USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > Wethersfield > History of Saint Mark's Church, New Britain, Conn., and of its predecessor Christ Church, Wethersfield and Berlin : from the first Church of England service in America to nineteen hundred and seven > Part 14
USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > Berlin > History of Saint Mark's Church, New Britain, Conn., and of its predecessor Christ Church, Wethersfield and Berlin : from the first Church of England service in America to nineteen hundred and seven > Part 14
USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > New Britain > History of Saint Mark's Church, New Britain, Conn., and of its predecessor Christ Church, Wethersfield and Berlin : from the first Church of England service in America to nineteen hundred and seven > Part 14
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57
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1
CHURCHYARD BELONGING TO CHRIST CHURCH.
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was in no sense a founder of Christ Church. His name is not in · the subscriptions for building the church and does not otherwise appear of record until Dec. 7, 1797. Whatever help the society had from the defeated Congregationalists of Newington, it is absolutely certain that there was, and had been for more than 25 years, a growing Episcopal element which was ripe for the harvest in 1797, and that the organization originated with, and was mainly supported by those who were Episcopalians then and had been for a long time. If we should assume that the records are in error and that the person recorded as John Good- rich was in fact John Goodrich 3rd, then we would have one Newington man who was a prominent leader and financial supporter of Christ Church. But even then he was still with the minority, he was not one of the seven founders, and no matter how vexed he may have been about the Newington meeting house, that fact could have no bearing on the evidence before given of prior Episcopal sentiment. His brother David had long been an Episcopalian and we cannot say that John was not so inclined before the summer of 1797.
We have no records of marriages, baptisms, deaths, confirma- tions or of the communicants. The one book of Society meet- ings is all the record that the Society has left us, and this is manifestly incomplete. We print elsewhere the entire record from this book.
Only four certificates of withdrawal appear in this book, two in favor of the Presbyterians, one in favor of the Baptists, and one whose choice, if he had any, is not stated. It is singu- lar that Samuel S. Goodrich, who thus withdrew from the Society in 1809 in favor of the Baptists of Hartford, should in 1826 again be one of the most prominent members of the Society.
In addition to the early Episcopalians before named as found in the Kensington Church and Society records, (Congrega- tional,) we find 44 certificates of withdrawal under the law of 1791, 31 of which certificates are in favor of the Baptists, II in favor of the Episcopalians and 2 of the Methodists. After the adoption of the new constitution 1818, the law did not require a declaration in favor of other denominations, and only two certificates after that date state the preference of the with- drawer, one Episcopal and one Methodist.
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David Wright withdrew Sept. 24, 1801, "to join the Epis- copal Society in the Town of Wethersfield and in the Society of Worthington."
Liva Peck, certified Oct. 15, 1801, "that I am A Episcopalian."
Moses Peck and Jason Peck, certified Oct. 1I, 1802, that they were Episcopalians and had joined that order in Cheshire.
Henry Pratt, certified Sept. 10, 1804, that I "for consci- ence sake do embrace the Episcopalian principles and have joined myself to that society in Cheshire."
Silas B. Lawrence certified April 22, 1805, to his wish "to join the Episcopal Church."
Timothy Percival, certified, Jan. 8, 1808, that he had joined " the Episcopal Society in Newington."
Solomon Squire, certified, Oct. 10, 1811, that he had joined "the Episcopal Society in Wethersfield."
Joseph Yale, certified, Aug. 8, 1814, that he belonged "to the Episcopal church in Meriden."
Joseph P. and Naaman Finch, certified, Aug. 1, 1815, that they belonged "to the Episcopal church in Southington."
Theodore Ellsworth, certified, Nov. 29, 1839, that he was " in favor of the Episcopal Order."
The people who withdrew in favor of Cheshire, Southington and Meriden, probably lived in the southwestern part of Ken- sington, much nearer to Southington and Meriden than to Christ Church, and perhaps nearer to Cheshire. Besides this, Ches- hire was the stronger Church with more regular service, which consideration may have led some to go there, even if the dis- tance was a little greater.
