History of Middlesex county, Connecticut, with biographical sketches of its prominent men, Part 53

Author: Whittemore, Henry, b. 1833; Beers, J.B. & Company, publishers
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: New York : J. B. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 818

USA > Connecticut > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex county, Connecticut, with biographical sketches of its prominent men > Part 53

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he was absent for about nine months as chaplain in the army, at Roxbury. Owing to the power and compass of his voice it is said that his prayers and sermons could be plainly heard in Boston, and the British soldiers called him the cannon or big gun of the gospel. The records also show that he was the owner of several slaves.

For two years the church was without a pastor, and there is nothing in the records of the church in regard to this period. May 19th 1785, it was voted to give Mr. David Selden a call to settle, which it would seem he either declined or did not immediately accept, as on the 2 Ist of June the call was renewed, and July 4th it was modified to make the settlement during life or until reg- ularly dismissed. Mr. Selden accepted this call and was ordained October 19th 1785.

Soon after his accession to the pastorate a new confes- sion of faith was adopted which continued in use until a very recent date. Mr. Selden was a native of Haddam Neck, and was trained up under the influence of the church of which he had now become the pastor. He was the youngest and ninth child of Thomas and Re- becca (Walkley) Selden, and a lineal descendant of Thomas Selden, one of the first settlers of Hartford in 1636. He was baptized by the Rev. Mr. Bowers, March 22d 1761, and united with the church May 2d 1780, at which time he must have been a student at Yale College, for he graduated from that institution in 1782. He studied theology with the Rev. Samuel Lockwood, of Andover, and was licensed to preach by the Hartford South Association, June 3d 1783. Soon after this he preached in Hebron, where he was invited to settle as colleague with Dr. Pomeroy. He preached also in other places, but soon returned to the place of his birth, where he passed a very useful ministry of 40 years. In his case is seen a prophet who was not without honor in his own country. He must have been in good report among his neighbors and associates from his childhood, and the confidence and esteem which they manifested toward him in choosing him for their spiritual guide continued and increased to the end of his faithful service. During his ministry of nearly 40 years he wrote 2,565 sermons, only one of which was left in print, a funeral sermon occasioned by the death of Miss Eliza Metcalf, which was published at the request of the mourners. Mr. Selden married, August 16th 1784, Cynthia, daughter of Rev. Eleazer May, of Haddam.

Mr. Selden died suddenly of bilious colic, January 18th 1825. During his pastorate 223 persons united with the church. His widow was born July 25th 1761, and died March 29th 1850.

After the death of Mr. Selden the Rev. Isaac Parsons, of East Haddam, was chosen moderator of the church, and officiated in that capacity until the ordination of the Rev. Charles Bently as its fourth pastor, February 15th 1826. Mr. Bently was a native of New Marlborough, Mass., and a graduate of Amherst College, 1824. He was dismissed by council, March 24th 1833. During his pastorate 95 were added to the church. He died July

the South Church. He died in Hartford February 12th 1810, aged 70 years. He was a man of superior talents and learning, but deficient in prudence and self control. Differences originated between him and his people, which widened until they occasioned his dismission. In consequence of the great depreciation of the currency much of the difficulty was of a pecuniary kind. In 1775, 23d 1869, aged 70 years, 3 months, and 23 days.

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

In June 1833, the Rev. Stephen A. Loper commenced preaching to the church and congregation, and June 11th 1834, he was installed their pastor. He is a native of Guilford, Connecticut, graduated at Bangor Theological Seminary in 1826, and was ordained at Hampden, Maine, January 1827, where he remained about four years. He was dismissed at his own request, November Ist 1841. During his ministry 19 were added to the church. He is now residing with a daughter in Hadlyme.

The Rev. William Case, a native of Winchester, who was born April 25th 1795, and who studied theology at An- dover Seminary, supplied the pulpit during about two of the interval between the dismission of Mr. Loper and the settlement of their sixth pastor. Mr. Case was or- dained September Ist 1824, and died in Hartford.

