USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Branford > A history of the First church and society of Branford, Connecticut, 1644-1919 > Part 4
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It may be worth while for us to endeavor to picture to ourselves the appearance of this new building. Although no detailed description of it has come down to us, nor are there any prints, yet certain allusions in the records, coupled with our knowledge of the general appearance of the meet-
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ing houses of that period, will enable us to possess a probably accurate idea as to how this new house of worship looked. In outward appearance it was perfectly square, with a pyramidal roof, crowned at its apex with a simple turret. It is probable that on each of three sides of the house there was a door, while the fourth side was occupied by the pulpit. There were numerous windows, with small panes of glass, which was held in place by nails instead of with putty. The building was unpainted both inside and out. Like all of the old New Eng- land houses, the one in Branford was provided, at first, with long, rude benches for seats. But soon after its completion, permission was granted to the minister and Governor Saltonstall, and later to others, to build pews. These pews were square, box-like affairs, and were located along the walls, the minister's being situated at the right of the pulpit and the others ranging toward the rear according to the rank and wealth of their owners. Each pew was the private property of the man who built it and was fashioned according to his own desire, so that there must have been a noticeable lack of unity in the appearance of the auditorium. The pulpit was a high one, reached by a long flight of stairs, so that the minister was on a level with the galleries. It was probably surmounted by a huge, wooden sounding board. Just below the pulpit, and facing the congregation, were two long raised seats which were set apart for the deacons of the church. We find many an entry, in the
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records, of Mr. So-and-So being elected to serve as deacon, and that he "accepted the office and took his place on the Deacon's Seat." The office of deacon was more onerous then than now, for it fell to their lot to "line the Psalms," that is to read one line of the Psalm, which line was then sung by the congregation, then the next line, which was sung in its turn, and so on), and also, in the absence of the pastor, to expound the Scriptures and to read the sermon which he sent. There being no musical instruments in the churches of that day, it was also the duty of the deacon to choose the tune and to "pitch" the Psalm-that is to decide the pitch at which it should be sung. The Deacon's Seats, in the Branford Meeting House, were distinguished from the others not only by their position but by being furnished with "banisters."
Under date of January 14th, 1725, in the records of the Ecclesiastical Society, comes the first refer- ence to another interesting custom. "Capt. Nath-1 Harrison, Mr. Edward Barker, Capt. S. Maltbie, Capt. Ele-z Stent, & Jno. Russell, were appointed a Comttee for to seat ye meeting house any three of them to act there in. Ye meeting was adjourned to ye second Monday in Feb-ry next Sun hour high at night at this place, and ye Seaters then to make return of their doings." The duty of this com- mittee was to assign to every inhabitant of the town a suitable seat in the Meeting House. In determining where each person should sit the com- mittee was expected to grade the entire population,
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deciding the order of precedence by office, wealth, social position and such matters. At no state func- tion of modern times are lines more finely or more firmly drawn than they were in the supposedly democratic congregations of New England. The best seats were considered to be those immediately in front of the pulpit, then those in the front bal- cony, while the least desirable were the seats in the rear. This order of preference would suggest to us musical comedy rather than a modern church, and one wishes greatly that, in this respect at least, we might return to the ways of the fathers.
Often the work of the committee did not receive unanimous approbation. Probably no one ever com- plained because he was assigned "a foremost seat in the synagogue," but complaints were not uncom- mon from those who were convinced that the com- mittee had not set a sufficiently high value upon their worth to the community. In this respect human nature seems not much to have been changed. The work of this first Branford Committee was not accomplished without criticism, for, at the meeting in February, "there being sundry persons dissatis- fied with ye report of ye Seaters, read at last meet- ing, it was voted whether any alteration should be made there in." Unfortunately the record does not state whether the rulings of the committee were sustained or not.
It was probably about the year 1690 that Samuel Russell erected the famous "Russell Parsonage," on the lot just south of the old graveyard. It was
RESIDENCE of Rov. SAMUEL RUSSELL.
