USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Wolcott > History of the town of Wolcott (Connecticut) from 1731 to 1874, with an account of the centenary meeting, September 10th and 11th, 1873 and with the genealogies of the families of the town > Part 12
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This conflict of opinion was not peculiar to Wolcott, but occurred in many communities in the nation. It resulted from the persistent effort of a political party striving to please slaveholders, by intimidation and by formal attacks upon the faith and freedom of the gospel, as maintained by a very large portion of the Christian people of the nation.
REV. AARON C. BEACH'S MINISTRY.
During the interval between Mr. Chapman's dismission and the employment of Mr. Beach, the Rev. Zephaniah
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MINISTRY OF REV. AARON C. BEACH.
Swift supplied the pulpit from nine months to one year, and seems to have given good satisfaction as a minister. Mr. Aaron C. Beach preached his first sermon in Wolcott on December 19, 1841, in the Center School House. On the 6th of September, previous, the Society voted to hold their meetings in the Meeting house, but it is probable, that as the Meeting house was not finished inside, and as there was no way to warm it sufficiently in December, they held their meetings in the school house. Mr. Beach was engaged to preach six months, at the end of which time he received a unanimous call to become the pastor.
He was ordained by New Haven West Consociation, on the 22d day of June, 1842. The members of Consociation present were : Rev. Zephaniah Swift, Rev. John E. Bray, Rev. Jason Atwater, Rev. Anson Smith. The delegates were : Brothers Eben Hotchkiss, of Prospect ; Eli Dick- erman, of East Plains ; Nathaniel Richardson, of Middle- bury ; Amos R. Hough, of Mt. Carmel ; George W. Shelton, of Derby; Andrew W. De Forest, of Hum- phreysville ; Deacon Lucian F. Lewis, of Naugatuck.
Rev. Z. Swift was chosen moderator and Rev. A. Smith, scribe. Revs. S. W. S. Dutton, of New Haven, and E. Lyman, of Plymouth, being present, were invited to sit as corresponding members, and after the examina- tion the ordination services were arranged as follows : Mr. Lyman to offer the introductory prayer, Mr. Dutton to preach the sermon, Mr. Bray to offer the ordaining prayer, Mr. Swift to offer the right hand of fellowship, and Mr. Atwater to address the people and offer the con- cluding prayer. The services were held in the Meeting house, under the "naked rafters," at II o'clock on Wednesday, June 22d, 1842. Mr. Beach graduated at Yale College, in 1835, was licensed to preach in 1838, and remained connected with Yale Theological Seminary till near the time when he began to preach in Wolcott. He had a wife and one child when he came here, and resided three or four years in the house which Mr. Keys had for-
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HISTORY OF WOLCOTT,
merly occupied. After his settlement, the first great work was to finish the Meeting house, which had already been in process of building nearly two years. It was com- pleted January 18th, 1843, and dedicated the next day, and has been a very comfortable and commodious house to the present time. During the year 1843 fifteen per- sons united with the church, and affairs presented a more promising and hopeful appearance than for some years before. Mr. Beach says of his labors here : "No exten- sive revival of religion occurred while I was in Wolcott, but more than once we enjoyed a pleasant season of quickened religious interest, which resulted in additions to the church at different times." Forty-four names were added to the list of members while he labored here ; the church and Society worked together in great harmony, and the way was prepared for better days.
A very important work was accomplished by Mr: Beach in building the house now owned as a parsonage. He built it for himself, but when he closed his labors here the Society purchased it of him. The ground around it, about four acres, was given to him for the purpose of a home, and a hard piece of land it was. There were more than four acres of stones to be disposed of before much soil could be found. Money and work were contributed by the parish,-some say, over a thousand dollars in money, besides the work; but often such matters are over-estimated. Mr. Beach put in money of his own, to the amount of twelve hundred dollars, and when he left there was a debt of five hundred dollars, which the Society accepted; and on this condition Mr. Beach sold them the house. It is a good house, commodious, and pleasantly located, and there would be pleasure in the thought of the accomplishment of so good an object, but for the little item that somebody "paid too dear for his whistle." When they began to build this house, the house that Mr. Woodward had owned, with ten acres of land, and very commodious out buildings, was for sale at the low price
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MINISTRY OF REV. AARON C. BEACH.
of seven hundred dollars. The choice to-day between that and the parsonage would be in favor of the former. If that had been purchased, Mr. Beach might have saved his $1,200, and the Society its $500, and then put that in repair with the extra money over $700 and the labor expended on the parsonage grounds.
