USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Seymour > History of Seymour, Connecticut, with biographies and genealogies > Part 2
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).
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
Two outlines of sermons preached by the Rev. Benj. Beach are before me. Time, you see, has left traces of its passage on the old manuscripts. One of them was preached in the year 1798, from Lnke, 9: 42. The other is a fast day sermon, preached from II Kings, 19: 14-20, on the 25th of April, 1799, at the point of time when difficnl- ties with France were assuming a threat- ening, and even warlike, aspect ; difficul- ties which were, to the joy of all, adjusted, after a single, or rather a double naval engagement, in which the French frigate Insurgente, and the American frigate Con- stellation were prominent. The sermon was preached a year and five months before the treaty, by which peace was restored, was concluded, and nine months before the death of Washington. Of the genuine patriotism of the writer, it leaves no room for question. It has the true ring of the words which were spoken abundantly from our loyal Connecticut pulpits, in the latter part of the last century. There is vigor of thought indicated by these old time-worn manuscripts; there was a live man be- hind them once. They indicate, I judge, the possession, by this first pastor of our village, of a good deal of the power of putting things in a telling way. They were, evidently, well adjusted to the time to which they belonged, as every sermon ought to be. One of them was preached several times, and as the marks on the margin of it show, once at Waterbury. The remains of this first pastor of our first church lie in Milton, a parish of the famous town of Litchfield ; famous not so much for its rocks and its pure air, as for its MEN.
How large the church became within these fifteen years of the faithful ministra- tions of its first pastor, I have not been
-
able to ascertain. I fear there are no records of it in existence. The Rev. Mr. Beach completed his work here, and re- moved to Milton, in 1805.
Then the church was for a time scatter- ed. But its members had the heart to worship God and they went, some to Ox- ford, some to Great Hill, some to Bethany, as they most conveniently could. After a time the Rev. Zephaniah Swift became pastor of the church in Derby, and, with a genuine interest in the welfare of the church, preached for it occasionally.
But a new element had, in the meantime, been introduced into our village. It had taken a new name, and was the scene of a new and busy life. One could not have told, at that point of time, into achat promi- nence it might rise. That man of enii- Dence, regarded as an ornament to the period in which he lived, scholar, historian, poet and patriot, GEN. DAVID HUMPHREYS, had fixed upon this spot in our valley to work out a noble idea which had taken possession of his mind. He had gained his honors before he established his interests here. His experience of life had been very varied. He had seen the world in differ- ent phases of it; had seen it, and had help- ed to mould it. He had been a successful military man. He had been a personal friend and associate of the great Washing- ton. He had been intimately connected with the brave and unfortunate Kosciusko. He had been ambassador to two important foreign courts, from which he returned, bringing back to his native land-and to this, his native town-the "true golden fleece," as the phrase is in the inscription on the shaft of granite which marks the resting place of his remains, in the old cemetery in New Haven. He died Feb. 21, 1818. He entered Yalo college when he was 15 yearsold, only, and was graduated when he was 19 ;- (class of 1771). He com- meneed his enterprise here-returning to his native valley from his residence abroad -when he was 52, enriched by all bis ex- perience, using his wealth freely, gather- ing into his plans all his broad resources, and employing them without stint or nar rowness. lle laid the foundation of his
12
SEYMOUR AND VICINITY.
work, on the bank of our beautiful river- and at one of the most beautiful points up- on it-in the year 1804; and in 1810, when the new manufacturing company was in- corporated, the village was wearing his name.
The enterprise which Gen. Humphreys established here was, for its time, one to be looked at by the whole region. and it carried the name of our village (HUMH- REYSVILLE) to different and distant points; made it familiar at our nation's capitol, and honored by the presidents of our re- public. Dr. Dwight, the able president of Yale College, who was personally, (and I think intimately) acquainted with Gen. Humphreys, says of it:
"In Europe great complaints have been made of manufacturing establishments as having been, very commonly, seats of vice and disease. Gen. Humphreys began this with a determination either to prevent these evils, or if this could not be done, to give up the design. With regard to the health of the people it is sufficient to ob- serve, that from the year 1804 to the year 1810, not an individual belonging to the institution died, and it is belleved that among no other equal number of persons there has been less disease. (Dwight's Travels, vol. III, p. 393. )
A journey, of which a very graphic rec- ord has come down to us, was made by Pres. Dwight across our valley in the in- terval marked by the establishment of this manufacturing institution-in the au- tumn of 1811. He speaks of it with en- thusiasm. He had an eye for natural beauty, and he found it here. His words are fairly aglow as he writes abont the spot which lies a few rods north of the place on which this house stands. He says:
"The scenery at this spot is delightfully romantic. The fall is a fine object. The river, the buildings belonging to the insti- tution, the valley, the bordering hills, farms and houses, groves and forests united, form a landscape in a high degree inter- esting." (Travels, vol. III, p. 394. )
Pres. Dwight seems to have been espe- cially interested in the moral aspects of the manufacturing enterprise of which he
gives a detailed and very valuable account, established here by Gen. Humphreys.
