USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Stratford > A history of the old town of Stratford and the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut > Part 59
USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Bridgeport > A history of the old town of Stratford and the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut > Part 59
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History of Stratford.
the corner of State and Water streets. On the 14th of Feb- ruary, 1850, this house was dedicated-the Rev. Dr. Durbin and the Rev. Allen Steele preaching on the occasion. At its completion a debt of about nine thousand dollars remained, which was paid in 1860, Mr. Eben Fairchild generously giving half the sum upon the rest being raised by others.
" The first Sunday school in connection with this society was organized during the conference year commenceing in 1828. The records of this school were burned with the church in 1849."
The pastors in this church since 1862 have been : 1862 and 3, John Miley ; 1864 and 5, Ichabod Simmons; 1866 and 7, Frank Bottome; 1867, 8 and 9, James M. Carroll; 1870, John Dickenson; 1871, 2 and 3, S. H. Platt; 1874, 5 and 6, Daniel O. Ferris : 1877, 8 and 9, George A. Hubbell ; 1879, 80 and 81, Charles E. Harris; 1881 and 82, H. Q. Judd ; 1883, 4, 5, W. W. Clark.17
The Washington Park Methodist Episcopal Church was organized September 12, 1853. The first church edifice was erected on the corner of Barnum and Noble streets, and was completed and occupied in the same year. Its original cost was four thousand dollars, but in 1867 it was enlarged and improved at an expense of eleven thousand dollars. This structure was removed in 1883, and a commodious brick edi- fice erected on the old site, with a chapel and parlor rooms adjoining, for Sunday school and social meetings. The cor- ner-stone of this edifice was laid May 23, 1883, and the dedi- cation services were held March 30, 1884. Their present pastor is the Rev. Edwin G. Blake.18
The Tabernacle Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in July, 1873. In March, 1874, the house of worship, which stands on North Main street, at the foot of Frank street, was completed, and in the following month the Rev. A. B. Sanford was appointed its pastor. His successors have been the Rev. S. H. Smith, the Rev. David Osborn, the Rev.
17 This historical sketch is taken from a record made in the church book by the Rev. D. O. Ferris, the pastor, at the time, 1878 or 9.
18 After the type were set for this history a pamphlet was obtained containing a full account of the church.
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Joseph R. Dumble, who commenced his labors here in March, 1880. The cost of the church edifice, including the lot, was about $4,500. Their present pastor is the Rev. O. F. Tree.
The African Methodist Episcopal Chapels are two, located on Broad, near Whiting street. The older, or Bethel Church, was built in 1835 ; the younger and larger, known as Zion Church, was completed, as a tablet over the door informs the passer by, in June, 1843. These churches hold regular church and Sunday school services.
The German Methodist Episcopal Church is located on East Main street, and the Rev. Gustave Bobolin is pastor.
A Stillwellite Methodist Church had an existence several years in Bridgeport. The Stillwell itinerant ministers commenced preaching here, at Zoar Bridge, and in Derby in 1821 or 2. Their services here were held in the old Congre- gational meeting house, at the corner of North and Park avenues, which had been several years occupied by the Methodist Episcopal Church of Bridgeport. Their ministers' names were David P. Candill, Lounsbury, and Brewer. The Rev. Mr. Tuckerman came in 1824 and remained about five years, when the society was merged into the Methodist Episcopal Church. There was a class formed of the Still- wellites and a leader appointed. The following were some of the members: Anson Bradley, of Toilsome Hill, Samuel Hodges, of Bridgeport, Joel Mitchell and wife, Mills Middle- brook and wife, Benjamin Bennett, Mrs. Isaac Odell, Capt. Thomas Brothwell and wife.
The meetings were attended by the community, and Mr. Tuckerman was much esteemed, and was supported by mem- bers of various churches living in that neighborhood. He afterwards joined the Congregational church, and preached a time in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., where he died in the pulpit.
After Mr. Tuckerman left, a Protestant Methodist came and preached a short time. Lorenzo Dow preached in this old church to crowded congregations, the capacity of the house being such as to seat about four hundred.19
19 For all the particulars of this Stillwell Church, see manuscript of Mr. S. M. Main, deposited with the Fairfield County Historical Society.
