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 5
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This fifth house of worship occupied by the First Church is 135 feet long, and 80 feet in width. Its audience room is 65 by 68 feet, or nearly square. Its Sunday School Room is 71 by 30 feet. This was one of the first rooms expressly designed for the use of a Sunday School in Connecticut. The entire cost of the
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house, including its site, the organ, and the fur- niture, was slightly less than $95,000. With the exception of a legacy of $6,000, this sum was mainly raised in the limits of the parish, and largely in amounts not exceeding $1,000. Many of these involved considerable sacrifice on the part of the donors.
The possession of this modern and commo- dious building, with its rooms for various uses, gave a decided impetus to the Church and all the organizations connected with it. For sev- eral years the growth of the parish was quite rapid, the city itself having received a fresh impulse at about the same period. In that auspicious year, 1873, forty-one persons were added to the Church, twenty-four of them on confession of their faith in Christ. The fol- lowing year the accessions were twenty-six. In 1873 twenty-six families were added to the parish, in the next year, eighteen, and in the next, thirty-five. In 1873 the Sunday School reported forty-five more members than in the year previous.
In 1874 the Church received from Mrs. Elizabeth S. Dyer, Mrs. Jane E. Huntington, Mrs. Emily B. Smith, and Miss Emily Tracy, the gift of a house containing six tenements, for
DEDICATED IN 1873
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the use, or the assistance, of needy families. In the same year a Parish Library was founded by a donation of $500 from Mr. George W. Guy.
In 1875, October 27 and 28, the American Missionary Association held its annual meeting with this Church, the South Church sharing in the entertainment of the body. In the same year nearly six thousand papers and tracts were distributed throughout the parish. This was done mainly by visitors, whose aim was to call on all families once each month. This visita- tion and distribution of literature was continued for several years, the calls being made long after it seemed undesirable to circulate the printed matter.
The ninth of July, 1876, was observed as Centennial Sunday, it being near the hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence by the Congress of the United States. In the morning the pastor gave a brief sketch of the history of the Church for the preceding century. This was soon published, and the demand for it exceeded the supply. The review of two centuries given by Dr. Taylor in 1868 not hav- ing been printed, this was the first issue of any considerable portion of the Church's history.
During this year the records of the Church
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for its first one hundred and forty years were copied in one large and substantial volume. The original records being kept in small and flimsy volumes had become much worn, so that in some places they were barely legible. These antique books are now carefully preserved, per- sons wishing to consult the earlier records being referred to the copy. This transcript has been many times scanned, so that it bears the marks of frequent use. Few churches whose history reaches back to the second generation from the landing of the Pilgrims have recorded data as complete as this. Hence these ancient annals have an inestimable value. The Church must soon possess a secure safe of its own wherein they can be deposited, together with its vener- able silver, and many documents relating to the story of its two and a half centuries.
The year 1878 will long be a memorable one for this Church and the entire community. Messrs. Moody and Sankey conducted a remark- able series of religious meetings in Hartford in the early months of the year. The fame of these eminent revivalists drew large numbers from the surrounding towns to hear them. Among these were many from Middletown and all parts of this county. Thus the time seemed
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favorable for special religious services here. The two Congregational Churches, the Meth- odist Episcopal and the Baptist Churches, to- gether with Wesleyan University, united in prep- aration for such services. They were fortunate in securing the Rev. George F. Pentecost as the preacher, and Mr. and Mrs. George C. Steb- bins to lead in the music. The meetings began March 24 and continued till April 25, being held every day except Saturday. A noonday prayer meeting was held in the chapel of the Methodist Church, a Bible Reading at 3 P. M., and a service with a sermon at 7:30 P. M. in this Church. A large choir of mixed voices assisted Mr. and Mrs. Stebbins in making the musical element of the services most attractive and inspiring. The meetings were largely at- tended, none at which there was preaching call- ing out less than one thousand people. Often the audiences numbered twelve hundred and even more, while on Sunday evenings overflow meetings were held in other places. At no pre- vious period in the history of this town did so many persons listen to the preaching of the Gos- pel in sermon and in song in the space of six weeks. The year witnessed unusual accessions to all the churches uniting in the services. Dur-
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ing the year eighty-six members were added to this Church, seventy-nine of whom were re- ceived after the close of these special meetings. At a Communion Service on the second of June fifty-nine persons were admitted to membership, thirty-three of whom were heads of families. The benediction which this town and its vicinity received from these remarkable services will long abide here.
