USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > New Canaan > Canaan parish, 1733-1933, being the story of the Congregational church of New Cannan, Connecticut > Part 9
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ABEL NICHOLS. Jemima, his wife; Sarah, John, children.
CHARLES HAIT. Hannah, his wife; Parson, Naomi, Maria, Hannah, his daughters.
ABRAHAM CHICHESTER. Jerusha, his wife; Martha, Abraham, David, Nathan, Jerusha, Stephen, children.
December 28, NATHANAEL CRISSY. Weitstill, his wife; William, Prudence, Nathanael, Abraham, Jesse, Hannah, children; the widow, Martha Crissy.
EBENEZER CRISSY. Bethia, his wife; Bethia, Abigail, Ebenezer, Hannah, Anne, Samuel, children.
EBENEZER WEED. Hannah, his wife; Ebenezer, Abigail, Jacob, children; unbaptized.
JOHN DAVENPORT. Prudence, his wife; Deborah, his mother; Rhoda, his sister.
HEZEKIAH DAVENPORT. Ruth, his wife; Pruella, Elizabeth, Abigail, William, Isaac, children; Nezer Scofield, Samuel Gaylor, apprentices.
RUBEN SCOFIELD. Lydda, his wife; Lydda, Betsey, Abigail, Anna, child- ren; Benjamin Scofield, Sylvanus Seally, Junior, residenters; Mercy, his sister.
(Beginning with John Defrees (Deforest ) he is on west Canaan Ridge or West Road and continues across what is now Greenley Road to upper Ponasses
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Path to the last house on the street where lived Nathanial Crissey and then down the mill road. It will be noted that he did not travel on Christmas but it must be for some other reason than because it was a feast day for Christmas was not celebrated here at that date except by the Church of England.)
December 29, DAVID STEVENS. Widower, Abraham, Rebecca, Ezra, David, Susanna, James, children.
TITUS FINCH. Hannah, his wife; Thankful, David, Annie, Caleb, children.
SAMUEL STEVENS. Lois, his wife; Martha, a child; Mary, his sister; Lydda Nash, residenter.
PARSON BISHOP. Hannah, his wife; Hannah, Sarah, Pruella, Anne, Rhoda, William, David, children.
JAMES YOUNGS. Mary, his wife; Robert, Samuel, children; Deborah Ambler, Martha Davenport, residenters.
DAVID STEVENS, SENR. Tabitha, his wife; Hannah Scofield, residenter.
JOSEPH STEVENS. Sarah, his wife; Sarah, Joseph, Elisha, . Samuel, Lydia, Rachel, children.
NATHANIEL BOUTTON. Mary, his wife. Episcopalian.
SETH REED. Hannah, his wife, Seth, a child; Sarah, his sister-in-law.
JOSIAH WEED. Abigail, his wife; Hannah, Josiah, Mary, Jonathan, Sarah, Dorcas, Daniel, children; Abigail Heusted, Damaris Boutton, grandchildren.
JAMES WEED. Sarah, his wife; James, Elizabeth, Ruth, children; John Buxton, Weed, apprentices.
ENOS WEED. Mary, his wife; Stephen, Mary, Rachel, children.
(He has crossed from Lower Ponasses Path to Talmadge Hill and is pro- ceeding up Weed Street.)
January 4, 1733, ELISHA LEEDS. Widower, John, Mary, Sarah, Martha, Elizabeth, children.
ELIPHALET SEALLY, JUNR. Sarah, his wife; Joseph, - Sarah, Ebenezer, Samuel, Mary, Johanna, Elisha, Mercy, Ruth, Abigail and Israel, children.
WILLIAM REED, JUNR. Hannah, his wife; Rachel, Joseph, Enos, William, children.
CAPTAIN THOMAS SEYMOUR, SENR. Elizabeth, his wife; Ezra and Abigail, married; Betsy, married to Moses Comstock, Junr .; Elizabeth, Nathanael, Abigail, Hezekiah, children; Hannah and Ezra, children to Ezra and Abigail above.
(He began the New Year in the Flat Ridge district, the Ridge east of and overlooking Talmadge Hill, travelling from south to north.)
