A modern history of Windham county, Connecticut : a Windham county treasure book, Volume I, Part 70

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

USA > Connecticut > Windham County > A modern history of Windham county, Connecticut : a Windham county treasure book, Volume I > Part 70

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

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were to plead that it had never been very wicked, but yet had not heeded the call of the spirit while on earth-"Depart from me, I never knew you!" was the fateful message that would thunder in your ears. Then some soothing, appealing song would be sung :

"Come ye disconsolate Where'er ye languish Come to the mercy seat, Fervently kneel. Come bring your wounded hearts Come tell your anguish Earth hath no sorrow, That heaven cannot heal."

The "mercy seat" was a real place, but in Methodist practice it was to kneel at the altar rail just in front of where the minister and the elders were seated. The pastor would continue his appeal, other moving songs would be sung, some earnest soul would second the pastor's appeal or offer an earnest prayer that another soul should come forward; and meanwhile those under conviction would begin to move forward and kneel at the altar, signifying their desire for prayers. Occasionally some saved soul would go quietly to a friend in the audience and plead with that one to come forward. One of the most moving and inspiring songs at this period was "The Lion of Judah":

" 'Twas Jesus my Savior, Who died on the tree To open a fountain For sinners like me. His blood is that fountain Which pardon bestows And cleanses the foulest Wherever it flows.

CHORUS

For the Lion of Judah Shall break every chain And give us the victory Again and again. (Repeat)

"And when I was willing With all things to part He gave me my bounty His love in my heart. So now I am joined with That glorified band Who are marching to glory At Jesus' command.

"For the Lion of Judah," etc.

Just at the right moment after the vision of converted happiness, as revealed earlier in the meeting, had been succeeded by the solemn appeal and the vision

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of certain damnation unless there were repentance, and many had come to kneel at the altar, Lyman Jordan would begin to pray. In quiet voice at first, as if in intimate but humble conversation with God, he would beseech the Almighty to "look in pity upon those still outside the fold, and put it into their hearts tonight to surrender their souls to God; to put away temptation and sin; to beg the forgiveness which will surely come if asked for in proper humility and with real surrender of the will." Gradually during this appeal his head would be lifted from the altar rail, and as the petition proceeded his voice would rise with increasing confidence, and his face would appear with eyes closed and an expression of genuine appeal on his countenance; the appeal and expression would gradually change to positive confidence and rapture; his frame would shake with emotion, and with face finally uplifted to heaven, he would cry out with intense pathos :

"Oh, Lord, send down Thy power ! Oh, Lord, send down Thy power! Oh, Lord, send down Thy power!"-

Each time the petition reaching a deeper intensity, until a radiant light would shine into his features; and then his voice would begin to subside in tone, as the final triumph came; and he would close the prayer with these words, steadily dropping to almost a whisper, yet distinct amid the tense silence :

"Oh, God, we thank Thee!

"Oh, God, we thank Thee !

"Oh, God, we thank Thee

"That Thou hast sent down Thy power.

"Now give us Thy blessing;

"Comfort and sustain these souls before Thee. Keep and bless them for- ever and forever; oh, Lord, we do thank Thee; Amen."

A moment or two of silence would follow, broken occasionally by the sob- bing of some soul at the altar under conviction of sin. Then, as if a voice from heaven itself, the clear beautiful tenor of Van Buren Jordan would breathe the wonderful cadence of that first line-"No night shall be in heaven" --- followed by the refrain in subdued but positive, confident melody, in chorus led by the other Jordans and their companions in song, in which the audience would gradually join ; then would follow the other verses, usually the first four, led by Brother Van in solo, the audience joining the refrain with increasing volume, until the confident tones of the fourth stanza were reached :

"No night shall be in heaven; but endless noon No fast declining sun or waning moon ; But there the Lamb shall yield perpetual light 'Mid pastures green, and waters ever bright."

Sometimes, if deaths had been unusual in recent days, that fifth verse (see opposite page) would be sung with peculiar effect; but usually the first four verses would mark the climax of the meeting at the altar-and then those who had yielded to the influence of testimony, prayer and song, and had felt the "power," which Lyman Jordan had so prevailed with God to send down, would be surrounded by the happy, joyous influence of the converted, and their

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souls soothed into a confident faith that God had indeed come into their hearts and they were saved by His grace.

No paid revivalists ever came in those days. The entire movement which has been thus described came out of the intense conviction that the soul must repent or be damned.

