USA > Connecticut > Contributions to the ecclesiastical history of Connecticut > Part 36
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During Mr. Punderson's ministry of 26 years, 28 persons were admitted to the Church by letter, and 186 by profession ; 214 in all.
Rev Jedediah Mills was a warm hearted divine, and entered fully into the spirit and preaching of Whitefield and Tennent. He cooperated with Bel- lamy and Edwards. In 1742 he was a member of a voluntary association which met at Wethersfield to promote the awakening and salvation of souls. A copy of the doings of that meeting is in the hands of the Clerk of the Church in Huntington.
MINISTERS RAISED UP .- Isaac Lewis, D. D., Joshua Perry, David Perry, William A. Hawley, ; George Carrington, Henry S. Nichols.
* Sp. An. 1, 662 ; 2, 5. Allen. + Sp. An. 2, 4. Allen. # Cong. Y. B. 2, 97,
THE CHURCH IN JEWETT CITY, IN GRISWOLD, ORG. APRIL 14, 1825.
MINISTERS.
SETTLED.
DISMISSED. DIED.
Seth Bliss,
June, 1825
April, 1832
George Perkins,
Aug. 1832 Sept. 1838
Sept. 1852
William Wright,
Nov. 1838 April, 1842
Thomas L. Shipman,
Apr. 1843
Sept. 1854
Henry T. Cheever,
May, 1856
412
History of the Churches.
The Church is an offshoot from the old church in Griswold. The Society is the 2d Congregational Society of Griswold. For several years the Church received aid from the Domestic Missionary Society of Connecticut. In 1855 a fund of $8000 was raised, which placed the support of the gospel upon a permanent basis.
MINISTERS RAISED UP .- Stephen Johnson, (f.) William A. Hyde.
THE CHURCH IN KENSINGTON, IN BERLIN, ORG. DEC. 10, 1712.
MINISTERS.
SETTLED. DISMISSED. DIED.
William Burnham,
Dec. 1712
Sept. 1750
Ezra Stiles, D. D.
Aaron Brown,
Samuel Sherwood,
Elizur Goodrich, D. D.
Samuel Clark,
July, 1756
Nov. 1775
Timothy Dwight, D. D. 1777
Benoni Upson, D. D.
April, 1779
Nov. 1826
Royal Robbins,
June, 1816
June, 1859
Elias B. Hillard, May, 1860
This church was originally the second church in Farmington. The Eccle- siastical Society in Kensington was probably set off from Farmington about the year 1712, and included New Britain and Worthington. At that time there were but fourteen families in the place ; the church had at first but ten mem- bers. Mr. Burnham was considered a sound preacher, and was accustomed to refer much to the scriptures in support of his doctrines. He possessed a large estate. Under his ministry, a prayer and conference meeting existed, at which the brethren presided in rotation, and each one, before closing the meeting of his charge, named the next brother to preside, and the theme for consideration. Mr. Clark appeared well in the pulpit ; and the epitaph on his tombstone mentions among other estimable qualities of the man, that he was " in the gift of preaching, excellent, laborious and pathetic." Dr. Upson was a wise and benevolent man, a lover of peace, and a peace-maker, and distinguished with his family for hospitality. There have been several seasons of special attention to religion in this place during the present cen- tury.
MINISTERS RAISED UP .- Thomas Hooker, 'Elijah Gridley, Uriel Gridley, Horace Hooker, John Gridley, Samuel Lee.
THE CHURCH IN KENT, ORG. APRIL 29, 1741.
Cyrus Marsh, May, 1741
Dec. 1755
Joel Bordwell,+
Oct. 1758
Dec. 1811
Asa Blair, t May, 1813
Jan. 1823
Laurens P. Hickok, D. D.,
Dec. 1823 April, 1829
413
History of the Churches.
MINISTERS.
SETTLED.
DISMISSED. DIED.
