USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Southport > Annals of an old parish : historical sketches of Trinity Church, Southport, Connecticut, 1725 to 1848 > Part 7
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THE REV. PHILO SHELTON'S RECTORSHIP.
will begin to comprehend that there are worse prayers than are read from a book, and that they can come from the heart without being prepared for the occasion. Besides, the Prayer Book can enter many a house where our clergy cannot find a
THE RIGHT REV. JOHN HENRY HOBART, D. D., IN CHARGE OF THE DIOCESE OF CONNECTICUT, JUNE, 1816, TO JUNE, 1819.
welcome. Acting as a "silent missionary," it may, as it often has done, prove a solvent of sectarian bitterness, by showing that Church doctrine is only Bible truth; and that Calvin's
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THE REV. PHILO SHELTON'S RECTORSHIP.
theories, or those of Arminius, are not comparable to the simple Faith, once delivered to the Saints, as the old Apostolic Church holds and teaches it.
The Bible and Prayer Book Society is still in active exist- ence (1898), and has given away, since its organization, nearly six thousand volumes. Its invested fund amounts to $561.12. Thus, the good it has accomplished is worthy of the highest praise. The results of it in all their fulness, that great Day, when all that is hidden shall be revealed, can only make known.
After the death of Bishop Jarvis, the Bishop of New York, the Right Rev. John Henry Hobart, had the temporary over- sight of the Church in Connecticut. On the 6th of August, 1817, he came to Fairfield, where he remained a week, making the place his headquarters, but visiting the meanwhile, Weston, Wilton, and Redding. In the Church at Mill Plain, on the 12th of August, he confirmed thirty candidates, all of whose names will be found in the appendix. At Tashua, the following week, he confirmed eighty-two, the largest class presented to him on this visitation, except the class at Chatham, ( now Portland ), which numbered one hundred and two. Truly, those were the days when the Church had an irresistible attraction for the multitude, and it proves that weariness of the leanness and uncertainties of man-made religious systems, is by no means a development peculiar to these modern days.
CHAPTER XII.
LATTER YEARS OF REV. PHILO SHELTON'S RECTORSHIP.
Mr. Shelton was exceptionally successful in the performance of the duties pertaining to two Rectorships. The parishioners of Trinity Church, at Fairfield, were devoted to him, while St. John's Church, at Bridgeport, under his care, grew to be one of the strongest and most flourishing in the Diocese. The initial services at Stratfield, were held, as has been already mentioned, by the Rev. Mr. Lamson in 1748, and the first parish Church was consecrated by Bishop Seabury. in 1789, being " the third in order of consecration, and the eighteenth in order of erection, in the Connecticut Diocese. It was built on the corner of the King's Highway, and Church Lane. Among the chief donors were Col. John Burr, Samuel Beardsley, Timothy Wheeler, Richard Booth, Joseph Seeley, and John Nichols. The population later began to drift eastward, and in 1801, it was deemed advisable to demolish the old Church, and build a new one in a more advantageous location. The second edifice was so far completed that it could be used for public worship in the beginning of Advent ; and two years later, "the ground floor was sold at public vendue for the purpose of building the pews and seats thereon, and finishing the Church." The sum raised by the sale, amounted to between six and seven hundred dollars. The cost of the building over and above this, was thirty-five hundred dollars, which was met by the voluntary contribu- tions of the people. Mr. Shelton in speaking of the comple- tion of the whole work, said: "It had been conducted in harmony, with good prudence, strict economy, and a degree
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THE REV. PHILO SHELTON'S RECTORSHIP.
of elegance and taste that does honor to the committee, and adds respectability to the place." But even this second removal of St. John's was not final. In a score of years, a third edifice was found to be necessary. This was located on the corner of Cannon and Broad streets, the site, eligibly located, having been presented by Phillip Cannon, Esq., Mrs. Shelton's brother-in-law. In these two successive Churches, belonging to St. John's parish, Mr. Shelton ministered most acceptably, one half of his time being given to Trinity Church, Fairfield, until 1824, when failing health, and a disposition manifested by the congregation of St. John's to have the undivided services of a clergyman, induced him to hand in his resignation. Among his papers, the following interesting data, pertaining to the last year of his joint Rectorship, were found :
Parochiales Notitia for Fairfield and Bridgeport :
Philo Shelton, Rector, Easter, 1823, to Easter, 1824.
