USA > Connecticut > New London County > Norwich > History of Norwich, Connecticut: from its possession by the Indians, to the year 1866 > Part 45
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In 1767, a lot of land for a glebe was given by Mrs. Zerviah Bushnell, relict of Capt. Benajah, and conveyed by deed to the Society for Propa- gating the Gospel in Foreign Parts.t On this lot a glebe-house or manse was erected.
In 1768, an agreement was made with John Tyler, of Wallingford, Conn., by which £60 sterling money of Great Britain was advanced to
* He had two sons, born in Groton ; Ebenezer in 1735, Cyrus in 1737.
t This deed was annulled by an act of the Legislature in 1835, and the glebe became private property.
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HISTORY OF NORWICH.
him, to defray the expenses of a voyage to England to receive ordination ; he, on his part, engaging to return and officiate as their priest, at a salary of £30 per annum. The money was raised by subscription, and the list contains eighty names.
Mr. Tyler, after embracing the doctrines of the Church of England, had been prepared for holy orders under the instruction of Dr. Johnson of Stamford. He was ordained by the Bishop of London in June, 1768,* and the next year entered on his duties at Norwich, officiating also at Poquetannock every fourth Sunday.
The parish record begun by Mr. Tyler is entitled, "Notitia Parochialis of my mission at Norwich." The first child baptized by him was The- ophila, daughter of John and Delight Grist, Sept. 3, 1769.
Soon after the settlement of Mr. Tyler, the great struggle for liberty commenced, and all other concerns were affected by it, swept as it were into the majestic current. Public opinion made it necessary for the Epis- copal clergy either to omit that part of their liturgy which contained prayers for the King and Parliament, or suspend their public service. Mr. Tyler and his people chose the latter course.
Through all the Northern Colonies this was the test offered to Church- men-Will you drop the prayers for royalty ? But neither clergy nor people were in general prepared to yield the point. Many of the churches had originated under English patronage, and their pastors were on the footing of missionaries deriving their support from England. This bound them with a strong tie to the mother country, and they held out long in their loyalty.
In the Southern States the Episcopalians almost uniformly took the patriotic side, and this was attributed mainly to the independence of the clergy. They did not, like those at the North, draw their support from the mother country.
The church at Norwich was closed for three years, no entry being made on the records from April, 1776, to April, 1779. But it is remembered that during a part of this time at least, Mr. Tyler held a service in his own house. Various instances occurred of harsh language, and petty per- secution of churchmen, but no violent exhibitions of displeasure were made .; Mr. Tyler was prudent, quiet, and reserved. A part of his congregation cordially favored independence, and family influence like- wise operated in his favor; his father-in-law, Isaac Tracy, Esq., being deacon of the Congregational church, and an avowed patriot.
* The original commission to exercise his office in America, executed by Richard (Herrick) Lord Bishop of London, June 29, 1768, is preserved by the family.
It is said that Mr. Grist, the Englishman, and his neighbor, Richard Hyde, Esq., had frequent and sharp disputes. but they never went further than a threatening shake of the fist and a final splutter, through fixed teeth, of You tory ! and You rebel !
Engraved by JC Buttre. NewY ils
John Tyler REV. JOHN TYLER WIRDATNED BY THE BISHOP OF LONDON, 1 8
Rector of CHRIST CHURCH Norwich, Conn,for 34 Years
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HISTORY OF NORWICH.
When the church was again opened, the prayers for the King and Par- liament were omitted, but the congregation 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 repaired, 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 remodeled. The former owners of the pews relinquished their rights, the seats were sold, and the money applied to parochial uses. The new purchasers were thirty in number.
The committee for removing and reconstructing the church were Major Ebenezer Whiting, Barzillai Davison, 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 England accommodated to the civil constitution of these Amer- ican States."
Ebenezer Whiting,
Wardens.
Ebenezer Huntington, S
Jabez Huntington, Society Clerk.
The designation of "Christ's Church in Chelsea" first appears on record in 1785.
With the exception of the political jealousy during the Revolutionary contest, the Episcopalians and Congregationalists of Norwich have never exhibited any acrimony against each other. On the contrary, social inter- course has been generally maintained, irrespective of denominational bounds, and the two sects have in many instances interchanged civilities, in a truly courteous and Christian spirit.