Wm. W. Andrews, May, 1834
April, 1849
Wm. W. Page,
Dec. 1753 May, 1854
Elisha Whittlesey,
1856
1858
Evarts Scudder, June, 1859
The settlement of this town began in 1737; incorporated in 1739. The church has been blessed with repeated revivals ; as the result of the most extensive, fifty-six were added in 1812, fifty in 1816, and forty-two in 1831. The church has a considerable fund for the support of the gospel, and a good parsonage.
MINISTERS RAISED UP .- Samuel J. Mills, Walter Smith, Seth Swift,; Ed- mund Mills, § Birdsey G. Northrop.
* Sp. An. 1. 672. + Litchf. Centen. 118. # Allen, § Mendon. Assoc. 133.
The South Church in Killingly, Org. 1746.
Nehemiah Barker,
1746
1755
Eden Borroughs, D. D,* Jan. 1760 1771 May, 1813
This church was formed by a division of the First Church, now East Putnam, on account of a controversy about the location of a meeting-house. Dr. Burroughs was the last pastor, and the church became extinct before the close of the century.
* Sp. An. 2. 53, 90. Allen.
-
THE CHURCH IN KILLINGWORTH, ORG. JAN. 18, 1738.
William Seward,* Jan. 1738 1782
Henry Ely, Sept. 1782 Feb. 1801
Josiah B Andrews, April, 1802 April, 1811
Asa King, t Nov. 1811 Aug. 1832
Dec. 1849
Ephraim G. Swift,+
Dec. 1833
Nov. 1850 Aug. 1858
Hiram Bell, Nov. 1850
The church in Killingworth was formed for the most part, of members from the First Church, now Clinton. It was called North Killingworth till the division of the town. Original members, 50; added by the first pastor, 160; second, 131; third, 143 : fifth, 262; sixth, nine years, 114; total, 1002. Ec. Mag 4. 419; 5. 31. The first revival ever enjoyed by this church, was at the commencement of Mr. Andrews' ministry, an account of which was published in the Connecticut Evangelical Magazine ; since which time it has been refreshed by frequent revivals up to the present year ; the most powerful of which were in 1811, when 133 were added-in 1836, 61 ; in 1843, 72; in 1854, 50 ; in 1858, 46. Memoir of Dr. Nettleton, 133. The congregation occupies its third meeting-house, which was built about thirty years ago, and it embraces a large portion of the inhabitants of the town, who may be designated as a church-going people.
414
History of the Churches.
MINISTERS RAISED UP -William Seward, Asahel Nettleton, D. D. § Josiah Pierson, George Coan, Martin Wilcox, Alvin Parmelee, Henry Lord, Philan- der Parmelee, | Titus Coan, (f.) John Wilcox, Ebenezer H. Wilcox.
* Allen. t Allen. # Cong. Y. B. 6. 135. § Sp. An. 2. 542. [ Sp. An. 2. 546.
THE FIRST CHURCH IN LEBANON, ORG. NOV. 27, 1700.
MINISTERS.
SETTLED.
DISMISSED. DIED.
Joseph Parsons,
Nov. 1700
1708
Samuel Wells,
Dec. 1711
Dec. 1722
Solomon Williams, D. D.,*
Dec. 1722
Feb. 1776
Zebulon Ely, t
Nov. 1782
Nov. 1824
Edward Bull,
Sept. 1825
1837
John C. Nichols,
Feb. 1810
Mar. 1854
O. D. Hine,
May, 1856
The year in which the organization of the town was perfected, the church was gathered, and a pastor ordained. The growth of the church was rapid. In little more than half a century it became one of the strongest and most influential churches in the colony. Its most prosperous days were during the long ministry of Dr. Williams, when such men as the elder Governor Trumbull, and William Williams, signer of the Declaration of Independence, were active members. The population of the town was larger before the war of the Revolution than it has been since. A dispute as to the position of the meeting house had prevailed at intervals from the organi- zation of the society. In 1730, those living north of a certain line en- tered into an agreement with the society that they would not vote in mat- ters pertaining to the meeting-house. After a generation, this agreement · was forgotten or disregarded; and in 1804, those living north of the line, who, with others acting with them, constituted a majority of the society, vo- ted to pull down the existing meeting-house, and build another a mile north ; and persons acting in their interest, proceeded amid strife, and with much violence, to demolish the meeting-house then in use. The civil courts deci- ded that those living north of the line had no right to aet in the case ;- and the General Assembly set off those living south of the line into a separate society, upon evidence being exhibited that they were able to sustain the in- stitutions of the Gospel. In order to furnish such evidence, a fund was ere- ated, now amounting to $7,000. Dr. Williams was prominent among the ministers of his time. He sympathised with the great awakening. There is extant a printed sermon which he preached in 1741, occasioned by the oc- currence of swooning and pretended revelations in an adjoining parish of the town, entitled " The More Excellent Way ;" in which, while he put these singular manifestations in their true place, he speaks of the revi- val generally-"as the glorious work of God." It is singular that with such a character, and such views, he took ground against Edwards in his
415
History of the Churches.
