A modern history of Windham county, Connecticut : a Windham county treasure book, Volume I, Part 65

Author: Lincoln, Allen B
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: Chicago : S. J. Clarke publ. co.
Number of Pages: 930

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About this time the great need for some provision for disabled ministers and their families, for the widows and orphans of ministers, began to claim much thought, and the result was that Mr. Willard has been known as the "Father of the Fund for Ministers."

While living in Willimantic Mr. Willard was chosen a member of the Yale Corporation, and continued to serve for twenty years, much of the time on its prudential committee, and was a greatly valued member.

His real pleasure in seeing the town life develop along various lines and his connection year after year with the schools kept him in close touch with the people in all the walks of life. It was his custom to take visiting friends to see the schools, the mills, the town as a whole, and to anything of especial interest at the time. He believed in the town and gave himself whole-heartedly to its best advancement.

One reason that Mr. Willard was able to accomplish so much (for he car- ried on many interests at the same time and, as Dr. Burton said, he had "an amazing grasp of the numberless particulars of business") was his calm, unshaken trust in the One who ruled the world, while he on his part tried to use the talents entrusted to him. He criticized himself as an outsider might do -- the length of his sermons, the number of minutes given to prayer in the morn- ing service, the quality of his voice. Of his voice Dr. N. J. Burton said : "He had a good voice wherewith to express sympathy, and it was soft and kind and even, and the tone of it was deep and real. I have heard it hundreds of times and I shall not forget it."

Whatever might be the calls outside of the direct church duties, he did not neglect the home work. Frequently twelve calls were made in one day, and he averaged four hundred each year, while Mrs. Willard usually made about half as many. While Mr. Willard was living these busy years in Willimantic he had frequent invitations to consider other fields, and occasionally he had placed before him the opportunity to take up other work than that of a pastor. One such question was pressing enough to require advice from his fellow ministers. It was when he was urged to become the State home missionary. A council was called and the decision was left to that body. Their judgment was that he should continue in his pastorate.

Mr. Willard took up his work in Willimantic before the railroad from Hart- ford was completed, but that fall, November, 1849, the trains began to run. He left the town in September, 1868, to become pastor of the church in Col- chester. A year or two before that the road to Boston had been surveyed, and "The Child" saw the civil engineers surveying, while the brother brought in the house the word that a railroad was to be put through their garden

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in the rear, on Union Street, and it was, and a very fertile garden plot was sac- rificed. The barn was moved, furnishing the young people with a ride in a moving building for the first time. This road was called when completed the Boston, Hartford, and Erie Railroad.

From very little interest in the common schools there was a desire to have uniform progress and some headway had been made. On September 27, 1867, Mr. Willard "went to New Haven; had tea at Professor Gilman's with Governor Hawley and Colonel Sprague. Met to converse about the State Normal School and common school matters. Those present: Prof. D. C. Gilman, Thatcher, Foster, B. G. Northrop, H. Barnard, Rev. L. Paine, Colonel Sprague, John Ferguson, Henry B. Cleavland, Rev. I. G. Baird, W. L. Kingsley, Governor Hawley, chairman; Parrish, superintendent; New Haven till 111/2 o'clock. Slept at the New Haven House."

In 1851 a letter dated August 29 said: "The Jillson property, except Colonel Jillson's house, has all been sold to a company who intend to manufac- ture linen." September 29, 1858, in a letter we find : "Things are rather quiet here. The mills are in full operation. The new thread mill, as seen from our window, makes a fine show in the evening with its numerous gas lights."

Mr. Willard was perhaps the first Protestant minister to appear in a pulpit gown in Willimantic. In March, 1856, he was surprised by a gift of a hand- some black satin gown sent by his brother, Doctor Willard, of Albany, whose wish that his older brother should follow the custom of city pastors was honored by Mr. Willard, although . the inconvenience of having no retiring room at the church caused him to discontinue the use of the gown after a time. The gown was borrowed, even in those early days, for theatricals, and is still in existence -occasionally used to adorn a Portia or some other personage of note.

It was progress to have introduced into the church the new "Hymn and Tune Book" in 1857. Mr. and Mrs. Tracy gave the copy for the pulpit. "The Child" enjoyed watching the choir back of the pulpit during sermon time. Mr. Amos Hall, with the bass viol; Mr. Curtis Jillson, at the organ; with "the Lincoln twins," Nettie and Lila (now Mrs. F. F. Webb and Mrs. Lila Brown, of Willimantic) ; also their sister Martha (the late Mrs. John M. Alpaugh), and Miss Martha Chipman as some of the singers. From a choir somewhat irregular it came to be one to be depended upon.