The Rev. Samuel Moseley, a licentiate, preached in the church until August 1844. He died in early life. The Rev. Philo Judson, a native of Woodbury, and a graduate of Yale College, 1809, came soon after Mr. Moseley retired and labored until the spring of 1847. During his brief ministry here a revival occurred, of the fruits of which 34 were added to the church. He died in Hartford about 1870, nearly 80 years of age. He was a very successful minister, having, it is said, gathered more than 1,600 per- sons into the fold of the Christian Church during his life- time.

In May 1847, Rev. James Clay Houghton, son of Wil- liam and Mary (Clay) Houghton, who was born in Lyn- den, Vermont, May 13th 1810, began to preach in this place and was installed its sixth pastor, September 15th 1847. Mr. Houghton studied three years at Amherst, but graduated at Dartmouth in 1837, and at Hartford Theological Seminary in 1840. He was dismissed from the pastoral care and charge of this church by council, held November Ist 1850, having received into member- ship 18 persons. He died at Montpelier, Vermont, April 29th 1880, aged nearly 70 years.

Rev. William S. Wright, a native of Glastonbury, and a graduate of Yale College in 1833, acted as pastor of the church about two years, or until January 1853. He afterward preached in Avon and Chester.

The Rev. James Kilbourn was installed the seventh pastor of this church, May 4th 1853. Mr. Kilbourn was born in Litchfield, Conn., May 27th 1816, graduated from Yale College in 1837, and from Yale Divinity School in 1843. He was dismissed from the pastoral care and charge of this church July Ist 1857. He died at Racine, Wisconsin, July 23d 1883.

ated from Yale College in 1846, and was ordained at Putnam, Conn., September 8th 1852.

After the departure of Mr. Hopkinson the church held no regular services, but met occasionally and listened to lay members of different churches until 1874, when a new edifice was erected in the Haddam part of the old parish, and its history since that time more properly be- longs to that town. From its organization, in 1740, to the time it commenced holding services in the edifice in Haddam, 820 persons had been admitted to its mem- bership.

The deacons of the church have been Ebenezer Smith, Gideon Arnold, Benjamin Harris, Daniel Arnold, Ezra Brainerd, David Smith, Dr. Thomas Brainerd, Sel- den Gates, Jesse Hurd, Edward Root, Levi Mitchell, Samuel B. Butler, David Dickinson, and Anson Strong. The first church edifice was erected in 1744, and stood on the south end of Hog Hill, not far from the old cemetery, and the dwelling house of the late Walter Clark. It was 44 feet in length and 36 in breadth, and was used as a place of worship until 1811, several years longer than it would have been had the people been united in the selection of a site for a new one. It is said that it became so dilapidated that if a shower came up in time of service umbrellas had to be brought into use to protect the congregation. It was abandoned early in 18II and the congregation worshipped in the Episco- pal and Methodist churches until the new one was finished and dedicated, in May 1813. This second edi- fice was 50 feet in length by 40 in breadth, and was located west of the first one, on the highway, nearer the river. It was surmounted by a tower, and it still stands, although it has been sold by the society and converted into other uses. January 25th 1855, 22 members with- drew for the purpose of organizing a church, which is now known as the Second Congregational Church of Middle Haddam.

BAPTIST CHURCH, EAST HAMPTON.

A church of this denomination was formed in this parish about 1785, and was for a number of years under the charge of Elder Solomon Wheat of Glastonbury. Elder William Welsh, a resident of the parish, afterward labored with them with great success until his death in 1838, and a few years later the church became extinct. The records of this church, though still in existence, were not accessible to the writer, and no further facts have been elicited concerning them save that in the early days of their existence they erected a small house of worship north of the lake, and in later times one that was standing a few years ago in what is now the garden of B. B. Hall.

After his dismissal the Rev. Isaac Parsons was again chosen moderator of the church, and supplied the pul- pit until March 1858, when the Rev. Benjamin Balch Hopkinson commenced preaching in the church, and continued to act as its pastor until May 1868. Mr. Hop- kinson is a son of William and Maria (Atwood) Hopkin- SECOND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, MIDDLE HADDAM. son, and was born at Groveland, Mass., March 6th 1820, This church was organized February Ist 1855, with the following constituent members, who had previously withdrawn from the first church for that purpose: Daniel and on his father's side was a descendant from the Rev. William Balch, first pastor of the first church in the east parish of Bradford, now Groveland, Mass. He gradu- S. Tibballs, Henry W. Tibballs, Edward M. Simpson,

19I

CHATHAM-CHURCHES.

