USA > Connecticut > New London County > Stonington > History of the First Congregational church, Stonington, Conn., 1674-1874. With the report of bi-centennial proceedings, June 3, 1874. With appendix containing statistics of the church > Part 11
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Eliza Mary Wheeler 1 00
Emily Avery Wheeler 1 00
Grace Denison Wheeler, thirteen years 1 00
Mary Rosseter Palmer, five years . 1 00
Noyes Palmer, two years 1 00
Alden Rosseter Palmer, four years 1 00
Emeline Palmer 2d 0 00
Charles Henry Noyes, eleven years 25
Harriet J. Palmer 1 00
Hannah Dennison Noyes . 5 00
Abby Jane Noyes
1 00 Anna Brown . 1 00
Anna Noyes .
Annie B. Denison, five years
Sarah E. Denison, adult . 50 00
Phebe M. Denison, adult . 50 00
Nancy Brown 1 00
Helen Brown 1 00
Lydia M. Denison (in memory of) died
aged seven years 1 00
Sarah Norman 1 00
Henry Townshend 3 00
Theodore H. White 5 00
Nancy N. Denison 1 00
Phebe M. Denison 2d 1 00
Mary E. Brown 1 00
1 00 Elizabeth D. Chapman, thirteen years 2 50 1 00 Charles E. Chapman, five years . 2 50
In memory of Chester and Horace
Griswold 10 00
Mrs. Mary E. Copp Williams 5 00
Anthony Morse . 1 00
Annie Kate Vanderpoel Bogert 10 00
Deborah Williams Vanderpoel . 10 00
Hubert R. Palmer, seven years 5 00
Mrs. Jennie G. Palmer 5 00
Avery W. D. Noyes 25 00
Lucy Palmer . 1 00
Mrs. Marcia P. Stanton 5 00
Fannie Stanton Palm er, six years 1 00
Paul Noyes Palmer, two years . 1 00
Henry M. Palmer 1 00
Mrs. Mary R. Palmer 1 00
Theodore Crandall . 1 00
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BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
sanctuary of the fathers, gave the Church and Society in his last will and testament the sum of $250, to be safely invested and the annual income applied for the support of the ministry, on condition that they would raise and put with it the same amount, which was done, the donation received and securely invested ; aggregating in the whole at the present time the sum of $25,000.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF THE MINISTERS.
The Rev. William Thompson, the first resident minister of the Gospel in this place, was educated at Harvard College, and grad- uated in 1653. After his ordination he preached at Springfield, Mass., from 1654 to 1656, and received a call to settle there, which he declined. About this time the Commissioners of the United Colonies, acting for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England, employed him as a missionary to preach to the Pequot Indians, who at that time were under the control of two nominal chiefs, Cassacinnamon and Harmon Garret. The Com- missioners had assigned land for Harmon Garret's Company at Squamacut, between Pawcatuc River and Wecapaug Brook, and to Cassacinnamon's men they gave land at Waramocke in Groton, each a meet proportion.
Mr. Thompson and family came to Stonington in March, 1657, and commenced his labors. His knowledge of the Indian lan- guage was limited and he was first directed to study their lan- guage with Thomas Stanton, " so as to get skill therein." Mr.
Minnie S. Vanderpoel . $5 00 Charles Hewitt Smith, infant, by Emma
Hannah T. Miner
1 00
Hattie Louise Miner, six years . 1 00
Henry H. Miner, two years 1 00
Nora E. Ayers 1 00
Adda Ayers . 1 00
Eveleigh Lord 1 00
Thomas Lamphere 1 00
1 00 John Kane . James Locklin 1 00
Thomas W. Palmer 1 00
Mrs. Thomas W. Palmer 1 00
Mary Esther Fislı, three years . 1 00
Noyes Brown Fish, one and a fourth
years 1 00
Caroline Elizabeth Moss 5 00
Mary D. Moss Mathews
5 00 Ellen A. Moss Cook 5 00 John Knox Moss 5 00
Samuel Henry Moss 5 00
Anna Louise Moss . 5 00
Sallie Palmer Moss 1 00
A. Smith $100 00
Frank W. Palmer . . 25 00
Fred Lamphere 1 00
James Gorman 1 00
George Lamphere 1 00
Emeline Lord 1 00
Mary Lord 1 00
Robert Lamphere 1 00
Harriet Coleman 1 00
Helen Bromley 1 00
Estella Slocum 1 00
Contributed by Abel H. Simmons.
