The history of ancient Windsor, Connecticut, Part 33

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

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The travel of the inhabitants on the north side of the Rivulet to the meeting- house, is 71 miles, 253 rods. The travel from the meeting-house to Dr. Wolcott's, is 39 miles,

110 miles, 253 rods.

Making the travel of the south side people 58 miles, 253 rods, more than that of those on the north side.

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ECCLESIASTICAL, 1712-1776.

the reunion, should be divided by the amount of their respec- tive lists at the time of division. This proposition, however, was not accepted by the North Society.

Meanwhile the First Society remained withont a pastor for four years after the death of the venerable Marsh. An invitation was extended to a Mr. Graham in 1740, and another in 1750, to Mr. Joseph Fowler of Lebanon, both of which were declined. At length, in February 1751, the society voted to call the Rev. Wil- liam Russell, Jr., of Middletown. The call was accepted by him, in person, in April following, and he was accordingly ordained on July the 24th, 1754, and settled on an annual salary of £67 "coined silver money at Ss. per oz. or in Bills of Credit," to- gether with a settlement of £1600 old tenof, to be paid in two years, and the usual provisions for firewood.

The new pastor was the son of the Rev. William Russell, of Middletown, Conn .; and had graduated in 1745, at Yale College, in which institution he afterwards held the office of tutor. He came to the charge of the Windsor church at a peculiarly try- ing time, when the minds of the people had become unsettled by the want of a regular ministry, and by the contentions and divisions which were then agitating the parish in regard to the building of the meeting-honse. Yet, so far as we can learn, he ruled his charge with mingled prudence and fidelity, and his intercourse with the Rev. Mr. Hinsdale and the new congrega- . tion, was such as to secure their respect and affection.

In January, 1758, the new meeting-house seems to have been nearly completed, for the society instructed the committee "to pull down the Old House, sometime in March or April next, and that it be applied for finishing the new;" and in April it was voted " to give Mr. Russell the timber that was picked out of the old meeting-house, for a barn."

The new edifice, which stood where the academy since stood, in front of Widow Bowers's, was never quite finished.

April 19th, 1775, the society were bereaved by the death of Mr. Russell. In the 24 years of his ministry, he had baptized 319 and admitted 39 persons to the communion of the church. "During his pastorate, there was a shower of divine grace, by

364

HISTORY OF ANCIENT WINDSOR.

which twenty of the above number were added."1 His loss was felt not only by the people of his own charge, but by the town; and the attendance upon his funeral gave evidence of a sorrow as wide-spread as it was heartfelt. He was buried on the same day on which the news of the battle of Lexington was received at Windsor.

1 MS. Church Records.

CHAPTER XIX.

ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF WINDSOR, THIRD, OR POQUONNOC SOCIETY.

1724 - 1800.

The records of this church and society, although probably in existence somewhere, have thus far eluded all the investigations and inquiries which we have made. We have therefore had to rely, in the following meagre and unsatisfactory sketch, upon MSS. in the State Archives, the records of the Old Society, and such fragmentary documents and traditionary evidence, as we could obtain. It is hoped that this explanation will fully excuse such deficiencies as may be noticed.

That portion of Windsor known as Poquonnoc, was first settled, as before mentioned, in 1649, and prior to 1700 had become one of the most thickly settled neighborhoods in the town. As early as 1717, the inhabitants were allowed by the Old Society to which they belonged, the sum of £4 for schooling their own children ; but several years elapsed before there was any at- tempt to secure for themselves the benefits of an independent church organization.

In January 1723-4, however, at a meeting of Windsor West, or Old Society, it was " voted, that the inhabitants of Poquon- noc, with the people adjacent, viz: as far as Peter Brown Jr's, inclusive, and Thomas Thrall's, exclusive, shall be freed from paying to the ministry here in proportion to such time as they shall hire an orthodox minister amongst them, that shall preach."