At a very early period we find that the Episcopal church employed the Congregational collector to collect Mr. Tyler's rates. Invitations have sometimes been cordially given to the Episcopalians to celebrate their festivals in the larger edifices of the Congregationalists, which have been cheerfully accepted ; and in two instances at least, when the latter have been by sudden disasters deprived for a season of a place of worship, the doors of Christ's Church have been freely opened to them. One instance from the records may be given. .
* In January, 1786, Mr. John Wood, from White Haven, England, was ordained in this church by Rt. Rev. Samuel Seabury-first as deacon, and two days later as priest. He was appointed to labor in Hampton, Va.
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HISTORY OF NORWICH.
" At a legal meeting of the Episcopal Parish of Christ's Church, in Norwich, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 1794, Thomas Mumford, Moderator,
" Voted, that this meeting, taking into consideration that the Presbyterian church in this place, of which the Rev. Walter King is Pastor, are destitute of a convenient place in which to attend public worship, their meeting-house having been lately de- stroyed by fire, do consent to accommodate said Presbyterian society until Easter Monday, 1795, as follows : the Revd John Tyler, our present pastor, to perform divine service one half the day on each Sabbath, and the Rev. Walter King, pastor of said Presbyterian congregation, to perform divine service the other half of said Sabbath, alternately performing on the first part of the day."
For this kind and considerate courtesy, the obliged party passed a vote of acknowledgment and thanks, which was inserted upon the records of both societies. The offer was accepted, and this amicable arrangement lasted for three months.
Mr. Tyler died Jan. 20, 1823, in the 81st year of his age, after a pas- torate of 54 years. He was an interesting preacher ; his voice sweet and solemn, and his eloquence persuasive. The benevolence 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 incumbent, 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 congrega- tion was small, and the sacred edifice itself in a decaying state. During his rectorship a new church was built and the influence of the society largely increased.
In his farewell sermon, Mr. Paddock says :
" Within the twenty-two and a half years of my ministry there have been connected with the parish 380 families. Of these I found in it less than 40. More than 150 now remain, and about 190 have become extinct or removed to other parts."
Mr. Paddock resigned the pastorate in 1844, and took charge of an academy in Cheshire, Ct., 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 Sep- tember, 1844, to March, 1857. He then accepted a call to St. Thomas' Church, New York.
The parish at that time reported 206 families; 210 communicants.
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HISTORY OF NORWICH.
Rev. J. Treadwell Walden; in office six years. He resigned in March, 1863, in order to take charge of St. Clement's Church, Philadelphia.
Rev. David F. Banks, the present pastor.
Two churches, both costly and imposing edifices, were erected by this society within the compass of twenty years-from 1828 to 1848. The first was during the rectorship of Mr. Paddock. It stands on a lot extend- ing from Main to Church street, a few rods west of the former church .* The whole cost, including organ and furniture, was about $13,000. It was consecrated by the diocesan Bishop, Rev. Thomas C. Brownell, July 29, 1829. This has since changed its designation, and is now Trinity Church.
In 1846, during the rectorship of Mr. Morgan, the society decided to resume for church service, the old Bushnell site on Washington street, from which the church was removed sixty years previous, and which had since been used as a cemetery. On this spot, over the ashes of the dead, another church edifice, of an antique style of architecture, was erected at a cost of nearly $50,000. A tower separate from the church formed a part of the original plan, but this has never been built.
The corner-stone was laid by Bishop Lee, of Delaware, Ang. 31, 1846, and the church consecrated in 1848.
When the society removed to this new edifice, they carried their desig- nation, Christ Church, with them, and the house they left was for a short time closed. It was soon, however, re-opened as a chapel, or dependent upon Christ Church, but this arrangement was of short duration. In 1850, a new and independent parish was organized, the edifice purchased, and a second Episcopal church inaugurated, with the title of Trinity Church.
Rectors : Rev. Edward O. Flagg, from May, 1849, to 1853.
Rev. Benjamin H. Paddock, (a native of the town, and son of a former rector of Christ Church,) from August, 1853, to 1860.
Rev. John V. Lewis, from 1860 to August, 1865, when he accepted a call to Washington, D. C.
Mr. Tyler is the only rector of the Episcopal Church in Norwich who has died while in office.
