USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > Hartford > A history of Grace Episcopal Church, Hartford, Connecticut : 1863-1938 > Part 2
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Sometimes the committee members were invited to consult personally with the Vestry about chapel matters, and apparently these contacts sometimes grew into personal friendships. As the years rolled along, there were social gatherings in which the con- gregation mingled with members of the mother church. The chapter of the King's Daughters occasionally invited the vestry- men and other members of the parish to attend "socials" in the chapel's hall. These events are mentioned in the parish minutes, especially during the ministry of the Reverend George K. MacNaught, from 1896 to 1903.
The personal and social ties were strengthened especially during the long rectorship of the Reverend Ernest deFremery Miel, which began in 1893. He took a keen personal interest in the chapel and occasionally made a visit there. He was pleased by the large growth of the Sunday School which took place in the ministry of the Reverend Abram J. Holland and compelled the enlargement of the parish hall and the church, in 1908-1909. Writing for the Trinity Parish Year Book in 1906, he called the parish's attention to the chapel, urging the members to take a personal interest in its work and even to attend an occasional service there. At the suggestion of the Reverend Mr. MacNaught,
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who advocated further assistance, in 1905 the Vestry appointed a committee to confer with the Prudential Committee. The committee consisted of two of the most distinguished members of the parish - Henry E. Rees and Richard J. Goodman.
Closer relations probably were strengthened by the removal of Saint John's to West Hartford, which caused an increase of members of the Episcopal Church in the western part of the city. The Reverend Mr. Holland urged constant co-operation with Trinity Church, and the result was an increase of financial assistance and aid to the building program in 1908-1909, which undoubtedly helped Grace Chapel to become a parish. The Reverend Fathers Miel and Holland frequently conferred upon chapel matters, and in 1906 the Vestry named another special committee to keep in touch with the chapel's work and needs. Vestryman Philander Chase Royce, who was named to co- operate with the Prudential Committee, became one of Grace Chapel's best friends and took an interest in everything connected with its welfare, particularly the enlargement of the buildings. When he died suddenly in December, 1907, the Vestry stated that "The Mission at Parkville in particular enjoyed the benefit of his personal oversight and gathered strength from his able direction."
Other notable friends in later years were Warden Charles H. Lawrence and Vestryman Henry E. Rees, who in 1908 were named a committee to help the rector in appointing a supervisor of the chapel work. Warden Lawrence introduced to the Vestry the resolution of May, 1908, calling for special financial aid to the building program, and took charge of the business connected with it. He apparently assumed charge of bringing all chapel matters before the Vestry until Grace Church Parish was created.
Several of the old families connected with Trinity Parish always cherished the interests of Grace Chapel. Among them were some whose members have made secular and religious history in Hartford: the Goodwins, Barbours, Huntingtons, Grays, Goodmans, Reeses, Lawrences, Royces, Davises, Johnsons, Greenes, Hatches, Marvins and Clarkes.
In some cases the connection occurred because of official
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position in the parish, in others through furnishing notable ministers to the chapel. The Barbour family has given two priests who have served at the altar of Grace Chapel and Church; John Humphrey Barbour, from 1873 to 1889; and his son, Paul Humphrey Barbour, who was the second rector of the parish, from 1920 to 1923. Without the sustaining influence of these old church families, the chapel could not have survived the many hard years when it was slowly growing into a parish.
IV ADMINISTRATION
The administrative history of Grace Church presents many features of unusual interest, for from its beginning as a Sunday School and mission until its recognition as a parish in 1912, it was a part of Trinity Parish. Strangely enough, the records of the parish and vestry meetings of Trinity Church do not even men- tion it in the earliest years. The first definite reference does not appear until the appointment of the building committee in February, 1868. The probable reason for this silence is that in those years the work at Parkville was considered to be under the particular care of the rector, who always supervised the ministers- in-charge. He selected them with reference to the wishes of the chapel congregation and with the consent of the Vestry, which approved his appointments and voted the minister's salary. When there was a temporary vacancy, the Rector found a lay- reader or other minister to supply.
