USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > East Haven > The evolution of an old New England Church, being the history of the Old stone church in East Haven, Connecticut > Part 8
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THE PASTORATE OF NICHOLAS STREET.
lowing. The circuits of New Haven, Hartford, and Litch- field were established in 1790, and the traveling ministers began to make their rounds to win converts. The growth of Methodism in the state has been very rapid, its strength continuing to increase to the present day.
While Connecticut Congregationalism closely resembled Presbyterianism in both doctrine and polity, and the churches were often called Presbyterian by the laity and clergy, the Presbyterian Church itself has never been very formidable in the state. From 1766 to 1775 annual assemblies were held jointly by representatives of New York and Philadelphia Synods and the Association of Connecticut. After the Revo- lutionary War, Reverend Timothy Dwight took the initiative in making arrangements between the Presbyterian General Assembly and the Connecticut General Association, to the effect that each body agreed to be represented by its delegates in all annual meetings of either denomination. In 1774 they made the agreement that the delegates should have full voting power. The Associations of Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire soon made similar arrangements with the Presbyterians. In May, 1801, the "Plan of Union" was adopted by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, providing that Presbyterians and Congregationalists would not compete in their home missionary enterprises; but where the Presbyterians were first on the field with the majority of communicants the Congregationalists would unite with them, giving loyal adherence to their polity; and where the Con- gregationalists were established the Presbyterians would unite with them. The "Plan of Union" continued in operation until the conservative elements among the Presbyterians nulli- fied it in the meeting of their General Assembly, in 1837. The liberal Presbyterians, however, continued to abide by it until it was repudiated by the Congregationalists in the Albany Convention, in 1852. Undoubtedly the Presbyterians bene-
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THE EVOLUTION OF AN OLD NEW ENGLAND CHURCH.
fited by the "Plan of Union"; for it gave to them the control of the Middle West, although it preserved New England for the Congregationalists.
The Revolutionary War and the subsequent critical period greatly depreciated the purchasing power of money, and Mr. Street found himself unable to support his large family on his meagre income. As a last resort he petitioned the Ecclesias- tical Society for an increase in salary, which, after considerable debate, was granted to the extent of £20 annually.46 Such generosity greatly provoked some of the more conservative members of the parish, "and having been displeased on some other account," they withdrew and organized an Episcopal Church. 47
After fifty-one years in the Gospel Ministry, all of which were spent in the East Haven Church, Mr. Street passed away on October 8, 1806, the fifty-first anniversary of his ordina-
" Ecclesiastical Society Records, Vol. II, p. 112.
47 "East Haven, 31st March, 1788. At a meeting of the Episcopal Society of the Church of England, so called, legally warned, at the house of Mr. Samuel Tuttle, in said East Haven, at 2 o'clock P. M. on Monday, 3Ist March, 1788; the subscribers, members of said Church or Society, under the kind patronage of the Reverend Bela Hubbard, Rector of Trinity Church, of New Haven, being present, who willingly and cheerfully accepted us under his care and patronage, proceeded to the usual and necessary business of choosing the needful and customary parish officers in said Society of East Haven. Accordingly, voted John Bird to be clerk of said Society; and being duly sworn, upon the oath of fidelity and oath of office, according to law-also voted, Captain Samuel Barnes, Moderator, John Bird, Clerk, Samuel Tuttle, James Pardee, Church Wardens ;- Jehiel Forbes, Captain Stephen Thompson, Jun., Ichabod Bishop, Vestrymen. At the same time voted for five Vestrymen, but that only three shall be a quorum, with full power and authority, as the five by vote elected."
"Let this certify all whom it may concern, that I was present at the above- mentioned meeting, and that the above-mentioned persons were approved of in their several respective offices to which they were appointed.
Witness my hand, 31st day of March, 1788.
BELA HUBBARD, Rector of Trinity Church, New Haven."
See S. Dodd, East Haven Register, pp. 69-70.
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THE PASTORATE OF NICHOLAS STREET.
tion. He had been a hard worker and a faithful servant. Through all the turmoil of his time he held his people to the faith, preventing any tendency to split, only to allow discord to enter the parish because of his intense patriotism. He wrote and dated all of his sermons, the total numbering over two thousand; and frequently he exchanged pulpits with neigh- boring ministers.48 In 1778 he preached the election sermon before the General Assembly, meeting in Northford. His sermons were fairly brief and many were highly doctrinal.49 He seemed to delight in discussing theological subjects, proba-
48 A memorandum among Mr. Street's papers shows the following exchanges :
Milford
.April
5th, 1772.
