USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Waterbury > A narrative and documentary history of St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church (formerly St. James) of Waterbury, Connecticut > Part 3
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A story is told that one of the daughters of a prominent Epis- copalian wished to borrow a horse and sent to a neighbor for that purpose; the messenger brought back word that his horse was lame, but that -, another neighbor (who was a Congre- gationalist) had a good horse. The mother to whom the message was given replied "Oh, my! that's no use, Roxa couldn't ride anything but a church horse."
This may be offset by another. There was some discussion of an Episcopal family and the question was asked, Are they pious? Well-yes-I spose so, that is, Episcopal pious. But these were prejudices which a wider knowledge of the world served to dispel, and they did not greatly interfere with neighborly borrowing, lending and gossiping, and marrying and giving in marriage.
December 3, 1787, when it had become clear that Mr. Scovil
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THE PARISH OF ST. JAMES AND OF ST. JOHN.
was to leave them, the society voted to settle a minister and have his service in preaching half the time. Some little time elapsed before they succeeded in finding a man whom they liked and who was willing to come. Correspondence was had with Rev. Messrs. Ives, Hall, Foot, Prindle and Blakeslee and each of them preached here more or less. Meantime in reply to a proposition to unite with Westbury, Salem and Bristol for one-fourth of a clergyman's time for each, this society voted that they wanted "one-half." At length, May 28, 1789, it was voted to give Mr. Solomon Blakes- lee a call for one-half the time at £40 a year and his firewood, to be increased to £45 as the list of the church increases.
Mr. Blakeslee was a graduate of Yale college, in the class of 1785, was ordained deacon at St. Paul's church, Norwalk, June 3, 1789, and priest at Middletown by Bishop Seabury in 1793. As his service here was in 1789 it must have been immediately after his ordination as deacon. He afterward succeeded Bishop Sea- bury in St. James's parish, New London, and served at several places in the eastern part of the State. He died in 1835.
At a meeting June 16, 1790 it is voted ("Rev. Chauncey Prindle present, etc.") from which it would appear that Mr. Blakeslee had left and Mr. Prindle was probably in temporary charge.
Chauncey Prindle, the only son of Eleazar and Anne (Scovil) Prindle, of Waterbury, Connecticut, and grand-son of Jonathan and Rachel (Hickox) Prindle of Waterbury, was born in that town on July 13, 1753. His mother was a sister of the Rev. James Scovil. He graduated at Yale 1776.
He studied theology-probably under the superintendence of his uncle- and officiated as lay reader in the Episcopal Church in Watertown during part of Mr. Scovil's (the rector's) absences in New Brunswick, which began in 1785 and ended in his final removal in the summer of 1788.
On June 1, 1787, he was ordained deacon by Bishop Seabury, and there- after gave about half of his time to the parish in Northbury, now Plymouth. He was advanced to the priesthood by Bishop Seabury, in New London, on February 24, 1788, and was now regularly employed as Rector of Christ Church, Watertown, with a salary of £30-half of his time being given to St. Peter's Church in Plymouth, which furnished £37.10s. to his salary.
He resigned his charge in Watertown at the end of the year 1804, but continued to officiate in Plymouth until 1806, when he resigned to enable that parish to be united with the parish of St. Matthew's in East Plymouth (organized in 1792) under one rectorship.
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HISTORY OF ST. JOHN'S CHURCH.
He was then employed in the same vicinity, to give a portion of his time to St. Michael's Church, in the neighborhood known as "Gunntown," in the western part of Salem Society, now Naugatuck; and in 1807 removed to the neighboring town of Oxford, and for a few years divided his services between the churches in these two localities. He also officiated for a time in Christ Church, in that part of Woodbridge which is now Bethany, and in 1815-17 he had charge of Trinity Church in that part of Derby which is now Seymour.
During his last years he lived on a farm in the northern part of Oxford, near the borders of Southbury, and died there, in poverty, on August 25, 1833, at the age of 80, and was buried in the cemetery at Gunntown. His wife Rosanna died on October 22, 1840, aged 85 years. Their two daughters (born about 1784-93), who died shortly before their parents, are commemo- rated on tombstones in the same locality.
He is described as a most worthy and indefatigable man, a pattern of punctuality in the discharge of his duty. One authority says that he was noted for a sound and forcible intellect and stern integrity, but was orthodox and firm in his principles. It is related of him that he swam his horse through a high and dangerous flood in the Naugatuck River rather than fail in an appointment for a service.
