USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Woodbury > History of ancient Woodbury, Connecticut : from the first Indian dead in 1659 to 1872, Vol. II > Part 9
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Israel Chauncey, Phillip Grove." 1
The next communication, and, so far as has been preserved, the last but one between the contestants, is from the Walker party, addressed to the General Court at its Oct. Session, 1669. It ex- plains itself. and gives a full resume of the matters in dispute, since they had liberty from the Court to have their own minister. No epitome can do it justice, and it is given entire, that all may see the statement of fact and style of its reasoning :-
" Whereas it hath pleased ye Hon. Genll Courte to propound ye advice to ye Inhabitants of Stratford yt for the healing of the differencea yt are amongst us. there should be a councell mutually chosen of pions and learned men ; And we, in observanee of yrs advise have proffered our concurrence with our neibour: in improveing of such a councell, but have had no such return from them, as in. reason wee might expect; but instead thereof, a positive rejection of our motion ; wee thought good to present to the Hon. Courte some animadversions uppon the return we have received from them.
" As for yr introduction, wherein they acquaint us yt they have received a pa- per in the name, but know not whether with the consent of the rest-we cannot but wunder yt our neighbours should make so great a distinction when there is to little, or rather no difference. When God separated ye tribe of Levi, to bless in his name, Deut. 10, 6, and 20, 5, was it then a rationall question whether ye ben- ediction was with divine consent! When David sent his messenger to greet Na- ball in his name, hee thought it not needful to adde yt it was with his eonsent : nor was Naball sueh a churl as to object ye want of it: 1 Sam. 25, 5. When David blessed the whole congregation of Israell in ye name of ye Lord, there was not a man amongst them yt moved the question whether it were with the Lord's consent, 2 Sam. 6, 18. When our blessed Savior tells us, in Matt. 18, 20, that were two or three are gathered in his name, he is in the midst of them, who
1 State Archives, Ecclesiastical, 1 Vol.
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can think that his consent is not therein understood? Many sneh like Seripture instances might be given to prove yt these are consonant expressions and of like import. But they proceed, and tell us yt they think it rationall yt they should bee acquainted with your names, and consent of them that are called the rest, and that they shall expect it before any further treaty with us, &e. But is it rationall yt we must give them each of our names, and produce a letter of at- torney impowring such as aet in behalf of the rest : And is it not at the same time as rationall that they which demand that of us, should do the like them- selves ? are two names subseribed to yours sufficient, with your bare word that it is with the consent of the Church, and are not three, these subscribed to ours as sufficient, with as much assurance that they were imployed by the rest ? Are you all soe notable, or so notorious, yt you neede no mention of your names, and we, on the other hand, so obscure and unknown that we must bee imagined to be, unless they have our names in writing: But not to stay here. They further acknowledge our manifestation of our desires to attend the courts advice in seek- ing to counsell, in order to the healing of our differences, what then hinders, yt it should not be attended? The reasone you give to the contrary, are the conside- ration of first the contents of our paper, (wherein we declare ourselves willing to submitt any differences amongst us to the Judgment of a couneell, and, 2nd, of what had been propounded to us by some of yourselves, viz: to make choyee of a councell to Judge our eivill differences, and lett alone our ecclesiastical dif- ferences, which were the main things upon which we disagreed : uppon these considerations they are pleased to inform us yt it seemeth (we suppose to none but themselves) yt our greatest difference is what is differenee : if yr were guilty of any good reason it might deserve a rationall answer, but it is as good as it will bee, onely by the way it is worthy the noting, yt ye same persons yt have by word of mouth professed yt they know of no ecclesiastieal differenees amongst us, and yt in the writing doe affirm yt their greatest difference amongst us is what is difference, or in other words what it is to differ, doe yet with all profess that our differences are such that they cannot joyn with us in any act of worship, how they will reconcile those we may soon inquire: then they can rationally an- swer. Whereas they subjoin their and our opposite apprehensions concerning the differences amongst us intended in the courts advise ys yt onely eivil affayres are therein intended, and thot ecclesiastieal concernments were maynly respected. It may remain with the Hon courte to give the sense of their own advice. As for the antiek analysis of our reasons for our apprehension in the above sd re- spect, it will not be worth inek and paper to write out an answer thereunto, onely one thing therein must not be wholly omitted, viz: yt aspertion they east uppon ns, yt after our manner of our arguing, (in our reasons so prove that our ecclesi- astieal concernments were maynly intended in yt courts advise). No prudent man seeing two neibours at difference and knowing but part of their difference, can rationally advise ymto put the matter to reference, and not goe to law ; in answer whereunto, lest it be considered whether none but pious and learned men are competent judges of ordinary differences betwixt neibour and neibour, we are ready to think that civill honest men, though unlearned. might serve their turn. Whereas they are pleased to argue yt the courte, in their advice, could have no aim that we should leave our ecclesiastical concernments to ye judgment of a counsell, seeing they have given liberty to us as well as our neibours to injoy our own persuasions, and wee (as they suppose) would be unwilling to leave yt lib-