As the chapel congregation increased and its affairs grew in importance, it became impossible to manage everything from Trinity Church. Therefore in 1872 and 1873, as a more perma- nent ministry was being introduced, (See below) the parish worked out a new form of administration. At a meeting on August 11,
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1872, the Vestry authorized the Rector to appoint "a Prudential Committee of two or more persons to have care of the temporali- ties of Grace Chapel." At the annual parish meeting, April 14, 1873, Rector Edwin E. Johnson announced that he had ap- pointed the first committee, consisting of Mr. Henry U. Rich- mond, Mr. Charles W. Manwaring and Mr. H. B. Jones. The committee then made their first report on the chapel's financial state, which is enough to make a modern Vestry sigh for the good old days of plain living. The expenses since July 28 last had been about eighty-eight dollars!
From that time the Prudential Committee was responsible for the upkeep, repair and improvement of the chapel building and grounds, of course with the approval of the Vestry for extra- ordinary expenses. The committee was expected to report to the annual parish meeting and to confer with the Rector, Wardens and Vestry on matters of unusual importance. The same mem- bers usually were appointed year after year, particularly during the ministry of the Reverend John Humphrey Barbour, 1873- 1889, and Father Barbour himself was generally a member. Excepting the first committee of 1873, it was the custom for the annual parish meeting to designate the members of the Pruden- tial Committee nominated by the chapel congregation and sub- mitted by the Rector, Wardens and Vestry. Until 1889 there were three members, but after 1890 there were only two until 1900, when the members of the chapel were permitted to increase the committee to six, with two elected each year. At that time the annual meeting chose six and allowed them to arrange their terms as they thought best.
With the passing of years relations between the Prudential Committee and Trinity Church grew closer. They were invited to Vestry meetings to discuss important business and were con- sulted on filling vacancies in the chapel ministry, and the treas- urer and minister always read their reports to the annual parish meeting. The Reverend Abram J. Holland was especially eager to cultivate these close relations, and in March, 1906, wrote to urge intimate bonds between the Prudential Committee and the Vestry. A special committee was named to investigate the legal
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relations and reported that the chapel was "within the absolute control of the Vestry of this Parish." Rector Miel was requested to confer with Mr. Holland to establish firmer bonds, and on April 16, 1906, the Vestry appointed a special committee to co- operate with the Prudential Committee. In November Vestry- man Royce reported that he had attended the October meeting of the Prudential Committee and had found it "well conducted and orderly." In January, 1908, the Vestry empowered the Rector to appoint a special committee to act with him in nomi- nating a supervisor of the chapel. A year later they voted to request the assistant minister in charge to make a monthly re- port to them of his parochial activities. By 1910 the adminis- tration had become almost as complete as that of a parish, with a Prudential Committee of six members and special committees, a clerk, treasurer, assistant treasurer, two auditors and a financial secretary for the Sunday School. The attainment of parochial rights, two years later, really was the final expression of a de- velopment extending over forty years.
This outcome was furthered by official recognition of the chapel's right to a place in the Diocesan Convention. In April, 1876, Rector Johnson informed a parish meeting that according to the diocesan canons Trinity Parish was entitled to four dele- gates instead of the usual two, on account of its two missions, Grace Chapel in Parkville and Saint Luke's Mission at Blue Hills. Later minutes of the annual parish meetings regularly mention the appointment of delegates representing Grace Chapel. In 1879 Mr. Charles Manwaring was delegate and Mr. Henry U. Richmond was substitute, and for years they were generally re- elected. After 1882 the chapel was represented by two delegates, with two substitutes, as the mission at Blue Hills evidently had been abandoned and the chapel inherited all the additional repre- sentation. This continued until 1912, when Grace Church be- came entitled to two delegates in its own right as a parish, and John H. Hurlburt and Samuel G. Tracy took their seats in the Convention with the first Rector, the Reverend Frederick James Kerr Alexander.
Another interesting phase of administration which encour- aged eventual parochial standing was the admission of members
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of the chapel congregation as legal voters of Trinity Parish. The records show many applications for legal membership from men associated with Grace Chapel, and in fact hardly a year passed without one or more being admitted, including of course the members of the Prudential Committee and other chapel officers. In 1899, as a part of the policy of strengthening the bonds between the chapel and Trinity Church, a determined effort was made to increase the number of legal members at Park- ville. The annual meeting instructed the Rector and Clerk to send application blanks to all men in the congregation who were eligible to legal membership. In course of time the chapel came to have a considerable number of parish voters, and in April, 1913, after it had become a parish, the Vestry of Trinity Church voted to turn over to the new organization a certified list of its legal members.
