History of New London county, Connecticut : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 71

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1317

USA > Connecticut > New London County > History of New London county, Connecticut : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 71

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

The fifth pastor was the Rev. Cornelius B. Everest, a native of Cornwall, born in 1789, graduated at Williams College in 1811, ordained pastor of the church in Windham in 1815, installed colleague pas- tor with Dr. Strong in 1829, and dismissed in 1836; settled in Bloomfield, dismissed, preached in Pequon- nock. Since 1858 has resided with his children in Philadelphia, is a member of a Congregational Church in that city, and retains his connection with the Con- gregational ministry.

The sixth pastor, Rev. H. P. Arms, D.D., was born in Windsor in the year 1799, graduated at Yale Col- lege in 1824, ordained pastor of the church in Hebron in 1830, dismissed and settled at Wolcottville in 1832, and installed at Norwich in 1836; received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from the University of the City of New York in 1864; was elected Fellow of Yale College in 1866.

On the settlement of Rev. W. C. Scofield, Feb. 20, 1873, Dr. Arms became pastor emeritus. Rev. Charles T. Weitzel, the present pastor, was ordained and in- stalled April 18, 1876.

The following is a list of deacons from organization of the church to the present time : Thomas Adgate, Hugh Calkins, Simon Huntington, Christopher Hunt- ington, Simon Huntington, Christopher Huntington, Thomas Adgate, Thomas Leffingwell, Ebenezer Hunt- ington, Hezekiah Huntington, Simon Tracy, Simon Huntington, Joshua Lathrop, John Backus, Caleb Huntington, William Cleveland, Charles Lathrop, Samuel Case, James Stedman, Edward A. Hunting- ton, Lewis A. Hyde, DeWitt C. Lathrop, Elisha H. Mansfield, Samuel Case, Lewis A. Hyde, Daniel F. Gulliver, John H. Peck.

The Second Congregational Church .- It was one hundred years subsequent to the settlement of the town before a church was organized in what was called " Norwich Landing," now the city of Norwich. As this part of the town gradually increased in popu- lation, in consequence of facilities for commercial

pursuits, the few resident members of churches be- came organized into a Congregational Church, and immediately provided for the support of the min- istry.

The ecclesiastical society was organized Nov. 29, 1751, and the church July 24, 1760, with Rev. Na- thaniel Whitaker, Nathaniel Backus, John Porter, Isaiah Tiffany, Nathaniel Shipman, and Seth Alden among the members.

The first pastor was Rev. Nathaniel Whitaker, who remained until 1769. He was succeeded in 1771 by Ephraim Judson, who was dismissed in December, 1778. Rev. Walter King became pastor in 1778.

The first of the seven pastors who to any consid- erable extent have served this church within a cen- tury was Rev. Walter King. Rev. Mr. Judson left his work here very soon after the Declaration of In- dependence. It is true he returned within a year and continued for some time nominally pastor, but was too much of an invalid to render any great service. For a full decade after his dismission the church was pastorless. It was a period of intense political excite- ment. War, with all its direful accompaniments, dis- tracted the minds of the people. In reference to spiritual things, mournful apathy was generally pre- valent. This church the while had various temporary supplies, but to Judge Niles, as he was always called, far more than to any other preacher, she owes the preservation of her life through all those years of peril. He was a scholar, but a man of affairs; a licensed preacher, but never ordained. He was largely devoted to secular work, yet Sabbath after Sabbath he preached abler and more carefully con- sidered discourses than hundreds who devote all the week to preparation for the pulpit. The judge then resided in Norwich. " Afterwards," says Rev. Mr. Palmer, "he removed to Vermont, and it is a singular fact that, preaching there a score of years in his own house or barn, according to the season, far more than any other minister, he moulded the religious character of my mother's girlhood, and therefore, through her influence, the character of your present pastor. In ways we little think the past reappears in the present."