From June II to November 21 the pastor and his wife were absent, enjoying a happy vaca- tion in Europe. During these months the pul- pit was supplied by the Rev. Oliver E. Daggett, D.D., recently minister at the Yale College Church in New Haven. He was a preacher of unusual grace and power, a man of fine physique, as well as of rugged character, so that his in- fluence was wide and wholesome. Dr. Daggett was for many years one of the leading clergy- men in Connecticut, and he always cherished pleasant memories of his stay in this city.
In the night of July second a fire started in the rear of the church building, but it was dis- covered and extinguished, after causing a dam- age of about two thousand dollars. While the house was undergoing repairs, the Church ac- cepted the courteous invitation of the South
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Church and worshipped there for six weeks.
On the eighth of August Mr. Edgar F. Davis, a member of this Church since 1875, was ordained to the Christian ministry in Perry, Maine.
During this year, also, the parsonage was greatly improved by the enlargement of its front entrance, the erection of a new porch over it, and the painting of its exterior.
On the first of January, 1879, the building at Staddle Hill, now known as Bethany Chapel, was dedicated. Its cost in money was $2,150, of which amount this Church and its Sunday School gave $1,050. The Sunday School for which it was built was organized in 1868 by members of this Church, and it had been con- ducted, as well as supported, in the main, by the Church. Hence, though others had an interest in the work, and loyally aided it, it was, and is, considered as under the care of the First Church. The increase of Protestant families in the vicinity of the Chapel has not been as large as was anticipated when the building was erected, while a trolley line running through the district has made it quite easy for those living there to come into the city. Therefore the Chapel has not been as much frequented in re-
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cent years as formerly. The Sunday evening services with preaching, for a long time con- ducted by the assistants of the pastor of the Church, or by students of the University, have not been held of late. Also, the removal of helpful families and individuals from the com- munity, and the building of a Chapel not far away by another Church, have lessened the work formerly done at Bethany.
On the twenty-sixth of September, 1881, a memorable service was held in this Church, oc- casioned by the death of James Abram Garfield, President of the United States. Addresses were made by Mayor Silas A. Robinson, Hon. D. Ward Northrop, Professor James C. Van Benschoten, and Hon. Samuel L. Warner. The high esteem in which the President was held, and the fact that he died at the hands of an assassin, served to throng the house with genuine mourners. Those present at these solemn obsequies will not soon forget the pro- found impression made by them.
The Report of the Church for 1882 has the following item, which is worthy of record in this place: "The attendance at the Sabbath morning services was larger than in any pre- vious year since annual reports were published
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(or since 1871.) It was often above four hun- dred, and the worst Sabbath in the year, when many churches in New England held no services, one hundred persons were present."
In 1883, responding to a general desire that the people should have an ampler share in the " Service of Song in the House of the Lord," Mr. Waldo S. Pratt, then Instructor in Vocal Music in the Hartford Theological Seminary, was secured to give public lessons in singing. Beginning in January, these lessons continued till May, there being thirteen in all. They were of decided value to those who attended them, and had a perceptible influence on the singing of the congregation at the Sunday services. This was so evident and so wholesome, that Mr. Wesley U. Pearne, the organist, was engaged to continue them for some months of the next year.
A year earlier than Mr. Pratt's instruction Mr. Arthur Titcomb, a member of the Church, and a student in Wesleyan University, organ- ized a Sunday School Choir, which he trained with much energy and skill. The results of his work appeared beyond the limits of the School. After Mr. Titcomb left the city, Mr. Wallace H. Lee, a graduate of Williams College and a teacher in the High School, took the oversight
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of this Choir. Further, for several years Mrs. George Rand, a member of the Church, in- structed and led a chorus choir, thereby increas- ing the number of those who aided the singing of the congregation. At times, also, other musical instruments besides the fine organ were used in public worship. Again, there has often been preparation in oratorios for special occa- sions, like Easter and Christmas, in which many have been taught lessons of priceless value to themselves, as well as to others. Thus it will appear that, though the Church in recent times has not had the traditional immense choirs of the first half of the nineteenth century, it has not been unmindful of the importance of participa- tion by the people in the music of the Lord's house. It has endeavored in numerous ways to solve the difficult problem of singing by the mass of worshipers, instead of by a few skilled musicians employed to entertain them or to sing in their place. Doubtless much more might have been accomplished with ampler means and with more ardent zeal in this direction.