We know but little of the women of Christ Church. The record book does not contain the name of any female. We elsewhere give a brief notice of each person whose name appears of record and in such notice give the name of the wife if known. The clerical diary of the Rev. Roger Searle records the baptism of the mother of Mrs. Alfred Hadley. She was Jerusha, dau. of Thomas Deming, baptized Oct. 8, 1815, probably in the old church, confirmed in the East Main street chapel of St. Mark's Parish, Dec. 7, 1837, in the very first con- firmation class, on the day that the church was consecrated.
Lucy Gilbert, wife of Nathaniel Dickinson, one of the orig- inal members of St. Mark's, gave $5.00 in 1837 for building
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the East Main street chapel. Her husband was one of the most important members of Christ Church and her son Ralph was connected with both the old and the new churches. At least four of her grandchildren have been members of St. Mark's.
She was a most zealous Church woman. One of her grand- sons was married by a Congregational minister, and when the old lady first met the bride she said she could not congratulate her as she did not consider that they were married and advised the couple to go to New Britain and get married by Mr. Guion. She knew of the Bishop's order concerning the money received from the sale of the old church and for years referred to it as the promise that the fund was to help build a new church.
To the late Roger Welles, Esq., of Newington, belongs the credit of first bringing the history of this old Church to public notice. Years ago he copied from the old record book all the facts contained therein. Mr. Selden Deming told him that the avails of the sale of the old building were paid over to St. Mark's Church of New Britain. Under Newington, in Vol. II, p. 329, of the Hartford County Memorial History, 1886, this Church is noticed by Mr. Welles. He also gave a sketch of its history in the "Connecticut Farmer" of July 30, 1887, and in Dr. Stiles' History of Ancient Wethersfield, 1904, Vol. I, p. 804.
The history of Christ Church would not be complete without some mention of the State of Ohio. The Rev. Seth Hart, who preached once at Worthington in 1795 and again in 1796, and was later the first Rector of Christ Church, was the first Epis- copal minister to officiate in that portion of Ohio known as "New Connecticut." In the summer of 1797 he performed the regular burial, marriage and baptismal services at Cleveland, Ohio. Only one Episcopal minister had ever before performed services in any part of that state. The second minister of Christ Church, Rev. James Kilbourne, was the first resident minister in Ohio. One should read the notice of him given elsewhere in order to realize how much this minister of Christ Church did for that State. Joseph Sage and William Watson of Christ Church were among the original incorporators of Mr. Kilbourne's St. John's Church at Worthington, Ohio. John Goodrich 3rd, his son John Jr., and Clarissa, wife of John Jr., were also members of that Church. Three other adult sons of
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John Goodrich 3rd also settled in Ohio. Harlo P. Sage, son of Joseph, is said to have been a member of Christ Church. He married another member, Susan Mallory, before referred to as confirmed in 1813, and they settled at Huntington, Ohio, in 1824.
When the Rev. Philander Chase of Hartford, went to Ohio in 1817, he went almost immediately to these people from Christ Church and was settled over them at Worthington, Ohio, with their former minister, the Rev. James Kilbourne, as assistant. The Rev. Roger Searle, the fourth minister of Christ Church, was one of the first and most prominent of the missionaries in Ohio, as detailed in the sketch of his life. These two ministers, Messrs. Kilbourne and Searle, practically made the Diocese of Ohio and elected the Rev. Philander Chase as its first Bishop. The civil, educational, and religious conditions of Ohio were largely molded by these men. Mr. Kilbourne was president of the Worthington Academy and College for forty-three years, and it is a singular illustration of bread cast upon the waters and coming back after many days that the first resident Rector of the present St. Mark's Church, 1837-8, the Rev. Thomas J. Davis, received his preliminary education at Worthington, Ohio. He earnestly pleaded a reward after many days in asking mis- sionary aid for the then struggling parish of St. Mark's. The bread which Worthington, Conn. cast upon the waters, returned to their successors after many days, when Rev. Mr. Davis came to us from Ohio and from this child of the Old Church.
