USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > East Haven > History of East Haven > Part 7
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The entire cost of repairing the damages caused by the tornado amounted to $1,000, which added to the $2,500 just expended, in finishing the meetinghouse, was a large sum for so small a society, but they were, as usual, equal to the emergency. The repairs were immediately commenced, with the expressed stipula- tion that everything should be done in the most thorough manner. The new spire which replaced the fallen one was a tall and graceful one, far superior in form and style to the one just destroyed, which remained standing sixty years. In 1798 the society
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"voted to procure a bell, to place in the new steeple." The necessary funds were appropriated and a com- mittee appointed to carry out the vote. Dr. Bela Farnham, "The Beloved Physician," one of the committee, was present at the melting of the metal, and he threw into the molten mass nineteen "Spanish milled dollars," to give the bell a sharp and silvery tone. The committee were also present at the myste- rious process of casting, and with great satisfaction saw it come forth from its smoking mold, in full per- fection of beauty and tone. Now that bell has tolled the passing knell of all that committee, and of all the former pastors of this church, as well as more than three generations of its people (1907).
There were some public-spirited, energetic, and liberal men in the society, with whom the determina- tion to do a thing was the same as doing it. Upon their request the society passed a vote, giving per- mission "to Edmond Bradley and others, to affix a clock in the steeple, in such a manner, as to strike the bell that is about to be fixed in said steeple; pro- vided that said clock is affixed without any expense to the society." The clock was procured and placed in position, and has ever been a faithful servant to the people. Thus the "Old Stone Meetinghouse," after a lapse of 29 years since the first vote taken in 1769, stood complete in all its appointments, and Mr. Havens in his Centennial Sermon pronounced it "by far the finest church edifice in New Haven County," at that time.
Just previous to the agitation of building a new house of worship in East Haven, the Old South Church in Boston had been completed, and was con-
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sidered a wonderful work of architecture, finished in the latest style, and a tradition has always been extant that some members of the society went to Boston to see this renowned edifice as a model for their new house. Certainly there is a striking resemblance between the two, in the general style and outline of the houses. However, if the tradition of this visit is true, it certainly did not shake their confidence in Mr. Lancraft to erect them a house of stone, which Mr. Havens says," has saved them the outlay of thousands of dollars, and will save thousands more, in centuries to come."
Events went on to 1822, when square pews were passing into history. In these pews some of the people sat facing the minister, some back to him, and some sideways. East Haven people taking the recently erected Center Church of New Haven for a model, in the arrangements of seats, took out the square pews in the body and north side of the house and replaced them with slips. They left two square pews each side of the east door, also south and west door, with an aisle in front of them, and the middle aisle running from the south door to the pulpit.
Until about 1820 none of the meetinghouses in New England were warmed even in the severest weather. Some of the elderly ladies carried foot stoves, about a foot square, containing a brass or copper receptacle for holding coals or charcoal, and it was the common practice to pass it around from one to another, and fre- quently from one pew to another, as a footwarmer. Others carried heated soapstones, or bricks encased in ornamental bags or covers. About 1825 two wood stoves were placed in the "old stone house." As no pro-
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vision had been made for heating, there was no chim- ney to the house. One stove stood in the northeast corner, and the other in the northwest, with the stove- pipe running out of the window. In 1840 coal burn- ers were instituted, and were in use about twenty-four years.
In 1847 there was a change in the ministry and the meetinghouse, although retaining its symmetry and beauty on the outside, was antiquated, inconvenient, dilapidated, and positively repellant on the inside. The walls were stained with the accumulation of moisture, from the stones being plastered upon with- out lathing; the slips and square pews were uncom- fortable, and to add to their dreary appearance had in some former time been painted a dismal green, which asserted its right to cling to every adjacent object, till the good ladies, to prevent being permanently attached to their pews, had lined them with as many kinds of material, in different shades of green, as there were pews. The high-perched pulpit was on a level with the galleries. Mr. Havens says, "It must have been at the hazard of a stiff neck on Monday, if those seated in the body of the house kept their eyes on the preacher during the delivery of the sermons on Sunday." The greatest wonder was the "Paul Revere" pepperbox-shaped sounding board suspended over the preacher's head. He further says, "Upon what principle of acoustics such a machine was con- structed, it is difficult to imagine. The only earthly use it did subserve, was to rivet the attention of children, and keep them quiet."