Though in the dark days of Revolution Judge Niles preserved this church alive, yet when Mr. King came in 1787 he must have found himself obliged to "lay the foundations," almost as though they had never been laid before. Mr. King's work opened most auspiciously. The first year of his ministry forty were added to the church, the first additions for more than a decade. In the end his light went out in a tempest of needless dissension,1 yet as a whole his work was fruitful. During his twenty-four years of service more than one hundred and seventy-five new

1 This unhappy dissension sprang up suddenly in 1810, and was con- cerning the scriptural lawfulness of a man's marrying his deceased wife's sister. It resulted in a Council, which, without criminaling Mr. King in the least, advised the dissolution of the pastoral relation.

293

NORWICH.

members were enrolled. When the old church edifice on Main Street was burned, the place of worship was transferred to this now "holy hill of Zion," which is a very desirable site for a sanctuary.

Next followed the brief but precious pastorate of Rev. Asahel Hooker. The gift of Mr. Hooker to this church was a signal providence. He was exactly the man to enter upon a ministry while yet there were wounds of strife unhealed. His short fifteen months of service not only proved him pre-eminently the "judicious Hooker" that he has often been called, they also prepared the way for that illustrious life- work of Rev. Alfred Mitchell which followed.

Seventeen years that man of God went in and out before this people. He came here in all the freshness and vigor of early manhood. While yet in the high noon of life's day he was translated to his reward, yet suddenly though his work was cut off, strangely though he was taken from his labors, he achieved much more than many who live on to the ripeness of old age. To meet the demand for more room which his ministry had created the house of worship was greatly enlarged, and this enlargement was brought about in no slight degree by his own pecuniary con- tributions.1 The membership of the church was no less signally increased. In a single year of his pas- torate eighty-nine were added to the roll by profession of faith ; sixty the year following,-forty-four at one communion service.

The Rev. J. T. Dickinson was pastor for less than thirty brief months, yet he was a priceless gift of God. In that short pastorate one hundred and sev- enty-one professed faith in Christ. At its close the resident membership numbered about three hundred and twenty-five. There were three hundred and sixty names on the roll, and only about one hundred and thirty families, including some six hundred per- sons in all belonging to the parish. More than fifty per cent. of the entire number were professing Chris- tians. Such was the state of things when Alvan Bond, D.D., entered upon his thirty years' ministry in this city. There was very little room for en- largement. It was for him simply to "keep the measure full." This, however, Dr. Bond, then in the midst of life, soon found a very unsatisfactory work. Numbers were added to the roll from year to year, but they came mainly by letter. After seven years of such toil the Broadway colony went out, and thus the way was opened for free expansion. The pastor girded himself anew for his great life-work. He summoned his people to most earnest endeavor. The gloom which forty vacant pews spread over the assembly was quickly dispelled. The people caught their pastor's enthusiasm, and " had a mind to work." At the very next sale of pews every slip was taken. For twenty-eight years Dr. Bond supplied the pulpit

an average of fifty Sabbaths a year. Only in a single instance in all that time was he absent from a com- munion service.

The full list of pastors from the organization of the church, July 24, 1760, to the present time is as fol- lows: Rev. Nathaniel Whitaker, installed Feb. 24, 1761 ; dismissed March 24, 1769. Rev. Ephraim Jud- son, ordained Oct. 3, 1771; dismissed Dec. 15, 1778. Rev. Walter King, ordained May 24, 1787 ; dismissed July 5, 1811. Rev. Asahel Hooker, installed Jan. 14, 1812; died April 16, 1813. Rev. Alfred Mitchel, ordained October, 1814; died Dec. 19, 1831. Rev. James Taylor Dickinson, ordained April 4, 1832; dismissed Aug. 20, 1834. Rev. Alvan Bond, D.D., installed May 6, 1835 ; dismissed Dec. 28, 1864. Rev. Malcom M. G. Dana, installed Dec. 28, 1864; dis- missed April 10, 1874. Rev. William S. Palmer, in- stalled Sept. 29, 1874, present pastor.