great controversy as to the terms of admission to the church, involving the half-way covenant.
Mr. Ely was a good preacher and pastor. He was characterized by sound- ness and strength of intellect rather than by imagination, and was reserved in his manners. During his ministry, revivals were frequently enjoyed, and his labors were adapted to promote an earnest piety. It is a little remarkable that he preached at the funerals of the first and second Governors Trumbull, and of William Williams, signer of the Declaration of Independence.
MINISTERS RAISED UP .- Peter Pratt, Eliphalet Willianis, D. D., Eliphalet Huntington, Joseph Lyman, D. D.# William Robinson, David Huntington, John Griswold, Eliphalet Lyman, John Robinson,§ Elijah Parish, D. D .!! Lynde Huntington, Ariel Parish, | William Lyman, D. D., Asa Lyman, An- drew Huntington, Richard Williams, T Ezra Stiles Ely, D. D., Nathaniel Free- man, Dan Huntington, Jonathan T. Ely, David DeF. Ely, David Metcalf, War- ren B. Dutton, D. D., Samuel G. Buckingham, Elijah F. Rockwell, James A. Clark, William M. Birchard.
THE FOLLOWING LICENTIATES WERE NEVER ORDAINED -Jonathan Seymour, Jonathan Trumbull, Eliphalet Birchard, Henry Woodworth, William Met- calf.
* Sp. An. 1. 207, 321. Allen. + Sp. An. 2. 192. Allen. # Am. Qu. Reg. 12. 329. § Mendon As. 134. | Sp. An. 2. 268. Allen. TSp. An. 3. 497.
The North Church in Lebanon, Org. 1804.
In consequence of a disagreement about the location of the house of wor- ship, a new congregation was gathered, nearly a mile north of the old one, which at first conformed to Congregational usages, but has since become a Baptist Church. A little yielding on the part of those living in the south- ern part of the town, a Christian regard to the convenience and interests of the whole society, would doubtless have saved the integrity of the congre- gation, and entailed countless benefits on succeeding generations.
THE CHURCH IN LEDYARD, ORG. OCT. 1729.
MINISTERS.
SETTLED.
DISMISSED.
DIED.
Ebenezer Punderson,*
Dec. 1723
Feb. 1734
1771
Andrew Croswell, t
Oct. 1736
Aug. 1746
Apr. 1785
Jacob Johnson, #
June, 1749
1772
1794
Timothy Tuttle,
Aug. 1811
The town of Ledyard was formerly the second society in Groton, incor- porated in 1724. The church remained vacant from 1772 to 1811. Mr. Punderson became an Episcopalian, and preached some years at New Ha- ven. " As the former church had become entirely extinct, a new church was organized Dec. 12, 1810, consisting at the time of five members. From the
416
History of the Churches.
time of Mr. Tuttle's ordination, to April, 1834, his labors were equally di- vided between the two parishes, Groton and Ledyard ; and since that time, devoted to Ledyard only. It may be seen from the foregoing statement that the society of Ledyard lay as a waste place during thirty-nine years. Sometimes it employed preachers of different kinds, and sometimes nor . Added to the church since 1811, 204.
MINISTER RAISED UP .- James A. Gallup.
* Allen. t Sp. An. 1. 322. Allen. ¿ Allen.