FIRST SITE OF VALE COLLEGE
RUSSELL PARSONAGE Residence of Samuel Russell, erected 1690 (Used by permission of John A. Andrews)
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a pretentious house in its day and lasted for more than one hundred and fifty years. Shortly before its demolition the Russell family, in whose hands it had continuously remained, had a pencil sketch made of it; and it is from this sketch that the many pictures of it now in existence, including the excel- lent one which hangs in the present church, were made. In this house were born most of Samuel Russell's children and, in the south-west front room, was held the historic gathering from which grew Yale College.
From the day of the colony's inception Yale had been planned for by the New Haven people, for one of the three-fold purposes of Davenport, the founder of the colony, had been the establishment of a college. The pressing necessities of subduing the wilderness had postponed the matter for a time, and the reluctance of Harvard to the founding of a rival school, and the political crisis due to the union of New Haven and Hartford, had further delayed the fruition of the purpose. But at length it came to pass. A number of the younger min- isters became much interested in the establishment of such a school, and among these Samuel Russell with the Rev. James Pierpont of New Haven and Rev. Samuel Andrews of Milford were most active. By their efforts ten of the most prominent min- isters of the Colony consented to serve as trustees for the new institution. They met, sometime in the year 1701, in the Russell Parsonage, to consult together and to formulate plans. The tradition is,
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and it seems authentic, that each of them brought to this gathering a gift of books and, laying them upon the table, pronounced the well known words "I give these books for the founding of a college in this Colony." The table upon which these books are said to have been laid is now in the posses- sion of Yale University and, at the time of the Bi-Centennial Celebration of the founding of the College, a stone was placed upon the Branford Green, commemorating this early gathering. Mr. Russell was appointed custodian of the little library, which consisted of some forty-odd folios, and it was kept for some years in his house. There is an old story to the effect that one of these books suf- fered a curious mishap while in his care. It is said that the book was lying one day upon the table, and that the sunlight, passing thru one of the small window panes, which was thicker in the center than on the edges and so acted much like a burning- glass, became focused upon the opened page and burned a hole in it. The further history of Yale is too well known to warrant repetition. One more fact is, however, worthy of note as being a part of the history of Branford Church. After a charter for the new "Collegiate School" had been obtained, Abraham Pierson, son of Branford's first settled minister, was chosen for the first rector, or presi- dent of the new college. Pierson was then min- ister at Killingworth. Later, after the removal to New Haven, Samuel Russell and Governor Salton- stall bore a large part of the expense of the erec- tion of the first building upon the present campus.
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It was during this pastorate that much of the lands at Indian Neck and in other portions of the town came into the possession of the Society. As early as August 9, 1675, the town had purchased, from John Potter, a New Haven blacksmith, two and one half acres of land at the Neck. March 15, 1686, there was purchased by the "Inhabitants and Proprietors of Branford from Wampum ye present . Sachem, and Nawallokis (alias Richard), Libbon Johnson, Geoffery & Mannopollot (alias Young Rich-rd) Indians in consideration of ten pounds" more land at Indian Neck "reserving a parcel of upland lying at ye neck called Indian Neck and on ye west end of ye neck adjourning to that land ye English last purchased of us Indians above mentioned, only ye English are to have a highway to cart their hay from their meadow." Other purchases were made in 1703 and 1716, and finally the entire Neck came into the possession of the Society. That portion known as the "Town Half Acres" came gradually into the same hands, by a series of purchases made during a period of more than a century; the first purchase being in 1685, when about thirty acres were obtained, for a consideration of thirty-two pounds and an Indian coat. The Society also acquired about one hun- dred acres at Scotch Cap; as well as the Town Meadow, of about eight acres. At first this land was not much used. Hay was gathered from the cleared ground, some was used for pasturing, and some was given the ministers to use as they would. It was also their prerogative, until after the close
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of Father Gillett's pastorate, to cut their firewood from the lands at Indian Neck, a committee being annually appointed to mark such trees as should be cut. From the time of Mr. Robbins' ministry the larger part of the lands were leased out by the Society.
