USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Warren > The Congregational church, Warren, Connecticut, l750-1956 > Part 6
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the family went to church, they left the baby in the care of neighbors named Bliss. During their absence Indians at- tacked and masscred the entire Bliss family, the Keep baby being included. The one surviving child, who had been at church with his parents, was the ancestor of the Reverend John.
Mr. Keep graduated from Yale in the class of 1834 and spent the following year teaching in a school for deaf mutes in New York City. He returned to Yale for theological train- ing, intending to go to China as a missionary, but difficulty with his eyes delayed completion of his studies and prevented execution of his purpose.
While he was in New York, he apparently became inter- ested in the work of Charles G. Finney, a native of Warren, who was then at the height of his evangelistic career. Whether drawn by interest or by mere curiosity, the young teacher would almost inevitably have joined the crowds that were thronging Broadway Tabernacle, the great, circular building with pulpit in the center which had been built for the use of the evangelist, and the two may well have become personally acquainted. At the close of the year (1835) Mr. Finney moved with his family to Ohio to become a lecturer on theology in the recently established college of Oberlin. This college was
encountering intense opposition, since it was strongly anti- slavery in its policy, admitting Negro as well as white stud- ents. With the backing of a group of determined men who had pledged their fortunes to the cause, the trustees coura- geously embarked upon a program of building and develop- ment. Then came the panic of 1837, and the fortunes of the sponsors were wiped out over night. Money was desperately needed. In this emergency Mr. Finney conceived the idea of sending a mission to England, where his work as an evan- gelist was already known and where, because of the strong anti-slavery sentiment existing there, he believed he could enlist help for the new college.
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In his autobiography, Mr. Finney writes: "We therefore sent an agency to England, composed of Rev. John Keep* and Mr. William Dawes, having obtained for them letters of recom- mendation, and expressions of confidence in our enterprise, from some of the leading anti-slavery men in the country. They went to England, and laid our objects and wants before the British public. They generously responded, and gave us six thousand pounds sterling. This very nearly canceled our indebtedness."
After graduating from Yale Divinity School, Mr. Keep preached for a year in Unionville (1840 - 1841), where he was instrumental in organizing the Congregational Church. The pastor of the near-by Farmington Church was Dr. Noah Porter, whose son Noah later became president of Yale. There is a pleasant tradition in the Keep family* that one day when the young minister was at the Porter home he observed a daughter Rebecca, engaged in the housewifely art of washing dishes. Impressed both by her beauty and by her domestic qualities, he courted and eventually married her. It is recorded that a younger sister accompanied the couple on their honey- moon trip, since it was considered improper for a young girl to travel alone with a gentleman, even though that gentleman was the bridegroom.
One unfortunate incident occurred during the honeymoon. Mr. Keep developed a sore throat, and by mistake was given ammonia as a gargle. The result was a serious burn which throughout his life caused him to have trouble with his throat and voice.
For two years Mr. Keep was pastor of the church in Franklin, New York, and from there he came to Warren, Dr.
*While there is no confirmation in available church records that the "Rev. John Keep" of Mr. Finney's account is the Rev. John Robinson Keep, later of Warren, the identity seems almost certain. It is even possible that the association with Mr. Finney led eventually to his settlement in Warren.
*From a letter from Mr. Keep's granddaughter.
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Porter preaching his installation sermon. The first problem facing the family was one of housing. The Society had not as yet procured a parsonage, and he, like his predecessors, had to make his own living arrangements. Having been author- ized, however, to secure a parsonage for himself, aided by "contributions from interested persons", he bought the house which is still standing on the triangle between the Cornwall Bridge road and the road leading to the "Stone House", the house now owned by Mrs. La Master.