Peleg Williams 5 00
Noyes P. Brown 1 00
Mrs. Martha D. Brown 1 00
In memory of Mrs. Frances M. Wheel-
er . 3 50
$510 00
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Stanton had removed his family to Kritchemaug in Pawcatuc the same year that Mr. Thompson came to study with him, who preached to the planters as well as to the Indians, as opportu- nity offered, receiving all the aid that Mr. Stanton's experience and influence with the Indians could impart.1
Mr. Thompson remained here until 1659, when he removed to New London, and preached to the Indians in that vicinity. The efforts on the part of the Commissioners to Christianize the In- dians did not meet with much success.
Whether this was the fault of Mr. Thompson or not does not clearly appear. For some cause he did not long continue his labors as a missionary, but went to Virginia, where he died in 1665. Mr. Thompson was born in Lancashire, England, and was the son of the Rev. William Thompson and wife Abigail, - whose family came to this country in 1637 and settled at Brain- tree, Massachusetts. While preaching at Springfield he was mar- ried, in Boston, to Katherine, daughter of Richard Treat of Wethersfield, Connecticut.
1 No man in New England at that time possessed so accurate a knowledge of the In- dian character and language as Mr. Stanton. He exerted a wonderful influence over them, and they reposed unlimited confidence in him. He was employed by the colony of Connecticut as an interpreter in all public transactions with the Indians.
The Commissioners of the United Colonies selected him as their interpreter on all civil occasions with them. Mr. Stanton in 1638 interpreted the contract or indenture between Mo-man-gu-in and the first settlers in New Haven, and when the Rev. Abraham Pierson of Branford, Conn., wrote his catechism (or Some Helps for the Indians) in the Quiripi dia- lect, and presented a part of it to the Commissioners at Plymouth in 1656, after due consid- eration they advised him " that it be perfected and turned into the Narragansett or Pequot language, so that it might be better understood by the Indians in all parts of the country." " And for that purpose they spake with and desired Thomas Stanton to advise with Mr. Pierson about a fit season to meet and translate the same accordingly."
The title-page of the book shows that it was " undertaken at the motion and published by the order of the Commissioners of the United Colonies, by Abraham Pierson," "exam- ined and approved by Thomas Stanton, Interpreter General to the United Colonies, &c."
Dr. Trumbull of Hartford says that tlie catechism was not changed as advised. It would however seem that the Commissioners were very anxious that the Pequot Indians should have the benefit of Mr. Pierson's preaching, if not his catechism, for soon after Mr. Thompson left here the Commissioners "seriously and solemnly invited " him "to remove his habitation to Southertown, and to apply himself in a more special . . .. to the work of preaching the Gospel to the Pequots living thereabouts, with promise of suitable en- couragement for his care and pains and travel thence."
Mr. Stanton seemed to lead a charmed life, for in all their raids no Indian ever at- tempted to harm him, or any of his possessions. After the close of King Philip's War, and when he had become an old man, he was frequently visited by Sachems of various tribes, who manifested for him unabated confidence and esteem. Uncas, in his old age, went from Mohegan to Pawcatuc for Mr. Stanton to write his will, taking with him a train of his noblest warriors to witness the same, giving to the occasion all the pomp and pa- geantry of savage royalty.
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The next resident minister was the Rev. Zachariah Brigden, son of Mr. Thomas Brigden and wife Thomasin, of Boston, Massachusetts, who came to this country in 1635 in the Hercules, from Faversham in Kent, England. Mr. Brigden came here to preach by invitation of the town and so continued for about two years and until his death, which took place April 24, 1662.
The next resident and first settled minister was Rev. James Noyes of Newbury, Massachusetts, who came here in 1664 by in- vitation of the town, and preached as a licentiate for ten years, when he was called to the work of the ministry and was ordained September 10, 1674, and labored with this people until his death, which took place December 30, 1719.
In the old Church records the event is noted as follows. " The 18th day of December 1719 the Rev. James Noyes was taken sick and so continued until the 30th day of the same month when he died. He having served in the public ministry in this place 55 years and six months. He lived much desired, and died much lamented." Mr. Noyes was educated at Harvard College and graduated in 1659. He was the second son of the Rev. James Noyes of Newbury, Mass., and was born March 11, 1640. His father was educated at Brazen Nose College in the University of Oxford, England, and entered the ministry, and for his disincli- nation to adopt all of Queen Elizabeth's forms, was driven to Holland, but subsequently returned to England and married Sarah, eldest daughter of Mr. Joseph Brown of Southampton, in 1634, and in March of that year, embarked with his brother Nicholas in the ship Mary and John of London, for Boston.
