USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Fairfield > An old New England church, established religion in Connecticut; being an historical sketch of the first Church of Christ and the Prime ancient society, Fairfield, commemorating the two hundred and seventieth anniversary of public worship in the town > Part 9
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The first Meeting-House was a small, rude building made of logs and rough hewn timbers, probably erected in 1640. Town meetings as well as church services were held in it. The second Meeting-House was built in 1765-a larger and more comfortable structure-a frame building forty feet square clap- boarded, and a tower in the center of the roof. The third Meet- ing-House was reared in the year 1745-sixty feet in length, forty-four feet in breadth, twenty-six feet in height, with a spire one hundred and twenty feet. The Rev. Andrew Eliot called it an "elegant Meeting-House." The fourth Meeting-House was modeled after the one destroyed in 1779. The congregation wor- shipped in it for the first time March 26th, 1786, but it was forty-two years before it was properly finished-a fact which suggests the slow recovery of the people from the losses of the American Revolution. A part of the funds came from the town and the confiscated property of traitors and a part from the sub- scriptions of the people. The Meeting-House erected in 1849 was the first one that came as the result of voluntary offerings.
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More than eight thousand dollars was raised for this Roman- esque structure. The length of it was ninety-five feet and its breadth forty-seven. The spire extended to the height of one hundred and thirty feet. The seating capacity of this handsome Meeting-House was five hundred and fifty persons. The later changes adapted the structure to the needs of the day-a chapel being added during the pastorate of Dr. McLean and the church parlors when Dr. Bushnell was pastor.
The chaste, beautiful Sanctuary which crowns the slight elevation made sacred by five previous edifices may properly be named a loving gift from the people. When the former house was burned in 1890 the committee having in charge the raising of funds prepared a Greeting, printed in old English, on heavy paper, fittingly adorned, reading as follows :
"The Prime Ancient Society
sendeth greeting to all the loyal men and women, at home and abroad, who revere and hold in hallowed remembrance this First Church of Christ.
Our Sanctuary was destroyed by fire on the morning of May thirtieth, nineteen hundred and ninety.
If the Society would be faithful to past history, it must not only rebuild the Sanctuary, but it must give evidence of a purpose to go forward with more earnestness and devotion in the work committed to it by the Master. To all those who have ever worshipped in our Sanctuary, and to all those who are connected with its past or present by ties of joy or sorrow, the Society believes it to be a duty and esteems it a privilege to extend an invitation to join in perpetuating this centre of Christian influence.
The Prime Ancient Society therefore sends you greeting and extends to you a cordial invitation to co-operate
in erecting to the Glory of God a Church edifice where may be continued and enlarged that devout Spirit of Ser. vice to the Master which has marked its history."
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Never did task of raising funds bring keener, sweeter joy to minister's heart. The greetings were given to "the loyal men and women," kindling in them many tender emotions. What a privilege and pleasure to share in such pious task? What an opportunity to say in vocal stone-"I pay happy tribute to the memory of venerated sires? "
There was no solicitation-no subscription papers-simply this privilege extended-a high and holy privilege-extended with glad assurance that "loyal men and women" would appre- ciate its precious and profound significance. Gifts came with hearty words of encouragement and fidelity-one dollar, ten dol- lars, three hundred, five hundred, a thousand, two thousand, three thousand, ten thousand-the mites of children, the abun- dance of the rich, the savings of the rugged toiler. "Take this," said our blind, cheerful, beloved war veteran, putting his roll of bills into the treasury-money carefully held against a "rainy day." The names of this "loyal legion" went down in the book-were there not almost three hundred of them ? And the book is hidden in the corner-stone.
"If more is needed tell me and I will do my share," said more than one. "I will double my subscription if you think best" said others. "Is that enough or shall I add another figure ?" Such words accompanied the gifts. And there were special gifts-a brass lectern bestowed by the young ladies-a communion table from the Young People's Society-the furnish- ings of the edifice by the ladies of the parish-the massive mar- ble pillar in the choir given by the children of Mr. and Mrs. O. B. Jennings-the bell and organ by Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan in memory of his deceased wife Amelia Sturges-the lovely, granite coping, a fine, true "finishing touch" given by the Chairman of the Building Committee. The prosaic labor of raising funds and adorning the Sanctuary became shotted through and through with these golden threads of happy, eager generosity.
