USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Washington > The church on the green; the first two centuries of the First Congregational church at Washington, Connecticut, 1741-1941 > Part 5
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THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE
it was occupied by Joel Stone and his brother Leman, to- gether with their three sisters. Joel was a Tory and Leman was a Whig. Many patriots in Judea made life miserable for Joel who had refused military service in 1776. He lived in one part of the house and his brother in the other. It was liter- ally a house divided against itself. Joel had to leave the community to avoid capture and his half of the house was confiscated. He joined the British army, was taken prisoner on Long Island, and placed in the Fairfield "gaol." Leman had an upper chamber decorated with a design in which the head of an eagle was surrounded by thirteen stars. Joel had an upper chamber decorated with British warships and other British symbols.
In the old cemetery on Plum Hill there are revolutionary markers, placed there by the Judea Chapter of the D. A. R. These markers are standing today as silent testimonials of honor and are placed upon the graves of soldiers who fought in the War of Independence. The following graves are marked : Jesse Baker, Joseph Titus, Josiah Bunce, Judah Baldwin, Isaac Camp, Elijah Hickox, Solomon Hurd, Gideon Hollister, Samuel Leavitt, Ezekiel Newton, Thomas Parker, David Whittlesey, David Walker, Elijah Hazen, Richard Bryan, D. N. Brinsmade, Enos Baldwin, Major William Cogswell, Dr. John Calhoun, N. Hickox, Jonathan Hine, Capt. David Judson, Simeon Mitchell, Oliver Olds, John Pratt, Martin Whittlesey, and James Armstrong.
In spite of the war, church affairs continued to occupy the attention of the members of the church on the Green. The people were faithful in their attendance and in the upkeep of the property. Two years after the coming of Mr. Merwin, in 1786, the society added a steeple to the church and pro- cured a bell. There are numerous entries concerning the care
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of the church. One of the last entries along this line was as follows : "granted to Peter Thorpe one pound ten shillings, the old way to sweep and take care of the meeting-house the ensuing year." The name of Peter Thorpe is of special inter- est because it was at his grave in the old Judea cemetery that Dr. Rossiter W. Raymond of New York preached an elo- quent sermon on July 4, 1900. His theme, "Honest Worth" was suggested by the inscription on Peter Thorpe's monu- ment, "Erected to the memory of honest worth by the friends of Peter Thorpe."
The final years of Mr. Brinsmade's pastorate were com- paratively tranquil. The controversies had ceased. The elderly minister was highly respected throughout the com- munity. He and Mr. Merwin worked together harmoniously during their joint pastorate. Mr. Brinsmade passed on to higher service at the age of seventy-four, in April, 1793, forty-four years after his ordination. Of his character and preaching, Mr. Porter has left the following comment : "Mr. Brinsmade was distinguished by a clear, comprehensive mind; had a casuistical turn ; was rather argumentative in his sermons. It appears that he was a pious, able minister, though not distinguished for pulpit talents or in laborious preparation for the Sabbath."
CHAPTER SIX
The Turn of the Century
I N DECEMBER, 1795, Rev. Ebenezer Porter came to Wash- ington as a supply preacher. He had received a call to the church at South Britain but had declined it and therefore consented to preach in Washington for a few weeks. The weeks lengthened into months as an attachment developed between him and the church people. He soon received an invi- tation to become their settled minister. Concerning this call, he wrote, "Though Washington has become to me a peculi- arly agreeable place of residence, and although I should choose it on many accounts before almost any place for a home, I cannot remain here unless some circumstances at- tending the call are changed." He therefore declined the call.
He spent several weeks in Salisbury where he was also in- vited to settle as minister. In the meantime the people at Washington renewed their call with certain modifications and this time the call was accepted. He returned to Washing- ton and for his first sermon preached on the words of Peter, "Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for; I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me?" (Acts 10:29. ) It was a sermon that set forth the
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relationships and duties that ought to guide a pastor and his people.
