USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Waterbury > The history of Waterbury, Connecticut; the original township embracing present Watertown and Plymouth, and parts of Oxford, Wolcott, Middlebury, Prospect and Naugatuck. With an appendix of biography, genealogy and statistics > Part 30
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March 6, 1764, the vestry chose John Welton and Daniel Brown church war- dens, and voted Mr. Scovill 1} penny on the pound for the present year with- out any deduction for the glebe.
[April 14, 1765, the first recorded christening took place, a vote having previ- ously been passed that such record be made. The name of the child was Micah, son of Noah Judd-sureties, Capt. Edward Scovill, Samuel Scovill, Sarah Brown. The sixth child christened was Amasa, son of Ebenezer Bronson, May 12th, 1765. He is still living, aged 92.]
During the year 1765, the church people in Westbury erect- ed a church for themselves, which was placed in charge of Mr. Scovill. In consequence of his new duties, his services were withdrawn, in part, from Northbury and New Cambridge. The next year John Welton and John Hickox were chosen church wardens, and Mr. Scovill was to have a rate of £30 lawful money, annually.
April 24, 1770, John Welton and Ephraim Warner were appointed wardens, and a vote was passed "that Westbury shall have their part of Mr. Scovill's services of preaching, ac- cording as their list draws, till there shall come a minister to Northbury and New Cambridge." At another meeting in Oc- tober, the vestry voted "that we will pay £45 starling as a year's salary to be paid to the minister of the Church of Eng- land in case Northbury and [New] Cambridge provide for
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themselves, which vote is to continue in force until the said Northbury and Cambridge obtain a benefaction from the society [in England]". In 1771, a minister was obtained for these places, and Mr. Scovill was enabled to confine his at- tention to Waterbury and Westbury, preaching two-thirds of the time in Waterbury.
April 15, 1772, Seba Bronson, Hezekiah Brown, Epha War- ner, Ebenezer Warner, Levi Welton, Ebenezer Bronson, Lem- uel Nichols, Stephen Welton and Benjamin Benham were chosen " Quirresters." In April, 1781, Richard Welton and others were appointed a committee to repair and shingle tlie church. April 21, 1783, it was agreed "that Mr. Scovill should have liberty to pull down the glebe house, leaving the chimney and preserving the glass for the church." At the same time, Ephraim Warner and Benjamin Benham were chosen wardens.
After the close of the Revolutionary war, in 1783, the Soci- ety for Propagating the Gospel, &c., withdrew their missions from this country,* in pursuance of a plan which confined its operations to the dependencies of the British empire. Thus Mr. Scovill was deprived of a large share of his support; but the English society offered him, if he would remove to New Brunswick, a liberal increase of salary, while, at the same time, the English government held out encouragement to cler- gymen in bounties of land. Mr. Scovill hesitated long as to his duty ; but he felt that he could not support his family on the salary which he had been accustomed to receive from his parishes alone. He offered to remain provided his whole in- come should continue to be what it had been while a benefi- ciary of the English society, but the offer was not accepted. His parishes had in fact become much weakened by removals and the war. His people, however, seemed anxious to retain him, and voted, Nov. 8, 1784, to give him £55 salary, “in- cluding Westbury's proportion, according to the original agreement." Afterwards, Sep. 1, 1785, a vote was passed, "to
* It is estimated that during the forty-six years that the church of Waterbury was under the care of the English society, it received from it not less than six thousand dollars in money, be- sides liberal donations in books. [" History of the Church," in the Waterbury American, Jan. 15, 1848.]
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have Rev. Mr. Scovill's services in preaching one half of the time and to pay for the same," the amount being fixed at the next meeting, in December, at £45 [annually.]
In 1785, Mr. Scovill, against the advice of some of his friends, went to New Brunswick. He did not, however, at once remove his family. For three successive years, he re- turned and officiated in the winter season in his old churchf. It is mentioned, in the parish record, that he was present at a vestry meeting March 24, 1788. Soon after, he removed, with his family, to take permanent charge of his people in Kings- ton, Kings County, where he died Dec. 19, 1808, in the fiftieth year of his ministry. His widow, a daughter of Capt. George Nichols, died in June, 1835, aged 93. (Sabine, in his “ Loyal- ists," says she died in 1832, aged 90.) His son, Rev. Elias Scovill, succeeded to the mission in Kings County, and died in Kingston, Feb. 1841, aged 70.