The first church edifice was completed and occupied in 1766. It was located on Main Street, and was forty-one by thirty-seven feet, and had thirty-six pews. For a while the bell was suspended on the limb of a tree, as a steeple was too expensive a luxury. This house was destroyed by fire in 1783, and Dec. 24, 1795, a second church edifice was dedicated. This was injured by fire in 1844, when it was decided to take it down and rebuild on the same site. The pres- ent substantial stone edifice was dedicated Jan. 1, 1846. It is located on Church Street.

Broadway Congregational Church .- As early as the year 1834 the house of the Second Congrega- tional Society (the only one of this denomination in this part of the town) was filled to overflowing. Investigations were made which revealed the fact that a very large number of the inhabitants of the city were entirely deprived of an opportunity to attend upon public worship. The importance of pro- viding enlarged church accommodations in some form was urged by the pastor and others, and was generally admitted. Numerous meetings for consul- tation were held, which resulted, in January, 1838, in the call of a society meeting, at which a com- mittee was appointed to ascertain what families were disposed to associate in forming a new church, and what funds could be raised for the erection of a new house of worship. Efforts were also made to secure a site for the new church, with the expectation that the building would be erected by the entire society before a separation should take place.

These consultations and efforts, extending through a series of years, finally resulted, in January, 1842, in the withdrawal of a portion of the congregation to the town hall, where they established public wor- ship.

On the 1st of June, 1842, the church was organized under the title of the Fifth Congregational Church, with one hundred and twelve members.

On the 31st of August following Rev. Willard Child was installed as pastor.

1 Mr. Mitchell contributed one-fourth of his salary that year to help forward this work.

294

HISTORY OF NEW LONDON COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.

In 1844 a house of worship was commenced, and was dedicated on the 1st of October, 1845. It stood on Main Street, upon the site now occupied by the Central Methodist church.

Mr. Child asked and received dismission in August, 1845.

Rev. John P. Gulliver was ordained and installed Oct. 1, 1846.

By a vote passed April 9, 1847, the name of the church was changed to Main Street Congregational Church.

On Sunday evening, Sept. 17, 1854, the house of worship on Main Street was destroyed by fire.

During nearly two years following the congregation worshiped in the town hall.

On the 13th of October, 1857, the present church edifice on Broadway was dedicated.

By a vote passed subsequently the name of the church was again changed to Broadway Congrega- tional Church.

In May, 1864, a member of the church gave one thousand dollars as a fund for the foundation and maintenance of a library for the use of the pastor. By vote of the church the fund is known as "The Buckingham Fund." The library now numbers one hundred and seventy-three volumes.

Rev. Mr. Gulliver resigned his office as pastor Oct. 7, 1865, and was dismissed by the action of a Council convened October 24th of the same year.

In the summer of 1866 a chapel, costing with the lot five thousand five hundred dollars, was erected on Boswell Avenue, and given to the society by a mem- ber of the church for religious purposes. It was fur- nished by the ladies, was dedicated in December, 1866, and has since been occupied by the Avenue Chapel Sunday-school.

The church remained without a pastor until June, 1868, when Rev. Daniel Merriman, then a student at Andover Seminary, was called. He was ordained and installed as pastor Sept. 30, 1868.

He was dismissed June 30, 1875. The present pas- tor, Rev. L. T. Chamberlain, was installed Oct. 5, 1877.

