USA > Connecticut > New London County > Groton > Groton, Conn. 1705-1905 > Part 14
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This church took a lively interest in the "Baptist Peti- tion," the design of which was to secure equal religious liberty to all denominations. From 1756 until 1818, when the new State Constitution was adopted, these petitions were systematically presented to the General Court until they became a byword. Though full religious freedom was
* Groton Records, Book 12, p. 40.
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not at once secured, the passage of the "certificate act" relieved the Baptists from persecution.
The revised statutes of 1784 contain the following pre- amble and enactment: "As the happiness of a people and the good order of civil society depend upon piety, religion and morality, it is the duty of the civil authority to provide for the support and encouragement thereof; so as that Christians of every denomination demeaning themselves peaceably and as good subjects of the State may be equally under the protection of its laws; and as the people of this State have in general been of one persuasion in matters of faith, religious worship and the mode of settling and sup- porting the ministers of the gospel, they have by law been formed into ecclesiastical societies for the more con- venient support of their worship and ministry. And to the end that other denominations of Christians who dissent from the worship and ministry so established and sup- ported may enjoy free liberty of conscience in the matters aforesaid
"Be it enacted by the Governor, Council and Representa- tives in General Court assembled and by the authority of the same
"That no persons in this state professing the Christian religion, who soberly and conscientiously dissent from the worship and ministry by law established in the society where they dwell and attend public worship by themselves, shall ineur any penalty for not attending the worship and ministry so established on the Lord's day, or on account of their meeting together by themselves on said day for pub- lic worship in a way agreeable to their consciences
"And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid
"That all denominations of Christians differing in their religious sentiments from the people of the establisned so- cieties in this State, whether of the Episcopal Church or those Congregationalists called Separates, or of the people called Baptists, or Quakers, or any other denominations who shall have formed themselves into distinct churches or con- gregations, and attend public worship and support the gos-
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pel ministry in a way agreeable to their consciences, and respective professions ; and all persons who may adhere to any of them, and dwell so near to any place of their worship that they can and do ordinarily attend the same on the Sabbath and contribute their due proportion to the support of the worship and ministry where they so attend, whether such place of worship be within this or any adjoining State, and produce a certificate thereof from such church or congregation, signed by their order by the minister or other officer thereof, and lodge the same with the clerk of the society wherein such person or persons dwell, every such person shall be exempted from being taxed for the support of the worship and ministry of said society, so long as he or they shall continue so to attend and support public worship with a different church or congregation aforesaid."
Notwithstanding the precious revival which followed the Revolutionary War, the progress of religion was slow and the years of declension, of treading down and of the ad- vance of the forces of infidelity, aided by the popular French literature of the most questionable tendency, seemed to be more than the seasons of refreshing. This state of things was not peculiar to this Zion. The land mourned the absence of spiritual influences, while the churches al- most without exception were declining. A revival was experienced during the last year of the eighteenth century and "in 1800 there were five added making a total of but ninety-eight. In 1805 they had fallen to ninety- four. The Groton Union Conference at this time numbered 2249. In 1807 the number of the church was ninety-three, a further diminution, but in 1809 nine were re- ported as added to the church, bringing the sum total up to one-hundred and two."*
The Groton Union Conference met with this church in 1809 and found it in the midst of the most extensive re- vival in its history, up to this time. Fifty-five were added to its membership. Not only were large numbers of con-
* Judge Potter's manuscript.
i
:
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verts added, but the membership was quickened and the interest continued for many months. In 1810, at the ses- sion of the Groton Union Conference in Westerly, this church reported sixty-seven additions and a total mem- bership of two-hundred and nineteen, and the membership of the Conference was nearly three thousand. The vine ran over the wall and Rev. Roswell Burrows, the assistant pastor of this church, assisted by Rev. John Sterry of Nor- wich, conducted meetings in Preston which resulted in forty-two baptisms and the establishment of a branch there, which later became a regular Baptist church.
