USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > New Britain > Memorial. Genealogy, and ecclesiastical history [of First Church, New Britain, Conn.] To which is added an appendix, with explanatory notes, and a full index > Part 9
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Oliver D. Cook, see No. (227.)
Gad Newell, of Southington, son of Isaac and his wife, Rachel Pomroy, of Northampton. He was baptized September 11th, 1763, at Southing- ton, by Rev. B. Chapman, pastor. He married Sophia Clapp. He was licensed to preach June 2d, 1789, at Marlborough, by the Hartford County South Association ; graduated at Yale, 1786; was a divinity student of
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Mr. Smalley, A. D. 1787. He died February 26th, 1859, aged ninety- six, at Nelson, New Hampshire.
Isaac Porter, son of Timothy, born August 1st, 1766, at Farmington, graduated at Yale, 1788, was a theology student with Mr. Smalley, 1789 ; he was examined, approbated and licensed to preach June. 1st, 1790, at Wethersfield, by Hartford South. He was settled in Granby, Conn. He married Mary, daughter of Rev. Mr. Smalley, October 20th, 1794. He died April 14th, 1844, aged seventy-eight, at Granby, Conn.
Joseph Eleazer Camp, born April 6th, 1766, at Bethlehem, Conn., to David and his wife, Margary (Johnson,) of Guilford. He graduated at Yale, September, 1787 ; commenced the study of theology, June, 1789, with Mr. Smalley. He was examined, approbated and licensed to preach, October 6th, 1789, at the house of Rev. James Eells, in Eastbury, by Hartford South; ordained and installed February 17th, 1795, over the church and society in Northfield, Litchfield county, Conn. Salary £80 and thirty cords of wood per annum. He was dismissed June 27th, 1837. He died May 27th, 1838, aged seventy-two, at Northfield. The maiden name of his wife was Rhoda Turner, daughter of Titus and Sarah (Blakes- ley) Turner. See No. (229.)
Timothy Langdon, son of Capt. John, of New Britain, born December 4th, 1757, graduated at Yale, 1781, studied divinity with Rev. Mr. Smalley; ordained and installed August 31st, 1786, over the church and society at Danbury, Conn., and Rev. Mr. Smalley preached the sermon from 1st Cor. 1, 21. Mr. Langdon, the first minister raised in New Britain. He died February 10th, 1801, aged forty-four, at Danbury. He had married Lucy Trumbull, who died, when second, he married Elizabeth P. Perkins, of Hartford. He left several children, and his son John became a pastor of the church in Bethlehem, Conn., and died 1830.
Israel B. Woodward, son of Israel, of Watertown, and his wife, Abigail (Stoddard,) born 1767, graduated at Yale, 1789, was a divinity student at Rev. Mr. Smalley's, 1790; was examined, approbated and licensed to preach, June 7th, 1791, at the house of Rev. John Lewis, of (Stepney,) Rocky Hill, Conn., by Hartford South. He was settled at (Farmingbury,) Wolcott, June, 1792. He married October 22d, 1792, Sarah, the fifth daughter of his instructor in divinity. He died October, 1810, aged forty- three, leaving no posterity.
Isaac Maltby, see No. (228.)
Bezaleel Pinneo, born July 28th, 1769, at Lebanon Crank, Conn., grad- uated at Dartmouth, 1791, studied divinity with Rev. Mr. Smalley, 1792 and 1793, was examined, approbated and licensed by Hartford South, October 1st, 1793, at the house of Rev. Mr. Miner, of Westfield, Conn .; ordained pastor of the church in Milford, Conn., 1796. He died Septem- ber 18th, 1849.
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Jeremiah Mason, born April 27th, 1768, at Lebanon, Conn., graduated at. Yale, 1788, studied theology with Rev. Mr. Smalley for a time, but like Oliver Wolcott thought the science of law would be more congenial to his taste. His legal knowledge he obtained partly in Connecticut, and partly in Vermont; his residence, 1797, was at Portsmouth, New Hamp- shire. He became one of the most eminent American lawyers of his time; was appointed attorney-general of New Hampshire, 1802 ; he was elected United States Senator, 1813, but in 1817, he resigned his seat. In 1832, he removed to Boston, where the opportunities for the lucrative practice of his profession were more numerous. Mr. Webster ascribed much of his own success to the discipline he received by being brought in contact with him, and by witnessing his system of practice, and he said of Mr. Mason, that he became great by the exercise of strong sense and sound judgment, by the comprehensive views which he took of things, and by the pursuit of high and elevated purposes. He was physically as well as mentally great, being almost a giant in stature. Jeremiah Mason, LL. D. died at Boston, November 14th, 1848, being then over eighty years of age.