Mr. Scovill seems to have secured the respect and the con- fidence of his people. Under his ministrations they contin- ned regularly to increase in numbers and respectability until just before the breaking out of the war of the Revolution. And during the war, he conducted himself with so much dis- cretion, that though known to be a Royalist, he escaped the in- dignities and the violence which the Episcopal clergy of Con- necticut, with few exceptions, suffered. He had the courage to continue with his people through the war, though it is be- lieved he did not preach.
Mr. Scovill was known for punctuality and faithfulness in the discharge of his duties. "He taught his people from house to house ; comforted the aged, instructed the young, and made himself agreeable to children-no despicable quali- fication in a clergyman." " He had a grave and becoming deportment, and was sound in doctrine." He is believed to have been a good man, devoted to his work and anxious to do it well. One of his manuscript sermons is before me. It is written in a simple and devotional strain, and in that spirit of kindness and benevolence which so much adorns a minister of the Gospel of peace.
In the first years of his ministry, Mr. Scovill appears to have lived in the glebe or parsonage house, standing on the John
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Welton lot. Afterwards, he occupied the house in which his son James lived and died, and which stood where Dr. Rock- well now resides. The old house was removed some twenty years ago and is now standing on South Main street, a little below the Baptist church.
After Mr. Scovill decided to remove, the parish, May 1, 1786, appointed a committee to confer with the parish in Watertown "about getting a minister," while another was " chosen to wait on the Bishop at Stratford and desire him to visit us."* Sep. 25th, of the same year, a vote was passed " to appropriate any money which remains in their hands to the glazing and repairing the church." The next year, (Dec. 8, 1787,) the parish voted " to apply to Mr. Prindle to know on what terms he will settle among us," &c.
After Mr. Scovill withdrew wholly from the parish, there was a vacancy for several years, during which time sun- dry persons appear to have been invited to preach. Rev. Solomon Blakeslee officiated for a time, and in May, 1789, re- ceived a call to settle, with a salary of £40 a year, " for half his services " to be augmented to £15 as the list of the society increased. He declined, and afterwards Rev. Chauncey Prin- dle officiated for a season. In 1790, Rev. David Foot was requested to become the minister. For two thirds of his time, he to reside in Waterbury, he was offered two-thirds of £85 money, and fire wood. He also declined. The society, in truth, seems not to have been in a very flourishing condition, and the temp- tations it presented to a minister seeking a support were not great. The parish sought first to strengthen itself by an union with Bristol and Salem (the Episcopalians of the latter place having three or four years previously organized themselves into a distinct parish, thus weakening the present society) in the settlement and support of a clergyman, an arrangement to which the people of Salem were favorably disposed. Failing, however, in their object, they applied "to the Episcopal conven-
* Bishop Seabury, then probably on a temporary visit to Stratford, had recently returned from Scotland, where he had been consecrated as the first Bishop of the United States. He was sent for, it is presumed, for the purpose of administering the rite of confirmation, not yet hav- ing visited Waterbury with that design. Oct. 1, 1786, the record says, two hundred and fifty six persons received the rite of confirmation from Bishop Seabury.
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tion, and requested their advice and influence in uniting to the parish the Episcopal parishes of Woodbury and Salem, in- forming them that we are willing to dispense with having but half the services of a clergyman, and paying in the same pro- portion." At the same time, they voted to confer with Wood- bury and Salem respecting an union, &c. But somehow Sa- len appears to have taken umbrage at some of the proceedings, and in order to make amends a committee of the Waterbury church was instructed, Aug. 29, 1791, to invite the church of Salem to join them in the support of a clergyman, "and to inform our brethren that wherever we have treated them with any kind of neglect, we are willing to recind it and give fresh assurances that we will treat them with respect in future." This was satisfactory to the aggrieved party.
In the mean time, Rev. Seth Hart, who had been reading prayers for several months to the acceptance of the people, was invited to become the minister " as soon as he shall be put into holy orders." His salary for half the time, his residence being in the old society of Waterbury, was to be £40, lawful money, annually, to be increased twenty shillings a year for five years, and thereafter to be £45, he to have the use of the glebe. He was ordained the next year, 1792, to officiate half the time in Woodbury and Salem. During Mr. Hart's ministry the society flourished. But he remained not long. By his own desire, he was removed near the close of 1794 to Wallingford, and soon after to Hemstead, on Long Island. It appears by the catalogue of Yale College that " Seth Hart" graduated at that institution in 1784, and died in 1832.
On Mr. Hart's removal, several individuals liberally inclin- ed, united and bought his house (standing where John C. Booth now lives) and five acres of land, and conveyed the whole to the church forever. The old glebe house, from neg- lect, had gone to decay.
