USA > Connecticut > Diocese of Connecticut : formative period, 1784-1791 > Part 3
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You seem determined not to see this Country again .- I know you was ever fond of a City Life: but possibly when you come to know the State of your Affairs here, which you will
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learn by the Letters from your Friends at Hebron, you may alter your Mind; at least so far as to make us a Visit-I should be sorry to see you no more .- You have some Inducements to come again, if not to tarry .- You have an Estate at Hebron worth looking after; and a Son at Stratford, who I believe is in good Health .- and whom you must wish to see, and his grand Parents will not be willing to part with for Life .- I should suppose you were by this Time weary of the Hurry and Noise. of a City; though in a good Degree compensated by many Things that are agreeable. To this Country, I know you have now two capital Objections, which I need not name .- I will be much obliged to you for a Letter as soon as may be after you receive this. But first I wish you to obtain the Perusal of my Letter to the Secretary of the Society, which is of the same Date with this to you; and which contains Something that very nearly concerns me; and if you can be of any Ser- vice to me in the Matter, and will befriend me, you will not doubt my receiving it very kindly of you. And then I wish you to write me, by the first Opportunity, what Reception my Letter meets with, or is likely to meet with. To give you any tolerable Idea of the Matter in this Letter, would render it by far too long. What you will think of the Matter, I cannot conjecture ; but I think you cannot doubt my Sincerity.
Our old Friend M'. Griste is gone to Rest-old Mrs. Lan- caster also-Messrs. Holden, Lancaster, Bushnells, Cook, Lef- fingwell &c. much as usual, except what it common to us all here become poorer, and low spirited .- Many of my Parish- ioners have moved away, within the four last years, several are dead, and several new ones have conformed .- Mrs. Tyler joins me in respectful Compliments to you and your Daughter .-
I remain your Friend and Brother,
John Tyler.
The Revd. Samuel Peters,)
Pimlico, London. )
Recd. May 14th, 1784.
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Norwich in Connecticut December 2, 1784
Revd. Sir:
I take this Opportunity of writing to you, by Cpt. Gurdon Bill, a Non-con. who is about to sail from Norwich Landing for London. I have heard of several Letters from you since last Winter, but have seen none. I heard that in one to Doctor Sutton, of the 1st. of March last, you proposed to go to France, and should not correspond with America for some years. Again, I heard of Letters from you to M'. Birdsey of Stratford : and this Fall past, I heard of Letters received in Hebron from you, in which you mentioned the Receipt of Letters from some one in Hartford, and from Doctor Bliss in Hebron, who were of Opinion that you could not return in Safety, perhaps they did not wish to encourage your Return. However, the vindic- tive Spirit of the Country is almost totally altered in the Space of one Year past: and though, if you had returned last Spring, some few Curs might have growled a little, and I am confident that would have been all yet now I can assure you, that the fierce Spirit of Whigism is dead: and it is the general Sense of the People of Connecticut, Rulers and all, that the old Spirit of Bitterness is now the worst of Policy. Not one word of Whig and Tory appears now in the News-papers; and even the fiery Darts at General Arnold, which lasted longest, are now totally out of Fashion. Those heretofore call'd Tories, and who were treated with the greatest Bitterness, are now in as good Reputation as any. Doctor Johnson is chosen a Member of Congress-MT. Semour Mayor of the City of Hartford,-and Cpt. Nathaniel Backus, who was much harrassed in the War, for being a bold Friend of Great-Britain, is now the Second Alderman of our City of Norwich. And if you should incline to return, I am sure that not one Dog would move his Tongue against you. And you would be much more at Peace here, than you was even seven years before the War .- Our Friend Ebe- nezer Punderson, is returned to Pamutanoc with his Family, and our general Assembly have returned to him all his Estate; and he is well received,-and not a Mouth opened against him.
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In my Letter to you of the 9th of Jany. last, which I con- clude you must have received, I mentioned a Letter of mine to the Society of the same Date; but I did not send it forward 'till the 20th of last April; and suppose you have seen it. But I have not heard any Thing from the Society in Consequence of it: and I wish you to write me by Cpt. Bill, or sooner than his Return if you have an Opportunity, and inform me all you know of the Matter, that is, what Reception my Letter has met with. What you think of my Opinion, respecting the final Salvation of all Men, I know not: but if you can render me any Services, with Doctor Morrice, and will be kind enough to use what Influence you have, that I may not be cut off from *
merit
the Society's Favor, you will my sincerest Thanks. After what I have said of my Opinion, in my Letter to Doctor Mor- rice, of the 20th. of April last, which I suppose you must have it
seen, will be to no Purpose for me to attempt in this Letter, to explain to you the Reasons of my Opinion.
