History of Fairfield County, Connecticut : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 191

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) comp. cn
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co.
Number of Pages: 1572

USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > History of Fairfield County, Connecticut : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 191

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PASTORATES.

Rev. James Beebe came to North Stratford (now Trumbull), Conn., and was ordained over the church and society, May 6, 1747. He was married, July 13, 1749, to Ruth Curtis, of Stratford. Five daughters and two sons were the fruit of this marriage. The first son bore the father's name. Mary, the second daughter of Mr. Beebe, was the mother of the vener- able man still living in the parish,-Deacon Ali Brinsmade, who has reached the ripe age of eighty- seven years in good possession of his faculties. Mr. Beebe died in the ministry over this church. As a testimonial of the love his parishioners bore him, one evidence is seen in a vote taken at a society's meeting, held April 10, 1794: Voted, "That the Society's Com- mittee procure a pair of grave-stones for the Rev'd Mr. James Beebe, Deceased ; and set them up." He was buried in the grave-yard at the foot of White Plains Street, near the situation of the first house of worship. A tablet marks the grave, on which is the inscription :

"This monument was erected by the church and society of North Stratford, out of regard to the memory of Rev. James Beebe, A.M., who departed this life Sept. 8, 1785, in the sixty-eightlı year of his age. He was ordained to the work of the ministry over said church and society, May 6, 1747, and con- tinued therein faithful as a pastor for thirty-eight years."

Beside him lie the remains of his faithful wife, with a stone at her grave. She died Jan. 29, 1818, aged ninety-five years.

Mr. Beebe's pastorate was the longest of any in the history of the church. If we call his the first, as, from the defection of Mr. Miner and the reorganiza- tion of the church which followed, we prefer to,-Mr. Beebe does so himself at times on the record,-then the first and the last pastorates of its servants in the

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ministry are the longest, the former being thirty-eiglit, and the latter sixteen years. Rev. Mr. Beebe lived a short distance cast of the present parsonage, on the north side of the White Plains road, on what is now an open ficld, where two old cellars may be seen ; . over one stood his dwelling, and over the other and smaller one was the hut of his slaves, "Nero" and " Pegg." They called them " servants," and in time they were virtually frec. Less than one hundred years ago slavery existed in Connecticut.

Mr. Beebe's ministry here covered the Revolu- tionary period. He caught the spirit of the fathers and left his pulpit for three months and served in the war of independence. He took an active part in the capture of Ticonderoga. His son David was a cap- tain in the colonial army, and did good service. Dur- ing Mr. Bcebe's absence the society hired Rev. Joseph Barker as preacher. On his return, in after payment of his salary, Mr. Bcebe takes " continental money," the nominal sum being much larger than its truc value: as in the war of the Rebellion, there was a difference between gold and paper currency. Thus where in 1777 he receives eighty pounds lawful (mean- ing English) money for the year, in 1781 he is paid four hundred and eighty pounds " continental money in full and to his satisfaction," for a year's salary. The church and its pastor were both filled with the Revolutionary spirit. At a society's meeting in 1779, while the seven years' war of the Revolution was in progress, it was voted: "That the society's com- mittee have full power to relcasc all rates that stand against the soldiers in continental service, that belong to this parish, who have enlisted during the war." This spirit of the patriot crops forth at times in the items which Mr. Beebe puts on record. A person whose name stands foremost in science and high in literature was born in this parish under singular circumstances. Mr. Beebe puts it thius on his record : " Benjamin, son of Brig .- Gen. Gold Selleck Sylliman and his wife, born Aug. the 8th, and baptized Sept. the 12th ; the general then being a prisoner on Long Island, his lady floeing from the conflagration of Fairfield, and took refuge in this society."

He makes a record, too, of the death of one " Peleg Sunderland, who lost his life at that incinorable event, when Tryon, with a band of British butchers and murderous Tories, burned the town of Fair- ficld."