MR. BEACH DISMISSED.
At a church meeting held May 10th, 1857, the "church having appointed Deacon A. H. Plumb chairman, re- ceived a communication from their pastor, requesting the church to unite with him in calling the Consociation for the purpose of dissolving his relation to them as their pastor." This communication was as follows : -
"May 10, 1857. To the Congregational Church of Wolcott :
Beloved : It is not without pain and sadness that I separate myself from such tried and faithful friends as you have been to me and mine, in health and sickness, in joy and sorrow, these fif- teen years. But the serious and growing inadequacy of my salary constrains me to ask, and I do hereby ask, you to unite with me in calling the Consociation to dissolve my relations to you as your pastor. Affectionately, your fellow disciple,
AARON C. BEACH."
Upon the reception of this letter the church voted to "grant said request, and accordingly appointed Deacon Orrin Hall a delegate to the said Consociation whenever it shall be convenient for that purpose."
DOINGS OF CONSOCIATION.
At a special meeting of the Consociation of New Haven West, held at Wolcott, May 27th, 1857, there were present the follow- ing pastors and delegates :
Wolcott, A. C. Beach, pastor, Deacon Orrin Hall, delegate ; Waterbury, P. W. Carter, delegate ; Naugatuck, C. Sherman, pas- tor, Bro. David Hopkins, delegate; Oxford, S. Topliff, pastor ; Woodbridge, J. Guernsey, pastor, Bro. Nelson Newton, delegate ;
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HISTORY OF WOLCOTT.
Hamden E. Plains, Deacon Eli Dickerman, delegate; Hamden, Mt. Carmel, Bro. Lucius Ives, delegate ; Seymour, Bro. W. H. Tuttle, delegate.
Mr. Topliff was appointed moderator, and C. S. Sherman, scribe.
After full inquiry and discussion, Consociation voted unani- mously that the pastoral relation between Rev. A. C. Beach and the Congregational Church and Society in Wolcott be dissolved, the dissolution to take place on the 22d proximo. In coming to this result, Consociation express their conviction of the self-de- nying work of Bro. Beach, in laboring fifteen years, under the embarrassments of an inadequate temporal support, to preach the gospel to this people, raising up men and women for useful- ness in other places to which they have been constantly emigra- ting, and preparing saints here for heaven. We sympathize with him in the necessity of leaving a still warmly attached church and people. We sincerely commend him to the ministry and churches as an able and faithful minister. With this church and Society, in their destitute circumstances, we also heartily sympathize, bear- ing witness to their self-denying efforts to sustain the gospel among themselves. We pray the Great Head of the Church that the way may be opened, the means of support supplied, and a faithful servant of Christ be sent to them, and this place not be left waste, or the people be scattered as sheep having no shepherd.
Attest : C. S. SHERMAN, Scribe.
The above statements were very true as to the sacri- fice and efforts on the part both of pastor and people to sustain the preaching of the gospel in this place. Those were the years of emigration from Wolcott. The build- ing of the church was a heavy work for the people, and after the best that could be done in raising money to pay for it, there was a debt of $350, which they tried to liqui- date in the autumn of 1843, but whether they succeeded or not we are not told. In 1846 they took up the subject of procuring a bell, in which they seem to have been successful, partly by the sale of the bell metal of the old bell which melted when the church was burned, and by a special subscription.
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MINISTRY OF REV. AARON C. BEACH.
In 1847 they took up the work of procuring a parson- age, and voted that subscription papers be circulated for this purpose, but they did not succeed. In 1848 they voted to "issue subscription papers to raise $750, for the purpose of buying," for a parsonage, "the place now owned by Mrs. Finch, provided the amount be raised." But they did not succeed in getting the parsonage. Then, in 1849, we find another special subscription for the purpose of paying $100, "arrearages."
The efforts to secure a parsonage having failed, Mr. Beach engaged in building a house for himself, which he finished in good style ; but alas, when he proposed to sell it, the Society could not refund the money he had put into it ; for, to assume the five hundred dollars debt was all they could do, and that cost them many years of hard labor and sacrifice to pay.
Thus closed the labors of Rev. Aaron C. Beach, as pastor in Wolcott.
CHAPTER IX.
REV. STEPHEN ROGERS', REV. LENT S. HOUGH'S, AND REV. W. C. FISK'S MINISTRY : FROM 1858 TO 1872.
