USA > Connecticut > New London County > Norwich > History of Norwich, Connecticut: from its possession by the Indians, to the year 1866 > Part 46
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27. Stephen Roath and Stephen Roath, Jr.
The omitted numbers were allotted to the space which remained unsold, until Mr. Judson's ordination.
In the meantime, before the completion of the meeting-house, a portion of Mr. Whitaker's church became dissatisfied with his ministry. They accused him of stepping aside from his duty as a clergyman, to engage in trade, and in this line, of having attempted to monopolize the vending of wine, raisins, &c., in the society. A council was called, before which these charges were laid, but no decision obtained. While the matter was still agitated, the Connecticut Board of Correspondence for Indian Affairs nominated Mr. Whitaker to accompany Occom, the Mohegan preacher, on
*
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HISTORY OF NORWICH.
a mission to Europe, to solicit benefactions for the endowment of "Moor's Indian Charity School" at Lebanon, which was under the charge of the Rev. Mr. Wheelock.
When this project was laid before the society, they refused their con- sent to Mr. Whitaker's acceptance of the office. Another meeting was called, and the vote reconsidered, but with the same result. It is evident that while a few members were bent on compelling him to relinquish the pastorate,* the majority were sincerely attached to his ministrations, and unwilling to part with him. Two advisory councils were called, and it was at length proposed that Mr. Whitaker should be allowed to accept the agency without dissolving his relation to the church, but that he should relinquish his salary during his absence ; his people to have the privilege of settling another minister before his return, if they chose ; and if such an event took place, he was to be considered as dismissed. If he should return before the settlement of another minister, a council was to be con- vened to decide whether he should continue with them or be dismissed. This conciliatory proposition, which emanated from Dr. Lord of the First Society, was accepted.
Jan. 9, 1766. The parties present at publishing this advice manifested their accept- ance thereof, and further signified it by signing, as follows :
Nathaniel Whitaker, Thomas Trapp, Jr. Nathaniel Shipman,
Joshua Prior,
Abiel Cheney, Gershom Breed,
Gurdon Huntington,
Lemuel Warren, Benjamin Dennis,
Benajah Leffingwell,
Prosper Wetmore,
Nathaniel Backns, Jr.
Joseph Smith, George Dennis,
Jonathan Huntington,
Nathaniel Backus,
William Coit,
Caleb Whitney,
Eleazar Waterman,
Ebenezer Fitch,
Peter Lanman.
Jabez Dean,
Joseph Trumbull,
Mr. Whitaker was a man of fine talents and prepossessing appearance. He had manifested great interest in the prosperity of Mr. Wheelock's Indian school at Lebanon, and in the welfare of the Mohegan Indians, his neighbors. On these accounts he had been selected as a proper person to accompany Mr. Occom on his mission.
They carried with them a printed book containing recommendations, and an exposition of the state of Indian Missions in North America. Mr. Whitaker's recommendation from his church is as follows :
The Church of Christ at Chelsey, in Norwich, in Conn : in New England, to all the Churches of Christ, and whomsoever it may concern, send greeting :
Whereas it has pleased God in his Providence, to call our Reverend and worthy Pastor, Mr. Nathaniel Whitaker, from us for a season, to go to Europe, to solicit char- itics for the Indian Charity School, under the care of the Rev. Mr. Ebenezer Wheelock,
* The six aggrieved members were Nathaniel Backus, Sen. and Jun., Ephraim Bill, Prosper Wetmore, Peter Lanman, and William Coit.
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HISTORY OF NORWICH.
of Lebanon, and to promote Christian knowledge among the Indians on this conti- nent :
We do unanimously recommend him, the said Mr. Whitaker and his services, to all the churches and people of God, of whatever denomination, and wheresoever he may come, as a faithful minister of Jesus Christ, whose praise is in the gospel through the churches ; earnestly requesting brotherly kindness and charity may be extended towards him as occasion may require ; and that the grand and important cause in which he is engaged, may be forwarded and promoted by all the lovers of truth.
Wishing grace, mercy and truth may be multiplied to you and the whole Israel of God, and desiring an interest in your prayers, we subscribe
Yours in the faith and fellowship of the gospel,
By order and in behalf } said Church.
JONATHAN HUNTINGTON.
ISAIAH TIFFANY.
NORWICH, Oct. 21, 1766.