After the removal of the old church edifice from the Bushnell lot in 1790, the site being wholly appropriated to interments, soon became seeded with the dead. Here the fathers that had founded the church were laid in their last resting-places. Here were gathered the remains
* The old edifice was taken down and sold to an Episcopal association in Salem, Ct., to which place it was removed and reconstructed about 1830. Services were held in it for a few years by Episcopalians and Methodists, but the congregation declined, and it was subsequently purchased by the town. The spire, tower and pews were removed ; the building was appropriated to civil affairs, and is still extant as the town- house on Salem Green.
458
HISTORY OF NORWICH.
of Rev. John Tyler and his wife, Mrs. Hannah Tyler, and of Mrs. Han- nah Punderson, relict of the first minister. Here were buried Benajah Bushnell and wife; Thomas Grist at the age of 82; Phineas Holden, 76, and his wife Zerviah, 85; the second Capt. Richard Bushnell, 74; his relict Prudence, 76, and his maiden daughter Hannah, 87.
Others brought here at a later date, extinct under a burden of years, were Barzillai Davison, dying in 1828, aged 90; Solomon Hamilton, 1798, aged 87; Sarah, relict of Samuel Brown, 1795, in her 95th year ; Lemuel Warren, " Clerk of Christ Church," 1812, aged 79, and near him his wife and three maiden daughters.
As persons of some note resting in this cemetery, we may notice the two Malbones, Capt. Evan and Capt. Solomon, merchants who removed to Norwich from Newport during the Revolutionary war ; the former died in 1781, aged 73, and the latter in 1787, aged 76. The relict of Evan Malbone, and his only daughter, with her husband, Capt. Samuel Johnson, repose with them.
The earliest date found is 1757, which appears on the stones commem- orative of Capt. John Culver, aged 60, and Thomas Griste, 25.
Other names inscribed here, of persons respectable as citizens and heads of families, were these :
Albertus Sirant Destouches, a native of Bordeaux, died Dec. 17, 1796, aged 59.
Bentley Faulkner, died in 1776, aged 42.
Capt. Allen Ingraham, died in 1785, aged 42.
Capt. William Wattles, died in 1787, aged 48.
Capt. Solomon Whipple, died in 1787, aged 48.
Matthew Leffingwell, died in 1797, aged 59.
Robert Lancaster, died in 1770, aged 76.
Capt. William Davison, died in 1803, aged 40.
Doctor Nathan Tisdale, died in 1830, aged 58.
When the new church was built on the old site, the stones but not the relics of the dead were removed ; the edifice was erected over the sacred repository. The graves of the Rev. Mr. Tyler and his wife were just under the altar. The monumental stone of the former has this inscrip- tion :
Here lie interred The earthily remains of The Rev. John Tyler, For 54 years Rector of Christ's Church in this City. Having faithfully fulfilled his ministry, He was ready to be dissolved and to be with Christ. His soul took its flight from this Vale of Misery Jan'y 20, 1823, in the 81st year of his age.
459
HISTORY OF NORWICH.
Col. Samuel Tyler, in business at the Landing for more than sixty years, as a druggist, was the only son of Rector Tyler that lived to ma- turity. He died Sept. 20, 1854.
CHURCHES RECAPITULATED.
1st. Built in 1749, on the Bushnell lot, at the base of Waweekus Hill, (now Washington street.)
2d. Reconstructed on the Holden lot, "opposite the house of Capt. Ste- phen Colver," Main street. The frame and other materials of the former church were removed and used in the building, which was therefore both new and old. It was relinquished in 1829, taken down and removed. The Main street Congregational church was built on the site in 1844, but destroyed by fire in 1854. A free church has since been erected by the Methodists on the same ground, making three successive churches, of three different denominations, on the spot.
3d. Built of stone, in 1828, on a lot extending from Main to Church street ; relinquished to Trinity Church in 1850.
4th. Built of stone, in 1847, on the old Bushnell site, where the first church stood.
Half-century ministers, settled fifty years or more over one congrega- tion within the original bounds of Norwich :
James Fitch, 56 years. Benjamin Lord, D. D., 67
Joseph Strong, D. D., 56
Andrew Lee, D. D., 64
Congregational
Levi Nelson, 51
Jabez Wight, 56
John Tyler, 54 Episcopalian,
CHAPTER XXXVI.