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berty to the advice of a councell, if they should advise us to be of the same per- suasion with them, our neibours. As to the first pretense of argument herein imployed, we answer, that though the court hath given-libberty to them in our different apprehensions, yet we persuade ourselves that it would be no unwell- come news to the court to hear, that our differences were well issued, and we united. As for the latter argument, from our unwillingness to leave our libberty to a councell, if they should advise us to be of different persuasions, wee cannot think that it was the thing aimed at by the court in propounding a counceli, that they should tell us of what persuasion we should he, but rather yt they should advise how we might manage our different persuasions so as, notwithstanding them, to mayntain love and unity amongst us. And whereas they further adde yt we have bin allready advised to be of your persuasion, we must profess yt we never yet knew the man yt was so absurd and irrationall as to give us yt advice : Whereas they further inform us of their desires to take the councell of him who is called Wonderful, let it be considered whether that be wholly inconsistent with taking advice from pious and learned men; if so, the courte is more to blame than we, for advising thereunto, nor can their worships be excused in the next clause, wherein our neibours tell us, that if we can, they cannot be so slight in matters of worship as to put them to arbitration ; for we have desired nothing of them but which the courte advised unto. So if we are guilty, slightness for offering to attend the courts advice, wr is the courts for propounding it? But they further tell us of one thing in our paper to which they adhere, viz: that persons not interested in a case are the fittest judges concerning it ; but if they adhere to this, as they pretend, what means the following expressions : that such for our civill differences they hope to meet us with, but why not for our ecclesi- astical differences likewise ? Are not men as lyable to pride, self-love and par- tiality, in ecclesiastical as in civil1 differences ? But their will is sufficient. They go on, that if we affirm, (what they know to be true,) yt our grand differ- ence is about the worship of God, we should show them wherein they miss their rule, but what shall we gett yt? They tell us we shall thereby discharge our duty, engage their affections and have the greater peace in ye injoyment of our own persuasions, by ourselves ; but it seems we shall not attayn their company in conjunction with us, notwithstanding : no, though should most convincingly shew them that wherein they differ from us, they miss their rule, yet still we must not hope for any more, but a peaceable injoyment of our own persuasion by our- selves: as for them, it seems they are resolved in their way, hit or miss, and will rather separate from their rule, than conjoin with us. But to proceed, they further inform us (as a thing by no means to be omitted) that our writing did not answer their expectation, nor our promise as they took it up: as for their ex. pectation, we must let it alone to themselves to explain what it was. As for any promise they had from us, we know not that in the least we have fayled to ac- complish it. But for a conclusion, they are pleased to propound an halfe-dozen of questions, uppon our answer to which they promise to come to some conclu- sion. But let it be remembered yt they have denyed us any further treaty till they have a list of our names, and something to manifest the consent of all our party with any imployed by them : so that unless we will answer their insolent demands, uppon that account, an answer to their questions will be of little value. And farther, lest it be considered yt if our proffering to attend the courts advice, in submitting our differences to the judgment of a counsell, doth ingage us to
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answer those questions of yours, certainly the courts advising us to so doe doth much more ingage them to make their responsive part of the catechize unto yr worships ; therefore we shall wholly refuse it. Some time after our receipt of yours, we received another paper, inviting us to a counsell or meeting of Elders at New Haven. But how much reason, ingenuity, or verity yr paper contayns, is worth yr inquiry. First, they tell us they thought good to acquaint us with such a meeting, as a good providence in order to the attaynment of the end aimed at in ye courts advice, and yet themselves have before, once and again, peremnto- rily refused to submitt any ecclesiastical differences amongst us to the judgment of a counsell. Again they desire, if we will make use of that opportunity, that we should acquaint them.