The delegates were eminently successful in their mission, both in Eng- land and Scotland, and collected funds amounting nearly to ten thousand pounds sterling .*
Some disagreement arose between Mr. Whitaker and his Indian asso- ciate before they left England, and the latter in his confidential correspond- ence threw out hints that were calculated to excite suspicions of Mr. Whitaker's integrity. This distrust was, undoubtedly, without cause, orig- inating probably in misapprehension, or disagreement of opinion. The most inflexible of Mr. Whitaker's opponents at Chelsea never questioned his integrity, and the majority of his congregation adhered to him with strong and unwavering trust.
During Mr. Whitaker's absence, his pulpit appears to have been most of the time vacant. Mr. Wales was at one time paid £9 for preaching, and Mr. Thatcher £18. No other supplies are recorded. The mission to Europe occupied about a year and a half. Mr. Whitaker's salary was
* A Bible presented to Occom, while in England, according to tradition, by the king, is in the possession of Mrs. G. B. Ripley of Norwich.
The following letter, written by Occom from London to his daughters at home, is & curious example of Mohegan ingenuity :
My dear Mary and Esther-
Perhaps you may query whether I am well : I came from home well, was by the way well, got over well, am received at London well, and am treated extremely well,- yea, I am caress'd too well. And do you pray that I may be well ; and that I may do well, and in Time return Home well. And I hope you are well, and wish you well, and as I think you begun well, so keep on well, that you may end well, and then all will be well.
And so Farewell.
Jambon Occom.
30
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HISTORY OF NORWICH.
re-commenced June 2, 1768, which was doubtless the day of his return to Norwich and resumption of his pastoral duties. A society meeting was held to determine if they would call a council of dismission, as agreed upon before his departure, and the majority decided in the negative. Very soon, however, the old grievances recurred, and at a society meet- ing Jan 3, 1769, it was put to vote-
" Whether ye society will agree with Rev. Nath'l Whitaker D. D. and ye aggrieved members of the Society, in calling ye Council agreed upon Nov. 6, 1765, to convene at this place on ye 24th inst.
"Resolved in ye affirmative."
Before this council the church laid the charges brought by Mr. Whita- ker against the six aggrieved members, and the council, after considering all the matters of complaint and difficulty, advised dismission. This result Mr. Whitaker laid before the church and society respectively, and after enumerating the embarrassments that threatened his future usefulness, requested to be released from his pastoral office. Both assemblies were reluctant, and voted against his dismission,-the church unanimously, and the society 28 against 9. It was agreed, however, at Mr. Whitaker's request, that another council should be called, with the express under- standing that all parties would yield to its decision. This council also advised dismission, and accordingly the same day Mr. Whitaker was dis- missed, the church recording their unwilling consent in these terms :
March 24, 1769. " Voted that the Chh. have always been and still are averse to a dismission of Rev. Dr. Whitaker, as they do not see any sufficient reason for it, and earnestly desire his continuance and by no means desire to be understood to have the least hand in his removal, yet they consent to the same and will submit to the result of Council."
Mr. Whitaker was no common-place character. He had great quick- ness and force of mind. The ardor of his temperament and his ceaseless activity may sometimes have drawn him aside from his ministerial func- tions, or led him to take a position slightly antagonistic and controversial, but he had noble traits of character. His name is honorably connected with the foundation of Dartmouth College, and the degree of D. D. con- ferred upon him by the college in New Jersey shows that his ability and enterprise were appreciated by his cotemporaries.
He was subsequently installed at Salem, Mass., and at Norridgewock, Me .; being dismissed from the latter place in 1790, he went to Virginia, and there died .*
* Mr. Whitaker brought with him to Norwich his wife, Sarah, and two young child- ren, James and Elizabeth. He had two daughters born in the place : Sarah, March 21, 1761, and Mary, March 27, 1764.
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HISTORY OF NORWICH.
Mr. Whitaker's publications amount to some eight or ten pamphlets, consisting of occasional sermons and tracts on passing events of a theo- logical type. Perhaps the earliest of these publications is
" THE TRIAL OF THE SPIRITS :
A Sermon on 1 John iv. I. Preached at Newent, in Norwich, March 17, 1762; and published at the Desire of those who heard it." (Printed in Providence : By William Goddard.)
This was directed against the New Lights, whose principles were then spreading in the churches, and particularly designed to counteract the teachings of those who "set up the Light within, and their own Spirits and Notions as the standard to which the Scripture must be brought."