A letter written more than twenty years ago by Mrs. Mary Peters Mowry, then aged ninety, contains some interest- ing reminiscences of this period. Her father was the pro- prietor of the Peters' iron works in Woodville, which had been established about 1790 and which continued until about 1860 to be an important industry in the region. Ore was carted from the Salisbury mines to be smelted and converted into bars of pig iron. These bars were then melted in the puddling furnace and worked into molten balls, which were deftly removed by the puddler and swung upon the anvil, where they were beaten into bars of pure iron. In the black- smith shop, where the bars finally arrived, they were made into hand-wrought nails, locks, crowbars, axles for wheels, and other objects for which there was a steady demand. A regu- lar nightly occurrence was the opening of the great damper near the top of the tall chimney, whereupon the flames burst forth, lighting up the whole valley. "When our Mike", writes Mrs. Mowry, "fresh from Erin, caught the opening flash, he screamed in terror-hell was open to swallow him" Charcoal was extensively used in the smelting process, and loads of wood might often be seen on their way to the "charcoal pits", large conical piles of logs which , fired from the inside and burned at the proper temperature, were eventually reduced to charcoal.
When Mr. Keep's pastorate closed, Mary Peters was only ten, but the memories of her childhood were still vivid eighty years later. "The meeting house in Warren", she writes, "was
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a five mile drive from our home in Woodville and every Sun- day morning the carriage was at the gate at nine o'clock-the family ready to step in promptly, provided with a neat bit of lunch, also some heads of fennel or carraway or dill to nibble and exchange with the neighbors-city visitors called it 'churchseed'-or if it was winter a small footstove was in order. This was carried into the meeting for the floors were cold and carpets in the pews were unheard of.
"From the vestibule, stairs led to the galleries. The front gallery was always filled with singers-a tuning fork to get the 'pitch' and the big bass viol were the only instruments. When the hymns were sung, the congregation stood-they turned facing the choir and sang with spirit and understand- ing according to their gifts.
"The side galleries were the delight of the young folks and strictly supervised by elderly men of solemn mien. En- tering the body of the church, it was a temptation to stop to warm up by the long box stoves that in the winter blazed a way to comfort. There was a stove at each side, with pipes extending under the galleries to chimneys at the rear-no heat was lost." (It will be observed that there had been some les- sening of early stoical endurance, as two stoves had recently been installed, at a cost of twelve dollars each, but footstoves still provided added comfort.)
"Also the square pews, with seats on all four sides (ex- cepting a space for the door) ran under the galleries. They were a real family home and little folks in them were happy. The more modern straight pews were on each side of the cen- ter or broad aisle where the minister entered, walked forward so reverently and ascending the flight of stairs entered the pulpit and closed the door. That door seemed a symbol of separation between things temporal and things spiritual."
Mrs. Mowry continues: "Sabbath School filled most of the intermission. The tones of Deacon Hopkins' fervent pray- er are fresh in my ears after eighty years. We had a few minutes to prepare for the long afternoon service which began
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at one o'clock. Mr. Howard had a school on the north side of the green, sometimes we were invited in and treated to a piece of pie and a cup of tea-or to Capt. Gilbert's-he was always the genial host and dared laugh aloud on Sunday. At the close of the afternoon service there was no lingering for hand shakes-men made all possible speed for their horses who in turn were ready for a mad rush home-all the dignity in the town was sorely tested."
Mrs. Mowry writes also of the custom of tolling the bell when a death occurred in the town. "The bell was deep toned and musical. All listened in reverence as it called to worship or tolled for the dead. It was the custom to toll one stroke of the bell, or two or three to announce a child, a man, or a woman. After that to toll the age pausing between the tens." As cases of serious illness were usually known throughout the town, the identity of the person who had died was generally recognized by the listeners.
Mention was made in Mrs. Mowry's letter of Mr. Howard's school. For some time there had been in the town a "Select School", and about 1835 a young Yale graduate, Jarvis C. Howard, took over the management of this school and devel- oped it into the "Warren Academy", an academy which con- tinued for some nineteen years to attract students not only from Warren but from other towns as well, and even from other states. Mr. Howard married a Warren Girl, Sophia Rey- nolds, and five of their six children were born in Warren.
There is in existence a catalogue for the year 1837, in which it is stated that the Academy "is pleasantly situated in the healthy and retired village of Warren, about ten miles west of Litchfield, and one and a half south of the Litchfield and Po'keepsie turnpike; on which road stages run daily each way, and will pass through the village of Warren when desired.
"Few locations", the description continues, "it is believed, are better calculated to subserve the purpose of a school. The surrounding scenery, especially in summer, is agreeably varie- gated and romantic; the inhabitants are noted for their in-
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dustry, intelligence, and morality; and, in the absence of all places of public resort, the village is free from those peculiar temptations which most places afford."