This is a true copy according to the originall, examined by me.
Mr. WM. HILL, Clarke."
The result of this application to the October Session, 1669, was a resolution advising the First church to comply with the desire of Mr. Walker's party, to have union services, allowing Mr. Walk- er to preach one part of each Sabbath. The church did not heed this advice, but excluded them from the church entirely. No more appears of record till Sept. 29, 1670, following the organiza- tion of the new church, by consent of the neighboring churches, May 5, 1670, when a communication was addressed to the First Church, (p. 130,) sadly complaining of the treatment they had re- ceived, by which they had been made such " causeless sufferers," and the "house of God and religion suffered as well as we"- asking " that you would so far bethinke yourselves what injury you have done us in excluding us from the place of publick wor- ship, wherein you know our right to be as good as yours, and how unwilling yourselves would have beene to be so dealt with,-as to suffer us, without any molestation or disturbance, to return to the enjoyment of that our right in the meeting-house, therein to have the improvement of our minister one part of each Sabbath." If they wished " to oppose and resist so rationall and just a propo- sition as this," then they proposed to divide the town, and sepa- rate, " that so, by the removall of one party, there may at length be a cessation of those so long lasting troubles that have been amongst us." They also gave notice that they should, in case no arrangement was made, apply to the General Court. They did so apply, at the Oct. Session, 1670, and a committee was appointed to " view the lands desired, and consider the proposition, but nothing was effected by the committee, nor was any report made. There
1 State Archieves, Ecclesiastical, 1 Vol.
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is no record of any other action in the matter, on the part of the authorities of the Colony, till May, 1672, when, as we have seen, on the advice of Gov. Winthrop, Mr. Walker and his church were granted lands, and allowed to found a new town at Pomperang.
The Second church of Stratford was organized under Rev. Zech- ariah Walker, as pastor, May 5, 1670. A clear light is thrown upon the nature of the dissensions for the last three preceding years, when in Oct. 1667, the dissentients had been granted au- thority to have a minister for themselves. He says, in the open- ing of his history of the Second church :-
" After great indeavours for an union wth ye former chh., and much patience therein, wn long experience had too plainly evidenced yr irremovable resolution to oppose an union wth us, though nothing had appeared of any such great dis- tance in our apprehensions, as might be inconsistent yrwith : All hopes of suc- cess in our indeavours being at length taken away, we thought ourselves bound to seek after ye injoyment of ye ordinances of God in a distinct society, finding ye door shut agst. or attaining it in any other way : we did yrfore, first more pri- vately (by reason of ye great opposition wrwth we were attended) set apart a day of solemn humiliation, &c."
Mr. Walker says, (p. 131,) that nothing of any " such great dis- tance " between their several opinions existed, as might prevent " an union." We should also think not, for since the Oct. Session of the General Court in 1667, there had been no matter of discus- sion between them, except to determine whether they could agree on joint services in "preaching and prayer," in their joint prop- erty, the meeting-house, and failing in that, to see if they could agree on separate hours of the day in which each party might attend the services of its own minister. The First church was unbending throughout. They would not have union meetings. They would not consent that Mr. Walker should occupy the meeting-house either part of the Sabbath. By the order of the Court they must not dis- turb the First church. They must obtain their rights peaceably. The First church insisted they would be disturbed, if the Second church occupied the house either part of the day, and so they kept them out. There was no matter of " great distance" at issue, but hav- ing the advantage, they would not accord them even their just rights.
It is to be noted, that the new Stratford church was organized by "ye approbation of ye chhs. of Fairfield, Killingworth and ye new church at Windsor." What was this new church at Wind- sor ? Was it formed on the Hooker and Stone plan, or was it formed as a result of the differences there in regard to "church membership and baptism ?"