William Hart, son of Thomas, of New Britain, the second minister raised in the parish, see No. (208.)
Thomas Rich, see No. (305.)
James Kasson Garnsey, see No. (230.)
Pitkin Cowles, see No. (304.)
Abijah Carrington, see No. (303.)
Mark Mead, born November 6th, 1782, to Jonas, of Greenwich, Conn., and his wife, Sarah (Howe.) Mr. Mead graduated at Yale, September, 1802, studied divinity, 1803, with Rev. John Smalley, D. D., taught dis- trict school in Stanley quarter, one season, was examined, approbated and licensed to preach June 5th, 1804, at the house of Rev. Calvin Chapin, at (Stepney,) Rocky Hill, by Hartford South; was for a time a Domestic Missionary in the State of New York. He was ordained and installed pastor of the church in Middlebury, New Haven county, November 1809; dismissed, March, 1830; is now, 1862, residing in his native town of Greenwich, from which he says in a letter to the compiler, " I shall not probably remove until I am called to my everlasting home." IIe is a half- century minister.
Andrew Rawson, born March 10th, 1773, at Mendon, Mass., to Perne and his wife, Mary (Aldrich,) licensed to preach, 1804, by New Haven East, at Cheshire, Conn., having graduated at Brown University, Rhode Island, and studied theology for a time with Rev. Mr. Smalley, in this place, and he is still remembered by a few old members of this church, as an ardent revival preacher. It was his custom to invite the people here to hold small meetings in the evening in different sections of the parish,
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where and when he exercised his talents in prayer and exhortation. Some are still living who date their first religious impressions to his earnest ap- peals .* He married January 21st, 1807, Jerusha, daughter of Deacon Skinner, of Hartford, Conn., by whom he had four children, viz :
Mary, born July 31st, 1809, married 1827, Alvah Lewis, of Ohio, son of Deacon John.
Samuel A., born August 23d, 1811, at Pompey, N. Y., now Rev. Sam- uel A. Rawson, of Jasper, Steuben county, New York; married 1839, Susan Hubbard, of New York city.
Lydia E., born September 28th, 1813, residing at Oberlin, Ohio, now, 1862, with her mother.
Martha W., born April 16th, 1825, at Barre ; married 1849, George W. Congdon, of Peru, and resides at Oberlin.
The father died March 28th, 1835, at Barre, Orleans county, New York.
His widow married second, Elisha Parish, Esq., of Ohio, and is still, 1862, living at Oberlin, Ohio, aged seventy-six, from whom the above facts are derived. Rev. Andrew Rawson was ordained and first settled at Pompey, Onondaga county, New York, 1805. He was subsequently appointed by the Philadelphia Board of Missions, a missionary among the destitute churches in western New York, in which service he continued twenty-one years. From an obituary notice published in the village of Albion, N. Y., and written by Rev. G. Crawford, we make the following extracts, viz : "He preached Christ and him crucified in almost every town west of Utica; assisted in the organization of many now large and flourishing churches, and fed many feeble ones with the bread of life. He preached the first gospel sermon ever delivered in Albion, and for three months labored in his sacred calling in a barn. Mr. Rawson was a revi- val preacher, whose labors were blessed of the Holy Spirit extensively, at an early day, when revivals were but little known in this State. His mind was clear and discriminating ; he loved to contemplate divine truth in the simple grandeur of God's sovereignty and electing love; as a con- sequence his piety was calm, uniform and active. He carried his religion into all the walks of life, and thus adorned the Christian profession. With a sweet and holy submission to the divine will, the natural consequence of such "most holy faith," this Christian minister received the fatal shaft without surprise, bowed to the high decree, and quit the sorrows and suf- ferings of this mortal state for the world of bliss."
* An uncommon degree of zeal and excitement sprang up in these meetings, and Mr. Smalley (as was his custom in the cure of all irregularities in his parish, ) intro- duced the subject in one of his sermons, and lectured the young man for his unwar- ranted zeal and extravagance in a severe manner, and cautioned those that were excited, of danger. This incident is well remembered by the oldest people, to this day, for Mr. Rawson (as was the custom for students,) sat in the pulpit during service, and in the application of the sermon Mr. Smalley turned upon his pupil his scathing remarks.