I have not heard how Doctor Seabury proceeds ; but expect to hear soon .- The Motion of the Philadelphia-episcopal Clergy, with their Lay-Delegates, respecting the founding of our Amer- ican-Episcopal Church, you have, or will no doubt hear by other Hands. But our Connecticut Clergy look totally askew at their lay-Delegates, and will never I believe, admit those Tobacco-cutters with them. The Pennsilvania, New-Jersey, and New-York Clergy met lately at New-York; and the Con- necticut Clergy sent a Letter, and a Representative, to put off Matters, 'till we have a Bishop; pleading that we cannot act in founding a Church, 'till we have a Bishop, and so are organized, as a Church.
Our old Friend Cpt. Bushnell is dead-and our good Friend M. Brimmer died in Boston last Summer-My Family has been considerably visited with Sickness, at Times, for more than a Year: and I have lost my oldest Son by Death the Summer past, who was between eleven and twelve years of Age: which was a grievous Stroak to me, and the Recollection is yet very
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painful; and my Spirits are low .- I hear that MT. Man's Son is return'd from you to Hebron; but have not seen him; and have heard very little of the Accounts he brings.
Mrs. Tyler joins me in her Compliments and kind Regards to you and Daughter.
Sir, I remain you sincere Friend and Brother,
John Tyler.
The Revd. Samuel Peters)
Pimlico, Charlotte Street
Nº 1, London.
١٠
Tyler Revd: Dec'. 20, 1784 Recd. Feby. 10, -85
Ansª. April 1, -85 By Capt. Bill.
DOCTOR BLISS OF HEBRON.
Dr. Neziah Bliss of Hebron was a son of Rev. John Bliss of Hebron (first settled pastor of the Congregational Church, afterwards conformed to Church of England, and was one of the founders of St. Peter's Church, Hebron), born March 21, 1737, graduated Yale 1760, one of the most eminent citizens of Hebron, served fourteen terms in the Legislature prior to the Revolution. "To him the American People owe more than sug- gestion of their common school system; he was its founder in the state of Connecticut where it was first adopted, and where he procured such Legislation in its aid as nursed it through its incipient stages and gave it vigor for the almost sublime descent it has accomplished." ( Bliss genealogy.)
He died August 31, 1787.
JOHN AND NATHANIEL MANN.
Rev. Samuel Peters wrote from London, October 24, 1786, to "John and Nathaniel Mann of Hebron." "I have appointed you John Mann and your son Nathaniel jointly and severally to be my attorney and attorneys, not believing that the state of Connecticut is now graced with two other men of equal virtue and honor."
John Mann married Margaret Peters, a sister of Rev. Samuel Peters. Dr. Nathaniel, his son, nephew of Rev. S. Peters, graduated at Dartmouth, completed his education in England as physician and surgeon. Was in
BELA HUBBARD
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business as druggist and physician in Hebron for a time, finally going to Georgia, where he died.
Dr. Nathaniel Mann writes to Col. John Peters at Quebec, September 21, 1783, "Your father and Dr. Sutton and my brother Andrew are become Deists and most of the Church are Universalists, alias Murrianites."
BELA HUBBARD.
Bela, a son of Lieutenant Daniel and Dianna (Ward) Hubbard, was born in Guilford, Connecticut, August 27, 1739. His father died when he was only twelve years old. His mother married for her second husband, Captain Nathaniel Jolinson of Guilford, a younger brother of the Rev. Dr. Samuel Johnson of Stratford.
The boy was well brought up and thoroughly taught in the subjects which would fit him for College and graduated from Yale in 1758.
He was under the direction of Dr. Johnson during his course in theology in New York City, as the Doctor was then President of King's College. After a year he returned to his home in Guilford and became lay reader in Christ Church. He sailed for England in November, 1763, in company with his dear friend, Abraham Jarvis, and William Walter of Boston. They were most courteously received, but the petition of Guilford to be made a mission and placed under the care of Mr. Hubbard was refused by the Venerable Society. The story has long been current and rests upon well-authenticated tradition, that when with his fellow candidates he paid his respects, according to custom, to the Archbishop of Canter- bury, and was introduced, his Grace in perplexity repeated his name: "Bela, Bela, I never heard of that name." "Very likely not, your Grace," said the young man, "it is in the Bible."