When Dr. Dwight wrote the account of this journey he was near the end of his life. He died a year and a month earlier than Gen. Humphreys, and two months before this church was reorganized.
Of course, in the year 1817, when the council ot which Dr. Taylor was scribe as- sembled here, our village was much larger than when the earlier church was organ- ized. With the infusion of new life which it had received, it had gained a new out- look. It had passed through vicissitudes. The war of 1812 had affected the mannfac- turing industries of the place very greatly. at first prosperously and then adversely. But the new Church of the Living God which was planted ou that March day of 1817, had opportunity broad enough of bearing fruit for the Master, on our hill- sides and in our valley; and it seems to have desired to improve it. The facts are these: The church was constituted on the 12th of March. Eighteen days later, on the 30th of March, the Rev. Zephaniah Swift, of Derby, was present at one of its meet- ings, and received 18 others into member- ship. One of the 18 who united with the new church, on that day, is living now, a respected-and the oldest-member of our church, and is spending on this Sabbath, her 86th birthday, Mrs. Daniel White.
Two months after the church was organ- ized, the Rev. Bela Kellogg received other members. In the following September, six months after its organization, others still presented themselves to unite with it, so that when the church entered upon the second year of its new existence, it had within it-their names enrolled on its re- cords-between thirty and forty men and women, who had chosen to stand up to de- clare themselves for Christ, and their read- iness to do work for him. Thirty-four men and women in vital earnest, can do a great deal. The christian age was introduced with a company which could have been counted more easily than this.
These 34 disciples of Christ, thus formed into a new church, so beginning anew in the christian work, wanted to dedicate to
13
SEYMOUR AND VICINITY.
the Master a new house of worship. So |G. Swift was pastor, one only is a member they prayed to God, and talked the matter now, Mrs. Henry P. Davis. over with each other. The result was that, to the M. E. society, which had been pre- viously formed, the old building, endeared to many hearts, was sold, Sept. 22, 1818, and the vigorous Church of the New Be- ginning, in due time, as it could, built for itself a new house, on the spot over- looking the river, on the eastern side of it, where the old Congregational burying ground is now. The church began at once, in 1818, to prepare for the work of building, meeting for a time in the Bell school- house. The steeple was added to complete the edifice in 1829.
Of those who ministered the gospel to the church in the house of worship overlook- ing the river, some are remembered very distinctly by individuals here to-day. One of the earliest and most constant friends of the church seems to have been the Rev. Zephaniah Swift, of Derby. He gave it counsel ; he gave it time ; he gave it work. At one period of its early history he was placed at liberty, by vote of his own church, to preach for it a fourth of the time, re- ceiving from it a fourth of his salary. This church owes much under God to that man, of stately dignity of bearing, but with a warm heart beating within him, good, and true, and faithful ; the man who made so powerful an impression on at least one who came under his inffnence, as to lead him with extravagance of expression to say, that it would be joy enough for him, if he could ever get to heaven, to mect Zephaniah Swift there.
The Rev. Bela Kellogg was never pastor of the church, but ministered to it for a time, not far from its beginning.
The Rev. Ephraim G. Swift was pastor of the church from 1825 to 1827. He died in August, 1858.
On the 11th day of May, 1828, the Rev. Amos Pettingil received to membership of the church several individuals, among whom were Isaac Sperry and wife, Albert Carrington, Adaline and Emeline Sperry, and Olive Merriam. Of those who nnited with the church while the Rev. Ephraim
The name of the Rev. Charles Thomson first appears under date of July 20, 1828. He was installed pastor of the church in April, 1830. His ministry within it was of about five years in length. He seems to have labored faithfully. 1 judge, from what I can gather from the old records, that he had gennine love of his work. It seems as if it were overflowing from his pen, at times, as he was making some of the entries which we have in his hand- writing. From what I hear about him and his family, from those who were personally acquainted with them, I should judge him to have been a good man with an excellent wife. He came here from Dundaff, Pa. He, too, has finished his work on earth. He died in March, 1855. Of those who uni- ted with the church while the Rev. Charles Thompson ministered to it, three are mem- bers now : Mrs. Maria Holbrook, Mrs. George Washburn, and Mrs. B. M. Durand.