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Since the above was written a letter from his son, Rev. Samuel Raw- son, of Jasper, Steuben county, N. Y., has been received, from which the following condensed extracts are made : "My father, Andrew Rawson, early consecrated himself to God, and feeling that he was called of God to the work of the ministry, he prepared himself for college with his pastor, Rev. Caleb Alexander, and graduated at Brown University, 1800, spent three years in teaching a "Grammar School" and studying theology, part of the time with Mr. Goff, of Sutton, and part with Dr. Emmons, of Franklin. While on a visit to Durham, Conn., he was invited by Rev. David Smith to preach for him. He spoke three times on the Sabbath, although he had not been licensed. Before the next morning both he and Mr. Smith were called from their beds to lead inquiring sinners to Christ. A revival followed. Mr. Rawson had adopted the "exercise scheme," and the doctrine of natural ability, and hence when he applied for license at Cheshire, a strong opposition was manifested. After a debate of three days,* he was licensed on condition that he should study a year with Dr. Smalley. He ever spoke of Dr. Smalley with great interest and affec- tion. In revivals he often used to read a printed sermon published by Dr. Smalley from the text, "The law of the Lord is perfect." While a student at New Britain, he prepared a sermon from the text, " Where art thou ?" From the fly-leaf we learn that it was preached at New Britain, Rocky Hill, Middletown, and Durham. This sermon has a history which will not be fully known till the judgment ; it was the means, under God, of the conversion of hundreds if not of thousands. He often quoted Dr. Smalley's remarks thus : " If you wish to have a revival begin, preach the law ; if your revival begins to wane, preach the law; if you wish to secure sound conversions, preach the law." Deacon Owen Brown of Hudson,
* This may be partly tradition, yet the copy of record indicates something of the kind. It is in substance as follows : " May 29th, 1804, the East Association at Chesh- ire, Conn., Mr. Andrew Rawson, of Mendon, Mass., presented himself for examina- tion as a candidate for the gospel ministry, and was examined, whereupon the Associa- tion voted as follows, viz : this Association license Mr. Andrew Rawson as a preacher of the gospel, subject to the following advice ; that he apply himself diligently to the pursuits of theological knowledge, under the direction of some able divine of his own choosing ; that he do not offer himself as a candidate for settlement in the ministry, but wait for the advice of this Association, at their next stated session in September next; that he cautiously avoid the discussion of intricate, mysterious points of disputa- tious theology, and particularly the doctrine of the immediate and efficient ageney of God in the production of sinful volitions." At a meeting of Association held October 9th, 1804, at the house of Rev. John Eliot, D. D., in " East Guilford," now Madison, is this entry : " Andrew Rawson, A. B., of Mendon, Mass., presented himself for ex- amination as a candidate for the gospel ministry, was approved, licensed, and recom- mended to the Christian churches, according to the rules of the Association." It seems then, that Mr. Rawson, under these circumstances, put himself under the instruction of Dr. Smalley, who had been a guide of Dr. Emmons. (ED.)
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Ohio, (the father of the celebrated John Brown, of Kansas and Harper's Ferry,) said of Rev. Andrew Rawson, "I remember him well, for he led me to Christ; he came to my house in Hudson, in September, 1814. He had a kind of ragged way of preaching, but he was the most wonderful man to promote a revival that I ever knew; his first sermon was from the text, " Where art thou ?" In the course of the sermon he stated that he had left his wife and children in the State of New York, to come here, to tell you how you may be saved. In coming here I have staid in the woods, sometimes spending half the night in fighting wolves, to keep them from killing my horse ; but what is all that compared to what Christ has done for you. Almost the whole congregation were in tears; our college grew out of the revival that followed." (Thus from Deacon Brown.) In 1820, he removed to Barre, Orleans county, N. Y., where he preached three or four years. While residing in Barre, he preached in neighboring towns. In 1831, he found a company of women in a house in Shelby, (a town adjoining to Barre,) and he engaged them all to pray fifteen minutes a day for a deeper work of grace in their own hearts. A revival of great power followed, and sixty-four were added to the church ; meanwhile he cir- culated a subscription for a house of worship, and when it was dedicated he commenced a protracted meeting, during which he went to Medina, about four miles distant, and asked a merchant by the name of Coan, if he had not sold goods about long enough with a wicked heart. The merchant became maddened and enraged, but at length attended the meeting and consecrated himself to God, and then through the influence of Mr. Rawson, entered Auburn Seminary. While at Auburn Mr. Coan was accustomed to spend a part of each year in assisting Mr. Rawson, in holding protracted. meetings. When Mr. Coan went to the Sandwich Islands as a missionary, he at once disapproved of the manner in which the missionary enterprise wasconducted. "This idea," said he, "of letting the old folks die and go to hell, while you by your slow means educate the rising generation, I do not approve. I believe these old pagans may be reached now as well as in the time of Paul." When discouraged by his brethren, he said, "Give me an interpreter and I will try my experiment." So mounting a box in the street, he called a company around him, and preached to them Christ and Him crucified. In a few weeks a great many had professed to have found the Saviour. Thus commenced the great revivals at the Sandwich Islands.