A void of two and a half years succeeded in the pastorate at Chelsea. Mr. Punderson Austin occupied the pulpit for nine months, but declined a settlement. Mr. Joseph Howe was spoken of as a desirable candidate, but his services were not procured.
In May, 1771, Mr. Ephraim Judson of Woodbury, Conn., came among the people by invitation, and gave such general satisfaction that after a short experience of his ministry, he was called to the pastoral office by a vote entirely unanimous, and ordained Oct. 3d of that year. At this time the meeting-house was freshened and improved. The bell was removed, and erected upon the hill near the house of Mr. Lemuel Boswell. Ten new pews were built, and assigned as follows :
No. 4. Hannah Wight and Joseph Kelley.
5. Jacob De Witt and John M'Larran Breed.
6. John and Peter Waterman.
8. Benjamin and George Dennis.
15. Caleb Whitney and Joshua Norman.
16. Daniel Kelley and William Capron.
17. Prosper Wetmore and Ebenezer Fitch.
20. David and Samuel Roath.
22. William Reed and Zephaniah Jennings.
24. Joseph Wight and Lemuel Boswell.
The society voted to purchase the house and lot of Ezekiel Story at £120 for a settlement for Mr. Judson. This house was on the hill near the burial-ground. Mr. Judson began to occupy it in 1773. It was secured to him as his personal property, in case he should remain five years with the society.
Mr. Judson was a man of pleasing aspect and dignified demeanor, tall and stately. He seldom used notes, and though he reasoned well, and often threw out striking remarks, his sermons were usually in the style of common conversation, elucidated with comments that sometimes fell below the level of an intelligent audience and the dignity of the pulpit. For
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HISTORY OF NORWICH.
instance, in a sermon upon the Brazen Serpent, he repeatedly called it the Brass Snake. His expressions were sometimes very quaint and whim- sical. Preaching at one time on the excuses made by the guests who were invited to the wedding feast, he observed that one had bought five yoke of oxen, and civilly entreated to be excused : but the one who had married a wife replied absolutely, he could not come. Hence learn, said the preacher, that one woman can pull harder than five yoke of oxen. Mr. Judson once preached in the first society, a sermon particularly addressed to young women, which, contrary to his usual custom, was written out and elaborately finished in the style of Hervey's Meditations. To make it more impressive, he introduced a fictitious character of the name of Clar- inda, expatiated upon her wit and beauty, and the number of her admir- ers, followed her to the ball-room, and other scenes of gaiety, and then laid her upon a death-bed with all the pathos of a romance .*
But these reminiscences apply to Mr. Judson only as a young man, during the first years of a long ministry. Preachers are generally recalled to mind by those salient points of character and habit that strike the pop- ular observation. Mr. Judson is therefore transmitted to us in the cos- tume of his eccentricities. He was nevertheless esteemed in his day for higher qualities,-faithful performance of ministerial duty, and sincere patriotism. His delivery, usually slow and monotonous, on subjects con- nected with the liberties of the nation, would rise almost to enthusiasm. He took an early and active part in the Revolutionary struggle, and when offered a chaplaincy in the army, accepted the appointment with alacrity. This event and the consequent action of the society are thus registered :
Aug. 14, 1776. Rev. Ephraim Judson having been appointed Chaplain in Col. Ward's regiment in the Continental service, generously proposes to relinquish his sal- ary during his absence, and asks leave to go.
Permission granted.
But his health was not equal to the arduous duties that devolved upon him. He was absent several months, and then returned an invalid; and though he continued two years longer with his people, he seems never to have recovered his former health. Some of his habits that have been attributed to indolence, may have been forced upon him by physical infirmity. He would occasionally deliver his sermons in a sitting posture. He adopted also the Scotch custom of a recess in the middle of the ser- mon, to be occupied by the choir in singing, and it is said that in warm weather he would give out a psalm of eight or ten stanzas, long meter, and withdraw to a high rock just in the rear of the church, to enjoy the refreshing river-breeze during its performance.
* For these and cother occasional illustratious of former persons and scenes, the author is indebted to the tenacious memory and conversational amenity of Rev. Dr. Strong of the First Society.
1
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HISTORY OF NORWICH.
In October, 1778, he asked a dismission from office, grounding his motion on these points :
" Want of competent support, usefulness obstructed by infirm health, inability to study, negligence of the people in attending public worship,-some other minister may be more beneficial."
