The history of ancient Windsor, Connecticut, Part 23

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909
Publication date: 1859
Publisher: New York : C. B. Norton
Number of Pages: 956

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Thus suddenly and strangely, the partly healed wound between pastor and people, was rudely torn asunder, and the church found themselves again plunged into a sea of troubles.

How the difficulty was finally settled, we are not informed. The written account, to which we are indebted in the previous pages, although fully prepared and intended for publication, was never issued. But the following item from the society's books, may possibly afford us a clue.

" To Mr. Matthew Rockwell £8 for preaching 4 Sabbaths to this Society in Mr. Edwards's confinement."

"Four Sabbaths" previous to this date of December 1st, would carry us back near the date (Nov. 1) of that "Lord's day" whereon Mr. Edwards so unaccountably renewed the scarce-healed controversy between himself and people. It is not improbable that we may find in this fact an explanation and

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an extenuation of the aged pastor's strange conduct. Old age brings with it infirmities of temper as well as of body; and we are inclined to regard his persistence, in what he doubtless thought to be the line of duty, as an unconscious manifestation of that disarrangement of the nervous functions, which more or less accompanies the gradual decay of the physical powers; and of which it was, in his case, probably the first marked premo- nition. It was at all events followed by a few weeks' illness, the first, as the records show, of a series of successive sick- nesses, which marked his passage to the grave.

It is probable that this was the opinion of his people, for, as we have before said, the intended protest was suppresscd, and no further allusion is found on any of the records to the ques. tion in dispute. Whatever difference of opinion might have existed in regard to the mooted points of church government, there seems to have been at all times an unusual degree of affection for their pastor. They could not but feel that his whole life had been devoted to their highest good, that his character had been in strictest harmony with his teachings, that in all his dealings with them fidelity had been mingled with love, and judgment tempered with mercy. Over the errors, as they deemed them, of his declining years, they were disposed to cast the wide mantle of Charity, and rallying around his bending form, they strove by tender offices of affection to lighten his labors, and to uphold his feeble hands.

Another yet more powerful influence was probably at work, to bind them together in the bonds of Christian fellowship. The " Great Awakening " of 1741-2, which had commenced at Northampton under the ministry of " Mr. Jonathan," the son of their beloved pastor, was spreading over the land. And this church and town partook of its blessed effects. "Some of the aged still among us," says the church record in 1791, " date their conversion from that memorable period, and have main- tained a Christian life to their old age." And before the pre- sence of the Lord, all bitterness of spirit, if such there was, must have melted away, as the snows upon the hillside disap- pear before the genial warmth of spring.

1742, December. It was voted that the "Galleries be en-

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larged all around, as it now is on two sides." And in 1745, £10 was paid to Doctor Matthew Rockwell and Mr. Wolcott, " for preaching in our Pulpit" in Mr. Edwards's absence.

Mr. Perry Installed as Colleague Pastor.

For nearly threescore years Mr. Edwards had "gone in and out " before this people, breaking to them the " bread of life," and ministering to their spiritual wants, with a fidelity and earnestness which had greatly endeared him to their hearts. His whole active life had been spent in their service, his children had grown under their eyes to positions of eminence and use- fulness, and his fame had become a part of their own.

But these many years had not been without their effect upon him ; the tall form was beginning to bend, the elastic step grew daily less firm, and the snows which whitened his head, reminded them that he and they were "passing away."

And so, with a consideration honorable alike to themselves and their venerable pastor, the society determined to procure a colleague to help him in the work of the ministry, and at a meeting in August, 1752,

" The Committee, Capt. Roger Wolcott, Mr. Matthew Rock- well and Mr. Wm. Wolcott, are directed to wait upon the Rev. Mr. Timothy Edwards, and inform him that his great age and the infirmities that attend it, have rendered him unable to preach the word to the Society to their edification as it ought to be, and that therefore the Society have agreed to settle another Minister, in which they desire his concurrence and advice."