Deacons .- Horace Colton, June 14, 1842, to Aug. 12, 1845 ; Lewis Edwards, June 14, 1842, to Aug. 12, 1845; William A. Buckingham, June 14, 1842; Charles Clark, June 14, 1842, to Aug. 12, 1845 ; Oth- niel Gager, Aug. 12, 1845, to Jan. 25, 1858 ; Charles Lec, Aug. 26, 1845, to May 8, 1846; Chester R. Park- hurst, Aug. 26, 1845, to -, 1845 ; Jedediah Leav- ens, June 12, 1846, to April 30, 1855; Lewis Edwards, Jan. 6, 1852, to March 4, 1868; Benjamin W. Tomp- kins, Jan. 6, 1852; Jedediah Leavens, Jan. 27, 1863, to July 9, 1867 ; William Hutchison, Jan. 28, 1868 ; Sherman. B. Bishop, Jan. 28, 1868; Gurdon A. Jones, Jr., Jan. 25, 1869 ; Frank J. Leavens, Jan. 25, 1869.

Clerk:8 .- Charles Clark, June 6, 1842, to Aug. 12, 1845; Amos W. Prentice, Aug. 12, 1845, to Jan. 29, 1866 ; George W. Whittlescy, Jan. 29, 1866, to Jan. 25, 1869; Francis A. Dorrance, Jan. 25, 1869, to June

23, 1870 ; Charles A. Burnham, Sept. 8, 1870, present incumbent.

Third (Greeneville) Congregational Church .- The village of Greeneville (which became a part of the city of Norwich in 1874) owes its existence to the power which the river here affords for manufacturing purposes. This remained unemployed till 1829, when "The Norwich Water-Power Company," which was incorporated the year before, purchased a tract of land on both sides of the river and commenced operations. In 1831 the foundation of the first man- ufactory was laid. In the following year others were laid, and dwellings rose in rapid succession, and were as rapidly occupied.

William P. Greene, Esq., originator and president of the company, and William C. Gilman, Esq., the secretary, were its permanent and efficient directors. From the beginning they manifested a deep interest in the moral and religious welfare of the community which was to be gathered on their premises. A prayer- meeting was established in the spring of 1829, which was sustained by Deacon Horace Colton and other brethren of the Second Congregational Church. In the summer of 1832 fifteen children and youth became the nucleus of a Sabbath-school, and meetings were established for the worship of God on the Sabbath. On the 1st day of January, 1833, an Ecclesiastical Council was convened in an "upper room," and a Congregational Church was organized, consisting of twenty members.

The meeting-house was commenced in the autumn of the following year, and dedicated in April, 1835. In 1867 it was enlarged and improved to meet the wants of the growing congregation.

The Rev. Dennis Platt was chosen pastor in 1833, and entered upon the duties of the office, but by mu- tual consent the arrangement for his settlement was never consummated.

The Rev. John Storrs was its first pastor, installed March, 1834, and remained till April 17, 1835, when an Ecclesiastical Council dissolved the connection. The pulpit was supplied for about two years by Rev. Spencer F. Beard and others.

In the spring of 1837, Rev. Stephen Crosby became pastor-elect, and moved his family into the parish. It was a year of great pecuniary embarrassment, which delayed the settlement of Mr. Crosby, who continued to labor, and successfully, till disease laid him aside, and death ensued June 5, 1838.

Rev. A. L. Whitman was the next to sustain the pastoral relation, and retained the position from Dec. 4, 1838, to March 25, 1846.

His successor was Rev. C. P. Bush, who was in- stalled Dec. 8, 1846, and continued till January, 1856, when his resignation was accepted.

Rev. Robert P. Stanton, after preaching two Sab- baths in February, was proffered the pastorate, which was accepted. The installation took place June 11, 1875.

295

NORWICH.

The present pastor, Rev. Andrew J. Sullivan, was installed Feb. 11, 1880.

Present membership, two hundred and ninety-five.