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MINISTERS OF CHRIST CHURCH
BRIEF MENTION
I. Rev. Seth Hart, Rector from April 23, 1798, to March 23, 1800.
Service, I year and II months.
2. Rev. James Kilbourne, Lay reader from about May, 1800 until ordained deacon Jan. 24, 1802; then Minister in charge to the spring of 1803, less the summer of 1802.
Service, about 2 years and 6 months.
3. Rev. Samuel Griswold, Lay reader during Mr. Kilbourne's absence in summer of 1802, and probably succeeded Mr. Kil- bourne in the spring of 1803. Ordained deacon, Nov. 27, 1803, then Minister in charge and was officiating as late as March 18, 1804.
Service, about 1 year and 6 months.
4. Rev. Roger Searle, Deacon. Minister in charge about 1805, until ordained priest, June 8, 1806, then Rector to Jan. I, 1809.
Service, about 4 years.
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
THE REV. SETH HART, M.D.
The first minister of the Protestant Episcopal Church to be settled in the territory now covered by St. Mark's Parish was the Rev. Seth Hart and he is the only one of our twenty ministers who was ordained by the venerable Bishop Seabury, the first American Bishop. He was the son of Matthew and Elizabeth (Hopkins,) Hart, born at Kensington, Conn., June 21, 1763, died at Hempstead, L. I., March 14, 1832, married · Oct. 7, 1788, Ruth, daughter of Benjamin and Hannah, (Burn- ham,) Hall, of Wallingford, Conn., born April 8, 1770, died Nov., 3, 1841.
Mr. Hart was graduated from Yale 1784, having given spec- ial attention to the classics, surveying, the mechanical arts and medicine, probably with the intention of becoming an M.D. Mrs. Hart's mother speaks of him as "Dr. Hart." His parents were Congregationalists, but he was brought in contact with the Episcopal Church through Miss Ruth Hall, who became his wife. The Rev. Ambrose Hull, who was made deacon in 1788, married a sister of Mrs. Hart, and it is believed that Mr. Hull was influential in leading Mr. Hart into the Church and causing him to discard the practice of medicine for the ministry. It is not known where Dr. Hart lived from 1784 to 1790, but in the latter year Mrs. Hart was living with her mother, in New York, and Mr. Hart was staying at Branford, Conn. with Mr. Hull, who was in charge of the Church there from the last of April, 1790, to the same date in 1791. Under date of Dec. I, 1790, Mr. Hart writes to his wife from Branford, saying "The cries of the Church vacant of pastors has overcome all worldly views, all human passions, and I have resolved to yield myself up to its service, for the cause of Christianity, and per- haps a little comfort to myself and family. In short, I have con- cluded to quit the world, the flesh and the devil, to attack the Gospel in bulk, overhaul it from one end to the other, eradicate all false doctrines, and support the true Episcopalian order of Priesthood, or, rather strengthen it by adding one to the number of clerical worthies." This announcement was only an enthusi-
REV. SETH HART, M.D.
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astic declaration of his determination to continue with increased energy, the study for the ministry which he was then pursuing. The names of the places where and the dates when he preached, are endorsed on his sermons. The first of these endorsements is Weston, Oct. 19, 1788. The next is Newtown, March I, 1789. A few other places and dates are Redding, March 15, 1789, Umpawaug, (in Redding,) June 21, 1788, Milford, West Haven, and North Guilford, all before the date of the letter to his wife already mentioned, thereby showing that he had then been a candidate for the priesthood for over two years. The Rev. Mr. Hull was settled at Redding, Conn., from Oct., 1788, until he went to Branford, in the spring of 1790, and Mr. Hart's intimate connection with Mr. Hull may be inferred from the fact that two of these early sermons were delivered at Redding, and two others near there. His sermons are written in a clear and bold hand with numerous abbreviations, some of which are as follows: "fm." for from, "gt." for great, "wd." for would, "wh." for which, "wn." for when, "wt." for with, "ya." for they, "ye." for the, "ym." for them, "ys." for this, and "yt." for that. A circle with a dot in the center was used for the word world-and the same with "ly" added was used for worldly. The Rev. Samuel Griswold also used a circle for the word world, but he placed a Greek cross inside the circle, instead of a dot. Some idea of the compactness of Mr. Hart's writing may be had from the fact that there are about two hun- dred and eighty words on a sheet of paper measuring six inches wide by seven and three-eighths inches high. The style of his sermons may be seen from his sermon at Worthington, Conn., 1795, as hereinbefore given.