Mr. Hubbard, with his companions, was made deacon in St. James's Church, Piccadilly, London, February 5, 1764, by Bishop Keppel of Exeter. They were ordained priests by Bishop Lyttleton of Carlisle, February 19, of the same year. He returned to take charge of Christ Church, Guilford, and St. John's, North Guilford, where for three years he labored incessantly and extended his ministrations to the neighboring town of Killingworth, now Madison.
It was with very real grief that the people of Guilford learned in the summer of 1767 that Mr. Hubbard had accepted an appointment from the Venerable Society to New Haven and West Haven. Under the new missionary, Trinity Church grew rapidly and Christ Church increased its strength. Mr. Hubbard was a man who combined great patience and capacity for work with a very high ideal of duty. Simple and guileless in his manners, without the gift of eloquence, his teaching was plain, direct and based upon the true conception of the Church of God. His goodness and sincerity attracted and attached every one to him.
His attitude during the Revolution was most admirable, for while he was firmly attached to the Crown he did not allow himself to be drawn into controversy.
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Trinity Church was closed until 1778 but the minister continued his round of visits and consolation to the sick and afflicted. He wa's one of those who determined that the Church in Connecticut should have an Episcopal head before any change in the English Book of Common Prayer should be made or any united effort made for an independent branch of Christ's Holy Church. As New Haven grew the Church grew and Dr. Hub- bard won more and more the good will of all sorts and conditions of men. Under his supervision the negotiations for a new Church building on the Green were conducted.
In 1811 his failing health made an assistant minister necessary and the saintly Henry Whitlock of Norwalk was chosen in June of that year.
Dr. Hubbard survived in great weakness of body until he departed this life, December 6, 1812, in the seventy-fourth year of his age and the forty-eighth of his ministry. His old friend and companion, Bishop Jarvis, lived only four months longer, for he died on May 3, 1813.
Dr. Hubbard married in Fairfield, Connecticut, May 15, 1768, Grace Dunbar Hill of Antigua, West Indies. She was a daughter of Thaddeus and Elizabeth (Isaacs) Hill. She died in Farmington, Connecticut, April 27, 1820, in the seventy-third year of her age.
One of their sons, Thomas, became prominent in the affairs of Syracuse, New York, as a man of public spirit and Judge. Another, Bela, was for many years active in business life in Detroit, Michigan, and a strong and liberal supporter of St. Paul's Church.
New Haven January 21st. 1784.
My very dear friend :
'tis a very long time since, I have been blessed with your very agreeable society & converse, and the late destracted times prevented me writing you-but you have not forgotten me, with pride & satisfaction I received your letter written soon after the peace, the Spirit of which did you honor & gave pleasure to me & your friends, you appear to have had a perfect knowl- edge of our political Situation, Law providence will determine in the final issue, our Eclesiastical ; time will show, but certain it is that the Church in America is more respected than I expected.
The General Assembly now setting in this town seem dis- posed to give full scope to the toleration of all religious parties, and have in this Session passed some acts, that give equal countenance to each religious denomination, which will help the Church in particular, and was a bishop to come into this govern-
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ment, it is my real opinion, that every thing would be made easy to him on the part of government provided th' was no formal application made to them on that score.
Your Estate hath never been, nor will it be confiscated, although I believe the Assembly have availed themselves of the interest of it-your aged mother was alive as young Jones told me at Christmass & sent a letter to be forwarded to you via N York-your son I saw lately at M'. Birdseys, he with Dr. Johnson & myself concluded on the whole that your son had better tarry for a season here, good care will be taken of him.
All old things are done away, but your brethren in their conduct in consequence of your going away hath been altogether misrepresented to you, I shall God willing soon convince you by original papers that your brethren have in no instance acted an unfriendly part with you.
