USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Cornwall > Historical records of the town of Cornwall, Litchfield County, Connecticut; > Part 15
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His successor was James Wadsworth, who was about as near a " blameless " man, doubtless, as men become. He exemplified his faith by " walking in the light," and seems to have deserved Paul's requirement to be put as his epitaph: for "he held the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience."
A few months before the retirement of the two venerable dea- cons, Hart and Wadsworth, they each made a valuable gift to the church-Deacon Hart giving this Bible, and Deacon Wadsworth that service, which is at present used at the Communion table. The church acknowledged the gifts in the following resolution:
Resolved, That these tokens of their regard for us, crowning, as they do, many years of active, efficient, and successful labor in this church, entitle the givers to our highest respect and consideration, and in all coming years they shall be held in grateful remembrance, as bright examples of Christianity, as taught by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."
R. R. and E. D. Pratt were chosen in September, 1854, to be their successors. Deacon Wadsworth lived, after his resignation, until April, 1867.
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In 1872 both active deacons tendered their resignation, from a conviction that the good of the church required that the deacon's term of office be limited, with the privilege of reëlection if it seemed best. They were accordingly succeeded by T. S. Gold and Egbert M. Rogers, in 1872, who were chosen for the term of five years.
As both retired deacons are still present with us, I shall pass by their service at this time without encomium, speaking only a few words respecting Deacon E. M. Rogers, deceased in February last. My own estimate of Deacon Rogers's character is incorporated in the resolutions adopted by this church in April last:
WHEREAS, In the providence of God, it has pleased Him to remove, by death, brother E. M. Rogers, who has "walked with this church faith- fully in all the ordinances of the Gospel " for thirty years, the last four years of which time he filled the office of deacon; therefore,
Resolved, That it gives us pleasure to express and record the affection in which Deacon Rogers was held by his brethren in Christ, for the devo- tion which he manifested to the cause of the Master, making himself a servant to all, that he might " gain the more;" and becoming a cheerful " burden-bearer," in obedience to the law of Christ; and furthermore, that we believe that his faith and good works were a "light upon a hill " to lead men "to glorify our Father which is in heaven."
MINISTERS RAISED UP.
John C. Hart, oldest son of Deacon Nathan Hart, a graduate of Yale, class of '31, was pastor in Springfield, N. J .; thence to church in Western Reserve College, Hudson, Ohio; thence to Congrega- tional Church, Ravenna, Ohio. Death in 1870 from paralysis, at Ravenna.
Almon B. Pratt, born North Cornwall 1812, son of a farmer, and worked with his father until nineteen years of age, then began to study with the ministry in view. Entered Yale College, but failing in health, withdrew. Studied theology at Union Seminary, New York City; licensed by Litchfield North Association July 20, 1841; ordained June 12, 1850, by Litchfield North Association, at Wol- cottville, Conn .; acting pastor of a church in Genesee, Genesee County, Michigan, several years; treasurer of college at Berea, Ky .; thence removed to Camp Creek, Neb., as acting pastor, in which capacity he died December 28, 1875.
Henry G. Pendleton graduated at Amherst, August, 1836; licensed at Dayton, Ohio, November, 1838, by Presbytery; gradu- ated at Lane Seminary, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1839; ordained January, 1840, by Peoria Presbytery at Granville, Ill .; remained at Gran- ville four years; Lacon one year; Henry, Marshall county, twenty-
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five years. He organized a Congregational Church in Chenoa, Ill., in summer of 1867, and was acting pastor until 1872. At present he is acting pastor of Congregational church at Gridley and Chenoa; some of the time Mr. Pendleton has supplied two churches "yoked." He has been very successful in gathering churches and building meeting-houses. The hand of the Lord has evidently been with him. P. O. address, Chenoa, Livingston Co., Ill.
H. F. Wadsworth, son of Dea. James Wadsworth, graduated at Union College, July, 1836; was licensed by Litchfield South Association, July, 1838; was ordained as an Evangelist, in the Tabernacle in the city of New York in 1842, by Manhattan Asso- ciation. In the same month was settled as pastor over the Pres- byterian church at Newfoundland, Morris County, N. J. He resigned this charge November, 1858, for the Presbyterian church at Unionville, Orange County, N. Y., where he was installed pastor the following May, and where he continues to labor in the gospel.
