USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Danbury > History of Danbury, Conn., 1684-1896 > Part 28
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About 1830 a difference of opinion in regard to action of the
* Contributed by Frederick E. Comes.
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HISTORY OF DANBURY.
General Conference led to a division, and the Methodist Protes- tant church was organized. Services were held for a few years in the home of Rev. Mr. Bronson, until becoming impressed with the idea that a church building was needed, he took his axe one day, went into the woods, selected a tree and felled it. Then kneeling beside it he prayed that the work he had begun might be completed, and it was, and stands as a memorial of those faithful workers of many years ago. The first regular preacher was Rev. Marvin Lent, followed by Rev. John Cliff, J. W. Witzel, William H. Bosely, Elizar W. Griswold, Joseph J. Smith, Samuel M. Henderson, Richard K. Diossy, John H. Painter, Joshua Hudson, John L. Ambler, O. C. Dickinson, M. E. Rude, John Jones (known as the boy preacher), Peleg Weaver, N. W. Britton, Dr. G. C. Ray, and Mark Staples, the last regular minister. After this time the pulpit was filled by outside preachers. Rev. Levi Osborn, of the Disciples church of Danbury, and Allen McDonald, of the Methodist church, were the principal ones.
About 1890 the church was closed, with only occasional ser- vices. In the winter of 1894 it was opened again for worship by the Young Men's Praying Band of the Methodist church of Danbury, assisted by a granddaughter of Rev. Levi Bronson, Mrs. Lewis Bradley. The summer following an Epworth League was organized, its president being Mr. Bronson, a great-grand- son of Rev. Levi Bronson. Through the efforts of this organi- zation the church has been repaired and renovated. The Sunday- school is in a flourishing condition, under the charge of Mrs. Mills as superintendent, and the little church at Starr's Plain has taken on a new lease of life.
BAPTIST CHURCH .*
On November 18th, 1785, the First Baptist church within the limits of the town of Danbury was constituted in the district of King Street. This body enjoyed for years a large measure of prosperity. The mother church still maintains its visibility.
About the year 1788 a church was organized under the name of the Ridgefield and Miry Brook Baptist church. From this the
* For the latter part of this church history we are indebted to the Rev. Mr. Hub- bard. The former is gathered from a " History of the Second Baptist Church in Danbury," by a former pastor, published in 1869.
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HISTORY OF DANBURY.
Second Baptist church was constituted April 3d, 1790, and soon afterward admitted into the Hartford Baptist Association, with the number of twenty constituent members. The first regular pastor was Rev. Thaddeus Bronson, who remained with the church from the time of its organization until 1793, when he removed to Schoharie County, N. Y.
The first deacons were Benjamin Shove and Daniel Wildman, who were appointed October 2d, 1790. In March, 1793, Calvin Peck was added to the number.
The first meeting-house was erected in 1794 on a lot given to the society by Bracey Knapp, situated in Miry Brook District, about two miles and a half west of the town of Danbury. The building was twenty-four feet square, with galleries. Its archi- tecture and interior arrangements were of rough and primitive style.
Rev. Mr. Bronson relinquished the pastorate of the church in 1793, after which until 1798 the church was probably without a settled pastor. Among those who ministered to the church with favor during this period were Rev. Daniel Wildman, Rev. Justus Hull, and Rev. Elias Lee. The name of Justus Hull deserves special mention among those who supplied the church during the interval mentioned. He was a young man of unusual men- tal vigor and extraordinary ministerial gift, and his service among the people was kept for years in fresh remembrance.
In the year 1798 Rev. Bennet Pepper, then a licentiate, came to Miry Brook and preached until November, 1807, without ordination, at which time he was regularly ordained and con- tinued his services to the church. About the year 1803 the church was called to pass through a season of trial and dark- ness, growing out of an attempt to modify the accepted articles of faith. The original articles bearing date January 24th, 1795, as to their subject-matter and form of statement, are not differ- ent in any essential particular from those now received by the church. The mover of the proposed change in them is not named in the records. The new articles proposed were, however, essentially defective.