During the vacancy which followed Mr. Hart's removal, Rev. Alexander V. Griswold, Rev. William Green, and Rev. Tillotson Bronson officiated, successively, in Waterbury. The two first are understood to have declined proposals of settle- ment. Mr. Bronson, after having preached several months, accepted an invitation to take the permanent charge of the
John Buckingham .
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parish, in December, 1797. He officiated three fourths of the time in Waterbury (receiving $250 annually) and one fourth in Salem, and continued in the rectorship till the enhanced ex- penses of living compelled him to ask for an increase of salary. This being denied, he felt obliged to seek a support in another field. He preached his farewell discourse in June, 1806, and retired with the approbation of the bishop and the good will of his people.
During the vacancy which followed, Rev. Horace V. Barber officiated for a season, and afterwards became the settled minis- ister. He resigned in 1814, and was succeeded by Rev. Al. pheus Geer, who continued rector fifteen years. The Rev. William Barlow followed and remained two years. The Rev. Allen C. Morgan took charge of the parish in November, 1832, but in August, 1836, resigned, and soon died.
The Rev. Dr. Bronson, near the close of his historical sketch of the church of Waterbury, remarks, as " somewhat singular," that " out of near a dozen [clergymen] who have, since the foundation of the church, officiated here, no one has died in Waterbury." This was in 1807. Now, half a century later, the same remark may be repeated.
After the old church had stood about fifty years, it was found too small for the convenience of the society. It was, besides, out of repair and antiquated in style. As early as April, 1793, a committee was appointed "to agree upon a place to set a church and the bigness of the same," and make report ; and in September following, the "question was put whether this society are willing and think it necessary to build a church-voted in the affirmative by more than two thirds of the members present." At the same time, "Eli Curtis, Esq., Mr. Jude Blakeslee and Capt. Amos Bronson was chosen a committee to set a stake for the place where to build a church." In the meanwhile, the town had appointed a committee " to give the assent of the town thereto" when a place for setting " a church or meeting house" had been se- lected and approved. Unanimity of sentiment, however, was not yet attained, and Dec. 2, 1793, the society " voted to pe- tition the Hon. County Court to grant a committee to come and fix or set a stake for a place where to erect a church edi-
20
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fice for said society ; and also, by vote, nominated John Woos- ter, Esq., of Derby, Messrs. Thomas Atwater of Cheshire and Abner Bradley of Woodbury for the aforesaid committee, if said Hon. Court, in their wisdom, should think fit to appoint them." Preparatory to the action of the Court's committee, certain persons were chosen "to get the minds of this society where to erect a church edifice," while others were appointed "to view several places," and others still to warn the people to be present when the committee met. (At the same time, it was agreed to erect a fence around the old church.) A stake was fixed, but the place was not quite satisfactory. March 17, 1794, at a parish meeting, a committee was chosen, "to apply to the County Court and the late committee, and request that the stake might be placed five rods south of the place where the stake now stands."
In Dec. 1794, more decisive measures were taken in the way of building a church. A committee was appointed, con- sisting of Messrs. Ephraim Warner, Justus Warner, Heman Munson, Titus Welton and John Cosset, to superintend the work and collect a rate of 2s. on the pound. Feb. 9, 1795, a vote was passed, in parish meeting, that the above named committee
Be fully authorized and empowered to build or procure to be built a decent well finished edifice or church, 54 by 38 feet, with a decent steeple on the outside at the east end of the same, and apply the money heretofore granted of 2s. on the pound and all subscriptions that shall be made for that purpose, and that the so- ciety consider themselves holden to said committee for the residue.
The business of erecting the new church was committed more immediately to Mr. Ard Welton. " And so great was the confidence reposed in his judgment and integrity, [says the Churchman's Magazine,] that a contract was made with him to complete the building according to his own taste and present his bills for payment." In August, 1795, the frame was raised. The church was finished with great neatness. Some fresco paintings upon its walls were much admired.
Additional taxes were imposed to defray the expenses of the church. In December, 1795, a rate of 1s. on the pound ; in Dec. 1797, a rate of eight cents and eight mills on the dol- lar, and in April, 1799, a rate of three cents on a dollar, were
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laid. In all, taxes to meet these expenses were paid to the amount of twenty-six cents and eight mills on the dollar. This single fact shows a degree of zeal and self-sacrifice which is not of every day occurrence.