REV. STEPHEN ROGERS.
In the Spring of 1858, Rev. Z. B. Burr, of Weston, Conn., received a " call" from this church and Society, but a settlement was not secured with him. In January, 1859, a call was extended to Rev. Stephen Rogers, and in February next the Society concurred in the call, and he was installed, the Society Records say, on the 7th of March, 1859, but the Church Records, a copy of the scribe's paper of the proceedings of Consociation, says the 25th day of March, 1859. Probably the latter is cor- rect.
Members of the Consociation and other churches invi- ted, who took part in the exercises of installation, were as follows : (The list of ministers and delegates present is not preserved.)
Rev. Austin Putnam, moderator; Rev. E. W. Robinson, scribe.
Invocation, by Rev. Geo. Bushnell ; Sermon by Rev. Jas. Averil ; Installation Prayer, by Austin Putnam; Charge to the Pastor, · by Rev. Charles S. Sherman ; Right Hand of Fellowship, by Rev. Alexander D. Stowel; Address to the People, by Rev. E. W. Robinson ; Concluding Prayer, by Rev. E. C. Jones ; Benedic- tion, by the pastor.
Mr. Rogers came from Northfield, and was a man ad- vanced in life, of precarious health, but of noble spirit and of devoted mind. He found a quiet, peaceful parish,
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MINISTRY OF REV. STEPHEN ROGERS.
a good parsonage to live in, and a warm-hearted, working church. It must be noticed here that during the year 1858 the church was greatly revived under the preaching of Rev. Joseph Smith, who was engaged some months as a supply. I find no mention of him in the records of either church or Society. but he was a Methodist local preacher, not engaged regularly in the Conference of that denomination, and resided in or near Birmingham .*
During the year 1858, thirty-nine persons united with the church by profession, quite a number of whom re- main to this day devoted and trustworthy members. Most of these persons united in May, 1858, but it is prob- able that Mr. Smith began to preach in the summer or autumn of 1857, and continued during the following win- ter, it being a time of general religious interest in the parish. Mr. Rogers came here less than a year after these thirty-nine persons (at one time) united with the church, and had the comforting advantage of a church wide awake in religious things. He did well, considering his state of health, and is remembered with great kind- ness by the people of the parish. The following commu- nication received by the church explains the difficulty of parish work to him, and the cause of the dissolution of the pastoral relation.
MR. ROGERS' LETTER.
To the Congregational Church and Society of Wolcott :
Beloved Brethren and Friends :- God in his allwise provi- dence has for a long time visited me with sickness, rendering me incapable of performing all the duties that are expected of one having the pastoral relation; and, as there is no reasonable prospect of seasonable returning health, I feel constrained for your good and my own, to ask that the relation existing between myself and the church and Society be dissolved, to take effect the 18th of
* Rev. Mr. Smith is now (1874) a member of the Methodist Episcopal Conference, and is a successful minister in his denomination. He is preaching in Derby, Conn.
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HISTORY OF WOLCOTT.
April next. Grateful for the friendly relations that have existed between us from the first to this day, and for the sympathy and kindness manifested to me through all the months of trial through which I have been called to pass ; greatly desiring the prosperity of the church and Society, and the re-establishment of the pas- toral relation, and that you may enjoy and abound in all the bles- sings of the Spirit, is the prayer of your unworthy servant.
STEPHEN ROGERS.
WOLCOTT, Conn., Sept 6, 1862.
ACTION OF THE CHURCH. WOLCOTT, Sept. 6, 1862.
Church voted unanimously to accept the above request.
Voted, that we as a church deeply sympathize with our pastor, Rev. Stephen Rogers, in his protracted illness and inability to preach the gospel. And further that we have full confidence in his Christian character and integrity as a minister of the gospel and that we cheerfully recommend him to any church wherever in the providence of God he may be called.
The Society concurred in a vote to accede to Mr. Rogers' request for a dismissal by Consociation, and it is probable that he was regularly dismissed, though I find no record to that effect .*
Mr. Rogers removed to Woodbury, Conn., where he de- parted this life a few weeks after reaching that place.
REV. LENT S. HOUGH.