Baptisms in the two Churches, Infant, 16; Adult, 1, 17
Marriages,
6
Funerals,
.
16
New Communicants in Fairfield, 7
12
66 66 " Bridgeport, 5)
78
Communicants in Fairfield, 66 " Bridgeport, 120
"The congregation in Fairfield is not large, but very attentive and devout in Church. My services have been wholly confined to them since Easter, having at that time relinquished Bridge- port to my assistant, the Rev. Mr. Judah."
Fairfield, June the 1st, 1824.
As intimated above, Mr. Shelton gave all his time to the Church at Fairfield, after his health began to fail, and be had resigned the rectorship of St. John's, Bridgeport ; but he did not long survive the changed condition of affairs. He died on the 27th of February, 1825, and was buried under the chancel of the
.
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THE REV. PHILO SHELTON'S RECTORSHIP.
Church at Mill Plain, at the altar of which he had ministered for more than forty years. A marble tablet was provided by the congregation to mark his resting place, on which, among other things, were inscribed the date of his birth, graduation, admission to Holy Orders, and the words, " The First Clergy- man Episcopally ordained in the United States." The body was afterwards removed, at the charge of the Wardens and Vestry, to Mountain Grove Cemetery, Bridgeport, and an imposing monument, finely chiseled, in Italian marble, was placed over it, on which is inscribed :
IN MEMORY
OF THE REV. PHILO SHELTON, A. B. Born in Huntington, 1754. Died in 1825. Graduated at Yale College in 1775, and was forty years Rector of St. John's Church, Bridgeport, and of Trinity Church, Fairfield, with the charge also of the Church in Weston, for
many years.
" A faithful Pastor, a guileless and godly man. For twenty-four years member of the Standing Committee of the Diocese, a firm supporter of Ecclesiastical Authority, and a gentle, but steady upholder of primitive and Apostolic Order. He was one of the four who first received ordination from the hands of the first American Bishop, the Right Rev. Samuel Seabury, D. D., who commenced on this Continent, in its full offices, the one Catholic and Apostolic Church, in the certain faith that it would continue to the end of the world. This monument is erected as a tribute of filial affection, and in grateful remembrance of the piety and virtue of loved and honored parents."
Mr. Shelton's passing away was universally lamented. It was felt that a good man, one whose noble life was open and manifest to the world, had been taken out of it. At the Diocesan Convention, held June 1st, 1825, Bishop Brownell
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THE REV. PHILO SHELTON'S RECTORSHIP.
remarked in his address: "He has faithfully and successfully labored for almost forty years in the parish from which his Divine Maker has now called him to his rest. He has taken an important part in the Ecclesiastical concerns of the Diocese, from the period of its first organization ; and the moderation and prudence of his counsels have contributed in no small degree to the welfare of the Church. For simplicity of character, amiable manners, unaffected piety, and a faithful
.
HOME OF REV. PHILO SHELTON, FAIRFIELD AVENUE, BRIDGEPORT, CONN.
devotion to the duties of the ministerial office, he has left be- hind an example, by which all his surviving brethren may profit, and which few of them can hope to surpass."
A few days after Mr. Shelton's decease, the committee appointed by the parishioners of Trinity Church, forwarded the following letter of condolence to the bereaved widow : " Mrs. Shelton, Madam : We are appointed a committee and directed to wait upon and tender you the sincere condolence
86
. THE REV. PHILO SHELTON'S RECTORSHIP.
of ourselves and the rest of the members of the Episcopal Society at Fairfield, for the great and grievous loss which you have sustained in the bereavement by death of our worthy, respected, and beloved Pastor, the Rev. Mr. Shelton, your late consort, and our best friend. Our sincere and humble prayers are offered to Almighty God, that his loss may be sanctified to you and your family, through the merits of Jesus Christ, our Saviour, and we humbly pray that He will have you in His Holy keeping, and that you may bear the loss with Christian fortitude, trusting in the widows' and the orphans' God for support and comfort. The loss to you, to us, and to those we represent, we feel to be great, and sincerely lament it, but humbly submit to the will of the Almighty, for He gave and He taketh away, therefore, blessed be the name of the Lord.