By the same vote, the Old Society released the following in

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HISTORY OF ANCIENT WINDSOR.

habitants of Poquonnoc, on the south side of the Rivulet, from paying ministerial taxes:

John Brown,

David Griswold,

John Brown, Jr.,

Lt. Daniel Griswold,

Jonathan Brown,

Edward Griswold,

Peter Brown,

Joseph Griswold,

Hester Barber,

Sgt. Benajah Holcomb,

Benjamin Barber,

Wid. Martha Holcomb,

Wid. Martha Barber.

Joseph Holcomb,

Nathaniel Griswold,

Benjamin Moore,

Ens. Thomas Griswold,

Wid. Hannah Phelps,

Thomas Griswold, Jr.,

William Phelps, Jr.,

Sgt. John Griswold,

Josiah Phelps,

Daniel Griswold, Jr.,

Lt. Nathaniel Pinney,

Matthew Griswold,

Nathaniel Pinney, Jr.,

Ens. George Griswold,

David Marshall,

Francis Griswold,

Their list of estates for 1723 amounted to £1570 10s. On the north side of the Rivulet,

Sgt. Benjamin Griswold,

Thomas Phelps,

Benjamin Griswold, Jr.,

Enoch Phelps.

Nathan Gillet, Sr.,

David Phelps,

Isaac Gillet,

Samuel Phelps,

Obadiah Owen,

Sgt. John Phelps,

Nathaniel Owen,

Stephen Winchell.

Ephraim Phelps,

Their list of estates for 1723, amounted to £590 11s.

In May following, the Poquonnoc people made a formal ap- plication to the assembly for incorporation as a distinct society. This petition states that they number forty families, most of whom are four miles distant from the Old Society meeting- house; and that they have a " difficult river to pass" in going there. The assembly granted their request, and they, in Octo- ber 1724, were duly incorporated as the Third Society in Windsor.

At the same time their bounds were extended, which much "grieved " the Old Society, who petitioned in vain for a recon- sideration.

The new society by vote of April, 1725, called Mr. Daniel Fuller of Wethersfield, and after a trial accepted him as their pastor, and appointed a day for settling him. From some unex- plained cause, however, they suddenly dropped him. Where- upon (Oct. 1726), the discomforted minister petitioned the

Peletiah Griswold,

Sgt. Joseph Barnard,

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POQUONNOC SOCIETY.

assembly for redress, claiming that he was put to much incon- venience and expense, as he had been at Poquonnoc a year, and had moved his family there. The society denied that they had wronged him, but a committee, appointed by the assembly, decided that they had not treated him well, and must pay him £50 damages. This verdict the society petitioned against, but found no relief.

Of the real causes of dissatisfaction between pastor and people we are ignorant, with the exception of the little light that is shed upon the case by the following amusing affidavit:

" May, 1727. Cornelius Brown testifieth that when Mr. Daniel Fuller was at Poquonnoc, I was one of them that sought for his settlement in ye work of ye ministry there, but perceiv- ing great uneasiness amongst ye people in that affair, and par- ticularly at ye shortness of his sermons, I prayed Mr. Fuller to apply himself to his work, and lengthen out his sermons, that if possible he might gain disaffected persons. Mr. Fuller re- plied that he did not concern himself about it, if they were but orthodox they were long enough for Poquonnoc.

CORNELIUS BROWN."

In 1727, the Poquonnoc Society erected their church, which stood on or near the place now occupied by a small shop, south of the residence of the widow of the late Hon. John M. Niles.

Their first pastor was the Rev. John Woodbridge, son of the Rev. John Woodbridge of West Springfield, Mass.1 He gradu- ated at Yale College in 1726. We have no data whatever concerning his ministry here, or the time of his removal. His residence at Poquonnoc was on the site of John E. Griswold's present dwelling.

He was succeeded in January, 1740, by the Rev. Samuel Tudor, of (East) Windsor. He was a grandson of Owen Tudor, the first

1 The Rev. John, of West Springfield, graduated at Harvard College in 1694, m. Jemima, daughter of the Rev. Joseph Eliot of Guilford (son of the Apostle), and died in 1718. His father was Rev John, wl o graduated at Harvard College in 1664, was pastor at Killingworth, Ct., in 1666, and at Wethersfield in 1679. He was son of Rev. John (son of Rev. John, a distin- guished non-conformist clergyman), born at Stanton, Wiltshire, England, about 1613, who came to New England in 1634, m. a daughter of Hon. Thos. Dudley, settled at Andover, Mass., in 1641; returned to England in 1647, and returned to New England in 1663; settled at Newbury .- Sprague's Annals of Am. Pulpit, i, 129.