THE FIRST CHURCH IN LISBON, NEWENT SOCIETY, ORG. DEC. 1723.
MINISTERS.
SETTLED.
DISMISSED.
DIED.
Daniel Kirkland,*
Dec. 1723
1752
Peter Powers, t
Dec. 1756
1764
Joel Benedict, D. D., #
1770 1781
David Hale, §
June, 1790
April, 1803
David B. Ripley,
1803
1804
Levi Nelson, |
Dec. 1804
Dec. 1855
David Breed,
Feb. 1857
A separate church formed during Mr. Kirkland's ministry, was soon dis- banded. Dr. Benedict was dismissed on account of the severity of the times, and their straitened circumstances ; and the church was vacant eight years. The inscription on Mr. Nelson's monument testifies that he was, "An able divine, an impressive preacher, a good man, faithful to his trust." The present tasteful church edifice was built in 1858; the former one stood 87 years. Rev. Samuel Kirkland, born here, was a missionary to the Indians, in Oneida County, N. Y., and the founder of Hamilton College. Rel. Intel. 45. 376.
MINISTERS RAISED UP .- Samuel Kirkland, (f.) Caleb Knight, T William Potter, (f.) Wm. A. Hyde, Hiram Tracy, Wm. R. Palmer, Aaron Kinne .**
* Sp. An. 1. 623. Allen. tSp. An. 2. 346. Allen. #Sp. An. 1. 682. Allen. § Allen. [ Mendon As. 276. Cong. Y. B. 3. 108. T Cong. Y. B. 2. 100. ** Allen.
THE FIRST CHURCH IN LITCHFIELD, ORG. 1722.
Timothy Collins,* June, 1723
Nov. 1752 1776
Judah Champion,*
July, 1753
Oct. 1810
Dan Huntington,* Oct. 1798
Jan. 1809
Lyman Beecher, D. D., May, 1810
Feb. 1826
Daniel L. Carrol, D. D., Oct. 1827 Mar., 1829
Laurens P. Hickok, D. D., July, 1829
Nov. 1836
Jonathan Brace, D. D., June, 1838 Feb. 1844
Benjamin Lincoln Swan, Oct. 1846 May, 1856
Leonard Woolsey Bacon, Oct. 1856 June, 1860
417
History of the Churches.
No great revival occurred here until the year 1808. During the progress of the "great awakening," this church by special vote expressed their aver- sion to that work, and their unwillingness to receive visits from the Evan- gelists. An account of the first revival in Litchfield may be found in the Connecticut Evangelical Magazine for 1813, from the pen of Rev. Mr. Hunt- ington, and of Hon. Tapping Reeve. Since that time, the history of this community has been signalized by many and great revivals, especially un- der the ministries of Drs. Beecher, Hickok and Brace. Memoir of Dr. Net- tleton, 158. Ev. Mag, 8. 155, 313. Rel. Intel. 15. 777; 16, 286. Under the administration of Dr. Beecher, the Temperance Reformation was pow- erfully advanced, if, indeed, it was not originated by his well known "Six Sermons." Owing, doubtless, to his influence, also, the Litchfield County Missionary Society was formed-the earliest of the auxiliaries of the A. B. C. F. M.
MINISTERS RAISED UP .- Charles Wadsworth, D. D., Herman L. Vaill, Da- vid L. Parmelee, James Kilbourn, (h.) - McNeil, (Meth.) Joseph Vaill, Ethan Osborn, Benjamin Osborn, Edward P. Abbe, Frederick R. Abbe, Os- car Bissell, Horace Bushnell, D. D., Henry Ward Beecher, Charles Beecher, Thomas K. Beecher, Edward Nolen, Charles L. Brace, Ambrose Collins, John Churchill, Stephen Mason, Hezekiah B. Pierpont, Almon B. Pratt, Holland Weeks, Jeremiah Woodruff, Lewis H. Woodruff.
* Litchf. Centen. 70-72.
THE CHURCH IN LONG RIDGE, IN STAMFORD, ORG. JULY 5, 1843.
MINISTERS.
SETTLED.