January 8, THEOPHILUS FITCH, EsQ. Lydda, his wife; Sarah, Theophilus, Joseph, Anne, children; Chapman Smith, residenter.
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LIEUT. JOHN CARTER. Hannah, his wife; Rachel, Deborah, Sarah, Mercy, Elizabeth, Ebenezer, Samuel, Mary (or Polly) children; William Brown, residenter; Jakin, a niger.
CAPT. EBENEZER CARTER. Hannah, his wife; Josiah Jones, residenter, Mingo and Jean, nigers.
MOSES CUMSTOCK EELS. Abigail, his wife, William, a child.
REV. MR. JOHN EELS. Abigail, his wife; Levi Yuttle, Isaac Betts, Thomas Benedict, John Wairing, Jonathan Kellogg, Bette Forquhar.
MATTHEW FITCH. Lydia, his wife; Mercy, Susanna, Abijah; Rebecca, married to Eliakim Reid, of Middlesex; Samuel Benedict, a grandchild.
JEREMIAH BAIRD EELS. Lois, his wife; John, Jeremiah, Anna, Lois, Martha, Sarah, Dinah, Samuel, Nathaniel, children; James Trowbridge residenter.
JACOB SELLECK. Hannah, his wife; Sarah, Jacob, children, John Green, apprentice; Esther Hayes, residenter.
(The above eight homes were all in the Clapboard Hill region we know as Carter Street proceeding from south to north as far as the intersection with Canoe Hill.)
January 11, MATTHEW BOUTON. Rachel, his wife; David, Abraham, Betsey, Azar, Matthew, Seymour, Enos, children.
THOMAS SEYMOUR, JUNR. Sarah, his wife; Sibbel, Lydia, children.
CAPT. SAMUEL HANFORD. Mercy, his wife.
MOSES HANFORD. Mercy, his wife; Hannah, Moses, Nathan, Thaddeus, children; Enoch Kellogg, residenter.
SAMUEL HANFORD, JUNR. Elizabeth, his wife; Samuel, Eliphalet, Sarah, children; Mabel St. John, residenter.
THADDEUS HANFORD. Mary, his wife; Anne, Hannah, Betty, Lucretia, Deborah, Abigail, children; Aaron Saunders, residenter.
THEOPHILUS HANFORD, SENR. Sarah, his wife.
LEVI HANFORD. Elizabeth, his wife; Ebenezer, Elizabeth, Levi, John, children; Jonathan Brown, Mary Smith, Hannah Betts, residenters.
(These houses were in White Oak Shade region from an as yet undetermined point believed to be near the present schoolhouse north as far as the top of Main Street hill.)
January 12, SEYMOUR FITCH. Elizabeth, his wife; Seymour, Lyndel, Ezra, Nathaniel, Asa, children; widow Lydia Crawfoot.
MATTHEW FITCH, JUNR. Sarah, his wife; Esther, a child; Joanna Craw- foot, residenter.
EZRA HAIT, SENR. Phebe, his wife; John, his son, and Keziah, married; Ira, a grandchild.
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WIDOW DINAH HAIT. Widow Susanna Green, Anson Green, her child; Nathan Hait, Ebenezer Hait, sons to widow Hait; David Hait, Senr., refuses to give the list of his family.
BENJAMIN ST. JOHN. Mary, his wife.
CALEB ST. JOHN. Mary, his wife; Mary, Caleb, Sarah, Eliphalet, children; Sibb, a niger wench.
RICHARD EVERITT. Elizabeth, his wife; Elizabeth, Joseph, Samuel, Richard, Wright, children; Martha Hayes, residenter.
(On the twelfth he returned to the northeastern part of the Parish going north on what we call Rosebrook Road and then east across Ferris Hill to Silver- mine where he left off December 23.)
January 14, CHARLES WEED, SENR. Elizabeth, his wife; Hannah, Charles, Enos, children.
HEZEKIAH REID. Phebe, his wife, Hezekiah, a child; James Reid, an apprentice.
SYLVANUS HAIT, SENR. Elizabeth, his wife; Hannah, Lisie, Sylvanus, Sarah, children.
WIDOW RHODA WEED. Anne, her daughter; Samuel Baker, doctor.