During the first thirty years of Samuel Russell's pastorate he was the only minister in the township. But early in the eighteenth century the northern portion of the town began to be somewhat thickly settled and a separate community centered about Libbie's Hill, which is a little north of the present North Branford Village. The hill was named from an Indian Sachem who once lived there.
The people of this neighborhood, who were known as the North Farmers, requested permission of the town, in 1715, to have separate preaching for them- selves. They felt that the distance to the Branford Church was too great and that their own com- munity was large enough to support such services ; but the Branford Church was, naturally, reluctant to vote away a portion of its congregation, and so the petition was not granted. The North Farmers were insistent however, and, in 1717, appealed to the General Court. Because of this appeal the town voted, in the autumn of that same year, to allow the people of Libbie's Hill to have a minister of their own for four months of each year.
The first services were held at the home of Daniel Page who lived near the summit of the hill. Each year following, the North Farmers kept their own
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minister a longer time than in the year preceding and September 27, 1722, they petitioned for a per- manent minister. The town had by this time per- ceived the wisdom of the separation and it was voted to "set up another Society, purchase a farm for the minister, and build a Meeting House." A two hundred acre lot on the east side of Great Hill was selected by the old Society for the parsonage lands. To offset what they had done for the daughter society they also purchased an equal amount of land for themselves. There was con- siderable dissatisfaction among the North Farmers about the boundary line which the old Society had fixed between the two parishes. Several times they requested a revision of the line, and finally, December 30th, 1723, the town voted "that if the sd north farmers would set down contented with their former bounds that then the Town would go equal share with them in building & perfecting a meeting house, within those bounds, of forty foot in length and thirty foot in breadth." This propo- sition was accepted, and by 1725, the new Meeting House was well under way. Mr. Russell was pres- ent at the erection of the frame and made the prayer. The building was located within a few feet of the present one. It was a typical meeting house of its time. It had doors on the east, west, and south sides, had many windows with small, diamond-shaped panes. The floor of the audience room was a few inches lower than the door-sills, so that it was not uncommon for a person who
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entered hurriedly to stumble and to pitch headlong upon his face. Doubtless this furnished consider- able amusement to the younger members of the congregation, but it must have been a trifle awk- ward to the principal concerned, and have inter- fered sadly with the progress of divine worship, especially if late comers were as frequent then as now. Another interruption to the service was found in the high sounding box, a square roof-like structure above the pulpit, which served as a ren- dezvous for a small army of bats, which was wont to come forth frequently and at inauspicious times and go flitting about over the heads of the people. The church had boxed pews, and high, shut-in gal- leries on three sides.
The Rev. Jonathan Merrick, a native of Spring- field, became the first pastor of the North Bran- ford Church. He was ordained there, in 1726, and remained until his death, in 1772, tho unable, because of paralysis, to perform the active duties of his office after the year 1769. His last public service was to arrange the details for the ordination of his sucessor, Rev. Samuel Eels. Mr. Merrick was an unusually large framed man, of command- ing appearance. He lived to hold a position of much influence in church and state, and served as one of the first members of the Yale Corporation. Many interesting stories are related of him, among them the following: Mr. Timothy Stone, him- self a minister, taught school awhile in the North Branford parish. He had some trouble with the
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disciplining of his pupils-but we will let him relate the affair in his own words. "I had a refractory boy in my school whom I punished. His father was displeased about it and took pains to show his displeasure by keeping the child from school. The worthy minister sent for the father, who dared not neglect the summons. Mr. Merrick then repri- manded him with much severity, saying 'You teach rebellion in Mr. Stone's school. It shall not be so; I will have you know that I will put my foot on your neck. This rebellious spirit shall not be tolerated.' The rebuke was quietly submitted to and had its desired effect." This story is a good illustration of the power of the minister in colonial times. His word was law, his voice believed to be the voice of God. But times have changed. One can scarcely imagine the horrible catastrophe which would overwhelm the modern pastor who should be bold enough to summon one of his flock into his presence and should then declare his intention of putting the clerical foot on his parishioner's neck. The yellow journals would run the tale in headlines for a week and the presumptuous minister speedily find himself in the midst of a sensational ecclesi- astical trial, if not in worse case. So far has the pendulum swung in two short centuries.