DISMISSED.
DIED.
Frederick H. Ayers,
1843
1854
A. B. Collins,
1854
1856
John Smith,
1856
1858
Ezra D. Kinney,
May, 1859
1860
C. H. Powell,
1860
The church was organized with seventeen members from the church in Stanwich. The enterprise is considered an experiment. They have a com- fortable meeting-house, which is paid for, but are too poor to raise more than half the ordinary salary paid to a minister.
THE FIRST CHURCH IN MADISON, ORG. NOV. 1707.
John Hart,*
1705, ord. 1707
Mar. 1731
Jonathan Todd, t
Oct. 1733
Feb. 1791
John Eliot, #
Nov. 1791
Dec. 1824
Samuel N. Shepard, §
Nov. 1825
Sept. 1856
Samuel Fiske, June, 1857
Organized as the church in East Guilford, the society being then included within the limits of the town of Guilford.
54
418
History of the Churches.
MINISTERS RAISED UP .- Moses Bartlett, William Hart, William Stone, Timothy Field, (h.) David D. Field, D. D., Erastus Scranton, Harvey Bush- nell, William C. Fowler, Ralph S Crampton, Stephen A. Loper, Andrew L. Stone, Seth B. Stone, (f.) James L. Willard, William B. Lee, Chauncey D. Murray.
* Sp. An. 1. 260. + Sp. An. 1. 383. ¿ Sp. An. 2. 321. Allen. § Sp. An. 2. 365. Allen.
THE FIRST CHURCH IN MANCHESTER (FORMERLY ORFORD) ORG. July, 1779.
MINISTERS.
SETTLED.
DISMISSED.
DIED.
Beriah Phelps,*
Mar. 1780
June, 1793
Feb. 1817
Salmon King,
Nov. 1800
Oct. 1808
Elisha B. Cook,
Mar. 1814
July, 1823
Enoch Burt,
July, 1824
1828
Nov. 1856
Bennett F. Northrop,
Feb.
1829
Oct. 1850
Frederick T. Perkins,
June, 1851
Oct. 1856
Samuel B. Forbes,
Oet.
1857
April, 1859
Lester M. Dorman,
June, 1860
* Allen.
THE SECOND CHURCH IN MANCHESTER, ORG. JAN. 8, 1851.
Geo. E. Hill,
June, 1851
Feb. 1853
Francis F. Williams,
Dec. 1853
Jan, 1856
Hiram Day,
May, 1857
Mar. 1859
Warren G. Jones,
1859
For many years previous to the organization of the church, a Sabbath School was sustained in Union Village by the united efforts of the Congre- gational and Methodist brethren ; and a few years before the erection of the church, it became entirely a Congregational Sabbath School. The efforts made in sustaining this school fully developed the necessity of establishing there the stated preaching of the gospel ; and sixty-seven members, regu- larly dismissed from the First Congregational Church in Manchester, were duly organized, and their house of worship dedicated on the same day.
THE FIRST CHURCH IN MANSFIELD, ORG. OCT. 1710.
.
Eleazar Williams,* Oet. 1710
Sept. 1742
Richard Salter, D. D., t
June, 1744
April, 1787
Elijah Gridley, April, 1789
July, 1796
John Sherman,
Nov. 1797 Oct. 1805
Samuel P. Williams, Jan. 1807
Sept. 1817
Anson S. Atwood,
Sept. 1819
419
History of the Churches.