On the thirteenth of July, 1884, a Service of Praise was held in commemoration of the hun- dredth anniversary of the city's birth. This Church was one hundred and sixteen years old
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when the city was incorporated. Col. Jabez Hamlin had been for thirty years an honored Deacon in her communion before he was chosen the first Mayor of the city. He was continued in office till 1788, when he resigned. But he seems to have retained the dignity of the posi- tion until his death in 1791, though its duties were performed by another. The five follow- ing Mayors were selected from the roll of the goodly fellowship of the First Church. So, likewise, were six of the first Clerks, and all of the Treasurers, as late as IS47. This vener- able Church has always been closely related to the being and the well-being of the city, as will be seen more clearly later on in this narrative.
In the year 1884, and for some time there- after, the Rev. J. Webster Tuck, a member of the Church, rendered kindly service in the parish as an assistant to the pastor. In the same year a few members of the Church founded an Education Fund, designed to aid young people in the pursuit of their studies. This was used as a loan to them, without inter- est, to be returned after their graduation from College. The original amount was increased by later gifts of individuals, and by contribu- tions from the Church.
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In 1885 the Church received $3,000 from the estate of Mrs. Samuel D. Hubbard, long a use- ful member of it, the income of which was to provide seats in the house of worship for such as were not able to make full payment for them. Miss Susan C. Clarke added $500 to this sum.
In this year and for some time thereafter ser- vices for Swedes were held in the Chapel and Sunday School Room. These were conducted in the Swedish language, and mainly by Mr. Carl Carlson, who later became a member of this Church, and was ordained as the first pastor of the Swedish Congregational Church of Mid- dletown.
In the same year, likewise, the house of wor- ship of the Methodist Episcopal Church having been burned, that Church was invited to worship with the First Church. These two churches held their mid-week and Sunday evening ser- vices together till the following May. After this, the pastor of the First Church being granted a vacation for the summer, all their services were united, the Rev. William V. Kel- ley, D.D., the Methodist pastor, conducting them. Also, the Commencement exercises of Wesleyan University were held in the First Church this year, and in 1886 as well. In July of the latter year Mr. George H. Cummings, a
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recent graduate of the Hartford Theological Seminary, was secured as an assistant to the pastor. He continued in this office for two years, when he became the pastor of the Church in Thompson.
In November, 1887, the General Conference of the Congregational Churches of Connecticut met with the First Church, Mr. Jeremiah M. Allen of Hartford being the Moderator. The Conference had met here in 1873, Senator La- fayette S. Foster of Norwich presiding. It met here again in 1917, Ex-Governor Frank B. Weeks presiding. In all these instances, the South Church, the Methodist, and the Baptist Churches cordially assisted in the entertainment of the delegates.
In March, 1888, the Book of Praise, which had been in use for nineteen years, was ex- changed for the Laudes Domini, and an abridged edition of the latter was placed in the Chapel. Both of these latter proved helpful to the worship of the Church.
It was during the unparalleled " blizzard " of this year that the venerable Deacon Goodrich passed away, at the age of ninety-two. He had been an officer of the Church since 1850, though for his last few years not in active service. He
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was a constant and devout attendant upon the services of the Church, and deeply interested in its prosperity. He evinced his lifelong zeal for Home and Foreign Missions by leaving a legacy to each.
In May of this year Mr. Cummings, who had been the pastor's assistant for two years, was or- dained pastor of the Church in Thompson, and Mr. Thomas M. Hodgdon was engaged in his place. He rendered most acceptable service for one year, and in 1891 was ordained pastor of the Church in West Hartford, where he still remains, beloved by a large and ever increasing parish.