AMOS PENOYER. Sarah, his wife; David, Sarah, Mary, John, children. DANIEL CHITTESTER. Rachel, his wife; Widow Abigail Chittester, his mother; all in communion.
SAMUEL PENOYER, SENR. Martha, his wife; Samuel, Abigail, Abraham, Hannah, William, Rhoda; Susanna, wife to Isaac, his son, and a child, unbaptized.
MARTIN KELLOGG. Mercy, his wife; Martin, Mercy, Zadok, Mary, child- ren; Eleazar and Love Benedicts, residenters; Phillis, a niger young wench.
(The above eight homes were in the northwestern part of the Parish, west Canaan Ridge and possibly upper Weed Street and Greenley Road. Research now going on will undoubtedly locate them all definitely and they will be described with the others in Part Two.)
January 18, CALEB BENEDICT. Deborah, his wife; Caleb, Silas, Deborah, Elizabeth, Mehetabel, Aaron, children; Elizabeth St. John, residenter.
DAVID ST. JOHN, SENR. Jemima, his wife; David, Jemima, Selleck, Samuel, children; Hezekiah St. John, residenter.
JONATHAN KELLOGG. Susanna, his wife; Abigail, Asahel, Susanna, Eliza- beth, Stephen, children.
ANDREW SEYMOUR. Sarah, his wife; Samuel, John, Anne, Sarah, Andrew, Jared, Nathanel, children.
JOHN STONE. Elizabeth, his wife; Eunice, his daughter.
PETER HUSTED. Anne, his wife; Nathan and Betsey, children.
(Mr. Drummond is again in the Canoe Hill region working west from Caleb Benedict's on the northwest corner of Rosebrook Road and Brushy Ridge.)
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January 19, ASA JONES. Rachel, his wife; Hannah, Asa, Rachel, Samuel, Sarah, children.
JOSIAH HAYES. Annie, his wife; Charles Slawson, Jonathan Weed, resi- denters.
EZRA BENEDICT. Mary, his wife; Jemima, John, Mary, children; Susanna Green, Thad. Husted, residenters.
CAPT. DANIEL BENEDICT. Phebe, his wife; John, married to Hannah; Phebe, Azariah, Anna, Elizbeth, Asenath, Mary, Ira“, children; Jachim Benedict, residenter.
*Ere. Benedict Gene.
LYNDEL FITCH. Mary, his wife; Ebenezer Bartlet, residenter.
HEZEKIAH BENIDICT. Martha, his wife; Dorcas, Hezekiah, Martha, Dinah, Eunice, Rachel, children.
ROBERT ARNOLD. Mary, his wife; Elizabeth, a child; Rebecca Webster, residenter.
JAMES BENEDICT. Thankful, his wife; Nehemiah, James, Matthew, David, children; Widow Mehetabel Benedict, his mother; Ephraim Wairing, residenter.
TIMOTHY HAIT. Sarah, his wife; Jachin, Ruth, Sarah, Timothy, Simeon, Isabel, Joel, Lois, children; Sarah Boutton, residenter.
DAN FINCH. Abigail, his wife; Mary, Hannah, Peter, Billy, Deborah, Abigail, children.
(These houses like those of the previous day's visit are on the east side of the Parish, north Carter Street, south Canoe Hill and Silvermine.)
January 25, LIEUT. ELIPHALET SEALLY. Sarah, his wife; Elisha Betts, resi- denter; Flora, a negro wench.
(The one call made this day suggests perhaps rare hospitality from this substantial house on our Old Stamford Road. This house, and the interesting land transactions involving the Seeleys, Leeds and Seymours, leads to a study of that quaint old institution, the "perambulation line" which will be presented in full in Part Two.)
January 27, WILLIAM REID, SENR. Mary, his wife; Anne, a grandchild. JACOB REID. Ruami, his wife; Ruth, a child; Eleazar Husted, residenter. WIDOW ABIGAIL WEIRING. Isaac, Michael, Elizabeth, children; Not visited. ISAAC KELLOG. Hannah, his wife; Gideon, Jemima, Isaac, Hannah, children; Samuel Youngs, residenter.