The church and society appointed committees to converse with him and endeavor to smooth over these difficulties. But he remained firm to his purpose, and they at length concurred with him in referring the matter to a council of the neighboring ministers. This council met Dec. 15, and after considering Mr. Judson's pleas, decided unanimously-
" That there is an unavoidable necessity of Mr. Judson's removal, and [we] do accordingly dismiss him :- especially on account of his weak state of health, which will not admit of a sedentary life or close application to study; together with an un- happy appearance of indifference to his administration. Yet we cannot but express our great satisfaction in finding the measure of mutual love and respect that subsists between Mr. Judson and his people. We are satisfied with Mr. Judson's ministerial character, hope for his better health and future usefulness in the ministry. And may it please God to raise up for this people another able and faithful minister."
" We also find that the degree of exertion for Mr. Judson's support has been very considerable, considering the present public exigencies."
Mr. Judson afterward preached for a short time at Canterbury, Conn., and was successively installed at Taunton and at Sheffield, Mass. He died at the latter place, Feb. 23, 1813, in his 76th year .*
In 1781 a new bell was purchased, and a belfry built for its reception at the east end of the meeting-house.
A vacancy in the pastorate, of eight years, followed the dismission of Mr. Judson, during which time the Sabbath service was but partially sus- tained. All public enterprises felt the paralyzing influence of the war, and stood in abeyance, waiting for better times.
Among the temporary supplies of this period were Mr. Zebulon Ely and Mr. David Austin, both graduates of Yale, of the class of 1779, and then making their first experiments iu the pulpit. Mr. Ely was afterward for forty years pastor of the Lebanon church, and Mr. Austin, after many vicissitudes of life and changes of opinion, became in 1815 pastor of the church in Bozrah. Various other names are found, of persons who sup- plied the pulpit during this long vacancy.t
* Rev. Adoniram Judson, D. D., the celebrated missionary to the Burman Empire, was a nephew of Mr. Ephraim Judson.
t Dec. 1782. Voted to pay the bill of Joseph Williams for boarding Messrs. Hide, Ellis, Chase, and other preachers : also the bill of Mr. John M. Breed for boarding Mr. Mills while preaching.
Sept. 7, 1786. Voted to pay the Committee for boarding the ministers since De- cember last. Minister's pay, 38s. per Sabbath.
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HISTORY OF NORWICH.
No single person was probably so serviceable in continuing the minis- trations at this period, as Mr. Nathaniel Niles, who was then a resident of Norwich,-a licensed preacher, but engaged likewise in other pursuits, and not desirous of a settlement. He had married the daughter of Elijah Lathrop, and remained in the town ten or twelve years, taking an active part in the patriotic movements of the day, and in all objects of public interest, and serving as representative to the General Assembly for the spring sessions of 1779, '80, and '81. He was moreover connected with his father-in-law in various manufacturing interests that were beneficial to the country. They had establishments for making chocolate, iron-wire, and cards. Mr. Niles was himself the inventor of a process for making iron-wire out of bar-iron, the machinery for which was here first put into operation.
Notwithstanding his numerous engagements, he was commonly prepared on the Sunday with a well-studied though generally unwritten discourse, and willing to occupy any vacant pulpit, or to preach without a pulpit, in any school-house, hall, or private room, where his services were required. In Chelsea he officiated often during Mr. Judson's absence, and after his dismission, and for several years was the main reliance upon which the society fell back when other applications failed. He had the reputation of a metaphysical preacher, fond of doctrinal points, and shrewd in draw- ing lines of difference. The natural bias of his mind seems to have led in that direction .* He was fearless, however, in denouncing popular sins,, and earnest in calling upon all to repent.
Two discourses delivered in this society, July 12, 1778, and afterwards written out and published at the request of the hearers, are doubtless fair specimens of the general tone of his preaching.t They are clear and forcible in statement, and fervid in appeal.
In versatility of talent, Mr. Niles was one of the most remarkable men of his time. He had studied medicine, given some attention to law, and had taught a grammar school in New York, where Lindley Murray, after- ward an author of grammars, was his pupil. In theology he had been a student with Dr. Bellamy. His literary talents were above the common order, but in this line he is chiefly distinguished for a sapphic ode, called The American Hero. This poem first appeared in print in the Connecti- cut Gazette, Feb. 2, 1776, but dated Norwich, 1775. It had been circu-
# It is related that when at College both lie and his brother Samnel were so con- spicnous for keenness and subtlety in argument, as to be familiarly distinguished by the titles of Botheration Primus and Botheration Secundus. Sprague's Am. Pulpit.
t Printed by John Trumbull, 1779. The texts were Luke 8: 18, and 6: 46. This publication, and a sermon of Mr. Niles' entitled The Remembrance of Christ, deliv- ered at Medway, Oct. 31, 1773, and printed in Boston, are omitted in Dr. Sprague's list of the publications of Mr. Niles, in his American Pulpit.