Besides the principal, the faculty at that time included an "Assistant Principal", a "Preceptress", and two "Assistant Pupils", one of whom, Miss A. M. Taylor, was a Warren resi- dent.
The student body in the year 1837 consisted of eighty-six males and twenty-five females, or a total of a hundred and eleven. Of that number, thirty-four, including three ambitious "females", were enrolled in the "Classical and Mathematical Department", where they studied, among other subjects, Latin and Greek, geometry and algebra, surveying and bookkeeping, all at a tuition fee of five dollars for each eleven weeks' term. Three other females concentrated on the more ladylike French, and two steered a middle course between French and the Classics. The remaining seventy-two pupils were enrolled in the "Common English Department", where they were taught orthography, reading, writing (the ornate Spencerian style), arithmetic, English grammar, etc .- all for the modest sum of three dollars a term; or in the "Higher English Department", where they delved into Natural, Moral, and Intellectual Philo- sophy, chemistry, botany, astronomy, and like subjects at four dollars a term.
To accommodate the school Mr. Howard built the "Corner House", across the road and north of the church, which later burned; he then moved into the house which is now the par- sonage. A few of the out-of-town pupils were accorded the privilege of boarding with the principal for twenty-five dollars per quarter, "washing, fuel, lights, etc. included", and parents were assured that their "studies, morals, and amusements will at all times receive his special attention". Other less privi- leged pupils might obtain board in "respectable private fami- lies on reasonable terms".
He later built what is now known as the old town house, to be used for classrooms. This was built by subscription,
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Mr. Howard holding the largest number of shares. When he left Warren, the town bought the building.
During the last years of Mr. Keep's pastorate an unfor- tunate dispute arose between him and Mr. Howard, the details of which are recorded at length both in the minutes of the So- ciety and also in a pamphlet which Mr. Howard later had printed, addressed to the pastor-elect, Mr. Wakeman. The dispute concerned a sum of money which Mr. Howard asserted had been paid to Mr. Keep but which Mr. Keep denied having received. Heated words were evidently exchanged and Mr. Howard demanded an apology. When no apology was forth- coming, he absented himself from church services, including communion. This act was the signal for intervention by the Society, which as usual, appointed a committee to labor with the offending member. A protracted series of interviews fol- lowed, Mr. Howard being admonished not only "to acknowl- edge with sorrow that I have withdrawn from the communion of this church without just reason", but also to promise "to walk orderly and fraternally with this church and peaceably and kindly with its pastor". That he had done wrong in vio- lating the rules of the church and absenting himself from communion, Mr. Howard was willing to acknowledge, but he stated emphatically that his feelings toward the minister re- mained unchanged.
The result was inevitable. After what may well have been a stormy debate, though the meeting had opened as always with prayer, the church voted "to withdraw her watch and care from Jarvis C. Howard"-thirteen ayes, three nays, and eight abstaining. The closeness of the vote is sufficient indi- cation of the sharp division of sentiment among the people. Mr. Keep appears to have acted throughout with dignity and restraint, denying the accusation, but refraining from accus- ing Mr. Howard of deliberate falsehood. On the other hand. Mr. Howard had been regarded with respect throughout the community as teacher and head of the Academy, and he had held important offices in the town. On both sides, therefore, loyalties were strong.
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That Mr. Howard did not regard his excommunication lightly, is shown by the fact that two years after he had left Warren he wrote a long letter to the Society, asking that his name be restored to the roll in order that he might be granted a letter to the church in Meriden where he was then living. He again acknowledged that he had been wrong in absenting himself from communion, and stated that "under the excite- ment incident to the discussion of that matter language was used and feelings manifested inconsistent with that love which is the fulfilling of the Law"; but he declined to acknowl- edge that he had been wrong in his judgment of that which had "occurred in the secrecy of private interviews". This re- servation was all-important however, for the Society refused to grant his request, recording the following vote: "Resolved that in the opinion of the church . . . the only way ... for an ex-communicated person to return ... is by giving satisfac- tory evidence of repentance for sin and forsaking the same".