A humorous incident in Parson Beebe's life in those stirring times is as follows : "He liad collected a public meeting at his house one evening to awaken enthusiasm in the war. While he was addressing the people the report of guns at a distance was heard, and fires were seen as if the British were coming. The reverend gentleman was kcen as well as patriotic, and suspecting a trick sent a body of men round by a back road, cut off the retreat of this scouting party, and captured them : when, lo! it was some of the young men of the town, who had burnt heaps of

cornstalks and fired their guns to play a joke on the folks at the meeting and test their patriotismn."

Sarah, a daughter of Mr. Beche, was baptized by a clergyman from Ridgefield while her father was at the war.

The Church of Christ here, at its reorganization, May, 1747, starts with a membership of seventy-five persons, the name of Rev. James Becbe heading the list. There are added up to the time of his decease one hundred and sixty-seven persons, making the total two hundred and forty-two who had united with the church. A list of deaths being wanted in the records, we know not how many of these had died. Mr. Beebe kept a good account of infant baptisms ; most all being of this class, scarcely any adults. The custom of baptizing infant children was universal through the colonies. Every person born was ahnost sure to be baptized in about eight days from birth, after the plan, as to time, of the Jewishi rite of cir- cumcision.

Among the baptisms occur the names of slaves. This in the minister's own houschold: "Dinalı, a negro servant of Rev. James Becbe, born Oct. 17, 1775, and baptized the 29th inst." Also, " Peter, a negro boy, servant of Rev. James Beebe, born Oc- tober, 1779, and baptized July the 17th." The first name, and none other, are given of these servants or slaves, with the households to which they belong. The names of slaves occur in baptisms, admission to the church, marriages, and burials.

Rev. Izrahiah Wetmore was installed Oct. 13, 1785, and died here Aug. 3, 1798. His pastorate extends over a period of about thirteen years. He baptized seventy-four persons, most all being cases of infant baptism ; he added seventy souls to the church, and joined twenty-six couples in marriage.

Rev. John Giles was installed May 10, 1802, and was dismissed Sept. 21, 1802.

For a few years, about this date, owing to the " in- jurious tendency of the political dissensions" of the times and " the necessity of union among Christians," the state of religion was brought very low in the churches ; many pulpits of this Consociation were without regular pastors for intervals of from one to nine years. The Association, at a meeting held in 1805, lamented that, among other churches, the Trumbull church should be " vacant for three years." However, there were temporary supplies : Rev. Jo- siah Hawes and Rev. Samuel Monson preached here for months.

Rev. Daniel C. Banks was ordained Aug. 12. 1807. remained over the church five years and a half, and was dismissed Feb. 2, 1813. He lived in a dwelling- house, now gone, which stood on a lot next below the present parsonage. He baptized twenty-five persons, received twelve to the church, joined nine couples in marriage, and attended forty-two funerals.

Rev. Reuben Taylor was installed Sept. 18, 1817, and was dismissed Feb. 12, 1824, having served in a

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780

HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.

pastorate of six years and four months. Mr. Taylor lived in an old dwelling near and east of that now occupied by B. B. Plumb, Esq. He went from Trum- bull to New Connecticut, in the State of Ohio, and died there. The church enjoyed a "revival of re- ligion" under Mr. Taylor's preaching, and as the fruit of it thirty-eight persons were added to the membership. During his pastorate he baptized sev- enty persons, forty-six members were added to the church, nineteen couples were married, and there were one hundred and two burials.

Rev. James Kant was ordained Nov. 9, 1825, and was dismissed Nov. 11, 1835. He was a native of Scotland. At the close of his ten years' ministry he married Mrs. Naomi Wheeler. He lived on Long Hill Street, at the south corner of the first road below the Episcopal church, and died there Sept. 10, 1840, and was buried in the cemetery near by. A stone marks his grave. Mr. Kant baptized thirty-five in- fants and four adults, received into the church fifty- three persons, married seventy-seven couples, and re- corded one hundred and ninety-nine deaths.