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The Hebrew congregation (Benai Israel), in Bridge- port, was organized September 19, 1859, the first minister being the Rev. A. Jacobs, and the place of worship No. 35 Wall street. The ministers have changed frequently. For a time the congregation met at Freedman's Building, on State street opposite the court house, but it now meets every Fri- day evening at seven o'clock and every Saturday morning at eight o'clock, in the Curtis Building, 483 Main street. The Rev. Gustav Gumpel is the pastor.
The Advent Christian Church of Bridgeport was organized in November, 1849, with fourteen members, and has maintained regular services ever since, on Sunday and week-day evenings, although most of the time without a pastor. About eighty members have been added since the church was formed. The place of meeting is Temperance Hall, on Beach street.
The Church of Christ in Bridgeport have held meet- ings since the year 1871, but were not formally organized as a church until August 23, 1874, under the leadership of Dr. W. A. Belding, of Troy, N. Y. The meetings were at first held in a private house, but for several years past they have been conducted in the hall at No. 356 Main street, on Sunday and two week-day evenings. The church has had no regu- larly installed or employed pastor, but has had the service of revivalists, especially that of Charles Abercrombie, in May, 1880.
St. Augustine's Church-Catholic .- The Rev. Father McDermott was the first Catholic priest who celebrated mass in Bridgeport. This was in the house of Mr. Farrell, on Middle street, in the year 1834, there being then about eighteen Catholic families residing in this city. Soon after- wards, by order of Bishop Fenwick, the Rev. James Smith visited Bridgeport once a month for the purpose of holding services. He built the brick church which stood on the corner of Arch street and Washington avenue, and the church was called St. James's Church. The Rev. Michael Lynch was the first settled pastor of this church and of the Catholic people in Bridgeport, and received his appointment here in December, 1842.
50-0 6:1
ST. AUGUSTINE'S CHURCH AND ST. AGNES CONVENT.
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On September 2, 1852, the Rev. Thomas J. Synnot was appointed by Bishop O'Reilly pastor of this church. Soon after his arrival he commenced building the church of St. Mary, on Crescent avenue, in East Bridgeport, and finished it in the following year. In this same year he began St. Thomas' Church, at Fairfield, and finished it in 1854. In 1864, the brick church on Washington avenue having become too small, the foundation of the present edifice was laid on the corner of Washington avenue and Pequonnock street. This church, which is the largest in Bridgeport, was named St. Augustine Church and dedicated March 17, 1867, and cost about one hundred thousand dollars. It is built of gray granite from the quarries of North Bridgeport. It is intended to carry the spire about ninety feet higher than its present termination, making it far the highest object in the city, and the more so because of its location on Golden Hill. The whole number of Catholics embraced in the St. Augustine parish is about four thousand souls, and the average attend- ance at mass is estimated to be three thousand. The Sunday school contains about six hundred and fifty members. The amount raised for church purposes, parish expenses, and buildings, during the pastorate of twenty-eight years of the Rev. Father Synnot, cannot be far from a quarter of a million dollars.
Adjoining this church on the west is a large, imposing structure, built of granite from Plymouth, Conn., which is the home of the Sisters of Mercy and an academy for young ladies. It was completed in 1881 and cost about the same as the church.
Church of Sacred Heart of Jesus was erected in the year 1884, on Myrtle avenue near Prospect street. It is built of brick with granite trimmings, in the equilateral Gothic style, large and commodious, the ceiling being vaulted and groined. Rev. Dennis J. Cremin is the pastor.
St. Mary's Church-Catholic-of Bridgeport, is loca- ted on the corner of Pembroke and Steuben streets, and is a fine brick edifice with stone basement. This church was commenced as an out mission of St. James's, now St. August-
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ine's, and was a frame building located on the corner of Cres- cent avenue and Church street, erected in 1854. The first missionaries to this church were the Reverends M. O'Neil, P. Lamb and Dr. Wallace. The first pastor was the Rev. Peter A. Smith, installed in April, 1857, who built the par- sonage house and continued pastor until February 10, 1862. He afterwards died while pastor at Norwalk, Conn. He was succeeded by the Rev. Francis J. Lenihan, who continued pastor until November 1, 1866, when he was transferred to Woonsocket, R. I., where he died. He was followed by the Rev. Richard O. Gorman, who served until October 6, 1867, and was succeeded by the Rev. Thomas Dea, who continued to his death, July 23, 1873. These all ministered in the old church. The Rev. John F. Rogers was transferred from Newtown, Conn,, where he was pastor five years, to this parish the Sunday following the decease of Father Dea. He was graduated at Mount St. Mary's College, at Emmetsburgh, Md. He commenced the new church edifice in June, 1874, located on the corner of Pembroke and Steuben streets, the corner-stone was laid May 16, 1875, and the house was dedi- cated October 14, 1877, by the late Bishop Galbury. The edifice is built in the Romanesque style, the basement of stone and the superstructure of brick, 74 feet front on Pem- broke street and 154 feet in length, with a spire 187 feet in height. Its principal ornament inside is a Roman altar 35 feet in height. The basement is 14 feet in height, completed and occupied as a Sunday school room and for the meeting of various societies connected with the church. The parson- age was built in 1881, adjoining the church on the south, the lot extending to Sherman street.