The committee doubtless performed their somewhat delicate task in a manner acceptable both to their aged pastor, and the society, as in December following, we find the latter taking measures for procuring a colleague. And in October, 1753, it was resolved that " this society shew their willingness by their committee that Mr. Edwards should be eased of the burden of preaching," until the next annual meeting. His pulpit was accordingly supplied by the Rev. Thomas Williams, who after- - wards received a call from the society on very flattering terms of settlement, which were declined. The society then called Mr. Joseph Perry. The terms offered him were a settlement of £2,500, old tenor, in bills, to be paid in three equal installments at end of each year, for the first three years, and a salary of

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260 proclamation money, annually, for first three years ; and after that £75 in lawful money or its equivalent, so long as he should remain with them in the ministry.

The call was accepted by Mr. Perry in the following letter : "To the Second Society in the town of Windsor :

Brethren-After having returned you my most hearty thanks for the honor and respect you have done me, by inviting of me (on the 28th of October last) to settle with you in the work of the Gospel Ministry, I would inform you by these lines, that I have taken your proposal into serious consideration, consulted Heaven for direction, and taken all proper advice in this great and important affair, and recordingly return an answer to your request, in the following manner (viz) that I fully and freely accept of the settlement by the society votes, also that I freely accept of the salary by the society votes for my support, so long as I shall continue among you as your Minister. As your courteous behavior to, and Christian treatment of me have effectually engaged my heart to you, let it be our constant care to keep up a Christian temper and deportment towards each other, and mutually strive to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, that he who is Head over all things to His Church, may dwell in the midst of us, and bless our honest designs to promote the Glory of God in the salvation of souls, and may we long rejoice together in beholding the Glory of God, and the prosperity of the Redeemer's Kingdom among us.

Brethren, pray for me, that I may be a faithful and successful laborer in God's Vineyard, and that I may study to show myself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, and may that Love, Peace and Harmony, I trust is really sub- sisting between us at present, continue, until we shall be admitted into the New Jerusalem, and God's Holy Temple above, where Love reigns without dissimulation, which is the prayer and shall ever be the constant endeavor of your friend and well wisher JOSEPH PERRY.

Windsor, April the 28th, 1755.

Accordingly on the 11th of June following, "he was duly ordained as colleague pastor over the Second Church of Christ in Windsor." The council on that occasion, was entertained at the house of Capt. Ebenezer Grant, and the sermon was preached by the Rev. Samuel Porter of Sherburne.1.

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Mr. Perry was a native of Sherburne, Mass., graduated at Harvard College in 1752, and was only about 22 years of age when he became Mr. Edwards's colleague. He possessed a fine education, promising talents, and great amiability of character. These, together with his fervent piety, soon endeared him to the hearts of his new charge, and commended him to the confidence of their aged pastor.

Death of Rev. Mr. Edwards.

The pleasant relations which they sustained to each other were, however, soon broken, by the death of the venerable Edwards, on the 27th of January, 1758, in the 89th year of his age. For 63 years he had been a faithful laborer in the Lord's harvest-field. How many precious souls were bound up in the sheaf which he presented to his Master, will never be known to us on earth, for the records of this church during his ministry, as well as that of Mr. Perry, are lost.1 But certain we may be, that the crown which Timothy Edwards wears at his Lord's right hand in the heavenly mansion above, is not the least for brightness among those that surround the "starry throne."

We find in Dr. Sprague's valuable Annals of the American Pulpit, the following account of Mr. Edwards's appearance, character and habits, from the pen of his descendant, Dr. Sereno E. Dwight:

" Mr. Edwards was about five feet ten inches in height; of fair complexion; of a strong, robust frame; full but not corpu- lent. He was a man of polished manners, particularly attentive to his dress, and to propriety of exterior; never appearing in public but in the full dress of a clergyman.

1 " As also, in great part, during that of Mr. Whelply" (Church Manual). It was our good fortune to find, in some manuscripts of the Rev. Timothy Edwards, belonging to Mrs. L. Weld, of Hartford, a copy of the Original Church Covenant; list of church members under date of 1700; and bap- tisms from August 1698 to July 1703. These, with other private memoranda concerning church matters, constitute the earliest and only records of the Second Church, prior to 1830. They have been duly incorporated in Appen- dix No. 6.