Rev. Lent S. Hough came to Wolcott in the Spring of ʻ
* Mr. Rogers donated to the church a library of about a hundred and thirty volumes, consisting chiefly of standard theological works. The idea of writing a history of Wolcott was first suggested to the author while ex- amining a book in this library, entitled Hayward's New England Gazetteer. This book contains an account of Wolcott, but makes no allusion to the church,- as though it were a heathen community, or one in which the preaching of the gospel had been discontinued. The author was thus led to make special inquiry respecting the religious history of the town, and the present volume is largely occupied with the results of his investigations. If it were not for the strange omission in the Gazetteer, the history of Wol- cott might never have been written.
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MINISTRY OF REV. LENT S. HOUGH.
1863. Mr. Rogers closed his labors on the 18th of April, and on the 27th of the same month the Society voted to raise three hundred and twenty-five dollars for the purpose of hiring "Rev. L. S. Hough to preach for one year, and that the salary should be paid semi-annually." On the 4th of May, following, the Society voted "to in- vite Rev. L. S. Hough to serve as acting pastor of this Society, and that we invite the church to unite with us in the request." There is no record of any action by the church. In the Society vote there is no mention of the time for which he was engaged, nor of the terms upon which he was to continue with them. Mr. Hough came from Westfield Society, in the town of Middletown, where he had been a settled pastor for seventeen years. The letter he brought with him from that Society shows the appreciation of him by that people. It is as follows : The Fourth Congregational Church of Middletown, to the Congregational Church at Wolcott, Conn :
Beloved Brethren :- This is to certify that the Rev. Lent S. Hough and Hannah S. his wife, are esteemed members of the Fourth Congregational Church in Middletown, in good and regular standing ; and having signified their wish to remove their particular relations from us to yourselves, they are hereby recommended to ·your special care and fellowship, and when they shall be received into membership with you their particular connection with us will be considered as dissolved. Hoping that our beloved late pastor will find among you warm hearts and kind friends, and a liberal support, both in temporal and spiritual things, we recommend him, dear brethren, to your special love. And may his labors be as faithful and as successful with you as they have been with us, and may your prayers ever follow him, as ours certainly will, through all the troubles and trials he may still be called to pass before he shall finally reach his heavenly rest.
In behalf of the church,
HENRY CORNWELL., Clerk. MIDDLETOWN, May 4, 1863.
Thus introduced, Mr. Hough went forward with the success of former pastors in this church, for three years,
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HISTORY OF WOLCOTT.
during which time nineteen persons united with the church, and other interests were proportionately prosper- ous. I am informed, however, that during the summer of 1866 he manifested great discouragement in regard to the religious condition of the church, and seemed ready to seek some other field of labor. It was during this summer that Deacon Samuel Holmes, of New York, with his family, made his home in this parish for a few months ; a fact that will be remembered with gladness for many years to come. The larger part of the time had passed before Mr. Hough became really acquainted with Mr. Holmes, for as he said afterward, he supposed Mr. Holmes was one of the city people, and would scarcely take notice of a. country pastor or his flock. Early in the autumn, while the church was still in a tor- pid state, and after Mr. Hough had passed through sev- eral attacks of illness, accompanied with most acute pain, he gave expression publicly to his feeling of de- spondency, and added that if any one present had any word of encouragement or exhortation he would be glad to have him speak. Upon this, Deacon Holmes arose, took his position by the table in front of the pulpit, and, referring to the pastor's feeling of discouragement, ex- pressed the conviction that if efforts were put forth in . cheerful hope, better days would dawn in Wolcott. To test the matter, he proposed that as the evenings were becoming longer, and the people had passed through the hurry of farm work, they should come together in a prayer meeting at a private house during the week. This proposal was eagerly adopted by Deacon Ansel H. Plumb, who invited them to his house. Between that day and the evening of the meeting, Deacon Holmes conversed with three young men on the subject of per- sonal religion. He found one of them cherishing a hope, and the other two anxious in regard to their spiritual state. He persuaded them to come to the Thursday evening prayer meeting and state there what they had
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MINISTRY OF REV. LENT S. HOUGH.