One of the most prominent and praiseworthy aspects of the old administration came from Trinity Church's generous financial aid. In addition to all the original expenses of building and fur- nishing, Trinity Parish and its members individually continued to shoulder a large share of the annual running expenses. A great part of the minister's salary, sometimes more than half, always fell upon the parish. The records show instances in which the Prudential Committee insisted that Trinity Parish ought to pay a larger share of the salary. In 1896, when the figure was fixed at one thousand dollars, the parish assumed four hundred, and in 1902 took on two hundred more in order to give the chapel minister the use of the Rectory. The ordinary parish contribu- tion to chapel expenses was four hundred dollars annually, but occasional extra contributions would raise the average to about five hundred. When one multiplies this figure by the long period of dependence upon Trinity Parish, the result is something impressive.
But it would not be the whole story, for the parish and its individual members occasionally made special gifts to the chapel. Members of Trinity Church, especially the Reverend Francis Goodwin, contributed to building the Rectory. In May, 1903, Rector Miel reminded the parish of the chapel's effort to obtain
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a new organ and suggested contributing some of the proceeds from selling Trinity Church's old organ. The parish assumed the insurance for the chapel and the Rectory, which in 1905 amounted to fifty-five hundred dollars. In 1905, 1906 and 1907 the parish assumed an additional burden of one hundred and twenty dollars, on condition of the chapel raising sixty, to relieve Mr. Holland of rent for the Rectory. Special offering envelopes were prepared and the congregation of Trinity Church was urged to be liberal. In 1907 and 1908 the parish helped to enlarge the chapel's hall and empowered the treasurer to borrow up to five hundred dollars for repairs and improvements. In 1908 the Wardens and Vestry agreed to pay up to two thousand, eight hundred dollars for enlarging and repairing the chapel and parish house, on the understanding that the chapel congregation would raise twelve hundred, and the Clerk was ordered to increase the insurance by two thousand dollars. From 1906 to 1911 the parish contribution to the chapel was five hundred and twenty dollars, not counting the extra expenses. It was no wonder that in 1910 and 1911 the chapel treasurer could report all bills paid and a considerable balance on hand. In December, 1910, the usual appropriation was increased to almost eight hundred dollars. The Vestry of Trinity Parish made no idle boast when they remarked in 1906 that the chapel, its hall and the Rectory were "largely the gift of the members of Trinity Parish," and that to them was mainly due the annual support which had built up Grace Chapel to its notable prosperity.
V LAND AND BUILDINGS
For about twenty years after the consecration, the original lot and building remained largely unaltered. The land was only the northern seventy feet of the present lot, and the chapel was
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GRACE CHAPEL DECORATED FOR CHRISTMAS
FENCE
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PARISH HALL
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GRACE STREET
SEATS
WALK
OLD FRONT WALL FONTO
ALTA
FENCE
PORCH
WALK
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NEW PARK AVENUE
FLOOR PLAN SHOWING ADDITIONS
FENCE
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HIGH ALTAR
ORGAN OFFICE CHAMBER
SEATS
the portion of the church back of the belfry. It is somewhat a matter of surprise that brick was the material of construction, as in that period brownstone was the favorite for Hartford churches, as may be seen from the Church of the Good Shepherd, old Saint James' at Park and Washington Streets and the Asylum Hill Congregational meeting-house. The result, however, justifies the modern theory that the best architecture and materials al- ways spring directly from simple utility. Brick was a local product, and the simple Gothic design was in keeping with the character of the neighborhood as a half-rural residential com- munity. It is generally believed that the Reverend Francis Goodwin himself was the designer, as he took up architecture as a hobby, but so far as is known there is no documentary evidence for this supposition. The fashionable brownstone and the elaborate (and generally bad) carving, gilding and stained glass of the period would have been entirely out of place. It is inter- esting that the old brick construction of 1868 has stood the test of use and weather far better than the small addition erected to enlarge the seating room, about forty years later. The first notable addition was the bell, which bears an inscription in memory of Ellen W. Watkinson, who was born April 1, 1826 and died January 27, 1874. It was cast by the Meneely Bell Com- pany at West Troy, New York, and is still in daily use.