In the autumn of this year Mr. Arthur Tit- comb, who had been an active member of the Church for seven years, having graduated at the Hartford Seminary in the previous May, was ordained Pastor of the Church in Gilbertville, Massachusetts. It was probably an unprece- dented ocurrence that two members of this Church entered upon the ministry of the Gospel in the same year. Yet the number of clergy- men reared by the Church is quite large.
On the thirtieth of April, 1889, the Cente- nary of the Inauguration of George Washington as the first President of the United States, was celebrated in this Church, other Churches in the
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city joining in the commemoration. A large choir led the congregation in rendering excellent music, and a memorable address was given by Professor Woodrow Wilson, LL.D., of the Wesleyan University, and then a member of this Church.
In December of this year the Church united with others in a series of meetings conducted by Mr. Dwight L. Moody, held in the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Moody preached fif- teen times in five days, besides holding numerous meetings for inquirers. He was assisted by Mr. and Mrs. George C. Stebbins, whose tender and impressive singing revived in the minds of many happy memories of 1878. Ten years later Mr. Moody again spoke in Middletown, one of the last addresses he ever made in Con- necticut being here.
The death of Mrs. Wolcott Huntington in 1890 was an irreparable loss to the Church. One of the most liberal contributors to its present edifice, her zeal for the welfare of the Church never flagged. Her unceasing benef- icence was shared by many not of its fold, as well as by numerous organizations for the up- lift of mankind. In her will she did not forget the First Ecclesiastical Society, nor some other
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agencies through which her munificence flowed while living.
On entering its present building the Church adopted the system of weekly offerings for benevolence. At first these were placed in small boxes in each pew. But in 1891 the boxes were removed and the passing of alms basins was commenced. In this year, also, very choice linens for the communion table were presented to the Church by Mrs. Horace F. Boardman. In November a legacy of $5,000 was received from the estate of the Hon. Henry G. Hubbard, not a member of the parish. This generous bequest, the last one made by the donor, he left, as he said, " to the Church that his mother and sister had loved." This gift is called the "Henry G. Hubbard Fund," and its income is devoted to the Christian work of the Church. Late in the year a revised edition of the Manual of the Church was prepared, containing much valuable information, secured and arranged with no little pains and labor.
In 1892 the sum of $5,000 was received from the estate of Thomas G. Mather, it being a por- tion of a legacy left by him under the following section of his will: - " I give and bequeath to the Church of the First Congregational Society
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of Middletown $8,000, to be well invested and remain a permanent fund, and the income thereof only to be expended for Church Uses. Provided that, to guard from neglect and dis- order the burial lots No. 10 and No. 35, in Mortimer Cemetery, in said Middletown, in one of which my father, Thomas Mather, and most of his family are buried, and in the other of which my wife's father and mother are, and my wife and myself expect to be buried - this bequest is on condition that said Church put and maintain the said burial lots, and the monu- ments, gravestones, etc., in good and becoming order and condition; and in default thereof, I hereby give and bequeath the said $8,000 to the American Home Missionary Society."
Though not uniting with the Church till late in his life, Mr. Mather cherished a warm interest in its prosperity, being a generous con- tributor to its expenses and its charities. For some years he was the chairman of the Society's Committee, and he aimed to have the finances of the Church managed on sound business prin- ciples. Thus far the conditions of the above bequest have been met, not only with fidelity, but with affection for the memory of a loyal friend of the Church and an estimable citizen:
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In September, 1893, Mr. Harry T. Williams, a graduate of the Hartford Seminary in the previous May, entered upon his duties as assist- ant to the pastor. For a time he was a member of the choir, and he endeavored to awaken interest in singing among the young people. The following year he was ordained to the ministry of the Gospel by a Council summoned by the Church. In the interval between the departure of Mr. Hodgdon and the coming of Mr. Williams, Mrs. Samuel G. Smith rendered effective service as a special visitor in the parish. This was true of other years when the pastor had no male assistant. Not a few families in the parish recall her sympathetic attentions as most helpful to them.