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Here let us record the names appended to the Greeting which met with such gracious and liberal response :
Oliver B. Jennings
Samuel Morehouse
Frederick Sturges
Amory E. Rowland
Oliver Turney
Edward Osborn
Albert Turney
Benjamin Betts
Edward Sturges
John L. Morehouse
Henry C. Sturges
Frank S. Child
Stephen Morehouse Andrew P. Wakeman
Mr. Frederick Sturges was made Chairman of the Building Committee-the firm of J. C. Cady & Co. prepared the plans and the contract for the work was given to A. W. Burritt.
The dedication of the building occurred on May 2nd 1892- a memorable service in which the pastor was assisted by the three living ex-pastors of the church, Dr. McLean, Dr. Bur- roughs and Dr. Bushnell, and the Fairfield West Consociation, and a great concourse of people.
Several recent legacies have increased the invested funds of the Society. The sum of seven hundred dollars from the estate of Sereno Wilson became available in 1899. Mr. Burr Osborn left a fund of five hundred dollars to the Society in 1893-for the benefit of Hope Chapel. Miss Frances Burr added her name to this roster in the year 1901, by a gift to the main- tenance fund of the church. A sum of money was given into the keeping of the Society, by a friend in 1908 as a me- morial of Miss Ella Sturges. The interest of this fund is used for the benefit of the Sunday School children at the annual Christmas festival. Several small sums of money are held in trust by the Ecclesiastical Society for special purposes-these gifts representing interest in various organizations and activities connected with the church.
A fund whose income shall be devoted to the proper main- tenance and perpetuation of the church property has been started and has already assumed fair proportions.
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Mr. J. Sanford Saltus gave the church a fund in 1904, as a memorial of his mother, a great grand-daughter of the Rev. Andrew Eliot, D. D. Another gift was bestowed by Mr. Saltus in 1906 in remembrance of his wife Medora Hubbell, who was a descendant of an old Fairfield family.
The bronze tablet which adorns and dignifies the vestibule of the church contains the names of the ministers who have served this parish during the two hundred and seventy years of its existence. This was the gift of Miss Jennings and was un- veiled on Sunday, October 21st, 1906.
The jewel glass windows at the rear of the pulpit were given in memory of Mr. Oliver B., and Mrs. Esther J. Jennings, by their children-Mr. Walter Jennings, Miss Annie B. Jennings, Mrs. Walter B. James, Mrs. Hugh D. Auchincloss and Mr. Oliver G. Jennings.
The jewel glass window on the west side of the church com- memorates the services of Rev. Andrew Eliot A. M., the fifth minister of this parish. The color scheme of this window, wrought out with rare delicacy and suggestiveness, uses bright tints and fine shadings, contrasting agreeably with the rich, subdued effects of light sifting through the jewel glass at the north end of the edifice. Mr. J. Sanford Saltus is the giver of the memorial in honor of the revered Parson Eliot.
These windows are works of art-the brilliant creations of genius-unsurpassed in their fine detail, tender beauty and spir- itual elevation.
They are representative examples of medieval glass work, the medallioned windows of the 12th and 13th centuries, the golden age of the early glaziers. Some of the most notable works of this type are still in Bourges, Chartres and other Cathedrals of Continental Europe and England.
The primal motive of design of that period was the division of the entire field of the light opening into panels or medal- lions of circular, oval, square or other geometrical form, run-
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ning vertically through the windows. In one window, there would be a series of alternating large and small medallions, the larger ones being used for figure groups, illustrating scenes from the Old or New Testament, the smaller carrying symbolic ornaments, or designs of the character of the archi- tecture of the edifice. The figure medallions might illustrate the lives of the prophets or saints, or different periods in the life of the Saviour, the scenes of His nativity and childhood, early manhood, ministry, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension.