It is difficult to imagine now, save only for those who witnessed it, the ecstacy of those who would sing with real expectation of heavenly bliss:

"Yes, clean robes, white robes White robes are waiting for me Yes, clean robes, white robes Washed in the blood of the Lamb,"

Or, with absolute confidence in the eternal truth of the heavenly vision, these words :

"I will sing you a song Of that beautiful land, The far-away home of the soul ;

Where no storms ever beat On the glittering strand While the years of eternity roll."

NO NIGHT IN HEAVEN

No night shall be in heaven; forbid to sleep

Their eyes no more their mournful vigils keep

Their fountains dried-their tears are wiped away They gaze undazzled on eternal day.

No tear shall be in heav'n; no sorrow's reign;

No secret anguish, no corporeal pain,

No shivering limbs, no burning fever there, No soul's eclipse, no winter of despair.

No night shall be in heaven, but endless noon ;

No fast-declining sun or waning moon ;

But there the Lamb shall yield perpetual light, 'Mid pastures green and waters ever bright.

No tear shall be in heaven, no darken'd room, No bed of death, nor silence of the tomb;

But breezes ever fresh with love and truth Shall brace the frame with an immortal youth.

. No night shall be in heaven, oh had I faith To rest in what the faithful witness saith That faith should make these hideous phantoms flee And leave no night henceforth on earth to me.

THE JORDAN FAMILY CONCERTS AND OTHER REMINISCENCES

Less than a month before his death at age ninety and under date Septem- ber 25, 1914, Harry L. Wilson, choir leader at Willimantic camp-ground,

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HISTORY OF WINDHAM COUNTY

wrote me from his home in Moosup in a handwriting plainly showing his old age, but nevertheless clearly legible, and giving me in full the eight verses of the song, "No Night in Heaven," as published elsewhere; and then he penned the following reminiscences-a remarkable feat for a nonogenarian. He would not have taken the prize for spelling, but the handwriting is very clear, and the expression a good example of terse, vigorous thinking. Here is a photo- graph of the first page of his letter :

He writes as follows: "It may interest you to know that I attended school in Willimantic seventy-eight years ago-I am now ninety years old. I recall the teacher's name was William Kingsley. The schoolhouse was then standing on what was called 'Schoolhouse Lane,' just west of the Hayden lumber yard (now Parker-Elliott Company-Ed.). The teacher's equipment was principally physical strength in using a good walnut stick which he tried on me, but to no avail. I afterwards attended a select school kept by William Weaver, whose son, Thomas S. Weaver, is now connected with the Hartford schools. I also attended a select school in the vestry of the old Congregational Church (now Melony Block .- Ed.). Eben Gray was the teacher. I recall among those who attended, Hardin Fitch, Henry Fitch, Harry Boss (father of E. S. Boss of thread mill) ; Eugene Clark, afterwards a lawyer of note; also George Tingley, son of Arunah Tingley, who kept a hotel at the corner of Church and Main streets. I recall the pastors of the Congregational Church,-Reverend Judson. Andrew Sharpe and Mr. Willard, and Mr. Winslow. The schools of that day were simply an apology for schools as compared with the present grand schools of Willimantic as I passed by them a few days ago.

"The names of the 'old Father Jordan' family as I recall them were, his sons, Lyman, Thomas, Nelson (who became a minister), Elisha, Edward, and the daughters, Emeline, Amanda and Patience. The eldest son, Lyman, whose family you ask about, had as children (as I remember them) Dwight, who became a minister; Van Buren, George, Nancy, Charles, Julius and Julian (the twins), Susan, Charlotte, Lyman F., Jennie, Sophie and Gertrude. The last. two named died in infancy. All of Lyman Jordan's children went to school iu the First District.

"Old Father Jordan was a remarkable man in exhortation and prayer, second to none except his son, Lyman. I had something to do with the con- certs given by Lyman's family ; also may be credited in part for introducing the song, 'No Night in Heaven,' which the Hutchinson family sang, and which was very popular in those days. The Jordans were all Methodists of the gen- uine old-time stamp. My connection with Willimantic camp-meeting dates from its beginning in 1861, and I was with Elias Brown, Thomas Turner, Lyman Jordan and others. I have attended every meeting since that date. The sing- ing was a very important factor in the old days. Lyman Jordan and his son Dwight, did much to make the camp ground the success it is today. Those were good old days and the present times seem much changed. Many other things have been added, but to me it seems like multiplying fractions-the more you multiply the less it becomes. Read Jeremiah 6:16, also Ecclesiastes 6:10.