In October, 1797, the new edifice was completed, and the people assembled for the last time in the old building. Mr. Bronson preached an appropriate discourse, in which he al- luded affectingly to the solemn scenes which those old walls had witnessed-" On the sacred day of rest, silence is hence- forth here to reign, and soon will rnin and desolation mark this consecrated spot ; until in the next generation it will be unknown that here stood the house of God ; that here men were wont to assemble and prayer to be made." In the pre- ceding March, the parish had resolved to sell the old church. While unoccupied, it was sometimes used as a place for holding town meetings. The avails of its sale, it was finally decided, should go to pay for the new house.
Oct. 14, 1797, measures were taken to seat the new church. A committee had been previously appointed to aet in this matter, and a rule was laid down for their guidance. They were to take " the two lists of 1794 and 1795 [on which build- ing taxes had been laid] and add them together ; then add £15 for every year, [the individual may have attained,] beginning at the age of twenty one years ; and all those that had no lists of 1794 and 1795 shall take the list of 1797 and double it to make one list, with the addition of the £15 as beforesaid." The last part of the rule was intended to meet the case of those persons who had recently joined the society.
The new church was dedicated Nov. 1, 1797, under the name of St. John's church, and consecrated by Bishop Jarvis, this being his first official aet after his own consecration.
An elegant house of worship being secured, an improved style of church music was demanded. The society voted to employ a singing-master, " either with or without the Presby- terian society," and in August, 1799, a committee was cho- sen " for the purpose of handing about subscriptions to raise a sum of money sufficient to purchase a bass viol."
According to tradition, the first time the English prayer book was used in Westbury was on the occasion of the mar-
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riage of a daughter of James Brown, after his removal thither. Dr. Samuel Johnson officiated, and in the evening preached and read evening prayers in Brown's barn, parts of which are still standing. The marriage referred to may have been that of Elizabeth Brown, who, on the 16th day of June, 1742, be- came the second wife of Lieut. William Scovill, the father of Rev. James Scovill.
For many years, the Churchmen of Westbury, few in number, attended publie worship in the first society. Soon after Mr. Scovill came into the mission, however, their num- bers augmented so that, in the latter part of 1764, there were twenty whose names are known, (to wit)-Asahel Beach, Seth Blake, Samuel Brown, Joseph Brown, Daniel Brown, Thomas Doolittle, James Doolittle, Jonathan Fulford, Jonathan Garn- sey, John Judd, Noah Judd, Asa Judd, John Hickox, Joseph Hickox, Joseph Prichard, Eleazer Prindle, Gershom Scott, Edward Scovill, Samuel Scovill, William Scovill. These per- sons entered into an agreement "to hold public worship in Westbury on those Sundays when there was no preaching in Waterbury," until a church could be built. They met in the winter and spring in the house of James Doolittle, and in the summer in a chamber of Ensign David Scott. A lot was giv- en for a church by Capt. George Nichols of Waterbury; and an edifice, forty-five feet by thirty-six, with a steeple, (the first in the town,) was erected on it, in 1765. Capt. Edward Sco- vill took the lead in this enterprise, and in the latter part of October the house was in such forwardness that public service was performed in it. It stood upon the rocks by the old burying yard near the meeting house. It was named Christ's church. The Rev. Samuel Andrews delivered the dedicatory sermon. An arrangement was made by which Mr. Scovill was to officiate every sixth Sunday. This continued till 1771, when the parish had so much augmented its strength that a new arrangement became expedient, and Mr. Scovill agreed to give one third of his time to the Westbury parish. The so- ciety continued to prosper, and in 1773, they finished the low- er part of the house, together with the pulpit, chancel, cano- py, &c. ; but they never entirely completed it. Soon the Rev- olution came, from which the parish suffered much.
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In 1779, the society received, by the will of Capt. Scovill, seventeen acres of land near the church. The land was after- wards sold and a fund established, which, with the consider- able additions since made to it, now amounts to $4,000 secured by notes. The parish also owns three acres of land in the cen- ter of the village, on which the new church, rectory and school-house stand.
After the war, prosperity again dawned upon the church of Westbury. But in a little while the pulpit became vacant by the removal of Mr. Scovill to New Brunswick. It continued so till 1788, when an arrangement was made with the Rev. Chauncey Prindle, (a nephew of the Rev. Mr. Scovill,) then in deacon's orders, who had officiated more or less, as lay-reader, at a salary of thirty pounds, "to be paid in beef, pork, butter, tallow, wool, flax, or any sort of grain." He was ordained as priest by Bishop Seabury on the 24th of the month. He gave part of his time to Northbury, but resided in Westbury.