We see by the foregoing that several of Dr. Smalley's students have occupied high positions ; that two of them married into his family, and that he was reckoned among the progressive or "new divinity" men of his age, and stood high as a theologian. We discover three reasons for the eminence he attained; first, he was set right on the start in his career ; by Dr. Bellamy ; second, he had native talent, especially an acute and
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discriminating mind; and third, and most to his credit, a determined and close application of all the powers God had given him. It has excited some .surprise that Dr. Smalley, from his small salary, should accumulate so much property as to be called one of the rich ministers of the State .* Doubtless he was indebted for his success in this direction, to the rigid economy of his wife, and especially to her prudent forethought. The plain and simple habits in the mode of dress and living, had also much to do with the point of expense in those days. The exemption of the clergy from all taxes of person or property, was no unimportant item of relief, and twenty cords of wood (I think generally made ready for the fire by a "wood bee,") must have been very convenient, to say the least. And then, too, the butter and cheese, and the clothing of the family, were nearly all made in the house. The farm furnished the flax, wool and milk, and the inmates of the house had the skill, industry and tools to manufacture them. The society records, already referred to, show that the daughters of Dr. Smalley, Col. Stanley, Elnathan Smith, Deacon Noah Stanley, and Capt. Belden, with many other prominent families, engaged cheerfully in teach- ing the district common schools of the parish, in the summer season. Thus Dr. Smalley's family (which by the way were all daughters,) were for a time self-supporting. They were, at length, suitably and agreeably married, though the early affections of one,t were crossed by the sternness of the father.
We of the present age can have but meagre ideas of the amount of dignity and reverence which surrounded the minister and magistrate. When Dr. Smalley or Col. Lee were approached, it was with hat in hand, and when either of them passed on the road, men at work in the fields, even at some distance, raised their hats. Their will generally became equivalent to the best good of society, and soon culminated in a rule or law. Their influence was, however, in the direction of conservatism. Innovations and extravagances were frowned down. But two laymen of his church, Col. Lee and Ensign Mather, were ever heard to pray in pub- lic. The encroachments of the " Anabaptists" were a grief to Dr. Smal- ley, and if any of his flock ran after them, (as was sometimes the case,) they were very likely to hear from him soon. We should remember that it was natural for Mr. Smalley to consider the people his parishioners ; probably they were so, at his settlement, without an exception, for in 1772, there were but three Churchmen, and perhaps not a greater number of Baptists, or as they were usually termed " Separates." The first immer-
* President Stiles' Itinerary. He calls him so, and says he had one hundred and fifty head of cattle. I think his flock of sheep were embraced in the enumeration. (ED.)
t The object of her predilections was a young physician of great promise, Doctor Jesse Andrews, son of Sergeant Moses, who in the language of a cotemporary, " pined away and died in early manhood, of a broken heart."
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sion in the place was Mr. Jeremiah H. Osgood, (familiarly known as " Grandfather Osgood.") He was from Westfield parish, in Middletown, and came here with predilections for that denomination. He was a mem- ber of Mr. Smalley's congregation, but not a member of his church. He was baptized by immersion, in the valley west of Samuel Smith's house, about A. D. 1776, by a man by the name of Shepherd. Sufficient water had been expressly provided for that occasion by damming up the rivulet that passes through that valley. Father Osgood was a man eminent for piety and holy living, greatly gifted in prayer, and universally respected for his honesty. Either that year or the next, No. (79) of Mr. Smalley's church left and joined the Baptists, by immersion in the Mill pond of Benjamin Adkins, the place known for many years as Churchill's Mill. The next was probably No. (91,) a man constitutionally insane at inter- vals, and who hung himself at last. He was also immersed at the Mill pond, at a later date. Their meetings were at first held at Mr. Smith's house ; he had taken offense at some remark of Mr. Smalley's, and so opened his doors to the "Separates," although he never joined their church. From this small beginning, after long and severe struggles, a church was formed, which, from occasional revivals, has become one of the prominent Baptist churches of the State.
