USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Stratford > A history of the old town of Stratford and the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut > Part 29
USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Bridgeport > A history of the old town of Stratford and the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut > Part 29
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Doctor James Laborie, son of the Rev. James Laborie, an Episcopal clergyman and a physician, was born in 1691, and settled in Stratford as a physician, where, in 1714, he
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The Episcopal Church.
was granted liberty, by a town vote, to build a pew in the Congregational meeting-house, at his own expense, it being the second pew in that house, the other seats being high-back slips.
The Episcopal Church was introduced, in form, into Connecticut at Stratford in the summer of 1706, by the Rev. George Muirson, in the use of the church service, preaching, and the baptism of "about twenty-four, mostly grown people."" His visits, as a missionary for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in foreign parts, stationed at Rye, N. Y., were repeated, and the " churchmen of Stratford were organized into a parish, with Wardens and Vestrymen, at the visit of Mr. Muirson, in April, 1707."2
" Mr. Muirson died in October, 1708," and hence " the parish, with about thirty communicants and a respectable num- ber of families, was left to the occasional services of mission- aries who chanced to visit this and the neighboring towns.""
The circumstances in Stratford at Mr. Muirson's intro- duction of the church service were favorable for such an ob- ject. The community had been divided in sentiment, as to the settlement of a minister, nearly four years. Two candidates had preached, some months each, before Mr. Reed, who was called on probation in view of a settlement, with much enthu- siasm, by about a two-thirds majority of voters in the town ; became a resident in the town, and held a fair majority until he resigned. The votes in opposition to him, at any time, were very few, but these, with those in favor of other candidates, ranged from thirty to fifty during his stay in the place. It was during his fourth year, in the summer of 1706, that Mr. Muirson first came to the place and held services, they being quite opportune under the unsettled state of relig- ious sentiment as to the minister.
The same trouble occurred again just before the Rev. Sam- uel Johnson was appointed missionary to Stratford. The divis- ion as to the settlement of a minister after Mr. Cutler left, in
1 Hist. of the Church in Connecticut by Rev. E. E. Beardsley, D.D., i. 20.
Ibid.
3 Ibid, i. 23.
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History of Stratford.
1719, was much greater than when Mr. Reed ministered here, until Mr. Gold became a candidate, and when he was settled, there were some apparently who were ready to go elsewhere as soon as opportunity favored, but the greatest accessions of substantial value to the Episcopal Church occurred between the years 1740 and 1750.
Another missionary, the Rev. Francis Philips, was sent to Stratford in 1712, who remained about five months and de- parted.
In the spring of 1714, the churchmen of Stratford began the work of building a church edifice, but discouragements were so many that only little progress was made.
The next missionary who visited them was the Rev. George Pigot, in the spring of 1722, he having been recently sent as missionary to New York. After his visits had contin- ued about one year, proceedings were revived to build a church and the first important item was to secure a site on which to place it, and they made application to the town for a certain specified locality.
Very much has been said about the persecution they received in obtaining a site and erecting a house of wor- ship, and it is probable that in a community entertaining some considerable conflicting religious sentiments, as was the case in Stratford at the time, some persons would do things of such a character, but that the general public senti- ment favored such proceedings is not warranted by any reli- able evidence, and is also refuted by the following town record :
"At a lawful town meeting in Stratford, June 21, 1723, voted : Whereas, Mr. George Pigott and his associates peti- tioned the town of Stratford to give them land to erect a church on and land for a church yard, and in their petition fixed upon two certain places, the one by Mr. Gold's house, and the other on the north side of the Town's meeting-house near widow Titharton's land, the town considering their pro- posals and the two places they had pitched upon, and found them clogged with great difficulties, and that it would be as they apprehend, greatly to the damage of the town in general, to build on either of those places, however nominated some
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The Episcopal Church.
