USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Litchfield > St. Michael's Parish, Litchfield, Connecticut, 1745-1954; a biography of a parish and of many who have served it > Part 5
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Lord Thou hast been our refuge from one generation to another
THE DAVIES TABLET
VII
1799-1830
TRUMAN MARSH . THE SECOND CHURCH
ISAAC JONES . JOHN S. STONE
IMMEDIATELY on Mr. Butler's departure from Litchfield steps were taken to reunite the recently seceded Second Episcopal So- ciety with the original Society. At a meeting of the first Society on September 4, 1799, action was taken as follows:
VOTED that the first Episcopal society in Litchfield unite with the west Episcopal Society in said Litchfield upon the following con- ditions viz.
First that all Society meeting after a union is ratified shall be per- petually and unalterably holden at St. Michael's Church.
2ªly That 2 fifths of the Clergyman's services shall be performed at St. Michael's Church and 2 fifths at the West or new Church (so called) and one fifth at Milton; unless in meeting warned for that Purpose a majority of two thirds shall order otherwise.
3ly That each Society Shall pay all Debts for building or repairing their respective churches; and all other Society debts previous to the proposed union.
4ly That if it shall ever happen that a Separation shall take place, the Fund of said society shall forever remain with the Society now holding or occupying St. Michael's Church.
sły That if the west Society shall lodge with the Clerk of this So- ciety a certified copy of their vote complying with and adopting these articles by the 16th day of the present month it shall be the duty of the Society's Committee forthwith to warn a meeting of both Societies to be holden at St. Michael's Church.
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The West Society agreed to these terms and on September 10, 1799, voted to reunite with the First Society. This matter settled, the report of the next meeting starts auspiciously with the words "At a meeting of the Episcopal Society in Litchfield." The heal- ing of the breach must have given solid satisfaction to all con- cerned.
The business at that first meeting after the reunion of the two branches was, after agreeing on officers of the Society for the re- mainder of the year, to appoint a committee to make application to a clergyman to settle here, and to report the result later. Ac- cordingly at the next meeting, which took place on October 14, it was voted to grant the Rev. Truman Marsh {110 to settle in the Society, and another meeting was called for the third Monday in November to ratify the covenant with him. This was done on November 5, 1799. One or two clauses in this instrument are rele- vant to this history: 1) Mr. Marsh agreed to perform services in the different churches belonging to the Society alternately in such a manner and order as the Society should direct; 2) for the first time in our Society's records the term "Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America" is used; 3) the salary to be paid Mr. Marsh from November 5, 1799, was recorded as $366.67 annually, with the following added:
As it has been the usual and common custom with the members of said Society, to make annual presents of Wood to their Clergymen who have heretofore been settled with them, it is the fair under- standing and mutual expectation of both parties mentioned in this agreement that the same benevolent and Charitable Practice shall continue during the spiritual administration of said Marsh for said Society.
This annual donation of wood was a New England custom and was observed among Congregationalists as well as Episcopalians. Although we have no further account of it at St. Michael's, we do find a full description of the gay ceremony which accom- panied the presentation of wood to the Congregational minister
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in the Autobiography, Correspondence, Etc. of Lyman Beecher, who filled the Congregational pulpit during part of Mr. Marsh's rectorate. The event was called "the minister's wood-spell." No- tice was given in advance that some winter day all who cared to would send a sled load of wood to the parsonage, the inhabitants of which, also warned, spent a week in preparation for the day. Doughnuts by the bushel, and loaf cakes, cider, and flip in pro- portion, were made ready until the pantry and storeroom were bulging. On the appointed day toward the middle of the after- noon the sleds began to arrive and soon the premises outside and the house within were filled with happy faces. All the family waited on the guests inside, as a tremendous pile of wood rose out- side. What an attractive custom it was!
