USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > West Simsbury > Historical sketch of the Congregational church and parish of Canton Center, Conn., formerly West Simsbury. Organized 1750 > Part 8
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
George H. Barler .- He is secretary of the Michigan Stove Works.
George D. Colton, and his brother, Clifford L. Colton .- They were both educated at the Collinsville High School and for a time were members of Yale College, but did not graduate.
Richard Cuse .- Son of John Case. Graduated at Brown University in 1880. Since 1881 he has been principal of a graded school in Red Bank, N. J.
Elmer L. Cuse .- Graduated from Collinsville High School in 1881, and from Brown University in 1885. He is now teaching in a graded school in Pawtucket, R. I.
Albert Case .- He is a graduate of Yale College.
Arthur J. Goodman .- He is a graduate of the School of Technology in Boston. He is a rare artist in painting and drawing, and is now pursuing his art studies in Paris.
Nearly all the following persons were born in Canton, and they all lived and died there. They were all men of influ- ence in the church, and in business and in civil life. They have left to their descendants the legacy of their Christian characters and useful lives, a legacy more precious than lands and gold :
Gen. Ezra Adams, George Humphrey,
Darius Moses, Frederick Humphrey,
Abiel Brown, Jasper Bidwell,
James Humphrey, 12
Ephraim Mills,
90
Loin Humphrey,
Titus Case, Calvin Case, Rufus Tuller,
Jonathan Barber,
William H. Hallock, Elijah Whiting, Dr. C. G. Griswold, Daniel Taylor.
The following young ladies were educated at Mt. Holyoke Seminary :
Lucinda Taylor, married Rev. L. H. Barber.
Sophia S. Humphrey.
Lydia Amanda Whiting.
Amelia Whiting.
Malvina R. Case, died Oct. 5, 1879.
Florence I. Barber, married Sherman E. Brown.
Ella R. Gridley, married Rev. J. O. Sherborne, a Methodist Episcopal clergyman, and now presiding elder in Vermont. She died July 30, 1875.
Emma H. Humphrey.
Emorette Case, married Dr. Erastus E. Case.
Catherine HI. Barber.
Amelia Beckwith, educated in part at Oberlin, Ohio.
Mary G. Holbrook. She graduated at Smith College, Northampton, Mass.
Sarah E. Humphrey, daughter of Loin Harmon, married Rev. David A. Strong of East Granby.
Emily Humphrey, sister of Sarah E., married Rev. Dr. Edward W. Bentley. Dr. Bentley died at Canton Center, Oct. 23, 1886, aged 60 years.
The following is a nearly accurate list of the men who served in the Union Army during the Civil war. With few exceptions, they were born in Canton.
Eugene Adams, Anson W. Bristol,
Thomas C. Bidwell,
Frank Brockway,
Joseph UI. Bidwell, James Brockway,
Walter S. Brown, Theron Barber,
Edward E. Baker, Clayton T. Bidwell,
James R. Brown, Austin Beckwith,
-
91
Volney R. Bristol, Orrin S. Case,
Hosea E, Case.
Marshall W. Case,
Charles H. Champlin,
Edmund Carrier,
Richard Harger,
George H. Calhoun,
Lowell M. Case,
Elmer L. Case,
Charles H. Case,
Leroy W. Jones,
Harvey U. Chapin,
Benjamin F. Jones,
Richard M. Calhoun,
John W. Crane.
Joseph F. Lincoln, Enos H. Lane,
Charles L. Crane,
Jeremiah Latimer,
Edward W. Case,
Lauren C. Mills,
Ashbel Carrier,
Eldridge Messenger,
Luther Childs,
Archibald L. Mills, James O. Moses,
Elias Case,
Jasper B. Dushan,
Joseph W. Merrill,
Marcus Edgerton,
John Flaherty,
Michael Flaherty,
Henry N. Mygatt,
James Fletcher,
Thomas Fogherty,
Edwin French,
Albert French,
Ephraim L. French,
William A. German, Burton Goddard, Nathan F. Hosford,
Henry M. Weed, Willard M. White,
Dryden P. White, Solomon E. Whitney.
William A. Hosford, John D. Harger, Amos Hosford, Howard F. Hale,
Emerson A. Hough, Lorenzo W. Hosford, Cyrus P. Harrington, James H. Hough,
William H. Hawley,
Solomon HI. Hosmer, Dwight Ives, Robert J. Jones,
Emory F. Messenger, Obed Messenger,
Correl Messenger,
W. Edgar Simonds, Albert H. Simonds, Henry D. Sexton, John Turner, Isaac H. Tuller, James Taylor,
92
CLOSING STATEMENT.
In April, 1885. Rev. F. Alvord, who had supplied the pulpit in 1857 and in 1565. became acting pastor of the church. Since then there has been a quiet season of revival interest. adding twelve to the church on confession, and a Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor has been organized. Much needed repairs have also been made upon the parsonage and conference-room, and a debt of 8900 has been paid.
Here ends the history of the Congregational Church in Canton Center. Conn. We regret its incompleteness. We have drawn from records dingy and bright, from Abiel Brown's History of West Simsbury, from the " Humphreys Family in America," and from the memories of the living; but the records gape and the memories of the living some- times slip. Hence the imperfection of our work. In many cases it has been impossible to obtain the desired information. We have also been under the constraint of brevity, partly to save expense and partly to ensure the reading of the docu- ment. We have endeavored to be impartial. If any fail to see their own virtues or those of their friends applauded, let them find comfort in the thought that they are in a goodly fellowship. The list of the unnamed outnumbers by far that of the named.
This larger list is equally bright with the virtues of piety and patriotism. Those who belong to it have only to wait a little for a worthier mention than we could give them, in the records on high.
