years no record has come down to us. On this date is the follow- ing instructive entry :-
" Noadiah Russel (being formally invited and elected by ye general vote of Church and Town to a settlement among them in ye work of ye ministry) was at ye desire of ye Church ordained a Pastor to ye sd Church in Middletown, by the Revernd Mr. John Whiting and Mr. Samll Hooker: the rest of ye elders and messingers then present Approving thereof. Being admittd a member by a lettr from ye church in Ipswich the sabbath before."
Here was an early instance of the usage in full accord with the principles of Congregation-
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alism, viz. the minister being one of the flock which he serves, and to which he is accountable.
Mr. Whiting had laid his hands upon the first pastor, and Mr. Hooker was a member of the Council in 1668.
Mr. Russel was born in New Haven in 1659, the son of William Russel, who came from England to Connecticut. His father, who died only five or six years after the birth of this, his youngest child, expressed in his will the desire that he " be devoted to God in the way of learn- ing, being likely to prove a useful instrument in the work of the ministry!" This wish was faithfully carried out, and young Noadiah was graduated at Harvard College in 1681, after a most honorable record as a student. He was continued as " scholar of the house " after his graduation, and was also employed in " picking out" and making a catalogue of "ye double books in the library." In 1683 he was invited to become the minister of the church in Matta- tuck, the Indian name of Waterbury, Connecti- cut, which then included several of its now adjacent towns. Instead of accepting this in- vitation he was "established in ye work of a schoolmaster " in Ipswich, Massachusetts, where he remained for nearly three years. He
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had several other calls to settle in the ministry, but at the end of his " tryall " period he ac- cepted a unanimous invitation to come to this Church. His salary was to be " one hundred pounds clean current county pay yearly," and a house. A donation of land was subsequently made to him. A vote of the town "warns the inhabitants, when they shall think it is the most convenient season, to bring him his supply of wood, and it is expected that every one that hath a team shall bring one load, and such as have no team shall assist by cutting, so that as much as possible can be done in one day: but there shall be no compulsion heaped upon any one."
Mr. Russel left Ipswich on his way to Mid- dletown March 29, 1687. He came by way of Boston and Springfield, taking five days for the journey. He reached this place on Saturday, April 2, doubtless weary after so long a ride on horseback. At any rate, Mr. Stow, who was still living here, preached in the morning of the following day, and the candidate in the after- noon. He seems to have occupied the pulpit most of the time till November 15, when the town and Church extended to him a unanimous call to the pastorate. During the summer he
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made frequent excursions to Hartford, going once as far as Hadley and "Dearfield." At the latter place he preached, and on his return attended a lecture of Mr. Stoddard in North- ampton, or " Hampton," as he called the town. In his little Almanac of that year are recorded many curious incidents, attractive now by reason of their antiquity.
The minister was not married till more than a year after his ordination, when he was so rash as to take for his wife a member of his own church, Miss Mary, the daughter of the Hon. Giles Hamlin. This bold act did not prevent him from remaining in the parish till his death, nearly twenty-four years after. His ministry was a successful one, though there were few marked events in it.
In 1696, March I, the opening of the new year, action was taken in reference to children similar to that had in 1671. A Day of fasting and prayer was observed " yt God would bestow covenant mercys upon covenant children, for down pouring of his Spirit upon ye rising gen- eration, yt God would give us and them a heart to know ye God of our fathers & to serve him with a cheerful & willing mind seeing yt Joshua & ye elders outlived him are gone, and
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of those worthies yt laid the foundation of this our Zion, there is not a man living : yt the ever- living God who changeth not would give us and them grace & wisdome a holy zeal & courage to make good our and their leaders ground yt we may together Imitate ye good example of those who through their faith & Patience do inherit the Promises."
