USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Woodbury > History of ancient Woodbury, Connecticut : from the first Indian dead in 1659 to 1854 > Part 25
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As far as can be collected from records, the following persons have borne the office of deacon in the church :
John Pearce, 1769 ; Solomon Seward, Simeon Platt, 1827 :
Ebenezer Down, “ Joseph Bassett, Anson Bradley, 1835;
Eleazer Mitchell, Isaac Curtiss, 1798; Elliot Beardsley, ..
Stephen Platt, Warren Mitchell, 1801.
In April, 1786, a petition was served on the town of Woodbury. preliminary to sending it to the General Assembly, praying that the " societies of Southbury, South Britain, and that part of Oxford,'
1 Seven families from the town of Woodbury were inchided in the Society of Ox- ford at its incorporation in 1741; but how many families there were at this date, the author has no means of determining.
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HISTORY OF ANCIENT WOODBURY.
which belongs to the town of Woodbury, may be incorporated into one town, and have all the privileges, which by Law the other towns in this State have." It stated its list at £14,000 or £15,000, and the number of its families at 400. Col. Benjamin Hinman was appointed an agent to attend the Assembly, to urge the petition at the May ses- sion, but the project failed. In October, 1786, the petitioners ob- tained the consent of Woodbury to their application for a new town, as will appear by the following vote :
" Oct. 17th, 1756.
" Voted not to oppose the grant of a petition from the Inhabitants of South- bury, South Britain, and that part of the parish of Oxford which belongs to the town of Woodbury.
" Voted to request the Gen! Assembly that in ease they should incorporate the parish of South Britain, Southbury, and part of Oxford parish into a sepirate town, or the parish of Bethlehem, or the parish of Roxbury, that they would order and decree that each inhabitant, that has land lying in the bounds of Woodbury, as the bounds now are, shall put all his lands into the list in that town where the owner shall reside after such Incorporation."
This petition was granted at the May session of the General As- sembly, 1787; and the town incorporated by the name of South- bury. It is believed, though the proof is not now at hand, that the stipulation contained in the foregoing vote of the town, was inserted into this eharter. The town now had all the rights and privileges, and has followed on, in the staid, beaten track of other Connecticut towns. The history of any town, since the Revolution, must be brief indeed. The actors in the various important events, are, for the most part, now alive, and it might seem the part of flattery to attempt to characterize them justly. Besides, in tracing the leading historical events, the towns composing the " ancient town," have been treated as a unit. Such, it was deemed, was the more appropriate and satis- factory manner in which to treat the subjects coming under view.
Southbury now constitutes a beautiful, fertile farming town, well watered by the Pomperaug River, its branches and other streams. Its average length from cast to west is about eight miles, and its breadth about four. Like the parent town, it formerly bolonged to Litchfield county, but was many years since annexed to New Haven county. There are two Congregational societies and two Methodist, each of which is furnished with a commodious house for public wor- ship. There are in the town three taverns, four blacksmith shops, several shoe shops, one saddler's shop, four grist mills, ten saw mills, one paper mill, one manufactory for edge tools, &c., several wool-
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hat manufactories, one sattinet manufactory, one shear do., one tin ware do., and seven stores. Some eighty to one hundred thou- sand dollars are invested in these various mercantile and manufac- turing operations. There is also at South Britain a water-power company, which has laid out a large amount of money in bringing to a single point, the united water-power of the Pomperaug River and Transylvania stream. By this means they obtain a most excellent power, sufficient for an indefinite number of manufactories of the va- rious kinds. The population of the town, by the census of 1850, is 1484. There reside in the town one lawyer, three ministers, and three physicians.
CHAPTER XII.
HISTORY OF BETHLEHEM SOCIETY, AND THIE TOWN OF BETHLEM.