The old church edifice has been remodeled into a paro- chial school building, the school being taught by the Sisters of Mercy, residing in the old parsonage adjoining. Mr. Rog- ers was the first to introduce the Sisters into Bridgeport. This parish, including West Stratford, now contains about three thousand souls.
The assistant pastor is the Rev. J. C. O'Connell, and the trustees are Patrick Cullen, John Flood; the committee, Martin Lee, John B. Sullivan, Martin Quinlan, Patrick Gil-
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martin, Thomas McGovern; organist, Sister Mary Burk- mans; the superintendents of the Sunday school are the Sisters of Mercy.
The German Catholic Church was organized in De- cember, 1874, and for a time held religious services in a hall in Wheeler's Building, on Main street. From this they re- moved to the building No. 449 Main street. The present house of worship, on Madison avenue near Washington, was commenced in October, 1878, and completed in April of the following year, at a cost, including the lot, of eight thousand dollars. The Rev. Joseph A. Schaele, of New Haven, has been the pastor from the organization of the church to the present time. There were at first twenty-five families in the congregation, which now numbers seventy-five families, or about three hundred persons. The Sunday school has one hundred members. Mass is celebrated and a sermon preached every Sunday morning, the pastor returning to New Haven at the conclusion of the services.
The Park Street Congregational Church is located on the corner of Park and Barnum streets, fronting Washing- ton Park. A movement toward the organization of a Congre- gational church in that part of the city of Bridgeport lying east of the Pequonnock river, was made in November, 1867. The first meeting to consider the subject was held on the 22d of that month at the house of Mr. W. E. Smith, corner of Barnum and William streets. The Rev. B. B. Beardsley, of the First Congregational Church, and Mr. Thomas Lord, of the Second, were present and offered to hire the Bethesda Mission Chapel-now the East Washington avenue Baptist Church-for at least one year, for the use of a Congregational church, should one be formed, and in view of this proposition it was thought advisable to occupy the chapel, and the Rev. Joel H. Linsley, D.D., of Greenwich, was engaged to preach on four Sundays.
The first public services were held November 24, 1867, and on the 16th of December following a meeting was held in the basement of the Bethesda Chapel, at which it was "Re- solved, as the sense of this meeting, that it is expedient to
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take measures for organizing a Congregational church in East Bridgeport." A council was accordingly called on the 15th of January, 1868, to devise respecting the matter, and if deemed expedient, to assist in the organization of a church. The council when convened voted that it was desirable to form a church, and proceeded in the formal services to that end. The church thus constituted, consisted of thirty-nine members, of whom twenty-three had been dismissed from the First Church, five from the Second Church, five from the church in Newington, three from the church in Westport, two from the church in Monroe, and one from the Chapel street church of New Haven.
On the 19th of March, 1868, Andrew L. Winton and James P. Bishop were elected deacons of the new church, and on the first day of July Mr. John G. Davenport, of Wilton, having supplied the pulpit for three months, and received a unanimous call to its pastorate, was ordained and installed pastor of the church and society.
A site for a house of worship having been purchased on the corner of Park and Barnum streets, the corner-stone of a church edifice was laid November 1, 1870. Services were held in the Bethesda Chapel until the Ist of July, 1871, when the basement of the new edifice was occupied, and on the 17th . of October the church, having cost about $25,000, was dedi- cated to the worship of Almighty God.
Until the close of the year 1871 the church was under the fostering care of the Connecticut Home Missionary Society, when it became self-supporting.20
The following have served as deacons, each retiring at the end of four, five or six years, the present rule being that each term expires at the end of four years, any one being eligible to reëlection after an interval of one year: Andrew L. Winton, James P. Bishop, Charles M. Minor, David Wooster, Harmon Lane, James P. Bishop, Charles M. Minor, Frederick W. Storrs, David Wooster, James P. Bishop, Charles M. Minor.