told him. When the evening came and the meeting was opened, Mr. Holmes made a few remarks, and called upon the young men to take up their cross. After they had spoken, there was no lack of interest in the meeting, nor in subsequent meetings of the church, for several months. For some few weeks, while Dea- con Holmes remained in the place, regular prayer meet- ings were held, and sometimes special meetings, which resulted in the conversion of a number of persons. When Mr. Holmes left, he had engaged J. D. Potter, the "evangelist," to hold meetings here for one week, which engagement was fulfilled at the time with good suc- cess. The result was that at the first communion in 1867, on January 6th, twenty-seven persons united with the church, and at the next communion four more. This success in the church revived the courage of Mr. Hough for a time, but he still felt inclined to find another parish, and offered his resignation to that effect, but it was not accepted. Again, in the beginning of 1869, he offered his resignation, and it was at once accepted by the officers of the church, without calling a meeting either of the church or of the Society. This method of doing business by the officers, gave dissatisfaction to many ; but it is said by the officers that the agreement with Mr. Hough was that " upon his giving a certain timely notice, he was to be allowed to go." It will be readily seen that if any per- sons were to vote, those who called him, or the Society, should have done it ; so that the method adopted was clearly contrary to Congregational rules and usages.
A COMMUNION SERVICE.
In the year 1864, the church was the recipient of a valuable present, which will be cherished by it, proba- bly for the next century at least, and the following en- try in the Records explains itself :
At a meeting of the Congregational Church in Wolcott, duly held on this 18th day of April, 1864, it being the 70th birthday
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HISTORY OF WOLCOTT.
anniversary of our much esteemed friend, widow Wealthy H. Ives, of Waterbury, formerly of this town; there was presented from her to this church as a birthday free-will offering, an exceedingly rich and valuable communion service. Whereupon, it was voted : That we gratefully receive the highly prized offering, and tender to the kind donor our heartfelt thanks for it, hoping that in min- istering to others she may be ministered to from on high, abun- dantly, and that finally she may meet all the recipients of her bounty in the general assembly of the church in heaven.
Mrs. Ives was born in Wolcott, and was the daugh- ter of Charles Upson, Esquire, for many years one of the most influential men of the town .* .
In 1867, Feb. 28th, the church voted unanimously " to donate our old communion service, not now used, to the Congregational church in Allegan County, Michigan."
REVISED ARTICLES OF FAITH.
On the Ist of February, 1865, a committee was ap- pointed to revise the Articles of Faith and Covenant, consisting of Rev. L. S. Hough, Deacon A. H. Plumb, B. A. Lindsley, S. L. Hotchkiss, and Deacon L. B. Bron- : son. They made their report at the next communion, and the revised Articles and Covenant were adopted, and were afterward printed, together with a list of the ministers and deacons, and the surviving members of the church. The old articles were twelve in number, and were Calvinistic in their doctrinal statements ; the new or revised articles are eight in number, and have not the slightest tincture of Calvinism in them. The wording of these articles, however, is so obscure that it is difficult to discern what doctrines are intended to be taught. The rules of the church, as published in this "Manual," are peculiar in this respect, that members are received without vote, on the negative condition that no one publicly objects.
* See Biography of Dr. Ives. Mrs. Ives died November 21st, IS68, in the seventy-fifth year of her age.
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MINISTRY OF REV. WARREN C. FISKE.
Mr. Hough closed his labors in the Spring of 1869, and went to Salem, Conn., where he preached sixteen months. He then settled in Lyme, where after three years he is still successfully at work, notwithstanding the severe and peculiar afflictions experienced by himself and family.
During Mr. Hough's labors in Wolcott, important re- pairs were made on the Meeting house, inside and out- side, and a cabinet organ was purchased to aid in the singing. The money for these improvements was secured, mostly, by the Ladies' Sewing Society of the congre- gation, and, as is often the case, the number of ladies engaged in the work of the Sewing Society was not large.
REV. WARREN C. FISKE.
The officers of the Society, having dismissed Mr. Hough without a vote of the Society or the church, proceeded in like manner to hire another minister. They secured Rev. Warren C. Fiske, of Barkhamstead, a good pastor and preacher. It is possible that the committee proceeded in this manner without intending any violation of Con- gregational order, but it is difficult to see how they could proceed in this manner, when it was well known that there was much dissatisfaction in the parish in con- sequence of their dismissal of Mr. Hough. Mr. Fiske came to Wolcott in May, 1869, and continued to serve the church very acceptably for three years, and then, at his own pleasure, closed his labors, with the intention not to take charge of a parish again,-for a time, at least.
The year 1870 was the one hundredth year of the organi - zation of the parish Society, and in that year should have been held the centenary meeting ; but as far as I have learned, no one thought of it or proposed such a meet- ing .*
*If some persons were so capable of conducting such a meeting a; they represented themselves to be in 1873, why did they not show a speci . men of their skill in I870?
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