Within a generation the attendance and the Sunday School began to outgrow the building and to demand a parish hall. This event evidently had been anticipated by far-sighted Rector Goodwin. On May 15, 1871, he provided for future growth by purchasing from Mr. William Francis, for four hundred and fifty dollars, the lot south of the chapel. It was forty-five feet wide and one hundred and fifty feet deep, bounded on the east by Baker Road (New Park Avenue), on the south by "a new street" (Grace Street) and on the west by other land of Mr. Francis. The deed was received for record on September 6, 1871. On June 7, 1887, the Reverend Mr. Goodwin deeded this lot to the Trustees of Donations and Bequests for Church Pur- poses, on condition that it should be used for the benefit of the congregation of Grace Chapel in communion with the Episcopal Church, and that it be reconveyed to him or his heirs or assigns
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whenever these conditions should cease to be followed. There can be no doubt that he had purchased the lot to prevent it from falling into other hands and held it until the chapel needed it for a parish hall. When the addition was erected, the chapel build- ings stood upon land owned by two parties - the old chapel lot belonging to Trinity Parish, the new lot to the Trustees of Do- nations and Bequests. On May 6, 1912, as the chapel was to be a parish, the Wardens and Vestry of Trinity Church ended this odd situation by deeding the old lot and building to the Trustees for the use of Grace Church Parish. In case the parish ceases to exist as an Episcopal church, the property must be used to sup- port the Church's general missionary work in the Diocese of Connecticut.
The parish hall and connecting rooms formed the first large addition to the original chapel building, and relieved the increas- ing pressure caused by growth of the Sunday School and the demand for more social activities. The new buildings comprised the present sacristy, the room occupied by the organ cabinet and the organist's office, and the long portion of the parish hall running east and west. Since they were no longer needed, the old sacristy and robing room and the library room, on opposite sides of the altar, were torn out to enlarge the chancel to its present width. An arch has been cut through the south wall to connect the chapel with the new rooms and make space for the organ. For the first time, the congregation enjoyed an adequate place for social gatherings and meetings, and the services could be celebrated with a convenient chancel and space for the proper furnishings. (See floor plan) The cellar under the parish hall was excavated in 1898, and further in 1903, according to the minutes of the Prudential Committee.
This improvement was sufficient for a few years, until about 1907, when the continual increase of the congregation and es- pecially of the Sunday School, required another expansion. In his reports to the Rector and Vestry of Trinity Parish, the Reverend Mr. Holland urgently recommended enlargement, re- ferring particularly to the Sunday School, which had grown to about two hundred and fifty scholars and was overflowing the
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chapel and hall. With the generous assistance of Trinity Parish, the buildings were brought to their present extent, by lengthening the chapel about ten feet toward New Park Avenue, adding the south wing and porch of the Parish Hall and excavating a larger basement under the hall. Some of the labor was performed by the men and youths of the chapel congregation, a custom fol- lowed when repairs and improvements are made at the present day.
In the meantime the chapel had acquired what was called the Rectory, although at that time it might have borne more fittingly the name of Vicarage. The need of such a house had long been evident, especially since the chapel ministry had be- come more permanent. The first step was taken in 1892, when the Trustees of Donations and Bequests purchased from Mr. Frederick C. Steele of Holyoke, Massachusetts, for five hundred dollars, the present Rectory lot, fifty feet wide and one hundred and fifty feet deep. It was to be held by the Trustees for the benefit of Grace Chapel "as a site for a rectory connected with said mission," or for the benefit of the parish which might be formed thereafter. In case of cessation of the mission or parish, the land should be used to further the general missionary work of the Church in the Diocese of Connecticut.