An obstacle which stood in the way of improving the interior of the church was the peculiar manner in
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which the pews had become the property of the holders by deed. Taxation to defray current expenses had now passed away, and a plan was pro- posed to make a permanent sale of the pews, and with the avails create a fund to support the ministry. This scheme worked well for a while, but had now out- grown its usefulness, and was a detriment instead of a benefit. Mr. Havens says, "It was fortunate that the society contained a few energetic and public- spirited men, who taking the matter in hand, with the tacit consent, rather than active cooperation of the majority carried it through this crisis." Having secured the rights of the pew owners, in one way or another, the work of remodeling the "Old Stone Meetinghouse" was commenced May, 1850, and com- pleted the following October. The men having the work in charge were as follows: Architect, Sidney M. Stone; builder, Newton Moses; mason, Robert Edmonson, all of New Haven. Foreman carpenter, E. Sturtevant Chidsey, and carpenter, Daniel M. Church of East Haven. Other carpenters, Horace Treat, West Haven; James Prindle, New Haven, and Robert W. Hill, Waterbury, now a professional architect.
A great change had now been made; nothing but the solid walls, tower and spire with bell and clock, were left unchanged. Even the walls in some measure had been altered. The upper tier of windows was lowered, the door and windows on the east end had been filled up, also the south door, the south side of the tower, and the window behind the pulpit on the north side. New frames and windows were inserted, and the building brought into its present shape. The
THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
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most sweeping change was on the interior. The west end was pierced with doors, one on each side of the tower. The pulpit was placed at the east end; new galleries were built on the north, south and west ends. The walls upon which the plaster was originally laid, without lathing, were furred out and covered with hard finish. Everything in the interior was now new and up to date.
The furnishing of the interior was done by the ladies of the society, who displayed their characteristic energy, zeal and wisdom, as they always have done in the past, and it is perfectly safe to predict they always will in the future. For years they had been busy with brain and hand, accumulating and storing up for this event, which they foresaw, and wished to come. Their hopes were now realized and a beautiful well-appointed church outside and inside was the climax. So extensive were the changes made that it seemed no other than proper and befitting that the "Old Stone Meetinghouse" should again be dedicated to the worship of God. The services were held Octo- ber 16, 1850, when a discourse was delivered by Rev. Joel Hawes, D.D., of Hartford. The entire cost of the work was about $6,000.
In 1853, the society saw and felt the need of a parsonage for its minister. No parsonage had been built since the one in 1706, which they presented as a free gift to their first pastor, Rev. Jacob Heming- way. Each succeeding minister had built his own house, which left the society without a parsonage down to 1853, when the society bought the residence of the late Haynes Hemingway, Esq., on Hemingway avenue, which was purchased for $2,000, and was occupied for a parsonage nearly twenty years.
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In 1859 the steeple which was erected in 1798 had become so dilapidated as to be in danger of falling. Immediate measures were taken for replacing it with one of more modern style and greater architectural beauty. This work was committed to Mr. Daniel M. Church, a native of East Haven, as well as a lifelong resident, and a noted steeple builder, having built four- teen in the state of Connecticut, besides being engaged on many others outside of the state. Mr. Church was assisted in his work by Mr. Edwin Russell, who was also a native and resident of East Haven, an ยท expert house carpenter.
Mr. Havens in his Centennial discourse says, "The lofty and spacious belfry, the neat and graceful spire, corresponding with the stern simplicity of the building, and towering above to the height of 196 feet from the ground, makes it a conspicuous object and an ornament to the village, in the center of which it stands. It is not surpassed in symmetry of form, excellence of workmanship and good taste by any structure of like magnitude in the Commonwealth." A just tribute to home talent. The cost of this new steeple was about $2,000, which could not have been built since at twice that amount, owing to the advance of price for materials and labor.