WILLIAM BOLT. Lydia, his wife; Episcopalian. Elizabeth, William, John, Charles, Abigail, Samuel, children.
JUSTUS HAIT. Elizabeth, his wife; Gold, Elect, Stephen, Israel, children; William Waterbury, residenter.
ELEAZAR BOUTTON, JUNR. Mary, his wife; Asahel Green, his wife's son; Eleazar, by his first wife.
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NATHANIEL GREY. Hannah, his wife.
LEVI BOUTTON. Hannah, his wife.
(These houses are not entirely consecutive but it is believed that Mr. Drummond rode across from Flat Ridge Hill (now Chapel Hill Road) past the present South Avenue not there at that time and on to lower White Oak Shade.
It will be noted that he has discontinued bis remarks upon the moral and religious state of mind of his parishioners. The reader is left to his own specu- lation as to the reason. The editor ventures the opinion that the average bad been so uniform that he notes only the occasional instances of departure from the normal. It may be, however, that coming events had cast their shadows before and this particular date marked the climax of the Stamp Act controversy and the line between loyalty and revolution began to appear. Mr. Drummond was loyal to his King and his spirit may have been less keen with the talk which must have led him into almost universal opposition to his own view.)
January 29, JOSEPH BLATCHLEY. Widower, Sarah, Samuel, Ebenezer, Seally, Mary, Joseph, children; Anne Hicox, residenter; Phillis, a niger.
TIMOTHY REID. Susanna, his wife; Susanna, Uriah, Sarah, Timothy, children; Widow Sarah Reid, his mother; Sylvanus Stevens, Ephiriam Jones, apprentices.
WIDOW PHEBE ARNOLD. Mary, her daughter.
ISAAC HOLMES. Anne, his wife; Elizabeth.
CAPT. JONATHAN HUSTED. Mary, his wife; Azariah Betts and Mabel Tuttle, residenters; Candace, a niger wench; one Simms, negro child.
MATTHEW HAIT. Mary, his wife; Anna, Thaddeus, Mercy, Thankful, Mary, Martha, children.
JOSEPH HAIT. Jean, his wife; Joseph, married to Hannah; William, Jean, Pruella, Warren, Mercy, Clare, Hannah, Dose; Miriam, a child to Joseph, Junr.
NEHEMIAH BENEDICT. Hannah, his wife; William Waters, Hannah, Thomas, children; Mary Keeler and Bush Weed, both residenters; Robert a niger man.
JOHN NASH. Eunice, his wife; Malatiah, Mary, Sarah, Eunice, children; Charity Burchell, residenter.
(The last day of the visitations seems to have been confined to the village. It must be remembered that the assumption that he visited and set down all of these houses in order is not entirely safe. He may have departed from this rule at times and a further study will enable us to determine the exact location of more of these houses.)
(NOTE :- To what extent this list is a census of the Parish we are not sure. We know that the Betts, Tuttle and Abbott families were regular at-
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tendants of the Episcopal churches in Norwalk and Stamford and paid their tythes there, so the Congregational minister did not include them. How many others may have been omitted from oversight or other causes is a question. The list includes about 800 names. We know that 28 years later the Parish had grown to 1,200 which makes the assumption that this is a fairly complete census a reasonable one. On the other hand five years later this little Parish sent a full company of over 100 men under Captain John Carter to the Revolutionary War which suggests that the Parish grew rapidly or else more of the males enumer- ated as children were over 16 years of age.
Number of Individuals 792
Number of Families 124
Number of Children (so called in the list but age not given) 449
Number of Slaves
12
Number of Family Names 50
"Residenters" were a relict of an old statute of Connecticut which made it unlawful for any single person to live unattached to some responsible house- hold. The status of residenters of Canaan Parish at this date was probably be- tween that of an employe and an adopted child. A "took" boy or girl was com- mon up to the 1860's and actually was some person of a large family in modest circumstances, taken into a more favored family with a larger house and land. They were not indentured as they were not apprentices, but were as one of the family and shared the same treatment.)