John A. R. Rogers, son of Jno. C. Rogers, graduated at Oberlin College 1851; from the theological department 1855. Holds the chair of the Greek Professorship in Berea College, Ky.
Samuel Scoville, son of Jacob Scoville, is a graduate of Yale College, of the class of '57. After spending one year in theologi- cal study at Andover Seminary, he took an extended European tour. Returned to his theological studies at Union Seminary, New York City, graduating 1861. He was settled as pastor over the First Congregational Church in Norwich, N. Y., in 1862.
John Hart, son of H. Milton Hart, graduated at Yale, class of '67; taught in public schools of New Haven several years; graduated at Union Theological Seminary 1876 .*
List of Ministers' Wives who were Daughters of the Church.
Eliza W. Rogers, daughter of Dea. Noah, married Rev. A. T. Norton.
Amanda Rogers, her sister, married Rev. A. B. Pratt.
Amelia Rogers, daughter of John C., married Rev. Mr. Davis.
Sarah A. Nettleton, daughter of Dea. Elijah, of Baptist Church, married Rev. Mr. Jencks, Baptist.
Clarissa Clark, daughter of Wm., married Rev. A. Munson.
Mary Burnham, daughter of Oliver, married Rev. A. Judson, Philadelphia.
Emily Burnham, her sister, married Rev. J. C. Hart.
* Mr. Hart was ordained and installed over Cong. Church in Bristol, N. H., in the fall of 1877.
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List of prominent Laymen not previously mentioned in the Sermon.
Ichabod Howe will be remembered as a man of Pauline gentle- ness, and Christlike spirit of self-sacrifice for his brothers' good. To a life of rectitude and consecration he added a very fitting closing chapter, by giving himself almost wholly to visitation of the parish and prayerful lay-labors for the conversion of men to his dear Lord. He died in 1857.
A man of more marked ability, of strict integrity, of unim- peachable veracity, and of wide-spread influence was Benjamin Sedgwick, Esq. In private life and places of public trust he was an honorable man and a christian gentleman.
William Clark of Clark Hill, was a self-depreciating but valua- ble citizen, who took up his christian crosses late in life, but bore them with fidelity to the close.
Chalker Pratt you remember as a strong, resolute, self-reliant man, ever devising liberal things for the cause of his Master, and energetic in carrying them through. Born on Cream Hill, he mnoved to West Cornwall, at the time of the building of the railroad; was identified with the interests of the place; was an able and zealous laborer in his Master's vineyard, as well as an earnest and honorable citizen.
Noah Baldwin was for fifty-five years connected with the choir, and by his faithfulness to his post, his love of music, and his regu- larity, did what he could for the service of Christ; keeping his place even after old age had made his service as an effort.
Reuben Hitchcock was a regular and conscientious attendant upon public services, and a supporter of the prayer meetings.
There are many that will remember the commander of the regi- ment of militia, Col. Anson Rogers. In stature tall, athletic; in nature cordial, genial, sympathetic; in character benevolent to a fault; his liberality was proverbial, and proceeded not from the love of display, but a natural susceptibility to the appeals of the needy, and from an instinctive desire to do a good and generous action.
Col. Rogers was also a christian soldier. As he was at the head of his regiment on public parade, so his name stands first on the list of those recruited for the Master in 1839, by Mr. Tracy. And he was behind none of his fellow citizens in interest in the pros- perity and perpetuity of the kingdom of Christ no less than in his public spirit. Of his prominence in town matters, and the acceptable administration of his public trusts, politically, honorable
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mention should be made here, and the record in detail will be found elsewhere.
Daniel Leete Rogers, Noah Rogers, and John C. Rogers are worthy descendants of an honored sire, who hand down the precious legacy untarnished and undiminished of solid christian character. They have stood manfully "holding the fort " for Christ, here where their father helped to plant it.
They were men to be relied upon for sound judgment and with abundant means, and while exact and punctual in their business transactions, they were generous to the poor, liberal toward the church, and invariably found on the right side of questions of general interest in church or state.