Rev. Watson Warren was stated preacher from June, 1838, to June, 1839.

Rev. Wm. T. Bacon was ordained Dec. 28, 1842, and was dismissed May 28, 1844, his pastorate being one year and five months. He served again, as stated preacher, for one year, from Sept 1, 1853.

Rev. John S. Whittlesey was ordained Oct. 2, 1844, and was dismissed Nov. 20, 1849. Mr. Whittlesey was a native of New Britain, Conn. He enjoyed a prosperous ministry here, passing through two precious revival seasons in the years 1845 and 1849. During his five years' pastorate over the church eighty persons were added to its membership. His baptisms are twenty-six adults and thirty-six infants. His marriages are thirty-nine, and burials one hun- dred and seventeen. Mr. Whittlesey went from Trumbull to Bethel, Conn. ; from there he went West and served as a missionary. During the war for the Union he became an army chaplain, contracted dis- ease in camp, returned to the State of Iowa, and died there.

Rev. Daniel M. Elwood was ordained Feb. 20, 1850, and was dismissed June 11, 1853. He was born at Norwalk, Conn. At the close of his pastorate in Trumbull he went to Woodstock, Conn., and after- wards to Woodbridge, of this State, where he became a practicing physician. He has since resumed preach- ing as a clergyman in the Episcopal denomination.

Rev. Ralph Smith was stated preacher for one year, from Dec. 1, 1854, to Dec. 1, 1855.

Rev. Stephen A. Gofer was stated preacher from June 1, 1856, to June 1, 1858. He is still living at a ripe old age in the town of Hartlyine, Conn.

Rev. Benjamin Swallow came from England to this country, and on his arrival served in Trumbull as stated preacher for one year and four months, begin- ning his work December 1, 1858. Leaving the min-

istry, he has for a number of years been serving as a clerk in the government employ at Washington, D. C.

Rev. Louis E. Charpiot was stated preacher from Jan. 1, 1862, to May 8, 1864. Mr. Charpiot came from France to the United States. On leaving Trum- bull he was settled at Stratford, Conn. His present whereabouts is not known. Mr. Charpiot baptized seven adults and nineteen infants. Twenty-five per- sons were added to the church. He married five couples, and records twenty-four deaths.

Rev. Nathan T. Merwin, the present pastor, is a native of Milford, Conn., and is the son of David Merwin. He was born June 8, 1836; graduated at Yale College in the class of 1861 ; completed the regu- lar three years' course of study in the Yale Divinity School in 1864. At a meeting of the Fairfield East Association, held in Stratford, Conn., May 26, 1863, he was examined and licensed to preach the gospel. In the autumn of 1864 he was engaged to supply the Congregational Church of Trumbull for six months; then, receiving a call to settle over the church and so- ciety, he was ordained pastor of the same June 6, 1865, by the Fairfield East Consociation. He was married, Nov. 1, 1864, to Miss Martha L. Parsons, of Milford, daughter of Samuel Parsons, and has two children,-Florence Loveland, born Nov. 3, 1865, and Natlala Parsons, born July 5, 1867, both of whom are living.

During his pastorate, now of sixteen years, he has baptized thirty-three infants and forty-five adults ; has joined sixty-two couples in marriage; received one huudred and forty-four persons to the church, and attended one hundred and forty funerals.

There have been four " revivals of religion" in Mr. Merwin's ministry,-the first in the winter of 1866; the next in the summer of 1868; the third in the winter of 1872, and the last in the winter of 1876 and 1877. During two of these revivals evangelists as- sisted ; the first and last were under the labor of the church and pastor. Meanwhile the membership of the church has steadily increased under the regular ministration of the word.

In 1864 the membership was one hundred and twenty-four. In the fall of 1860 a manual was pub- lished, the first in the history of the church. The list of names was corrected, some being dropped, and, as then revised, the members numbered one hundred and fifty-seven. The present membership is eighty-four mnales and one hundred females. Total, one hundred and eighty-four.