"I was leader of the camp-meeting choir twenty-five years ago. The grand old hymns of the church were used and ought to be sung today instead of some of the small, trashy, senseless twaddle they now use. The old hymns of Wesley, Watts, Cowper and Toplady far surpass the present in literature or good

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poetry. A good hymn will have point, scripture and rhythm included; but this is an age of progress-either forward or backward."

Dwight A. Jordan entered the Methodist ministry and met with marked success. Coupled with his natural talents in speech and song he carried a deep spiritual earnestness. He climbed steadily up in influence, held important pastorates in Connecticut and New York, and at one time was presiding elder of the Providence district in the Southern New England Conference. He is now living in retirement at Freeport, L. I.

Under date of October 9, 1914, in response to the editor's inquiries in antici- pation of Willimantic's "Old School and Old Home Week," Doctor Jordan wrote a letter from which the following facts are gleaned :

He left Willimantic in 1870. Among his old schoolmates he recalled Dwight and Clark Fitch, Mary Fitch, William N. Potter, George Boss, Lucian Buell, Albert Wilson, Courtland and Heman Babcock, Arthur and Carrie Barr, Lucy Martin, Helen Hooper, Jennie Hovey, Mary Simpson, Horace Campbell, George Cunningham, the Chase sisters, who lived on the corner of High and Main (the Chase homestead was removed to make place for the town building .- Ed.). Doctor Jordan writes : "I went to school the day I was four years old." (He is now seventy-three.) "My people lived in the most easterly house in the old 'White Row,' near the schoolhouse; so my teacher used to let me run home at recess for refreshments. My first primary teacher was Miss Witter, afterwards second wife of Thomas Turner (sister of the late Clitus Witter, a well-known New York lawyer .- Ed.). My second teacher, in the intermediate department, was Miss Elliott (aunt of George S. Elliott .- Ed.). In the principal's position I recall Henry W. Avery, Wm. Mead, John F. Peck and John D. Wheeler. I well recall the excellent old custom of dividing the school for a 'spelling match'; the strenuous memory tests of Principal Wheeler, the visits of the august school com- mitteeman-and I can see now the pleasant twinkle in the blue eyes of 'Priest Willard' through his gold-bowed spectacles. Let me add the name of my old- time seatmate, Samuel L. Burlingham."

Doctor Jordan writes: "I remember distinctly that my father told me that with the exception of only one Saturday night, Mr. Carroll once held revival. services for one hundred consecutive nights, and father missed not one of them." Doctor Jordan also states that no pastor in charge of the Willimantic Methodist Episcopal Church in its entire history made so many additions to the church as the Rev. S. J. Carroll, who at last accounts was still living and preaching in California.

Under date October 12, 1914, Doctor Jordan wrote: "I do not think that any printed programmes of 'the Jordan Family Concerts' are in existence. The period of our travels into the surrounding country was just before the Civil war and in its earlier years. We often sang at political rallies. Partisan feel- ing ran high. Connecticut had too many 'copperheads' in those days. William W. Eaton of Hartford, generally called 'Bill Eaton,' came to Willimantic and spoke in old Franklin Hall for the democrats. A few nights later at a repub- lican meeting, a glee club of which my father was a member sang, to the uproarious delight of a large audience, this bit of verse :

"A big fat man from Hartford came Du-dar, du-dar, And William Eaton was his name, Du-dar, du-dar, day.

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CHORUS

Oh, I'm bound to ride all night, I'm bound to ride all day- I'll bet my money on the Buckingham colt Will anybody bet on the bay ?"

The Hutchinson family with their songs of New England, brim-full of patriotism, had sung all through our part of the country, and. I suspect that their example, their popularity and success gave impetus to our company ; any- way, the Jordans outnumbered them and we had only one outsider-Harry Wilson The accompanist was Miss Nellie Peck of North Windham.

"Van Buren, George, Nancy, myself, Charles and 'the twins,' Julius and Julian, were the company ; and the twins were the star performers. Our pro- grammes were mostly patriotic songs, for that was the popular demand. We did not go far away-Andover, Coventry, Mansfield and other nearby places. We neither made nor lost money, but we did have a good time.