In the early part of Mr. Pepper's ministry there were large accessions to the church. This period is the first revival season succeeding that in which the church had its origin. The pastor- ate of Mr. Pepper closed in 1809. The church remained depend-
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HISTORY OF DANBURY.
ent on supplies until May, 1813, when Rev. Oliver Tuttle, then a licentiate from Bristol, Conn., was called to the pastorate and ordained in May, 1814. Mr. Tuttle's ministry extended over a period of nine years, from 1813 to 1822. In August of the latter year he resigned his charge and removed to Meredith, N. Y.
From the minutes of the Union Baptist Association, which convened at Danbury in 1817, it appears that the membership of the church was then seventy-eight. In 1818 it was seventy. In 1820 there is a marked decrease, the reported number being fifty-six.
George Benedict was licensed to preach on May 12th, 1822. In August of the following year he was ordained as pastor of the church. He resigned the pastoral care of the church in May, 1831, to accept a call from the Stanton Street Baptist church of New York, where he remained until his death in October 28th, 1848.
By consulting the minutes for the year 1825, we find the member- ship increased from fifty-six-reported in 1820-to one hundred.
During the last part of Mr. Benedict's ministry the subject of removal of the location of the meeting-house was earnestly dis- cussed, and ended in the laying of foundations for a new build- ing in the year 1829, upon a lot on Deer Hill, given the society by Peter Ambler. The building, a neat and commodious edifice, was dedicated on September 28th, 1831.
The Rev. Thomas Larcombe was called to the pastorate in July preceding, and delivered the dedicatory sermon upon the occasion of occupying the new building. Mr. Larcombe resigned the pastoral charge in the early part of the year 1833, moving from Danbury to Saugerties, N. Y., and from thence to Phila- delphia. He has long since entered upon his rest.
Mr. Larcombe was succeeded in the pastorate by Rev. Robert Turnbull, then quite recently from his native country, Scotland. A few years previous he had graduated at the University of Glasgow, and subsequently attended the lectures of Drs. Chal- mers and Wilson at Edinburgh, and studied theology under Drs. Dick and Mitchell. He arrived in New York in 1833, and soon after accepted the call to this church. A very successful pas- torate of one year and a half was closed by his acceptance of an urgent call from the Home Mission Society to occupy a field in Detroit, Mich.
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HISTORY OF DANBURY.
The next regular pastor of the church was the Rev. Orson Spencer, who entered upon the pastoral charge in May, 1835. His call was not wholly unanimous, and his resignation followed after a few months' service.
The church remained without a pastor until April, 1836, when Rev. Jonathan G. Collom accepted a call and remained for three years. It was during his ministry that the Rev. Nathaniel Colver, who was speaking in the church against slavery, was mobbed. An account of this occurrence will be found in another portion of this history. Mr. Collom's resignation was tendered to the church during the fourth year of his pastorate, and he left Danbury to enter upon the pastoral charge of the Baptist church at Pemberton, N. J. He removed from thence to Wil- mington, and after to Mount Holly, N. J., where he died.
The Rev. Addison Parker was the successor of Mr. Collom. In August, 1839, he accepted the call of the church and entered immediately upon his work. He continued three years in the pastoral office, during which period the church enjoyed a good degree of prosperity.
Rev. Daniel H. Gillett having been called to the charge of the church, entered upon it in June, 1842, but was compelled, after a few months' service, to relinquish it on account of a severe attack of bleeding at the lungs. He immediately sought a southern climate, which, however, proved insufficient to arrest the work of death.
The church remained without a pastor until the September following, when Rev. William R. Webb accepted their call and came upon the field. His ministry covered one year and a half.
Rev. Rufus K. Bellamy was called to the pastoral charge of the church after the resignation of Mr. Webb, and signified his acceptance of the call on May 9th, 1844. During his ministry of three years the question of a removal of the church from Deer Hill was agitated to such good purpose, that, on April 9th, 1847, negotiations were made with Thomas T. Whittlesey, Esq., to purchase a lot south of his then residence on Main Street, the price paid being $1000. The building was pushed to completion and dedicated on January 5th, 1848. In April following Mr. Bellamy tendered his resignation of the pastorate to accept a call from the Baptist church at Chicopee, Mass.