The whole affair was most regrettable. On the one hand, Mr. Howard and his family left Warren and the Academy, which had established an enviable reputation, was closed. Another private academy was later established by Mr. David Hine in his own home north of the Stone House, but little in- formation regarding it is available. On the other hand, strong emotions had been aroused throughout the parish and words spoken that were not easily forgotten or forgiven. The un- pleasantness resulting from the dispute inevitably contributed to Mr. Keep's resignation, though he gave as the only reason for his request poor health : "Believing that I cannot expect to recover from the effects of my illness last winter, without a change of climate or a change of employment, I am con- strained to ask for a release from my present relation to you as your Pastor."
That the scars were not yet healed is implied by the manner in which the request was accepted: "Voted that while to most of us the thought of a separation is painful, we feel it our duty to acquiesce in the request of our Pastor for a disso- lution of the relation existing between us".
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After a needed rest Mr. Keep moved to Hartford where, taking up again the work of his early manhood, he became associated with the American Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb. He was a most successful teacher. Through the textbooks which he wrote and the new teaching methods which he de- vised he made a large contribution to the education of the deaf. He retired in 1880 after twenty-six years of this work, and died four years later at the age of seventy-four.
Mr. Keep was remembered, not only as a scholarly man, but also as a man of engaging personality, fun-loving, a lover of music, and a noted story-teller with a fund of anecdotes for every occasion. During his pastorate in Warren he had re- ceived seventy-two persons into church membership, and he left many warm friends in that town. He was survived by his wife, an especially lovely and gracious woman, an ideal minis- ter's wife. They had four children Robert, Mary, Elizabeth, and William. "Willie" was drowned in the Farmington River at the close of his sophomore year in Yale. Mary also died in early womanhood. Dr. Robert Keep became headmaster of the well-known Porter School in Farmington, a position to which his son Robert succeeded.
REV. MONTGOMERY WAKEMAN, 1854-1856
For nearly two years after Mr. Keep's resignation the church was without a pastor; then a call was extended to the Rev. Montgomery Wakeman of Ballston, New York. Mr. Wakeman was not a college graduate, but he had studied theo- logy at Auburn Seminary, and while pastor in Warren he was granted an honorary degree of A.M. by Union College. To meet his salary of $600, members of the Society were taxed fourteen cents on the dollar; the pew rent for one year is re- corded as $399.
Before the close of his second year Mr. Wakeman resigned because of his wife's health. Little is recorded of his pastor- ate except that thirty-nine persons were received into the
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church the first year and three more during the second year. From Warren he went to Lafayette, New York, and later to the state of Iowa.
REV. FRANCIS LOBDELL, 1859-1863
After a three year interval a call was issued to Mr. Francis Lobdell, a graduate of Amherst with further training at Union Theological Seminary. There apparently was an en- couraging spirit of unanimity in this choice, and both pastor and people hoped for a period of stability and growth. One encouraging development during this period was the increased interest in the Sabbath School. The school seems to have been begun about 1818, Deacon Joseph Tanner being the first recorded superintendent. At first it was held in the intermis- sion between the two services, and instruction was based largely upon the catechism. Gradually, however, the program was extended to include singing, recitation of Scripture pas- sages, and Bible study, the classes usually being conducted by the deacons. Eventually it replaced the second service.
In addition to the Sunday services there was also a Friday afternoon prayermeeting which, because of the smaller atten- dance, was often held in the Town House. Then Mr. Orlando Swift offered the use of a room in the store for meetings or conferences, fitting it up with a desk, the old communion table, and the pulpit Bible which had been purchased in 1815.
If the cynical comment of the church clerk is to be taken at face value, attendance at these various meetings was not all that could have been desired. For example: "As the brothers considered corn planting more essential than attend- ing prayer meeting, the business which was postponed for decision today was again adjourned till next Friday." And again : "The pastor preached on the importance of faithful attendance at the regular prayer meetings-very much to the horror of many who never attend."
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Such comment was not wholly justified, however. Good Friday was always observed as "Fast Day", though it is to be feared that, with the traditional menu of fritters and maple syrup, the average family did little fasting. Nevertheless, the day was always set aside for special religious observance. The record for March 29, 1861, reads: "The prayer meeting in the forenoon was well attended, and the occasion was deeply solemn, interesting, and profitable. The prayers were earnest and pointed. In the afternoon the Pastor preached a discourse from Matt. 6:16" ["When ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance."]