66
. April
25th, 1781.
Derby
. June 20th, 1772.
Amity
April IIth, 1773.
March 13th, 1785.
West Haven
June 13th, 1773.
66
Oct.
9th, 1791.
Stratford
April
26th, 1781.
Chapel, Yale College
April 15th, 1781.
March 16th, 1783.
Brick Haven, or Brick House
1782.
66
March 13th, 1791.
Fair Haven
Nov.
10th, 1782.
66
March 16th, 1785.
White Haven
June
10th, 1785.
Chapel
.May
Ist, 1785.
June,
1789.
New Lebanon
June
5th, 1785.
North Haven
July
24th, 1785.
Titicut
1785.
Branford, Mr. Atwater, monthly meeting
May,
1791
Chapel
June
3d, 1792.
-See Owen Street, p. 65 in D. W. Havens, Centennial Discourse, 1874.
49 A sermon, a printed copy of which is on file in Yale Library. The American People acting over the Part of the Children of Israel in the Wilderness, and thereby impeding their entrance into Canaan's Rest: or, The Human Heart discovering itself under trials. Preached in East Haven, 1777, and occasionally at Branford.
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THE EVOLUTION OF AN OLD NEW ENGLAND CHURCH.
bly because he had the ability to do so with clearness and simplicity and to propound his convictions in an interesting manner.50
The following eulogy appeared in The Connecticut Journal the week after his death :
"The uninterrupted peace of a flock, through a ministry of half a century, is an unequivocal testimony to the wisdom and prudence of the pastor. Uniting sound discretion with a meek and benevolent spirit, his public and private instructions were always seasonable He was gentle towards all, as a father cherishes his children."
On his tombstone was inscribed: "In his Ministry he was a faithful and wise servant : sound in the Faith, pacific, friendly and hospitable :- In Conversation, cheerful and inoffensive : In his relations kind and faithful; And in friendship invio- lable."51
50 An outline of one of Mr. Street's sermons, the text being Hosea II, 14, 15: "Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt."
"I. God's method with sinners is an alluring method.
2. Those whom he designs for the objects of his mercy and grace, he brings into a wilderness of inward or outward trials.
3. It is in this wilderness that God is graciously pleased to speak com- fortably to them.
4. That when God speaks comfortably to them, he frequently comes with some present, real evidences of his love to them.
5. Troubles not only go before mercies, but are doors of hope to let in mercies, as the valley of Achor was to Israel.
6. That our deliverance from outward trouble and bondage, but especially from the bondage of sin, is enough to make us sing for joy." See Owen Street, in D. W. Haven's Centennial Discourse, p. 66.
51 F. B. Dexter, Vol. II, pp. 271-3.
Mr. Street owned a negro slave, Tom, who used to come and say, "Master, I wish I could be free!" and the reply always was, "You may be free any day, Tom, if you will let me draw up a writing that shall clear me from the obligation to take care of you when you are old and can earn nothing." This answer always satisfied Tom, but he never accepted the offer. See Owen Street, in D. W. Havens' Centennial Discourse, p. 70.
REV. SAUL CLARK
CHAPTER IV.
SAUL CLARK AND STEPHEN DODD.
The East Haveners, knowing the difficulties confronting them in finding a suitable young man whose theology was sufficiently conservative, began to look around for a pastor. They were proud of their traditions, having had but two ministers in a century, and they wanted a young man to come and settle with them in the work, duplicating, if possible, the pastorates of his worthy predecessors. The Reverend Saul Clark,1 a graduate of Williams College in the class of 1805, had occasionally supplied the pulpit during Mr. Street's last illness, and the people were most favorably impressed with him. At the Ecclesiastical Society meeting on June 29, 1807, it was "voted that we wish for to have Mr. Clark continue to preach with us six Sabbaths from this date on probation for settlement, should the Society and Mr. Clark be agreed on terms at or after the expiration of that time."2 The next meeting of the society was held on July 27, and Mr. Clark had so won his way into the affections of the church members that they decided to give him a call "for to settle in the Gospel
1 Rev. Saul Clark was born in Southampton, Massachusetts, December 12, 1780. After his graduation from Williams College in 1805 with the Master of Arts degree, he studied theology with the Reverend Joseph Lathrop, D.D., of West Springfield, Massachusetts. His first pastorate was East Haven. In 1808 he received the honorary Master of Arts degree from Yale College. He was married on September 11, 1808, to Miss Amy Bradley of East Haven, a member of his own congregation. See Leonard Abram Bradley, Descend- ants of Isaac Bradley, p. 117. There is a tradition that Miss Bradley appar- ently lacked the sedate and dignified qualities so essential in a minister's wife, and when the bans were published from the pulpit by a neighboring minister with whom Mr. Clark had exchanged for the occasion, the brother of the bride-to-be, being present in the congregation, called out from where he was sitting, "She is no more fitted to be a minister's wife than a chestnut burr is for an eye-stone." The timely warning, however, did not greatly influence Mr. Clark, for in due time the wedding was performed.