After his arrival in this country he settled in Newbury, where his son, our Rev. James, was born. His father, William Noyes, was a clergyman, and was instituted Rector in the Diocese of Salisbury, England, in 1602 ; which position he resigned in favor of his brother, Nathan Noyes, in 1620, and was then appointed Attorney General to the King. His son, the Rev. James Noyes, of Newbury, was one of the most eminent men of his day. The Rev. Thomas Parker said of him, that he was among the great- est worthies of the age in which he lived.
During the time when the preliminary steps were being taken for the organization of this town and church, all New England was stirred with the thrilling events that finally culminated in 1675 in what is known as King Philip's War.
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It was the darkest period of her history, and called forth the most heroic efforts on the part of the colonies to save themselves from annihilation. In 1675 almost every able bodied man then in Stonington enlisted and went with the expedition under Major Treat against the Narragansett and Wampenaug Indians, and participated in the terrible swamp fight which took place Decem- ber 19, 1675. The next year Capt. George Denison organized an expedition against the Indians and took with him nearly every man fit to bear arms, and overwhelmed the Indians under Can- nonchet and wellnigh annihilated them. For the important ser- vices rendered these troops and volunteers by Mr. Noyes, as a physician as well as a minister, the General Court gave him an equal share of land with the volunteers in the Narragansett War, which grant comprised the present town of Voluntown, Conn.
No man of his time exerted a wider influence, or commanded more respectful consideration from his fellow men.
Dr. Bacon of New Haven in speaking of him says, " Mr. James Noyes of Stonington was in his day one of the leading ministers of the colony, greatly respected for his wisdom and his piety. He was a distinguished preacher, carrying uncommon fervor and heavenly zeal into all his public performances.
" His ordinary conversation breathed the spirit of that world to which he was endeavoring to guide his fellowmen. In ecclesias- tical controversies he was eminently useful. He was selected to be one of the first trustees and founders of Yale College ; for though he was an old man and in a remote corner of the colony, his influence was deemed essential to the success of the under- taking. During his pastorate Mr. Noyes baptized 1176 persons of all ages, and there were admitted to the church 239 persons.
" The legal right and power to join persons in marriage was not conferred upon ministers of the Gospel in Connecticut until 1694, after which Mr. Noyes celebrated forty-four marriages. The next day after he was ordained, he was married to Dorothy Stanton, daughter of Thomas and Anna (Lord) Stanton, by whom he had seven children, - viz .: Dorothy, James, Thomas, Anna, John, Joseph, and Moses."
Mr. Ebenezer Rosseter was our second settled minister. He was the seventeenth, and youngest child of Josiah and Sarah (Sherman) Rosseter and grandson of Dr. Benjamin and Eliza- beth Rosseter, and great-grandson of Edward Rosseter of Plym-
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outh, England, from which he came to this country in 1630, with the Rev. John Wareham and others, and settled in Dor- chester, Mass.
Hutchinson the historian informs us that he was of a good family in the west of England, whence all the Dorchester people came. He was one of the assistants, and died the first year of the settlement.
Mr. Ebenezer Rosseter was educated at Yale College and grad- uated in 1718, and was ordained over this Church December 19, 1722, which relation he sustained until the time of his death, October 11, 1762. During his pastorate, as has been herein- before stated, his Church and Society were after a long and severe struggle divided. But his wisdom and prudence was such that all parties cherished for him unabated confidence and esteem.
It was during his pastorate that the great awakening of the New England churches took place. It commenced in 1735, under the searching preaching of Dr. Edwards, and spread rapid- ly throughout the land. This Church was reached and blessed by it, and large numbers were hopefully converted. During its progress the Rev. John Davenport, of Long Island, came this way and preached for some time.
He styled himself an itinerant preacher, but instead of preach- ing in the waste places of the land to build up and establish churches where none existed, he entered the churches of the standing order, and denounced their pastors as unconverted men.
Mr. Davenport preached here only occasionally and at Mr. Eells' church, but remained for some time with the North Ston- ington Church, where his preaching took such effect that it di- vided the Church, and a Separatist, or strict Congregational Church was formed in 1746. Their Articles of Faith and Church Covenant were eminently Calvinistical, for they declared that " we are of that number who are elected of God to eternal life, and that Christ did live on earth and die and live again, for us in particular." A few only from this Society, during his pastorate, united with the new Separatist's Church.
Mr. Rosseter was a devoted and earnest preacher, and his piety was so eminently displayed in his daily walk and conversa- tion, that no one could make his hearers believe that he was an unconverted man.