other places which, as they thought, might be convenient for them; yet, notwithstanding, they went and purchased, of John Outman, thirty-six rods of land of his lot next to our meeting-house, within some four rods of said house, and gave, as appears of record, thirty pounds for the same where they designed to erect said church as they say, which, in the judg- ment of all thinking persons, may be very inconvenient and a great disturbance to each society, the houses being so near together, if erected there; the town, therefore, propose and offer to Mr. George Pigott and his associates aforesaid, to change with them, and for the thirty-six rods of land pur- chased of said Outman, and to allow them for it forty rods of land at the place they desired in their petition (namely, by the widow Titharton's) on the north side of the meeting-house ; or in lieu of said thirty-six rods of land to let them have the forty rods aforesaid at a reasonable rate and price to erect their church on and church yard, and the town made choice of Mr. Joseph Curtis, Capt. John Hawley, Ens. Edmund Lewis and Ens. John Porter, or any of them, a committee in behalf of the town to present the above proposals and offers of the town to the said Mr. George Pigott and his associates, petitioners, etc. Test, JOSEPH CURTISS, Town Clerk."
Five days after this meeting a record of opposition was made, it being the only one, although the accommodating town clerk left half a page blank for others, but it has not yet been filled :
"June 26, 1723. Lieut. Joseph Beach entered his dissent against the town disposing of any land of the commons on the north of the meeting-house hill by widow Titharton's, for the erecting of a church on, or church yard upon.
Test : JOSEPH CURTISS, Town Clerk."
The lot near the widow Titharton's was accepted, which was the one where the Episcopal burying place now is, and upon it was erected the first church edifice for this society, and the first for the Church of England in the Connecticut Colony ; and the lot purchased of Mr. Outman was sold some years later.4
+ Mr. George Pigot quit claimed this land to the church, March 14, 172].
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History of Stratford.
The Rev. Samuel Johnson arrived at Stratford Novem- ber 4, 1723, being commissioned as a missionary to this place by the society in England, at which time the frame of the church edifice could scarcely have been set up, since the site was not determined upon until in July or August of that year, if as early as that time.
This building has been described as "a neat, small wooden building, forty-five feet and a half long, thirty and a half wide, and twenty-two between joints, or up to the roof," and was built, partly, at the expense of the members of the Church of England, in Stratford, and partly by the liberal contributions of several pious and generous gentlemen of the neighboring provinces, and sometimes of travelers who occa- sionally passed through the town.""
It was opened for divine service on Christmas day, 1724.
Mr. Johnson's missionary field was very large; for, be- sides occasional visits to a greater distance, his labors were distributed among the following places : Fairfield, Norwalk, Newtown, Ripton, West Haven, and New Haven.
Success to a good degree attended the labors of the mis- sionaries in this place. At Mr. Muirson's death, in 1708, it is said : " The parish, with about thirty communicants and a respectable number of families, was now left to the occasional services of missionaries who chanced to visit this and the neighboring towns."®
The Vestry and Wardens quit claimed the same April 4, 1729. Nehemiah Lorin, ¿ Church
Richard Rogers, 5 Wardens.
William Smith, ?
James Labore,
Vestry.
John Benjamin, Samuel French, 1
This land was sold by quit claim to Mr. Joseph Brown, April 19, 1731, by
John Benjamin, Church Warden. William Smith. Thomas Latten. John Kee.
Francis Barlow.
5 The Church in Conn., i.
6 Dr. Beardsley's Hist. of the Church in Conn., i. 24.
.
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The Episcopal Church.
In 1723, it is said : "The parish of Stratford, when he [Mr. Johnson] came to it, numbered about thirty families ; and forty more-to say nothing of the few churchmen farther eastward-might be included in the neighboring towns and districts."7 In 1727, Mr. Johnson, in writing to the Honora- ble Society, represented " that he had then in his parish fifty families, or about one-seventh of the whole number of families in the town."
The fact that the supporters of the Episcopal Church in Stratford and in Connecticut were required by law to pay taxes for the support of the Congregational churches, was the one most irritating and distressing difficulty with which they had to contend. It was a sore trial, and was all wrong, but was just what dissenting bodies were undergoing in England at the same time, and this is the only excuse, that a law had been established in this respect, in harmony with the law in England, and to it the English government made no objec- tion. The law in Connecticut was in favor of the Congrega- tional churches: the law in England was in favor of the Church of England.
