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 8
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A true Copy of Record Examined by George Wyllys, Secretary. - Conn. Colonial Rec- ords.
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did not receive the unanimous consent of all persons interested. In fact, a strong opposition existed against it in some parts of the town.
At this time, and previously, the inhabitants were mostly farmers, and principally resided in the rural district. The first mercantile business in the town was transacted at the Road (the location of the present meeting-house), which derived its name from the fact that the first road that was travelled in this town passed through the town platt and by the old meeting-house at Agreement Hill, where all the town meetings, courts, and public gatherings were held. So it was called the Road, because it was the place on the road where all their public business was trans- acted.
The first commercial business was carried on by Thomas Stan- ton and sons at Pawcatuc, which was mostly confined to the West India trade. Their trading house was on the Connecticut side of the river, and their principal wharf was Pawcatuc Rock.
Later, and before 1660, Thomas Hewitt and others, seafaring men, traded at Long Point and at Mystic, being engaged in the coasting trade. At the time of the union Long Point was the only village of any consequence in the town, containing about five hundred inhabitants. From their location they did not sym- pathize with the union. They were situated about three miles from both of the old meeting-houses, and nearly the same dis- tance from the proposed location of the new meeting-house, and as their population was rapidly increasing they felt the necessity of having a meeting-house in their midst, and hence they op- posed the erection of the new house contemplated by the union. But they were in the minority, and were compelled to bide their time. The inhabitants located in the Wequetequoc, Pawcatuc, Anguilla, and Togwonk sections of the town, strongly favored the union. Not so with a majority of the people that had struggled so long " for the church at Agreement Hill." They saw in its consummation the abandonment of their favorite site. Hence they quietly united with the Long Point people in preventing the erection of the new house.
From the earliest settlement of the town, and the formation of the Church in 1674, several of the inhabitants residing on the east side of Groton, attended meeting at Agreement Hill. They, too, as well as the inhabitants of the Mystic Valley, were opposed to
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the erection of the new house, because it carried their place of worship farther away from them.
In 1767, a memorial, signed by Capt. John Denison and others of Stonington, and another memorial, signed by Moses Fish and others of Groton, were presented to the Assembly of the Colony, setting forth that the territory embraced in the South Society in Stonington, and the South Society in Groton, extending from the river Thames on the west to the Pawcatuc River on the east, was large enough for three societies, and asking to have the same di- vided into three parishes, viz .: One parish to be located on the east side of Stonington, and another on the west side of Groton, and the third to include the Mystic Valley, with its meeting-house located east of Mystic River on the old post road.
These memorials did not succeed, but indirectly had the effect designed by the Stonington petitioners. Their object was to es- tablish a place of public worship at Long Point, and at the proper time to build a meeting-house there. The society committee and Mr. Eells to some extent favored this project, for they made ar- rangements the next year to have preaching at Agreement Hill, or the West Meeting-house as it was then called, every Sabbath forenoon, and at the new academy at Long Point in the afternoon, entirely abandoning the Centre or East Meeting-house as it was then called.
These proceedings were in direct contravention of the terms of the union, and produced so much dissatisfaction in certain lo- calities, that, in 1769, a memorial to the Assembly was prepared and signed by Walter Palmer and others, charging the previous memorialists of 1767, and the Society committee, with violating the terms of the union.
The Society met May 4, 1769, and appointed Joseph Denison, Esq., agent of the Society, to answer unto and defend against said petition. For some reason, not now fully understood, this petition was not acted upon by the Assembly.
The second meeting-house at Agreement Hill had been stand- ing for about forty years and began to need repairs, and those who favored the union were opposed to it.
But at a meeting held in October, 1771, a vote was passed pro- viding for mending the lower windows with the glass of the upper windows, to repair the doors and board up the windows where the glass was taken out. But the meeting at which these repairs
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were voted, adjourned to November 6, and from that day to No- vember 18, at which time a vote was passed providing that the " West Meeting-house be new covered throughout, new windows with new sashes and glass, and new doors, front and side, galleries pewed, and the whole of the pews to be numbered, and sold yearly at public auction in December." By some means a portion of the ministry land money that belonged to the East Society before the union, had been lost, or was so situated that the Society was unable to collect the interest or principal ; so, at the same meeting, a committee was appointed to make said repairs, and to sell the East (or Centre) Meeting-house and to convert the money to re- pairing the West Meeting house, except enough out of the sale of said meeting-house to make the ministry money in the east part of the Society equal with the west part of said Society ; and the moneys arising from the sale of the pews to be applied to the re- pairs of the house, and the remainder, if any, to be deposited in the treasurer's hands. But if the sale of the East Meeting-house and the sale of the pews in the West, be insufficient to defray the expense of said repairs, the remainder to be paid by a rate on the inhabitants of the Society.