That loyalty to the church and its mission was by no means dead, is shown by the amount of money that was col- lected, not only for church expenses, but also for benevolent purposes and by the variety of the causes thus aided. At the beginning of Mr. Lobdell's ministry the number of members was 129, and thirty-seven additions were reported during his pastorate. His salary was $800, part of which was raised as usual by a tax upon members of the Society, the tax at this time being four and a half mills upon a dollar. For outside needs the experiment was tried of taking a collection on the Sabbath at least six times a year, but the attempt was con- sidered unsatisfactory and a return to the time honored- method of subscription was decreed, a method which was the forerunner of the modern budget and pledge system.
Even though results were declared "unsatisfactory", nevertheless, for a church with fewer than a hundred fifty members, and with the rising costs of war time, the collections seem rather impressive. For example: "Mr. Lobdell preached a sermon in the morning on behalf of the American Seaman's Friend Society, and in the afternoon a collection was taken which amounted to $20 and constituted the pastor a life mem- ber of that Society". Or again: "The pastor preached all day on Home Missions and $40 was contributed." Again, a plea was made for a certain Mrs. Riley Townsend, formerly of Warren but now of Michigan, who had recently been left a
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widow with several small children, and $20 was collected, "though but few male members were present". Other col- lections were taken for books for the Sabbath School, (Many a child began his literary education with books of more or less permanent value from the Sunday School library) for The American Tract Society, The American Sunday School Union, The American Bible Society, and The American Missionary Association. One appeal for sufferers in Kansas resulted in an estimated $400 worth of money and clothing. It is recorded that during the years 1859-1862 the amount raised for all purposes, including the pastor's salary, was $4,300. When one considers the relative value of money then and now, as well as the war-time conditions, it is evident that at least some people in the church were taking their obligations seriously.
During Mr. Lobdell's pastorate a project of interior re- modeling was undertaken, a project which must have entailed real sacrifice and in which the people doubtless took great pride, but one which we, a century later, deplore. We have seen that, in the early nineteenth century, there developed a style of architecture which was the inspiration of many of our most beautiful New England churches. A generation later a new fashion arose and this fashion was adopted with equal enthusiasm. Thus, in 1859, following the lead of many other churches, "The members of the Ecclesiastical Society of Warren saw fit to remodel the church . .. and to give it a mod- ern style". The floor was raised nearly three feet, the windows on the western side were closed, and the old high pulpit was removed, "a suitable platform and desk" being substituted. In addition, the seats were rearranged, the chimneys were removed to the corners, and the front of the gallery, originally curved, was straightened to provide more room for the choir. The cost, which amounted to about $800, was as usual raised by subscription. Thus do ideas of what is beautiful and "suit- able" change with changing generations !
The ladies of the church assumed their full share of re- sponsibility. When they ripped open the cover of the pulpit
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cushion, they found two papers, the one of 1820 already re- ferred to, and another which reads as follows:
"In the year of our Lord 1845, under the presidency of James K. Polk, and the Governorship of Roger S. Baldwin, and in the second year of the pastorate of Rev. John R. Keep, the ladies of Warren observed that the pulpit cushion, under the influence of twenty-five years of sound orthodox preaching, had, in the language of our predecessors, 'turned to rags'. Subscriptions were accordingly made by the ladies, and a new cover purchased to conceal the ravages of time. On Thursday, the 7th of August, assembled, for the purpose of recovering the cushion, Mrs. Jane Sackett Hine, Mrs. Emily Sackett Comstock, Misses Laura Taylor, Lucy C. Sackett, Marion R. Bradley, Evelyn Starr, Sarah Robbins Starr, Helen Talmadge, and Mr. Henry J. Taylor. Upon opening the cushion the paper of 1820 was, to our great gratification, discovered. Trusting that the design of that paper is answered in the renewed zeal with which it has animated us, we follow the example of those gratefully remembered ladies whose skillful needles preceded us, and deposit this paper hoping that the generations who come after may be encouraged in like laudable efforts.
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