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HISTORY OF THE CHURCH SCHOOL
BY GEORGIA DRUMMOND RAE
T HE Sabbath School of the Congregational Church was organized in 1827, during the pastorate of Rev. William Bonney. Previous to this date, re- ligious instruction had been given to one class on the Lord's Day, and also it is recorded that Mr. Bonney instructed the young in the Shorter Catechism on Saturday mornings in the Rock school house.
Mr. Joseph Kellogg, while visiting in New York City about 1825, became deeply interested in the Sabbath Schools already organized there, and upon his return home, with the zealous aid of Hiram Crissey, began the agitation of the subject of organizing a Sabbath School here.
One Sunday morning in May, 1827, Rev. Mr. Bonney gave notice at the close of the morning service, that all who wished to cooperate in the organization of such a school, would repair to the second story room of the Academy building, which stood at that time a little to the southwest of the present Community School. The attendance was large. Mr. Julian M. Sturtevant was elected superintendent; Elipahlet Crissey, secretary, and George Willis Ayres, librarian. The first lesson given out, to be, recited on the next Sabbath, was Matthew 26: 36-56. The committing to memory of Scripture verses was evidently a very important part of the religious instruction.
Not long after its organization the school was moved to the town house, but since this building was unheated, the meetings were finally held in the church, which was the second meeting house, built in 1752. At this time the church was heated by box stoves from which the glowing coals were shoveled into foot stoves to keep the feet warm.
The Sabbath School had been in existence for fifteen years when this church, the third meeting house, was built in 1842. For thirty-five years classes were held in the galleries, which fact is well remembered by many now living. In 1877, however, through the generosity of Miss Lucy Weed, the part of the present lecture room north of the folding doors was erected, and the Sabbath School has held its sessions there ever since. The arch in the rear of the church pulpit was constructed at the same time and the organ and choir loft removed from the east gallery to its present position.
With the building of the lecture room, the ladies were very desirous of having a kitchen or place built in which they could prepare church suppers. A basement seemed the most feasible, but some of the trustees strongly ob- jected to this as being too expensive, since the ground was of rock formation and would require much blasting. Therefore the addition was built without a
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cellar. Under the organ loft, however, it was possible to do some easy ex- cavating, and in this small room, reached by a short flight of steps from the entry connecting the church room with the lecture room, the ladies prepared all the church suppers. The entrance to this room is now boarded up and the steps removed, for later a kitchen was erected as an addition to the lecture room. The water used in this kitchen was pumped from a cistern, drinking water being carried to the church.
For many years it was customary for the ladies of the church to meet twice a month in the winter for sewing. At the end of the day the table would be set and the public invited to attend the supper, which would con- sist mainly of smoked beef, cheese, rye and white bread, cake and coffee. A box would be passed and many five and ten cent pieces would be dropped in as well as larger amounts, as payment for the supper. Occasionally to raise more money, an oyster stew supper would be served.
The small room on the north of the church, connecting the church room with the lecture room, was used by the infant class until 1913, when a large, commodious room was added to the lecture room north of the kitchen. This room was given the church by Mrs. Ludlow Barker in memory of her nephew, Richard Mygatt Northrup, a former member of the church and Sabbath School. With the organization of a cradle roll department, the "infant class" gradually became known as the beginners' department, and occupied the memorial room until it was transferred to rooms in the rear of the parsonage. The kitchen accommodations had now become too crowded, and it was en- larged at the time the memorial room was erected.
As the Sabbath School and church increased in numbers, the lecture room became inadequate for the demands made upon it, and in 1898 the addition south of the folding doors was built. This enlarged the floor space of the main room, provided for a larger entry, a gallery at the south end of the addition and a ladies' room over the entry. The gallery and ladies' room were also used as class rooms. This addition was paid for entirely from funds raised by the Sabbath School.
When Dr. Willard Parker purchased the property north of this church, he moved the school house that stood between his house and the church, and that had originally housed the Academy, and attached it to the rear of his house. A portion of this property now belongs to the Congregational Church as its parsonage, and these rooms in the rear of the house, that once were used by the Academy pupils, are now occupied as class rooms by the Sabbath School.