Unfortunately the records of Mr. Rosseter's baptisms for his
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last ten years are lost, and the record of his admissions for his last five years are not to be found. The Society's records for the last nineteen years of his life are missing. The number of bap- tisms preserved during his pastorate are 636, admissions, 154, marriages, 179.
Mr. Rosseter married Hannah White, October 7, 1723, daugh- ter of the Rev. Ebenezer White, of Long Island, by whom he had nine children : Ebenezer, Ebenezer, Mehitabel, Hannah, Sarah, Mary, Elnathan, and John Cotton.
The next settled minister was the Rev. Nathaniel Eells, who was educated at Harvard College, and graduated in 1728. He was the son of the Rev. Nathaniel Eells of Scituate, who married Hannah North, of Hingham, who was said to be aunt of Fred- erick, Lord North, Prime Minister of England during the Revo- lutionary War, and grandson of Samuel Eells of Hingham and Anna Lenthal, daughter of the Rev. Robert Lenthal, of Wey- mouth, Massachusetts.
After the ordination of Mr. Eells in 1733, he pursued his labors with unremitting zeal and success. Scarcely was he established here before the great awakening was felt in this re- gion ; catching, as if by inspiration, the coming of the Lord, he bent all his energies to the great work of salvation.
This revival of religion was continued for years, with the hap- piest results, and would have been far more extensive but for the intemperate zeal of men like Davenport and others of his type. Mr. Eells invited Mr. Whitefield to preach for him at the Centre Meeting-house. He accepted, came, and preached in the after- noon of July 19, 1747. So great were the multitude to hear him that he left the meeting-house and spoke to the people from a platform erected under the shade of a large elm tree, near the church. A period of religious declension followed the efforts of Davenport, and the church for several years did not enjoy any special outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
In 1762 Mr. Rosseter died, and then both societies, and the east and west portions of the Church, were reunited under the pastorate of Mr. Eells. The union increased his labors and responsibilities, which he assumed and discharged to great ac- ceptance, preaching for a while in the two old meeting-houses, but as early as 1768 he abandoned the use of the Centre house and preached in the school-house or academy at Long Point every Sabbath afternoon.
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When the War of the Revolution broke out and the news of the battle of Lexington set the patriotism of the country on fire, Putnam left his plough and Mr. Eells his pulpit, and rushed to Boston to defend with their lives, if need be, the liberties of their country.
Mr. Eells was at the time an old man, but he could not resist the patriotic impulse that moved him to go with so many of his parishioners to the field of battle ; nor was he deterred by any love for his royal cousin, then Prime Minister of England. He gave all his influence to the cause of the Colonies, and lived to see the independence of his country secured. Mr. Eells was a great favorite in his parish, especially among the children and youth, who loved him as a father. He was a man of great self- control and unanimity of temper, and carried a genial and wel- come presence that won the hearts of the people.
He married, first, Mercy Cushing, October 18, 1733, by whom he had seven children : Nathaniel, John, Edward, Sarah, Mercy, Sarah, and Nathaniel. Mrs. Mercy Eells died. He married for his second wife Mary Darrel, October 10, 1753, by whom he had seven children : Rebeckah, Lydia, Samuel, Joseph, Hannah, Elizabeth, and Benjamin.
Mr. Eells during his pastorate baptized 747 persons, admitted to the church 115 ; marriages, 455. Mr. Eells was succeeded in the ministry by the Rev. Hezekiah North Woodruff. He was from Farmington, Connecticut, and was educated at Yale Col- lege. His pastorate extended over a period of fourteen years, which was not productive of any marked results.
After his departure he went to Aurora in the town of Scipio, New York, where he remained for several years. In 1813 he was called, and settled at Auburn, New York.
During his pastorate the Church assumed the form of Presby- terian. In August, 1816, his church relation in Auburn was ter- minated. He was afterwards installed over the two churches at Herkimer and Little Falls, New York.
During his pastorate here he baptized 88 persons, 52 admis- sions, and celebrated 106 marriages.
The next settled minister was the Rev. Ira Hart, a native of Bristol, Conn. who was educated at Yale College, graduated in 1797. He studied theology with Dr. Timothy Dwight, and was first settled at Middlebury, Conn. While preaching there, Mr.
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Hart was engaged in a missionary enterprise extending to the Reserve in Northern Pennsylvania and Western New York. He continued his labors in Middlebury until 1808, when a council mutually convened dissolved the pastoral relation that he sus- tained to that Church, giving him the highest testimonials of ability, character, and usefulness.
After he left Middlebury, he preached at North Stonington as a supply for some four months, when he received a call and set- tled here. Mr. Hart was an active, energetic man, and while laboring here, was instrumental in promoting religious enterprises in other places.