One of the fruits of this revival which we cannot forbear mentioning was the quickening of Quash. Quash Williams was born a slave and after a remarkable conversion he attached himself to Elder Silas Burrows, his pastor, whom he looked up to and esteemed as a father. Elder Burrows in turn took a deep interest in Quash and labored faith- fully to secure the temporal freedom of one who had been made spiritually free. The manumission paper drawn up by Elder Burrows is given here as a relic of the times :
1, John Williams of Stonington, having a negro man by name Quash, about thirty years old, propose to free him, if the selectmen agree and confirm the same upon the following conditions, viz., The said Quash is to serve me faithfully and behave himself well; be subject to my orders and attentive to my business until the twenty- fifth of next December, and then he is to be his own freeman, upon the aforesaid conditions; unless said Quash should be sick and then he is to make up the said lost time when wanted.
In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands in Stonington this 30th day of March A. D. 1795.
(Signed) John Williams
Quash X mark his
Attest
Wm. Woodbridge
Joseph Williams
As a slave Quash had no education. He used to remark that "all the learning he ever had was in carrying his mas- ter's children to the schoolhouse on his back," yet he became one of the most thorough Bible students in the church and his aptitude in applying Scripture made him an invaluable aid to his pastor, and his counsel was sought
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in almost all important matters in the church, though his humility was so great that he never put himself forward. His death in 1830 was deeply lamented and his memory remained so vivid that in 1867 a marble slab was erected by public subscription in Whitehall Burying Ground as a token of the love and esteem in which he was held.
Elder Silas Burrows lived to see his church firmly estab- lished, the Stonington Association and Groton Union Con- ference happily united and religious liberty guaranteed by the State Constitution, an end for which he had labored long and faithfully. He died universally lamented August 8, 1818, on his 77th birthday. Like a shock of corn fully ripened he was gathered into the heavenly garner. The deacons who served the church during his pastorate were Simeon Smith, ordained in 1767, Jabez Smith, ordained some time prior to 1790, and Rufus Smith, ordained Sep- tember 26, 1811.
In August 1806, Roswell Burrows, son of Elder Silas Burrows, was ordained to the ministry and became as- sociated with his father in the pastorate "with authority to labour as an Evangelist, at his discretion and the call of Providence."
Elder Roswell Burrows, as he was called, was in middle life when he entered the ministry, having been born Sep- tember 2, 1768. He received a good English education and was engaged in business in Guilford, Connecticut, and Hop- kinton, Rhode Island, up to the time of his marriage to Jerusha Avery, only daughter of Luther Avery, Esq., of Groton. At the earnest solicitation of his wife's parents he returned to Groton and settled in the old family homestead on Fort Hill.
He was early impressed with a sense of duty to enter the ministry, but it was not until the summer of 1801 that he could summon the resolution to carry out his own convic- tions of duty.
"In August 1806,* after repeated solicitations from his brethren, he consented to be regularly set apart to the work * Sprague's Annal: Vol. VI, pp. 111-112.
4
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of the ministry. The church associated him with his father as pastor, 'with authority to labour as an Evangelist, at his discretion and the call of Providence.' Soon after his ordination, he performed, by appointment of the Groton Union Conference, a missionary tour of between two and three months, in which he rode about thirteen-hundred miles, and preached, most of the time, once or twice daily. His labors on this journey, extending through a portion of the country which was, at that time, to a great extent, both a natural and moral wilderness, are known to have been attended with a rich blessing. The report of his tour, which he submitted to the Conference, after his return, was received with great favor, and gave an impulse to the cause of missions among the churches which has, it is be- lieved, never been lost. And here we may as well say that, like his father, he ever took a deep interest in the prosperity of the Groton Conference and the Stonington Union Association, which bodies he often served in an official capacity, at their annual sessions or as their repre- sentative abroad.