Truman Marsh, appointed as rector of St. Michael's and its sister churches, was a native of Litchfield, born on February 22, 1768. His family lived on the corner now occupied by the Library. Young Truman prepared for college in Morris, and was graduated from Yale College in 1786. He then went to Baltimore, where he taught first in a private family and later in Cokesbury College, a Methodist institution near Baltimore, while in his leisure he studied theology. On March 5, 1789, he was admitted to deacon's orders by Bishop White of Pennsylvania. Returning to Connecticut, as we have seen, he was ordained priest by Bishop Seabury on June 2, 1790. His first parish was New Milford, which included New Preston and Roxbury. Although he served successfully there, he was pleased to return to Litchfield when he was called to St. Mi- chael's in 1799.
Not until several years later do we have records of baptisms and other ministerial acts of the rectors of our parish. But we learn from the records of the Episcopal Society of matters of interest from other points of view. In 1800, $30 was voted for music in the three churches. In that year also Mr. Marsh was voted permission to officiate at Washington four Sundays in the year "on condition that the People of said Washington pay {8, which is to be de-
5 2
1799-1830
ducted from Mr. Marsh's sallery in Litchfield, viz. 2 Sundays from St. Michael's Church and two Sundays from the West Church."
In 1801 a committee was appointed to receive from executors of the estate of Nathaniel Bosworth money left by him for a bell for the new church, that is, the West Church. For years thereafter one of the regular items of business at annual meetings of the Society was voting a sum of money-at first $4, gradually raised to $15- for ringing the bell in the West Church. This bell was said to have an excellent tone, and is believed to be the one still used at St. Paul's Church, Bantam. In 1803 Ephraim Kirby presented the So- ciety's Committee with a large Bible and Prayer Book. In 1810, $10 was voted for the Bishop, and James Burges was thanked for the present of a Bible.
In 1808 the Society voted its thanks to Samuel Marsh, Esq., for his liberal gift of land on which to erect a new church. Samuel Marsh, a brother of Truman Marsh, was graduated from Yale Col- lege in the same year as his brother, studied law, and later re- moved to Norfolk, Virginia, where he died in 1814. The land he gave for the erection of a church was approximately the lot on which the present St. Michael's stands. His splendid gift gave impetus to the movement to build a new church which had been so much debated in 1795 and 1796 and which had apparently never been abandoned.
Reference has several times been made to a church at Milton. Actually, though services had been held there for a number of years, it was not until 1802 that a chapel was erected. It was raised on June 25 and was covered and benches installed so that meetings could be held in it, but it was not finally completed until 1826.1 From 1803 the rector's time was divided equally among the three churches now in the Society.
In 1806 and 1807, during the period of considerable excitement
1 The builder of the church at Milton, later named Trinity Church, was Oliver Dickenson. It is said to have been copied from the original Trinity Church, in New York City. Still in use, the church is interesting architecturally.
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throughout the country over Jeffersonian policies, the Rev. Dan Huntington, who was minister at the Congregational Church, stirred up trouble in his congregation by speaking in violent terms both in and out of the pulpit against all whose political beliefs op- posed his.2 As a consequence a large number of persons left the Congregational society and joined the Episcopal Church. Before then there had been few Episcopalians in the eastern part of Litch- field. It must have been at this time that an incident occurred which is recounted by Mr. Marsh himself. "I think," said one of his parishioners to him, "that you must be gratified to find such additions to your church." The answer was,
My vanity would naturally prompt me to indulge in such gratifica- tion; but I cannot do it; the effect is not produced by own merit. All must be ascribed, not to my exertions, but rather to the indiscreet conduct of those who are unfriendly to the church. I fear the conse- quences of such rapid growth. For, excuse me, Sir, as you are a fresh convert to the church, I have always observed, that a crop of corn, if it grows too fast, will contain some smutty ears.
The gentleman blushed and was silent. It should be added promptly that many of the new converts became loyal and de- voted church members.
At about this time another accession of church members came from Goshen. However, this movement proved of little impor- tance, since it was observed that few of these apparent converts ever attended church in Litchfield, and it became clear that their sole object was to escape taxation in Goshen and pay nothing here. When the collector of taxes from St. Michael's approached them with a tax bill, they paid, but soon asked for a commutation, which was granted. A few years later a change in the law removed the requirement that everyone belong to and attend the meetings of a religious society, and the Goshen contingent withdrew.
2 This Mr. Huntington's son, Frederic Dan Huntington, became the first Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York, and his grandson, Father J. O. S. Huntington, was the founder of the Order of the Holy Cross.