At the beginning of the ministry of Rev. N. T. Merwin the church edifice was renovated inside. Again, in the latter part of the year 1869, the building was lengthened, a pulpit recess also added, and the interior greatly beautified, at an expense of over three thousand dollars. The present meeting-house thus improved was rededicated Jan. 1, 1874. Rev. J. G. Davenport, of Bridgeport, preached the sermon, and the pastor of the church made the dedicatory prayer.

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About this time a beautiful silver communion-ser- vice was presented to the church, " In Memoriam of Mrs. Isabella R. Tait." The same year the articles of faith and covenant were revised for the third time; also a covenant for infant baptism was adopted by the church. In the revision there has been no change in doctrine, only a condensation of expression of the same gospel truth. The dates of revision are 1747, 1831, and 1869.

At certain intervals since the year 1800 the totality of church membership has been published; of late years it is done annually. In the year 1833 the membership of the church was 100; in 1846, 132; in 1859, 117; in 1864, 124; January, 1880, 184. The Sab- bath-school enrolls 140 persons. Wesley B. Coen is the superintendent. There are 120 families in the parish.

Two ministers have been raised up,-Rev. Daniel Brinsmade, in the carly history of the church, and Rev. David H. Gould, since 1800. These men joined the church, the former at fifteen years of age, and the latter at fourteen. It was unusual to receive persons so young to full membership ; a note is made of this fact at the time, in the records, as being worthy of special mention. The result seems to justify a prac- tice, now more general than in other days, of receiving persons earlier in life into the church.

A marked change has come over the publie mind in regard to the rite of baptism. Most all instances of baptism in the church's early history were in infancy : now as many or more adults are baptized than infants.

During Mr. Taylor's ministry the records begin to show a list of persons who die in the parish, and there is given opposite each name the disease or cause which produced death. This custom obtains with pastors of the church down to the year 1861, Mr. Swallow's record being the last of the kind ; after that the name, date of death, and age only are given.

The ordained pastorates are the longest, the infer- ence being that it is profitable to call a young man, or novitiate, into the ministry.

This Congregational Church once had the watch and care of all the families composing the town of Trumbull. For over half a century no other church organization existed here. Let her name be as widely venerated; let the events of the past hallow her memory. The good she has done in preserving order, and in disseminating gospel truth, only eternity can reveal. The work has been deep and far-reaching. To the great head of the church be all the praise. Amen !

TRINITY CHURCHI.«

The records of Trinity parish detail the following history of the formation of the society and the build- ing of the church which is now standing :

" TRUMBULL, Nov. 0, 1817.

" After being duly notified of a meeting at the house of James R. Cur- tis, for the purpose of forming a society to erect a house for the public worship of Almighty God according to the doctrines and neages of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, accord- ingly, on the 8th of Nov. 1847, the meeting was held, and Win. L. Par- ker in the chair.

" The meeting was called to order and a motion made and seconded that we form ourselves into an ecclesiastical society according to the statute law of the State of Connestient. The motion was adopted, and the following form was drawn up and signed :

" TRUMBULL, Nov. 9, 1847.

" We, the undersigned inhabitants of the town of Trumbull, Fairfield Co., Conn., do this day associate together and form ourselves into an ecclesiastical society, to be known as the Protestant Episcopal Society of Trumbler, at Nichol's Farms, in conformity to the statute laws of this State,-David Curtis, Prosper Nichols, Charles C. Booth, Jolin C. Beards- ley, Lewis B. Curtis, James B. Curtis, William L. Parker, John II. Par- dee, George E. Peet, Charles N. Fairchild, Benjamin F. Lock wood.

" After which the following business was transacted : Jolin II. Pardee appointed moderator, and the following officers appointed: Lewis B. Curtis, Clerk; John C. Beardsley, John H. Pardee, Lewis B. Curtis, Building Committee.