1738 To 1853 ; FIRST SETTLERS ; " WINTER PRIVILEGES" GRANTED 173S; SOCIETY INCORPORATED OCT., 1739; FIRST MEETING HOUSE, 1744; DR. JOSEPH BELLA - MY BEGINS TO PREACH, 1739-ORDAINED IN 1740 ; CHURCH GATHERED, 1740 ; MR. BELLAMY'S CHURCH HISTORY; GREAT SICKNESS OF 1750; HALF WAY COVENANT ABOLISHED IN 1750; MR. BELLAMY ITINERATES ; SEPERATES ; OLD AND NEW LIGHTS ; CHURCH AND PASTOR INVITE ALL ORTHODOX MINISTERS TO THE PULPIT IN BETHLEHEM, 1742 ; EARLY TIMES ; FIRST CURRANT BUSHES ; SECOND CHURCH EDIFICE, 1768 ; SINGERS ALLOWED TO SIT IN THE GALLERY, 1774; PEOPLE OF SOUTH FARMS APPLY FOR ADMISSION INTO THE SOCIETY ; DEATH AND CHARACTER OF MR. BELLAMY ; FIRST SABBATH SCHOOL ; DR. AZEL BACKUS SETTLED IN 1791 ; REVIVALS ; LIFE AND CHARACTER OF DR. BACKUS ; REV. JOILY LANGDON SETTLED IN 1516; REV. BENJAMIN F. STANTON IN 1825 ; REV. PAUL COUCH, 1829; REV. FOSDICK HARRISON, 1835; REV. ARETUS G. LOOMIS, 1550 ; LIST OF DEACONS ; VARIOUS APPLICATIONS FOR A NEW TOWN ; BETHLEM MADE A TOWN, 1787; THIRD CHURCH 1536; PRESENT STATE OF THE TowN.
FOR more than sixty years after the settlement of Woodbury, that part of the town, known as the east part of the North Purchase, had remained an unbroken forest, visited only by the Indians, wild beasts of the thick woods, and now and then a pioneer of the white race. The North Purchase had been granted to the town in 1703, pur- chased of the Indians in 1710, and surveyed in 1723 ; but it was not divided among the proprietors of the town till 1734. As soon as this was done, and each proprietor had " drawn his lot," it was open for sale, and accordingly a few settlers moved there that year. Previous to this, the settled part of Woodbury had extended northward but little farther than the north end of " East Meadow." The name of the first settler, and the place whence he came, is now lost; but the first house built in the society, was located in a lot now owned by Joseph Hannah, where traces of the cellar still exist. The principal
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HISTORY OF ANCIENT WOODBURY.
location of the first few families was on the road running east and west, about half a mile north of the present center of the town. Among the first settlers were Capt. Hezekiah IIooker, of Kensing- ton, a parish of Farmington, now Berlin, a descendant of the celebra- ted Rev. Thomas Hooker, of Hartford ; and Jonathan Kelsey, of Waterbury, who afterward became deacons in the church in this so- ciety. With Dea. Hooker, came two of his sons, Hezekiah, Jr. and James. From the first society came Reuben and Josiah Avered, Francis and Joshua Guiteau, Caleb and Ebenezer Lewis, Isaac Hill, Jr., Isaac Hotchkiss, Nathaniel Porter, and Samuel Steele, formerly of Farmington. From Farmington came John Steele ; from Litch- field, Thomas and Ebenezer Thompson, and Ephraim Tyler from New Cheshire.
Four years after the first settlement, the number of families amounted to only fourteen ; yet this handful of people felt able to support a minister a part of the time, and accordingly peti- tioned the General Assembly at its October session, 1738, for liberty to have " winter privileges," for five months, "in the most difficult season of the year, viz., November, December, January, February and March," as they lived so far from church, it was impossible to attend. They also asked to be exempted from taxes for repairing the old meeting-house in the first society. This was to be done till they could hire a minister all the time. These privileges were granted them on condition that they hired an "orthodox minister," and re- frained from voting in the first society, in relation to the meeting- house. In May, 1739, they petitioned to be released from parish taxes as long as they should hire a minister, and from school taxes, on establishing a school of their own, " the school in the first society being so far off it was of no use to them." The request was granted, and they were permitted to hire a "minister and set up a school." At the October session of the same year, they petitioned that the " east half of the North Purchase" might be set off as a distinct ec- elesiastical society. The petitioners alleged, that they are " near ten miles distant from the first society," that it is difficult to attend church there, and that
" If we were set off in a Distinct Society we should be under better advan- tage to obtain the Preaching of the Gospel among us, and also the Ancient So- ciety, as we apprehend, are rather for encouraging than hindering of us in our Proceeding."
The signers to these several petitions were IIezekiah Hooker, John Steel, Nathaniel Porter, Francis Guiteau, Caleb Lewis, Joseph
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HISTORY OF ANCIENT WOODBURY.
Clark, Josiah Avered, Ebenezer Lewis, C. Gibbs, Jonathan Seley, Edmond Tompkins, Isaac Hill, John Parkis, Reuben Avered, Ephraim Tyler, Caleb Wheeler, Ebenezer Thompson, Beriah Dudley, Seth Avered.1
The prayer of the petition was granted, the society was incorpo- rated and named Bethlehem.