2 Ecclesiastical Society Records, Vol. II, p. 130.
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THE EVOLUTION OF AN OLD NEW ENGLAND CHURCH.
Ministry with us, and that if Mr. Clark should agree to settle with us we do agree for to give him a salary of five hundred and fifty dollars annually so long as he shall continue to supply the pulpit."3
After several exchanges of communications, the society per- sisting in urging an acceptance and the candidate hesitating because of the limited pecuniary remuneration, an agreement was reached and the call accepted by the following letter :
"To the Church and Society of East Haven: Gentlemen:
Having received a Call from you to settle in the Gospel Ministry, after a long delay and after experiencing many diffi- culties upon the subject, I take this opportunity to communi- cate an answer. Being sensible that the important work to which you have called me is not only arduous and extremely accountable on my part, but that it involves your Spiritual and Eternal interest, I have taken the subject in the most deliberate, serious and prayerful consideration. After much has been said upon this subject, and altho in consequence of many unjust observations I have experienced the most painful emo- tions; yet considering the uncommon anxiety which many seem to have that I should stay with you, I have finally con- cluded to accept the Call which you unanimously gave me, and devote myself to you in administration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
May the great Head of the Church who controlleth all events grant that this acceptance may be to the Glory of his holy Name and the Salvation of the Souls of Men. May he who ordaineth strength out of the mouths of babes and suck- lings both dispose and enable me to preach the Gospel in its power and purity, and thus while you hear with candor, faith and love, may I become the instrument of the Eternal Salva- tion of your Souls, and while I am faithful to your Souls may I not myself become a castaway; but on the contrary, may we unitedly embrace the Lord and walk together as heirs of the grace of life, and thus become prepared for the More Noble worship of God in glory forever. Amen.
East Haven, Dec. 14, 1807.
SAUL CLARK."4
3 Ibid.
Ecclesiastical Society Records, Vol. II, p. 132.
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SAUL CLARK AND STEPHEN DODD.
All during the protracted correspondence extending from the latter part of June until December 14, Mr. Clark continued to supply the pulpit, and as soon as the negotiations were con- cluded arrangements were speedily made for his ordination. The Ecclesiastical Council met and examined the candidate in the afternoon of January 13, 1808, and finding him worthy and well qualified proceeded that evening with the ordaining service. Reverend Vinson Gould, of Southampton, Massa- chusetts, preached the sermon5; Reverend John Foot, of Cheshire, charged the pastor, and the Reverend John Elliott, of East Guilford, extended the Right Hand of Fellowship.6
Mr. Clark had studied theology with the Reverend Joseph Lathrop, D.D., of West Springfield, Massachusetts, and had come to East Haven to begin his labors in the Christian minis- try. He was a young man of very decided views, an inde- fatigable worker, and an enthusiastic preacher. In theology he was an "Old Light," although he was in hearty sympathy
The sermon was printed by order of the Ecclesiastical Society. The text was Hebrews XIII : 17. A brief outline will show the progress of thought.
I. Ministers of the Gospel are made watchmen by the appointment of Jesus Christ.
II. Jesus Christ teaches those who watch for souls, what truths to publish.
III. Ministers, to be approved of God, must watch for souls, by stating to men their true characters, and by warning them of errors and dangers.
IV. Ministers are under obligation to warn the wicked, and to preach as Christ hath commanded, on penalty of losing their own souls, and being chargeable with the blood of souls of their hearers.
V. Ministers and people must die and give account for themselves. Ministers can expect salvation on the same terms with their hearers.