This was a rare occasion for "owning the covenant," and it made a deep impression on the people. The close of the gratifying record runs as follows: " The number of those yt gave in their names was 93: 55 males most of ym above 21 years of age: 38 females most above 18." Such a response of his flock must have kindled flaming joy in the pastor's heart, though this " owning the covenant " was by no means equivalent to a full confession of Christ. It was a compromise by which persons might sus- tain a kind of relation to the Church, and enjoy some of its privileges, without assuming the en- tire responsibility of disciples of the Lord Jesus.
Three years later, on the first day of the closing year of the century, " The Church and Town kept a day of Public Fasting & Prayer to begge of God yt he would revive his work among us, & free us from that cold & lukewarm
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frame of spirit yt is fallen upon too many pro- fessors of the Gospel, pour out his Spirit upon the rising generation, sanctify his providential dealings, & be with us in ye return of ye year." At the same time a confession was made of sin "in taking away "ye Indian skins," " and two others of violations of the ninth commandment. Some years later a certain man "made confes- sion of his sin in tampering or bargaining with ye Devil, in its several aggravations !"
In the first year of the 18th century Mr. Rus- sel was one of those far-seeing, scholarly min- isters who founded Yale College at Saybrook. He was one of the Fellows of the Institution from its foundation till his death - twelve years. In 1708 he was with the assembly which in the same historic town framed the now fa- mous Saybrook Platform, as one of the three clerical delegates from Hartford County. Thus his influence was not confined to the town in which he dwelt, but reached out to wider inter- ests. Not only was he an intelligent and a devout preacher of the Gospel, but he labored to promote education in the Colony. His labors in solidifying and enlarging this Church in its early years cannot be overestimated. As a youth he had been under the ministry of Daven-
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port and Street in New Haven. He had been at Harvard some years more than the ordinary course of study, he had received the invaluable discipline of teaching, so that he was well equipped for his mission here. Coming as he did in what Dr. Bacon called " a time of greater depression and greater peril in church and state than any other in the history of New England," at the vigorous age of twenty-nine, he gave himself without reserve to the upbuilding of this Church for a quarter of a century, - till his death in 1713. He fostered pure and un- defiled religion in the Church, increased its mem- bers greatly, promoted its intelligence, and strengthened its hold of the community. His widow survived him for thirty years, living to the age of fourscore, exerting a holy influence, and leaving a hallowed memory. They had nine children, two of whom were graduated at Yale College, and entered the ministry,- one, William, as the successor of his father, the other, Daniel, at Stepney, now Rocky Hill.
Like his predecessor, Mr. Russel had the mis- fortune to be commemorated in verse, probably by a son of Mr. Collins.
" His Speech was sweet, & Aspect well might win, But greater, Richer Beauty lay within.
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His Head with Learning, Prudence, Holy Art, Firm Faith & Love, Humility his Heart, Peaceful & Meek, but yet, with Courage Stout, Engaged the Fiend, and did him sorely Rout. Oh! with what skill did he GOD'S Word divide: 'Twas first unvailed & then with warmth apply'd. He dealt to each with care his Portion due, Dread Woes to some, to others Comforts new. Unto Christ's Lambs he was a tender Nurse, But smartly scourg'd all such as still grew worse."
(From a poem "On the much lamented DEATH of the Reverend Mr. Noadiah Russel, late Pastor of the Church of Christ in Middletown, who had his Clayey Tabernacle dissolved and his Mortality Swallowed up of Life, Dec. 3, 1713.")
CHAPTER V. THE MINISTRY OF WILLIAM RUSSEL 1715-1761
The Church was now a year and a half with- out a pastor, excepting its last vacancy, the longest period the pastorate has ever been un- filled. During this time the Church at the Upper Houses was formed. The people there built a house of worship in 1703, though they had no organization till January 5, 1715. Of their twenty-three original members, twenty were from the mother Church, one from some other, and " two were taken from the world."