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In 1809 Mr. Marsh's health made it necessary for him to ask for assistance in carrying on his pastoral duties. The sum of $100 was appropriated for an assistant and a committee was appointed to make an arrangement agreeable to Mr. Marsh. In 1810 he asked to be relieved of his ministerial duties, and relinquished his salary, declaring that he would not resume his duties and thus make him- self eligible for any part of that salary. The committee, however, asked him to continue as rector and to perform such of the duties as his health would permit until an assistant could be found. The Rev. Alexander V. Griswold was invited to officiate, did so, and agreed to accept a call, but before final arrangements were made he was elected Bishop of the Diocese of Massachusetts. In January, 1811, the Rev. Isaac Jones, Jr. was employed to officiate at the three churches and after several months was found to be accept- able to the Society and was called. He received the Bishop's per- mission to officiate here and on August 31, 1812, was engaged as assistant to Mr. Marsh at a salary of $550.
At a meeting held on November 3, 1808, it was voted
that the Society do approve of the building an Episcopal Church a little north of the dwelling house of David Parmelee 2d on the land given us by Samuel Marsh, Esq. in conformity to the voluntary sub- scriptions which have lately been raised for that purpose; provided however that the Society is not to be holden by this vote to defray any part of the expense of building said Church.
In 1809 fourteen men met at the home of Seth P. Beers to make plans for a building of 40 by 60 feet, which they estimated would cost about $1,600. Part of that amount was subscribed immediately by the gentlemen present at the meeting, and an appeal for fur- ther subscriptions was circulated through the Parish. When a sum considered sufficient was in hand, a building committee was ap- pointed to start the work. But the sum subscribed was not enough, and after raising the church, they covered and enclosed it, hung the doors, and then boarded up the windows; the building re- mained thus unfinished for about two years. At the end of that
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time another effort was made to obtain by subscription the sum needed to finish the work. The church was finally completed and the first sermon preached in it, by Mr. Jones, on December 6, 1812. The new church was consecrated on June 3, 1824, by Bishop Brownell.
After "the new church on the hill" was ready for occupancy and use, the old church was used at intervals, particularly for meetings of the Society. The members voted to take its seats, pul- pit, reading desk, and railing and place them in the Milton Church, provided that similar seats and pulpit replace those taken from the old church. In December, 1814, it was voted to make final disposition of the old church, and thereafter meetings of the Society were held at the new St. Michael's.
In compliance with a canon of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church, the Diocesan Journal of 1809 began to report, as "Notitiae Parochiales," the number of communicants, baptisms, marriages, and funerals in the several parishes of the Diocese. The practice of reporting these statistics was not universally followed for some years. In 1814 for the first time we come upon the report of the "Associated Churches in Litchfield, Rev. Truman Marsh, Rector, Rev. Isaac Jones, Assistant Minister." The report is as fol- lows:
families, 217; communicants, 103; new communicants, 2 1; baptisms, 40; marriages, 7; deaths, 12.
The statistics appear regularly thereafter, and give us a part of the picture of the parish which had been lacking until then. The fig- ures are not large, but it is a satisfaction to find the number of com- municants growing, and the number of baptisms generally high. The number of families decreased in the early 1820's, owing to a movement in opposition to Mr. Jones which arose in Bradleyville, or Bantam as we now know it. Because of this opposition upwards of sixteen families left the church and annexed themselves to the Congregational Church.
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Up to 1822 the money needed to pay the minister's salary and other expenses was raised by a tax on the polls and rateable estate of members of the Society. There are indications in the reports of the Society's annual meetings that this was far from satisfac- tory, for there were generally arrears, as a result of which the minister's salary was frequently not met. In 1822 it was decided to raise the required funds by voluntary subscription, to solicit which a committee of influential men was appointed. This method was followed for three or four years and seems to have been a little more successful. By this means enough was raised for repairs which were needed on the church.
After the new St. Michael's was consecrated, Mr. Solomon Marsh, a cousin of the rector and a member of the parish, bought an organ at a cost of $800 which he placed in the church for use in its services. It was not formally presented to the church for many years.