The devotion of these men and their children to christian prin- ciples and christian liberty, when considered in connection with their boast that they were " descendants of the John Rogers of Smithfield fame," furnishes a new illustration of the faithfulness of God in "showing mercy unto the thousandth generation of them that love me and keep my commandments."
Geo. Wheaton, Esq., was a lawyer of prominence in West Corn- wall, who declared at last that he was "not ashamed of the gos- pel of Christ." Entering the church during Mr. Maynard's ministry, he ever afterward interested himself in the material interests of church and society.
Dr. Samuel W. Gold, whose residence was on Cream Hill, until his removal to West Cornwall, near the close of his life was a man of wise counsel, great energy, and remarkable public spirit.
He offered to donate $1,000 toward building a chapel for the use of the citizens of West Cornwall, but did not live to see the project begun. Mr. Gold gave liberally of his abundance for the support of the gospel, and had a deep interest in the welfare of his town and country. He had in mind the publication of the history of Cornwall, which he did not live to carry out, but which is likely to be completed by his son, Theodore S. Gold.
H. Milton Hart was a man who was to the minister as Asaph to David, in the service of song in the sanctuary. He filled besides, with ability and christian fidelity, every position of trust in church and society to which he was appointed; was a man beloved for his graces of character, and esteemed for his cultivation of mind, by a wide circle of friends. His interest in the musical training of the young was a prominent characteristic.
Stephen Foster was one of the promising men of the church of
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the last generation, and one whose death occurring in the very prime of life was deeply deplored.
He was already "proving his lance" in his defense of the right, and showing his zeal in the service of his Master, when cut down by death. He was calculated by his enthusiasm, executive and financial ability, no less than by his eminent social traits, to be of great usefulness in this community. His work may have been finished, in the estimation of God, but from the human standpoint, it hardly seemed more than just begun .*
A SEMI-CENTENNIAL
Celebration of the erection of the church at North Cornwall was held July 19, 1876.
The morning exercises consisted of singing by the choir; reading the scriptures and prayer by the pastor, Rev. C. N. Fitch; an his- torical address, " Ye Olden Time," by Gen. Chas. F. Sedgwick, of Sharon; music, by the band; sketch of the erection of the church edifice by Nathan Hart; an address by Rev. Samuel Scoville of Norwich, N. Y .; a poem by Dwight M. Pratt, of Cornwall, and singing an anniversary hymn written by Mrs. C. E. Baldwin.
The afternoon exercises in the grove were refreshments, exhibi- tion of relics, reminiscences of the olden time, in short, regular and volunteer sentiments and addresses, interspersed with vocal and instrumental music. The affair was a success, affording both instruction and entertainment.
HISTORICAL ADDRESS OF GEN. CHARLES F. SEDGWICK AT NORTH CORNWALL, JULY 19, 1876.
Several weeks since I was requested to write up some sketches of incidents and events illustrating the history of this ecclesiastical society. Without thinking much on the extent of my knowledge of such incidents, I consented to do so, but I soon found that any certain degree of reliable accuracy in many things pertaining to the history of the parish were not within the reach of my investi- gations. There are many things which rest in dim and unreliable tradition, which can only be illustrated by a thorough and careful examination of the records of the State, of the town, and of the
* In these biographical sketches I have limited myself to the deceased, not thinking it wise to attempt an estimate of the work of any one while he is still with us, or, at least, yet living.
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parish. And such examination I have had no opportunity to make. I shall give you as good a statement of facts relating to the history of the society as the materials at my command will furnish, not holding myself responsible for the uncertainties of tradition, or the barrenness of documentary proofs. To illustrate more fully the history of the parish, it will be necessary to con- sider briefly the early ecclesiastical history of the town previous to 1738. This northwestern corner of Connecticut had been surveyed and laid out into townships and sold to proprietors. This territory embraced the townships of Salisbury, Sharon, Kent, Cornwall, Canaan, and Goshen, and the settlement of each of those townships commenced about that time-Kent then included War- ren, and Canaan included North Canaan, but with these exceptions the integrity of the territory of each township has not been dis- turbed. The acts of the legislature incorporating each township, vested both municipal and ecclesiastical power in the inhabitants, and made it as much their duty to provide for the establishment of the one polity as of the other. It was as much their duty to pro- vide for the early settlement of the gospel ministry of the order and faith then recognized as the standing order in the colony, as it was to provide for the support of the poor or the maintenance of high- ways. And to help the towns thus organized to carry out the purposes of the legislature in providing for the establishment of gospel ordinances, grants of land were made; one right to the first minister, and one right in perpetuity to the town for the support of the ministry for ever.