The ministry of the Rev. Rollin S. Stone was also within this period. His arrange- ment with the church and society was a peenliar one. He engaged to be responsible for the weekly supply of the pulpit, with the understanding that the Rev. Mr. Swift, of Derby, shonld preach one half the time, by regular and stated exchange, Mr. Story spending the secular days of the week at New Haven, in the Theological Seminary. This arrangement was continued for fifteen months-from June 2, 1833, to Sept. 1, 1834, -the relation was then severed, according to his own record of the matter, " in peace and love."
The Rev. John E. Bray ministered to the church for abont seven years and a half- from Sept, 1834, to April, 1842. Of those who united with the church within this time, two only are members now: Deacon David Johnson, and Mrs. Sarah Collins.
On the 26th of June, 1843, the Rev. Wil- liam B. Curtiss was called by the church to become its pastor. His ministry was of somewhat over six years in length. He was a man who loved to work, and who always found work to do, if it was to be found-and it always was, and is.
14
SEYMOUR AND VICINITY.
When the Rev. Mr. Curtiss entered upon his ministry here, the house of worship on the other side of the river was not, by any means, an old one. But the fact had be- come very apparent that it was not cen- trally located. As business developed, the village grew away from it, instead of aronnd it, and the company who had chosen to be called THE VILLAGE CHURCH decided that a new house onght to be built. And there was enterprise enough to do it. It is this house, within which we are now (one of the easiest houses to speak in I have ever used-of proportions conformed to acoustic law as fully as can be desired) which arose out of the energetic purpose formed at that time. The 20th day of April, 1847, was dedication day within it; a day of joy and gladness. The Rev. Mr. Curtiss remained pastor of the church and society for two and a half years longer-until Oct. 15, 1849. Of those who united with the church while he ministered to it, six are members now : Wm. Hull, Mrs. Emeline Bliss, Mrs. Emeline Steele, Mrs. Laura A. Culver, Mrs. Esther Canfield, and Chas. Durand.
Font years and nine days after this house was dedicated to the worship of God-on the 29th day of April, 1851-it was opened for the first installation service here. It was the Lord's plan. The Lord or- ever held within it. On that day the Rev. E. B. Chamberlain was constituted pastor of the church and society. The installation sermon was preached by the Rev. Mr. Har- rison of Bethany. Mr. Chamberlain had been here for nearly a year before this day. The last record to which his name is signed, as pastor, is under date of March 21, 1852- nearly a year later. His request to have the pastoral relation dissolved was based on the ground of ill-health, and was ac- ceded to by the church May 20, 1852-two and a half years after his name first appears on the records of the church. Of those who united with the church while he min- istered the gospel to it, two are members now : Mr. and Mrs. Roswell Kinney.
The Rev. J. L. Willard, now, and for more than twenty years past the successful pastor of the Congregational church in Westville, commenced his ministry here Sept. 1, 1852, and continued it to May 1,
1855-two years and two-thirds. He left very warm friends bere, and has made very warm friends elsewhere. Of those who united with the church while he minister- ed to it, two are members now: Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon C. Sanford.
About this time our village suffered the loss of a heavy manufacturing industry which involved the removal from the place of not far from thirty families connected with the congregation. Other disasters followed. A wave of financial embarrass- ment swept over the land. It was a time of dejection and disconragement, and this church and society felt the influence of it keenly.
On one of these days, a young man just ont of college was passing through our vil- lage-Henry D. Northrop. He had never been ordained to the work of the ministry, bnt he had a soul aglow with the love of Christ - he had something to say for Christ, and he could say it. Mr. Wallace M. Tuttle was not deacon of the church at that time, but he was soon to become sneh, and he never did a wiser and better thing than when he sought out the young gradu- ate of Amherst College and almost com- pelled him to stop and work for Christ
dained bim first, and man ordained him afterwards. No such revival as the Lord gave him to see that winter, had, up to that point of time, been witnessed, in connec- tion with the whole history of the church. The Lord set his own seal to the work faithfully and efficiently performed. The time which seemed so adverse proved to be a glorious time in which to nurture faith to- wards God. The ministry of the Rev. H. D. Northrop here was commenced in August, 1857, and continued through the larger part of the year 1858. Of those who nnited with the church at that time, twelve are members now : Henry P. Davis, Mrs. Han- nah Canfield, Mrs. Harriet E. Denney, Mrs. Emeline Ricks, Mrs. Fidelia E. Holden, Miss Sarah L. Ormsbee, Mr. and Mrs. Geo. E. Lester, Mrs. William Losee, Miss Orilla E. Hurlburt, Miss Grace E. Botsford and Mrs. Mary Worth.