The success of this church has been very marked and
20 Historical sketch in the Church Manual, printed in 1881.
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continuous to the present time. Mr. John G. Davenport was ordained its pastor July 1, 1868, and labored with much suc- cess until the summer of 1881, when he was dismissed to accept a call to the Second Congregational Church of Water- bury, where he was installed November 9, 1881. His suc- cessor was the Rev. George S. Thrall, who was installed in October, 1881, and after nearly three years of very acceptable service was dismissed, at his own request, on account of ill health.
The Rev. Frederick E. Hopkins, the present pastor, was installed March 26, 1884, and the prosperity of the church is continued. During the summer of 1885 an addition was made to the church edifice and considerable changes in the audience room, at a cost of about $2,500.
Olivet Church (Congregational) .- About the year 1866 a mission Sunday school was commenced by members of the First Congregational Church and others in the northern part of the city. The school met at first in the upper story of No. 114 North Washington avenue, afterwards at Olivet Hall, upon the corner of Grand street. After some time the school developed into the church now known as Olivet Congrega- tional Church, which was formally organized by a council convened for the purpose, November 16, 1870, and on Decem- ber 14, 1870, the Rev. DeForest B. Dodge was ordained pas- tor, and he resigned October 11, 1871, and letters of dismis- sion were granted to forty-nine members of this church to join him in forming a new ecclesiastical body. His success- ors as the pastors of Olivet Church have been : the Rev. S. Hopkins Emory, April, 1872; the Rev. Allen Clark, Septem- ber, 1874; the Rev. John S. Wilson, August, 1879. The building now used by the society, on the corner of Main street and North avenue, was completed and occupied for worship December 24, 1876. It cost, including the site, about $3,500. The Rev. S. D. Gaylord became pastor of this church November 8, 1882, and died in office December 31, 1884. Mr. Edwin R. Holden, of Yale Divinity School, commenced the supply of the pulpit in March, 1885, and was ordained pastor June 9, 1885. This church has received assistance largely from the First Congregational Church and
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to some extent from other churches, for many years. It is under the care and aid of the Connecticut Home Missionary Society.
The Colorado Street Chapel is located in the western part of the city. About the end of February, 1884, a mission Sunday school was commenced under the auspices of the First Presbyterian Church, which at the end of the year they relinquished, and in May, 1885, it became a branch of the Sunday school of the First Congregational Church, under the charge of an assistant superintendent. The school met at first in an unoccupied store on State street, then in a cottage on Howard street, but the Congregational church decided at once to build a chapel, and land on Colorado street was purchased on the 11th of May, and a building erected. This was done by the Rev. C. R. Palmer and Col. Charles H. Russell, acting for the standing committee of the church. This chapel was completed September 8th and dedicated Sep- tember 13th, with appropriate services. It was occupied by the Sabbath school from that date. As soon as a gas pipe had been laid through the street, so that the building could be lighted, services were held on Sabbath evenings, and these have continued until the present time. Until January 1, 1886, the pulpit was supplied by various gentlemen, under the direction of Mr. Palmer. From that date Mr. Robert W. Sharp became the stated supply. He is a member of the senior class in Yale Divinity School, to graduate in May next. The chapel has been conveyed by the builders to the First Congregational Church (an incorporated body), in the expect- ation that it will be conveyed ultimately to a religious society at the west end. It is valued at $4,200, with its contents.
Mr. James L. Harlem was the original superintendent of the school, when it was in Presbyterian hands, and has been continued in office by the Congregationalists. The success of it is largely due to the energy and enthusiasm which he has displayed from the beginning.
The First Baptist Church in Bridgeport was consti- tuted September 20, 1837, with thirty-nine members. At that time the population of the city was about three thousand, and
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the only Baptist church then within ten miles was at Strat- field, three miles distant, which was under the pastoral care of the Rev. James H. Linsley, who resided in Stratford. There were but three or four Baptists residing in the city, one of whom, Miss Hannah Nichols, a devoted and active member of the Stratfield church, about the year 1835 pro- posed the purchase of land upon which to erect a church in the future. There were three brothers, named Whitney, also members of the Stratfield church, residing about a mile from the city, who had frequently consulted together, and with Miss Nichols, the Rev. Mr. Linsley, and others, upon the practicability of establishing a Baptist church in Bridgeport. They were all waiting for a providential opening to enable them to accomplish that object, when the way was opened, sooner than they expected, by the offer of the Episcopal society to sell their church edifice, on the corner of State and Broad streets, for $3,650. Mr. Linsley circulated the subscrip- tion paper until he secured $3,000, and paid it to the Episco- pal society, and a deed was received August 8, 1835. During this time a meeting was called and on July 24, 1835, a Baptist society was organized, composed of six members, namely : Benjamin Wakeman, Raymond, Roswell, Bennett Whitney, and two other persons whose names are not known.