These votes were considered by some as subversive of the terms of the union, and another Society meeting was called for January 24, 1772, for the purpose of rescinding the votes of the Society providing for the sale of the East and the repairs of the West house. The meeting was adjourned to January 30, at which time a motion to rescind said votes was voted down.
The union party were so dissatisfied with the action of the last meeting, that they demanded another meeting of the Society, which was called and held March 30, 1772.
When a motion to rescind the action of the meeting of Nov. 18, 1771, was defeated, it was voted to hold their religious meet- ings for the future at the West Meeting-house on Agreement Hill. This vote was not designed to interfere with the after- noon service at Long Point, which was continued.
Capt. Daniel Fish, a prominent man of the union party, joined by some of his friends, drew a memorial to the General Assembly, which was read at a Society meeting, held May 12, 1772, setting forth " that said Society had passed several votes subversive of the true interest and meaning of the terms of the union." The meeting voted to defend the action before the General Assembly,
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and appointed Paul Wheeler and John Cotton Rosseter, agents for that purpose.
Captain Fish did not present. his. memorial to the Assembly until the October session of that year, when after a full hearing a committee was appointed, consisting of Mr. William Hillhouse, Robert Creary, and Samuel Stewart, who were directed to visit Stonington, and adopt such measures as in their judgment would best promote the interest of said society.1
The committee did not immediately enter upon the discharge of the duties of their office, nor was anything done about the matter until the spring of 1773, when a Society's meeting was called and held April 13, which meeting was attended by the As- sembly's committee, who stated the object of their coming, and read the act of the Assembly under which they were acting, and advised the people to harmonious action, whereupon the meeting adjourned to the next day, when a large meeting assembled and took into consideration the action of the Assembly's committee and the various propositions of the memorialists, and finally re- scinded all votes obnoxious to them ; appointed a committee to meet and act with a committee of the memorialists, to treat fur- ther with the Assembly's committee, in relation to their future conduct, and then adjourned to the next day.
During the intervals between the meetings, the Assembly's committee heard the statement of both the societies, and memo-
1 At a General Assembly of the Governor and Company of the English Colony of Con- necticut in New England in America holden at New Haven in said Colony on the second Thursday of October, 1772. Upon the memorial of Daniel Fish and sundry other sub- scribers, inhabitants of the first society of Stonington vs. the inhabitants of said society, complaining that said society had passed several votes subversive of the true intent and meaning of an agreement entered into by the two societies now united and of which the present first society is composed and which said agreement and union was established by this Assembly in May 1765, and thereupon praying for the interposition of this Assembly as pr their memorial more at large appears. This Assembly having heard the parties and being of opinion that the said agreement of union established as aforesaid, ought to be by the said society well and truly observed, recommend to said society by all means to en- deavour to maintain peace and union among themselves by a conformity thereto and for their assistance and encouragement therein this Assembly appoints William Hilhouse, Rob- ert Creary and Samuel Stewart Esqrs. a committee to repair to said first society and en- deavour by their advice assistance and council to reconcile the parties compromise the difficulties subsisting among them and further ascertain the method of their future con- duct and in case they shall not be able to accomplish so desirable a purpose, they are di- rected to enquire into all the circumstances relative to said difficulties and make report of all such matters as may be material for a determination on said memorial and make re- port thereof with their opinion thereon to this Assembly in May next. - Conn. Archives, by C. J. Hoadley.
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rialists' committee, and gave both parties a full hearing, and finally advised the society to " immediately erect and build a new meet- ing-house at the place where it was agreed on by the union of said societies." When the meeting assembled on the 15th, the advice of the Assembly's committee was read to the meeting, which, after an angry discussion, reciting all the old points of dif- ference, was rejected.
