USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > Hartford > Centennial memorial of the First Baptist Church of Hartford, Connecticut, March 23d and 24th, l890 > Part 12
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Dr. Sears was born at Sandisfield, Mass., November 19, 1802. He was graduated from Brown University with the honors of his class in 1825. After a course of theology at Newton, his pastorate here began. In 1833 Dr. Sears visited Germany for the further prosecution of his studies. He there baptized the Rev. Dr. J. G. Oncken, at Hamburg, in the river Elbe, with six others, on the night of April 22, 1834.
Returning home, Dr. Sears became a Professor in Newton. In 1855 he succeeded Dr. Francis Wayland to the Presidency of Brown University. In 1867 he became the agent for the Peabody Educational Fund, retaining that position until his death, at the age of seventy-eight, in the year 1880.
Twenty-nine members were added to the church dur- ing Dr. Sears' pastorate. In November, 1828, a lot was purchased on Main Street for the new house of worship subsequently erected during the pastorate of Dr. Davis. PASTORATE OF THE REV. GUSTAVUS FELLOWES DAVIS, D. D.
Dr. Davis was called to the pastorate May 19th, and began his labors as pastor July 29th, 1829. He continued
THE SECOND CHURCH EDIFICE.
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to serve the church until his death, never ceasing to command in a high degree the respect and affection, not only of the church, but of the whole community. He was one of the ablest and most successful pastors in New England, and, by the blessing of God, greatly aided in strengthening and increasing the church. He combined in a high degree all the qualities which secure pastoral success. His connection with the church was a happy one, both for himself and the cause of Christ in Hartford. Although he died fifty-four years ago his memory is still fresh among us, and will be ever dear to the hearts of those who knew him. He was instant in season and out of season in his work of faith and labor of love for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.
During his ministry two hundred and sixty-nine were added to the church.
The church edifice on Main Street was begun soon after Dr. Davis came on the field. The corner stone was laid April 30, 1830, and the house dedicated March 23d, 1831. The dimensions were eighty-four feet by sixty.
The South Baptist Church in this city was formed October 17, 1834, of members from the First Church, with Dr. Davis' cordial approval. Their first house of worship on Main and Sheldon Streets was erected through the joint contributions of the new and the mother church. The Connecticut Literary Institution at Suffield was established largely through Dr. Davis' in- fluence. All our benevolent societies shared in his sympathies, and he was never happier than when pro- moting their interests and extending their influence. He
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labored to build up the feeble churches in the state, and did all in his power to promote the cause of ministerial education and the foreign missions.
For a brief biographical sketch reference is made to the address of Deacon Davis, page 27.
In August, 1836, during a visit to his native place, he was taken sick and died, September 11th, in the full maturity of his powers and usefulness. His body was brought by loving friends to Hartford, to the spot dearest to him on earth, the church in which he had so successfully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. An immense concourse, containing representatives from all denominations of Christians, attended his funeral and followed his remains to the grave, amid the tears of thousands who thronged the streets and manifested their respect for his memory. The following hymn, written by Mrs. Sigourney, was sung on the occasion :-
" Pastor, thou from us art taken, In the glory of thy years ; As the oak, by tempest shaken, Falls ere time its verdure sears.
Here, where oft thy lips have taught us Of the Lamb who died to save ; Where thy guiding hand hath brought us, To the deep baptismal wave,
Pale and cold, we see thee lying, In God's temple, once so dear, And the moment's bitter sighing Falls unanswered on thine ear.
All thy love and zeal to lead us Where immortal fountains shine, And on living bread to feed us, In our sorrowing hearts we shrine.
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May the conquering faith that cheered thee, When thy foot on Jordan pressed, Guide our spirits while we leave thee In the tomb that Jesus blest."
Dr. Davis had special traits of character. He was by natural constitution buoyant and self-reliant, full of hope and cheer. This, added to his hearty, courteous manner, made him a universal favorite. Everybody knew him; everybody loved him. The children in the streets brightened at his ready smile. He was good-natured to a proverb. He felt for the poor; he sympathised, indeed, with all, and would give his last dollar to a suf- fering friend. He was a great reader of the Bible, and his sermons were studded with gems from the Scripture.