In 1826 the Rev. Mr. Jones resigned his charge to take effect April 1. In doing so he spoke with affection of the rector, Mr. Marsh, with whom he had "walked in great love and harmony." He spoke also of the many kindnesses he and his family had met with from his parishioners. But there seems to have been trouble over salary, which was badly in arrears. The difficulty with the West Church must also have had some connection with the resig- nation. Incomplete records here leave much to be imagined. But happily, at a meeting held in February, 1826, a vote beginning: "That this meeting entertain a very great respect for the Rev. Isaac Jones, that they entertain no doubt of his piety and zeal for the Church" seems to indicate that there was warm feeling be- tween the Society and him, although it may not have been univer- sally felt. Unfortunately it took several years to settle the Society's affairs with Mr. Jones, a situation which must have been disturb- ing for all concerned.
Isaac Jones was a brilliant and scholarly man and remarkable as well for his social qualities. He was born in New Haven on Feb-
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ruary 18, 1775, and was ready to enter Yale in the freshman class in 1787, in his thirteenth year, but because of his youth waited until the following year. He thus was graduated from Yale Col- lege in 1792. He held a scholarship for a year after finishing college, and afterwards studied theology preparatory to entering the Congregational ministry. He was licensed to preach in 1796, but on the expiration of his license in 1800 renewal was denied him on account of reports of unbecoming behavior. His career in the Congregational ministry from that time was stormy and after many clashes with authority he entered the Episcopal Church. He returned to New Haven to study for the Episcopal ministry, was ordered deacon on September 24, 1810, in New York by Bishop Moore of the Diocese of New York, and or- dained to the priesthood by Bishop Hobart, also of New York, on June 29, 1813. After resigning his assistant rectorship at St. Mi- chael's he remained in Litchfield, apparently as instructor at the Litchfield Female Academy. He held several ministerial posts later, however, including St. Paul's at Huntington, the Union Church at Hitchcocksville, and Christ Church at Bethany. He was for a time in charge of the church at Milton, and toward the latter part of his life was chaplain to the County Prison and visiting min- ister at the alms house. He died at Litchfield on March 1, 1850, aged seventy-five years. Several of his sermons were printed, among them the one for which he is best known to later genera- tions of members of St. Michael's, entitled "The Mandate of God for Israel's Advancement," the historical sermon preached at Mil- ton and at St. Michael's, November 5, 1845, on the 100th anniver- sary of the formation of the Episcopal Church in this town.
Succeeding him the Rev. John Seely Stone became assistant minister on January 21, 1827. His stipend was $600, $400 being paid by St. Michael's Parish and $100 each by the other two churches.
Mr. Stone was born in Great Barrington on October 7, 1795, was graduated from Union College in 1825, attended the General
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Theological Seminary and was ordered deacon in St. Mark's Church, New York, January 4, 1826. He came to St. Michael's from Geneva, New York, where he had been tutor in Greek and Latin at Hobart College. He was ordained priest in Hartford by Bishop Brownell on June 7, 1827. He resigned from St. Michael's in January, 1829, to accept a call to All Saints' Church, Frederick, Maryland. His career after leaving Litchfield was notable, espe- cially in the field of theological education. He was largely respon- sible for founding the Episcopal Theological Seminary in Cam- bridge, Massachusetts, and he died in Cambridge on January 13, 1882. As a pastor Mr. Stone has been described as sympathetic, cheerful, and transparent as a child. He was one of the most emi- nent preachers in the Episcopal church. It is related of his pastorate in Litchfield that he often led the prayer meetings in the Congre- gational Church in the absence of the minister.
As assistant minister at St. Michael's he reported the following in 1828:
135 families; 81 communicants; 18 new communicants; 7 baptisms; 12 marriages; 12 persons confirmed. There are 2 Sabbath Schools, one containing 110, the other 70, with a prospect of further additions the present season. By the blessing of God upon them, and upon stated means of grace, the congregation has lately sustained an encouraging increase in numbers, and, it is charitably hoped, in fervent enduring piety.