Rev. Aaron Perkins accepted a call from the church, and
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entered upon the pastoral charge in May, 1848. As a pastor Mr. Perkins is most kindly remembered in the church. Always courteous and sympathetic, he has left behind him only sacred and pleasant memories. His resignation was accepted March 7th, 1852. During his pastorate the Baptist church at Mill Plain was constituted, and nineteen persons were granted letters to form the new interest, which was duly recognized under the name of the " Baptist Church of Mill Plain," by a council which convened September 24th, 1851.
Rev. William S. Clapp was next called to the pastorate by a unanimous vote of the church. The call, extended April 11th, 1852, was accepted the 16th of the same month, and his interesting and prosperous pastorate was terminated by his res- ignation on August 9th, 1857. He has now " gone up higher."
Rev. Henry K. Green was called to the charge of the church October 3d, 1857, and soon afterward commenced his ministry here. He resigned in February, 1859. From that time until August, 1860, the church had no settled pastor. For several weeks after the resignation of Mr. Green the church was sup- plied by the Rev. O. W. Briggs, to whom a call was extended, but declined. Rev. M. S. Riddell also received and declined a similar invitation during the same period.
In the autumn of 1859 Rev. George M. Stone, then at Madison University, spent four months with the church as a supply. At the expiration of that time he received a unanimous call to assume the duties of the pastorate, but deeming it judicious to enter upon a course of theological study, the call was declined. In the summer of 1860 it was renewed and accepted, and Mr. Stone entered upon the duties of the pastoral charge in August of that year, and was ordained September 19th following. The pastorate of Mr. Stone embraces a period of unusual interest, as well to the church as to the nation. Four years of severe con- flict for the restoration of the union of the States to their integ. rity were experienced during that period. In the summer of 1860 extensive repairs and changes were made in the church edifice. In July, 1866, through the generous efforts of a few of the brethren, a new and beautiful organ was given to the church. On account of ill-health which demanded a change of climate, Mr. Stone tendered his final resignation in July, 1867, which was reluctantly accepted by the church.
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For a period of fifteen months the church was without a pas- tor, during which time a call was extended to Rev. John Peddie, and subsequently to Rev. Almon Barelle, of Brooklyn. These invitations were, however, declined, and the church was depen- dent upon supplies for preaching on the Sabbath.
At the covenant meeting held October 1st, 1868, it was voted unanimously to extend a call to Rev. A. C. Hubbard, of the First Baptist church of Cincinnati, O. The call was accepted, and Mr. Hubbard entered upon his labors November 15th, 1868. For a time after the assumption of the pastorate by Mr. Hubbard the church was hampered by a debt amounting to about $6000, which had been accumulating for several years. An effort made to remove it met with success, and the church held a jubilee ser- vice to celebrate the event. Improvements costing $5000 were made to the church property during the first ten years of Mr. Hubbard's pastorate. In his tenth anniversary sermon he re- ported that two hundred and seventy-two persons had been added to the church, and that about $44,000 had been raised and expended for all purposes.
In the year 1879 the Connecticut Baptist Convention held its annual session with the church. The meetings were largely attended, and were regarded as among the most inspiring and helpful in the history of the body.
The second decade of the pastorate of Mr. Hubbard was marked by a steady increase in membership and contributions to benevolent objects. In the year 1888 he offered his resigna- tion as pastor, but it was not accepted, and the relation has con- tinued to the present time.
On April 14th, 1890, the church celebrated the one hundredth anniversary of its constitution. Services of a highly interesting nature were held ; memorial sermons were preached by Dr. G. M. Stone, of Hartford, and by the pastor ; reminiscent ad- dresses were made by old members, and letters of congratulation from absent friends were read.
A short time after this inspiring service an effort was made to secure subscriptions to a fund for the purpose of erecting a new church edifice. On one Sunday $29,300 was subscribed. This was increased by subsequent effort, until the available amount was thought to be $40,000.
A building committee consisting of Henry Crofut, Charles
- REV. JOHN CRAWFORD. GEORGE STARR.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
REV. W. S. CLAPP.
REV. E. C. AMBLER.
BAPTIST CHURCH.
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Hull, J. Amsbury, F. D. Butler, A. G. Benedict, J. M. Bailey, W. J. Anderson, E. S. Fairchild, William Beckerlie, and the pastor, was appointed. It was decided to locate the new church on the site on West Street occupied by the parsonage. Ground was broken on March 31st, 1891, and the corner-stone was laid with appropriate ceremonies on September 11th of the same year.