6 Ecclesiastical Society Records, Vol. II, pp. 141-2. Those invited to attend the meeting of the council in addition to the above-mentioned were Reverend Joseph Lathrop, D.D., of West Springfield, Massachusetts, Rev- erend T. W. Bray, of North Guilford, Reverend Timothy Dwight, of Yale College, Reverend Noah Williston, of West Haven, Reverend Benjamin Trumbull, D.D., of North Haven, Rev. Mr. Burt, of Western Connecticut, Rev. Mr. Allison and Rev. Mr. Hide, of Hamden, Rev. Samuel Merwin and Rev. Moses Stewart, of New Haven, and the ministers of the churches in the New Haven Consociation.
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THE EVOLUTION OF AN OLD NEW ENGLAND CHURCH.
with revivals. In fact, his entire incumbency in the Stone Meeting House was marked by strenuous evangelistic activity.7 A series of revivals began immediately after his ordination, and save for occasional recesses for gathering the harvest they continued for several years.8
The beginning of the nineteenth century witnessed many changes in the political, economic, and religious situation in the country. The Democratic-Republican party had been vic- torious in the election of 1800, placing Thomas Jefferson in the presidency, and virtually crushing the power of the defeated Federalists. It was freely and generally predicted by the Federalist constituency, particularly in New England where the elections had gone in favor of John Adams, that the nation would speedily go to rack and ruin under the domination of the Jeffersonian party.
In matters of religion the controversy between the liberal and reactionary elements was still going on. The Univer- salists were withdrawing and establishing their own denomina- tion, while the Unitarians were to continue their warfare in the Congregational order for a quarter of a century more. The "New Lights," long since in control of the ecclesiastical organization in Connecticut, were aggressively promulgating their doctrines and rapidly eliminating the "Old Lights" from the arena.
During the Revolution and the years immediately following, the churches of New England suffered a decided spiritual retrogression, probably reaching a lower morality than ever before. After the adoption of the federal constitution revivals began here and there, giving religion a new life. Though local in character and without great leaders like Whitfield and Edwards, the revivals occurred sporadically from 1781, when North Yarmouth, Maine, experienced a rejuvenation, until
" Numerous revivals occurred in the Old Stone Church after Mr. Clark's pastorate : 1821, 1831, 1843, 1852, 1858, 1866, 1871. See D. W. Havens, p. 53. 8 D. W. Havens, p. 41.
91
SAUL CLARK AND STEPHEN DODD.
1858. It was a most unusual series of religious awakenings,9 consistently carried on and without the ecstasies and hysterical sobbing, swooning and fainting, that prevailed during the itineracy of Whitfield and his disciples. In 1802 the people of Massachusetts and Connecticut were stirred to heights of spiritual exaltation beyond all reasonable expectations, and the latent spirituality of the students and faculty in Yale College was roused to a point entirely unknown before. Such was the general state of affairs when the pulpit in the Old Stone Church was made vacant by the death of Mr. Street.
The spiritual life of the church had suffered a sharp decline during the later years of Mr. Street's ministry; a looseness in moral conduct had become more or less general.10 It was during those years following the Revolution when the entire country was trying to find itself by experimenting with dif- ferent forms of democratic government, and when all churches were experiencing the same religious decline. Mr. Street was burdened with the infirmities of age and frequently had to have a substitute occupy his pulpit. Without an active and virile spiritual leader in such chaotic times morality and religion in the community necessarily suffered. Practices incompatible with Christian principles were striking at the very roots of the church and threatening to undo all that had been accomplished by the self-sacrifice of generations before.11 Mr. Clark saw the situation, realized what was needed, and being no coward he set himself to the task of cleansing the temple. Never considering his own material interests and comforts, he dedicated all his energies to the work. The revivals which he introduced made possible the adoption of a rigid discipline, the impartial prosecution of which removed
9 There were series of revivals from 1799 to 1802, from 1807 to the latter part of 1808, from 1815 to 1818, from 1820 to 1823, from 1826 to 1827, from 1830 to 1831, from 1841 to 1842 and from 1857 to 1858, in which all New England was affected.
10 D. W. Havens, p. 42.
11 Ibid., p. 42.
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THE EVOLUTION OF AN OLD NEW ENGLAND CHURCH.
from church fellowship those who persisted in their unchristian conduct. Such drastic action could not help but create enemies and develop a force in opposition to the young reformer. Some who had been most eager for him to "settle in the work" became his bitterest foes and resorted to all sorts of nefarious schemes to be rid of him.12 About forty families withdrew entirely from the church.13 However, the majority, and espe- cially the young people, realizing the sincerity of their leader, and the urgent need for just such a house-cleaning, remained true to him until the task was finished. Some who withdrew while in the heat of passion subsequently returned, undoubtedly the better for their experience.