Because of the separation of the northern por- tion of the town into a separate parish, it became necessary to keep the records of the town business and of the parish business distinct. Accordingly, in 1726, the Old or the South Society chose John
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Russell, the sixth child of Samuel Russell, for the Society Clerk. Church business was henceforth transacted in separate meetings and the minutes of those meetings furnish us with a trustworthy and more complete record than hitherto. One of the odd aspects of this separation of church and town is found in the fact that, for many years after other secular matters had been left wholly to the town, the schools remained under the jurisdiction of the Society, and the details of school business occupy a large part of these first Society Records.
The first half of the eighteenth century saw the high tide of Branford's early prosperity, and during that period the town reached a degree of relative importance in the state far greater than it has ever attained since. It seems to be actually true that, in those days, Branford outstripped New Haven in commercial importance. The key to this prosperity lay in a fine fleet of sailing vessels, which made the Branford River their port and engaged in an extensive coast-wise trade, particu- larly with the settlements in Maine. Wharves were built at many points along the river, as far up as Mill Plain, and the harbor was improved. There were also large store houses at Dutch House Wharf, Page's Point, Landfare's Cove, Hobart's Wharf, and at other points along the stream. Wheat, corn, flax seed, rye, etc., were shipped in large quantities to Maine and lumber and fish brought back. A particularly lucrative article of trade was the bay berries, which were in demand
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for the making of wax, blacking and salves. So extensive was the commerce in these berries that the town found it necessary to regulate carefully the gathering of them, and a fine of ten shillings was provided as a penalty for picking them on any public land or highway before September fifteenth. Juniper berries also were extensively gathered in later years. The soil in the northern portions of the town produced excellent crops, and the Bran- ford land was as fine for fruits then as now, and dried apples were exported in large quantities. The names of the church members of this time reflect the nautical occupation of the inhabitants, and "Captains" were as common as in Nantucket or on Cape Cod.
The prosperity which came to the town was shared in by the minister, who became one of the largest land owners in Branford. His name appears often on the town records as being one of the parties to some transaction in real estate. Besides the three hundred acres which were given him at his settlement, he received from the town several hundred acres more during his residence. Nor was his success wholly in matters of property. His own church flourished under his leadership, and his influence in the affairs of the colony grew constantly wider and more weighty. One of those ironies of fate, such as one meets frequently in history, grew out of his prominence in ecclesi- astical circles. In September 1708, Samuel Russell was a member of the Synod of churches, which sat
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at Saybrook, and one of the chief advocates of the historic Saybrook Platform there adopted; a plat- form which was to cause severe tribulation for his Branford church, in years to come, and was to result in years of ecclesiastical outlawry for his successor in the pastorate. The main feature of this Platform was the institution of "Consocia- tions" in Connecticut, which were to displace the "Associations" in which Congregational churches habitually gathered. The "Consociation" was a semi-Presbyterian body. Whereas the "Associa- tions" were merely neighborly meetings of the churches of a vicinage, for friendly interchange of ideas and for fellowship, and possessed no legisla- tive or judicial powers over the constituent churches, but only an advisory relation; the "Consociation" was intended to have real authority over the indi- vidual churches of which it was formed, and to actually adjudicate, in all cases of discipline of a difficult nature. Moreover it did not even need to wait for a church to request its aid, but could take up any question on its own initiative, even against the will of the church concerned. The new organ- ization was intended as a means of strengthening the churches, but was an unpopular one in many parts of the state. Branford church joined in the meetings of the New Haven Consociation but did not formally accept the new plan, and in later years declared that it had never consented to it. But the plan was approved of by the legislature, and so became the law of the land.