SIXTH, OR CHELSEA SOCIETY ; NOW THE SECOND.
THE Sixth Society was organized Nov. 29, 1751 : Capt. Jabez Dean, moderator of the meeting.
Daniel Kingsbury was chosen Society Clerk.
Capt. Dean, Eleazar Waterman, and Nathaniel Backus, Society and School Committee.
Prosper Wetmore chosen Collector, but excused, and Ebenezer Fitch substituted.
Capt. Dean was commissioned to procure a minister, and directed to apply first to Mr. Elijah Lathrop of Windham. A regular service was not, however, commenced until April, 1752, when Mr. John Curtice was the officiating elergyman. He remained with the society to the close of the year, boarding at Mr. John Elderkin's tavern, and receiving for pay what was collected by voluntary contributions. The service was held in private houses, and the people were called together by the tap of the drum.
Early in 1755, Mr. Ebenezer Cleveland was engaged to preach for a year, and paid by monthly contributions. The same year a funeral pall, bier and burying-ground were purchased. The latter was a well-wooded lot, comprising an acre and a half, and the wood cut from it paid the whole expense. The purchase was made of Jonathan Bushnell, May 24, 1755. It has since been enlarged, and is still used as the society burial-ground. Thoughi now girdled with the habitations of the living, it is a place of unusual interest, beautified with many appropriate monuments, hallowed by the remains of the good, the beautiful, and the beloved, and from the elevation of its site, overlooking in calm repose the turmoil of the city.
In March, 1756, it was proposed to engage Mr. John Fuller to preach the gospel, "if he may be had ;" but there is no evidence that Mr. Fuller or any other minister was obtained, or that for three or four years after- wards they had any regular Sabbath service.
June 30, 1759. " At a society meeting it was voted to give Rev. Nathaniel Whita- ker a call to settle in the work of the gospel ministry, provided he shall be regularly dismissed from his present charge, and provided he and those who shall form them- selves into a church shall agree in matters of faith and practice."
461
HISTORY OF NORWICH.
Mr. Whitaker decided to accept this call. The salary was fixed at £100 per annum, with the pledge of a settlement of £100, when the gen- eral list of the society (exclusive of the lists of churchmen and those excused by law from paying ministerial rates) should amount to £6,000. These votes were ratified and confirmed on the last day of the year. Mr. Whitaker arrived with his family and goods, by water, April 12, 1760. A room for preaching had been prepared in the tavern kept by Samuel Trapp, (afterwards the well-known residence of Capt. Benjamin Coit,) and a bell to take the place of the Sabbath drum was suspended in the rear of the house, from a scaffolding erected upon a rock .*
In organizing the church, some difficulties occurred. As a natural con- sequence of his antecedent connections, Mr. Whitaker was attached to the Presbyterian polity, and urged its adoption as the platform of the church. The articles drawn up by him were thoroughly Presbyterian, agreeing with those of the Church of Scotland, though several of the society vig- orously contended for the Congregational form.
The church record, which begins with that day, says :
After many endeavours the church was gathered and formed by signing a Covenant and articles of faith under the direction of the Rev. Messrs. Jabez Wight and Benjamin Throop on the 24th day of July, 1760. These signed :
Nathaniel Whitaker, Nathaniel Backus, John Porter,
Isaiah Tiffany,
Nathaniel Shipman, Seth Alden.t
Messrs. Backus and Shipman recorded their dissent from some of the articles, and it was mutually agreed to leave the whole matter to the decision of the installing council. This council, composed of ministers and delegates from eight neighboring churches, met the day previous to the installation and recommended that the Presbyterian plan should be laid aside, and no human form adopted at present, but that they should take the word of God for their rule and directory, in discipline and man- ners, as well as faith, and not use any platforms of human composition for their assistance in understanding the word, until God should give them light in a more explicit manner. To this decision the church assented.
Mr. Whitaker was installed Feb. 25, 1761. Dr. Lord of the First Society preached the sermon. Mr. Wheelock of Lebanon, Mr. Throop
* Items of the Society expenditure :
Jan. 1671. To pay the freight of Mr. Whitaker's family and goods from ye Jersies to this place in April last, £12.
To Capt. Trap for ye use of his house 9 months to hold public worship in, £4 : 10, and 20s. for hanging and ringing the bell.