"As for those Methodist prayer meetings you ask about, there were: father, Van Buren, Harry Wilson and myself, on the men's side-for in those days the sexes sat on opposite sides of the vestry ; and the Lester girls, Amanda Randall, Eliza Hinds, were among the leaders of the women singers. Those meeetings were popular as well as impressive. Many a 'drummer' used to plan to make Willimantic on Saturday night so as to attend the Methodist prayer meeting Sunday night and hear the singing; and it certainly was great to sing those old melodies, Bridgewater, Antioch, Exhortation, etc. Then 'No Night in Heaven,' 'White Robes,' 'The Lion of Judah' were the soul-stirring predecessors of the gospel hymns of a later day. I have yet to hear the equal of my father's tenor in those grand old hymns and songs."

The brother, Charles, referred to in Dwight's list of the singers has retained his residence in Willimantic, Charles B. Jordan, like his father, a stone mason, and for many years past, as now, employed by the American Thread Company. Charles states that his father, Lyman Jordan, was born in Rhode Island in 1818, and came to Willimantic about 1830. He died at age sixty-four and was buried February 8, 1882, on the same day and at the same age as the late Allen Lincoln. In response to inquiries concerning his father, Charles B. Jordan has written : "The stone bridge across the Willimantic River at Bridge Street is practically the same now as when built by Lyman Jordan in 1868, the only difference being that a wooden footbridge has been attached to the east side. The same is true of the stone-arch bridge over the Willimantic leading to South Main Street (now Windham Road). This lower bridge was built in 1857 by a company consisting of three men, Norman Meloney (father of George W. Meloney), Nathan Olin, and Lyman Jordan. My brother 'Tim' (Lyman F.) was born that same year, and my father said it was a lucky year for him-and Tim. The elevation of this lower road has since been changed. There was formerly a considerable down-grade from the bridge into Main Street and the road ran very close to Mill No. 1. A branch road ran to the east from Main Street near Mill No. 1 and led to a grist mill and paper mill that stood near where Mill No. 2 now stands; while another lane or path led to 'the old stone schoolhouse,' which stood a little to the south nearer the river. When these changes were made in the road the late Sanford Comins was foreman on the

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job. My father also built the abutments for the bridge on the Columbia Road above the Willimantic cemetery; also for the bridge crossing the Natchaug on the North Windham Road; the bridge over the river at North Windham; the dam at Hop River in 1861-62 for Joshua Lord and there yet; the dam at Mans- field Hollow for the late Charles L. Bottum and today as good as new. He built the masonry for the old Natchaug schoolhouse; dam and bulkhead for the old Windham Company; much work for the Smithville Company of those days, besides many similar jobs in Stafford and over the line in Massachusetts; and of course many minor jobs of stone construction about Willimantic. He was a very busy man and hard worker and yet he found time to attend class meetings and prayer meetings and to sing and to pray. I often sat on the same seat with him and I could always tell when he was about to sing or pray, for the seat would begin to vibrate and when he lifted his voice he seemed as if transformed with his deep emotion, as if he were a different person. He was also a member of the old-time Willimantic Band with Peleg Tew, Lester Brad- ley, Deacon Nathan Stearns, Curtiss Jillson, John D. Wheeler, George W. Hanover. Well, I have told you quite a story."

The editor well remembers everyone of the men here mentioned by Charles B. Jordan : Peleg Tew was grand-uncle of James Tew, the present-day black- smith on Jackson Street, as James' father, John Tew, was before him. Deacon Stearns kept a harness shop and his son, Charles, is now employed by the American Thread Company. William Curtiss Jillson was a manufacturer who carried on the white frame mill in the lower village and later the mills at Hop River ; John D. Wheeler was the well-known schoolmaster, and George W. Hanover was then a dry-goods merchant in the big frame building which he built at corner of Temple and Union streets and still known as Hanover Block.

A favorite opening song of the Jordan concerts, as Charles B. Jordan recalls it, was composed by the late N. W. Leavitt of "bell-ringers" fame, and one verse ran like this :

"Since last to you our songs we sang We've crossed the mountains and the plains Have wandered wide our country o'er, Our hearts are glad to meet you here."

One of the "cutest" features of the programme was featured by "the twins," Julius and Julian (then aged eight years) in a dialogue song, in which Julius was "the Rebel Soldier," and Julian "the Yankee soldier"-just after the Civil war had ended. Julius, the "Reb," was dressed in a torn and tattered uniform and appeared on picket duty, marching up and down the stage. Julian, the "Yank," was foraging and would be halted by the "Reb," and the song would begin :

REB

Hallo, you Yankee renegade, You mudsill of a cricket, Take off your cap and make a bow To a Confederate picket.