A memorandum at the close of the year 1862 was: "I have never been altogether successful in my plans of increasing my income, but the Lord has not allowed me to want necessary things." It was this year that the experience had come of being given an added hundred by vote, and relinquishing it, by request. But in 1868, when Mr. Willard closed this pastorate, having accepted a call to Colchester, the sale of pews, the chief source of income, had just about doubled and the salary of $1,200 for the year of 1867 and through to the last of September was a large advance over that of the years before. In 1866 the sale of seats amounted to $1,428-"'Establishing a church in a factory village" had proved a success !

One illustration of the growth of the mills is found in the remembrance of "The Child" of the building of a new stone mill in 1863-1864, as it was visited occasionally with her father. These records are those of 1863: Monday, Sep- tember 7, "went to inspect the new dam, nearly done; 18 ft. high; 10 ft. top: 13 ft. base; laid in water cement-of which they use 10 bbls. per day."

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Friday, September 11, 1863. "Went with C. to see the new dam and the steam engine in working order, and the west gate just being set up."

Wednesday, September 16. "Went with S. at noon to look at the new dam. A great work to build that mill."

On the 6th of January, 1863, Mr. Willard wrote a letter of sympathy to the Methodist minister, Rev. William Keller, whose son was mortally wounded at Fredericksburg.

The spirit of this leader throughout these dark days is shown in the following quotation from a letter written soon after the Emancipation Proclamation, September 23, 1862: "The President's proclamation brings us another step in advance. God rules. Through winds and clouds and storms He clears the nation's way."

It was a fitting act for Mr. Willard to bring to a close his life in Willimantic by casting his vote. November 3, 1868, the last of the household goods left Willimantic and the record reads: "Voted for Grant." And later: "General Grant elected President. S. Colfax, vice president."-Te Deum Laudamus.

ASHFORD

By James Warren Ingalls, M. D.

Formerly the most noticeable land mark in Ashford Center was the old meeting house. This structure was of the orthodox, New England type, painted white, green blinds and tall steeple. After having served the community for many years the church was destroyed by lightning in the summer of 1888. A year later, a smaller edifice was erected on the former site.

In times past, Sundays were strenuous days both for pastor and people. In addition to the morning service, Sunday school, and afternoon service, it was customary to hold a conference meeting at the South schoolhouse. This assemblage was usually called the "five o'clock meeting." However, in the short days of winter the minister used to give notice that the meeting at the South district would be held at "early candle lighting." Then each thrifty housewife would bring a candle in a brightly polished brass candlestick to be put on one of the desks.

The ministers surely gave us a vast amount of gospel for a very little amount of money. Doubtless many of us have forgotten the sermons we heard but we never can forget the personality and the influence of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Dutton at Ashford, of Mr. Kinney at Westford, and of Mr. Lucien Burleigh and his successor, Mr. Rockwell, at Warrenville.

Ashford people, whose memories extend back to the early '60s or to be exact to the winter of 1862-3, will recall the special services held by Elders Swan and Shaler in Warrenville or Pompey Hollow as it was formerly called. My recollection is that about seventy-five persons were baptized in the course of a few months.

The old custom of "lining out the hymns" was given up long before my childhood days. The story is told of a rather amusing incident which occurred years ago in one of the churches of a neighboring town. The good old minister proclaimed the banns of a young couple who were to be married on a certain day and hour. Immediately after making the proclamation, the aged pastor, with a deep and solemn voice, lined out "That awful day will surely come." This was sung by the choir. Then the next line of the stanza was read, "The

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HISTORY OF WINDHAM COUNTY

appointed hour draws nigh." By the time the choir had finished this second line, nearly everybody was smiling, except the minister.

The year 1918 was the two hundreth anniversary of the Ashford Congre- gationalist Church and also the fiftieth anniversary of the formation of the Ash- ford Bible Society. This society or alliance of the different churches in the town was formed for the purpose of seeing that every family in the community was provided with a Bible. At first only a few attended the annual meetings. But attendance has gradually increased so that in recent years the third Wednesday in August is regarded as a red letter day in the calendar of the loyal sons and daughters of good old Ashford.

The event is practically an old home day. The people have a chance to get better acquainted not only with their fellow townsmen but also with those who come from distant towns and cities. It seems strange that some similar plans are not generally adopted in other rural districts.

THE OLD MEETING HOUSE BELL

Sabbath morn dawns clear and still, A restful calm wraps vale and hill; Hushed are sounds of daily toil, For they need rest who till the soil.