During his pastorate a legacy of $5,000 came to the church by the will of a respected member, Bro. Caleb Moore.
PASTORATE OF THE REV. HENRY JACKSON, D. D.
Dr. Davis was followed, December Ist, 1836, by his intimate friend, the Rev. Henry Jackson. Dr. Jackson had supplied the pulpit of the church during the winter of Mr. Cushman's illness some fifteen years before. His settlement as pastor was productive of great benefit to the church, but unhappily lasted only two years. A glorious outpouring of the Divine Spirit oc- curred in 1838, and was enjoyed by all the evangelical churches in the city. This work of grace was, in many respects, one of the most remarkable and delightful ever experienced in Hartford. Over a thousand were added to the different churches. Many wanderers were re-
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claimed, and all the churches were greatly cheered and strengthened.
Dr. Jackson was born in Providence, June 16, 1798. He was graduated from Brown University in 1817. During his collegiate course he was converted, and united with the First Baptist Church at Providence. He pursued theological studies at Andover, and was ordained November 27, 1822. His first settlement was with the Charlestown Baptist Church, where he remained from his ordination until his settlement with this church. He was greatly blessed at Charlestown, and was instrumental in founding the Charlestown Female Seminary. He was also one of the founders of the Newton Theological Institution, and from its origin until his death he was a member of its Board of Trustees.
At Hartford one hundred and ninety-six were added to the church during his pastorate.
Dr. Jackson was greatly beloved, and is still remem- bered with profound affection. He was subsequently settled at New Bedford, where nearly four hundred were added to the church. After a seven years' settlement, he became the first pastor of the newly-organized Central Baptist Church of Newport. There he remained for sixteen years. Three hundred and seventy members were brought into the church during his pastorate. He died March 2, 1863.
In his forty years' ministry he baptized nearly nine hundred persons, and welcomed five hundred more into the fellowship of the several churches he served. He was an earnest, affable, Christian gentleman, and a faithful preacher of the gospel.
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During the vacancy of nearly one year which followed the resignation of Dr. Jackson, the pulpit was supplied by the venerable Rev. William Bentley, who on this, and on several occasions, did good service to this church in the cause of Christ.
PASTORATE OF THE REV. JEREMIAH SEWELL EATON.
The Hartford pastorate was Mr. Eaton's first. He came fresh from Newton with his young wife, and, as with Nelson, Grew, Cushman and Sears, he received ordination here. Mr. Eaton's labors began November 12, 1839. He faithfully and diligently discharged his duties until his resignation, May 25, 1844. During his administration the church enjoyed a great measure of prosperity, and in 1841 especially, received a large accession of converts. On March 7th of that year one hundred and forty persons received the hand of church fellowship from Mr. Eaton, and among the number were fifty heads of families. In the meetings of this and the following season, Rev. Jacob I. Knapp and others preached as helpers to the pastor. There were many converts, and among them Deacon James G. Bolles and other most valuable members.
Mr. Eaton was born in Ware, N. H., in June, 1810. While pursuing studies at New Hampton, and after a protracted struggle with Universalist sentiments, with which he had been contaminated, he was converted, and August 15, 1830, he was baptized. He sub- sequently entered college at Georgetown, Kentucky, but in 1833 removed to Union College, where he was graduated July 22, 1835. He then became a Professor
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in Haddington College, near Philadelphia. From there he went to Newton Theological Institution, where he was graduated August 21st, 1839. After his five years' pastorate at Hartford, he became pastor of the Free Street Baptist Church, Portland, Me., where he remained for ten years. His resignation was brought about because of ill health. He died at Portland, September 27, 1856. His memory is fra- grant in Hartford to this day. Many of the most sub- stantial members of the church were brought into the church during his ministry. Mr. Eaton was a man of active sympathies. The meetings at his own house for the young are even now warmly recalled. He thus brought himself near to the needs and the sympathies of those of tender years. But side by side with his sym- pathies there was sterling character. Illustrating this is the following incident, furnished by Mr. Howard, who was present on the occasion. Even then as a very young man he was a friend to his pastor, just as he has always been in subsequent years. Mr. Eaton was called to go down on Charles Street, and invited Mr. Howard to go with him. They found a family all together in one room, and a man lying on the bed in very great agony of mind. He begged Mr. Eaton to pray with him, and for him. The man had been a notorious character, and of pronounced intemperate habits. Mr. Eaton asked him if he was ready to give up all his habits of drink. The man said he didn't want to do that. But Mr. Eaton told him there was no use to pray with him if he clung to the drink. Finally, the man broke down and promised he would never drink any
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more. Then Mr. Eaton prayed for him. It was a most
earnest prayer. The man was converted, and with him his wife and children. They all became useful members of the church. He continued faithfully in the church until his death, and was one of the leading Washingtonians.