"Mr. Burrows laboured also occasionally, and very suc- cessfully, in Preston, a town lying a few miles north of Groton. Here a church was organized through his instru- mentality, first as a branch of his own church, and after- wards as a distinct body. He was also the first Baptist minister who laboured with much success at Greenport, Long Island. After the death of his father, his labours were, for a number of years, confined principally to his own people; though he made frequent visits to his children in western New York, which were always rendered sub- servient to the objects of his ministry. For several of the last years of his life, his health being less firm, and his pastoral labors greater, the church by his request gave him an assistant.
"In this capacity the Rev. E. Denison was employed for one year, but it was not till March, 1833, that a permanent assistant pastor was secured. This was the Rev. Ira R. Steward, whose faithful services greatly lightened the
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labors of his venerable colleague. The church was then in the midst of a powerful revival. In a letter which he addressed to the editor of the Christian Secretary, about that time, he says: 'Since December, 1809, the Lord has visited this church with seven special revivals; in which time I have had the unspeakable pleasure of formally introducing into the church six-hundred and thirty-five.' About ninety were added by baptism during the year in which this letter was written; and he lived to enjoy yet another season of refreshing in the year 1835.
"It appears from private records left by Mr. Burrows, that during his ministry of thirty-five years he preached no less than 2886 times. Though he was not accustomed to deliver his sermons from a manuscript, he rarely preached without having written at least the plan of his discourse and not unfrequently much the greater part of all that he delivered. His sermons were eminently Biblical, always lucid, full of evangelical thought, often pungent, often pathetic. He was distinguished for sound judgment and excellent common sense, which made him an admirable counsellor in things temporal as well as spiritual. In per- sonal appearance he was of medium height, of prepossess- ing presence, with a grave countenance when in repose, but when animated in conversation or in the pulpit his dark blue eye and his every feature reflected the genial warmth within.
"Without possessing naturally. a very firm constitution, he was rarely visited with severe illness during his life. In the fall and early in the winter of 1835 his health was un- commonly good and his labours as constant as in almost any preceding period of his ministry. But he was now per- forming his last work. While on a visit to his daughter in Griswold in January 1837, he was thrown from a sleigh, which lamed him in one leg so as to confine him for nearly a fortnight. From the effects of this he never entirely recovered and died May 28, 1837."
Four additional deacons were ordained: April 4, 1821, Simeon Smith, 3rd, and John Palmer, and again, February
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18, 1829, two more, Abel F. Lewis and Elisha Rathbun. On May 22, 1834, Albert Edgcomb, Robert Austin Avery and Ebenezer Rogers were ordained deacons, the above being chosen for that office during the pastorate of Rev. Roswell Burrows.
The trend of population towards the villages became a serious problem with Elder Burrows as well as with Elder Wightman. The need of better facilities for those on the banks of the Mystic River led a number of public-spirited men to build a house to be used for the benefit of all de- nominations, the pastors of the various churches rotating in occupancy of its pulpit. The house was built in 1829 and by reason of the large number of sea-faring men con- tributing to its erection it was called the Mariners Free Church. A letter written by Rev. Roswell Burrows to Cap- tain Silas Beebe November 19, 1829, shows some of the difficulties arising from the attempt to adjust its use to the various denominations, and also the very comprehensive parish of the Second Baptist Church. The letter in part is as follows :
"Dear Brother-I have this morning received a line from yourself and sundry other persons requesting me to im- prove the meeting house in Mystic next Sabbath as well as my proportion of time afterwards. Which line is accom- panied with another from Mr. Simeon Fish who informs me that Elder Erastus Denison has an appointment to im- prove this same house next Sabbath, also that Esquire Hurlburt will improve it four weeks from last Sabbath. He further observes that there is no committee who take it upon themselves to invite ministers to improve the house. He mentions it as his wish that ministers would arrange their appointments so as to furnish them with preaching at Mystic every Sabbath. It is a fact well known that the society or inhabitants in all that part of this town lying South of the old post road to Noank and West of Mystic River to a North and South line running by our meeting house at Fort Hill are more uniformly of one per- suasion than can be found to be the case in any other
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section of New England of an equal extent and number of inhabitants. The persuasion is decidedly Baptist.