Some of the towns have since been subdivided into located parishes, but with the exception of a small portion in the south- west part of the town, which many years since was annexed to the ecclesiastical organization of Kent, and a larger portion on the Great Hill, which now forms a part of the Society of Milton, Cornwall remained one parish until the incorporation of this society in 1804.
Cornwall was not backward in fulfilling the purpose of the Assembly in regard to the settlement of a minister. The Rev. Solomon Palmer was the successful candidate for the place, and he was settled over the town as its religious teacher in August, 1741. He was a native of Branford, in New Haven County, and graduated at Yale College in 1729. Previous to his settlement in Cornwall he had been settled over a Congregational parish on Long Island. He continued in the ministry here about thirteen years. I know of nothing to distinguish his ministry from that of other
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clergymen of that day in this region. Religious interests were not neglected. A spacious meeting house was erected, which stood on the high ground nearly opposite the residence of the late Ithamar Baldwin, with a broad and extensive green, opening to the south, before it. Mr. Palmer's residence was on the spot afterwards owned and occupied by the late Judge Burnham, and there several of his children were born. My friend, Mr. Solon B. Johnson, in a sketch which he gave me several years ago of the Johnson family in Cornwall, in speaking incidentally of Mr. Palmer's family, with which the Johnson family was connected, informed me that Mr. Palmer's only son was a sot-I could have added to the stock of Mr. Johnson's information on the subject, by the statement, that when I went to reside in Sharon, fifty-nine years ago, that son of Mr. Palmer's was an inmate of the poor-house there, where he con- tinued during his life, and that his remains, after his death, were buried at the expense of that town. I never knew how he became chargeable to Sharon, but the fact as to his residence and depend- ence there is as I have stated it.
I never heard but that the ministry of Mr. Palmer was entirely acceptable to the people of his charge. His subsequent career would intimate that he was not deficient in intellectual ability, and old people who, in my early years, spoke of him, never intimated any defect of moral qualifications. In March, 1754, to the great surprise of his people, he announced from the pulpit that he had become an Episcopalian in sentiment. His ministry in Cornwall ceased from that time, but after going to England and receiving Episcopal ordination there, he returned to this country and entered upon clerical duties in congregations of that faith. He ministered successively at Great Barrington, New Haven, and Litchfield, at which last mentioned place he died in 1771, at the age of sixty-two years. I never heard that any of his people here followed him into the Episcopal church, or that his defection in any degree impaired the stability of the ecclesiastical organization here. He sold his place here, which came to him from the gift of the colony by virtue of his being the first minister, in 1757, to Noah Bull of Farmington, and thus compelled the town to assume additional burdens in the support of the gospel ministry there- after.
The next minister of Cornwall was the Rev. Hezekiah Gold. His father, of the same name, was the minister of Stratford, and his grandfather was the Hon. Nathan Gold, for many years
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chief-justice of the supreme court, and lieutenant-governor of the colony.
Mr. Gold was in comfortable pecuniary circumstances when he came here, having received an ample patrimony from his father or grandfather, and he purchased the farm which was afterwards owned by Mr. Darius Miner, which was near the meeting house, and which was every way convenient for a parsonage. There he lived, and there he died, after a ministry of about thirty-five years. I believe that the first twenty years of his ministry were acceptable to the town, but the exciting times of the opening scenes of the Revolution, and the opinion which some of the people entertained, probably unjustly, that their minister was not quite as fervent in his patriotism as in his purpose to increase his worldly estate, produced complaint-not very loud at first, but which finally ripened into an open opposition, which in the end included a majority of the legal voters of the town. Through the whole conflict a decided majority of the church stood by the pastor, and the influence of his clerical brethren in neighboring towns sustained him. The laws of the colony, too, strongly favored the stability of the clerical relations in the town, and appeals to the courts, which in this case were made, furnished no aid to the discontented portion of the people. At length the town, claiming that it, and not the church, owned the meeting-house, voted to exclude Mr. Gold from it in the performance of Sabbath services, and in his absence it became the duty of the deacons to conduct the ceremonies of public worship. When the trial came to test the right of the contending parties to the meeting-house for Sabbath worship, a scene occurred which would now be deemed a disgrace to the civilization of the times, reminding one of the times spoken of by the old English humorist, Hudibras:
When civil dudgeon first grew high, And men fell out, they knew not why ; When hard words, jealousies, and fears Set men together by the ears ; When pulpit dean-ecclesiastie Was beat with fist instead of a stick.