Mrs. Eaton, the pastor's devoted wife, was so dearly beloved that, years after her husband's death, the church invited her to become the pastor's assistant. Her labors in this relation continued for years, and left a permanent impress for good upon the church.
During Mr. Eaton's pastorate two hundred and ninety- two members were added to the church.
PASTORATE OF THE REV. ROBERT TURNBULL, D. D.
In the interim of one year following the close of Mr. Eaton's labors, the church twice invited Dr. Turnbull to become its pastor. Assenting at last, he began July 4th, 1845, the last and most important pastorate of his life. To the church this settlement became the longest, and in many respects, the most significant in its history. Dr. Turnbull was in the thirty-sixth year of his age. Added to a thorough training in the schools, he had fifteen years experience in the pastoral office. Settled first in his native Scotland, then, after 1833, in his adopted country, he served successively the churches at Danbury ; Detroit, Michigan ; the South Baptist, in Hartford; and the Harvard Street Church, in Boston. He never removed his membership from this church nor his resi- dence from Hartford. When he began his pastorate here, the church had acquired something of the strength
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to be anticipated from its history of fifty-three years. The congregation was large. The membership had grown to five hundred and thirty, and contained many men of substantial importance and a number of rising young men of no small reserve power and promise. The general community, distrustful and suspicious in the early years, had come to know more of these Baptists and their principles, and to perceive that they were foes neither to evangelical religion nor to New England cul- ture. Dr. Hawes, pastor of the venerable Center Con- gregational Church, came to Mr. Dimock, then a young man of forty-four, and courteously offered to extend the hand of fellowship to the new pastor on the occasion of his public recognition. Hartford had grown into a city of fifteen thousand inhabitants, and many of its pulpits were well manned. Dr. Bushnell was pastor of the old North Congregational Church, at the corner of Main and Morgan Streets, a stone's throw farther north than the site of our present house of worship. He was only seven years the senior of Dr. Turnbull, and became his friend as well as his neighbor. The two men were not unlike, and they were unlike. Both preached through the pen to a large extra-parish congregation. The speech of both shone with the sparkle of gem and poetry. Both were prophets who spoke forth what insight or intuition breathed into their souls. Neither loved immoderately, nor in its largest sense, the slow and accurate processes of pure logical investigation. Bushnell had a larger and more brilliant sweep; Turn- bull had more rugged reverence. The former had more readers; the latter had more hearers. The insight and
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the intensity of the one sometimes led him away from the moorings; that of the other drew him to evangelical truth as steel to the loadstone and held him safely fast. Bushnell dared to sail out on broad and bold excursions into unfathomed seas. Turnbull was himself anchored to the everlasting gospel, and helped to anchor other men. The religious life of each was simple, profound and beautiful, and lent its charm to hide whatever foibles there were, and to throw a halo about the graces and the virtues of both.
The gains in church membership throughout Dr. Turnbull's pastorate continued large and steady ; and so by emigration to the new west did the losses. In each of three years the accessions ran beyond one hundred. In 1853 one hundred and thirty new members were re- ceived ; in 1858, one hundred and twenty-three; and in 1865, one hundred and eleven. This last year the mem- bership of the church footed up seven hundred and forty-five.