"Taking the above section South of an East and West line drawn by the house of Esq. Roswell Fish, there are about one-hundred and ten families in all of which I do not know of one person professing or that have united them- selves to any other church but that of Baptist. Neither do I know of more than five or six individuals of all those families belonging to any other church but to our church. Of the one-hundred and ten families there are about eighty- three families in all of which more or less individuals are members of our church, the most of which are in the vicinity of Mystic. Under these circumstances this church thought it to be their duty to establish stated meetings at Mystic. Accordingly such stated meetings have been main- tained by me for a number of years. It was soon found there was in Mystic no convenient place for the assemblies convened upon the occasion. Upon the subject being pre- sented to our church by the brethren from that section of our church, the church approved of the measure and issued a subscription to build a house for worship in Mystic, sup- posing the legitimate from the circumstances stated above belonged to them if it belonged to any Christian society for there was no other society or profession in that section.
"All things considered I have concerned it to be my duty to maintain my meetings at Mystic for the present according to our long order, provided the schoolhouses or any other suitable place be opened to me, appointments of other denominations being in the neighborhood notwith- standing.
"I am yours affectionately (Signed) "Roswell Burrows."
The situation became more and more acute until in August 1831 a company of the members of the First church living in Mystic (then called Portersville) were organized as the Third Baptist Church. This action was considered unfriendly by the Second church and acrimonious corre-
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spondence was exchanged between the parties. It finally resulted in the decision of the Second church to abandon their location at Fort Hill and to remove to Mystic. The church had previously voted in 1825 to hold their meetings one-half the time in Portersville, and in 1826 had voted to build a meeting house there but were unable to raise the necessary means.
January 5, 1835, Rev. Ira R. Steward was called to the assistance of the pastor and continued as assistant pastor until the death of Rev. Roswell Burrows, which occurred as stated above, May 28, 1837, in the 69th year of his age. His ministry had been greatly blessed and he left a large and prosperous church to mourn his loss. Rev. Ira R. Steward assumed the pastorate upon his death and re- mained in the office until March 30, 1844, a period of nearly seven years. During his pastorate occurred the great revival under the preaching of Rev. Jabez S. Swan, in the summer of 18.12, the greatest ingathering in the history of the church. Although it was thought by many to be an im- possibility to enjoy a revival in the summer season yet others thought that to be a favorable time as so many of the sea-faring men were at home. The services were held jointly by the Second and Third churches and it is believed that more than five-hundred conversions resulted.
This large addition to the membership made the question of removal to Mystic more of an issue than ever. For several years the preaching services had been held alter- nately at Mystic and at Noank. "For the year ending in 1843 they held meetings but half the time in the meeting house called the Mariners Free Church, which was occu- pied the other half of the time by the Third Baptist Church, or rather both churches occupied it at the same time and their respective pastors preached in it alternately. The same year they built a neat vestry 28x36 feet at an expense of about one thousand dollars."*
On the 11th day of March, 1843, two-hundred and twenty- three members of this church organized the Noank Baptist
* Minutes of the Stonington Union Association, 1845, p. 46.
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Church with the hearty consent of the mother church. On the 8th of the same month the church at Groton Bank had been instituted, its membership having mainly been taken from this church. After these migrations the number of members reported to the Stonington Union Association in June 1843, was 390, and as these were mainly located in the vicinity of Mystic it was decided in 1844 to proceed with the construction of the house of worship in that village. The following contract was made with Henry Latham:
This agreement made by and between Henry Latham, carpenter and joiner of Groton N. L. County on the first part & Silas Beebe and Geo. W. Ashbey both of said Groton on the second part, wit- nesseth:
That the said Henry Latham covenants and agrees with the sd. Beebe & Ashbey (who are a committee appointed by the 2nd Bap. Chh. in sd Groton for that purpose) to build a meeting house of worship for them and said Beebe & Ashbey, for the use of sd. church in manner, form and condition following, viz., sd Latham is to do all the work from the ground as it now is to the entire completion of the building, within and without, and furnish all the materials of every kind for the same, sd house to be fifty-two feet in length and thirty-eight feet in width and built upon the land given by Mr. Jedh. Randall for that purpose, or such part of it as the sd Beebe & Ashbey shall direct.