Soon from yonder belfry tow'r The church bell speaks the sacred hour,

Pealing forth with measured chime The notes that tell the flight of time.

With a voice both deep and strong, That ancient bell now sings its song ; "All I call, to all I call,

To all I call, I call to all !"

Distant hillsides, green and fair,

Repeat soft echoes, rich and rare;

Like singers sweet in forest tall, They chant : "I call, I call to all !"

Days may pass, yet still we hear That olden bell with message clear : "All I call, to all I call, To all I call, I call to all !"

CENTRAL VILLAGE, CONN.

The Congregational Church at Central Village was organized April 15, 1846, with a membership of forty-six, fourteen males and thirty-two females; all but one coming by letter from the mother church on Plainfield Street.

Previous to the organization of the church, meetings for religious worship had been held in the old brick schoolhouse located near the cemetery on the road leading to Plainfield. Pastors from Plainfield and Moosup preaching occasionally.

The erection of the mill at Kennedy City in 1830, and the large brick mill in 1845, which called in a larger number of operatives led to a movement in Vol. 1-34

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HISTORY OF WINDHAM COUNTY

1845, to erect a house of worship, set forward by Mr. Arnold Fenner, one of the proprietors of the Central Village Manufacturing Company. The land was purchased by Col. Erastus Lester, Arnold Fenner, Daniel Wheeler, Isaac K. Cutler, and Archibald Fry, who were designated "proprietors."

The present house of worship was erected the same year and dedicated in January, 1846, Rev. Orrin Fowler of Fall River, Mass., preaching the dedi- catory sermon.

A society was formed December 20, 1845, consisting of fourteen members who met in the schoolhouse, and drew up a constitution and by-laws, after choosing the proper officers, the society was named the North Plainfield Ec- clesiastical Society, who immediately made arrangements with the "proprietors" for the control of the property.

In the following May the church and society united in calling as their first pastor, Rev. Jared O. Knapp, who was ordained September 24th.

The first deacons were Benjamin Andros and Wm. A. Lester. The follow- ing have served the church as pastors for a longer or shorter period of time :

Rev. Jared O. Knapp, Rev. James Bates, Rev. Wm. E. Bassett, Rev. Geo. Hall, Rev. Paul Couch, Rev. Geo. Huntington, Rev. J. R. Barnes, Rev. J. D. Moore, Rev. G. J. Tilloston, Rev. John Avery, Rev. John Marsland, Rev. W. B. Clark, Rev. A. H. Wilcox, Rev. Dighton Moses, Rev. G. H. Morss, Rev. Orlando M. Lord, Rev. Henry C. Crane, Rev. Andrew J. McLeod, Rev. Ray Butterfield, Rev. Geo. Benedict, Rev. Mr. Gibbs, Rev. Lewis Wall, Rev. Linley Gorton, Rev. Chas. A. Downs, Rev. Harold Barber, Rev. Clarence Barber, Rev. Thomas Payne, and Rev. Mary F. Macomber the present pastor.

The following have served the church as deacons: Benjamin Andros, Wm. A. Lester, Charles Hinckley, A. B. Fenner, E. A. Atkins, Isaac K. Cutler, H. C. Torrey, C. A. Byles, H. H. French, M. S. Nichols, H. B. Chapman and Willis Torrey, the two latter persons now filling the office.

The church membership at the present time numbers seventy-one but thirty- two are to unite with the church the following Sunday.

The Sunday school is in a flourishing condition under the direction of Supt. H. B. Chapman and numbers over eighty-five members.

The Y. P. S. C. E. holds its services Friday evening and Miss Ruth Mathew- son is president of the organization.

The Ladies Aid under the management of Mrs. Hoxie Lillibridge has al- ways been a valuable adjunct to the material welfare of the church.

The King's Daughters with Mrs. Ledora Kennedy, leader, while not con- nected with the church, has been a great help in co-operating with the church in providing for the temporal needs of the community.

The church has suffered a loss in the past in not owning a parsonage for the accommodation of its pastors, but through the generosity of Mrs. Mary Cutler Williams, a parsonage has been left which was ready for occupancy October 1, 1919.

With the pastor on the field and with an increased membership there is no reason why the church hasn't a promising future.