" TRUMBULL, Dec. 1, 1847.

" An adjourned meeting of the members of the Episcopal Society was held at the house of Prosper Nichols, and William L. Parker was ap- pointed chairman.

"The meeting was called to order and a unanimous vote taken in favor of building the church on the land of James B. Curtis."

At a meeting held Jan. 1, 1848, the amount pro- posed for building was seventeen hundred dollars, and the building committee empowered to contract with Messrs. Hotchkiss, Clark & Co. to erect the building.

At a meeting held Sept. 30, 1848, for the purpose of electing church officers, the following elections were made : Senior Warden, Prosper Nichols ; Junior Warden, Charles E. Booth; Vestrymen, David Cur- tis, Lewis B. Curtis, John H. Pardee, John C. Beards- ley, Andrew Clark, James R. Curtis, George E. Peet ; Clerk, L. B. Curtis; Treasurer, David Curtis.

A meeting was held at the house of David Curtis, March 8, 1856, and at this meeting Prosper Nichols was appointed committee to give the Rev. Collins I. Potter a call to preach in Trinity church one year. one-half the time. It was also voted at this meeting to pay the salary of one hundred and fifty dollars, to be paid quarterly. At this meeting George T. Lewis was clerk pro tem. May 30, 1857, it was ordered to have a tea-party, in order to raise twenty-five dollars in addition, to enable the society to pay Mr Potter one hundred and seventy-five dollars.

The rectors of Trinity parish have been the Rev. I. N. Marvins,-who held services in the parish for some time before a regular rector was called,-the Rev. Collins I. Potter, the Rev. Luther Gregory, the Rev. Charles H. W. Stocking, the Rev. Charles Hus- band, the Rev. J. H. H. DeMille, the Rev. Dexter S. Lounsbury, the Rev. George P. Torrence.

The parish has always been poor and small, and in order to maintain preaching it has found it necessary to unite with other parishes. It united with Hunt- ington during the rectorship of Mr. Gregory, and with Ansonia during Mr. Stocking's rectorship, which

* By R. C. Ambler.

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HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.

was the most flourishing period of the history of the parislı. Mr. Lounsbury united not only the parish at Nichols' Farms in his labors, but held services in Trinity church (Baptist), as assistant in the Coit Memorial chapel in West Stratford, and in the Church of Nativity, North Bridgeport. He was an earnest worker, and was held high in the love and es- teem of his people. He had resigned his rectorship of Trinity parish and accepted a call to Christ's Church, Stratford, only a few months previous to his distressing death, which was caused by a pistol-ball from the hand of his wife, who shot him while he was sleeping. She was declared to be insane.

During the rectorship of the Rev. Charles Husband, the Rev. J. H. H. De Mille, and of the present rector, Rev. George P. Torrence, the parish has united with Grace Church, Long Hill.

The parish is healthy financially, having during 1879 and 1880 repaired the church, at a cost of six hundred dollars, and is entirely out of debt.

The first school-house in Trinity was built at the foot of the hill on the road to White Plains, east of the house of Mr. Brinsmade. The second stood on the highway, above the house of Sidney Nichols, Esq. This burned down about twenty-five years ago, two years after which the present one was built.