The law in Connecticut was enforced, in regard to the organization of new Congregational parishes, in that the par- ties were required to pay to the old society until recognized by the General Court as a new society, for a part or the whole of the year.
A close examination of the record of town acts between 1706, and 1730, reveals no vote in Stratford to release the supporters of the Episcopal Church from paying taxes to the established church ; and it would have been contrary to the law to pass such a vote.
In 1727, upon the petition of the Episcopal people of Fairfield, an act was passed by the legislature to relieve the members of the Episcopal Church from paying to the support of the Congregational churches.8
7 Ibid, 54. Ibid, 60.
8 " May, 1727. Be it enacted by the Governor, Council and Representatives, in Gen- eral Court assembled, and by the authority of the same.
That all persons who are of the Church of England, and those who are of the churches established by the laws of this government, that live in the bounds of
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History of Stratfora.
After this, no vote of the town of Stratford has been seen, recognizing this act, until January, 1737-8, when, in- stead of saying, as usual, that the tax was for the salary of the minister, it says "to defray ministerial salaries and charges." Hence, the tax was laid on all persons alike, in the society, but that collected from Episcopalians was paid to the Episcopal minister or Church.
It further appears that the Episcopal Church and people of Stratford were treated in a friendly manner by the voters and proprietors of the common lands in the town.
Dr. Samuel Johnson was greatly in favor of education in higher branches as well as the lower. His influence at Yale College was decidedly helpful and notedly generous. The following record in Stratford was a movement projected by himself :
" At a town meeting Ist Monday in February, 1733-4, the Rev. Samuel Johnson, in behalf of the members of the Church of England in Stratford, requesting the liberty of erecting and setting up a School House on the Common, near the southeast corner of Lieut. Joseph Beach's house lot ; on consideration thereof Edmund Lewis, John Thompson, Esq., and Captain John Wells were chosen a committee to view and consider the most important and convenient place, and where said committee shall fix the place that they shall
any parish allowed by this Assembly, shall be taxed by the parishioners of the said parish by the same rule and in the same proportion, for the support of the ministry in such parish : but if it so happen that there be a society of the Church of England, where there is a person in orders according to the canons of the Church of England, settled and abiding among them, and performing divine ser- vice, so near to any person that hath declared himself of the Church of England that he can conveniently and doth attend the public worship there, then the col- lectors, having first indiferently levied the tax as above said, shall deliver the taxes collected of such persons declaring themselves and attending aforesaid, unto the minister of the Church of England living near unto such persons ; which minister shall have full power to receive and recover the same, in order to his support in the place assigned to him. But if such proportion of taxes be not sufficient in any society of the Church of England, to support the incumbent there, then such society may levy and collect of them, who profess and attend as aforesaid, greater taxes at their own discretion, for the support of their minister. And the parish- ioners of the Church of England, attending as aforesaid, are hereby excused from paying any taxes for building meeting-houses for the present establisht churches of this government."
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The Episcopal Church.
think most convenient, liberty is granted for said persons there to erect and set up said school house."
This was about seventy years before the building was erected on the green, still remembered as the Academy, and whether Dr. Johnson secured the erection of a school house as proposed, has not been ascertained.
Another item indicates this spirit of friendliness and also equity toward the members of the Episcopal Church, as well as all others ; it was the granting of land to those members for their church or minister in proportion as the town or pro- prietors had granted to the Congregational ministers. When Mr. Chauncey was settled here, some land was given him, as a settlement. When Mr. Cutler was settled, one hundred acres, besides a house lot, were given to him, and one hun- dred acres were given to Mr. Jedediah Mills on his settle- ment at Ripton ; and a number of acres were given to Mr. Richardson Minor, upon his settlement at Unity.