A medallion window was often a comprehensive recital of some portion of the old or new law, and taught in entirety a Biblical lesson. Of all forms of windows, they were the most forceful examples of scriptural teaching through pictorial illus- tration. The early medallion windows were constructed on mo- saic lines, and following the method of all mediaval windows, the light and shade, gradation of color, and detail of general de- sign and ornament were effected by painting on the surface of the glass. This was necessary by reason of the limitation of the material, the glass of the time being only in solid bodies of even color.
The modern medallion window is constructed on mosaic principles, and the motive of design follows the lines of the earlier period, but by reason of a material of higher development better results have been obtained. The glass of the present time with its limitless range of gradation of color and tone, and its depth of brilliancy, presents possibilities for greater work in this type of windows. In the modern medallion window, there are embodied the ideas of the mediæval school, but with stronger design and detail, and by the elimination of surface paints and pigments in the structural body, and the consequent retention of the inherent qualities of the glass, a richer effect is secured.
The windows at the rear of the pulpit consist of three panels divided into series of large and small medallions. There are nine large medallions containing three series of scenes in the
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life of Christ. The three upper medallions refer to Childhood and Illustrate "The Blessing of Little Children," (St. Luke 18- 16,) "The Nativity," (St. Luke 2-8,) "The Child in the King- dom." (St. Mark 9-36.)
The central medallions represent Personal Incidents in the life of Christ; "The Baptism by John," (St. Matthew 3-16,) "The Disputation in the Temple," (St. Luke 2-46, ) "The Trans- figuration." (St. Matthew 17-1.) The three lower medallions refer to the Lord's Ministry and His work among men and women. The subjects are "The Woman of Samaria," (St. John 4-4,) "The Sermon on the Mount," (St. Matthew 5-1, ) "Heal- ing the Blind." (St. Matthew 9-27.)
The Eliot window contains two medallions. The palms which are massed in the higher division of the panel typify a victorious life-the livid green an emblem of youth's freshness and vigor, the purplish halo an emblem of serene old age. The tree of life, whose leaves are for the healing of nations, whose fruits are manifold and ever ripening, is set in the lower medal- lion. It suggests that mysterions, alluring realm into which spirits triumphant enter, blessed with the felicities of a glorious immortality.
The medallions in each of the windows carry symbolic orna- ments which are joined by interlacing bands in harmony with the work. Shining jewels with the radiant curves and squares and circles are woven into a brilliant setting, prophetic of the joys and glories which encompass the life which is hid with Christ in God.
The ladies of the Gould Homestead in 1909 increased the maintenance fund of the church by a memorial gift.
This bequest, which marks the final departure of this family-the virtual extinction of the Fairfield line bearing the ancient name-commemorates distinguished services both in church and state, of eminent ancestors. Major Nathan Gold, Lieut-Governor and Chief Justice Gold, Col. Abraham Gold,
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Hon. John Gould, representative, senator, commissioner, mar- shal-these strong and faithful men all gave the testimony of a good conscience and an exalted purpose in life.
These patriotic, christian women also bequeathed legacies to St. Paul's Church in Fairfield, and the Memorial Library. They also remembered generously the Fairfield Historical Society and the Bridgeport Hospital. But their chief benefac- tion was a gift of the homestead and residuary estate for the purpose of founding and maintaining the Gould Vacation Home for Self-Supporting Women, an institution designed to foster the health and contribute to the happiness of this large and import- ant company of workers.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE MINISTERS AND THEIR CO-WORKERS.
IT is a remarkable succession of men who have been associ- ated together officially in the life of this parish.