The ministry of the Rev. E. C. Baldwin
15
SEYMOUR AND VICINITY.
was of a year in length, from May, 1859, to May, 1860. The ministry of the Rev. Syl- vester Hine was of about equal length. The ministry of the Rev. J. L. Mills, (now professor in Marietta College, Ohio,) was of abont two years in length, from 1862 to 1864. The ministry of the Rev. George A. Dickerman was of a single year in lengthı, from 1864 to 1865. Of those who united with the church within these years, seven are members now : Mr. and Mrs. James L. Spencer, Mis. Augusta Lathrop, Mrs. H. A. Rider, Mrs. Lney DeWolfe, Miss Huldah DeWolfe, Miss Harriet Hotchkiss and Mrs. Raymond Freneh.
On the first day of February, 1866, this house was opened for another installation service. The Rev. A. J. Quick had accepted the call of the church and society, and on that day was constituted pastor. The Rev. J. L. Willard, of Westville, preached the installation sermon, and the installing prayer was offered by the Rev. C. S. Sher- man, of Naugatuck. Mr. Quick's pastorate was a brief one. The exact length of it I have been unable to ascertain. The facts which I have found are-that he was en- gaged as stated supply for one year com- mencing April 30, 1865; that his name is to be found on the records, for the last time, as moderator of the church, under date of April 19, 1867; and that he was dismissed from membership on the 13th of June, 1868; a little less than two and a half years after his installation. Of those who were received within the time covered by his ministry, ten are members of the church now: Mr. and Mrs. James Swan, Mrs. S. J. Castle, Mr. and Mrs. John Whit- ney, Miss Franeis Lounsbury, William Bell, Miss Catharine Bell, Miss Catharine C. Bur- well and Mrs. Mary Lock wood.
On the 22d of May, 1868, this honse was opened for an ordination serviee. The Rev. Allen Clark was on that day, ordained as an evangelist, by a council called by letters missive issued by this church, to which Mr. Clark was then ministering. The ordination sermon was preached by Dr. Churchill, of Woodbury, and the or- daining prayer was offered by Rev. C. Chamberlain, of Oxford. In connection
with the ministry of the Rev. Mr. Clark, another glorious revival of religion oc- curred. It is of such recent date-only eight years ago-that there must be many very vivid recollections of it in the minds of many of you who are present. Of those who united with the church within the time covered by Mr. Clark's ministry, twenty are members now : Joshua Kendall, Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Hard, Miss Emma Lockwood, Miss Hattie M. Ford, Mrs. James Richardson, Mrs. A. A. Harris, Mrs. Frank H. Russell, Mrs. William T. Fife, Mrs. Ella F. Reynolds, Mrs. E. A. Robinson, Miss Hortie V. Swift, Henry B. Lock wood, Charles Sherman, Mrs. E. C. Barr, Mrs. F. Boeker, William B. Nichols, Mr. and Mrs. Edwin C. Segears and Mrs. George Fowler.
The 25th of November, 1869, was another ordination day. The Rev. H. P. Collin was, at that time ordained to the work of an evangelist, by a council ealled by this church. The ordination sermon was preach- ed by the Rev. Mr. Adamson, of Ansonia, and the ordaining prayer was offered by the Rev. Mr. Gray, of Derby. The seribe of the council was the Rev. Robert C. Bell.
I have not been able to ascertain the exact length of the ministry of Mr. Collin here. His hand writing appears, on the records of the church, for the first time at date of July 18, 1869, and for the last time, as I judge, May 1, 1870. Of those who united with the church within the years 1869 and 1870, sixteen are members now : Mrs. Lanra E. Northrop, David Wil- liams, Mr. and Mrs. Roswell C. Canfield, Richard Evans, Mrs. Charles Bliss, Mrs. C. J. Olinstead, Mrs. Juliette B. Hull, William J. Barr, Mr. and Mrs. Noah Osborn, Mr. and Mrs. Rufus Spencer, Mr. and Mrs. George A. Benedict and Mrs. Elizabeth C. Pierson.
The ministry of the Rev. J. W. Fitch, here, seems to have been of from one to two years in length. His name appears on the records, for the first time under date of May 7, 1871, and for the last time. in his own hand writing, under date of May 28, 1872. Of those who united with the church within this time, two are members now: Mrs. Phebe A. Hubbell and T. B. Minor
16
SEYMOUR AND VICINITY.