Russell E. Tibballs, James N. Tibballs, Rufus D. Tib-

ceeding years the Rev. Tilliston Bronson, afterward pre- balls, William T. Tibballs, Samuel Taylor, George E. ceptor of Cheshire Academy, divided his labors between Tibballs, Alvin B. Tibballs, Lyman B. Tibballs, Lucy G. Tibballs, Eleanor R. Tibballs, Jane C. Tibballs, Adeline Norton, Almeda A. Child, Lydia S. Tibballs, Lydia M. Tibballs, Charlotte S. Jones, Elizabeth Ufford, Maria A. Kinner, and Harriet Tibballs. Their first acting pastor was the Rev. William Dickson, who occupied the pulpit. but a short time but was not installed. The second was the Rev. John Newton, a son of Abner, of Middletown, where he was born March 22d 1826. He graduated at Wesleyan University in 1847, studied law and was ad- mitted to the bar in 1852. Afterward he turned his at- tention to theology and commenced preaching to this church and congregation in 1856, and occupied this pulpit five years, during which time he never passed a Sabbath without preaching. He died unmarried, August 15th 1863.

The Rev. Richard M. Chipman, a native of Salem, Mass., was the next stated supply of the pulpit, followed by the Rev. Oliver A. Kingsbury, and he in turn by the Rev. Elijah B. Smith, a native of Lyme, Connecticut, and a graduate of Amherst College in 1853. The Rev. Stephen A. Loper, a former pastor of the first church, occupied the pulpit about three years, and on the 7th of October 1870, the Rev. Edward P. Herrick was ordained their pastor, being the first who held that rela- tion after the organization was perfected. He was dis- missed in 1873 and accepted a position as missionary to the City of Mexico. The Rev. Daniel Denison, a native of Hampton, Connecticut, a graduate of Yale College in 1860, and of Andover Theological Seminary in 1864, was ordained pastor, December 30th 1873, and held that relation until 1884, when he resigned and removed to Wisconsin.

The church and society purchased the edifice of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1855, and in 1864 re- moved it to its present location on the main street, be- tween the villages of Cobalt and Middle Haddam, and improved its appearance by entirely remodelling its front. The number of members at the time of its organization was 22; the present number is 78. The deacons of the church have been Charles F. Rich, Lyman B. Tibballs, Samuel North, John P. Purple, James N. Tibballs, and Titus E. Arnold. The church is now without a pastor.

EPISCOPAL CHURCH, MIDDLE HADDAM.

A small Episcopal church was formed in the eastern part of Middle Haddam parish in 1771, which held meet- ings a few years and was dissolved. They built a house of worship in 1772, 26 feet by 24, which was taken down. It stood not far from the residence of John Eddy, and it is probable that he and the Tupper families, that gave the name of Tuppertown to the upper portion of Young street, were its chief support during its brief existence.

The church at the landing was formed April 25th 1785. The church was under the care of the Rev. Abraham Jarvis, D. D., of Middlefield, until 1791. The two suc-