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" The management not only of his domestic concerns, but of his property generally, was entrusted to the care of Mrs. Ed- wards, who discharged the duties of a wife and a mother with singular fidelity and success. In strength of character she resembled her father; and like him she left behind her in the place where she resided for seventy-six years, that 'good name' which is 'better than precious ointment.' On a visit to East Windsor in the summer of 1823, I found a considerable number of persons advanced in years, who had been well ac- quainted with Mrs. Edwards, and two upwards of ninety who had been pupils of her husband. From them I learned that she had received a superior education in Boston; was tall, dignified and commanding in her appearance, affable and gentle in her manners, and was regarded as surpassing her husband in native vigor of understanding. They all united in speaking of her as possessed of remarkable judgment and prudence, of an exact sense of propriety, of extensive information, of a thorough knowledge of the scriptures and of theology, and of singular conscientiousness, piety and excellence of character. By her careful attention to all his domestic concerns, her husband was left at full liberty to devote himself to the proper duties of his profession. Like many of the clergy of that early period, in New England, he was well acquainted with Hebrew literature, and was regarded as a man of more than usual learning, but was particularly distinguished for his accurate knowledge of the Greek and Roman classics. In addition to his other duties, he annually prepared a number of pupils for college; there be- ing, at that time, no academies or public schools endowed for this purpose. One of my aged informants, who pursued his preparatory studies under him, told me that, on his admission to college, when the officers had learned with whom he had studied, they remarked to him that there was no need of exam- ining Mr. Edwards's scholars. 1

" He was for that period, unusually liberal and enlightened, with regard to the education of his children - preparing not only his son, but each of his daughters also, for college. In a letter, bearing date August 3, 1711, while absent on the expe- dition to Canada, he wishes that Jonathan and the girls may

1 He was also something of a poet, for Roger Wolcott, in the dedication of his poems, 1723, thus addresses lim :

" Yet where you censure, Sir, don't make the verse, You pinned to Glover's venerable hearse, The standard for their trial ; nor enact, You never will acquit what's less exact.

Sir, that will never do ; rules so severe Would ever leave Apollo's altar bare, His priests no service : all must starve together, And fair Parnassus' verdant tops must wither.

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continue to prosecute the study of Latin; and in another of August 7th, that he may continue to recite his Latin to his elder sisters. When his daughters were of proper age, he sent them to Boston to finish their education. Both he and Mrs. Edwards were exemplary in their care of their religious instruction; and, as the reward of their parental fidelity, were permitted to see the fruits of piety in them all, during their youth.

"He always preached extemporaneously, and, until he was upwards of seventy, without noting down the heads of his dis- course. After that time, he commonly wrote the divisions on small slips of paper; which as they occasionally appeared be- yond the leaves of the Bible that he held in his hand, his parish- ioners called, 'Mr. Edwards's thumb papers.' Apologizing for this one day to one of his pupils, he remarked to him, that he found his memory beginning to fail, but that he thought his judgment as sound as ever; and this was likewise the opinion of his people, till near the close of his life. He is not known to have written out but a single sermon, which was preached at the General Election in 1732, and was published. It is a solemn and faithful application of the doctrine of a general judgment to his hearers, particularly as legislators and magistrates. As he lived till within a few months of his son's decease, the latter often visited his father and preached in his desk. It was the customary remark of the people, that 'although Mr. Edwards was perhaps the more learned man, and more animated in his manner, yet Mr. Jonathan was the deeper preacher.'

" His influence over his congregation was commanding, and was steadily excited on the side of truth and righteousness. When he knew of any division among them, he went immedi- ately to see that the parties were reconciled; and when he heard of any improper conduct on the part of any individuals, it was his uniform custom to go and reprove them. Under his preach- ing, the gospel was attended with a regular, uniform efficacy, and, in frequent instances with revivals of religion; yet no record is preserved of the actual admissions to the church.