In 1868 it became apparent that refinishing and further improvements were necessary for the interior, to keep pace with the times. The society, sus- tained by the unanimous sentiment of the congre- gation, commenced the work with unusual prompti- tude, and it was completed in about three months. The inner walls and ceiling were painted in fresco,
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a new and tasty pulpit replaced the old one, the lower floor was recarpeted, the pews new cushioned, and new lamps provided. The cost was about $3,000. Another great improvement was made at the same time. For several years some of the ladies had been gather- ing funds for an iron railing around the grounds. Incited by their energy and perseverance, a number of public-spirited gentlemen came forward with their aid, and an ornamental and substantial fence was built on Main and High streets, also a broad concrete walk continuous with the fence was laid, at an expense of about $1,300 including both.
When these improvements were completed the question came up, "How shall the meetinghouse be heated?" The day of stoves had gone by and a fur- nace was impracticable because there was no basement. After much discussion it was finally decided to intro- duce steam. The funds came very readily ; perhaps the first cost was larger than for other modes of heating, though in the end no greater, because of a less amount of fuel used, with a much more equable pleasant heat, as well as being more cleanly and easier to control. This was the first church in the state that was heated by steam. The cost was about $1,300.
In 1873 the people desired to provide their future pastors with a residence in conformity with the age and fashion of the day. With this view they pur- chased the house formerly built by their third pastor, Rev. Saul Clark, on High street. They enlarged and remodeled it, and made it one of the most beautiful and commodious rural parsonages in the state. The cost was about $8,000. Since 1873 various improv- ments, as water, gas, telephone, and modern house-
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hold conveniences have been introduced, as they have appeared one after the other.
The necessity of a chapel as an adjunct to the church had long been agitated. A portion of the ladies had been laboring with might and main for the "Chapel Fund," and ten years before the object seemed almost complete, but unforeseen difficulties arose, which required time to remove. The enterprise was greatly aided by a liberal bequest of the late Mrs. Eliza Andrews Dodd. In 1874, the centennial year of the "Old Stone Meetinghouse," the object was consum- mated, and a "Centennial Chapel," a monumental building, was reared in honor of the men who built the Stone Church, and of the generation they represented, as this chapel will be a century hence of this generation. This coincidence of time, this connection of the close of one century with the commencement of another, links together the history of the two, and sends them down the ages clustering with like asso- ciations and memories. It not only forms a connect- ing link between the centuries, but by a most singular and notable coincidence, a stronger and more lasting memory of the architect and constructor of the Stone Church, Mr. George Lancraft, is revived and strength- ened by his successor, Mr. William M. Lancraft, who was his great-grandson, and the contractor of the 1874 chapel. And still another link of the past with the present was the donation of the architectural plans of the "Centennial Chapel" by Mr. Robert W. Hill, a professional architect, who was a great-grandson of Deacon Stephen Smith of Foxon, deacon of the Stone Church thirty-eight years. The donation was solicited by his friend Ephraim Sturtevant Chidsey.
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Now we have gone through the tangible history of the church and its buildings, there is but one more event to chronicle: the Centennial Celebration which took place Wednesday, September 16, 1874, at ten o'clock in the morning. The invocation was by Rev. Owen Street of Lowell, Mass., a grand- son of Rev. Nicholas Street. Reading of Scrip- ture, Rev. Burdett Hart, D.D., of Fair Haven, whose large and prosperous church was a daughter of the Old Stone Church. Singing, original hymn, by the pastor, Rev. D. W. Havens. Prayer, Rev. Leonard Bacon, D.D., of Center Church, New Haven. Singing, original hymn by Rev. Owen Street. Historical Discourse, part first, by Rev. D. W. Havens. Singing, original hymn, by Rev. Owen Street. Historical Discourse, part second, Rev. D. W. Havens. Singing, original hymn, by Rev. D. W. Havens. Benediction, Rev. O. Evans Shannon.