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lated and sung in private and patriotic meetings, before it was printed, the music being composed by one of the author's friends .*
After the conclusion of the war, and the death of his first wife, Mr. Niles removed into a wild part of Vermont, which he lived to see trans- formed into farms and villages, glowing with fertility and comfort. His ministerial vocation was carried with him through life, though he was never settled as a pastor, or even ordained, and refused, according to report, seventeen calls. In the town where he settled, he was the first white inhabitant and the first preacher ; holding meetings in his house for twelve years before a church could be built. He was also much employed in civil affairs ; was for many years a Judge of the Supreme Court, and Member of Congress from 1791 to 1795. Not by the title of Reverend, but as Judge Niles, he was commonly known. He died at West Fairlee, Vt., Oct. 31, 1828, aged 88.
The society had now been eight years without a pastor, when Mr. Walter King, of Wilbraham, Mass., came among them to preach as a candidate. His efficient ministrations aroused the church to a sense of their declension, and revived the dying interests of religion. The record says :
" The Church by reason of many distressing trials being scattered and reduced ex- ceeding low, determine to renew their covenant and reorganize."
Jonathan Huntington, Ebenezer Fitch, and twelve sisters, were all that remained of the former members. To these were added Mr. King from the church in New Haven, and seven others by profession of faith, form- ing a church of twenty-two members, of whom seven were men, viz .:
Jonathan Huntington, Ebenezer Fitch,
Elijah Lathrop, Grover L'Hommedieu,
Walter King, Peter Lanman,
Jonathan Frisby.
The vote of the society calling Mr. King to the pastorate, stood thirty- five against one. He was ordained May 24, 1787. Sermon by Rev. Charles Backus. Salary £125 per annum, with 40s. added yearly till it amount to £135 per annum, and at that point to remain fixed.
On the division of the town in 1786, only two Congregational societies were left in Norwich proper, which made an alteration of title necessary. Mr. King was therefore ordained over the Second Church instead of the Sixth.
No office seems to have been more irksome than that of collecting the
* This is supposed to have been Col. Absalom Peters, of Lebanon, who was at that time a young man giving lessons to the choirs in Norwich as a singing-master.
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HISTORY OF NORWICH.
ministerial rates. In 1785, no less than nine persons were successively chosen to the office of collector, and each refused peremptorily to serve. An incumbent was at last procured by the offer of ten per cent. for col- lecting. In 1788, fifteen persons of the first distinction in the society agreed to take their chance by lot for the office, each engaging to serve if his name was drawn.
UNIVERSALISM.
In the year 1779, a public debate on the subject of Universalism was held in the Congregational Church at Chelsea, between Mr. Niles and Mr. John Murray, which excited considerable interest at the time.
The doctrine of universal salvation, connected with belief in the Trinity and a purification from sin by a limited degree of punishment in another state, ending in actual pardon and a final restoration to the favor of God, had at that period a considerable number of advocates in Norwich. It was introduced into the town in the year 1772, by Mr. John Murray, the Eng- lish Universalist, or "Great Promulgator," as he was sometimes styled. He was first invited to preach in Norwich by Mr. Samuel Post, who, having been accidentally present when he delivered an address at Guil- ford, was charmed with his persuasive oratory. He preached first in the academic building at the foot of Bean Hill, and Mr. Gamaliel Reynolds, the principal exhorter among the Separatists, who held their meetings in that house, became his convert. To accommodate the throngs that came to hear him, the committee of the First Congregational Society permitted their meeting-house to be opened for his use, which Mr. Murray says was never afterward shut against him .*
His first text in Norwich is said to have been the single word Shiloh- Genesis 49: 10. But the sermon that excited the most discussion was founded upon the parable of the merchantman seeking goodly pearls. The merchant, he said, represented Christ, and the whole race of mankind were the pearls, whom Christ by the surrender of his life had purchased, and would keep eternally safe.
After Mr. Murray's departure, the Rev. Dr. Lord, fearing, he said, that
* The committee of this Society appear to have been almost indiscriminately libera in the loan of their church to itinerant preachers. Witness the following newspaper item of Nov. 14, 1793:
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