In Mr. Hart's letter to his wife in 1790, he says of his pre- paration for the ministry "you may depend upon it I shall pursue it with ardor and attention, and I think it the most prob- able plan to render my life and yours happy. You know my dear I have ever been a little odd in regard to religious matters, but I fully believe I shall succeed reputably in the profession." In another letter about this time he says he will stay in Branford all winter and advises his wife to remain with her mother in New York. He was undoubtedly at this time preparing himself for holy orders. In the late summer or fall of 1791, the Church at
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Waterbury, says Bronson, invited the "Rev. Seth Hart, who had been reading prayers for several months to the acceptance of the people, to become the minister as soon 'as he shall be put into holy orders.' His salary for half the time, his residence being in the old society of Waterbury, was to be £40, lawful money, annually, to be increased twenty shillings a year for five years, and thereafter to be £45, he to have the use of the glebe."
In the "Memoirs of the Rev. Ammi Rogers, 1832," page 16, Mr. Rogers says-"Application was made to me to preach in the Churches in Waterbury, Woodbury and Salem, which I did to the unanimous approbation of the parishes. But Mr. Jarvis, by the consent of Bishop Seabury, soon sent Mr. Hart, then a candidate for the ministry, to take charge of these parishes. This excited uneasiness, and a division among them. I declined performing service there, the Church in Salem refused to employ Mr. Hart and unfriendly feelings were excited." This was sometime in the year 1791, but no historian has given us specifically the date of Mr. Hart's first service at Waterbury. The earliest date for Waterbury found on his ser- mons is April 24, 1791, and if this was his first service there, it corresponds with the intentions stated in his letter of Dec., 1790, to remain in Branford all winter. He continued to preach in Waterbury about half of the time until Aug. 31, 1794, when the last semi-monthly sermon of which we have any record was delivered. The history of St. Paul's Church, of Woodbury, by Rev. Solomon G. Hitchcock in the "Chronicle of the Church" for Aug. 29, 1840, says Mr. Hart officiated there one fourth of the time from Easter 1791, to Easter 1793. The first date on his sermons for Woodbury is May 22, 1791, and the last is Nov. 4, 1792.