While Mr. Clark was at work purging the church of its corruption, the War of 1812 with the humiliating events lead- ing up to it demanded the attention of the country. New England was not at all sympathetic with the administration of President James Madison, who had been Jefferson's Secre- tary of State; and the second war with England, being looked upon as a consequence of their vacillating foreign policy and general maladministration, did not find a hearty response. When the Connecticut state militia was summoned for national use Governor Trumbull flatly refused to issue the necessary orders. Massachusetts had used its own troops for defense, and the national government refused to pay the men for their services. This added fuel to the flame, and after many heated discussions in the various New England state halls, court rooms, and town meeting houses the Hartford Convention was convened on December 15, 1814, with twelve delegates from Massachusetts, seven from Connecticut, three from Rhode Island, and two from New Hampshire. A few weeks later Vermont sent one. Various resolutions were drawn up and a committee sent to Washington to present them to the govern- ment, but General Andrew Jackson's great victory at New
12 Ibid., p. 43.
13 Ibid., p. 42.
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SAUL CLARK AND STEPHEN DODD.
Orleans and the news of the Treaty of Ghent prevented any negotiations and made ridiculous the doings of the Convention.
It was during the pastorate of Mr. Clark that the people in the Old Stone Church began to contribute to missions. The missionary movement had commenced in this country in con- nection with the emigration of people from Massachusetts and Connecticut into the wild regions of New York, Vermont, and Ohio Territory. In 1774 the Connecticut General Association voted to call upon the churches for funds with which to send missionaries to "the Settlements now forming in the wilder- ness to the Westward and Northwestward."14 The churches responded willingly but the beginning of the Revolution in the following year prevented the immediate execution of the plan. After the Treaty of Peace, many from Connecticut accepted portions of land in northern Ohio-Connecticut's Western Reserve-for compensation for their losses by British inva- sions. This greatly helped to expedite the missionary move- ment, and in 1793 eight ministers left their parishes to go on preaching tours among their brethren in the newly settled terri- tories. Within a few years the work assumed larger propor- tions, and in 1798 the Connecticut General Association became a Missionary Society "to Christianize the Heathen in North America, and to support and promote Christian Knowledge in the United States."15
After the inauguration of the home missionary movement it was but a short step to expand the program to include foreign fields. The Reverend Samuel J. Mills, of Torringford, Con- necticut, was the leader in this direction. During his first year in Andover Theological Seminary he became associated with Adoniram Judson and several others of the same spirit, and through their combined efforts the American Board of Com- missioners for Foreign Missions was created on June 29, 1810.
Six months later the first meeting of the Board was held in
14 Minutes of the General Association, p. 76.
16 Ibid., p. 177.
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THE EVOLUTION OF AN OLD NEW ENGLAND CHURCH.
the home of Reverend Noah Porter,16 in Farmington, Con- necticut. Among the first commissioners were Governor Treadwell and President Timothy Dwight of Yale College. Two years after the first meeting of the Board the Presby- terians were admitted to membership, and in 1816 the Dutch Reformed Church was allowed representation. Its interde- nominational character, however, was not to be permanent ; for in 1837 the "Old School" Presbyterians withdrew, to be fol- lowed in 1857 by the Dutch Reformed, and in 1870 by the "New School" Presbyterians, leaving the American Board exclusively Congregational, as it was originally created.
The East Haven Church, having become a belated convert to the idea of revivals through the aggressive leadership of Mr. Clark, could not remain immune to the general missionary spirit which was taking hold of New England and which the evangelistic activity so greatly stimulated. Although the church has never been an extravagant contributor to missions, either home or foreign, the start was made in those early years of the last century and a keen solicitude for missionary enter- prise has continued to the present day.
It is difficult to evaluate properly the work done and the things accomplished during Mr. Clark's brief pastorate, but it is certain that to him "belongs the credit, if any is due to a mere human instrument, of having revolutionized the senti- ments of this church, and stamped upon it that high evangelical character it has since retained."17 The extremely conservative theology of the church had not changed from the time the parish privileges were granted in 1681 until he entered upon the pastorate in 1807. It was he who saw the need for a more virile Christian life in the church itself and a direct concern in the promulgation of Christian truths in the wild regions of America and abroad. It was he who saw the corruption within the sanctuary, its defilement and profanation, and relent-
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