As the Rev. Mr. Shelton has been our Pastor, and spiritual Advisor for more than forty years, and has built us up, and kept us together as a Christian Church, we in our own names, and by the special direction of the rest of the members of the Episcopal Society, hereby beg and request that you will permit us to show our gratitude and respect for him by burying him under the Church in Mill Plain, and by erecting a proper monument over his body, commemorative of his worth, and merits, and of our love and affection for him. By complying, you will confer a great favor on your sincere friends and humble servants.
Walter Sherwood, Hull Sherwood.
Committee from the Wardens and Vestry, and the members of the Episcopal Society in Fairfield."
The Bishop of the Diocese also wrote :
HARTFORD, March 17, 1825.
My Dear Mrs. Shelton :
I should have been with you in your affliction, to assure you of my sympathy and friendship, had it not been for the
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THE REV. PHILO SHELTON'S RECTORSHIP.
extreme badness of the roads, and a slight attack of the pre- vailing influenza. I feel that I have lost one of my best friends and counsellors, and that the Diocese has lost one of its best patterns of ministerial faithfulness, and Christian simplicity : but our loss is nothing in comparison with yours. It is true, that with the constitution and unimpaired faculties
RIGHT REV. THOMAS C. BROWNELL, D. D., THIRD BISHOP OF CONNECTICUT.
of your late husband, we might have hoped that he would have been spared to us for several years to come; yet we ought rather to be grateful that he was preserved so long, and that he was taken away in the full maturity of his years -"like a shock of corn, fully ripe." Let this thought, my dear Madam, console you. It is the will of God, of a Being of infinite wisdom, who knows what is best for us, for our
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THE REV. PHILO SHELTON'S RECTORSHIP.
friends, for the Church: a Being, whose every act is ordered in mercy and goodness. Let us then, ever bear in mind these attributes, and let us reflect on the multiplied ways in which they have been manifested to us. We shall then have reason to mingle our thanksgivings with our sorrows, and realizing the goodness and loving kindness of God, we shall seek support where all sufficiency alone resides.
Mrs. Brownell desires to unite with me in assurances of sympathy, and affectionate remembrances, to yourself and family. With great esteem, your
Friend and Pastor,
Thos. C. Brownell.
Addressed :
Mrs. Philo Shelton.
Mrs. Shelton survived her husband thirteen years. Two sons entered the ministry of the Church. The younger of them, George Augustus Shelton, a graduate of Yale college, died in 1863, Rector of St. James' Church, Newtown, Long Island. The other, succeeded his father as Rector of Trinity Church, Fairfield ; and subsequently became the distinguished Rector of St. Paul's Church, Buffalo, the mother-parish of that important city.
CHAPTER XIII.
RECTORSHIP OF REV. WILLIAM SHELTON, 1825-29, A. D.
-
THT REV. WILLIAM SHELTON.
The Rev. Philo Shelton died February 27th, 1825, and Trinity parish, for the first time in forty years, found itself without a Rector. His removal speedily developed a great amount of incertitude. The times were hard ; the congregation was in debt ; consequently the prospect of supporting a clergy- man became very dubious. At the last meeting of the parish,
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RECTORSHIP OF REV. WILLIAM SHELTON.