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Thus have we carefully examined, and discussed each recorded trace of the facts connected with the church dissentions at Strat- ford, with calmness, and with the earnest desire to arrive at the truth. As the accuracy of the former conclusions of the writer had been called in question, after they had passed into several his- torical works, and become embedded, so to speak, in the history of the State, the duty to re-examine the subject became imperative. The reader now has before him, in the two volumes of this work, every thing now extant that has been recorded concerning this controversy, so far as we know or believe, as well as the differing theories of the "Stratford " and "Woodbury Views," and each one can form his conclusions for himself. While the writer, from his renewed examination, has only become more confirmed in the theory, that the subject matter of the disputes at Stratford re- lated principally to the Half-way Covenant system and cognate theories, and not to simple differences about adopting the modes of Congregationalism or Presbyterianism, he will in no wise be disturbed if others should come to a different conclusion. The truth of history required him to present the evidence, and that being done, his responsibility in this regard is ended.
CHAPTER IV.
CIVIL HISTORY.
ACCURACY OF AMERICAN HISTORY ; CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FATHERS ; FREE HOME-LOTS ; COMMENTS ON THE "FUNDAMENTAL ARTICLES;" LOWER NONNEWAUG FALLS; OLD MILL-STONES ; BETHEL ROCK; THE FIRST MEETING-HOUSE; SEO- OND MEETING.HOUSE ; SABBATH-DAY HOUSES; CHURCH CUSTOMS; BEAR-HILL AND RAGLAND SHEEP PASTURE ; DRUMMING FOR CHURCH MEETINGS ; FIRST ARTI- ZANS ; WOODEN SHOES ; RIDE AND TIE; GOING TO CHURCH ; IRON KETTLE ; QUASSAPAUG SCENE ; REFLECTIONS.
HERE is one peculiarity in the his- tory of our nation which applies to no other. We go back to the ear- liest days, and record all the mi- nute events of our own origin. There is no nation except, perhaps, the Jewish, that undertakes to do this. We record the annals of our time, step by step, noting every event as it occurs, with great particularity and accuracy. "No one of the present nations of Europe can tell a word of their earliest an- cestors ; or even specify the century in which their territory was first taken possession of by them ; but all is as involved in obscurity as are the years before the flood." Scarcely more is known of them than of the location of the Garden of Eden. All their early history is a mithical period, and one scarcely knows where their authentic annals begin. But it is far different with our early history as a na- tion. Weknow the men who said they would be free, and who laid the foundation of this mighty republic. We know whence they came, the spot to which they came, the object for which they came, and the year, the month, and the day they took possession." They began at once to make, and require of their officers the keeping of records of all events of interest in their independent, civil communities. Neglect was punished with severe penalties. " Our nation owes a lasting debt of gratitude to our ancestors, for their fidelity in recording the incipient steps taken by them in
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settling this new world." We have seen, in the preceding pages, with what care our fathers preserved the history of the events, painful in themselves, which resulted in the settlement of our town. We respect them for it. If they had faults, they dared confess them, and meet such retribution as properly attached to them. It is the great, apparent trait in our ancestors, one on which they seemed to pride themselves, that they studied deeply the questions that interested them, formed their opinions deliberately, and, having become assured that any particular course or theory was right, they dared avow and defend it, whatever might be the consequences of such avowal or action. It is to be remembered, always, that they were cut off from nearly all the privileges which we possess. They had fled to a wilderness inhabited by savages and wild beasts. They were poor. They had but the bare neces- saries of life, forced from an unwilling soil. They had neither the daily nor weekly newspaper, bringing them intelligence and useful information from the whole civilized world. Books were rare, and of schools there were none, till they were able to " set them up" amid the forests. Laborious days and nights were con- tinually required to eke out the naked requirements of humanity, and to reclaim and cause the desert lands to- bud and blossom as the rose, and make possible the introduction of a more refined civilization. Yet they had, thanks to the old Puritan care, the rudiments of an education. Most of them could read and write, and search the holy Scriptures. Many were from the more intel- ligent classes and higher walks in life in the old world, who had fled to this new land for opinion's sake. And, above all, they " had a scholar to their minister "-a learned man-" in every town and village." Their religion was intellectual and doctrinal, rather than emotional, and the consequence was, that while they felled the forests and tilled the stubborn soil, they thought deeply, were imbued with the importance of the conclusions to which they arrived, and the inspirations that glowed in their hearts, while an overwhelming sense of the "justice and majesty " of God, whose servants they were, to shew forth his glory on earth, made them fully persuaded, that each important act of theirs should be recorded, and have its controlling influence on the gen- erations. Hence the care they took of their records. Hence the fact, that we are so perfectly informed of all the past of our country.