The pastors of our church have been educated men, favored with the discipline and culture imparted by college and univer- sity. John Jones, the first minister of the parish, was a gradu- ate of Jesus College, Cambridge ; a gentleman of refinement, the friend of Governor Winthrop. Samuel Wakeman may properly be called a Harvard man, although obstacles prevented his grad- uation. Joseph Webb matriculated at Harvard. During his second year, when only sixteen years old, the faculty disciplined him for certain abuses which he put upon the freshmen, which event imperiled the completion of his course. An apology on his part, however, enabled him to right himself with his instruc- tors so that he received his diploma with the other members of his class. It was simply a case of youthful, aggressive, mis- chievous conduct, revealing a very lively disposition and a wil- lingness to take his share of fun. Noah Hobart and Andrew Eliot also received their degrees at Harvard, standing well in their work. Heman Humphrey, Nathaniel Hewit, Lyman H. Atwater, Edward E. Rankin, and John E. Bushnell studied at Yale. John Hunter was a Union man, standing high among his mates. Willis Lord received his degree from the hand of Presi- dent Mark Hopkins of Williams. Alexander McLean spent his happy academic days on the beautifully wooded hillside crowned by Hamilton College. George S. Burroughs honored Princeton as his Alma Mater. It is a significant fact that the men who have served this parish with fidelity and distinction based their la- bors upon the solid foundations of the most thorough preparation.
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These men evinced a high grade of scholarship, so that in their pulpit ministrations and their personal contributions to the life of the times they made profound impression. Public educa- tion was the special contention of these men. They had large part in directing local school affairs, the town or village school being their particular charge. Frequently have the pastors of this church taken active share in giving instruction to the chil- dren of the parish. Mr. Webb joined with the far-sighted band of brother ministers in Connecticut to found Yale College, bestowing a portion of his library upon the infant institution. For many years he was an efficient and enthusiastic member of the Vale corporation, seeking in various ways to promote the interests of the college. Andrew Eliot had been an instructor in Harvard College for ten years before he accepted the pastorate of our church. Heman Humphrey was a scholar of such force and learning that Amherst College made him president. His career as educator has become a portion of educational history in New England.
Dr. Hewit was one of the founders and a frequent benefac- tor of Hartford Theological Seminary. Lyman H. Atwater accepted a call to the chair of philosophy in Princeton, after nineteen years of earnest, fruitful ministry in this parish. And such was the confidence reposed in him that he filled the vacant chair of the presidency until a successor relieved him of those onerous duties. Willis Lord's scholarship won him wide fame, so that he served successively as professor of Biblical literature in Lane Theological Seminary, professor of ecclesiastical and Biblical history in Chicago Theological Seminary, and president of Wooster University, Ohio. George S. Burroughs showed extraordinary proficiency in linguistic studies. He taught Bib- lical literature in Amherst College for several years, managed the affairs of Wabash College, Indiana, as president, during a critical period, and gave his last days to most congenial tasks in Oberlin, as professor of Hebrew and cognate languages.
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In addition to such services as we have named, other pastors of this church have been widely useful and generously active as trustees and helpers in numerous institutions of learning.
The literary services of the men are worth our review. A cultivated, studious minister of the Gospel in New England takes naturally to this form of intellectual exercise. The conspicuous book-makers were for many generations found among the clergy while the great names of our literature show traces of the inspi- ration dating back to the minister's family as a fountain head of life.
Sermon work constituted an important part of this early literature. The graphic, quaint, forcible style shown by Mr. Wakeman in his famous election sermon well illustrates the standard of composition. Two little books, written by Noah Hobart during the heated controversy between champions of the Congregational and the Episcopal faith, excited considerable interest in New England. We preserve them as characteristic exponents of the times. Dr. Dwight pays high tribute to Mr. Hobart, observing that his writings " display a degree of skill and acumen that mark their author as one of the leading spirits of his time." His successor, Andrew Eliot, was a member of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the Massa- chusetts Historical Society, contributing to both associations as occasion arose. Several of his letters, now in the posession of the latter society, give vivid and striking descriptions of life through the period of the American Revolution. Mr. Eliot's library was a notable collection of standard works. At the burn- ing of the town, it became part of the sacrifice to liberty ; but Dr. Howard of Boston, touched with profound sympathy for Mr. Eliot in this great loss, preached upon the subject in the New North Church, and sent the young brother a contribution toward a new purchase of books.
Dr. Humphrey became a frequent writer for the press. Sev- eral of his books attained wide circulation. He published " Es-
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says on the Sabbath," "Tour in France, Great Britain and Bel- gium," "Domestic Education," "Letters to a Son in the Min- istry," "Life and Writings of Professor Fiske," "Life of Thomas H. Gallaudet," and "Sketches and History of Re- vivals."