held shortly before Mr. Shelton's death, February 9th, the pews were rented from "Easter Monday to the first Monday of January next," and brought a total of fifty-three dollars only. March 17th, there was another meeting, at which it was "resolved to appropriate one hundred and forty-five dollars, and seventeen cents, out of the funds of the lottery, to defray the debts against the Society." This partly ex- plains why before the Rev. Wm. Shelton accepted the rector- ship, in succession to his father, there was an effort made to combine the Fairfield parish, with that of Stratford. On April 18th, at a special meeting of the parish, it was voted, " that the parish of Fairfield unite with the parish of Stratford, in hiring or settling a clergyman, provided the two parishes can agree on the clergyman, and all other subjects regarding the hiring or settling him." Voted, "that Walter Sherwood, Joel B. Bulkley, and Hull Sherwood, be a committee to call on the Wardens and Vestry, or some committee appointed by the parish of Stratford, to ascertain the best terms on which the two parishes can unite, and report at the next meeting." After this action, whether it was that the parish at Stratford was not responsive, or that the Episcopalians of Fairfield had determined to raise sufficient money among themselves, to maintain a separate existence, a different opinion speedily prevailed. At another special meeting held April 25th, it was voted, "that the Episcopal Society of Fairfield would not unite with the Parish of Stratford at present." It may have been that an intimation that the Rev. Wm. Shelton was available, and the fact that the parish had a quantity of land that could be disposed of, the proceeds of which would help to pay expenses for some years to come, had a great deal to do with this complete reversal of opinion. Anyway, about the time the Rev. William Shelton began to officiate, it was voted to sell a piece of property, known as the Roxbury Farm, be- longing to the parish, for eighteen hundred dollars. The congregation, in accordance with the doubtful policy it was
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RECTORSHIP OF REV. WILLIAM SHELTON.
pursuing, now found itself in a position to pay the Rector's salary, and its other obligations.
Extract from the Parish Record: "Nov. 1825, Sunday after Thanksgiving-day, Rev. Wm. Shelton began to preach, and left the parish, August 9th, 1829."
The Rev. William Shelton was the son of the late Rector, and brought to his new charge all the fervor and sympathy that a life long acquaintance with it could impart. From the very beginning of his rectorship, his preaching drew large and attentive congregations; while his unremitting house to house visitations won for him the hearts of all his people. Fairfield was the first parish he served. In his convention sermon, 1826, Bishop Brownell remarked : "Rev. William Shelton has exhibited to me letters Dimissory from the Diocese of New York, and has been called to the parish at Fairfield. Few circumstances of my life have affected me with a stronger interest than his recent ordination in the Church at Fairfield, and at the altar beneath which the bones of his late venerated father rest in peace. He now cultivates the field where the same pious father so often bore the heat and burthen of the day, and where for more than forty years he labored in the service of his Divine master."
The parish continued its prosperous career. In 1827, the list of communicants had increased from 50 to 80. In 1828, the connection between the parishes of Fairfield and Weston was severed. By vote of the parish, the Rector's services were here- after to be confined to his own people. For the first time in its existence, the services of its Rector were to be entirely de- voted to it. And this change proved ultimately the turning point in its later history. While Fairfield village had been decreasing, numerically and materially, the tiny hamlet located at the mouth of Mill River, one mile westward, had all along been steadily growing. New buildings had been erected, and the population had largely increased. A disposi- tion to change the name of the settlement from Mill River to
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RECTORSHIP OF REV. WILLIAM SHELTON.
Southport, had also become manifest. Nor was the project lacking in earnest supporters. It was into this practically new community, that Mr. Shelton thought it advisable to introduce the Church. So far, no public religious services of any descrip- tion had been held in the village. In prompt pursuance of his plan, Mr. Shelton made a beginning in October, 1828, in the upper room of the old Academy or school-house, now the well known residence of Mr. Jos. H. Furniss where he preached every third
THE OLD ACADEMY. IN THIS BUILDING THE FIRST CHURCH SERVICES IN SOUTHPORT WERE HELD,
Sunday afternoon in the month. From the first, this experi- mental service was so well attended thatit soon became apparent that the real centre of the parish, the point everyway most convenient to the great majority of the parishioners, scat- tered as they were, from the village of Fairfield, to Green's Farms, and Saugatuck, was not Mill Plain, but Southport. The result was, the Church in that place became permanently established In 1829, Mr. Shelton received a call to St. Paul's Church, Buffalo, New York. With unfeigned sorrow he decided
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RECTORSHIP OF REV. WILLIAM SHELTON.
to sever the pleasant relations that had existed for four years, and enter upon a field of labor, that partook, even in those days, of even a more missionary character than that connected with the parish at Fairfield. Mr. Shelton's connection with St. Paul's Church, began on his thirty-first birthday, and lasted for fifty-four years. He died at his ancestral home at Bridgeport, October 11th, 1883, having been born at the same place, September 11th, 1798.