Mr. William Russel, the oldest child of the former pastor, was ordained here June 1, 1715, being " called by a unanimous vote of this South Society and Church therein to the work of the ministry among them." This was long be- fore there was any other society here, and that at the Upper Houses was, owing to its location, the North Society. Mr. Russel was born in 1690, and had the inestimable advantage of his
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father's example and training. He was grad- uated at Yale College in Saybrook in 1709, and hence had been four years out of College when his father entered into rest. At the time of his father's lamented departure he was a tutor in his Alma Mater. From 1745 till his death in 1761 he was a Fellow of the College. He was here four years after his ordination before he was married, doubtless living with his mother, being greatly helped by her wise counsel and tender sympathy. Thus, in many ways, he was admirably prepared for his remarkable period of service in this Church. Mr. Russel married in 1719 Miss Mary Pierpont, daughter of the Rev. James Pierpont, of New Haven, and Mary Hooker, a granddaughter of Thomas Hooker, the renowned first pastor in Hartford. Her father was noted for his wisdom, his gentleness, and his fidelity,- one of the noblest men whose names adorn the early annals of New England. Her sister, Sarah Pierpont, in 1727 became the wife of Jonathan Edwards, the eminent preacher and masterly theologian, whose name has given to America so enviable a distinction. A model of Christian prudence, humility, and activity, she was, says Dr. Bacon, "like a ministering angel to her husband, who could
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never have fulfilled his destiny without her." Here, again, was a large addition to the equip- ment of Mr. Russel for the responsible position to which he was summoned. His wife, like her better known sister, became a tower of strength to her husband.
The very year in which William Russel be- came the pastor of the Church a new house of worship was erected on High Street, near the head of what is now Church Street. This was a strange location, far from the centre of the population, and still farther from the settlement of the Upper Houses. But the site was chosen by lot, as the people could not otherwise agree where it should stand. Though the place was one where no person desired the house to be reared, yet such was their reverence for the lot, as indicating the will of God, they held sacredly and amicably to its decision. The edifice was sixty feet long and forty feet wide, two stories in height, with spacious galleries. No picture of it has come down to us, yet tradition reports it to have been an ungainly structure. After twenty-five years it was outgrown, and an addi- tion eighteen feet in width was stretched along the westerly side of it. "The house was then," says the Rev. Enoch Huntington, who preached
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in it thirty-eight years, "almost sixty feet square, capacious indeed, but of uncouth appear- ance, and very ill accommodated for the advan- tage of the speaker, the Shape, the Beams & pillars, & the whole Architecture, Position & construction of the various Parts being such as very much to obstruct, rather than in any measure to assist the voice." Thus it appears that modern architects are not the only ones who are guilty of planning auditoriums unsuited to their purpose.
The course of Mr. Russel's ministry was quite uniform for twenty years. The average num- ber of accessions to the Church was about seven. There were cases of discipline now and then, but they did not seem to disturb the even tenor of the Church's life. In 1717 a woman made confession of "her bad and wicked words." The same year there was a case of persistent intemperance. In 1726 "Job, negroe, offered a confession for his abusing his master and mistress, which the Church took into their con- sideration." Three years later there was a public acknowledgement of the " sins of injus- tice and quarrelling.' " These sins, and others of a worse nature, do not seem to have been less frequent in the "good old days" than they
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are at present. The Church was more strict in its dealings with them, and hence they occupy considerable space in musty records. Yet we should be careful not to draw unfair inferences from them as to the prevalence of iniquity in former times. In 1720 two persons from Ston- ington were baptized here, as there was no minister in that town. Indeed, the entries of baptisms are the principal ones in the early records of the Church. The "Half Way Covenant " made it easy to secure this Christian rite without entire allegiance to Christ.