PUTNAM

During the first week in July, 1848-seventy years ago-in the old school- house that stood upon the slight elevation in the rear of the present Putnam Inn, twenty-seven men and women met to form a Congregational church. It

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is interesting to recall at this late date the names of the founders of this church and their affiliations at the time of its inception : Rev. E. B. Huntington, Nor- wich; Julia M. Huntington, Nathan Williams, Jr., Thompson; Catherine Wil- liams, Thompson; Lydia Burlingame, Thompson; Luciette Burlingame, Thomp- son ; Sophia Smith, Thompson; Smith Wilkinson, West Killingly ; Mary Tripp, West Killingly ; Ebenezer P. Rathbun, West Killingly; Laura A. W. Rathbun, West Killingly ; Huldah Sawyer, Pomfret; Sally Dresser, Pomfret; Caroline D. G. Perry, Pomfret; Daniel B. Plimpton, Southbridge; Tamar D. Plimpton, Southbridge; Louisa Rouse, Southbridge; David Mowry, Brooklyn; Mary E. Brewster, Brooklyn; E. M. Jackson, West Woodstock; Judith Fox, West Wood- stock; Nancy Bolles, West Woodstock; Abial Smith, Muddy Brook; Sylvia Smith, Muddy Brook; Sally Sumner, Eastford; Amherts Robinson, Brimfield.

Ten days later a council was called and met July 19, 1848, at which a sermon was preached by Rev. Dr. Dow of Thompson. While there had never been an organized church here before, there had been services held as early as 1828, when Dr. Daniel Dow wrote to the Missionary Society of Connecticut, urging them to send a missionary to preach at Pomfret Factory, as Putnam was then called, and this fact was urged on account of the Methodists having just then abandoned that field.

As early as 1812, and on for many years, a brick schoolhouse, built and owned by Mr. Wilkinson, was used for religious services-first one Sunday by Methodists and the next by Congregationalists. The Baptists also used this building.

It was largely through the efforts of Rev. George Tillotson of Brooklyn, that any definite steps were taken toward organizing this church; he preached six Sabbaths and finally induced the community to attempt to support a young man named Huntington, to whom they paid $125 for six months and he re- ceived $100 more from the Missionary Society. At this time the population of Putnam was about one thousand five hundred; it had a Baptist church and they held regular services. The young man Huntington was finally ordained and served the church three years and left in 1851; he was a Yale graduate and was born in 1816.

The second pastor at Putnam was Rev. J. Leonard Corning. who came in June, 1852, and remained till the following January. He was succeeded by Rev. Sydney L. Dean, who came in 1853, and remained until April, 1855, when Rev. J. R. Johnson was engaged as pastor, he making the fourth; he continued until dissatisfaction arose, hence his stay was brief. The fifth pastor was Rev. Eliakim Phelps, D. D., who supplied the pulpit for two years. He had wealth and cared not for salary, but wanted to preach the Gospel. The sixth pastor called was Rev. George J. Tillotson, January, 1858; he was a man of genius, a fine speaker and good organizer. He was born in Farmington in 1805, gradu- ated at Yale in 1825. He donated largely to various causes and institutions. He served the Putnam church twelve years, during which period the new church was erected. He resigned, however, a short time before it was dedi- cated, his resignation being March 8, 1870. He died March, 1888, aged eighty- three years. He was succeeded by Rev. Thomas M. Boss, who came at a time when the church debts hung heavily over the congregation. His pastorate closed July, 1876, and about one year elapsed before the coming of the eighth pastor, Rev. Charles S. Brooks. He was a graduate of Amherst College in 1864, and from Andover Seminary in 1869. The ninth pastor at Putnam was

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Rev. A. L. Love, who commenced in July, 1887, and closed his pastorate Jan- uary 11, 1890, after which he traveled in the holy land, returned to St. Louis, Mo., where he did city missionary work with success. He was a graduate of Hamilton and Andover.

September 1, 1890, Rev. Frank D. Sargent commenced his labors at Putnam. Mr. Sargent served for twenty-eight years and died in the service of this church, November 13, 1918. The high esteem in which he was held in the community is perhaps best shown by the following article, published in the Putnam Patriot at the time of this beloved pastor's death :

"There was no man in Eastern Connecticut better known than Mr. Sargent. As a minister of religion, as a public speaker, as a lecturer, and as a gentleman and friend of all, he had hundreds of friends and acquaintances who today mourn their loss. Regardless of religious or political beliefs, regardless of differences of opinion on any question, regardless of the station in life, all who knew Mr. Sargent respected, liked him, and looked up to him as a leader in the community. It may be truthfully said that no man in this city could number more friends than he.