CHAPTER XIV.
RECTORSHIP OF THE REV. CHARLES SMITH. ERECTION OF THE CHAPEL AT SOUTHPORT, 1829-1834 A. D.
THE REV. CHARLES SMITH.
The Rev. Charles Smith, succeeded the Rev. Wm. Shelton in 1829. He was a man of positive character, fine culture, large experience, and the parish, under his guidance, made a percepti- ble and encouraging advance. The most remarkable feature pertaining to the four years of his Rectorship, was the growth of the work begun, tentatively, at Southport, by the Rev.
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RECTORSHIP OF REV. CHARLES SMITH.
Wm. Shelton. As time passed, all the services held in the Acad- emy building, were marked by the attendance of large congre- gations. The need of a proper and permanent structure, to be used as a Chapel to the Mill Plain Church, thus became apparent. The undertaking once started, speedily matured, and in 1832, the corner-stone of a suitable building was laid with appropriate ceremonies, by the Rev. Francis L. Hawks, D. D., then Rector of St. Paul's Church, New Haven.
This, the fourth edifice built by Trinity parish, within one hundred and ten years, was most advantageously located on a gentle eminence, in the centre of the village, and was of easy access to all who desired to worship God, according to the Episcopal Form .* Bishop Benjamin Treadwell Onderdonk, of New York, consecrated the new Chapel, January 22nd, 1835.
The list of contributors to the Chapel is preserved in the Parish Record, and contains the names of so many who were active in Trinity Church, or interested in it at the time, and whose memory is worth perpetuating, that it is given in full. The land was purchased of Judson Sturges, and cost $300. The size of the lot was seven by eight rods. The subscription paper reads as follows :
" We, the subscribers, being desirous of building a House in the Borough of Southport, to be dedicated to the worship of Almighty God, according to the forms of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and to be known by the name of Trinity Chapel, belonging to the Episcopal Society in the Town of Fair- field, do promise to pay to Jeremiah Sturges, Esq., Treasurer of s'd Society, or his successor in Office, the several sums we have hereunto annexed to our names, and we do hereby consti- tute and appoint Jeremiah Sturges, Esq., Andrew Bulkley, William Sherwood, Jr., Walter Bulkley, Abel Beers, the committee to purchase the land and to superintend the erecting the said building, and to draw on the Treasurer of
* See map of Church sites, p. 33.
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RECTORSHIP OF REV. CHARLES SMITH.
s'd Society, the amount subscribed for the above purpose, provided the several subscriptions hereunto annexed amount to two thousand dollars, one year from date. Otherwise, the subscriptions to be null and void. Witness our hand, South- port, January 13th, 1832."
Abel Beers,
$100.00
Wm. Bulkley,
$100.00
Jeremiah Sturges & Son,
200.00
Thos. Robinson,
30.00
Julius Pike,
100.00
L. B. Wakeman,
40.00
Jonathan Godfrey,
50.00
·W. W. Wakeman, 40.00
Joseph Perry,
100.00
George Bulkley,
40.00
Walter Bulkley,
100.00
Charles Bulkley,
40.00
Judas Sherwood,
100.00
Hezekiah Davis,
35.00
Wm. Robinson & family, 100.00
Andrew Bulkley,
50.00
Wm. Sherwood, Jr.,
50.00
Simon Sherwood,
25.00
Henry Perry,
150.00
M. A. Sherwood, 30.00
Charles Perry,
50.00
B. A. Hawkins,
25.00
Moses Bulkley,
50.00
Hull Sherwood,
40.00
Aaron J. Hubbell,
20.00
Joseph Jennings,
15.00
Jon. Bulkley,
25.00
Andrew Bulkley,
10.00
Levi Down,
10.00
Timothy Williams,
10.00
Gordon Perry,
25.00
Aaron Jennings,
10.00
W. D. Dimon,
10.00
Jessup Wakeman,
50.00
Stephen Osborn,
40.00
E. Sherwood,
10.00
Joseph W. Davis,
50.00
Rachael Penfield,
10.00
Walter Sherwood,
50.00
Rev. Francis L. Hawks, 5.00
James Bulkley,
10.00
Eleazar Bulkley,
100.00
Hezekiah Bulkley,
10.00
Griselda and Mary
Bradley, 50.00
Lyman Betts,
10.00
Henry Beers,
10.00
Ebenezer Dimon,
40.00
David Coley,
5.00
Jon. Sturges,
5.00
Aaron Sherwood, 5.00
Henry Dudley,
10.00
R. M. Sherman, 10.00
Anna Robinson,
5.00
Sarah Hull.