Park Congregational Church.1-The manifest northward tendency of the growth of the city of Nor- wich occasioned the movement which resulted in 1874 in the beautiful edifice of Park Church. The enterprise originated in the Second Church, and the first plan was that this church, as a body, should re- move from the Landing to the new building, and that a new church should be organized for the West Side. But after the building had been completed and tendered to the church for its acceptance, it appeared that a majority of the Second Church were unwilling to leave the old home. Consequently it was only a colony of the Second Church, consisting of a large number of its most useful and influential members, headed by its pastor, Mr. Dana, and strengthened by . accessions from other churches, which removed to the new house. Mr. Dana remained as pastor of Park Church until 1878, when he removed to St. Paul, Minn., and was succeeded by Rev. Leonard Woolsey Bacon, D.D.

The edifice of the Park Church is notable for the beauty of its architecture and of its position. The chime of ten bells and the clock were the gift of Mrs. Gen. Williams; the organ, from the famous factory of Walcker, in Ludwigsburg, Germany, was presented by James L. Hubbard, Esq .; and the three largest memorial windows were given by Mr. John F. Slater, Mrs. Williams, and the family of the late David Smith.

Congregational Church, Taftville .- This church was organized Dec. 3, 1867, with the following mem- bers : Samuel Prentice, Mrs. Sophia B. Prentice, An- drew T. Prentice, Mrs. Mary Weller, Mrs. Betsy Re- noud, Miss Lucy A. Greenman, John Renoud, Jede- diah Waters, Mrs. Aurela Waters, Mrs. Caroline Fenton, Miss Annis Waters. First pastor, Rev. Hiram A. Tracy, also Rev. W. A. Benedict, Rev. John T. Rea, Rev. Charles L. Ayre, Rev. George Dodson, Rev. T. M. May, and Rev. A. C. Hurd, the present pastor. Samuel Prentice, deacon. Present number of members, 27 male, 43 female; total, 70.

The first meeting held at Taftville, July 8, 1866, by Rev. John Edgar.

Sabbath-school organized first Sunday in November, 1866, assisted by Deacon Edward Huntington, of Nor- wich Town.

Ecclesiastical society was organized June -5, 1867. Meetings held during this time in Boadine House, adjoining the old Fame House. Preaching for two or three years in connection with church at Eagleville.

Congregation at this time about 200. Sunday- school average about 150.

Christ Church .- There is a tradition that an Episco- pal Church existed in this town at a very early period,

and that its house of worship stood upon the green in Norwich Town. It was a small building, erected by a pious lady from Salem, Mass., principally for her- self and family, and was occasionally supplied by the Rev. Mr. Cleveland, of that town. The earliest record of a church in this town bears date Jan. 7, 1746-47, to decide matters relative to the erection of an edifice " for the service of Almighty God, according to the Liturgie of the Church of England, as by law estab- lished."

The officers appointed at this meeting were Rev. Mr. Punderson, moderator; Capt. Benajah Bushnell, treasurer ; Capt. Isaac Clarke, Mr. Thomas Grist, Mr. Elisha Hide, building committee.

A piece of ground for the site of a church edifice was given by Capt. Benajah Bushnell, " at the north- east end of Waweequaw's Hill, near the old Landing Place," and on the 7th of January, 1746-47, a meeting was held at the town-house.

The funds for building were raised by subscription, eighty-seven names being enrolled on the subscrip- tion-list, and the sum obtained £678. The greatest amount by one individual was £50 by Andrew Gallo- way. The three gentlemen who formed the building committee subscribed £40 each. Mr. Punderson after- wards collected in Rhode Island £138, and Capt. Bushnell, in Boston, £178. All this was probably old tenor money, or bills of credit of reduced value.

The land and the church, when erected, were con- veyed by deed to the committee, in trust, --

"for the use of the 'Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts,' and their successors for evermore, to be appropriated for an Epis- copal church and churchyard, for the benefit of an Episcopal minister and members of said church, and for no other use, intent, or purpose whatsoever."