April 23d, 1853, the South Baptist Church dedicated their present elegant house of worship. The First Church felt that the time had come likewise for them to secure a church edifice fully up to the new require- ments. December 6th, 1853, a committee appointed previously, of which Edwin Merritt was chairman, re- ported recommending the purchase of the present site, consisting of two lots, on the corner of Main and Talcott Streets, for the sum of twelve thousand five hundred dollars. The church and society unanimously voted to authorize the deacons to buy the lots, provided " twenty- five thousand dollars or some other satisfactory sum,"
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should be first subscribed. With profound faith in suc- cess, a committee was appointed both to secure the desired subscriptions, and to procure plans for the new edifice. This committee was composed of the following seven gentlemen : James G. Batterson, James L. Howard, George Sexton, Joseph S. Curtis, Edwin Merritt, Ed- ward Bolles, and Willis S. Bronson. No time was lost in getting matters under way. A little story told by the Rev. Gurdon Robins to Mr. Howard suggested the fitting motto which headed the subscription list. A dear and aged saint had written a subscription as follows : " For the love I bear the Lord Jesus, who redeemed my soul from death, I hereby promise to give," etc. The story brought tears to many an eye. Noble responses rapidly swelled the building fund. Three times the ground was mowed over before the work was completed. Some gave a full third of all they were worth in the world. Said one brother as, to the astonishment of the solicitor, he wrote down his first subscription of a thous- and dollars, and he followed it with two others just like it, "I am worth more money than you think I am." By February 6th, 1854, the plans were ready for sub- mission, and were finally adopted, after modification, March 30th. The architect was Mr. W. Russell West, of Philadelphia, a relative, it is said, of the celebrated artist, Benjamin West. April 13th the following gentlemen were appointed a building committee: James G. Batter- son, chairman, Gustavus F. Davis, treasurer, with James L. Howard, Joseph B. Gilbert, Willis S. Bronson, Joseph S. French, Joseph S. Curtis, Joseph W. Dimock, Edward Bolles, Edwin Merritt, Carlos Glazier, Henry E. Robins,
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George Sexton, R. M. Burdick, H. C. Spalding, George Hastings, T. W. Wolcott, William G. Allen, Isaac Hay- den, and Wareham Griswold. This committee was authorized to erect and complete the building according to the plans adopted. Two days later the deacons, who by the charter are the corporation, authorized the pur- chase of the lots for the price named, and in addition the use for her natural life, by Miss Talcott, the owner of the larger and corner lot, "of a slip in the house of worship to be erected," with the proviso that "the said slip was not to be sold or leased by her to others." The contract was let to Messrs. Spaulding and Coy for $43, 130, and work proceeded. December 18th, 1854, the church authorized the sale of the former edifice for $18,000. In the spring of 1855 the contrac- tors having made an assignment, the completion of the house was carried on under the immediate direction of the building committee. Early in the spring of 1856 the house was completed, furnished and paid for and ready for dedication. That is to say, the house and furnishing were paid for; but the lot was owned with a mortgage attached for some little time afterwards. It was com- pleted, except the spire, which was left to await the un- foldings of a later day. It is waiting still. So well was the work planned and so carefully executed that not a crack appeared in the walls from settling, and no work- man was injured in the course of construction. The upholstering was done by the ladies. The total cost of the building, including the lot, was $75,000. Thirty thousand dollars of this sum were paid by twelve men ; and of this thirty thousand, twenty-one thousand by six men.
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The new house was dedicated with thanksgiving April 23d, 1856, three years to the day after the dedication of the South Baptist Church. Dr. George B. Ide, of Springfield, preached in the afternoon a memorable ser- mon from Psalm 1xv. 4: " We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple." Dr. Hawes of the Center Church was present, and partici- pated in the exercises. Dr. Turnbull delivered a valu- able historical sermon in the evening of the same day. The auditorium was crowded of course on both occasions. The following Sunday Dr. Turnbull baptized twelve candidates in the new baptistery. At the dedication of the second house of worship, twenty-five years before, Dr. Davis had likewise baptized twelve. Dr. Murdock, then pastor of the South Baptist Church, preached in the new house the afternoon of the first Sunday. The first sale of seats realized a total of three thousand six hundred dollars. The church passed a vote of thanks to the building committee for the wonderfully successful prosecution of their work. A noteworthy fact was the uniform harmony in the church throughout the building period. The spiritual life too was maintained. Conver- sions occurred not infrequently, and one hundred and ten new members were added.