A young gentleman I much esteem calls on me going to morrow from this port to London which determined me educated in y: College to write you-the gentleman is MT Jeremiah Townsend he is in y marcantile line connected with ME Jeremiah Atwater a good man uniformily, he goes I suppose to form some connections in trade, is industrious, sensible, & of strict honor, any civilities shown to him by you I shall consider as an honor done me and shall not be forgotten by me-by him I send you D' Styles Election Sermon-I leave you to make your own remarks upon it-I have another favor to ask & I conjure you by the love I bare you, that you grant it me, which is to give yourself the trouble to enquire out a proper person in London to furnish us a neat good well toned Organ with a decent case' for about 100ª Guinea's, we have now a subscription filling up for the purpose and shall probably in the Spring forward the money-you know my Church is small, but if we succeed as I think we shall in filling up our subscription I shall write you more particularly about the matter.
I had written so far & your favor of October 20th 1783 was handed to me, I shall communicate the contents to my brethren, and am obliged to you for your good advice respecting the
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Interest of the poor Church in this part of the World-we hope not to fall under the leather mitten & be damed up in Utica but yet to stand on good ground & have a bishop among our- selves who are now y" largest body of Episcopal Clergy in any one Govt. in America-what you say about the points N York, whose influence, had ruined y" clergy of Connecticut. If M. Leaming, Jarvis, Andrews & Scovil & myself cd. have prevailed at the convention & what follows is all a riddle to me wish you to explain it to me, by the return of the bearer of this, and I conjure you to tell me how you live, what are your hopes, this side Jordon, we shall no doubt find better on the other side of it, pray how does your dear girl Miss Hannah who we are told is much accomplished, speaks and writes French well &c. &c. Mrs. Hubbard the mother of six children & who hath borne 8 desires not to be forgotten by you & your dear girl, she hath a woman's anxieties to know whether or no Miss Hannah is married & whether the Revd. Pimlico parson is a single or a married man-tell me in your next all these things & add many like words of things for our mutual curiosity- you mention MTS. Cargil please to make our kind love to her & husband & if she wishes to know the present State of New Haven M" Townsend the bearer can fully gratify her-you men- tion still a desire that M'. Birdseye would send you your son I shall see him probably very soon and I will communicate to him what you say on the Subject, but as I observed before D'. Johnson thinks it would be better for you with respect to your Estate in Hebron for him to reside here at least for the present, he is truly a very fine child, he looks much like a cherry cheek'd lad by the Name of S P- whom I knew in Y College some 20 years since, I have kissed Grace on your account & my own, & she most cordially saluteth you, as does the worthy M' Leaming our good brother who happens to be here-the spirit of the people oppressed with the burden of taxes, grows daily more & more mild, hope in a year or two you will come among us & make your abode with us, we are undoubtedly, we allways were, & always shall be undoubtedly the best, the worthyest the best natured loving & amiable Clergy in the World-it would
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now give your heart the utmost joy to be with us in one of our Conventions, you shall yet be blessed no doubt with our good Company, & Society, but if Heaven sho'd. determine otherwise, hope we shall all meet in Heaven, whose King is Just, & among whose subjects, mercy, Justice, peace & love forever reign may we meet there never more to part is ye wish & prayer of my very dear brother, your's affectionately,
Bela Hubbard.
Assembled cordially in Convention at Wallingford at the house of the Revd. Peter Lizzard the Rector of Rectors the last week Revd. Messrs Leaming, Scovil, Jarvis, Clarke Hubbard- Scovil Andrews will probably go in the Spring to view the Nova Scotia world as agents for a company going thither- Scovil hath 8 children Andrews 5 I have six how they are to be provided for God knows, we are all confounded poor tho' rich in good works & in love to one another. Clarke remains at New Milford poor, Marshall still at Woodbury, but thinks of Milford-Old Milford which place is destitute of ministers of all denominations many of ye dissenting parishes are vacant, & likely to continue so, their Ministers out preached themselves & have very much lost their influence with their people, Viets Roger, Dibblee, Tyler, Fogg, Nichols, Newton, Mansfield & Bostwick are all still above ground, Father Beach Dead-his parish vacant, as is Stratford, Fairfield, Norwalk, N London, Hebron &c. My people are civil to me & my church gains ground daily.
Once more God bless you faith.
Bela your friend.
Revd. S1. Peters.
New Haven March 19, 1784.