A gravestone was erected to his memory by surviving friends and parish- ioners "as a token of their high regard for his character, his zeal, his fidelity, his talents and his work both as a man and a minister."
A brief historical account from his manuscripts of the Episcopal Societies in Plymouth and Watertown is printed in the Chronicle of the Church, Vol. 3, No. 134 (New Haven, July 26, 1839), pp. 236-37.
September 13, 1790: Voted to invite Mr. Foot to serve two- thirds of his time and to pay him § of £85 s. m. (sterling money) and his wood provides he reside in this society.
David Foot was born in Marlborough, October 5, 1760, gradu- ated at Dartmouth college in 1778, was ordained deacon at New . London by Bishop Seabury, June 11, 1788, and was then appointed to serve in Hebron and Chatham. In October of the same year he was ordained priest at North Haven. After leaving here, he became rector at Rye, N. Y., where he died August 1, 1793.
On November 13, 1784, Dr. Samuel Seabury, having been selected for the office by the clergy of this diocese in March, 1783, at a meeting held in Woodbury, was consecrated Bishop of Con- necticut at Aberdeen, Scotland, becoming thus the first bishop of the American church. He reached this country in 1785, and
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THE PARISH OF ST. JAMES AND OF ST. JOHN.
in May, 1786, a committee from the parish waited on him at Stratford and desired him to visit Waterbury. He could not do so at that time, but in October 1, following, it is recorded that he confirmed here two hundred and fifty-six persons. That must have been equal to about one-tenth of the population, and the occasion was one of profound rejoicing among "churchmen." This, too, was in the darkest days of the church here, before Mr. Scovil had finally left, but when he was preparing to go, and when they were as sheep without a shepherd.
August 27, 1791, after several ineffectual attempts with other clergymen they voted to call Rev. Seth Hart for one-half the time.
In October, 1791, the Rev. Seth Hart, who had been officiating for some time previously as lay reader, was ordained deacon by Bishop Seabury at Watertown, an agreement being made that he was to officiate here half the time, the other half to be divided between Salem and Woodbury. His salary was £40, lawful money, the first year, to be increased £1 annually until it reached £45, and the use of the glebe. I suppose this was equal to about $150, but it was in "ready money," which went a great way in those days, and the use of the glebe was doubtless of considerable value. Mr. Hart's ministry here is said to have been quite suc- cessful, but he only remained about two years after his ordination, and then removed to Wallingford. It is recorded that he was a good scholar, an amiable man, a successful teacher and an accept- able preacher. While here he owned and occupied the place next south of St. John's church (Mrs. E. M. Burrall's), including the ground where the church now stands and several acres of adjoining land. When he left, several liberal persons bought his place and presented it to the church, the old rectory before mentioned having become unfit for use during Mr. Scovil's rector- ship. It was afterwards sold, and the present site was repur- chased about 1847. (See chapter on Real Estate.)
The following sketch of Mr. Hart is taken from the Mss. of an address delivered at the Bi-centenary of St. George's Church, Hempstead, L. I., by Rev. Howard Falkner, A.B.B.D., Rector of St. Peter's Church, Baltimore, Md., for the use of
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HISTORY OF ST. JOHN'S CHURCH.
which I am indebted to the kindness of James Shepard, Esq., of New Britain.
Rev. Seth Hart, M.D., was born in Kensington parish, Berlin, Conn., June 21, 1763, son of Matthew and Elizabeth (Hopkins) Hart. He graduated at Yale College in 1784 and studied medicine and seems to have practiced for a short time. In 1788 he married Ruth Hall, daughter of Benjamin Hall of Cheshire. She is said to have been a very attractive and superior woman. In 1790 he decided to give up the medical profession and become an Episcopal clergyman. He was almost immediately assigned to duty as a lay reader in the parishes of Waterbury, Woodbury and Salem. Waterbury was his place of residence and he remained here about two years when he removed to Wal- lingford. For the next four years he had charge of Christ Church, Wethers- field, but resided in Worthington Parish which is mostly in Berlin.
In 1797 he made a journey to Ohio as an agent of the Connecticut Land Company, taking charge of the second party of exploration, the first having gone the previous year under Gen. Moses Cleveland.
It seems that Mr. Hart was not only a clergyman and a doctor but a prac- tical land surveyor which made him a very desirable person for a position of this sort. Near Cleveland one of their party was drowned in crossing a river and was buried at Cleveland, Mr. Hart officiating, and soon after his arrival he was called upon to solemnize a marriage. He also preached to his own party on Sunday and these are supposed to be the first services of the Epis- copal Church in that part of the State of Ohio. On his return he resumed his pastoral duties. He was evidently a good 'all around' man.