In the winter of 1735-6, the supporters of the Episcopal Church petitioned the proprietors of the common lands in the town to grant them land for their church in proportion to what had been granted to the Congregational ministers of the town, and a committee was appointed by the proprietors to ascertain how much land should in equity be thus sequest- ered. Upon that committee's report the following action was taken by the proprietors' meeting :
" March, 1736. Whereas, several persons belonging to the Church of England in Stratford for themselves and the rest of their brethren proprietors in said Stratford belonging to said Church of England, making request and desiring an equivalent of land may be allowed them for the lands form- erly given to several Presbyterian ministers in fee and some given the use in said Stratford, in consideration whereof it was voted that our friends and neighbors in Stratford belong- ing to the Church of England, and being also proprietors in the common and undivided land in said Stratford, shall have the liberty of having laid out to them, collectively considered, ten acres of land in any of the common and undivided land six miles distant, provided it be in full satisfaction for their proportion in all lands formerly given to the Presbyterian
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History of Stratford.
ministry in said Stratford, either for use or in fee, said land to be taken up in one entire piece in the six-mile division, so called. Said vote passed nemine contradicente."9
Four years later another request made, was as readily granted :
" To the moderator of the Proprietors' meeting in Strat- ford the IIth day of instant, February, A. D., 1739-40, and the proprietors of Stratford of the common and undivided land, the humble request of us, the subscribers for ourselves, and on behalf of the rest of our brethren members of the Episcopal Church of England in Stratford, that, whereas sun- dry persons have subscribed to an instrument of equal date of these presents to give out of our rights of land in the last six-mile division granted the first Tuesday of instant, Febru- ary, for the proper use, benefit and behoof of the Episcopal Church of England in Stratford, this is, therefore, to request that we, the subscribers, may have the liberty to take up the same land subscribed adjoining to a tract lately laid out [the ten acres] for the use of the Church of England, or if that cannot be, we may have liberty to take the whole of the sub- scription in one piece, if that may be found convenient.
Subscribed by Samuel Blagge. Samuel French. William Beach. Francis Hawley. Joseph Brown.
" Which above said request, at said meeting, was granted, provided they lay not out above twenty acres, as aforesaid." These petitioners were the officers of the church.
The restriction to twenty acres, limited only the laying twenty acres in one piece. They might have given hundreds of acres, in various places, if they had chosen.
" " Church's land :
Laid out ten acres by the proprietors' Committee-adjoining to the South end of Menhantuck Swamp, so called-beginning at a pond of water on the east side of Newtown road.
"May 6, 1736.
Edmund Lewis, Jose Blacklach, Theoph. Nicolls, Proprietors' Com."
The Episcopal Church. 325
It should be remembered that proprietors of common, or undivided lands, were a different class from freeholders, for there were some freeholders who had no rights in common lands, but the number was small.
There were seventeen names attached to the paper re- ferred to in the above petition, and the number of acres given are recorded, except in the case of the two last names, one of which the figures are not intelligible, the other has no figure attached, probably by the carelessness of the recorder.10
The owners of the common land, at this time, numbered 199, holding rights, claiming from a small fraction of an acre to nearly fifty acres, according as each held a greater or less proportion of one of the original seventeen rights. There were at this time a number of thousand acres of land undi- vided, but lying in smaller pieces in many portions or parts of the township.
So far then as the actions of the citizens, in town meeting assembled, and those of the proprietors of the common lands are concerned, there seems to have been a spirit of equity and neighborly conduct manifested, throughout, toward the supporters of the Episcopal Church in Stratford.
Some misapprehension seems to have been entertained as to the relation of the Connecticut government to other denom- inations than the legally established churches. The early set- tlers were very nearly unanimous in their religious prefer-
10 " To all whom these presents shall come, Greeting-Know ye that we whose names are under written, Do give unto the Episcopal Church of England in Stratford, the several parcels of land affixed to our names . . for the only use, benefit, and behoof of ye sd Church of England and their successors forever. Feb. II, 1739-40.
William Beach, 3 acres.
Samuel French, I
Samuel French, Jr., 14
Elephalet Curtiss, I acres. Joseph Lewis, Benjamin Lewis, 1/2 Samuel Blagge, 1/2 Francis Hawley, 1/2 James Fairchild, 14
Elisha Blagge, James Bears,
Jonathan Curtiss, 60 Rods.
Caleb Beardslee, I Joseph Shelton, 3
Richard Blacklach.
Israel Beardslee, 14 and 12 quarter.
Edmund Lewis."
Land Records, B. 9, page 132.
This land was laid next to Newtown line, April 4, 1743.