Having now become a society, they voted, May 1st, 1740, to build a meeting-house, and petitioned the Assembly that a part of Litchfield, running the length of the society, and one mile in width, might be annexed to the society. On the 14th of the same month, an agent was appointed to advocate the measure, and ask for a committee to locate the house on a spot they themselves " had fixed," " if sd part of Litchfield is annexed, and as lands will be benefitted," he was in- structed further to ask a land tax. Benjamin Hall, John Southmayd and Stephen Hopkins, were appointed a committee of location, who for some reason did not report till the May session of 1742, when they informed the Assembly, that they had " marked a black oak bush on ye High Land of ye Run, that Runs on ye East side of ye South End of ye Bear IFill so called." This location is the spot, a few feet south of the dwelling-house erected some years since by Dr. North. A petition was preferred to the General Assembly, October, 1741, for a land tax, representing that " they are few in number, and there are 83 rights or allotments of land, which 6 years ago sold for £80; now since they have a settled minister, these are worth £500." They asked for a tax of forty shillings on each right. A tax of thirty shil- lings on each right was granted them at the next session, May, 1742, and Joseph Clark was appointed collector. This tax made non-resi- dent proprietors, who at this time held much the largest part of the land in the society, bear their equal proportion of its burdens. The clerk of the society in 1743, reported the house covered, and in May, 1744, that materials were provided for finishing the inside of the house. Such, in brief, is the history of the establishment of the so- ciety, and the preparation of a house of worship, which was a small structure, and was used for the purpose of its creetion about twenty- five years.
On the 2d of November, 1738, immediately after " winter privile- ges" were obtained, Rev. Joseph Bellamy, then about twenty-two years of age, was called by the people, and commenced liis labors among them. He preached, as is believed, the first sermon ever
1 State Archives, Ecclesiastical, vol. vi.
&
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HISTORY OF ANCIENT WOODBURY.
delivered in this society. He held his first meeting in a barn, which stood near the north-east corner of the meadow immediately south of the present school-house, in the second school district. After la- boring with the people for fifteen months, he received a regular call to preach to them, who were now formed into a regular church. But there exists a little book of records of this church, in which is found an account of these transactions in Dr. Bellamy's hand-writing, which follows, and more vividly presents the transactions to the mind, than any language the author might invent :
" A. D. 1738, Nov. 2, Came Joseph Bellamy A. M., upon the Desire of the people of the Eastern part of the North Purchase of Woodbury (afterwards called Bethlem,1) to preach the gospel among them (they having obtained a tem- porary license to hold a meeting among themselves.)"
" A. D. 1739, Oct. They obtain society privileges from the Gen1 Assembly, and are called Betlilem."
" A. D. 1740 Feb. 20. The Society of Bethlem being thereto advised by the Eastern Association of Fairfield County, Do unanimously give to said J. Bella- my, who had been preaching the gospel among them for about one year and three months, a call to settle among them in the work of the Ministry.
"March 12. He accepts the call. Mar. 27. A day of fasting and prayer previous to the ordination is attended, and the ehh. is gathered.
" April 2. The said J. B. was ordained to the work of the ministry and had the chh. and people of Bethlem committed to his care."
The church, at its organization, contained forty-four members, twenty males and twenty-four females, and in the list is probably found nearly or quite all the names of the fourteen families, which Dr. Bellamy found there in 1738.
There is also a brief history of the church for the first fifteen years, by Dr. Bellamy, in the ministerial records to which allusion has al- ready been made, which for the great interest attached to it is deemed worthy of a place in this volume. It explains itself.
" A brief and faithful account of the success of the Gospel in Bethlem from the year 1738, and on-
" In the year 1735, in the Beginning of November, the publick Worship of God was set up in (yt part of the North Purchase afterwards called) Bethlem ; & the first fruits of the gospel very soon appeared ; The place was new and small, of but four years standing, and consisting of but fourteen families, & yet within about half a year, there were nineteen added to the chh. and these
1 Dr. Bellamy always spelled this word, Bethlem, though in the act of incorpora- tion it is Bethlehem.
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HISTORY OF ANCIENT WOODBURY.