His ordination took place September 7th, 1796. Concern- ing the day, Mr. Porter left this comment: "The assembly was large and serious. The day was pleasant and was to me the most solemn day of my life. O that the light and warmth of divine grace from the infinite fountain may shine into my heart and influence all my conduct that I may fulfill this ministry faithfully, find this great work a pleasant work, and be ready when called to my last account."
According to Mrs. Gunn, in the excellent summary of Mr. Porter's life by Mrs. Lora N. Hollister, there were three ordination balls on the Green for different sets of people. One group met at the Peter Powell tavern which later became the "White Inn." Another group danced at the house now used as the Washington Club House. A group of young people danced at Squire Marshall's, in the house occupied for many years by the family of Daniel N. Canfield. It was necessary for the young people to go home before the ring- ing of the nine o'clock bell. Daniel B. Brinsmade, then a boy of fifteen, escorted Sarah Judson, the daughter of a Revolu- tionary general who lived in the old Red House on the Green.
Concerning his marriage, Mr. Porter has left the follow- ing note : "On the 14th of May, 1797, I was married to Lucy Pierce Merwin, eldest daughter of my predecessor, my age being 24 years the 5th of October and hers 17 years the 31st of December 1796. The marriage covenant was administered by Rev. Nathaniel Taylor of New Milford at the close of public exercises on the Sabbath." Mr. Porter's home was the house which became, after he left it, the General Brinsmade house and which stood near the present site of the Brownley Inn but close to the road.
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GIDEON H. POND
EPHRAIM LYMAN MINISTER 1852-1863
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THE TURN OF THE CENTURY
In his historical statement at the One Hundred and Fif- tieth Anniversary of the church, Rev. J. L. R. Wyckoff calls the fifteen years of Mr. Porter's pastorate the most signal epoch in the history of this church. That judgment is prob- ably correct. Mr. Wyckoff does not make such a statement in disparagement of those who preceded and who succeeded Mr. Porter. He feels, however, that Mr. Porter's work was unique both in the quality of the man and in the spirit of the times. It was a happy combination. The foundations had been well laid and the times were ripe for the unique gifts of Mr. Porter.
From the day of his ordination it seemed to be Mr. Por- ter's purpose to spend his life in the service of the Washing- ton church. He set forth a carefully-prepared plan of action. His first efforts seemed to be in the education and improve- ment of young people. He was greatly interested in the local schools, visiting them regularly. He kept a record of such visits, jotting down the general appearance of the schools and the proficiency shown at examinations from year to year. He frequently invited the teachers to meet with him that he might make suggestions to them as to how they might make their work more effective. At that time the cate- chism was taught in the schools and it was Mr. Porter's custom to catechise the children between the Sunday services. We might call such a class a forerunner of our modern Sunday School. Moreover he taught a class composed of those who had completed their work in the common schools.
Another important phase of his work was his teaching of theological students, one or more of whom lived in his home. He literally had a small theological school of his own and developed a system by which he taught these young men who were going into the Christian ministry. He would ask a ques-
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tion, explaining it in a lecture, or with a notice that a ser- mon would be adapted to it on the following Sunday. At a subsequent meeting the written papers would be handed in or perhaps read publicly but without signifying who had written them. After this theological or Biblical problem had received due consideration, another problem would be stated. It seems evident that many local young people were present at these classes of instruction, in addition to the theological students. For it is said 12 or 15 often wrote on a question and that from 30 to 80 attended the meetings. These classes continued in the years 1802, 1803 and 1804 but were then discontinued for a period because of the frail health of the pastor.