In looking over the early acts of our fathers, another thing at- tracts out attention, and that is the care with which they selected
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their associates in founding their new town. With their first as- sociates they were well acquainted. They had battled with them side by side, in their contests with the First church, for six years. They knew how reliable they were, and they simply covenanted with each other, that they would make the new plantation " their dwelling place four whole years after ye such y' removal, before they shall have liberty to dispose of their Accommodations yre granted them. Granted to any other person in the way of sale, or alienation, to prevent discouragement to ye sª plantation." And even after this time had elapsed, the owner could sell or let his property to no person, " but such as ye town shall approve of." But that there should be no hardship in the matter, the town, on its part, agreed either to purchase the lands of any person who desired to sell and remove, or approve of purchasers who were "blameless men in their conversation, with certificates according to law." They not only desired to plant and establish the right institutions, but to make it certain that they should be preserved to all time.
It will be remembered that in removing to the wilderness, there was no expense for land. The town lands were free, so far as any colonial charge was concerned. There were expenses in clearing the territory of the rights of the original proprietors, expenses of removal, and various other joint charges, which must be defrayed. Though all our fathers were poor on their first entrance on these western lands, yet there were distinctions even among them in their worldly possessions. For this provision was made, that every thing might be done according to the rules of equity and justice. The charges mentioned constituted the indebtedness of the new colony. The lands constituted their capital, or wealth, which, pursuant to their grant from the General Court, and their own ar- ticles of association, (p. 39,) they were to divide in proportion to the amount they severally contributed to the expenses of estab- lishing the plantation. Meanwhile, they reserved liberal quanti- ties of land for the support of the ministry, the establishment of a school, and for the accommodation of such new settlers as they should approve and admit to become inhabitants, which newly received inhabitants were allowed a proportion of the lands on paying into the town treasury a sum sufficient to make them equal with the " first removing proprietors." They granted "ac- commodations," without a pecuniary payment, to skilled artizans and professional men, as an inducement to settle with them, and
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enable them to avail themselves of their educated skill. Accord- ingly, we find that they thus endowed the town miller, blacksmith,1 fuller and a physician-but not the lawyer-that was reserved to a later and more luxurious period. This mode of land division was not very dissimilar to the present "homestead law," for the encouragement of settling our western lands. After the settle- ment each inhabitant was to pay his share of the public expenses, in proportion to the amount of his land received from the common stock, without regard to the amount of personal property. To effect this purpose, " Adjusters' Books" were kept, and lands sold, or purchased, or set out in their land divisions, were added to, or subtracted from their land accounts, and thus a perfectly certain basis for taxation was furnished. There was no chance for the concealments which are now so abundantly furnished by our mode of assessments and taxation.
Another particular in the Fundamental Articles is to be noticed, (p. 40). It is the condition by which all engaged, " each for him- selfe not only, that wee will not any way disturb ye peace y'in, but also, that we will personally subject ourselves to that Ecclesi- astical Government that shall be there established, or practised agreeable to ye Word of God," and agreed to forfeit their lands, and all interest in the plantation, in case of a breach of this con- dition. They had just issued from a religious dissension, which ran through several years. It had become necessary, on this ac- count, to remove into the wilderness, and they resolved that they would so order their affairs, that there could never be a similar occurrence in their day and generation. Doubtless from this con- dition, in some measure, may we attribute the fact, that there was no schism in the church, involving a division of its membership, for more than one hundred and forty years. Six Societies had, meanwhile, been permitted, in brotherly love, to set up for them- selves, made necessary by the increase of the inhabitants, and the
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