The purchase of land upon which to remove the parsonage building, the cost of additional land for the church site, and of the building itself with all of its furnishings, amounted to about $112,000. The church is a handsome and commodious edifice of Romanesque architecture, built of stone and brick, and provided with all of the appointments for multifarious church work. It was dedicated with impressive ceremonies on April 16th, 1893.
An interesting feature of this church is a soldiers' memorial window contributed by the citizens of Danbury. It symbolizes Reunion, Emancipation, and Peace. It was unveiled, with exer- cises of a highly patriotic nature, on June 21st, 1893. General Weissert, Commander-in-Chief of the National Grand Army of the Republic, and other distinguished men were present and contributed to the interest of the occasion.
The twenty-fifth anniversary of the settlement of the pastor was suitably observed by the church. Since the occupancy of the new edifice every department of the life and work of the church has flourished. The Connecticut Baptist State Conven- tion met again with the church in October, 1893. Many hearty expressions of congratulation and prophecies of increased pros- perity and usefulness were uttered by representative Baptists of the State. It is the purpose and hope of the church that these predictions may be realized in the future.
THE DISCIPLES OF CHRIST .*
To write a complete history of this Church would necessitate recording many of the leading events of one of the foremost religious movements of the present century. The Church of the Disciples in Danbury is one of the pioneer churches of a reforma- tion beginning in the early part of this century, which has re- sulted in the fifth Protestant religious body in the United States, numerically considered. Perhaps only one organization in the
* Contributed by Rev. E. J. Teagarden.
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whole brotherhood of the Disciples antedates the church in this city. The Church takes a certain just pride in the fact that it has occupied this advanced and independent position in a move- ment of more rapid and permanent growth than any other Prot- estant reformation. The last United States census credits the Church of the Disciples with by far the largest percentage of increase of any religious body in the country.
The four charter members of the Church in this city, Levi Osborne and Uz Wildman with their wives, separated of their own accord from what was known as White's Church. White's Church was a branch of the Sandemanian Church, then an im- portant religious factor in the community, numbering many of the most prominent families as its adherents.
The separation of these four members occurred in the year 1817, having its cause in a dispute concerning the ordinance of bap- tism. The society insisted that an infant child in the family of Mr. Wildman should be presented at the church and be sprinkled, in accordance with the custom of the Church. Mr. Wildman insisted that there was neither scriptural authority nor example for such a rite. He and Mr. Osborne held that only penitent believers were proper subjects for Christian baptism, and that there was but one scriptural mode of baptism-namely, immer- sion. They believed that sects were sinful because contrary to the prayer of Christ, the commands of the apostles, and the whole letter and spirit of the New Testament. They held also that all creeds of human formation should be rejected as authori- tative or as terms of Christian fellowship.
Upon learning that a small band of Christians in New York City conformed to these views, Mr. Osborne sought an interview with them, which resulted in his baptism by Henry Errett, a leader in the one church of Disciples which antedates the church in Danbury. Returning to Danbury, Mr. Osborne immersed Mr. Wildman and their wives. Mr. Osborne was appointed elder of the church thus organized.
From this small beginning in 1817 the church has developed through its seventy-eight years of history, and occupies to-day a prominent position in the religious life of the community. The families and descendants of these charter members have been foremost in the life of the church during its whole history. Mr. Osborne acted as presiding officer, and often as local preacher,
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until his death in 1851. A memorial window in the front gallery of the present church building was erected to his memory by his daughter, Miss Lucy M. Osborne, who is now living, having been a member of the society seventy-four years, or since 1821. Miss Osborne has furnished much of the data and many of the incidents for this historical sketch.
A grandson of Levi Osborne, the late Edward B. Osborne, held a prominent position in the church from 1839 during the re- mainder of his residence in Danbury, serving the church as local preacher at least one year. Also Levi Osborne, Jr., another grandson, served the church in many ways from 1844, until he removed to New York State, where he became a regular preacher among the Disciples. Of the relatives of Uz Wildman we may mention Addison Judson, a son-in-law, who became a deacon in the church in 1838 ; also Miss Hattie L. Judson, a great-grand- daughter, who is at present a missionary in India, having gone out from this church in 1892.