Among the officers elected at the organization of the school in 1827, was a librarian. There being no free public library at that time nor for some time later, the Sabbath School library was very popular. (Charlotte Chase Fairley, in her "History of New Canaan" mentions a "Young People's Library at New Canaan" organized in 1811.) Money for new books was obtained by soliciting, and the importance of this part of the church work was shown by the fact
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that Mr. Adolphus F. Carter gave the church $500, the interest to be applied to the replenishing of the Sabbath School library. Now that we have such a fine Public Library, the demand for books from the Sabbath School is not so great and it is a much less important part of the school work. When the kitchen was built, the library occupied a portion of it. From there it was moved into the room vacated by the infant class, which room is now called the pastor's study. Then it was transferred to the gallery in the south end of the lecture room, where it is now situated .*
A few years ago under the direction of Dr. Benjamin S. Winchester, the school was graded to make it conform more to the classes in the public schools, and this proved quite satisfactory. We now have five departments outside of the cradle roll and home department: the beginners, primary, junior, young people's and adult, four of the departments having their separate opening service. The school now numbers seven officers, twenty teachers and 184 scholars, making a total of 211.
A very important part of the Sabbath School work is the cradle roll department. This was first conducted by Mrs. James H. Silliman, was re- organized in 1913 by Mrs. Thomas Tunney, and is still under her supervision. In this department are enrolled the babies of the church, who are called upon by the superintendent, remembered by birthday cards, given an annual party, etc., until they graduate on Children's Day at the age of four, to the beginner's department. The enrollment in this department June, 1933, was forty-one.
The shut-in and aged members of the church are organized into a home department. There are now fifteen included in its membership, on whom the superintendent, Mrs. B. P. Mead, makes frequent calls and distributes their quarterlies.
On Children's Day in June, and at Christmas time, the church school holds appropriate exercises, either in the church or the lecture room, which are greatly enjoyed by all. The giving of presents to members at Christmas was first commenced during Mr. Greenleaf's ministry. At that time the other churches in town were following this practice, and our scholars were dissatisfied at not receiving presents, so the custom was adopted here, and continued until the time of the World War. Some of us today can recall that cake was passed to those in the congregation at these Christmas Eve celebrations, and what a task for the sexton the following day!
For the last few years there have been no sessions of the Sabbath School during the months of July and August. For various reasons it has seemed advisable to do this, but how many know that when the school was first organized, over one hundred years ago, the meetings were omitted during the winter months? For very different reasons, however-the lack of heat in the meeting place.
*Soon after this was written, most of the fiction, history and nature study books in the library were presented to Center School to serve as a nucleus for a school library.
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The Church School has always emphasized giving for others, and especially to the mission boards of our churches. Every alternate month the offerings are devoted to such causes, each one receiving about $45.00. The American Board of Foreign Missions, the American Missionary Association, working in the South, the Church Building Society, the Congregational Extension Society, and our Fairfield County Council of Religious Education all receive offerings, and our own Visiting Nurse Association and the Henry Street Settlement in New York as well. We can never forget that the fund yielding over $300.00 a year to the school, given by one who wanted the school well established, makes this possible. The school receives no money support from the trustees because of this, and is thus able to maintain itself and give away one half of its offerings.
The suggestion was made last winter that our 200th anniversary should be marked by some permanent improvements to our building. Wide and generous response was forthcoming. The results are to be seen today. A new entrance to the lecture room contains a tablet to the superintendents of the school, given by the school. The wainscot is made from the old pew doors, set up by a special gift of two of our members. Commodious stairs lead down to the new young people's room, which contains a fireplace, known as the "Council Fire," given by the young people. This transformation from the old coal bins and furnace room is complete and surprising. Wide stairs have been built to the third floor, where someday we expect to have another class room. Adequate washrooms have been installed on two floors. The new entrance allows us to use the former one as a choir room, the need of which has been felt for a long time, and leaves the study on the north side un- disturbed-a place of retirement before a service especially needed for visiting ministers. The kitchen was repainted last year. The lecture room, classroom and gallery are all newly decorated. A grand piano is to be installed in the lecture room, and furniture to begin equipping the new basement room has already been given.
A history of the Sabbath School would be incomplete without some reference to the men who so well and faithfully served as superintendents of the school. The first six, who served a period of seven years, were instructors in the Academy, and they were the following:
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