" In some of the family letters, I find incidental mention of a revival of religion, as existing in 1715 and 1716; during which Mrs. Edwards and two of her daughters made a profession of their Christian faith; and several others of the family are spoken of 'as travelling towards Zion with their faces thitherward.' His son observes, in 1737, that he had known of no parish in the west of New England, except Northampton, which had as often been favored with revivals of religion, as that of his father."

In the ancient burying ground of East Windsor, which com- mands an extended view of the beautiful Connecticut Valley, rest the remains of this devoted servant of God. Over them, on a monumental table, is inscribed:

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" In memory of the Revd. Mr. TIMOTHY EDWARDS, Pastor of the 2d Society of Windsor (whose singular Gifts and Piety rendered him an excellent, and in the Judgment of Charity, a successful minister of the Gospel), who died January 27, A. D. 1758, in the 89th year of his age, and 64th of his ministry. And his remains buried under this stone.

AN EPITAPH. The man of God, who nobly pled, His master's cause alas! is dead His voice no more! but awful urn, Still speaks to men their great concern, His praise on souls will long outlast: When Grace completes the work began, Bright saints will shine his living crown.27

The partner of his bosom, who had so long shared with him life's toils and labors, survived him but twelve years, during which time she retained her mental faculties in remarkable vigor. Her husband's salary, and the affection of his flock, was con- tinued to her until her death, January 19, 1770, at the advanced age of ninety-nine years. As she had been a most efficient helper to her husband, so, by her active piety and good influ- ence, she greatly assisted and strengthened his successor in the ministry.

Mr. Edwards's residence was on the west side of the street, about a hundred rods north of Stoughton's Brook; it was two stories high, with a projection in the centre of the front, perhaps eight or nine feet square, forming in the lower floor, a sort of hall or ante-room, and above a small room with win- dows. The ground floor of the house was laid on the ground, and the sills of the house placed upon it, so that in entering one had to step over the sill. This house was pulled down about 1814, and James Flint built a new one over the old cellar. The stepping stone which laid in front of the sill was purchased of Mr. Flint, and used as the corner stone of the Theological Insti- tute in East Windsor. The house, like all the houses of that day, was furnished with fire places sufficiently large to take in wood five or six feet in length, and leave room enough each side to seat a large family of children. Wood was abundant, and his people kept his wood-pile well supplied, so that he used it freely. His negro, Tom, attended to his fires, and it is related

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of Mr. Edwards that when the room became too hot for comfort, he would call upon Tom to bring in an armful of green wood to quench the fire. Mr. Edwards had a sort of bower or alcove in the edge of the woods, perhaps fifty rods from his house, where he used frequently to retire for study and meditation.

A New Meeting-House.

Meanwhile the good people had been agitating the propriety of erecting a new meeting-house, for the old one was altogether insufficient to meet the wants of the fast increasing population. Indeed, as early as 1752, the society had decided to build anew, and some steps had been taken towards it; but in 1753, in con- sequence of some contentions (as usual) in regard to its loca- tion, the necessity of settling a new minister, and the burden of £300 paid to the society, which had been set off in the north parish, under the Rev. Mr. Potwine, it was concluded not to build " at present."

In 1757, however, the project was reviewed and application made to the assembly for a committee to locate the said meeting- house. This important step being accomplished, the society fixed upon the dimensions of the new edifice (viz: length, 60 feet; width, 45 feet; height, 27 feet posts); and appointed Erastus Wolcott, Ebenezer Grant, and Joel Loomis as building committee. Mr. Grant had the greatest burden of the business, as the records and accounts of this committee sufficiently evi- dence.1

By October, 1761, the new meeting-house was so far ad- vanced, that the society chose the seaters, to seat it, and in- structed them as follows.

Voted, that the Committee " seat men and women apart.

Voted, furthermore, that if any set of males (of the married people) being so seated, shall agree among themselves to ex- change with their wives, they have the liberty.

Voted, the men take the south end, the women the north end. Left with the committee, to seat the widows & single people."