On Sept. 30, 1790, the Convocation Voted "that the Secre- tary write letters to the Churches of Woodbury & Salem, recom- mending to them, an union with the Church at Waterbury for the purpose of settling a Minister." In accordance with this recommendation the Church at Salem, (Millville, in Nauga- tuck,) voted Nov. 29, 1790, to form such a union and the Church at Waterbury passed a similar vote. Dr. Bronson says in his history of Waterbury, p. 304, "But somehow Salem
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appears to have taken umbrage at some of the proceedings, and in order to make amends a committee of the Waterbury Church was instructed Aug. 29, 1791, to invite the Church of Salem to join them in the support of a clergyman" and also to assure them of no intentional ill treatment. From this it appears that if Salem refused to hire Mr. Hart as Mr. Rogers asserts, it was by reason of some supposed affront from Waterbury, and not because of their admiration for Mr. Rogers, nor their displea- sure with Mr. Hart. While Mr. Hart officiated at Waterbury and Woodbury in the spring of 1791, Woodbury did not vote to employ him, until June 20, 1791, and we have no evidence that he was invited to settle in Waterbury prior to Aug. 29, 1791. That Salem invited him to preach there about the same time may be inferred from the fact that he preached at Gunn- town, (Salem,) Sept. 18, 1791, and we have no evidence that he had preached there before that date. On Dec. 6, 1791, the Church at Salem voted to rescind the vote to form a mission with Waterbury and Woodbury, but at the same meeting they voted "to hire Mr. Hart one quarter part of the time," thus showing that they were still well satisfied with him and he continued to serve them regularly as long as he staid at Water- bury. The clergy of Connecticut in Convocation at Water- town, voted Oct. 6, 1791, "That Mr. Seth Hart be recom- mended for examination for the order of a deacon." He was ordained deacon by Bishop Seabury, in Christ Church, West- bury, (Watertown,) Oct. 9, 1791, "according to the Rites and ceremonies of the Church of England, omitting the Oaths by the English Office required." In addition to the certificate of ordination, the Bishop on the same date, gave Mr. Hart a license "to perform the Office of a Deacon in the Diocese of Connecti- cut, more particularly in St. James Church in Waterbury, and in the vacant Churches and Congregations in its neighborhood, and also in preaching the Gospel of Christ." Mr. Hart was present at the Convocation in New Haven, June 6, 1792, and the records of the Convocation at Huntington, Oct. 10, 1792, say that "The Rev'd Mr. Hart, Deacon, presented' himself to be admitted to the order of Priest, & after due examination, was on Sunday 14th. October, ordained to the same in St. Paul's Church, Huntington, by the Rt. Rev'd Dr. Seabury." The
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ordination sermon was preached by the Rev'd Mr. Shelton. Under date of Nov. 1, 1792, the Bishop "at the request of the Episcopal congregations in Waterbury and Salem" gave Mr. Hart a certificate of admission "to the Rectory of the Churches in Waterbury and Salem-willing him faithfully to perform the duties and to receive to his Use, the Temporal Emoluments, to the said Rectory appertaining," and on the same day gave Mr. Hart a license to perform the office of priest, a facsimile of which license is given on a preceding page.
As early as January, 1793, Mr. Hart had ceased to serve Woodbury and instead taken charge of St. Matthew's Church at East Plymouth, (or as it is more commonly called "East Church,") and continued to serve them as late as Oct. 5, 1794, when he preached there, and baptized two persons. His ser- mons for East Plymouth are endorsed as 'Bristol," or "Cam- bridge," (which was the old name for Bristol,) but there was no Church in Bristol at that date and besides this the records of St. Matthew's Church of East Plymouth show frequent baptisms by Mr. Hart from July, 1793, to Oct., 1794. The Records of Convocation, page 49, make the same mistake and their meet- ing at East Plymouth, Oct. 21, 1795, when the church was con- secrated, is erroneously recorded as "at Bristol." At his own request his services at Waterbury were discontinued in the fall of 1794, when he removed to Wallingford, Conn. A sketch of the Church at Waterbury in the "Churchman's Magazine," Vol. 14, p. 172, says: "As a proof that his labors while here were productive of much good by inspiring his flock with union, zeal and liberality, we have now to take notice that at his depar- ture a company of subscribers purchased his house and five acres of land situated in the centre of the town, and then con- veyed it to the use and benefit of the Church forever."