The first meeting-house was erected about 1798. It was a wooden structure, sixty feet by forty, with tower and bell, and a seating capacity of some five hundred. The second house was of brick, eighty-four feet by sixty, and was erected in 1830-1, having a seating capacity of about eight hundred. The present edifice is of dressed Port- land brown stone, and has an extreme outside length,
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east and west, of one hundred and fifty-two feet. The lot on which it is erected is diagonal, and both taxed the ingenuity and brought out the genius of the architect. The building is really in two parts, the front containing the tower, the vestibule, the vestry adjoining, all on the first floor, and the chapel on the second floor over the vestibule and the vestry. The frontage of this part of the building is seventy-five feet, and the depth forty- three. The most unique feature of the whole structure perhaps is the vestibule, thirty-seven feet deep and thirty-two feet long. Including the space adjoining the stairway, the length is fifty feet. It is divided into a central passage and aisles by twin columns of Caen stone having richly carved capitals. A broad stairway leads from the south to the chapel above. This spacious vesti- bule is in itself a welcome to every stranger and a con- stant invitation to cordial social relations between the worshippers. The crooked lot suggested to Mr. Batter- son this broad entrance, and was by him suggested to the architect. The vestry adjoining the vestibule on the north has an inside measurement of thirty-seven feet by twenty. The chapel above, measures inside thirty-seven feet by fifty-six. The ceiling is twenty-seven feet high. Adjoining the chapel, and within the tower, is the library. The seating capacity of the chapel is three hundred and fifty. The second part of the building contains the auditorium. The north wall of the audi- torium, on account of the diagonal shape of the lot, is thirty-six feet south of the north wall of the front por- tion of the edifice. The south wall is likewise thirteen feet south of the front south wall. This gives an extreme
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outside width of the auditorium at its front of fifty-two feet. The room is slightly cruciform. . The outside width of the arm of the cross is sixty-eight feet. The extreme inside measurements of the auditorium are one hundred and seven feet by sixty-three. The narrowest width is forty-six feet. The extreme inside height is forty-five feet. The actual seating capacity is eleven hundred. The room is divided into body and aisles by fourteen columns, with carved capitals from which spring semi-circular arches, supporting a clere-story lighted by twenty-four circular windows. Moulded ribs divide the arched ceiling into compartments. In the center of each severy, at the intersection of the ribs, is a foliage boss, perforated for ventilation. The front of the galleries, on either side, is panelled and kept back from the pillars, leaving the vertical line of the columns unbroken, so as not to mar their unity and effect. The organ gallery is at the west end of the auditorium. The pulpit platform at the east contains the baptistery, with oak screens to hide approach and exit. The desk and sofa are on an elevation above the platform, and, with the chairs, are of richly carved oak. A small lectern, for use during the delivery of the sermon, stands in front on the broad lower platform. The style of architecture is Roman- esque, and the medieval type is throughout rigidly main- tained. The church was entirely finished except the tower. When completed, the building will present an appearance surpassed by none in the city. As it is, it shows a massive and beautiful church edifice, having probably the largest actual seating capacity in Hartford, and the unfinished tower, resting on its literal foundation
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of rock, silently, patiently waiting for a summons to go up higher.
One of the most efficient organizations connected with the church has always been the Sunday-school. It was organized in 1818, with Dea. Joseph B. Gilbert as its first superintendent. During Dr. Turnbull's pastorate the school took great strides forward under the superintend- ency of Bro. Willis S. Bronson. Mr. Bronson continued to be superintendent for twenty-seven years, resigning December, 1884. The great mass of recruits to the church came from the school. To the faithful instruc- tions there received, and the earnest personal labors of those who carried the souls of their pupils as burdens on their own hearts, is to be ascribed very largely the numerous conversions with which God has continued to bless us throughout the years of our history.
In the war between the states from 1861 to 1865, the church took a most loyal attitude. Many of her brave boys enlisted in the army, and of these no small number laid down their lives in the battle-field or in the hospital. - Each annual letter from the church to the association during these troublous years expressed loyal and fervent hopes for the preservation of the union and the suprem- acy of the cause of liberty. The records recall more than one case of labor or discipline with some brother who took offence at the straightforward loyal course of Dr. Turnbull in his pulpit ministrations. The offending brother always recognized sooner or later the wrong he had committed, and was warmly and lovingly forgiven.
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