These weekly gatherings increased in interest and led directly to the first important revival since the establish- ment of the church. In the fall and winter of 1804, 54 per- sons united with the church. Mr. Porter himself has described this event in the rather quaint language of the time. "Near the close of the summer of 1803 things began to wear a brighter aspect. During the winter the operations of the divine Spirit were discernible in a part of the society. The church which had appeared to languish put on the aspect of returning health. People collected as if awake and in earnest. Even those whom infirmity might well have excused were often seen miles from home at an evening meeting. Many old professors amidst the glory of the scene seemed unable to express the wonder and joy of their hearts."
Books were scarce in those days and also expensive. There- fore Mr. Porter established a circulating library. Accord- ing to the records of the Ministerial Association of the county, he did the same for that organization. Similarly he
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established a library for the young people and their special needs. He was the first supervisor of schools and taught the first high school. In a real sense, his various organizations did for the Washington church what the Sunday School, Christian Endeavor and prayer meeting did for churches a century later. The Maternal Association, so useful in New England, was organized under his leadership. He put into successful operation in the parish a Home Missionary Society.
He is said to have preached the first temperance sermon ever published in this country. A few weeks after it was delivered, it was read by request before the ministerial asso- ciation, Mr. Porter and Dr. Lyman Beecher being appointed by that body a committee for the suppression of vice.
Mr. Porter was one of the first to remonstrate publicly against the law which required the transmission and opening of mails on the Sabbath. The petition for its repeal was writ- ten here in Washington in 1811 by Mr. Porter and upon it he inscribed this comment: "The first movement of the kind in the United States."
On June 16th, 1797, a more elaborate confession of faith than the one heretofore in use was proposed by the pastor and unanimously adopted by the people. It was as follows :
"Do you believe the scriptures both of the Old and New Testament to be the word of God and the only rule of faith and practice?
Do you believe the catechism of the Assembly of Divines that is in common use among us, so far as you are acquainted with it, and understand it to be agreeable to the word of God?
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Do you believe that there are three persons in the God-head, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, and that these three are one God?
Do you believe that for his own glory God created the heav- ens and the earth and all things that are therein and that he constantly upholds and governs all things?
Do you believe that man was at first made holy and upright but that by his disobedience he fell from that holy and happy state and thereby all his posterity are involved in sin and ruin?
Do you believe that Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, hath given himself a sacrifice for the sins of the world; that he is the mediator of the new covenant and the only way through which sinners may return to and find acceptance with God?
Do you believe that all men are by nature wilfully opposed to the gospel of Christ and that if any become willing heart- ily to submit to it, it is to be accounted to the mere mercy and sovereign grace of God?
Do you believe that though we are justified by faith alone, yet that personal holiness and universal obedience are re- quired of believers and that a holy life and conversation are the best evidence of our being in a justified state?
Do you believe that all who are once united to Christ in the covenant of grace shall be kept by the mighty power of God through faith unto salvation?
Do you believe that the hour is coming when all that are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God and shall come forth ; that we shall be judged according to the deeds done in the body, that the wicked shall go away into endless punishment and the righteous unto life eternal?"
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At a church meeting on February 27, 1806, it was voted that the following clause be inserted into the church Cove- nant, as follows : "engaging also (each one of you who is or, in the providence of God, may become the master of a fam- ily ) to maintain that daily worship of God in your family."
Like the confession of faith, the covenant was of a rigor- ous and somber nature, in harmony with the New England theology of that day. The amended covenant was as follows : "You do now, under an awful sense of the corruption of your nature and the manifold transgressions which you have committed against God through the course of your life, profess unfeigned repentance for all your sins, trusting in the mercy of God through Christ. You do also in the awful presence of God and before angels and men solemnly and religiously give up yourself and all that you have and are to that God whose name alone is Jehovah, the one only living and true God, avouching the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ as your God and Father ; the Lord Jesus Christ his son as your prophet, priest and king, and the only medi- ator of the covenant of grace; and the Holy Ghost as your only sanctifier and comforter ; promising to take the word of God as your only rule of faith and practice, giving your- self up to this his church, to walk together with his church in all the duties of social worship, engaging also (each one of you who is or, in the providence of God, may become the master of a family ), to maintain the daily religious worship of God in your family ; subjecting yourself to the commands and institutions of the gospel and to the government of Christ in this church until orderly dismissed ; promising all fraternal care, love and watchfulness toward and over others of your fellow members of this holy communion, and duly to attend the sacraments and all other ordinances which Christ
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hath instituted in his church and commanded to be attended to by his people ; always depending on the aid of divine grace to strengthen and enable you to the performance of these conditions."