22
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History of Stratford.
ences and ideas of church government ; but soon persons be- gan to settle here, holding different views in these matters, and as soon as these persons became sufficient in number to indicate the propriety of toleration, the General Court con- ceded the question, and acted accordingly.
The Connecticut Act of Toleration.
" General Court, May, 1669.
This Court having seriously considered the great divis- ions that arise amongst us about matters of church govern- ment, for the honor of God, wellfare of the churches, and preservation of the publique peace so greatly hazarded, doe declare that, whereas the Congregationall churches in these parts for the generall of their profession and practice, have hitherto been approved, we can doe no less than still ap- prove and countenance the same to be without disturbance until better light in an orderly way doth appeare ; but, yet, for as much as sundry persons of worth for prudence and piety amongst us are otherwise persuaded (whose wellfare and peaceable sattisfaction we desire to accommodate). This Court doth declare that all such persons being allso approved according to lawe as orthodox and sownd in the fundamen- talls of [the] Christian religion may have allowance of their persuasion and profession in church wayes or assemblies without disturbance."11
This did not include Quakers, for they were regarded, in those days, as not orthodox, but light was springing as if from a hundred hamlets and spreading like the rays of the rising sun, and hence, six years later, in 1675, the Quakers were re- lieved from persecution, in the following act, although not allowed to meet in separate assemblies. " This Court being moved to consider of the law respecting Quakers, doe see cause at present to suspend the penalty for absence from our publique assemblies or imprisonment of those of that perswa- sion, provided they do not gather into assemblies in this Col- ony or make any disturbance."
11 Col. Rec., ii. 109.
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Connecticut Toleration.
The act of 1669 allowed persons of every persuasion, if orthodox in faith, to hold public worship-or, in its own words, " that all such persons being also approved, according to law as orthodox, and sound in the fundamentals of [the] Christian religion, may have allowance of their persuasion and profession in church ways, or assemblies, without dis- turbance."
Although these acts did not secure full liberty of con- science-a thing then unknown to law in the world-yet, how great was the contrast between the religious liberties of Con- necticut at that time, and those of England, the mother coun- try whence the pilgrims came, where the Church of England was then in the ascendancy, and her Bishops held full sway. King Charles II. was restored to authority in 1660, and soon after a convocation of divines changed various parts of the Prayer Book, and added severe terms of conformity ; and it has been said it " was the study of the Bishops to make the terms of conformity as hard as possible ;" and, " on St. Bartholo- mew's day, August the twenty-fourth, in the year 1662, the act of uniformity expelled from the establishment [the Eng- lish Church] all ministers who would not swear their un- feigned assent and consent to everything in the Book of Com- mon Prayer. In many parts of the kingdom, the ministers could not procure the book before the time within which the law required them to swear to it or resign their livings, so that, in their farewell sermons, they told their flocks, that they were obliged to leave them for not swearing to a book which they had not been able to see.
"Two thousand ministers resigned their livings in the establishment, and exposed themselves to the loss of all things, rather than submit to these new terms of conformity, which their consciences condemned.
" The great Mr. Locke styled these two thousand ejected ministers, learned, pious, orthodox divines."
But this was not the severest part of the persecutions which then reigned with a high and severe hand.
" The conventicle act was passed, decreeing, that if any person, above the age of sixteen years be present at any meeting for worship, different from the Church of England,
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History of Stratford.
where there shall be more than five persons more than the household, they shall, for the first offence, suffer three months imprisonment, or pay five pounds ; for the second, the pun- ishment was doubled ; and for the third, they shall be ban- ished to America, or pay a hundred pounds ; and if they re- turn from banishment, suffer death."
" The oath of an informer was sufficient to inflict all the severity of this statute, and thus, while many of the best men filled the jails, the vilest of the human race rioted in debauch- ery by informing for the sake of the reward."12
A few years later and further measures were taken against the non-conforming ministers. " An act of passive obedience, and non-resistance was enacted ; and all who refused it, were prohibited from coming within five miles of any corporate town where they formerly preached ; or from keeping schools, or taking boarders, under a penalty of forty pounds. Thus, though they were not actually burnt alive, they were inten- tionally starved to death."13
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