chiefly young persons, a number of whom to this day continue to give good evidence that they were savingly converted. Some of the first sermons preach- ed in this place had a visible effect upon many of ye people, especially upon youth-they soon became serious, left off spending their leisure hours in vanity, & gave themselves to reading, meditation & seeret prayer-and not long after, some appeared to be under deep and thorough convietion of sin, & the eoneern was so great & general, that some weeks, altho' the people were so few, the place so small, yet almost every day, there were some going to their spiritual guide for direction & some time after were enlightened and comforted. But the religious impressions began to wane off in the Spring and Summer following, A. D. 1739, and some fell away to their former carelessness, and by a conten- tion that fell out in the Winter of 1639, 40, serious Godliness was almost ban- ished and hid in obseurity. It was confined to the closet & maintained but by a very few there, and the preacht gospel seemed wholly unsuccessful-the gen- erality of people in a deep sleep of security.
" In the fall of 1740, a little after Mr. Whitefield preaeht through the country & in the Winter & Spring & Summer following, religion was again greatly re- vived & flourisht wonderfully. Every man, woman, and child, about 5 or 6 years old & upwards were under religions concern, more or less. Quarrels were ended, and frolicks flung up. Praying meetings began & matters of re- ligion were all the talk. The universal concern about religion in its height, many were seemingly converted, but there were false comfort & experiences among the rest which laid a foundation,
(1) For false religion to rise & prevail (2) Many that were beat down, some fell into a melancholy, sour frame of spirit, bordering on despair, & others into carnal security ; and the truly Godly seemed to be but a very few ! And now very trying times follow, for (1) a munber of the more elderly people being am- bitious & having a grudge at each other are continually fomenting contention, strife and division about society affairs, (2) A number of the middle aged stand up for false religion & plead for the seperatists. (3) A number of the younger sort set themselves so set up frolicking & serving the flesh-true piety & serious Godlines, are almost banished-this is a summary view of things from 1740 to 1750, & much so has it been in other places."
" 1750. In the spring the anger of the Lord began to burn hot against this people for all their abominations & he sent a destroying Angel among them, who slew about thirty of them & filled the place with great distress-The ner- vous fever, very malignant, spread & prevailed, 4 or 5 months. The well were not sufficient to tend the sick. Some died stupid, some in dreadful despair, some comfortably, & one in special dyed as she had lived like a shining Chris- tian. But for all this, the residue turned not to the Lord. 1753. However, in some things, a reformation followed ; for after the siekness, the contentious dis- positions, the seperate spirit & the rude frolicking temper did not appear as be- fore, & they became in a good measure a peaceable, orderly people."
In October, 1750, a petition from the committee of the society in- formed the General Assembly that a " mortal distemper has carried off 30 persons, generally in the prime of life, to the grave, and people have been called off from their common business" to attend the sick.
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HISTORY OF ANCIENT WOODBURY.
They therefore asked to be released from paying "County rates," which was granted.
In a former chapter, the baptismal, or half-way covenant was ex- plained. It was not universally received in Connecticut. And in those places where it had prevailed, soon after the " Great Awaken- ing," it began to fall into general disuse. Dr. Bellamy was one of the first to set his face against it. Accordingly, we find upon the records of his church the following :
" Upon the publishing of Mr. Edward's Book on the Sacrament (1750), this Practice was laid aside, as not warranted by the holy scriptures-there being no other scriptural owning of the covenant, but what implies a profession of Godliness."
Thus was this practice removed from his own church, and he con- tinned to use his influence against it elsewhere, whenever occasion offered. He also published a pamphlet against it.
The "Seperatists," referred to by Dr. Bellamy, in the preceding sketch, were a body of religionists that sprung out of the several established societies, in consequence of what is called by some the " Great Awakening," and by others the " Old and New Light" time, between the years 1740 and 1750. The " New Lights" were active and zealous in the discharge of every thing which they conceived to be their religious duty, and were in favor of Mr. Whitefield and others, who were itinerating through the country, preaching and stir- ring up the people to repentance and reform. The "Old Lights" considered much of their zeal as wild-fire, and endeavored to suppress it. The contention between these two parties grew so bitter, that those who were of the "New Light" party, withdrew and formed separate churches from those of the standing order. Hence they were called "Separates," or " Separatists."