GRACE CHURCH.#

Grace Church parish, Long Hill, was originally a part of Christ Church parish (Tashua), Trumbull, and was separated from the mother-parish in 1846. The separation was due to a misunderstanding between the members living in these two districts with regard to their respective pecuniary rights and obligations, and to a feeling upon the part of Grace Church or Chapel division that a separation was the only means of restoring harmony and good feeling. At the an- nual meeting of Christ Church, Trumbull, held Easter Monday, 1846, resolutions were adopted looking to- wards a partial separation and defining said rights and obligations, but they were rescinded at a subse- quent meeting, held in Grace church or chapel, by those living iu that neighborhood, as being opposed to the best interests of that portion of the parish ; and this action was followed by the organization of a separate parish, to be called Grace Church, Long Hill, Trumbull, at a meeting held on the afternoon of June 5, 1846, in Grace church or chapel. At this meeting, the action of which was ratified by a subse- quent one held June 23d of same year, the following officers were elected: Elijah Middlebrook, David Beach, Wardens; Lee Wooden, Stephen H. Bur- roughs, Orlando Walker, Ebenezer Wheeler, Vestry- men ; Stephen Middlebrook, Clerk ; Lucius B. Bur- roughs, Treasurer; Elijah Middlebrook, Delegate to Convention ; L. B. Burroughs, Collector ; S. H. Bur- roughs, Librarian.

This action was followed by a formal application for admission into union with the Convention of the Diocese of Connecticut, which received favorable hearing and was granted. It was presented before Convention June 9, 1846, and was signed by Abel Hawley, David Beach, Jno. Burroughs, Elijah Mid- dlebrook, John M. Wheeler, Stephen Middlebrook, Sherman French (2d), Roswell Seeley, Ebenezer Wheeler, Walker Wheeler, Lee Wooden, L. B. Bur- roughs, Gideon Mallett, Zalmon Hall, S. H. Bur- roughs, E. B. Middlebrook, Edward Platt, Robt. T. Middlebrook.

In addition to the above named, the following named asked on June 11, 1846, that their names be stricken from records of Christ Church, Tashua, Trumbull, having united with the parish of Christ Church, Long Hill, Trumbull : Abel Hawley, Jr., E. B. Middlebrook, Elijah Middlebrook, Jr., George W. Knapp, David Y. Beach, Nichols Sherman.

At the meeting held June 23, 1880, to which refer- ence has been made, the parish voted to invite Rev. Wm. W. Bronson, then in charge of Christ Church, Tashua, to officiate upon each alternate Sunday in Grace church, Long Hill. He was therefore the first rector of that parish.

The present church building was erected as a chapel of Christ Church (Tashua), Trumbull, under its pres- ent name, Grace Church. The corner-stone was laid in 1836, the first service was held in it Sunday, Jan. 1, 1840, and the building was consecrated by Rt. Rev. T. C. Brownell, D.D., LL.D., Bishop of Connecticut, . June 18, 1840.

The rectors have been as follows: July, 1846, to October, 1847, Rev. William White Bronson ; April, 1848, to March, 1851, Rev. Henry V. Gardner ; March, 1851, one year, 1852, Rev. Enoch Huntington ; Jan- uary, 1853, to December, 1853, Rev. D. W. C. Loop; April, 1854, to February, 1856, Rev. William L. Bostwick; January, 1857, to August, 1858, Rev. Wil- liam Townsend Early; March, 1859, to March, 1864, Rev. D. P. Sanford; April, 1865, to January, 1868, Rev. William Warland; April, 1868, to April, 1870, Rev. Charles Husband ; June, 1870, to May, 1874, Rev. John Henry Hobart De Mille; September, 1874, to October, 1878, Rev. Abner P. Brush ; Rev. George Paull Torrence, the present rector, entered upon his rectorship June, 1879.

The present officers are : Wardens, Walker Wheeler and Lucius B. Burroughs, who died June 12, 1880, after serving as junior warden for more than twenty years ; Vestrymen, Ebenezer Wheeler, Stephen H. Burroughs, Marcus O. Wheeler, David S. Walker, Hobart R. Wheeler ; Treasurer and Collector, David S. Walker; Delegate to Convention, Marcus O. Wheeler; Substitute, Stephen H. Burroughs; Chor- ister, John H. Beach. The present number of fam- ilies is forty-five ; of communicants, eighty-one.

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History of Fairfield County, Connecticut : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 191

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) comp. cn Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co. Number of Pages: 1572

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) comp. cn
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co.
Number of Pages: 1572