I heard a statement of it given to my father, probably more than seventy years ago, by an aged widow lady. It may be interesting to my friend, Deacon Russell R. Pratt, if I state that she was Mrs. Brown, a sister of Mrs. Jasper Pratt, who was his grandmother. The deacon who intended to conduct the proceedings was Elijah Steele, one of the opposers of Mr. Gold. From the statement of
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Mrs. Brown, it would appear that Mr. Gold had taken his seat in the pulpit to conduct the exercises of worship in the usual manner, and that Deacon Steele, in his seat below, by whom Mrs. Brown was sitting, was preparing his book to give out the opening psalm. Said she, " Just as Steele was about beginning to read the psalm, I laid my fan right down on to Steele's book, and thus gave Mr. Gold an opportunity to start first in the race." The common-sense of sober-minded people must have revolted at such unhallowed proceedings, and the result was, that the dissenters of the congre- gation, in 1780, formed themselves into a separate society, which they called a society of Strict Congregationalists, and the dissent- ing members of the church formed themselves into a separate church, to act with the society in cases where their joint action might be necessary. I can find no law of the State which then justified these proceedings, but in 1791 an act was passed which seemed to recognize the legal status of such voluntary religious associations and churches, and which provided that all such churches and congregations which shall, or shall have, formed themselves, and maintain public worship, were vested with power to levy taxes on the members. By virtue of this law, the Strict Congregationalists of Cornwall laid taxes on their members, and thus, for several years, supported preaching in their meetings ; but the church thus formed had no connection or association with any other ecclesiastical body. It will be seen in the sequel, that this society was abandoned and dissolved when that now subsisting here was organized, and that the church, then independent, finally fell into sympathy with the Christian churches of like faith, and co-operated with them in religious duty and action.
The meetings of the Strict Congregationalists were held at the house of their minister, the Rev. Mr. Cornwall, the house lately owned and occupied by the late Mr. Carrington Todd; but in 1788 the meeting-house, which stood on the ground now occupied by the Center school-house, was built by subscription. Some of the subscribers for its building were living when the present place of public worship was established in the society, and some of them claimed that they were still owners of the building.
The old society maintained their ownership of the old meeting- house, and I suppose held their meetings there until 1790, when it was taken down, and a new and fashionable house of worship was erected on the plain. Mr. Gold continued his relation as pastor of the church till his death, but he gave up his claim for salary, and remitted pastoral labor some three or four years before his decease,
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which occurred in 1790, at the age of sixty-two years. It would seem that in 1787 the asperities of the conflicting parties were somewhat abated, for in the fall session of the legislature of that year, both ministers, Mr. Gold and Mr. Cornwall, were elected rep- resentatives from the town, and Mr. Cornwall was a member at the next session. Mr. Gold was undoubtedly a man of uncommon shrewdness and vigor of action, as is shown by his being able to baffle all the efforts of his opposers to remove him from his pas- torate of Cornwall. I remember reading his epitaph many years ago, in which there is the expressive statement of one element in his character: that he was a very accurate judge of the human heart.
Mr. Gold was succeeded in his ministry by the Rev. Hercules Weston. He remained the minister of the old parish from 1792 to 1803. I never saw him, but well remember that he was noted for his keen specimens of polished wit, which were often related in social gatherings. He had a parishioner, Rufus Paine, senior, whose wit, though of a coarser kind, was equally pungent and effective, and they sometimes had passages of intellectual sharp- ness with each other. As this is a purely secular meeting, it may not be improper that I should give a specimen.
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