The principal events of this long pastorate were the ample ingatherings between the years 1736 and 1742. In 1734 began the wonderful work of grace in Northampton under the preaching of Jonathan Edwards. The next year, says Mr. Edwards, "the town seemed to be full of the presence of God." The fire of the Lord spread through many towns in the valley of the Connecticut, and its heat was to some extent felt here. Of course, the pastor, familiar as he was with Mr. Edwards, must have been profoundly stirred by what God did through him in Northampton, where it was estimated that three hundred persons were con- verted in the space of half a year. And the re-
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sults of this quickening soon began to appear in the harvests he gathered. In 1737 he received nineteen persons on confession of their faith, a larger number than in any previous year of his ministry. In 1738 he received seventeen in the same manner. In 1741 thirty-five persons con- fessed Christ, fifteen of them being heads of families. In 1742 the number rose to sixty- eight. The abundant fruitage of these last two years was doubtless owing in large measure, on the human side, to the mighty influence of George Whitefield. This eloquent preacher came to New England in 1740, and went through its length and breadth conquering and to conquer. After his unprecedented triumphs in Boston and Eastern New England, he came to Northampton, where the flames of revival had already broken out afresh, and where he had sweet converse with Edwards. On his way thence to New Haven, the superb orator thrilled the people of Middletown and its vicinity with his fiery eloquence, bringing not a few of them to own the claims of Christ. A warm friend- ship is said to have sprung up between Mr. Whitefield and the pastor of this Church.
These years witnessed the last considerable accessions in the pastorate of William Russel.
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For its remaining years only three or four mem- bers were welcomed annually.
Mr. Russel was the Scribe of the General Association of Connecticut in 1743 and 1744, its Moderator in 1750, and preached its annual sermon in 1759. In 1730 he was the preacher before the General Assembly of the Colony, at Hartford. The intimate relation between the Church and the State in those days is seen in the subject of the sermon on that occasion, viz. The Decay of Love to God in Churches. In this discourse he uttered many wholesome truths to the legislators. Among other forcible sentences he uttered the following: " Vigor- ously improve your Authority and the Power committed to you, to punish and suppress pro- faneness, Drunkenness, Uncleanness and Un- righteousness, &c. that so Evil may be taken away from the midst of us, viz. that the Publick may not contract guilt, by those Evil things that are done among us. Bear not the Sword in vain ; but as the ministers of God, execute wrath upon them that do Evil. Direct and Encour- age Inferior Officers, And indeavour that the Law shall attain its end, to defend and relieve the Innocent and Righteous, and to detect and punish the Guilty and Evil-doer: And that no
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wiles shall prevent right Judgment going forth. Be Eyes to the blind, and Feet to the lame, and a Defence to the poor and helpless, against them that are too mighty and crafty for them. Brake the jaws of the wicked, and pluck the spoil out of his teeth. Take heed what you do, for ye Judge not for man, but for the Lord; who is with you in the Judgment. Wherefore now, let the fear of the Lord be upon you, take heed and do it: for there is no Iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor tak- ing of Gifts."
Thus it appears that Temperance legislation is not wholly a modern idea, and that immoral- ity of every sort was long ago so prevalent as to demand legal restraint. Also, that regard for the rights of labor and for all that are oppressed existed in the eighteenth century, as well as in the twentieth.
Another sermon of Mr. Russel's has come down to us which is peculiarly appropriate to the present time. It was preached at the re- quest of Captain John Sumner May 25, 1760, the year following the capture of Quebec by the English. Its subject was - The Duty of an ARMY of Professing Christians, when going forth against their Enemies: And of the BODY
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of the PEOPLE. The text (Deut. xxiii. 9.) " When the Host goeth forth against thine Enemies, then keep thee from every wicked Thing," was aptly chosen.
The sermon was replete with Christian ad- monition to soldiers and it warned them not to be puffed up with " last Year's Success." There is space here for only a few of its sagacious counsels :
" Do not forget or neglect to pray to God in secret : Don't neglect the publick Prayers and Preaching, that will be among you when you may attend them. Remember the Sabbath as the Lord's Day, and Holy Time: and don't needlessly, or unnecessarily, prophane it : Let no prophane or corrupt Communication, proceed out of your Mouths. Remember you are listed under Jesus Christ, as the Captain of your Sal- vation: and thereby obliged to depart from Iniquity and follow him : If you fall in with your Lusts and Temptations, disobey Christ's Orders and depart from following him; he will look upon you as deserters, and treat you accord- ingly." Here was plain and wholesome instruc- tion for Christians in any situation, especially for those away from the privileges and the re- straints of home life. It is not strange that
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Captain Sumner, Christian soldier that he was, with many others, desired the publication of the discourse.