1 These accounts are still in possession of his grandson, Maj. Grant of South Windsor.

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This edifice, which was paid for mainly by the sale of tobacco,1 stood originally in the street, about 60 or 65 feet south, and 50 feet east of the present church. This position was forced on the society, in consequence of the unwillingness of the owner of a desirable adjoining lot, to sell, although offered an extravagant price. Here it stood until about 1825, when it was removed back to the location of the present building, by Dea. Abner Reed. Its removal was accomplished, in spite of the predictions of all the wiseacres of the village, without any perceptible strain or damage to the church or steeple .? It was considered in its day as a remarkably fine specimen of church architecture. The steeple especially was the pride of the town, and was built by subscription, except £40 voted by the society. One influential gentleman remarked, when the subscription paper was handed to him, that he should cheerfully add his contribution, for "God had one barn in Windsor already, and did not want another," referring to the Wapping meeting-house, which had no steeple. The old negro doctor Primus, also had his say, in the following sentiment proposed at the raising;

" Big church, high steeple, Proud committee, poor people."

1763, June 23d. The society's committee were "empowered to secure the glass windows of the meeting-house from breaches, by purchasing springs or weights," as they should judge best.

In December following, they were ordered to make such changes in the floor seats " as to make room below to bring the new married people down."

1 Tradition, amply confirmed by the accounts of the building committee.

2 The house was so well built, that to quote the words of Deacon Abner Reed, in a letter to the author. "At the time it was taken down (1845) the timbers of the frame were perfectly sound, and the builder of the new house told me that after he had stripped off all the covering he examined the frame, and could not find a spot of rot in the whole that he could stick the point of his knife in, except one in the sill where the double front door lapped to- gether, and that not enough to injure it. All the posts of the old house, and all the beams and other parts that for size and length would answer, were worked into the new. The contractor told me that he could not have got timber for the posts that would have answered so well as the old ones."

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December, 1765. A sum of money having been subseribed to obtain a bell, Erastus Wolcott, Ebenezer Grant and Joel Loomis were appointed a committee "to lay it out." This bell, the first in the Society, became broken, and was replaced with a new one in 1791-2.

Three years after, in 1768, that portion of Windsor, east of the Great River, was incorporated as a distinct town; and this church and society became the First Church of East Windsor.

History of the Church since 1768.

Mr. Perry died on the 21st of June, 1783, aged about fifty years, and " distinguished for talents, learning and piety." His pastorate of twenty-eight years, had been remarkable for the pleasant and uninterrupted relations which had subsisted be- tween himself and his people. Courtesy, reasonableness and kindness marked all his intereourse with them. And while his amiable qualities of heart endeared him to his people, his talents and judgment commanded the respect and confidenee of his brethren in the ministry. When the war of the American Revolution broke out, he eagerly espoused its principles, and both in public and private threw the whole weight of his influ- ence in favor of the patriot eause. Nay, more, for when the company marehed from East Windsor to New York in the sum- mer of 1776, this fearless pastor accompanied them. 1

Of Mr. Perry's personal appearance we know but little, except that he was, in the later years of his life, very corpulent. But three of his sermons have been published, viz: a Sermon on the death of Governor Roger Wolcott; a Sermon on the death of the Rev. Nathaniel Hooker, 1771; and a Connecticut Eleetion Sermon, 1775. His residence, and the place of his death, is still standing, and is oeenpied by Miss Naney Verstille.

1 The letter in which he requests permission from his congregation to go upon what he considered a call of duty, is one of the most beautiful and touching which was ever penned by this devoted and talented man. It was accident- ally found by the author, and will be published in Dr. H. C. Gillette's His- torical Sketches of East Windsor, since 1768. An interleaved Almanac con- taining memoranda of this march, kept by Mr. Perry, is deposited in the library of the South Carolina Historical Society.

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The history of ancient Windsor, Connecticut, Part 23

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909 Publication date: 1859 Publisher: New York : C. B. Norton Number of Pages: 956

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909
Publication date: 1859
Publisher: New York : C. B. Norton
Number of Pages: 956