At one o'clock P. M. a collation was served. The blessing was invoked by Rev. George I. Wood of Ellington, Conn. After dinner addresses were made by Rev. Owen Street, Prof. George E. Day, D.D., of Yale Divinity School, Rev. Leonard Bacon, D.D., of New Haven, John G. North, Esq., of New Haven, and Rev. S. S. Joscelyn, of Brooklyn, New York. Remarks were made by Joseph C. Farnham, Esq., of Brooklyn, New York, Joseph D. Farren, Esq., of Lawrance, Kansas, Mr. Charles H. Fowler of New Haven, and Sam- uel T. Andrews, Esq., the chairman. The con- cert in the evening, under the direction of Dr. J. G. Barnett, was well attended despite the storm. The reception at the parsonage, after the concert, was a
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very pleasant occasion, although affected by the storm. Thus ended a day memorable in the history of this venerable church and its people.
Mr. Havens says, "During the last quarter of a century a larger amount has been expended upon and around the Church, than all it had previously cost, including the original erection. The minimum value of the society's property can not be less than $75,000. If by any chance, it should be destroyed it is doubt- ful if it could be replaced for twice that sum." Now (1907) the church stands complete, beautiful in its solidity, charming in its simplicity, which is its beauty, and its beauty is its simplicity, unadorned, and thus adorned the most-a perfect specimen of colonial architecture, which is so much copied and dwelt upon at the present day in one form or another. "Other styles may be better,-purer, more picturesque,-but the colonial style is our traditional style, and is a heri- tage too precious to be thrown away. No style expresses us so well as a people. Our architectural old clothes fit us, and become us better than the new modes from Paris. With a well-established tradition for the colonial style it would be a gross mistake not to continue it." [Geo. D. Seymour.]
Unless destroyed by accident or the convulsions of nature, it will endure for centuries, and the interior can be remodeled and improved from time to time as fashion and taste dictate. But the whole of the exterior should never be disturbed, not one stone should ever be displaced, for fancied improvement which would only be a destruction of the beautiful- even more, an act of sacrilege and vandalism. East Haven people are so used to this structure of beauty
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that they do not realize the admiration it calls forth from strangers. As a western man of much travel and observation remarked, "From the tip of the vane on the spire above to the ground underneath it is simply beautiful, not only in proportions and con- struction, but in material and color as well." Here let us remark that Mr. Seymour recommends red as a color for the coming "City Beautiful" (of which he is one of the committee). This color is also recom- mended for the great national cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul, which is to be built at Washington, D. C., and is to be one of the grandest buildings in the Union. With red stone a church has a warmth of color and a look of the absence of newness that is very pleasing. All these requisites are combined in the Old Stone Church-what could we ask for more?
Now one hundred and ninety-six years have been enrolled on the great scroll of time since the first church was established, and the first minister ordained in East Haven. Let the first half of the century passed stand as a memorial to Rev. Jacob Heming- way and his labors of gathering and planting this church on this wild and hitherto barbarous soil. It may be thought his work was light, as his people were all Puritans. The fact must not be overlooked that human nature is the same in all ages of men and in all places and countries; although they were all Puritans they were not all saints.
The second half of that century bears witness to Mr. Street's labors, faithfulness, anxieties, sacrifices, and final accomplishments, in the erection of the beau- tiful Stone Church, which stands as a memorial and monument to this saintly man.
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REV. SAUL CLARK, 1808 to 1817.
Rev. Saul Clark was ordained pastor January 13, 1808. He was a young, enthusiastic, progressive man, of an ardent, sanguine, hopeful temperament, fully abreast of the times, if not in advance of them. With the independence of the country had also come a greater independence of thought and action, a wider scope of views, and a broader outlook for future development. Being young himself, he took a deep interest in the young people, and he soon drew them to his standard. He was deeply interested in educa- tional matters, and devised and recommended many improvements. He instituted weekly neighborhood prayer meetings in all the districts of the town, and as he was an untiring, fervent worker, the result was that a greater religious interest grew up in his parish, a revival followed, and he gathered nearly the whole town into his church.