It seems that Mr. Hart was also a natural mechanic. He invented a machine for shearing cloth, and one for making nails, which was patented January 14, 1799. His interests in mechanics was a very strong one and he probably spent a large part of his time and money over inventions.
In 1800 he was elected Rector of St. George's, Hempstead, L. I., and there spent the remainder of his life. He died March 14, 1832.
He seems to have been a man of a rather remarkable range of knowledge, and fairly successful in all that he undertook.
The affairs of the parish and its people were now clearly pros- pering. The old St. James's church, at the corner of Willow Street, had been occupied nearly fifty years, and both the needs and the pride of the parish demanded a better house. In April, 1793, during the Rev. Mr. Hart's ministry, a committee was appointed, "to agree upon a place to set a church and the bigness of the same," and in September following, having voted that the society were willing and thought it necessary to build a church, Eli Curtis, Esq., Jude Blakeslee and Captain Amos Bronson were
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THE PARISH OF ST. JAMES AND OF ST. JOHN.
chosen a committee "to set a stake for the place where to build a church," and the town appointed a committee to agree with them .*
At a Town Meeting held by Adjournment on the 16th Day of Sept. 1793.
Voted: That Messrs. Aaron Benedict, Joseph Hopkins, Esq., Capt. Benja- min Upson, John Kingsbury, Esq., & William Leavenworth be a Committee to meet and agree with a Committee from the Episcopal Society on a place where the said Episcopal Society Shall build a Church or Meeting House and when the Place is agreed upon by the said Episcopal Society And approved of by the Committee now Appointed by the Town, then the Committee now appointed are hereby authorized to give the assent of the Town thereto. Town Meetings, Vol. 2, p. 105.
The following action seems to be a recognition of the location :
Waterbury 7th of December A. D. 1797, Then, was laid out a piece of land for a highway on the south side of the green in the center of the town between the new Church and Israel Holmes land lying north of a straight line from the gate of the Door yard of the Glebe house to the Northeast corner of Wd. Susannah Bronsons house containing seventeen rods and a half of land and in the whole land that Ard Welton bought of Capt. Samuel Judd & Israel Holmes.
RICHARD WELTON, Selectmen. NOAH BALDWIN,
For a valuable consideration I the subscriber do release and by these presents forever quit claim all my right, Title, Interest in the land taken for the above mentioned highway as a highway forever.
Recd Dec. 19th, 1797.
Witness my hand, ARD WELTON.
A true record. Attest.
JOHN KINGSBURY, Register.
Highways Vol. 2, p. 373.
Before this the South line of the green had run diagonally north west from the Bronson land to near the corner of the present church. Church Street was not yet opened but this action set the line back to correspond with the south side of the street further east.
*These gentlemen were all non-residents. Eli Curtis was a lawyer residing in Water- town and I think Mr. Blakeslee and Captain Bronson were both from Plymouth. Difficulties and heart burnings so frequently arose in those days from differences of opinion as to the proper location of churches and schools that it was quite customary to call in a committee of disinterested persons from neighboring towns to "set a stake." Whether this parish in its wisdom avoided all trouble by appointing the committee at the outset, or whether some difficulties had already arisen, I do not know. That there were difficulties, however, very clearly appears.
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HISTORY OF ST. JOHN'S CHURCH.
Whether the above named committee acted or not, the record does not show, but in December following another committee, namely, John Wooster of Derby, Thomas Atwater of Cheshire and Abner Bradley of Woodbury, were appointed, and this time under the sanction of the county court, which had jurisdiction when ap- plied to in such matters. Still they were not quite satisfied, and in the following March the court and committee were asked to place the stake five rods further south, so that the first stake must have been driven very nearly where the Soldiers' monument is. Both these stakes were set on ground belonging to the town.
On February 9, 1795, a vote was passed directing the committee to "build a decent, well-furnished church fifty-four by thirty- eight feet, with a decent steeple on the outside, at the east end of the same." By arrangement already referred to the church was placed on public ground at the west end of the green.