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Towards the close of the second decade of the century, the health of Mr. Russell began to fail considerably, so that he was often unable to be in his pulpit of a Sunday. The church was consid- erate towards his infirmity and made repeated pro- vision for assistance in his duties. In April, 1726, it was voted that Deacon Baldwin and others should be a committee "to hire some sutable person to be helpful to Mr. Russell for three months as there may be need." This same year ten pounds was added to his salary. In 1728, Deacon Baldwin is again directed to provide assistance, whenever the pastor is unable to preach; and in September, 1729, it was voted to hire a school teacher, who should also regularly assist Mr. Russell in his work.
But, in spite of these expedients, advanced age and disease interfered more and more often with his labors and the time was soon at hand when both the church and Mr. Russell himself saw clearly that he must lay aside the active pastorate. The matter was settled in the most harmonious manner. A committee was chosen who waited upon Mr. Russell and the matter was informally discussed. Then the following letter was addressed to the Church and Society :
"Branford, June 30, 1730. "My good neighbors and friends :
I perceive, by your committee that have been with me, that you are desirous of endeavours towards settling another minister that may be pastor to this church while I live, and become your sole pastor when I am gone. I
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pray God direct and guide you in that great affair, and, as for me, I shall not at all interrupt your free choice, if it should so happen that your choice should not fall where I should have pitched, was it in my power to choose. And so for my support, the little time I have to live among you, I am not much concerned about it. I only say this about it, that I incline yet to hold the inprovement of the 'half acres' at Indian Neck, during my life; and will now relinquish to the Society the meadow in the 'Mill quarter,' and the land and meadow at 'Scotch Cap.' I conclude you will not think it unreasonable to find me firewood while I live. As for yearly salary for my support, you may do just as God may incline your hearts. I leave it wholly with you, depending not on an arm of flesh, but on the Living God for my daily bread, and all other neces- saries of life; and am not at all afraid but that He who feeds the young ravens when they cry, will provide for my support. I am yours, in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Samuel Russell."
The Society held a meeting and gratefully accepted Mr. Russell's plan, and also voted that he should receive thirty pounds, in bills of credit, by the last day of March of each year. They chose a com- mittee and instructed it to obtain Mr. Samuel Sher- man, of New Haven, to supply for them. Mr. Sherman came, and in September they voted, by a small majority, to request him to remain with them. He declined, and the matter remained in dispute among them for some time. The minority were strongly opposed to Mr. Sherman, and Mr. Russell disapproved of him. He was invited sev- eral other times, by the same divided vote, but con- sistently refused to come.
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After a pastorate of more than forty-three years, Mr. Russell died, on June 25, 1731, at the age of seventy-one. He left nine children, three of whom became ministers; Samuel being pastor of the church at North Guilford, Daniel of the church at Newport, Rhode Island, and Ebenezer of the Ston- ington church. The elder daughter, Abigail, mar- ried Joseph Morse, who was minister at Derby, and found the lot of a minister's wife so pleasant that, after his death, she married Rev. Samuel Cook. His granddaughter, Mrs. Ezekiel Hayes, is buried in the crypt of Center Church, New Haven, and one of her descendants became president of the United States. Samuel Russell's wife survived him not quite two years, and they both were buried in the Branford Cemetery, where a table monument marks their resting place.
During Mr. Russell's ministry two hundred thirty-seven members were added to the church, of whom ninety-six were males and one hundred forty-one females. He baptized eight hundred seventy persons, eight hundred thirty-three of these being infants. Under his leadership the church grew from being an unorganized group of worship- pers, in an obscure settlement, and became one of the strong churches of the state, with a position of relative importance in denominational affairs much greater than it has ever had since.
Lacking somewhat of the eloquence of Sherman or of Pierson, Mr. Russell more than compensated for it by his sagacity and business-like acumen. He
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was a statesman, rather than a prophet, in his min- istry, and he laid well the foundations of the reor- ganized church, and reared upon those foundations a building of which no man need be ashamed. His work, and the debt we owe him as a builder, will endure so long as Branford church shall last.
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