During the first two years of the life of the church the meet- ings were held each Lord's Day at the home of Mr. Osborne, situated on the corner of what are now Osborne and Summit streets, but at that time far outside the borough limits. The additions to their numbers during this first period of two years were but five new members.
In 1819 Mr. Osborne fitted up a room for church purposes in the loft of his weaver's shop, in the same yard with his house. This room served as a place of meeting for twenty-one years. During this second period fifty persons united with the church, several of whom were leading spirits in its progress, and deserve mention here. John Abbot, a native of England, held mem- bership with them from 1819 until 1865, the date of his death. His widow, Mrs. Harriet Abbot, still survives him, being one of the oldest members of the church. Her wonderful memory has made her a valuable help in reproducing this early history, since the incomplete records of those early years have been lost sight of. Mr. Abbot was a profound student of the Scriptures, assist- ing very much in the restoration of apostolic doctrines and prac- tices, upon which the church has ever insisted. He labored for several years as local minister of the church.
Bethel Morris, who united in 1820, was prominent for many years. His descendants have ever been leading members of the
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society, a grandson, Edgar S. Morris, being an elder at the pres- ent time. In the same year there united Starr Benedict, whose son, Joseph Benedict, remains as a deacon of the church. Later in this period John Benedict became a member and served for a brief period as an elder, removing later to the State of Wis- consin. The Benedicts were at that time prominent in the church, and their descendants have been leading spirits through- out its life.
Thus passed twenty-three years, during which only occasional visits were made to the church by ministers from other parts. The religious body being in its infancy, there were as yet few ordained preachers. This church, being the only one of its faith in all New England, had to be satisfied without a regular min- ister, the preaching and teaching being done largely by the faith- ful and honored men whose names have been mentioned ; and, indeed, if reports be true, it required much patient endurance on the part of the younger portion of the congregation to sit through the morning and afternoon service, and listen for an hour to the reading and expounding, verse by verse, of a long chapter. This was done by some good old brother, more hon- ored for his zeal and devotion than for his "aptness to teach." It is said of one very simple-minded but devoted brother, who thought it his duty to use " his one talent"' for the edification of the brethren, that his speeches had just one highly appreci- ated merit-namely, their brevity. He had a few favorite Scrip- ture verses, after the reading of which he would invariably re- mark, "It 'pears to me, brethren, that these verses are very edifying, very full of comfort." To which the congregation silently and gladly responded, " Amen." Yet it is a most re- markable fact that almost all the children of these early fathers of the church became active, lifelong members, when there was so little to attract and hold them, except parental influence and the godly, devoted lives of the leaders in the church. The first break in this monotony of service occurred in 1837-38, when Porter Thomas, a regular evangelist, labored with them for sev- eral months, adding a number to their membership.
During these formative years the questions of church name, polity, ordinances, and life were constantly discussed. The aim was to return in all things to New Testament ordinances and practices. Their views were formed independently of the
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so-called schools of theology, being based entirely upon the Word of God. They deplored the existing divisions in the Church of Christ, believing that the unity for which the Lord so earnestly prayed could be restored and preserved only by dis- carding all human creeds, the inventions of men, and returning to the Word of God as the sole rule of faith and practice.
It was not until the year 1827 that the brotherhood at large became a distinct religious body, known as the Disciples of Christ, or Christian Church ; but not until many years later did the church in Danbury adopt the name Disciples of Christ. During the periods mentioned they were known as Osbornites, after the name of Mr. Osborne, who had been the presiding officer and leading spirit from the first. The church was consid- ered very peculiar in some of its early teachings and practices, it being at one time believed that they had a special Bible to correspond with their own peculiar doctrines ; but it is claimed to this day that this was a false report, and that its origin was on this wise : A venerable brother, more noted for piety than for education, wished to purchase a Bible. He consulted with the elder, who advised him to purchase the Polyglot Bible, it being the most helpful then in use. When about to make the purchase, finding that he had forgotten the name, he asked the permission of the book dealer to take the Bible to Elder Osborne before purchasing, that he might be sure he had the right kind of a Bible. They claim that other false reports, which did them much harm, were no better founded than this one.
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