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YANK

So you are one of those Southern bloods, That's talking 'bout Secession, You look just like a fag on the tail Of a funeral procession.

And so on with several similar verses, the chief interest, however, consisting in the action of the "twins," who were invariably encored.

Among many songs sung by the Jordan family the following are recalled as favorites : "The Vacant Chair," "The Sword of Bunker Hill," "Leaf by Leaf the Roses Fall," "Hurrah for Old New England." A particular favorite among the "comical" songs was "Johnny Schmoker."

For many years after the close of the Civil war, "The Vacant Chair" remained a popular song, and was very frequently sung in local concerts or social affairs. It answered the deep feeling in the hearts of many whose loved ones had made the supreme sacrifice in that great conflict. Another evidence of popular feeling was in the song, "Leaf by Leaf the Roses Fall," of which the refrain was :

"Leaf by leaf the roses fall, Drop by drop the springs run dry, One by one beyond recall Summer roses fade and die."

In fact, most of the songs of the Civil war and in the years following, whether patriotic or sentimental, were deeply tinged with a vein of sadness. This fact was in considerable measure due to the prevailing religious belief which taught that one must be ready to die at any moment, with sins forgiven, or else expect to go to eternal punishment.

In marked contrast is the high note of hope and confidence and even joy which pervaded the songs of the great World war; and there is very little of the solemn note in the popular songs of today. It is probably due in consider- able measure to the fact that the old-time belief in a literal hell no longer pre- vails. The mind has been released from that fear. They who give thought to the matter realize indeed that hell is still a reality but it comes in the life here on earth as a penalty for sin-never more real and fearful than today. But the passing of that fear of a hell of eternal brimstone beyond the grave has added much to the joy of present life.

METHODIST CAMP GROUND

In another letter, Rev. D. A. Jordan speaks as follows concerning some of the old-time camp meeting leaders :

"You ask for the names of men who were famous as preachers in those early days, when sometimes as many as six thousand people were estimated to be in the congregation. Perhaps the favorite preacher of those early days was R. R. Meridith, who was a son of thunder indeed. Tra G. Bidwell was also a very strong and impressive speaker. G. S. Alexander was worth while to travel a long way to hear.

"After a time, these camp meetings became almost as fashionable as some of wider reputation, and there was a temptation to the men who were invited

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to preach for each to endeavor to make his sermon a little superior, if possible, to the one that had preceded it, so that sometimes it appeared as though instead of the presentation of the Gospel of Christ the services degenerated into a preaching match. On one such occasion, a venerable, but plain spoken Meth- odist preacher, whose soul had been sorely tried by some features of the first three days of the meeting, and the preacher for the fourth morning indicated a similar tendency, the venerable listener exclaimed with a loud voice, Oh, Lord ! knock a hole in some of these ministers big enough to let the gas out. The effect was electrical, dynamic, instantaneous. It seemed to call everybody to a sense of the proprieties of the occasion, and the character of the meeting was changed for the better immediately.

"It was about this time that the Hutchinson family from Vermont or New Hampshire, I have forgotten which, introduced a sacred song which was new, but which the singing people at Willimantic quickly absorbed and made their own. Its title was "No Night in Heaven." (See page ?- Ed.) It was a sort of recitative and chant. At the annual camp meeting love feast, when this was first sung its effect was very remarkable. There were probably five to six hundred people, possibly a thousand in the congregation that morning at 8 o'clock, and as these words rang out, a crippled man who had the hearty confidence and esteem of all the people who knew him best, raised himself by the crutch on which he depended for support and locomotion, and after he was once on his feet lifted the crutch over his head, and said with shining face, tear filled eyes and trembling voice, 'Thank God, there will be no crutches in Heaven.' No one who was present will ever forget it, and no one who was present can ever describe the quick flash of deep emotion which swept the assembly in connec- tion with this incident.

"It was not many years after the camp meeting was organized when the old type of meeting began to fade away.

"There was a time when there were two complete circles of society tents and a partially filled third circle, but private cottages began to be built; the people who had before lived in common in the tents through the whole week as one happy family, the men sleeping at night in one division of the tent and the women in another, now began to separate into little cottages of their own, and the old-time community spirit died away."

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A modern history of Windham county, Connecticut : a Windham county treasure book, Volume I, Part 70

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