We come down now in the history of Dr. Smalley, to 1804, when he was three score and ten .* He had often told his brethren in the ministry that a man should retire at that age, and true to his convictions, he propo- sed it to his people, but they were quite well satisfied, and wished him to continue his ministry still longer. He consented, but was evidently in his wane, for he had occasional ill turns when in public, and lost all conscious- ness, but after sitting in his pulpit a short time would recover, and ask where he was, and what he was doing; being told, he would resume his prayer or sermon and finish the service as if nothing had occurred to in- terrupt. It is, however, distinctly remembered, that intense anxiety was depicted on the countenances of his hearers. He continued his active duties as pastor until the fall of 1809, a term of more than fifty-one years from his settlement, and fifty-two from his first effort in the place, when he was relieved by the church and society calling to his aid Mr. Newton Skinner, of Granby, as colleague pastor. He, however, continued to preach occasionally, until September 26th, 1813, when he delivered his last sermon. The next year, 1814, he put his last volume of sermons to press. The balance of his days were spent mostly at his pleasant home, with books and friends, with many happy reflections on the past, and
* The compiler was then seven years old, and remembers his appearance and dress. He wore a three-cornered " cocked-up" hat, short clothes, with knee-buckles, and very large shoe-buckles, in the Puritan style, after the old English fashion, but without wig, and was a good equestrian.
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- bright anticipations of the future. His earthly career was closed by a fit of apoplexy, which deprived him of reason except at some lucid intervals, in which he expressed his submission to the will of God, and a humble hope of an interest in Christ. He died the first day of June, 1820, when he had almost completed his eighty-sixth year. His friend, Rev. Dr. Per- kins, of West Hartford, preached his funeral sermon, but the manuscript seems to have been lost. From the scanty materials we have been able to find of Dr. Smalley's distinctive characteristics, we conclude his preach- ing was mostly doctrinal, and chiefly upon his favorite themes. The bur- den of his prophecy as an ambassador for Christ, seems to have been to " justify the ways of God to men," especially in the sterner attributes of His character as a holy and just Being. He addressed himself not to the sympathies or passions of his hearers, but to their understanding and cool judgment. In looking after truth he cautioned his students not to stretch their vision beyond its locality, (or to use his favorite expression,) not to go " below the bottom of things." He himself directed his telescopic, (or rather we should say,) his microscopic vision with so steady a hand, that where common minds were beclouded with mists and fogs, he saw with the clearness of noonday. And just here, I think his great strength lay, in an acute discrimination of the parts, and at the same time a com- prehensive view of the whole system of God's dealings with men. In reviewing his published works, it would probably be conceded that his first effort was his best, or most distinctive and useful, viz : "Natural and Moral Inability." The light he was enabled, with God's blessing, to throw around this previously obscure subject, was looked upon with great favor. Hence the celebrity of an obscure parson of a country parish, in one of the British colonies in America, in the year 1769, extended not only through New England but to Old England, where his work was repub- lished. The halo that then gathered about his name was not of that ephemeral kind that is blown away with the first wind, but remains, with nearly the same brightness with which it radiated nearly a century ago. The present inhabitants of New Britain in their haste, but poorly realize how much honor and notoriety have incidentally clustered about the town, from the fact of its being the home of Dr. Smalley, and the locality of his distinguished labors. May the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant which he held up to the faith of the fathers, descend and rest upon the children.
We now come to the call and settlement of Mr. Newton Skinner, as a colleague with Dr. Smalley, December 2d, 1809.
" At a meeting of the church in New Britain, warned for the purpose, it was voted unanimously to give Mr. Newton Skinner a call and invitation to settle in the office of a pastor and teacher of this church and people.
At the same meeting the following members were chosen a committee to wait upon Mr. Skinner with the above vote, and request his answer :
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Col. Gad Stanley, Deacon Benjamin Wright, Mr. Levi Andrews, James North, Esq., Deacon Elijah Hart, and Deacon David Whittlesey.
Test, John Smalley, Pastor.
January 7th, 1810, the same committee was appointed to call an ordain- ing council, and transact other business of the church relative to ordina- tion, should there be one.
John Smalley.
At a legal meeting of the inhabitants of New Britain Ecclesiastical Society in Berlin, held by adjournment the 12th December, 1809,
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