This edifice stood upon the site now occupied by Christ church. According to tradition, it was a substantial structure, but plain and unadorned, with neither porch nor spire, and a single granite block at the door for a threshold stone. It was completed in 1749. The number of pew-holders was twenty-eight; they built their own pews, and held them as their proper estate. The first church officers were Capt. Benajah Bushnell, Capt. Joseph Tracy, wardens ; Capt. Isaac Clarke, Capt. Thomas Grist, Capt. Daniel Hall, vestrymen; Elisha Hide, clerk of the church ; Phineas Holden, society clerk.

Rev. Ebenezer Punderson had the prime agency in forming this church, and was its first officiating clergyman ; but in 1751 he was transferred by the society in England to New Haven.

Soon after the settlement of Mr. Tyler the Revolu- tion broke out. Episcopacy was English, therefore no tolerance nor patience was had with it; and so the church-gates were closed for two years. Yet was the liturgy still heard, whispered low in private dwellings here and there, and at the fireside of the loyal and earnest pastor, with doors barricaded, to keep in peace and to keep out persecution. Then

1 Contributed by Rev. Leonard Woolsey Bacon, D.D.

296

HISTORY OF NEW LONDON COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.

was it uttered publicly again, but it was mute where king and Parliament were prayed for. The church had to live down a rampant prejudice (strange enough, too, when Washington and many of the leaders of the time belonged to it), and that long rectorship of fifty-four years was consumed before these days of misapprehension were ended.

When the church was again opened the prayers for the king and Parliament were omitted, but the con- gregation had dwindled to an audience of about twenty persons. Under the popular ministry of Mr. Tyler, however, the society gradually increased in numbers and influence. In 1780 the church was re- paired and a porch, bell, and steeple added. But the location was considered inconvenient, and in 1789 the society decided on removing to a more central position. A lot was proffered by Phineas Holden, near the east end of Main Street, " opposite the house of Capt. Stephen Colver," and accepted by the parish.

To this spot the old edifice, which had stood about forty years, was removed, and there enlarged and re- modeled. The former owners of the pews relinquished their rights, the seats were sold, and the money ap- plied to parochial uses. The new purchasers were thirty in number.

The committee for removing and reconstructing the church were Maj. Ebenezer Whiting, Barzillai Davi- son, Benadam Denison, and James Christie.

It was dedicated May 19, 1791, by the Rev. Dr. Seabury, Bishop of Connecticut, to the worship of God, "according to the liturgy of the Church of Eng- land accommodated to the civil constitution of these American States." Ebenezer Whiting, Ebenezer Huntington, wardens; Jabez Huntington, society clerk.

The designation of "Christ's Church in Chelsea" first appears on record in 1785.

Mr. Tyler died Jan. 20, 1823, in the eighty-first year of his age, after a pastorate of fifty-four years. He was an interesting preacher, his voice sweet and solemn, and his eloquence persuasive. The benevo- lence of his heart was manifested in daily acts of courtesy and charity to those around him. He studied medicine in order to benefit the poor, and to find out remedies for some of those peculiar diseases to which no common specifics seemed to apply. His pills, ointments, extracts, and syrups obtained a great local celebrity. During the latter years of his life he was so infirm as to need assistance in the performance of his functions.

Rev. Peter J. Clark served as his assistant for two or three years, and was succeeded by the Rev. Seth B. Paddock, who on the death of the venerable in- cumbent became rector of the church. The age and long infirmity of Dr. Tyler had operated against the growth and efficiency of the parish, and when Mr. Paddock's pastorate commenced the congregation was small and the sacred edifice itself in a decaying state. During his rectorship a new church was built.

Mr. Paddock resigned the pastorate in 1844, and took charge of an academy in Cheshire, Conn., at which place he died in 1851. He was a man of great integrity and piety, amiable in all the relations of life.

Rectors of Christ Church since Mr. Paddock :

Rev. William F. Morgan, in office twelve years and a half, from September, 1844, to March, 1857. He then accepted a call to St. Thomas' Church, New York.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of New London county, Connecticut : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 71

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1317

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1317