While Mr. Stone was at St. Michael's the method of raising funds for church expenses was changed from voluntary subscrip- tion to the sale of slips, or rental of pews. This apparently proved much more successful than the former methods and was continued for many years. In 1828 it was voted that the Glebe money be equally distributed among the three churches. The entire Glebe property had evidently been disposed of some time before this and the interest from the proceeds from the sale of the lands is the "Glebe money" here referred to.
In the summer of 1828 a bell weighing 546 pounds was bought
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for St. Michael's Church by subscription at a cost of about $220. This bell was transferred later to the third church building, but was discarded in 1853 when it became defective.
After Mr. Stone's resignation the pulpits of the three churches were filled by various clergymen who were here for one or two Sundays only. This had been true also of the period between Mr. Jones' resignation and Mr. Stone's arrival in Litchfield. It is inter- esting to read, among those who "supplied" following Mr. Stone's departure, the name of one Horatio Potter, later to become bishop of New York.
At a meeting held on November 30, 1829, it was voted
that each person who shall annually and from time to time be ap- pointed Society Committee for this Society shall by virtue of his said office be and he is hereby appointed a Vestryman of this Parish for all the purposes authorized and required by the Canons and Con- stitution of the Episcopal Church and shall be by the Clerk recorded as appointed to the Office of Vestryman.
Thus the form of organization which the Church in Connecti- cut had taken over from the Congregationalists was dropped in favor of the more churchly usage of the Episcopal Church gen- erally.
On January 11, 1830 the Society received Mr. Marsh's resigna- tion:
To the Members of the first Episcopal Society in Litchfield:
For the space of thirty years I have been the canonical Rector of your Parish. During this period I have sincerely endeavored to ad- vance the spiritual and temporal interest of your Society. Of the truth and sincerity of this declaration you alone can be the most correct judges. The character of any person, however, is tested not by his professions but by his actions. If by age and infirmity I have lost the power of doing any good to your parish I will furnish no occasion to have it said that I wish to retain an office or to cherish a disposition which may be considered as injurious to the prosperity of your society. My attachment to the church at large and especially my affection for the members of your society now forbid the very
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existence of such a principle. Therefore, I, the subscriber, Truman Marsh, do relinquish the office of Rector of your Parish. I will exercise no act as Rector which I actually or seemingly possessed in consequence of any fair contract or unequivocal agreement made heretofore between myself and the committee of your society. In testimony whereof I have this day, the first day of November 1829, voluntarily set my hand.
(Signed) Truman Marsh
The resignation was accepted, but it was also voted
that the members of this Society entertain a deep and grateful sense of the many and valuable services rendered to this parish by the Rev. Truman Marsh while Rector thereof, and that the Messrs. Reuben Webster, Roger Cook and David C. Sanford be requested to tender him the thanks of the Society for the same.
With Mr. Marsh's resignation after a long rectorate ended a pe- riod during which St. Michael's had grown in numbers and influ- ence in the community. Without doubt Mr. Marsh's character and length of service in the parish, as well as Mr. Jones' long incum- bency and devotion to his work, were largely responsible for this. The move to the "church on the hill" was also partly responsible. Moreover, there were connected with St. Michael's many of the best-known citizens of the town. As we have seen, Litchfield was at the height of its importance during these years.
In the Autobiography, Correspondence, Etc. of Lyman Beecher, we find many references to Litchfield and its inhabitants and life here. Dr. Beecher was pastor of the Congregational Church from 1810 to 1826. In these volumes are found not only his impressions and memories, but those of his wife and his gifted family. There is little mention of the Episcopal Church, its clergy or members, in biography or letters. One paragraph, however, is of interest in this connection:
At the date of this narrative there were two religious societies in Litchfield, the Congregational and the Episcopal; but by a strange vicissitude, these denominations occupied a somewhat anomalous position toward each other. The Puritan communion was now "the
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standing order," or Established Church, and the Episcopal com- munion was the tolerated sect. In early years, and especially during the Revolution, when most Episcopalians conscientiously favored the royal cause, the latter can hardly have been said to have been a tolerated sect, to such an extent had the original theological feud been embittered by political rancor. Now, however, no outward signs of the ancient bitterness of feeling were apparent.
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