The committee further recommended to the Society to meet for divine worship alternately, according to the union, until they could agree to build the house proposed. This advice was dis- regarded and voted down, and the meeting was dissolved.
Another Society meeting was held on the 26th of the same month, to consider the propriety of building a new meeting- house as advised by the Assembly's committee ; but after a day of angry and further discussion, the project was again voted down.
The trouble did not end here, for some of the inhabitants of the west part of the Society now assumed the role of memorial- ists, and petitioned the General Assembly to be made and estab- lished a society, with a few of the inhabitants of the two societies in Groton. So another Society meeting was held May 13, 1773, which voted to comply with that part of Captain Fish's memorial " in which they pray, that they may be constituted two societies, with the same privileges and advantages as they were possessed of and had before the union," with certain conditions relative to taxation and building meeting-houses, etc., and then appointed " Mr. Elnathan Rosseter an agent, to attend the General As- sembly then in session, with full power to transact any matters relating to said Society, for or against them."
When the Assembly met, the committee made their report,1
1 To the Honorable General Assembly of the Colony of Connecticut, to be holden at Hart- ford the second Thursday of May next. We your Honours Comtee appointed at your ses- sions in Octobr last, upon the memorial of Dan1. Fish and sundry other subscribers inhab- itants of the first society of Stonington complaining, that said society had passed several votes subversive of the true intent & meaning of an agreement, entered into, by the two society's now united, and of which the present first society is composed, and which sd agreement & union was established by this Assembly in May A. D. 1765, and thereupon praying for the interposition of sd Assembly; and thereupon this Assembly appointed us the subscribers a comtee, to repair to sd first society, & endeavour, by our advice assist- ance & council to reconcile the parties, compromise the difficulties subsisting among them, and further ascertain the method of their future conduct and in case so desirable an end could not be effected, then to enquire into the circumstances relative to sd difficultys and make report of all such matters as may be material for a determination on sd memorial,
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which was accepted in the lower house, and the act establishing the union repealed, which repeal was concurred in by the upper house. Afterwards the vote of the lower house was reconsidered, and the matter continued to the October session ; subsequently the upper house concurred.
The society held another meeting September 22, 1773, whereat they reappointed Mr. Elnathan Rosseter agent for the society, to appear at the October session and defend against Captain Fish's memorial " till said affairs be completed."
with our opinion thereon &c: We would beg leave to report to your Honrs that on the 13th day of instant April we repaired to sd first society, who were then on sd day con- vened together in publick society meeting; and we then publish'd to said society the act of Assembly referred to, and sd society took the same into consideration, and continued their meeting by adjournments from time to time, until the 15th which time was spent, both in the meeting & in the recesses thereof in consulting and advising with sd society and their comtee appointed by them to treat with us on the premises ; and sd society upon consideration of the advice of the Assembly, and to restore peace and harmony, revoked those votes of the society complained of by the memorialist, so as to be satisfactory. Whereupon the society then proceeded to the consultation, what might be best in regard to their future conduct, but being of various minds, & not able or so happy as to unite on any expedient to which they could generally agree, they by a large comtee of the society, laid those matters before us, and upon a full hearing of all parties, we find that the two old meeting houses mentioned in the memorial, are very much out of repair and will doubtless cost a large sum to put them into any decent position to meet in which sum laid out in building, together with the materials that may be used of the two old houses, would be a very considerable advance towards building of a new house, and considering the sit- uation of the two houses, and all other matters relative thereto, we gave it as our opinion & advice to sd society that they do immediately erect and build a new meeting house at the place where it was agreed on by the union of sd society. Which advice of ours was by sd society taken into consideration but not comply'd with by the society : We further recommend to the society to meet for divine worship alternately according to the union until they can agree to build the house proposed.
All which is submitted by your Honrs Humble Servts.
STONINGTON April 16th, 1773.
WM HILLHOUSE
SAMLL STEWART Comtee.
ROBERT CRARY
Comtee Fees, 6. Expences, 2-13-6.
In the L. House. This report is accepted & thereupon resolved that the act or resolve of this Assembly by which the sd two societies mentioned in ye petn & report aforesd were united be repealed & made null & void & liberty of a bill &c.