On the fifth and sixth of November, 1893, the Church celebrated the two hundred and twenty-fifth anniversary of its birth. Sunday morning there was special music and an his- torical address by the pastor. At the session of the Sunday School a sketch of its history, written by Mrs. O. Vincent Coffin, was read by Seward V. Coffin. In the afternoon a Com- munion Service was held, at which children were baptized. In the evening addresses were made as follows : on the Rev. Enoch Huntington, the
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fourth pastor of the Church, by Mr. George Huntington Hulbert : on the First Ecclesiastical Society, by the Hon. O. Vincent Coffin. Also, congratulatory addresses by the Rev. Dwight M. Seward, D.D., and the Rev. Jeremiah Tay- lor, D.D., the ninth pastor of the Church, and the only living ex-pastor. In the afternoon of Monday cordial greetings were extended by the Rev. P. M. Snyder, pastor of the South Church, the Rev. E. Campion Acheson, Rector of Holy Trinity Church, the Rev. Henry A. Starks, D.D., pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the Rev. P. F. Jernegan, pastor of the Baptist Church. Our Daughters were rep- resented by the Rev. H. G. Marshall, pastor of the Church in Cromwell: our Older Sisters, by the Rev. H .T. Rose, pastor of the First Church in Northampton, Mass .: our Younger Sisters, by the Rev. J. W. Cooper, D.D., pastor of the South Church in New Britain: and the Rev. President B. P. Raymond, D.D., LL.D., of Wesleyan University, spoke concerning The Church and Education. Following these exer- cises there was a Social Reunion and interesting letters were read.
The entire occasion was a memorable one, fuller notes of which are preserved in the archives of the Church.
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In 1894 the pastor was absent from the first of March till late in August, spending this va- cation in Egypt, Palestine, and Europe. Dur- ing his absence the pulpit was most acceptably supplied by Professors Jacobus and Paton, of the Hartford Seminary.
On the sixth of November of this year, the Hon. Owen Vincent Coffin, a member of this Church since 1867, and for many years the Superintendent of its Sunday School, was chosen Governor of the Commonwealth. It was not only the first time in its history that this Church had furnished a Chief Magistrate to the State, but it was the first instance in which one had been supplied by Middlesex County.
In July, 1895, Mr. Williams retired from his position as the pastor's assistant, to enter upon work in the West. The Church was fortunate in securing Mr. Joseph Beech, a student in the University, to teach in its Sunday School, and to take the oversight of Bethany Chapel. His work was most effective, the Chapel reaching a high degree of prosperity under his zealous ministrations. In October of this year the Church sustained a severe loss in the death of Miss Susan C. Clarke, one of its most intelligent and liberal members. Miss Clarke was always
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ready to assist the Church in its work at home and abroad. It was a fitting recognition of her worth that her brother and sister, though be- longing to another Communion, gave to the Church as a memorial of her its elegant baptis- mal font of white marble, its communion table, and its pulpit furniture, with the exception of its superb reading desk. This was the gift of Miss Jennie M. Clarke, in memory of her aunt, Mrs. Samuel D. Hubbard. These beautiful memorials, on which no expense was spared, changed the entire aspect of the audience room of the Church.
In 1896 the Church was called to mourn the loss of three persons who had rendered it especial service. Miss Fannie A. Russell had long been prominent in the activities of the Church, cherishing for it a deep affection. As a teacher in the Sunday School, and as the Presi- dent of the Bee Society for twenty-two years, her influence was widely felt. In accordance with her wish, her nephew, Mr. Richard L. de- Zeng, after her lamented death, placed in the treasury of the First Ecclesiastical Society the equivalent of five thousand dollars, as an endow- ment for a pew, to be known as the " Fannie A. Russell Pew." Mrs. Elizabeth S. Dyer,
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though a member of a Presbyterian Church, had been for years a regular attendant upon the ser- vices of this Church, and a generous supporter of its work. She was also the beloved leader of a large Bible Class, to which she gave much time and labor. A section of her Will reads as follows: "I give and bequeath to the Church of the First Ecclesiastical Society of Middle- town the sum of two thousand dollars, the in- come thereof to be applied to the preservation and care of the property which Mrs. Hunting- ton, Mrs. Stedman and myself caused to be built, and toward the maintenance of the Sunday School of said Society, in such proportion as said Society may deem best."
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