Dr. Atwater was for years the editor of the Princeton Re- view, a writer upon philosophical and religious themes, and the author of a work on logic. Dr. Lord's book on " Christian The- ology for the People," was only one of numerous writings given to the public through a long literary career. The names of varied contributions to the literature of the day on the part of these and other ministers in this church would make a formidable array of subjects.
The ministers of the parish have been true to their heritage of leadership, and forged to the front in their public services. The history of religion in the colony and state shows that Fair- field pastors shared not inconspicuously in affairs. It might be the preaching of election sermons, participating in the delibera- tions of important committees, having a hand in the building of the Cambridge platform, or presiding over the annual meeting of the State Association.
The three great names in temperance reform, during the early years of the nineteenth century, were Beecher, Humphrey, and Hewit. But the chief credit belongs to Dr. Humphrey of drawing up that remarkable report on intemperance presented to the Fairfield Association of Ministers in 1813-a paper which is not only said to be the first temperance tract published in this country, but also one of the most influential. Dr. Humphrey's six sermons on the subject gave him a national reputation. The work which Dr. Hewit did in behalf of temperance made him a commanding figure in this country and in England. His splendid Websterian eloquence became one of the marked forces in the mighty campaign against this foe of society. "I have often listened to flights of eloquence from Dr. Hewit," said Judge
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Sherman, "that I have never heard equalled by mortal man." This tremendous force and enginery was consecrated to the great reform movement. When Dr. Hewit was made secretary of the Boston Temperance Society, although the ties which bound him to this parish were strong, he felt constrained to assume the work which offered such vast opportunities for the exercise of his peculiar, masterful gifts.
Another minister of our church served in a secretarial office. Dr. McLean became secretary of the American Bible Society in 1878, and devoted himself to this sphere of Christian influence for the last twenty-four years of his life.
The head of a college or university is chiefly an executive servant. The fact that three pastors here have attained the presidency of a college or university, and that others have been invited to similar places of usefulness emphasizes the spirit of noteworthy leadership.
The patriotism of the men whose names appear upon the tablet is a most delightful memory. John Jones had been an ordained priest in the Church of England, but for conscience' sake he went forth to seek a new country. It tested one's worth and faith-this exile and self-sacrifice-but he proved himself a man loyal to the high ideal, and wrought zealously, undeviat- ingly for the good of this new country.
His successors no less appreciated their independency. It was stalwart Christian patriotism which rang though the election sermons preached by these ministers, the pulpit being a peren- nial spring of the loftiest sentiments and the noblest impulses which concerned the good of the state. Never did any indiffer- ent or disloyal words fall from the lips of these far-sighted, optimistic preachers. The same spirit which prompted Mr. Eliot to encourage his people unto the largest sacrifices and the bravest services fired his predecessors and his successors in their eloquent inculcation of the love of country. For two years, dur- ing the American Revolution, Mr. Eliot relinquished his salary.
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" I have been with you in prosperity," he said, "I will stay with you in your adversity." There are those living who recall the stand taken by Dr. McLean at the time our Civil War waged. Loyal to the heart's core, he uttered no uncertain counsels, pressing with all urgency the claims of country, counting popu- larity and friendship as things of little importance when set over against the call to preserve the integrity of the nation.
But in following the life narrative of these men, that which makes the profoundest impression upon the observer is their noteworthy and exalted character. The first five ministers enjoyed a life pastorate, wearing the harness to the day of final triumph, the average period of service here being over thirty- one years, the Nestor among them Noah Hobart, who ministered in the parish during four full decades.
Such remarkable service speaks volumes, not only in praise of these pastors but likewise in praise of their people. Relations of a most tender and beautiful character blessed the generations measured by this period. The shorter pastorates of the later years are explained by the fact that Fairfield had become a small community in comparison with the growing cities of our land, so that when men of uniformly high caliber and rich promise spent their early years of faithful, happy labor in the parish, they were invariably called to the larger and more important fields.
As we read the names inscribed upon the chaste bronze page of history, which graces the entrance to our sanctuary, we will pause and gaze with quickened interest upon the portraits vividly distinct to the mind's eye.
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