Dear Sir:
One good arises from the general evil that is brought on by the seperation of the countries,-a door is opened for a freer intercourse with ones friends, I acknowledge with pride &
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pleasure that I have received two letters which I have read to hundreds of your friends, to my and their edification, in your last you have been good enough to mark out a plan for the Connecticut episcopate corresponding in the general with the sentiments of your brethren in these goings down of the sun, but the grand difficulty appears to lie in your dim climes of light,- the spirit of our New england puritan brethren are mightily cooled & cooling, poverty who can stand before, it hath produced great alterations feeling its pains they are now projecting plans to recal their banished brethren from Nova Scotia, the strife and contention is between the City of N Haven & the City of N London for you must know that both these places have obtained charters from the general Assembly of Connect- icut last January and are Incorporated City's. New Haven ye first with liberal privileges I expect M'. Elias Shipman com- mon-counselman of the City of N Haven & Capt. Wm. Powel a citizen of the same City will go to London in the course of ye ensuing summer by whome I intend to write you about many things & they will be able to tell you many more than I can write-in the mean season to give you some faint Idea of the spirit of our citizens I enclose a vote of ye Town of N Haven as comprehending its parishes about which I say-The Charter is as I told you a liberal one, & by ye above named gentleman. I propose sending it to you without expense, I wrote you some time since by a M" Townsend with a Sermon of Dr. Stiles which I hope you have received also I asked your favorable attention to a matter we have much at heart the procuring an Organ for Trinity Church. Shipman & Powel will I suppose bring with them one Hundred Guineas to procure the Organ & case-they will probably tarry but a few weeks in London & if the business could be forwarded any way beforehand so that they might be able to bring it with them we should be very much obliged-we have at this present writing some 70 or 80 £ lawful raised for ye purpose, pray dont fail writing me by the return of Townsend.
We have had to grappel with the most severe frost the last winter, that the memory of man can furnish us with an account
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of; our harbour for many months bound with frost but two or three days ago broke up, how cold it hath been at N Carolina the last winter in the course of but a few weeks from Boston to N York it has been said we lost not less than 1500 souls-our commerce as yet is very far from making us rich most of our people have come into the opinion that our Independence is not the one thing needful, unless poverty is that thing, how we are to get money is the grand question-if we go to N Scotia meet we must the difficulties that always attend setlers in N Countrys, if we stay where we are we can but only starve, we shall not perish by the Sword that is Sheathed, in a word we are on the ground and can get no lower-Scovel & Andrews representatives to a company of adventurers to the Eastward set out in the month of April to explore land for their settle- ment, but I think they will return to their missions and probably stay with them while inhabitants of this lower world & that may be the case of the rest of your brethren of the Episcopal Church in N England .- The dissenting clergy have no cause of triumph the late struggle hath made them cheap & generally dispised and as far as religion is thought of the Church is now by far ye most popular.
Our Clergy of Maryland nominated D'. Smith for their Bis- hop, but the Assembly, who imagined they should have a voice in that affair would not approve of the candidate-this refusal drew from the Clergy a Bill of rights &c .- this disagreement at present retards the setling the Church in that quarter .- MT. White a quondam chaplin to congress Philadelphia, goes on another plan, & endeavors to get a BP. nominated by the General Vestrys in that State-our plan you know but I cannot omit the mention of the favourable attention of our general Assembly to it, they declare they have no objection, but if we can support him they will give us no trouble-hope your bishops will help us at this lift-do you intend to spend all your days in Eng- land ? You can return soon if you will-your Son at Stratford is well & your friends there. I shall trouble you but a little more, but I must not omit an important matter or two and will dismiss you-first for myself-in your future letters to
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me pray dont fail to direct to me thus-Rev. B. Hubbard rector of Trinity Church in ye City of N Haven in ye first City of N England-be so good then as to pull off your canon- ical hat in future to your canonical & important brother of ye City, viz. The Rev. Rector Hubbard of the City of N Haven-& as for my very good wife & of her I have to observe that grace hath & still doth increase & for y' very honorable mention made of her makes you one of her best a very low City courtesy & she hath learned to make them for know you that our City furnishes dancing masters, she prostrates herself to the Rev. MT. Peters, pimlico, London begs she may not be forgotten of him, & remembers his daughter & wishes she could mention Mrs. Peters, as likewise she remembers most kindly MT6. Cargel, Miss Harrison & her good husband in which joins the rector of the New City, let us all meet again on better terms & in a more stable World. your old friend, who hath the honor to subscribe himself the rector of &c. &c. your friend.
Rev. S. Peters.
Bela Hubbard.
New Haven Connecticut June 1. 1784. My dear Sir:
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