William Russel died June, 1761, at the ripe age of seventy, on the anniversary of his ordina- tion, having completed exactly forty-six years of service here. His accomplished wife had passed from earth in 1740. They had nine children, four sons and five daughters. His oldest daughter, Mary, married Matthew Tall- cott of Middletown, son of a Governor of Con- necticut. His oldest son, William, was edu- cated at Yale, and was a Tutor there for two years. He was afterwards a minister of the Gospel at Windsor. Noadiah, the third son, was also educated at Yale, and became a min- ister in Thompson, Connecticut.
Whitefield called Mr. Russel " an Israelite in- deed." Mr. Trumbull says " He was a gentle- man of great respectability for knowledge, ex- perience, moderation, and for pacific measures, on all occasions." His epitaph in the old Riv- erside Cemetery, speaks of him as " A man of God, eminent for wisdom, prudence and meek- ness."
REV. ENOCH HUNINGTON. D. D.
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CHAPTER VI. THE MINISTRY OF ENOCH HUNTINGTON 1762-1809
The ministry of Enoch Huntington, the long- est up to that time in the life of the Church, began in the January subsequent to the death of Mr. Russel. It extended from 1762 to 1809, thus covering a remarkable period in the history of the United States, as well as an unusual one in the history of this Church. The new pastor was a man of conspicuous ability, and his long term of service left an abiding impress upon the Church and the community. Coming here at the early age of twenty-three, he gave his entire life thereafter to the work upon which he then entered.
Enoch Huntington was born in Scotland, Connecticut, Dec. 15, 1739, a son of Nathaniel Huntington, an industrious farmer. One of his brothers was Governor of the state for nine years, President of the Continental Congress, and a signer of the Declaration of Independ- ence. The Reverend Ebenezer Devotion, of
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Windham, seems to have had a wholesome in- fluence upon the Huntington family, lending the children books to aid them in their education. So that two of the sons besides Enoch were graduated at Yale, the latter in 1759. By a unanimous vote of the Church November 25, 1761, Mr. Huntington was invited to become its pastor. Deacons Jonathan Allen, William Rockwell, and Jabez Hamlin were appointed to convey this invitation to the young man. His affirmative reply was dated the ninth of the fol- lowing month, the original, in the clear, bold handwriting of the author, being still in posses- sion of the Church.
This document is worthy to be recorded here :
"To the first Church of Christ in Middletown - Dearly Beloved in the Lord :
Having taken into serious Consideration your Call & Invitation to settle in the Work of the Gospel Ministry among you ; after proper Consultation & Advice there- on, I now signify to you my Concurrence with your Desire, and Willingness to devote myself to the sacred Business of a Gospel Minister, & to the Pastoral Charge of the Church of Christ in this Place, when by the Providence of God I shall be regularly introduced thereto - And beg Leave to subscribe myself
Your Cordial Friend & most Devoted Servt Enoch Huntington Middletown Decr. 9th, 1761."
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The ordination took place January 6, 1762, in the ungainly edifice on High Street. It was natural that the Rev. Ebenezer Devotion, of Windham, to whom the candidate was so much indebted, should be the preacher on the occa- sion. A copy of his sermon, printed in New Haven after a manner sumptuous for the time, is in the archives of the Church. Its subject was - Fortitude, Love and a sound Judgment, very needful Qualifications for the Christian Minister. These most desirable traits seem to have been possessed in a good degree by the per- son to whom they were thus commended, or his pastorate could not have been so remarkable for its length and its quality.
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