Capt. Trapp was afterwards paid for his house £6 per year.
t Tiffany was from the Lebanon church; Porter from the church in Mansfield ; Backus and Shipman from the first and Alden from the fourth church in Norwich.
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HISTORY OF NORWICH.
of the Fourth or New Concord society, and Mr. Hezekiah Lord of Pres- ton, took part in the services. At this time six other persons, previously members of neighboring churches, united with the church, signing the articles in presence of the installing council.
Jonathan Huntington, William Capron, Caleb Whitney,
Jabez Dean,
Eleazar Waterman, Ebenezer Fitch.
No church at this period had been built, and the installation services were held under the wide canopy of heaven. From a notice in the printed sermon of Dr. Lord, we learn that some passages were omitted in the delivery, out of compassion to the audience thus exposed to the wintry air "in the open field." It would be interesting to know the precise gath- ering-place.
The reverend teacher mildly alludes to the controversy that had so long agitated the people, by expressing a wish that "Christ's little flock, his people in this place," would henceforth "agree to keep together in one Fold, without any more discord, or divided interests."
The first appointment of church officers on record, is Dec. 30, 1763, when four elders were chosen to office, viz., Messrs. Jabez Dean, Nathan- . iel Shipman, Isaiah Tiffany, and Jonathan Huntington.
The subject of erecting a house of worship was discussed at a society meeting held at the house of William Davison in June, 1757, but no decision was made till Jan. 4, 1760, when two-thirds of all persons quali- fied to vote in the society were present, and the resolution passed to build a meeting-house.
A lot eligibly situated was found, the county court gave their warranty to set up a stake on the spot, a building committee was appointed, and a plan of the house formed. It was to have sixty pews, which were to be sold at a price that would cover the whole expense of the building.
But at this stage of the proceeding it was found that the lot was too small for the purpose, and the committee gave notice that the adjoining proprietors, Samuel Bliss and Daniel Traey, would not sell an inch. The project therefore, which seemed so feasible, fell through. The court ordered the stake to be removed, and Chelsea was left three and a half years longer withont a regular house of worship.
It was not easy to find a convenient site. The streets and buildings were closely packed along the narrow border of the headland, and the high ridges that frowned over them were partly forested, and everywhere rugged and precipitous. The perpendicular aseents had not yet been taught to glide into gentle slopes ; people had not begun to build above, and land below was scarce and costly.
In 1763, a lot was purchased of Isaac Huntington at 70s. per square
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HISTORY OF NORWICH.
rod, and a meeting-house 37 feet by 41 erected on the spot. A memorial was presented to the General Assembly for assistance in the undertaking, and a sum of money (the income of the excise tax) was granted to the society from the public treasury. It appears that Capt. Trapp was paid for the use of his house to the 12th of July, 1764, and it is probable that after that time the meeting-house, though then but a shell, was used for the Sabbath service. The bell was removed from its old position on the rock, and suspended from the limb of a large tree near the door. This church stood on a part of the area now occupied by Mansfield's block of brick buildings. It was completed in 1766, and thirty-three pews marked out, besides one at the right of the pulpit for the minister. The basement was let out for mercantile purposes. The first year, seventeen spaces for pews were sold, each pew being expected to accommodate two families, which could easily be done, as most of the young people, above the age of children, were accustomed to sit in the galleries.
It may be interesting at the present day to read a list of the pew-hold- ers, particularly to see who were associated in the same pew.
No. 1. The Minister and his family.
2. Seth Harding and William Rockwell.
3. Sybile Crocker and Jonathan Lester.
7. Thomas Trapp, Jr., and Stephen Barker.
9. Jabez Dean and Elijah Lothrop.
10. John Tracy and Peter Lanman.
11. Joseph Trumbull and Jabez Perkins.
12. Ephraim Bill and Hugh Ledlie.
13. Ebenezer Fillmore, Jr., and Timothy Herrick.
14. William Coit and Simeon Carew.
18. Nathaniel Backus and Nathaniel Backus, Jr.
19. Abel Brewster and John Martin.
21. David Lamb and Moses Pierce.
23. Benajah Leffingwell and Ezra Backus.
25. Benjamin Huntington and Nathaniel Shipman.
26. Joseph Smith and Isaac Park.
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