"The universal friendship of this community was engendered by the per- sonality of the man. His magnetism as a preacher of the gospel only touched a minority of the people. Those who did come directly under his spiritual ministrations loved the minister and the man. Others respected and esteemed the man perhaps more than the minister. For he was a man first to them and a minister afterward. The cloth of the church in no manner held him aloof from the most lowly of our people, for none were so lowly that he would pass them by without a word and smile of greeting. Wherever his death was spoken of, on the street, in the home, in the business house, or in the factory, it was spoken of with a feeling of sadness, and his memory held in respect and esteem. He was in every sense of the word a man of the people, and brought into his own life and actions that great attribute, humbleness, of the Christ life of which he dearly loved to tell.

"Mr. Sargent's pastorate of the Second Congregational Church of Putnam took effect September 1, 1890, over twenty-eight years ago. Since that time the church has broadened and expanded and taken a more important place among the churches of the state. And during that time Mr. Sargent, the man, has made his influence felt in the civic and social life of the city. He has always taken an interest in public affairs. He has always deplored anything that would retard the spiritual, moral and physical growth of his adopted home ; he has always given of his time and talents to carry through any meas- ure that would advance the interests of the town. He did this in such a way that those who held different views and opinions respected his efforts as sincere and representing what he believed to be right and his duty. It was this earn- estness that impressed one, and eliminated all personal feeling that might have been engendered by a less thoughtful and tactful man.

"Mr. Sargent could get away from that ministerial limitation that in some preachers raises an invisible barrier between man and minister, and could meet all persons, not as man and minister, but as man and man. It was this char- acteristic that drew men closer to him and gave him an opportunity to get closer to those seeking his counsel and advice. Especially was this so in mem- bers of other churches and denominations. Men of all classes liked to stop a minute and talk with Mr. Sargent. His friends were not limited to Congre-

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gationalists nor to Baptists nor even to Protestants. Catholics and Hebrews knew him as a man and knew him well, and in their knowledge of him liked and respected him.

"It is this attribute, a man among men, that perhaps is most emphatically impressive when thinking of Mr. Sargent. True it is that he was a well-read, deep thinking theologian, an interesting and impressive preacher, a magnetic talker, and a lecturer that held the close attention of his audience, but under- lying all of his success and efforts along these various lines of public appear- ance was that magnetism of the man, the human, manly broadness, the thought- fulness of the feelings of others, that personifies the gentleman.

"Mr. Sargent was especially fond of young people. He was a favorite with the youngsters, the middle-aged and those of maturer years. He labored among them, he listened to their troubles; he smoothed out many rough spots in lives that have been made better for knowing him. He was always ready to listen to others' troubles. He was always ready to do a kind act; he was always ready to give assistance, counsel and advice and was a refuge for tortured souls in time of distress. When the home was under the shadow of death, he made his presence felt and many a person has come through the dark time when a loved one lay dead, thanking Mr. Sargent for easing his mental suffering and bringing hope out of the darkest hour.

"During his long ministration as a pastor he has baptized babes and seen them grow to young manhood and womanhood. He has performed the mar- riage ceremony that united members of his congregation. He has officiated at the last earthly service for others. Over a quarter of a century has he per- formed these offices of the position he held as the minister of the parish. It is little wonder that he has woven his spiritual self about the hearts of hundreds of people at Putnam."-Putnam Patriot, November 15, 1918.

The present pastor of the church is Rev. Boynton A. Merrill. He was in- stalled October 2, 1919. Mr. Merrill was released from the service of the United States navy, June 15, 1919, was married on June 26th to Miss Virginia Wor- sham of Henderson, Ky., and came to Putnam July 6, 1919. He is a graduate of Dartmouth and left Union Seminary in his senior year to enter the navy. The church had had no settled pastor since the death of her beloved Mr. Sar- gent. Under Mr. Merrill growth and increasing activity and interest in the church is reported.

The first clerk of the church was E. B. Huntington, who was likely suc- ceeded by Nathan Williams. In 1858 the records say the clerk was D. B. Plimp- ton. Following him came Henry Bennett, he in turn being succeeded by Dr. William H. Sharpe, who held the office until 1887. Since then the clerks have been John Davenport, W. H. Longden, F. W. Seward, F. E. Clark, G. B. Chaplin and F. J. Daniels, and Mrs. Walter Wheaton.

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A modern history of Windham county, Connecticut : a Windham county treasure book, Volume I, Part 65

Author: Lincoln, Allen B Publication date: 1920 Publisher: Chicago : S. J. Clarke publ. co. Number of Pages: 930

Author: Lincoln, Allen B
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: Chicago : S. J. Clarke publ. co.
Number of Pages: 930