This church building was a great credit to the parish. Its gallery windows were arched at the top-a feature which was supposed to give it a churchly appearance-and it had a tall, slender, gracefully tapering spire, on the top of which shone a bright gilt star, with a handsome gilt vane just beneath. David Hoadley was the architect. The interior was divided into square pews with seats on three sides; the ceiling was arched between the galleries; the pulpit was high, with winding stairs on each side and the reading desk in front of it below. They were of dark wood, probably cherry. The robing-room was near the entrance of the church. After reading the service, which was done in a surplice, the minister walked the length of the church to the robing-room, laid aside his surplice, returned and slowly mounted the long pulpit stairs in his black gown. If done with dignity this was quite an effective part of the service. The crowning glory of the church consisted of two large fresco paintings, one at either end of the arched ceiling of the church on the pedi- ments over the pulpit and over the choir gallery. As I remember them, they occupied the whole of the pediments, or ends of the arch. They were painted in different shades of green on a white ground. The subject of that over the pulpit was the baptism of Jesus by John in the river Jordan. The Jordan was a very res-
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ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, 1797.
THE PARISH OF ST. JAMES AND OF ST. JOHN.
pectable stream, looking nearly a quarter of a mile wide in the picture, and the landscape on the further side was quite inviting. I always thought, while looking at it, of the hymn:
On Jordan's stormy banks I stand, And cast a wistful eye To Canaan's fair and happy land, Where my possessions lie.
I could not swim, and the idea of "crossing the Jordan," which was a popular synonym for entrance into the next world, was not inviting. The river seemed altogether too deep to wade. The picture at the other end was a village green on which was a church-the church, I suppose, in which the picture was-with rather stiff trees and a long row of people moving toward the sanctuary, conspicuous among whom was the rector, marked by his shovel hat. To my boyish eyes these pictures were mar- vels of art.
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At the same time that this church was being built the Congre- gational society was erecting one at the other end of the Green, and a healthy spirit of emulation was doubtless of considerable advantage to both buildings. The new church was consecrated by the name of St. John's on November 1, 1797, by Bishop Jarvis .*
The following is the formal Act of Consecration. The petition is in the handwriting of Lieut. Michael Bronson, son of Esquire Ezra Bronson, who had a local reputation as a chirographer. The sentence of Consecration appears to be in the Bishop's own hand.
FORASMUCH as Almighty God has been pleased to put it into the hearts of the Parishioners of the first Protestant Episcopal Church in Waterbury to build a new Church in said Parish, for the Celebration of his Worship according to the Liturgy of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States of America, and has in the course of his good Providence enabled them to complete the same: and as it is their full purpose and earnest desire that the said new Church, to be called St. John's Church, be dedicated to the Wor- ship and service of Almighty God, according to the Liturgy aforesaid.
THEREFORE the said Parishioners being legally Assembled in Society Meeting in said Parish on the Twelfth day of October, Anno Domini 1797 did
*So far as can be discovered Mr. Green had left at the time of the consecration and the church was without a rector.
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HISTORY OF ST. JOHN'S CHURCH.
unanimously resolve and Vote, to request the Right Reverend Doctor Jarvis, their Diocesan Bishop, to attend in, and Consecrate the said new Church to the Worship of God according to the Liturgy aforesaid, and at the time of said Consecration a Deed of Dedication should be made and delivered in common and usual form-And the said Parishioners at the aforesaid Meeting did unanimously Vote that the Church Wardens, Messrs. Ephraim Warner, Hermon Munson, together with Messrs. Seba Bronson, Isaac Benham and John Cossett be a Committee to Execute and Deliver in the name of said Society, said Deed of Dedication-Therefore persuant to the several Votes of said Society above referred to, and for the Reasons aforesaid-We the said Church Wardens and Committee of said Society Do by these Presents for our- selves in the Capacity aforesaid, and for the rest of the several Members of said Society Successors, Dedicate, Appropriate, Give and Grant the said new Church, by us and them erected unto Almighty God our Heavenly King and Father, to be consecrated and sett apart for the use of his Holy Worship and Service according to the Liturgy aforesaid-Divesting ourselves of all Right and Title, and disclaiming all Authority ever hereafter to employ it in any common or profane use-And we the said Church Wardens and Com- mittee do now acquaint the Right Reverend Doctor Jarvis our Diocesan Bishop herewith, and in behalf of said Society do request that he would Con- secrate the said new Church to Almighty God and sett it apart to be forever hereinafter employed in his holy Worship and Service, hereby promising in behalf of said Society and their Successors, as far as in us lies, to take care of the Repairs of said Church, that it may be kept, together with its Furniture, Sacred Utensills and Books in a decent state for the celebration of Divine Service; And also that we will as God shall enable us, endeavour always to pro- cure and support a Minister in Priests Orders, to Celebrate Gods Holy Wor- ship in said new Church, according to the Liturgy aforesaid.