The Rev. William J. Thomson was in- stalled pastor of the church and society on the 24th of January, 1873. The installation sermon was preached, and the installing prayer was offered by the Rev. J. L. Willard of Westville. The ministry of the Rev. Mr. Thomson here was closed on the 27th of October, 1874. Of those who united with the church within this period, six are mem- bers now : Mrs. W. J. Thomson, Mrs. D. Simpson, Miss Emma E. Beach, Miss Mar- garet Smith, Mrs. Benjamin B. Thayer and Miss Libbie O. Lockwood.
The ministry which has not yet termi- nated, was commenced on the 15th of No- vember, 1874. Of those who have united with the church since that date, all-twen- ty-nine in number- are members now : Mrs. and Miss Leonard, Mr. and Mrs. An- drew Barr, Mrs. Isaac Losee, Charles Sheard, W. I. Warren, Charles J. Reynolds, Miss Jessie Swan, Miss Sarah S. Osborn, Miss Mattie Osborn, Miss Eliza M. Creel- man, Mrs. Charlotte Hayman, Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Weaver, Mrs. Mary A. Hurlbnt, Miss Freddie Quiering, Miss Carrie L. Pick- hardt, Miss Bertha E. Johnson, Miss Mary E. Spencer, Miss Mary E. French, Mrs. Annie E. Lyman, Frank H. Wyant, Walter W. Dorman, Miss Ellen C. Hard, Miss Lydia A. Hard, Miss Mary A. Hill, Frank A. Smith and Mrs. Sarah M. Lines. May the number be increased, and there be added to the church a multitude of such as shall be saved !
Of those who have ministered to the church as DEACONS, several have gone to their rest. The first deacon of the earliest church was Mr. Baldwin of Derby. When the church was reorganized in 1817, the two chosen to this service were, Bradford Steele and Nehemiah Botsford. They oc- cupied the office for almost all that remain- ed to them of life. Deacon Steele, in Sep- tember, 1840-after nearly a quarter cen- tury of service, and a little more than a year before his death-asked to be released from the performance of further official du- ty, and, because of his age and infirmity, his request was granted. Deacon Botsford had, a little before, made a similar request, which had been granted also.
A hundred years ago to-day, Bradford Steele was a boy of not quite fifteen years of age. But there was a dark war-cloud coming up into view. It was seen from our hill sides and our valleys with very great distinctness. Many brave men and women looked upon it with the calmness of heroic courage. Boys saw it, and were ready to take their share in what it involved.
Bradford Steele was not quite sixteen when he enlisted in the army which repre- sented the cause of freedom. Terrible scenes he passed through. There was one day memories of which seemed to lie gleaming in his mind through his whole long after life. It was the 22d day of An- gust, 1777. He was taken prisoner and treated with a cruelty which was merciless, his very apppearance becoming so changed by what he endured, (and the boys of that time could endure a good deal of hardship without being greatly affected by it,) that his own father, when he met him did not at first know who he was. He died in peace, Dec. 23, 1841, at the ripe age of 80.
There have been very few firmer friends of the church than Deacon Sheldon Kinney, now among those who have gone before. It was out of a gift made by him to the society that our pleasant and convenient parsonage has come. He was a man, I judge from what I hear about him, of a clear head and a large heart. He was ap- pointed deacon of the church on the 6th of September, 1840. The names of those who have served as deacons for a longer or shorter time I have tried to collect and ar- range in the order in which they have per- formed the service: Capt. Timothy Bald- win, appointed in 1789; Bradford Steele and Nehemiah Botsford, appointed in 1817 ; Sheldon Kinney and Alfred Hull, 1840 ; Andrew W. DeForest, 1844; William Kin- ney, Miles Culver and J. L. Spencer, 1853 ; W. M. Tuttle, 1858; Charles Bradley, date of appointment not recorded ; David John- son and Levi Lounsbury, 1865; Joshua Kendall, 1868.
A very incomplete idea, (but still one of some value,) of the religious influences ex- erted here within the century of our ex- istence as a nation, may be suggested by
17
SEYMOUR AND VICINITY.
an enumeration of the houses of worship which have been built.
What is now Seymour was, at first, a part of the old "jurisdiction of New Haven.', For a little less than forty years (1639- 1677) it was a part of Milford. For a hun- dred and sixty-three years (1677-1850), it was a part of Derby. For only twenty-six years has it had an existence as a township with its present name. And then we are wear- ing now our fourth local name-Naukotunk (meaning one great tree) the first ; Chnse- town, the second; Humphreysville, the third; Seymour, the fourth ; each of the names, but the first, being personal in their reference; elevating into prominent view an individual ; the first name bringing iuto prominence an object in natnro. (They are all gone now.)
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.