this church and the one in Portland, and then they re- verted to the care of Mr. Jarvis. From 1796 until 1810, Rev. Manoah Smith Miles ministered here one-half the time. From 1811 to 1821, Rev. Jasper D. Jones minis- tered here one-third or one-fourth of the time, with the exception of 1815-16, when the church was supplied by Rev. Solomon Blakeslee and Rev. Reuben Ives. Mr. Jones was succeeded by Rev. Nathan Burgess, who preached here a quarter of the time in 1822-3. He re- moved to Vermont. Rev. Edward T. Ivis, a native of Cheshire, Connecticut, then had charge of the parish about two years. From 1825 to 1826, the Rev. Orson V. Howell, then connected with the Military Academy in Middle- town, ministered to the parish one-half the time. From 1826 to 1830, Rev. Ashbel Steele, a native of Waterbury, ministered to the people. Rev. Alpheus Geer became rector in 1831, and preached until the spring of 1837, be- ing connected during that period with the church in Hebron. Rev. James Sunduland came into the parish in 1837, and preached till the spring of 1838. He was suc- ceeded by the Rev. George A. Sterling. He was a native of Sharon, educated at West Point, and he studied the- ology in New York city. Rev. Benjamin S. Huntington took charge of the parish July 5th 1840, and resigned in the autumn of 1841. Rev. Charles W. Bradley preached here about five months in the latter part of 1841, and in the beginning of 1842. He was a native of New Haven, and he has since been secretary of State, and consul to China. Rev. Sylvester Nash, a native of Ellington, suc- ceeded him in May 1842, and resigned November Ist 1845. Rev. Frederic B. Woodward took charge of the parish in April 1846, and resigned in April 1858. He was educated as a physician, and practiced in Woodbury, Connecticut, for a number of years before coming to Middle Haddam. He also practiced in this parish while he was rector of the church. He was succeeded by the Rev. Thomas F. Davis, who began the rectorship April 25th 1858, and resigned October 20th 1861.

Since that time the following persons have officiated: Rev. William A. Hitchcock, from November 24th 1861 to October 20th 1862; Rev. Henry De Koven, D. D., from October 26th 1862 to October 27th 1863; Rev. William H. Vibbert, from November Ist 1863 to De- cember Ist 1873; Rev. John Binney, from February Ist 1874 to February Ist 1876; Rev. Elbert B. Taylor, from June Ist 1876 to August 12th 1878; Rev. Adelbert P. Chapman, from December 1879 to March ISS2; Rev. Frederic R. Sanford, from April IS82 to June 1883; Rev. Richard C. Searing, from September 6th 1883 to May 6th 1884; Rev. Frederic D. Harriman, from June 20th 1884.

The early records of the church have been lost, so that the names of the constituent members cannot be as- certained. The interior of the church edifice was re-

and their church edifice, 47 feet by 36, was built in 1787. modelled in 1856. The church was consecrated by Bishop Brownell, September 11th 1828. The petition for consecration was signed by George Hubbard, warden,

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

and Gordon Whitmore, Ebenezer Smith, and John Stew- art, vestry. The present number of families connected with the parish is 46. The number of communicants is 77. The first wardens, of whom there is any mention,. are named in a deed of land for church purposes, granted by Samuel Taylor, September 19th 1786, and are Stephen Hurlbut and Nathaniel Cornwall. The present wardens are Edward A. Penfield and Nathaniel C. Johnson.

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, MIDDLE HADDAM.

The Methodists in this place held meetings as early as 1792, and, in 1796, built a house of worship a few rods east of the Episcopal church, 24 feet in length by 23 in width. They had at one time about 50 members, but from various causes their numbers greatly diminished, and their house of worship was closed for lack of sup- port. The names of their ministers have not been as- certained. This house was sold in 1855, to the Second Congregational Society, which removed it to its present site.

CATHOLIC CHURCH, EAST HAMPTON.

The Roman Catholics built a small edifice for church purposes, in 1871, on the old Hebron Turnpike, a few rods west of Muddy Gutter, where services were held, from time to time, by the Rev. Father of the church in Portland. They had held services; previous to this time, in private residences in Middle Haddam and East Hampton, but the precise date of first service in the town cannot be ascertained.

THE CHRISTIAN ADVENTS.

The Christian Advents have held occasional services in Sears' Hall, in East Hampton, for the past four or five years.

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, EAST HAMPTON.