This was a colony from the Church in Windham. The first pastor, a son of Rev. John Williams of Deerfield, escaped being captured with his father's family by the Indians in 1704, as he was absent from home pursuing his studies for the ministry. He was a godly man, and a faithful, successful min- ister, receiving to the Church 409, and enjoying revivals in 1731 and '34. The early part of Dr. Salter's ministry was embarrassed and tried by the conduct of some of the members of his church who were the radicals of the memorable revival of 1740. These denounced the Church and Pas- tor as dead, hypocrites, and devoid of all spiritual religion, and went out from them in a disorderly manner, and formed a separate church. The Church after bearing with them for a time were constrained to cut them off. Dr. S., lived in that age of our ecclesiastical history, when "ministers were law and gospel " to their people, and after his first troubles were over he had a prosperous ministry, 347 being added to the church. He was a sound and able theologian, highly respected and beloved. Mr. Sherman became a Unitarian, but such was his hold on the community and his popularity that he took with him almost the entire con- gregation, and a large minority of the Church. The wonder is that the Church was not a perfect wreck ; but under God, Consociation saved it; independency could not have done it. The Church was mercifully and un- expectedly delivered, by the dismission of the pastor by a council, when neither he nor the Society expected it. Eight years elapsed before the diffi- culties of doctrinal views were reconciled, the last element of Unitarianism removed from the Church, and her unity and peace restored. Thus ended the first conflict with Unitarianism in this State. Mr. S. P. Williams's la- bors were blessed with a revival the year before his dismission, and during the next 40 years, the Lord often refreshed his weary heritage with the influ- ences of the Spirit. Whole membership 1325.
MINISTERS RAISED UP .- John Storrs, Eleazer Storrs, Andrew Storrs, Oli- ver Arnold, Jonathan Hovey, Jonathan Hovey, 2d., Samuel Wood, Asa King, Richard Salter Storrs, Allen ; Porter Storrs, John Storrs, Allen ; David A. Grosvenor, Mason Grosvenor, John W. Salter, (Ep.) Thomas G. Salter, Elijah P. Barrows, D. D., John A. Albro, D. D.
* Sp. An. 1, 226. Allen. + Sp. An. 1, 241. Allen.
THE CHURCH IN MARLBOROUGH, ORG. MAY, 1749.
MINISTERS.
SETTLED.
DISMISSED.
DIED.
Samuel Lockwood, (c.)
1748
Elijah Mason,
May, 1749
1761
1770
Benjamin Dunning,
Dec.
1762
1773
1785
David Huntington,
1776
1797
1812
David B. Ripley,
Sept.
1804
1827
1840
Chauncey Lee, D. D .*
1828
1837
Dec. 1842
Hiram Bell,
1840
1850
Warren Fiske,
1850
1858
Alpheus J. Pike,
Mar. 1859
420
History of the Churches.
According to tradition, the Indian name of Marlborough was Terramug- gus. Previous to 1747, the few families occupying the three contiguous corners of Colchester, Glastenbury and Hebron, assembled themselves oc- casionally for public worship.
Tradition says that Mr. Mason was ordained on the timbers, which, in the course of a year, were erected into a meeting-house, which was occupied till 1841, and then gave room for the present house. Before the erection of the house, the people assembled at the tavern, the minister occupying the bar. He soon formed the habit of intemperance, for which he was deposed, but afterwards was restored, and installed at Chester. Mr. Huntington took his dsimission against the wishes of the people, and settled at North Lyme. Mr. Ripley was a worthy man, and after a successful ministry, removed to Virgil, N. Y., and Northern Illinois, preaching in various destitute places.
MINISTER RAISED UP .- Lewis Dunham, (Meth.)
Allen.
THE FIRST CHURCH IN MERIDEN, ORG. OCT. 22, 1729.
MINISTERS.
SETTLED.
DISMISSED.
DIED.
Theophilus Hall,*
Oct. 1729
Mar. 1767
John Hubbard, t
June, 1769
Nov. 1786
John Willard,
June, 1786
1802
1826
Erastus Ripley,
Feb. 1803
Feb.
1822
Nov. 1841
Charles J. Hinsdale,
Jan.
1823
Dec.
1833
Wm. McLain,
1834
1835
Arthur Granger,
Mar.
1836
Oct.
1838
Charles Rich,
1840
1841
George W. Perkins, #
May, 1841
July, 1854
Nov. 1856
George Thacher,
Nov. 1854
The First Church in Meriden was organized with fifty-one members. The society was within the limits of Wallingford, until May, 1806. There have been frequent revivals, adding many members to the church. Under the first pastorate, 250; the fourth, 100 hopeful converts ; fifth, 50 ; seventh, about 250 ; and during the last year, 80 were added. Under the "stated supplies" in 1834 and 1840, 170. Rel. Intel. 14, 668. Two colonies have gone from this church-one in 1848 of one hundred members, to constitute the " Center Church ;" the other in 1853, of thirty persons, to form the "Third Church," located in that part of Meriden called Hanover.