Test, WM WILLIAMS, Cler. Concurred in the Upper House. Test, GEORGE WYLLYS, Secret'y.
In the Upper House. On reconsideration the vote of this House in concurring with the Lower House is revoked, and the matter of the report of sd committee is referred to the consideration of the General Assembly to be holden at Newhaven on the 2d Thursday of October next, and that in the mean time the Revd. Mr. Eells of Stonington be noticed thereof and of said report.
In ye L. House. On reconsidera. concurred.
Conn. Archives, by J. C. Hoadley.
Test, GEORGE WYLLYS, Secret'y.
Test, W. WILLIAMS, Cler.
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The matter came before the Assembly at its October session, and was continued to the May session following. During the winter of 1773-4 the inhabitants residing at Long Point came to the conclusion, that the time had arrived for them to secure a permanent place of worship in their midst, so they employed Nathaniel Miner, Esq., to prepare a petition to the next session of the General Assembly, setting forth their claims and the ad- vantages that would result to them therefrom.
The petition 1 was drawn and signed by eighty-three persons, and presented to the Assembly in May, 1774.
1 To the Honourable General Assembly of the Colony of Connecticut to be held at Hart- ford on the second Thursday of May instant. The memorial of William Morgan, Ben- jamin Park, John Denison 4th, Joseph Denison 2d, Oliver Hillard, Edward Hancox, Oliver Smith, & the rest of the subscribers hereto in behalf of themselves & the profess- ors of the Establish'd Religion of the Colony, living at a place called Long Point in Stonington in the county of New London humbly shewetli, that they are 'scituate near four miles from any meeting house, & that the inhabitants living at sd Long Point are generally poor, they living principally by the whale & cod fishery, there carried on, to the public advantage, by which means within a few years said place has increas'd to upwards of eighty families, among which are twenty widows, seventeen of which have children or families there, that the whole number of inhabitants are nigh to five hundred, that there is not among them more than one horse to ten families, so that but very few are able to attend meeting at the meeting house except those that are robust hardy & us'd to travel on foot, which are very few, the greater number of said inhabitants consisting of women & children, that thereupon the society have for several years consented to have one ser- mon preached at sd point every sabbath by their Revd Pastor, which he has performed & is still willing to continue, but their numbers has so increas'd that it is very inconvenient for those that do attend publick worship (as they have no where to convene but in a small school house or private houses,) & many more than at present do attend would if there was room to accommodate them : that for the want of a proper place to meet in for the cel- ebrating divine service, many who otherwise would gladly attend, totally neglect attend- ing any publick worship, by which means the sabbaths are misspent & may be more & more misspent & prophaned, that those who would be glad to build a house & maintain preaching & good order among them have been & continue unable of themselves to bear the expence, by which the cause of religion much suffers there, & the good people among them greatly fear the increase of vice & irreligion. That the town of which yr.memorial- ists are a part, have lately paid & are liable to pay upwards of one thousand pounds for the deficiency of several collectors that have lately fail'd, that your memorialists from great necessity, by their being very remote from any constant grist mill, have lately contrib- uted about £70 as an incouragement to an undertaker to build a wind mill at sd point, which with about the same sum lately subscribed by sd inhabitants for a school house, with the great labour & expence they have been at to make roads & causeways to sd point, all which with the poor success that attended the last years fishery, & the lowness of markets & the various & different sentiments in the religious denomination of Christians among them, viz: First day Baptists, Seven day Baptists, & the Quakers or those call'd Friends, are such real grief & great discouragements to your memorialists, who are of the Estab- lish'd Religion of this Colony, that they can no longer think of obtaining a meeting house by subscription or any other ways among themselves. Wherefore they humbly pray that liberty may be granted to build a meeting house for publick worship at sd Long Point, & that your Honours would in your great goodness grant them a Lottery for raising a sum sufficient for the purpose aforesaid or so much as your Honours shall think proper under
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In the matter of the petition 1 of Capt. Daniel Fish and others, pending at this May session, the petitioners appeared and moved, such restrictions & regulations as your Honours shall think fit, & your memorialists as in duty bound shall ever pray.
Dated at STONINGTON, May 10th 1774.