After being ordained, he was present at every meeting of the Convocation and of the Conventions of the Diocese, until the fall of 1796. He acted as Secretary pro tempore, for the Con- vocation at New Milford, Sept. 25, 1793. He preached at Wallingford, July 20, 1794, and at North Haven, July 27, 1794, and probably removed to Wallingford in September of that year and took charge of the Churches at Wallingford and North Haven. He preached at Meriden on Thursday, Jan. 1, 1795,
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and again in the following February, and after that appears to have devoted about half of the time to Wallingford, one quarter of the time to North Haven and one quarter to Meriden. In the Connecticut Journal, New Haven, is an advertisment, dated April 16, 1795, of a Boarding School at Wallingford, for young ladies to be opened "the first of May next in the house formerly occupied by Rev. Mr. Andrews, but now by Mrs. Hall and Daughter from New York, in which will be taught tambour work, embroidery and various kinds of fine needle work, by Miss Hall; and to such as choose reading, writing, arithmetic and geography, by the Rev. Mr. Hart." The Mrs. Hall thus adver- tised was the mother of Mrs. Hart, and thus it appears that in addition to Mr. Hart's many clerical duties he was about to take up the profession of teaching. In the spring of 1797, for reasons unknown to us, he enters upon a new field of labor for about nine months. General Moses Cleveland, as agent of the Connecticut Land Company, located the city of Cleveland, Ohio, in 1796. About the middle of April, 1797, Mr. Hart started for Cleveland in charge of the second party, as the agent of the Connecticut Land Company. On June 3, a Mr. Eld- ridge fell off his horse in attempting to swim the river and was drowned. He had been dead an hour when Dr. Hart arrived at the place, but to satisfy the feelings of a distressed surviving brother, says Dr. Hart, "I attempted to restore him by every convenient method for an hour or more but in vain." The corpse was taken to Cleveland and Dr. Hart says: "The next day being Sunday we selected a lot of ground for a grave yard and in the afternoon we carried the corpse in as regular and for- mal manner as we could and gave it decent burial as our cir- cumstances and situation would permit. I made use of our burial office at the grave also reading the lessons from the 15th. Cor. and it never before sounded so solemn in my ears. It was the first time a funeral had been formally attended by white people on this purchase and it was my first employment in the Country." "There were present at the interment 32 men, 7 women and 3 children." The young man, Mr. Eldridge, be- longed in the eastern part of Connecticut. The service at this funeral was the first religious service in the city of Cleveland, and in fact the first by a minister of any Church in New Con-
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necticut, or Northern Ohio. The Rev. Dr. Doddridge of Vir- ginia was the only Episcopal minister who had ever before offi- ciated in any part of Ohio, and thus Mr. Hart was the second Episcopal minister to hold service in that state.
In another letter Dr. Hart writes to his wife the following :- "Mrs. Stiles who tarried here last winter, yesterday, (July II, 1797,) became the joyful mother of a fine first born son." No doubt Mr. Hart baptized this child, for the Year Book of Trinity Cathedral, Cleveland, for 1901-2, page 94, says: "The first religious service known to have been held here was the baptism of an infant by the Rev. Seth Hart, a clergyman of this Church and one of the original land company who came out with Col. Cleveland." The burial service before noted was Mr. Hart's first service there.
Under date of July 20, 1797, Dr. Hart writes from Cleveland that "A young lady came on here with Mr. Carter's family . and the other day a young man came on from Presque Isle, and on the 17 inst. I married them and received a fee of four dollars." Thus Mr. Hart was the first Episcopal minister to perform three important services of the Church in Northern Ohio. In the latter part of November, Dr. Hart was on his way home, where he expected to arrive in December, if "business and the roads permit." On Nov. 23, 1797, he writes to Mrs. Hart, from Canandaigua, "I am told you are the mother of a fine little Daughter-God be praised !- Kiss the little boys once more for their papa and the dear little daughter as much as her tender infancy will bear." In January, 1798, we find him preaching again at Wallingford and again at Meriden on May 6, 1798, but he appears to have severed his connection with the Church at North Haven upon starting for Ohio in the spring of 1797. The time previously given to North Haven, was after his return given to Christ Church, Worthington, where he preached April 22, 1798, to 1800, as detailed in the previous pages. With seldom less than three parishes under his care, he officiated, before removing to Long Island, seven different dates at North Guilford, six at Stratford, six at Northford, six at Cheshire and four at Huntington, besides from one to three different dates in some sixteen other places in Connecticut, not before mentioned.
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