Beyond the officers of the church and one or two profes- sional men living in town, we have aimed to confine ourselves to the mention only of those who have gone out from the place of their birth and wrought their life work elsewhere.
From this brief survey it will be seen that, in respect to character and general influence in the town and country, this church compares favorably with any other church in rural New England. All who have gone forth, as well as those who have remained, whether members of this church or not, alike owe a large debt of gratitude to her as their nursing
93
mother. Correct views of life and impulses to nobler action on the part of the young, are by no means an insignificant part of the work of the church. She teaches all how to make the most of the present life even, as no other institu- tion does or can.
For eighty-two years, or until 1832, when the church at Collinsville was organized, this church was religiously re- sponsible for nearly the whole of West Simsbury, now Can- ton. The parish was large in territory and in numbers - few in New England larger. On Sabbath morning, from these hills and this valley the people might be seen gathering in large numbers to the place of worship. The Sabbath was the great day of the week, and public worship was the great event. The church took the lead in everything. The busi- ness of the town was transacted in the ecclesiastical meetings.
But times have changed. The old parish lines once co- incident with those of the town have been contracted. The numbers, too, have been greatly reduced, the hills and remoter parts of the town making a much smaller contribution to public worship at the Center than formerly. Many of these hill farms have passed into the hands of those who hold a different faith or no faith at all. Some have been entirely abandoned. going back to the undisputed reign of nature, as when the first settler found his home here. It is no uncom- mon thing to see a half-filled cellar, or a huge stone chimney, or a tumbling down house and barn, where once lived a large and prosperous family of the genuine New England stock. When city people in search of summer homes shall have dis- covered the rare beauty of these hills, something of their former glory may return. Now the larger proportion of the church-going people reside in the valley of Cherry Brook, north and south of the Center.
And yet the old church may truly be said to be still in a vigorous condition. While it has lost in domain and in num- bers, it is still abundantly able to support the institutions of religion and to give liberally to the various benevolent ob- jects of the day. The farmers, and especially in the valley, are, for the most part, thrifty and enterprising. There is a
94
spirit of progress among them. They adopt the improved methods of farming. Fertilizers and machinery are in gen- eral use. The land is of more than average fertility, giving large returns for the labor and money expended. The dairy business is becoming more and more important. Many of the farmers keep blooded stock, the Jerseys taking the pref- erence. As the result, a few years ago a creamery was estab- lished, which is doing a large and prosperous business. Its butter commands the highest market price.
All things considered, therefore, the outlook of the church of the future in Canton is promising. The present is, how- ever, a critical period in its history. It is easy to lose the heritage of the fathers. This may come to pass by selling it ontright as Esau did, or it may silently slip away while we sleep. If, on the contrary, the spirit of the fathers is in the children, - the spirit of love and of sacrifice, -that shall put the interests of the Church before other things, so causing the present and coming generations to stand solidly and unflinchingly to their work, then this Church shall con- tinue to be the light and glory of the town in the future, as it has been in the past.
POEM.
BY MISS IDA R. GRIDLEY.
Within this valley, years ago, A few stern pilgrims found their homes. They came to build, and plant, and sow, To worship God beneath unsculptured domes.
Embosomed by dense-wooded hills, The fertile valley silent lay, No noise of clattering mills, Or traveler o'er the stony, dusty way.
This place the Indians' hunting-ground Long time had been. In showers glanced The sure-aimed arrows, slaying 'round
Both bird and beast. In midnight feasts they danced,
95
Or, met in council 'neath an oak, They smoked the pipe of peace. But they, O, where are they ? Their wreathing smoke Is now a flower or butterfly; their clay
Perchance, the blood within our veins.
This we have learned from chiseled stone And arrows broken. Now remains
To us to write of scenes to us far better known.
Our fathers came, the forests rang With woodman's blows and crack of trees.
The Indians' bows no longer twang, Their arrows shoot no more athwart the breeze.
Before their household altars glowed, Our fathers kindled God's own flame.
They chose a place for His abode And bowed with reverence for His holy name.
Few joys and many sorrows theirs, And hence their deepest thoughts were given
To Him who grants man rest from cares, And all their hopes were anchored fast in Heaven.
From far-off hillside-homes they came, And each his time or treasure brought.
With constant and united aim A rude, unpainted meeting-house they wrought.
No fire on winter's coldest day To warm the frozen air; no shade
To drive the summer's heat away. Not this a church for drowsy sinners made.
They braved the storm God's word to hear ; They braved the war when freedom cried; Some nobly fought, and some left drear At home, toiled there in place of those who died.
'Twas soon God sent a noble man This church to guide. He came in youth.
And gathering the feeble band again, For forty years he taught God's love and truth.
ยท
96
God gave His spirit, blessed the Word, And sinners flocked within the fold. The call for wider bounds was heard, And to a larger church gave place the old.
This, too, a cheerless place, and cold, They made; for men had then forgot That Beauty's form in various mold May stimulate or Godward turn our thought.
In pulpit towering toward the sky The pastor stood on Sabbath day,
And pointed clear the path on high And sin's alluring, soul-destroying way.
This pastor died, another came Who, like godly Hallock, loved God best.
For thirty years, nor praise nor fame
Sought sainted Burt, but toiled till Death brought peaceful rest.
O, noble men! We owe to you A debt of deepest gratitude; You lived to God and duty true, And showed no mercenary servitude.
Each year the weary parents fell asleep, And one by one they've passed from mind;
The silent earth their dust doth keep, Their children now in distant lands we find.
Artistic skill has beautified Our church, for this our praise is given. For all whose lives have glorified Our church, there is a full reward in Heaven.
j
0 284615.1
APR 75
N. MANCHESTER, INDIANA
1
1
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.