WM MORGAN
NATHLL MINOR
WM CHESTER
BENJAMIN PARK
OLIVER HILLARD
ERASTUS ROSSETER
JOHN DENISON 4th
DAVID PALMER
THANKFUL GALLAWAY
JOSEPH DENISON 2d
WAIT RATHBUN
BORADEL SPARHAWK
EDWARD HANCOX
ELCANAH COBB
PATIENCE AVERY
JOHN RATHBUN
EBENEZER COBB
NATHIL DYER
EDWARD EELLS
STANTON YORK
DAVID HILLARD
JOHN BROWN junr
MARY ELLIOT
ELIZABETH STANTON
ACORS SHEFFIELD
JOHN RATHBUN jun.
SAML SATTERLEE
JAMES TRIPP
ABM BORDEN
BILLINGS BURTCH
JOHN BROWN
SANDS NILES
NATHL TRIPP
JOHN BROWN jun
PETER CRARY
WM FELLOWS
ANDREW BROWN
NATHANIEL BABCOCK
MICHAEL ASH
PAUL CHAMPLIN
WM AVERY
EDWARD S COLEMAN
JOHN LAMB
JAMES BEEBEE
PRUDENCE COBB
THOS BURTCH
STEPHEN MINOR
CULBERT FANNING
ANDREW STANTON
OLIVER SMITH
JERUSHA GRIFFING
NATIIL CRANDAL
JOHN DENISON 5th
REBECCA CHESEBROUGH
NATHL HANCOX
JARED CRANDAL
PAUL CRANDAL
JOSEPH HILLARD
JOHN MINOR
PERSILLA RANDAL
JEREMIAH TENNY
DAVID SEABURY
ANNA COOPER
NATHAN PALMER junr
ELISHA SATTERLEE
LUCY BEEBEE
BENJAMIN C GROFTON
PELEG BROWN
MOSES PALMER.
ELIPHALET BUDINGTON jr
ABIGAIL CHESEBROUGH
SAML BABCOCK
SAMUEL BEBE
ASA PALMER
MARTHA BURCH
THOS. LITTLEFIELD
ROBERT ROBINSON
ISRAEL LEWIS
SAML NILES
SIMEON ASHCROFT
SIMEON ADAMS
NATHANIEL HALL JOB IRISH
JEREMIAH WILBUR
Conn. Archives, by C. J. Hoadley.
No. 83
1 GENERAL ASSEMBLY, May, 1774.
Fish vs. 1st Society of Stonington, on Report of Committee.
And now ye petitionees come & move that sd report may be set aside and the same com- mittee be reappointed with power to inquire into all the matters alledg'd in the petition & to view & examine the state of said society & the covenants which have been made with the Revd Mr. Eells their minister since the union of sd society, or by the east part thereof before the union : and for that purpose to cite the Revd Mr. Eells before them & on the whole matter to report to this Assembly the state of said society the covenants by them or either part of them before ye union, to report all the facts relative thereto & their opin- ion of what on the whole state of said matters ought to be done in respect to sd united so- ciety or either of sd parts of sd united society or the Revd Mr. Eells & that they may have full power & a sufficient authority for that purpose & also to consider whether it be con- venient for a division of sd society & in what manner & also whether sd vote complained of should be carried into execution & in general to consider & report what may be most proper to be done for the best good of said society & all parties concerned under their present circumstances.
ELNATHAN ROSSETER, Agent sd Society.
In the Lower House. On the within motion granted a reappointment of the Committee according to the motion & liberty for a bill &c.
Test
SAML H. PARSONS, Clerk.
Concurred in the Upper House.
Test GEORGE WYLLYS, Secret'y.
Conn. Archives, by C. J. Hoadley.
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that the report of the Assembly's committee, made the year be- fore and continued by regular adjournments to that time, be set aside ; and the same committee be reappointed with enlarged powers, etc. ; whereupon said report was set aside and the same committee reappointed,1 with full power to inquire into all the matters alleged in said (Fish's) petition, and to take into con- sideration the present state of said Society, and whether a division of said Society be proper, and if so formed in what manner ; also the state of the inhabitants at the Point and Harbor, and con- sider whether it be proper for them to have a place allowed for divine service, and to assign a place for building if thought necessary, etc., etc., and to report to the next Assembly.
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