MINISTERS RAISED UP .- Matthew Merriman, Avery Hall, Isaac Foster, Thomas Holt, | Samuel J. Curtis, (h.) Erastus Curtis, Charles E. Murdock, (h.) Dan C. Curtis, (h.) Ralph Tyler, Lyman C. Hough.
*Sp. An. 1. 668. Allen. t Sp. An. 415, 537. Allen. 1. Cong. Y. B., 1857, 124. Į Allen.
421
History of the Churches.
THE CENTER CHURCH, MERIDEN, ORG. MARCH, 1848.
MINISTERS.
SETTLED.
DISMISSED. DIED.
Asahel H. Stevens, Mar. 1848
Sept. 1854
A. S. Chesebrough, 1855 1857
Lewis C. Lockwood,
June, 1857 Feb. 1858
O. H. White, (c.) June, 1858
The first house of worship was erected in 1727, in the south-eastern part of the town ; the second in 1755, at the center ; the third in 1830, near the same spot. In this house, the church continued to worship till 1848, when a majority, with the pastor, removed to West Meriden ; and the remainder, forming the second church, occupy the house where their fathers had wor- shiped. There have been interesting revivals in this place both before and since the division,-some of them in their details of great power and thril- ling interest.
THE CHURCH IN MIDDLEBURY, ORG. FEB. 10, 1796.
Ira Hart,
Nov. 1798 April, 1809
Oct. 1829
Mark Mead,
Nov. 1809 Mar. 1830
Jason Atwater,
Oct. 1830 Oct. 1845
April, 1860
George P. Prudden,
Dec. 1845
Mar. 1851
Joel R. Arnold,
Sept. 1851
Dec. 1853
Revilo J. Cone.
May, 1854
Dec. 1855
Jonathan S. Judd, June, 1856
Several eminent men have been candidates in Middlebury, as Dr. E. D. Griffin, Dr. E. Porter, Mr. Sherman of Mansfield, and Mr. Gelston of Sher- man. Some of them were invited to settle.
The dismission of Mr. Hart, was the result of a struggle that was very fierce and long continued. The people were very generally alienated from their pastor. In those times it was customary for damages to be paid to the dismissed pastor. It was left to the council to award the damages, and the amounts set down by the different members were from five dollars to $1500. The average of these was the amount fixed, -being somewhere from $400 to $500.
There have been several seasons of special ingathering. Especially was the Church thus favored during the ministry of Mr. Atwater. Ev. Mag. 3,64, 102. Rel. Intel. 6,153.
MINISTERS RAISED UP .- Bennet Tyler, D. D., John B. Richardson, Nathan- iel S. Richardson, D. D., (Ep). Sylvester Hine, George F. Bronson, Henry A. Russel.
THE CHURCH IN MIDDLEFIELD, IN MIDDLETOWN, ORG. 1745.
Ebenezer Gould,*
1747
1756
Joseph Denison, 1765 1770
422
History of the Churches.
MINISTERS.
SETTLED.
DISMISSED.
DIED. 1818
Abner Benedict, t
1771
1785
Stephen Hayes,
May, 1820
May, 1827
James Noyes,
July, 1829
Jan. 1839
Dwight M. Seward,
James T. Dickinson,
James D. Moore,
Dec. 1846
Dec. 1850
Willard Jones,
Francis Dyer,
S. D. Jewett,
July, 1858
After the dismission of Mr. Benedict, the Church was for 23 years desti- tute of a settled minister. Other denominations pressed sore upon it. The sanctuary was obtained for erroneous preaching; piety declined, and the Church became nearly or quite extinct. The Church was reorganized in 1808, but passed on in darkness till 1820. It has now a neat and tasteful sanctuary, a good lecture room and parsonage ; is united and harmonious, with prospects highly favorable for the future.
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