The parish proceeded at once to build the Rectory now stand- ing at 42 New Park Avenue. Among the valuable records of Grace Church is a small notebook containing the list of sub- scribers to the building, including the ever generous Reverend Francis Goodwin, who gave one thousand dollars. The contribu- tions amounted to about twenty-seven hundred, one thousand short of the cost. The shortage probably was due to the fact that before the work was finished the country was in the grip of a severe business depression, so that the necessary sum had to be borrowed on a note. Although the house was ready for occu- pancy in 1894, the financial obligation hung over the parish and chapel for many years. In June, 1901, the signers of the note - James S. Jones and Ezra Smart - asked to be relieved of it and the matter was referred to the Reverend George K. MacNaught, then minister-in-charge. In November the Vestry of Trinity
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Church discussed it, and by March, 1902, two hundred dollars had been paid. Upon the understanding that the members of the chapel desired and intended to pay off the sum in instalments, the Vestry voted that Trinity Parish would assume the note for eight hundred dollars.
During much of the period since it was erected, the Rectory has not been occupied by the clergy in charge of the chapel and church. For various reasons they have often lived elsewhere, the house being rented and the income applied to paying the minister's salary, the balance coming from the contributions of the congregation and the annual appropriation from Trinity Parish. Matters concerned with the renting and upkeep of the house loom large in the minutes of the Prudential Committee and the Vestry. The present Rector has occupied the house with his family since he took charge of the parish, in 1923.
VI THE CLERGY AND OTHER MINISTERS
From its beginning as a Sunday School and mission, the chapel was supervised by the successive rectors of Trinity Church, until it became a parish. They were the Reverend Pelham Wil- liams, 1861-1863; the Reverend Simon G. Fuller, 1863-1865; the Reverend Francis Goodwin, 1865-1871; the Reverend Professor Edwin E. Johnson of Trinity College, 1871-1883; the Reverend Storrs O. Seymour, 1883-1893; and the Reverend Ernest de- Fremery Miel, 1893-1912. They superintended the religious affairs of the mission and chapel, occasionally officiated there, and of course visited to view its progress and confer with the ministers in charge. They exerted a heavy influence in binding the chapel and the mother church into a unified parish.
There was no really "settled" ministry at Parkville for many years after the Sunday School began, and the services
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usually were conducted by lay-readers and candidates for Holy Orders, who succeeded one another at rather short intervals. They generally were students at Trinity College, who used to spend the day in Parkville, as there were services both morning and afternoon, with Sunday School between. Members of the old families remember that some of these ministers took Sunday dinner at their homes. Lay-readers and candidates for Holy Orders who served the mission in its early days were the Rever- end George Buck (1865-1867), the Reverend James B. Good- rich (1869-1870), and the Reverend John Humphrey Barbour from his student days at Trinity College until his ordination as deacon in 1876 and priest in 1878.
Three of the earlier ministers at the chapel later became bishops. William Walter Webb, Bishop of Milwaukee from 1906 to 1933, ministered in his student days at Trinity College and painted the inscription TILL HE COME on the retable of the little old altar which now stands in the rear of the church near the door. Another of the early ministers was William Ford Nichols, Bishop of California from 1893 to 1924. Occa- sional services were rendered by William Woodruff Niles, Profes- sor of the Latin Language and Literature in Trinity College from 1864 to 1870, who in the latter year was consecrated Bishop of New Hampshire.
These were not the only men of intellectual and spiritual refinement who served the humble chapel in its infant years. There was also the Reverend John T. Huntington, the founder and long the rector of Saint James' Church in Hartford, and Professor of the Greek Language and Literature in Trinity Col- lege. Now and then came the Reverend Joel Foote Bingham, sometime lecturer at Trinity College and a distinguished author. The congregation occasionally was edified by the ministrations and personality of the Reverend Doctor Samuel Hart, one of the most celebrated Churchmen of his time. Among many offices of high honor which he adorned, he was at one time secretary of the House of Bishops, Professor of Pure Mathematics in Trinity College and Professor of Doctrinal Theology and of the Prayer Book at the Berkeley Divinity School. Although their presence
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was occasional, these priests and Doctors shed upon the chapel the light of their prestige as leaders of the Holy Church and ornaments of her intellectual circles. They are yet remembered with affection and deep respect, by a few of the "Old Guard." Another faithful servant was the Reverend Clayton Eddy, who also ministered occasionally and later served for many years in the Dioceses of Connecticut and New York.
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