In 1792, the society, having increased greatly in numbers, determined to erect a new church in a more desirable situa- tion. It was "raised" August, 1793, and consecrated by Bishop Seabury as Christ's Church, Nov. 18, 1794. It was placed on ground confronting the spot occupied by the pre- sent church. A "Commemorative Discourse" was delivered in it, for the last time, Oct. 28, 1855, by the Rev. Horace H. Reid, the rector, which was published, and to which I am in- debted for some facts contained in this sketch.
Mr. Prindle continued rector till 1804, when he resigned. His farewell discourse was preached on the 23d of December. IIe is described as a most worthy and indefatigable man. As an instance of his punctuality in the discharge of duty, it is stated that on a certain important occasion, when he was to preach in Waterbury, he found the Naugatuck much swollen by a flood. He saw his horse must swim the stream, or he must fail in his appointment. Preferring the former al- ternative, he plunged in .- He was a son of Eleazer and Anna (Scovill) Prindle; was born July 13, 1753, and graduated at Yale College in 1776. After he left Watertown, he was, for several years, rector of the churches of Oxford and Salem. He died in 1833. He left some manuscripts relating to the
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churches of Westbury and Northbury, which were published in the Chronicle of the Church, July 26, 1839, from which I have gleaned many facts.
Episcopacy in Northbury grew out of the extravagances which attended the Revival of 1740. Mr. Todd's course was denounced by some of his people as irregular and unauthor- ized. His evening meetings, it is said, were disorderly in the extreme. Inquiry began to be made whether there was not another and better way of serving God. At this period, a prayer book, owned by one of Mr. Todd's parishioners, came to light. It was the first that appeared in Northbury, and was the prop- erty of Thomas Blakeslee's wife. Certain people often met together to consult it. Mr. Todd disapproved of these proceed. ings, and, according to tradition, told those who studied the strange book that if they did not desist they would go to a bad place ! Thus matters went on, the Churchmen gaining strength, till at last they came to control a majority of the votes. They then numbered eleven and took possession of the house in which public worship was held, voting Mr. Todd's meetings out. While they did this, however, they as- sured the minority that they would assist to build them ano- ther house to an extent equal to their (the minority's) interest in the old one. This promise, it is affirmed, was faithfully kept, and to the satisfaction, pecuniarily, of the Congregationalists. Some of the majority, however, disapproved of this whole proceeding, and admitted that the minority were not fairly treated." The latter might have been permitted to occupy the house when not wanted by the other party. But it was a time of excitement, and a spirit of conciliation among rival sects is a rare virtue.
It is difficult to say who were the " eleven " first Churchmen (heads of families) of Northbury. Among them, however, were some prominent men. The following persons joined them- selves at an early date to the new donomination, (to wit,) Barnabas Ford, Thomas Blakeslee, David Blakeslee, Lieut. John Bronson, and probaly Samuel Cole, Ebenezer Ford,
* Manuscript letter from Noah M. Bronson of Medina, Ohio, formerly a prominent Church- man of Plymouth.
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Abel Ford, and Ebenezer Allen. At what precise time the famous eleven organized themselves and appropriated for their own use the old meeting house, it is not safe to affirm. The Congregationalists, however, contemplated building a new house as early as Oct. 1740, possibly, before their exclu- sion from the old building.
For a considerable period, the Episcopalians of Northbury could have had but occasional and rare visits from a clergy- man. They were dependent on the ministers who officiated in Waterbury, and who were in the service of the society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts. Rev. Theophilus Morris was in the mission from 1740 to 1743. He procured from the parent society a large folio Bible and prayer book for the uses of the churches of Derby, Waterbury, West Haven and Northbury. Mr. Lyon followed Mr. Morris, Dr. Mansfield of Derby, Mr. Lyon, and Rev. James Scovill, (about 1759,) Dr. Mansfield, as is mentioned in my account of the church in Waterbury. Mr. Scovill's services were relinquished for a stipulated sum ; and in 1773, Rev. James Nichols," lately re- turned from England, where he had been for ordination, took charge of the churches of Northbury and New Cambridge, (now Bristol,) officiating. alternately half the time in each, but residing in the latter place. In consequence of the war, Mr. Nichols remained but two years and removed to Litchfield. After this and till the close of the Revolution, the church was in an unsettled state and without the services of an ordained minister. Whilst the war lasted, it is not known that public services of any kind were held in the parish.
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