About the year 1817, the Rev. Joel W. McKee, one of the preachers on the New London circuit, which then em- braced all the territory from Manchester and Lebanon to New London and Lyme, commenced preaching occasion- ally in this place in private houses, where he could obtain permission to do so, and continued to preach, at least oc- casionally, until the close of the conference year in June 1818. In this year an extensive revival prevailed in this vicinity, and it is probable that it was at this time that the first class was formed. The circuit preachers continued their visits on week days until 1828, when they began to have, once in two weeks, preaching on the Sabbath, which continued until 1847, when they commenced to have preaching from Sabbath to Sabbath. In 1830, they built, on Miller's Hill, a house of worship, 48 feet in length by 36 in width, which cost $1,800. In 1848, 28 members withdrew from this church and were formed into a free and independent church. They built a house of worship in the center of the village, and it was dedi- cated April roth 1851. Its dimensions are 40 feet by 30. They maintained a separate organization until 1866, and were known as the Protestant Methodist Church. John

Hunter, Elder Withey, Horace Brown, David A.Chapman, Peter Feltey, and others ministered to them in holy things during these years. In 1875, the United Church erected their present house of worship, near the Congregational church, and the other buildings have been sold, the one on Miller's Hill to H. N. Darling jr., who had it taken down and made into a dwelling place, and the other to Henry Skinner, and it is now used as a storehouse and shoemaker's shop. The present edifice is surmounted by a spire, and is 56 feet in length by 37 in width.

The names of the ministers who have supplied this branch of Zion are as follows: 1818, Edward Hyde, Joel W. McKee; 1819, Edward Hyde, Joel W. McKee; 1820, Charles Baker; 1821, Zalmon Stewart; 1822, Daniel Dor- chester; 1823, Ebenezer Blake; 1824, Ebenezer Blake; 1825, Horace Moulton; 1826, Lewis Bates; 1827, Lewis Bates; 1828, Thomas G. Brown, Hector Bronson; 1829, Samuel Davis; 1830, Reuben Ransom; 1831, Mosely Dwight; 1832, Pardon T. Kenney; 1833, Freeman Nutting; 1834, Amos D. Simpson; 1835, Freeman Nutting, Amos D. Simpson; 1836, David Todd, William Willcutt; 1837, David Todd, John F. Blanchard; 1838, James Nichols, Solomon Cushman; 1839, Thomas W. Guile; 1840, Abraham Holway; 1841, Charles C. Barnes, Moses Stoddard; 1842, Lozien Pierce, Chester Field, jr .; 1843, Lozien Pierce, Israel Arnold; 1844, Edmund A. Stand- ish, William O. Cady; 1845, Andrew H. Robinson; 1846, L. W. Turner, John R. Vail; 1847, Charles Morse; 1848, Charles Morse; 1849, John Cooper; 1830, J. W. Case; 1851, Albert W. Allen; 1852, Henry Torbush; 1853, Henry Torbush; 1854, William Turkington; 1855, Frank Gibson, Hiram P. Shepard; 1856, Hiram P. Shepard, G. H. Whitney; 1857, William L. Wardell, Albert Gould; 1858, William Hurst; 1859, William Phillips.

From 1860 to 1866, services were held but a portion of the time, the Rev. Thomas G. Brown and others occupy- ing the pulpit occasionally until 1866, when a major part of the members, uniting with the members of the Protestant M. E. Church, were accepted by the confer- ence, since which time they have been regularly supplied by that body as follows: 1866, Otis E. Thayer; 1867, Mellen Howard; 1868, Mellen Howard; 1869, J. S. Thomas; 1870, Anthony Palmer; 1871, Anthony Palmer; 1872, George H. Winchester; 1873, George H. Winches- ter; 1874, A. W. Paige; 1875, A. W. Paige; 1876, J. F. Sheffield; 1877, J. F. Sheffield; 1878, William Kirkby; 1879, William Kirkby; 1880, E. M. Anthony; 1881, E. M. Anthony; 1882, Henry M. Cole; 1883, John H. Sher- man; 1884, George H. Lamson.

CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, EAST HAMPTON.

Shortly after the settlement on Clark's Hill in 1736, a number of families settled in what is now the society of East Hampton, but at that time a part of the society of East Middletown, now Portland. In May 1743, John Clark, Stephen Griffith, Hezekiah Russ, Samuel Wads- worth, Jonathan Bailey, David Bailey, John Bevin jr., Joseph Parke, Ebenezer Clark, Jabez Clark, William Clark, Shubal Lewis, Josiah Cook, Isaac Smith, William -

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CHATHAM-CHURCHES.