In 1740 and 1741, was witnessed the greatest revival of religion that has ever been known in this country. Its influence was all- absorbing, and an earnest concern about the things of religion and the eternal world was prevalent throughout New England. All conver- sation, in all kinds of company, and on all occasions, except about religious matters, and the future welfare of the soul in another world, was thrown by. All hearts seemed to be actuated by one feeling, and no more attention was paid to their worldly affairs than was absolute- ly necessary. They crowded the houses of their ministers. They wished to have meetings held a large portion of the time. Scarcely a person in the towns affected by this revival, young or old, was left unconcerned about this religious interests, and those who had been
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previously scoffers at religion, were the first to become "believers." "In many places, people would cry out in time of public worship un- der a sense of the overbearing guilt and misery, and the all-consum- ing wrath of God, due to them for their iniquities ; others would faint and swoon under the affecting views which they had of Christ ; some would weep and sob, and there would sometimes be so much noise among the people in particular places, that it was with difficulty that the preacher could be heard." In some few instances, it seems. that the minister was not allowed to finish his discourse, there was so much erying out and disturbanee.
There is no doubt that this revival was of great importance to the cause of true religion, and on the whole greatly advanced its interests. The state of society was very much benefited by its influence. But there were very great excesses and improprieties committed by heat- ed and over-zealous persons during its continuance, which were pro- ductive of very unhappy effects. Bodily agitations and outeries were encouraged by Davenport and others, and pronounced unmis- takeable signs of conversion. These men pretended to know by some divine perception communicated to them from above, who were true Christians and who were not ; and not unfrequently would pub- liely declare other ministers of the gospel unconverted, who to all ap- pearance, were men of as much grace and piety, at least, as them- selves. These proceedings gave rise to many errors, which sprang up in the churches. They did not seem to follow truth, or reason, or indeed any fixed rules of conduct, but were wholly governed by in- ward impulses, pretending, as before mentioned, to know the state of men's hearts by some spiritual instinet, quicker and surer than the old common sense. Bible process of learning the state of the heart from a man's character and conduct in life. " Another phenomenon of the times," says Dr. Bacon in his " Historical Discourses," was the class of itinerating ministers, who either having no charge of their own, or without call, forsaking their proper fields of labor, went up and down in the land making their own arrangements and appointments. and operating in ways which tended more to disorganize than to build up the churches. I do not mean such men as Wheelock, Pomeroy. Bellamy and Edwards himself, who went where they were invited, and calculated to demean themselves everywhere with Christian courtesy and propriety, and whose preaching wherever they went-certainly the two latter-was much better than the preaching of Whitefield, for every purpose but popular excitement. I mean those men of far infe- rior qualifications, who, moved by an unbalanced excitement, or by
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the ambition of making a noise, or by the irksomeness of regular and steady toil, " shot madly" from their appropriate spheres, if they had any, and went wherever they could find or force a way among the churches, spreading as they went, denunciation, calumny, contention, spiritual pride and confusion."
Mr. Bellamy, and Mr. Graham, of Southbury society, favored the work then going on, and spent much time in preaching in all parts of the colony. They were very popular, and their labors were gener- ally acceptable to their brethren, and useful to the people. They were not noisy preachers, but grave, sentimental, searching and pun- gent.1
In 1741, a council of ministers from all parts of the colony met at Guilford, and passed various resolutions relating to the existing state of affairs, one of which pronounced it disorderly "for a minister to enter into another minister's parish and preach, or administer the seals of the covenant, without the consent of, or in opposition to the settled minister of the parish." This was followed by an act on the part of the General Assembly, in May, 1742, prohibiting any ordained or licensed minister to preach or exhort, in any society not under his care, without the invitation of the settled minister, and a major part of the church and society, on pain of being excluded from the benefit of the law for the support of the ministry; also to prohibit any one, not a settled or ordained minister, from going into any parish to teach and exhort the people, without like permission, on penalty of being bound to good behavior ; and there was a further clause, that if any foreigner, whether licensed to preach or not, should offend in this par- ticular, he should be sent as a vagrant, by warrant, from constable to constable, out of the colony. This was entitled " an act for regula- ting abuses and correcting disorders in ecclesiastical affairs."
This law was aimed at the whole movement, in order to discoun- tenance and overthrow it. Notwithstanding this, two associations bore witness to the " Awakening" as a glorious work of God. These were the association of Windham county, and the association of the eastern district of Fairfield country. In the latter district, were the four ministers from the four societies of Woodbury, viz : Anthony Stoddard, of the first, John Graham, of the second, Joseph Bellamy, of the third, and Reuben Judd, of the fourth, who were present, and bore affirmative testimony.
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