IN WITNESS whereof we the said Church Wardens and Committee (in behalf of said Society) hereunto sett our hands and seals this first day of No- vember, Anno Domini, 1797.
In presence of
REUBEN IVES, DAVID BADGER,
EPHRAIM WARNER, HERMAN MUNSON, SEBA BRONSON, ISAAC BENHAM, JOHN COSSET.
Be it known to all whom it may concern, that on the first day of Novem- ber in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-seven, the foregoing instrument of Dedication was presented unto us, the Bishop of Connecticut, at the Holy Table, by Ephraim Warner, the senior church War- den, and openly read before the congregation there assembled. And that in
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THE PARISH OF ST. JAMES AND OF ST. JOHN.
consequence thereof the said Church, called St. John's Church, was, on that day, duly consecrated, and set apart for the worship and Service of Almighty God forever.
In Witness whereof, we have hereunto affixed our Episcopal Seal, the day and year above written, and the first year of our consecration.
Sigil, Episc. Connect.
(signed) ABRM. CONNECT.
After Mr. Hart's departure the pulpit was partially supplied for a time by the Rev. Alexander V. Griswold and by the Rev. William Green. Of Mr. Griswold nothing more need be said here than that he subsequently became Bishop of Massachusetts. The Rev. William Green was a graduate of Dartmouth college in 1791. He was ordained deacon by Bishop Seabury at New London, October 18, 1793. To the record of the ordination the bishop adds: "Mr. Green was ordained on my own personal knowledge of him and on recommendation of Rev. Dr. Bela Hubbard of New Haven; he was licensed to preach and purposes to go into Maryland." The Dartmouth college catalogue says that he died in 1801, aged thirty. Where he spent the few years that intervened between his service here and his death I have not learned.
Soon after the completion of the church, in December, 1797, the Rev. Tillotson Bronson, who had officiated here and in Bristol for some months, became the rector, with the agreement that he was to officiate here three-fourths of the time and one-fourth in Salem society. His salary was $250. In June, 1806, not feeling able longer to support his family on this sum, and the parish being unable (or unwilling) to increase it, he preached his farewell sermon, and retired, with the approbation of the bishop and the good will of the people.
Dr. Tillotson Bronson (D. D., Brown university, 1813), was the son of Captain Amos Bronson of Plymouth, whose residence was at Jerico on the Naugatuck river. He was born there January 8, 1762, fitted for college with the Rev. John Trumbull, Congregational pastor of Watertown, graduated at Yale in 1786, studied theology with Dr. Mansfield and Bishop Seabury, was
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HISTORY OF ST. JOHN'S CHURCH.
ordained deacon September 11, 1787, and priest February 24, 1788. He preached for a year in Vermont and New Hampshire, which was the missionary ground of that period: then for a while in Boston and at several places in this state, and also taught school. While in Waterbury he lived in a house on Grand Street which was taken down in 1882 to make room for the Baptist church. He owned the place and sold it to his successor, the Rev. V. H. Barber. From Waterbury he went to New Haven to take charge of the Churchman's Magazine, a periodical then recently established, which he con- tinued to edit with ability for some years. Only a few months, however, after leaving Waterbury he was appointed by the Convention principal of the Episcopal Academy at Cheshire. He removed there, and after a long and successful career as the head of that institution he died September 6, 1826. He was a prominent man in the church and plenty of material exists for a fuller biography, but it relates to his life after leaving here.
I notice on the record (as a sign of progress) that on August 19, 1799, a committee was appointed to procure subscriptions to purchase a bass viol. On December 8, 1803, it was "voted to dignify the pews." This consisted in allotting the seats in the church to the members of the congregation according to their "dignity," the standard being a fixed one, based partly upon age, partly on the amount of tax paid and partly on official or social standing.
Dr. Bronson was succeeded by the Rev. Virgil Horace Barber, who remained here from June 16, 1807, until May 6, 1814. He was a son of the Rev. Daniel Barber of Claremont, N. H. He was ordained deacon June 9, 1805, and priest, September 20, 1807. I have not been able to learn where he was educated, but he was a scholarly man and a superior teacher, and while here main- tained a school of high order. He doubtless discharged his min- isterial duties with zeal, but it was as an inspiring and instructive teacher that he did most for the generation to whichthe belonged, and his influence was long felt. It is said that he required his own family, including the pupils who resided with him, to converse in Latin. He was, however, eccentric and somewhat unpractical. I find this entry on the parish records when he had been here but six months:
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