Norcott, William Norcott jr., Daniel Young, Ezra An- drew, James Johnson, Caleb Johnson, William Bevin, Seth Knowles, Isaac Williams, John Markham, and Thomas Lewis presented a memorial to the General As- sembly praying that upon their hiring an orthodox min- ister to preach to them six months in a year, they should be released from paying toward the minister's salary of East Middletown Society one-half their rate or taxes, that should be taxed against them on that account, and their petition was granted on that condition. In May 1746, they were made a distinct ecclesiastical society by the name of East Hampton. From the fact that many of the early settlers in this society were natives of East- ham, Mass., it is conjectured that this name was chosen in memory of their former home. In October 1748, they were embodied into church estate upon their represent- ing that they were about to settle the Rev. John Norton in the work of the ministry among them, and upon the 30th of November 1748, the church was organized, and the Rev. John Norton was installed as their pastor upon a salary of 100 ounces of silver, or public bills of credit equivalent thereto, for the first three years after his set- tlement, and after that time to add to it in proportion as they should advance in their list, until it should amount to 130 ounces of silver, and that to be his standing salary. Mr. Norton was a son of Sergeant John and Anna (Thompson) Norton, and was born in the parish of Kensington in the town of Berlin, at that time a part of Farmington, November 16th 1715. He graduated from Yale College, in 1737, and November 25th 1741, was ordained.

In 1755, during the second French war, he went as chaplain to Colonel afterward General David Wooster's regiment, in the expedition to Crown Point. The mem- bers of the Hartford South Association, to which he be- longed, agreed to supply his pulpit from October 12th of that year, to February 2d 1756. The records of the church during the pastorate of Mr. Norton are lost; it is supposed they were destroyed by fire when the house of Miss Eunice Norton, his daughter, was burned, so there is no nieans of knowing the amount of work he performed for the church and society during his 30 years of labor among them. His salary, which amounted to about $170 of our money, was not promptly paid, and but a small portion of it, probably, in cash,-the ministers of that time being necessitated to engage in barter. No traditions that the writer has ever heard, have been handed down that give any insight into his character, or his ability as a preacher. Mr. Norton labored faithfully with this people 30 years, falling a victim to small- pox, on the 24th of March 1778, which disease he contracted while returning from Middletown, from some persons who engaged him in conversation respecting the way to some locality in the immediate vicinity. It is supposed that one of the parties had just been taken from some pest-house, He was buried, with a few other vietinis of that dreadful disease, in a cultivated field a few rods east of the residence of Leverett D. Willey, on Miller's Hill, There, on a red sandstone slab, ornament-

ed with a winged head, may be read the following in- scription :

IN MEMORY OF THE REV. JOHN NORTON PASTOR OF THE 3rd CHURCH IN CHATHAM WHO DIED WITH SMALL POX MARCH 24th A D. 1778 IN THE 63rd YEAR OF HIS AGE.

The emigrant ancestors of Mr. Norton were John and Dorothy Norton, who came from England to Bran- ford, Connecticut, in 1646. It is said they were of Norman descent and the first of the name came into England in 1060, with William the Conqueror, as his constable. The place to which the family traces its planting after crossing the channel is Sharpenhow, a hamlet of Bedfordshire. John, the emigrant, was the son of Richard Norton, of London, England, who was the 13th generation from Le Seur de Norville (afterward changed to Norton), the Norman ancestor. As before stated, he settled in Branford in 1646, and in 1661, he re- moved to Farmington. His son John, born in Branford, October 14th 1651, came to Farmington with his father in 1661, and died there, April 25th 1725. His wife's maiden name was Ruth Moore. They had a son, John, born in 1684, who married Anna Thompson by whom he had thirteen children, among them the subject of this sketch.

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History of Middlesex county, Connecticut, with biographical sketches of its prominent men, Part 53

Author: Whittemore, Henry, b. 1833; Beers, J.B. & Company, publishers Publication date: 1884 Publisher: New York : J. B. Beers & co. Number of Pages: 818

Author: Whittemore, Henry, b. 1833; Beers, J.B. & Company, publishers
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: New York : J. B. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 818