The sills of the house to be of good sound chestnut timber and the posts 26 feet high, the building to have a proper elevation from the ground and to be well underpinned. The timber of said house other than sills may be of good sound pine and the size of all the timber to correspond with that named on the plan of sd house drawn by Mr. Isaac Avery of N. L. and now in the hands of sd Latham and all parts of sd. house are to be constructed and finished, tower & all, according to sd. plan. The boarding upon the studs to be of good hard pine or hemlock boards an inch thick & the clapboards to be of the best pine No. 1 clear. The shingles to be of the best quality of pine, shaved. The house to be well studded and braced and the roof purlined and well supported. Galleries are to be erected on the sides and front end of the house, the stairs to which are to be cased up and closed with suitable doors above & below. The floors of the house above & below to be of hard pine well seasoned one & 14 inches thick planed & matched.
The slips in the side galleries to be divided by partitions every 12 feet and the slips below to be capped with mahogany scroll and each to have a shelf in front and be closed with a panel door, properly numbered, & brass fastenings. The pulpit to be neat work of such form as sd. B & A shall hereafter describe to sd. Latham. The doors at the entrance to be well furnished with locks, knobs & bolts. The bell deck of the tower to be made completely tight & sufficient to support a frame & bell and covered with copper or zinc. All the windows are to be furnished with blinds outside and blinds for the belfry. The windows to be in size & form & finish according to
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the affsd. plan & the sashes to be raised by pulleys & weights. The house to be well lathed & plastered with two coats at least of mortar, and to be well painted without & within with two good coats of white paint, except the slips, doors & pulpit* which are to be grained in imitation of ash & varnished. Sd. Latham further agrees to grade & level the ground on the west & south fronts to the road to the acceptance of sd. Beebe & Ashbey, and that said house shall be completed & finished & all the materials and work- manship shall be of as good style as any framed meeting house in this state. And that sd. house shall be done ready for use by the first day of May 1845.
And sd. B & A on their part agree to pay to sd. Latham for sd. meeting house & labor as above described two thousand eight hun- dred dollars as follows. viz., $800 on signing this agreement $800 more when the house is covered ready for clapboarding & $400 more when the house is lathed and ready to plaster & $800 more when the house & job are entirely completed.
In witness of all which we have hereunto set our hands at Groton affsd. this day of 1844.
January 25, 1845, the town voted, 149 to 64, to buy the old house for town purposes, the recording vote being "to obtain title within sixty days for price agreed on-two- hundred and twenty-five dollars for a town house." This action was not pleasing to many voters in the town and unsuccessful efforts were made to rescind it. The old building was for many years a landmark visible from all parts of the town, but finally succumbed to the influences of time and the weather and collapsed in 1905.
Early in the year 1844 Rev. Ira R. Steward resigned the pastorate to undertake the care of the Baptist Bethel in New York City. It was with sincere regret that the church accepted his resignation, which closed the most successful pastorate in the history of the church. Rev. Augustus Bolles served as pastor for about a year, when he was suc- ceeded by the Rev. Henry R. Knapp, who commenced his labors in April 1845 and continued until 1850. Rev. Wash- ington Munger followed him and after an uneventful pas- torate of three years ill health compelled him to leave the field. In 1854 Rev. Harvey Silliman entered upon the pas- torate, which relationship continued until 1856. He was followed by Rev. James M. Phillips.
The letter of the church to the Stonington Union Asso- ciation in June 1857 speaks of his accession to the pas- * The pulpit was painted white .- C. R. S.
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torate and of the death of Deacon Elisha Rathbun, a mem- ber for nearly fifty years (and for twenty-eight years a deacon) ; also of the expenditure of two-hundred dollars in repairs upon the house of worship and of the building of a parsonage at a cost of two-thousand dollars. Benevo- lences were not neglected, four-hundred and fifty dollars having been given for that purpose.
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