The early dawn of temperance was now breaking over the land, and he espoused the cause with his accustomed fervor. He organized the first temperance society in Connecticut and was insistent that his con- verts should abstain totally from all intoxicants. Not that his people were any more intemperate than the world which surrounded them, but those days were more given to hospitality, and there were very few houses with any pretentions to respectability without their sideboard, with its array of decanters, sling tumblers, and flip mugs. It was considered a great act of discourtesy on the part of the host or hostess if the social glass was not passed around at an after- noon or evening visit, or even a morning call. Cider was coequal with water at all their meals, and even
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the poorest families had their cider, and often the poorer the family the greater the number of cider barrels. The good dames at their "spinning spells," and even the young ladies at their "quilting bees," sipped their "sling" before supper. It is related that at a quilting held at Colonel Bradley's, one of the most exemplary homes in the town, "cordial" was passed round made of jelly and spices with hot water instead of the usual sling, because they belonged to Mr. Clark's temperance society, and many were the smirks and winks exchanged among the company. The great wonder of the present day is that with these customs there was any temperance at all in those days.
Mr. Clark contended, that that which is not actually good is directly evil. His preaching was of that high Calvinistic order, delivered with all the fire and ora- tory of an ardent nature and youth, that often grated on the nerves of some of his hearers. He discovered faults in his church which he thought should be purged from it and he set his face unflinchingly to the work. He was a man who when once he had taken a stand in the cause of right pursued it with an unyielding will and purpose, from which his temperament could not, and would not allow him to recede. He placed his principles and those of the church preeminently before his individual interest, which he sacrificed. The course he pursued caused intense feeling, and a divi- sion in his church was daily widening which he saw would not be healed by his continuance with the people, so he called for his dismission, which was granted.
Fifty-seven years after, Mr. Havens in his Cen- tennial discourse fully vindicated and sustained Mr.
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Clark in his views and acts, with these words: "After a few years, it was seen that the principles for which Mr. Clark contended were precisely those embraced by all evangelical churches. In respect to these prin- ciples he was merely in advance of the people, just as seventy-five years earlier Jonathan Edwards was driven from Northampton for adherence to a principle, which was afterwards adopted by all the churches in New England. The crisis was passed, the church was saved but the pastor had sacrificed himself." Still he had the good of the church at heart, and in his farewell sermon advised them, among other things, to settle a minister as soon as possible, before the people became disaffected by listening to different preachers. His love for his first church never seemed to be abated, for in death he wished to be buried with his first people, and he and most of his family now rest in the Old Cemetery.
REV. STEPHEN DODD, December 10, 1817, to April 20, 1847.
Rev. Stephen Dodd was born in Bloomfield, New Jersey, March 8, 1777. Married Phebe Pierson, November 29, 1799. She died February 27, 1815, and he married Abigail Ann Law of Cheshire, Con- necticut, February, 1816. He was ordained to the gospel ministry September 28, 1803, and supplied two congregations for seven years in the town of Carmel, Dutchess County, New York. In October, 1810, he removed to Waterbury, Connecticut, and became pastor of the Congregational Church of Salem, Con- necticut. He resigned in May, 1817. He then supplied the congregation in East Haven, and on December
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10, 1817, was installed pastor of the Congregational Church in East Haven, which pastorate he held twenty-nine years and four months, resigning at the age of 70 years.
Mr. Dodd found his people in a considerably per- turbed state; but by his calm, firm, judicious manner, they gradually settled their ruffled feathers, and in due course of time they were all securely tucked under his mantle. Not being new to the work, his experience taught him how to avoid contention and secure har- mony. His preaching was perhaps less ultra in doctrine than that of his immediate predecessor; but his ser- mons were always plain, sound, and practical, truly evangelical, and purely orthodox, earnest and for- cible in delivery. He was very faithful to his people, and an industrious writer, seldom exchanging his pulpit for others. In his personnel he was of stout and sturdy build, and at once impressive in his firmness and fixedness of purpose; although he might be cold and austere even to severity, yet beneath that broad and ample waistcoat beat a heart warm with love and sympathy for his own people. He had no affiliation for any one outside of his creed, not even courtesy, and especially none for his neighbor who preached in gown and bans, which he characterized from his high- perched pulpit as "heathenish garments, the rags of popery."
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