It was expected that the Rev. Mr. Linsley would accept the pastorate, but failing health compelled him to relinquish preaching, and the services of the Rev. Wm. W. Evarts, then a student in Madison University, were temporarily secured. Public worship commenced in the church April 23, 1837, but five weeks afterwards Mr. Evarts returned to his studies, and the church being unable to procure a permanent pastor, public worship was discontinued until the latter part of 1838, when the Rev. James W. Eaton, of Boston, became the first settled minister of the church, and thus continued for two and a half years, laboring faithfully and zealously until March 26, 1840, when he removed to Springfield, Mass. During his ministry the church prospered and increased its membership from 39 to 106. On the 18th of September, 1840, a unanimous call was extended to the Rev. Daniel Harwington, of Fort Ann, N. Y., and he became pastor of the church on the 3d of
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the following month. He resigned October 16, 1842, the church having then 123 members. The next pastor was the Rev. William Smith, of Camden, N. J., who was settled here Nov. 21, 1842, and remained until July 8, 1845, during which time the church suffered severely by many of its members embracing the teachings of Millerism ; but toward the close of his ministry many new converts were added to the church, through the labors of the Rev. Jacob Knapp.
The church was without a pastor from that time until January 3, 1846, when the Rev. William Reid was settled, after having previously occupied the pulpit for two or three months, and he continued in the pastorate for more than eight years, closing his labors May 28, 1854. At this time the num- ber of members was reported to be 225. During this ministry the house of worship was repaired and the church debt liqui- dated, but towards the close of his service a division arose among its members which resulted, afterwards, in the forma- tion of the second Baptist church of Bridgeport. After the resignation of Mr. Reid, June 1, 1854, the church extended a call to the Rev. J. R. Storrs, of New York, who accepted it, but after supplying the pulpit a few Sundays, resigned. A call was then extended to the Rev. W. C. Richards, who accepted, but resigned without entering upon his pastoral duties. The Rev. A. G. Palmer, D.D., then became the pastor of the church, and the formation of the second Baptist church, which now took place, greatly enfeebled the church and discouraged the new pastor. He commenced his pastor- ate October, 1855, and resigned September 27, 1857. The Rev. J. L. Hodge, D.D., succeeded him and labored for the church three years, commencing in November, 1857. During his ministry a new house of worship, commodious and sub- stantial, was erected, and the church was placed in a better position for prosperity. Dr. Hodge labored earnestly, not only in his regular ministrations, but to bring about a union of the two churches, and to complete the new edifice. After the removal of the Rev. Dr. Hodge the church extended a call to the Rev. A. McGregor Hopper, D.D., who had just closed his labors with the Baptist church at Auburn, N. Y. He accepted the call and commenced his pastorate in March,
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1861. Soon after the settlement of Dr. Hopper the second church disbanded and most of its members returned to the first church. Through the efforts of Dr. Hopper the debt remaining on the new edifice was paid, and he found much success in his work. The membership was increased to 331. Dr. Hopper resigned September 1, 1877, the Rev. M. H. Pogson became the settled pastor January 30, 1878, and labored with much success until January 2, 1884, when he resigned to accept a pastorate in New York City. The Rev. Wm. V. Garner was settled as pastor in this church June 4, 1884, being the present minister. The deacons of this church are : W. E. Payson, M. E. Morris, Albert Wisner and Louis Skinner. The present membership is 364.
The Washington Avenue Baptist Church was or- ganized January 30, 1874, with forty-seven members, the Rev. C. W. Ray being the first pastor. The price paid for the church edifice and lot, which fronts on Washington Park, and originally belonged to the Bethesda Mission Sunday school, was $10,000, and about $3,500 additional, were expended in repairs and improvements. The Rev. Charles Coleman was pastor some years, but resigned in 1885. The Rev. W. M. Ingersoll is the present pastor, and the deacons are: P. J. Black, C. W. Scarrit, J. H. Gunn, and C. W. Beers.
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