It was during Mr. Porter's pastorate that the church building was burned and a new building erected. In July of 1800, the church was set on fire by a man of unsound mind. Fortunately the fire was discovered in time and put out so that no great damage was done. The bell had sounded the alarm, bringing the people to the scene, and the blaze was extinguished in about an hour. The cost of repairing the damage was about $200. The man's motive for setting the church on fire was that his pair of oxen had been sold in order to cover his debt to the church and he had become greatly incensed. At the time of the fire it was not known who had committed the deed.
On the night of April 30th, 1801, the building was again set on fire by the same person. This time the fire broke out in the steeple in the middle of the night and had gained such headway before being discovered that it was not possible to save the building and it became a total loss.
Within a week a meeting of the society had been held and it was unanimously voted to build another meeting-house. Mr. Porter has left the following record of the building of the new church: "When public worship was thrown into a state of derangement at a season of the year when the labors of the field called for the undivided attention of the people, without any preparation to meet so unexpected an event; under all these embarrassments no one sank into despondence or said, 'We will till our farms and tend our flocks and let the sanctuary lie in ruins.' At a moment which called for the collective wisdom, cool reflection, deliberate resolution and
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united exertion of this people with one heart and hand all set about the work.
"Within six months from the first stroke, the building was so far prepared that we assembled in it on Thanksgiving Day for public worship and in 18 months and one week it was finished. And it is a fact worthy to be recorded that, though the expense of the meeting-house amounted to about six thousand dollars and there was great urgency for a speedy payment, not one individual was called upon by distraint of law to furnish his proportion."
One amusing story told of the church that was burned states that there was a feather bed kept in the church for the convenience of a Mrs. Mitchell, an invalid, who used to attend church and recline upon the bed. Some who watched the fire claimed they could see the feather bed going up in smoke. After the new church was built, the woman who was an invalid had a rocking chair in which to sit during the church services.
Mr. Porter's settlement and salary were considerably smaller than the arrangements made with his predecessors. His settlement was $666.67 and his salary $383.33. As time passed he found it increasingly inadequate for his expenses. In 1809 he felt it necessary to make known his situation to his people and ask relief at their hands. This correspondence has been carefully kept. The following extract is taken from his letter. "With all the prudence which I have been able to practise, my salary is inadequate to support my family and the company which it belongs to every minister to entertain. As to support, my salary has not been what I had good rea- son to think it would be when I settled. It was supposed that the troubles in Europe which had then begun would soon subside, so that the proposed salary would be sufficient and
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I accepted it. Contrary to my expectations, many articles of living and all kinds of agricultural and mechanical labor rose about one third in price. Of course the value of my sal- ary sunk in the same proportion. After spending thirteen years of my prime in Washington, with a small family, and as strict a system of economy as I think proper for a min- ister to exercise; and after having received important aids from sources on which I have no right to place further de- pendence, I still owe several hundred dollars on interest, which I have no means of paying, unless I sell my land, and without my land I have no reasonable prospect of support."