25.00
L. H. Bulkley,
50.00
Jessup Alvord,
10.00
Two years only elapsed, and the attendance showing a constant increase, it was decided that the Chapel needed greater seating capacity. A second subscription paper was started, and in a brief space of time, the amount requisite, was pledged. A copy is herewith appended : "We, the subscribers, promise
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RECTORSHIP OF REV. CHARLES SMITH.
to pay to Jeremiah Sturges, Esq., Treasurer of the Episcopal Society of Fairfield, or his successor in office, the respective sums annexed to our names, for the purpose of raising the sum of Four Hundred Dollars, to be applied to building an additional square of about 12 feet in extension of the length of Trinity Church, in Southport, the s'd subscription not to be binding unless the sum of Four Hundred Dollars shall be raised on or before the 23rd inst.
Southport, April 16th, 1834.
Ladies' Association,
$100.00
Charles T. Nichols,
$10.00
Maurice Wakeman,
25.00
Chas. Thorp,
10.00
Lot Bulkley,
25.00
Sellick Sherman,
10.00
Thos. Robinson,
25.00
Capt. John Hull,
10.00
Wm. Bulkley,
20.00
David Bradley,
10.00
Andrew Bulkley,
20.00
N. B. Alvord,
5.00
Simon Sherwood,
15.00
Geo. Robinson,
5.00
Smith Robinson,
15.00
J. B. Wakeman,
5.00
Moses Bulkley,
10.00
Chas. Thorp, additional,
5.00
W. B. Meeker,
10.00
Albert Whitmar,
5.00
Henry Perry,
10.00
Henry Beers,
5.00
J. W. Davis,
10.00
James Bulkley,
5.00
Henry Sturges,
10.00
Jessup Alvord,
5.00
Chas. Perry,
10.00
Aaron Sherwood, Jr.,
5.00
Hull Sherwood,
10.00
David Bradley,
5.00
Polly and Griselda
Abel Ogden,
3.00
Bradley,
10.00
Geo. Ogden,
2.00
Jeremiah Sturges,
10.00
L. Down,
2.50
James Jennings,
10.00
Joseph Sturges,
1.50
Very shortly after the addition to the Chapel had been decided upon, Mr. Smith's failing health made it imperative that he should seek a cure requiring less labor on his part ; and the joint rectorship of two small parishes, St. Peter's Church, and Christ Church, at Oxford, Connecticut, having been offered to him, he tendered his resignation to the Vestry. As his ministry had been most successful, and the congrega- tion was devoted to him, he was strongly urged to withdraw it. He plead, in return, that it be accepted because of his
-
98
RECTORSHIP OF REV. CHARLES SMITH.
inability to do the work required of him, and so, with great reluctance, the Vestry permitted him to depart. He was a faithful Pastor, and an excellent preacher. There are still those living, who treasure, with great affection, the remem- brance of his ministrations.
CHAPTER XV.
RECTORSHIP OF REV. NATHANIEL E. CORNWALL : TRANSFER OF
SERVICES FROM MILL PLAIN TO SOUTHPORT : DEMOLI- TION OF THE MILL PLAIN CHURCH: BUILDING OF THE FIRST PARSONAGE HOUSE, 1834-1853, A. D.
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