Mr. Hart was largely instrumental in forming the Consocia- tion of Congregational Churches of New London County.
The Consociation was duly organized at Preston, by pastor and delegate from the churches, May 31, 1815. Mr. Hart, as pastor, and William Woodbridge, as delegate, represented this Church, and participated in the ceremonies of the occasion. The last war with England took place during his pastorate, and he was chaplain of the regiment commanded by Colonel William Randall, and was present with them at the bombardment of Stonington in 1814. He was a man of superior talents, and was constant in season and out of season. His great energy drove him beyond his strength, his constitution gave away under the pressure of increasing labors, his health rapidly failed him ; after a pastorate of almost twenty years, and upon the day set apart for the dedication of this house of worship, he breathed his last.
During his pastorate there were baptized two hundred and eighty-eight persons, one hundred and fifty-three admitted to the church, and he celebrated one hundred and forty-three mar- riages.
Rev. Joseph Whittlesey, of New Preston, Conn., was next called and settled here, and labored for something over two years, during which time there was an extensive revival of re- ligion, and one hundred and eight persons were admitted to the Church. Mr. Whittlesey left here on account of impaired health, produced by over exertion and the ocean air. He was dismissed at his own request by a mutual council, held December 4, 1832; after which he settled in Haverhill, Mass., and subsequently at Berlin, Conn., when, after an attack of paralysis, he resigned his pastorate, and afterwards became a teacher. He still resides in
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Berlin, where in a green old age he enjoys the confidence and es- teem of his neighbors and friends.
Mr. Whittlesey is a direct descendant of Mr. John Whittlesey and wife, Ruth Dudley, of Saybrook, Conn., who became inhabi- tants of that town soon after 1650, and reared a family of twelve children. Eliphalet, their ninth child, was born July 24, 1679, and married Mary Pratt, of Wethersfield, December 1, 1702, and had three children, Mary, Hannah, and Eliphalet, who was born May 10, 1714, and married Dorothy Kellogg, December 16, 1736, and after her death married widow Hannah Malley, June 28, 1774.
By his first wife he had eleven children, the oldest of which, Martin, born October 1737, married Sarah Deming, of Wash- ington, November 27, 1760. They reared a family of ten children. Their second child, Joseph, was born March 20, 1764, and married Polly Camp, of New Preston, October 6, 1785, by whom he had twelve children, their eighth child being our Rev. Joseph Whittlesey, who was born at New Preston, Conn., De- cember 8, 1797, and married first Maria A. Chappel, of New London, October 10, 1831, and after her death, for his second wife he married Sarah Maria Peck, May 22, 1849.
During his pastorate he celebrated twenty marriages, and bap- tized twenty persons.
After the departure of Mr. Whittlesey, and before the settle- ment of Mr. Shaw, the church at the Borough was formed, which took off more than one half the wealth and membership of the Church.
Rev. Peter H. Shaw was next called, and preached about two years, and at his request was dismissed by a mutual council. He baptized seven persons, and fourteen were admitted to the Church during his stay. He kept no record of the marriages celebrated by him.
He was succeeded in the work of the ministry by the Rev. Nehemiah B. Cook, who came here from Bridghampton, Long Island. Mr. Cook was in early life a pupil of the Rev. Aaron Woodworth, D. D., with whom he studied for the ministry for some two years, and then entered the Theological Seminary at Andover in 1818, and graduated with the class of 1821. He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Long Island the same year, and labored as a missionary in the northern part of Penn-
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sylvania for some time, and as stated preacher in several churches there. August 21st, 1825, he was ordained by the same Presby- tery as an evangelist, and for several years was employed by the churches of Long Island as stated preacher, laboring for eight years in the united churches of Babylon and Fresh Pond.
In 1837, he was invited to supply this pulpit, and after several months received a call from the Church and Society, which he ac- cepted, and was regularly installed and labored with this people for about twenty-two years. Mr. Cook was an earnest, faithful preacher, constant in season and out of season. During his pas- torate the people enjoyed several seasons of deep religious inter- est, and a goodly number were added to the communion and fellowship of the Church. There are many among us who re- member and appreciate his labors, and whose prayers and well- wishes will follow him in his declining years. During his ministry there were added to the Church one hundred and sixty communi- cants, sixty were baptized, and seventy marriages were celebrated by him.
Next came the Rev. Pliny F. Warner, who was educated at Yale College and studied theology at Andover. He preached for about two and one half years very acceptably, and left for a western field of labor.
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