This statement naturally caused some excitement and was generally discussed by the members. Feelings were aroused and unkind statements made. An effort was made by a few of Mr. Porter's friends to raise his salary to a sum correspond- ing with the intent of the original agreement but this effort failed. In consequence, Mr. Porter wrote the church mem- bers another letter, stating the details more fully and con- cluding with the following paragraph: "To conclude this statement, I have only to say to you, brethren, that if you can devise any means to restore tranquillity to this society, and afford me a competent support, I shall be happy to remain your minister. I can forget all the cruel things that have been said, provided I can have reason to think they will be forgotten by you. But I cannot remain here and see you a divided people. I cannot remain here and receive a support which is drawn from you with reluctance. I had rather have your friendship than your money. I must insist on it, if any- thing is done, that it be done cheerfully. If something effec- tual cannot be done, I presume you will think it reasonable to join with me in calling the Consociation, that our relation may be dissolved."
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There then followed an effort to raise the salary by sub- scription, with the proviso that either the pastor or the people might sever the relationship through giving a six months' notice, after which the salary would cease. This vote was accepted by Mr. Porter in the hope that the matter would be amicably settled. The excitement, however, did not die down and unpleasant remarks continued to be made. Whereupon Mr. Porter sent a further communication to the church, setting forth the whole situation, and asking to be released from his duties within a period of six months. After further correspondence, the day of dismission was fixed and letters were sent out for the purpose of convening an ecclesiastical council.
Before this council met, however, the pastor received an affectionate address from some of the young men of the parish, including the following appeal: "The young people of Washington, animated with the highest sentiments of love and attachment to their pastor, respectfully request leave to present this address, as an expression of their esteem and friendship to him; a friendship which thirteen years' acquaintance has only served to strengthen and increase. Bearing in mind the valuable instructions we have received, too deep an impression is made on our hearts to be easily effaced. We have beheld the tender solicitude which our minister has ever manifested to promote our happiness. The young people are sensible of the privileges they have enjoyed while under the charge of their present pastor. While we thus pay our tribute of respect, may we not be permitted to cherish the hope that they may still be continued? We sin- cerely regret that this union is apparently on the verge of dissolution. We entertain the pleasing hope that Mr. Porter will approve the measures adopted to preserve the continu-
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ance of this union. As the difficulty that has arisen between Mr. Porter and the society has been respecting his salary, and as some of our fathers and friends have wished a condi- tion annexed thereto, we, their sons, wish no such thing. We are willing to give our pastor an honorable support, not clogged with any conditions. And if Providence should lengthen his life beyond his usefulness here as a preacher, we are willing to give, in the evening of his life, that support which a grateful people will ever be willing to give a beloved pastor."
This letter brought a happy change in the atmosphere. It became evident that there was a strong attachment to him as a man and a preference for him as a minister. His determina- tion to leave wavered. When the council met on April 25th, 1810, the advice given was that the relation between pastor and people should be continued. "Feeling the utmost confi- dence in the fidelity of your minister, we hope and trust that by his faithful efforts he may, with the blessing of God, be the instrument of unspeakable good."
Mr. Porter remained for three years more in Washington, with the affection and esteem of the people showered upon him. In the meantime, when it was rumored that he was to leave the church, several applications were made for his services. One was from the First Church of New Haven, which he saw fit to decline. Many of his friends, including Dr. Dwight of Yale, urged him to accept the New Haven call but he did not see his way to doing so. At about the same time, the Andover Theological Seminary was seeking some one to fill the chair of Pulpit Eloquence and by a unan- imous vote of the trustees, Mr. Porter was elected to this post. When announced to Mr. Porter on Sept. 24th, 1811, he felt that his health would not allow him to consider it. To
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this uncertainty concerning his health, there was also his apprehension that his talents had been overrated. His cau- tious attitude is well illustrated by a paper which he drew up at the time, setting down in parallel columns the affirma- tive and negative reasons why he should or should not re- main at Washington. Among his reasons for going there appeared this statement: "My prospects of happiness and usefulness here are impaired by the events of 1809 and 1810. My salary was raised by constraint rather than by convic- tion and choice ; things were said and done by individuals which can never be retracted ; impressions were made on my feelings which can never be effaced ; the fire which then raged so terribly, though smothered, is not extinguished."
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