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HISTORY OF ANCIENT WINDSOR.

of the name in Windsor, was born in 1705, and graduated at Yale College in 1728. Of him we know but little, except that he was a gentleman of very high classical attainments, a faith- ful and beloved pastor, and a sincere follower of his Master. He died Sept. 21, 1757, aged 52, and was interred in the old burial ground of East (now South) Windsor. His death was caused by camp-distemper, communicated from his son who contracted it in Canada while engaged in the French war cam -. paigns, and who died of it after his return home. The Rev. Mr. Tudor was the father of the celebrated surgeon, Dr. Elihu Tudor, of East Windsor. His residence was just north of the present dwelling of Mr. Cyrus Phelps.

His death was followed by a season of trouble and disquiet- ude. The people were divided in their wishes and opinions; some opposing the settlement of a minister, because they judged that they could not properly support one, while others desired a dissolution of the society. Separatists, also, "attending on what they call laymen extraordinarily qualified to preach," became a disturbing element in the ecclesiastical troubles of the parish. Petitions to the assembly to be annexed to Winton- bury parish, or to the Old Society; applications to associations and councils; and committees whose decisions always failed to give satisfaction to the inflamed prejudices of the disputants, followed each other with ceaseless rapidity -but all to no purpose.

The only knowledge we have is the following document (for which we are indebted to Mr. Elihu Marshall, of Poquonnoc), dated in 1771, fourteen years after Mr. Tudor's death.

We the Subscribers members of ye Second Society of Windsor Reflecting on the Melancholy state of sd Society in this Very great Particular viz our having for a Long time and still Con- tinuing to be Destitute of a settled minister & some part of ye time without a preached Gospel among us and also Reflecting on ye great Improbability of ever being able to bring about ye settlement of a Gospel minister in ye Common & ordinary way yt ye Gospel is settled and supported in other Societys; and also being sensible of ye Solemn obligations yt are upon us to support ye Gospel in a Regular and Honourable way & manner in Tenderness to our own souls & those of our Children & friends & for ye promoting outward good order among us have agreed to make one Effort more for the Quiet and peacable Settlement &

369

POQUONNOC SOCIETY.

Support of ye Gospel, hereafter in sd Society, yt is to say for ye Supporting a sound orthodox Dissenting Congregational or presbyterian Minister, & whereas it appears [to be the most] likely method to bring sd ye same quietly to main- tain & support (also being of oppineon yt Sixty Pounds Law [full money per ann]um sallary a sufficient sum to sup]port & maintain a Gospel Minister among us) this is to Bind [ourselves] to pay according to ye proportion we Shall Hereunto with our names annex according to List with those yt hereunto annex their names ye whole of our proportion accord- ing to our Lists. In consideration of what is above written we promise to pay our several proportions as Subscribed Here- under to a Comtt we shall appoint for ye use above said when & so long as a Gospel minister remains settled among us & to be by sd Comtt levied & Collected pr annum for ye use abovesaid by a rate or Tax made on all ye members of sd Society & Collected in ye usual way & manner as Done heretofore.

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands this 14th day of January Ano Domini 1771.

Isaac Pinney, Ezekiel Clark,

Edward Barnard,

Joseph Alford,

Hez. Griswold,

Timothy Phelps, Jr.,

Geo. Griswold, Jr.,

Elisha Phelps,

Simeon Moore,

Isaac Griswold,

Reuben Denslow,

Isaac Phelps, 3d,

John Phelps, 4th,

John Phelps,

Francis Griswold,

Isaac Phelps,

Aaron Griswold,

John Griswold,

Samuel Holcomb,

Martin Holcomb,

Nath. Griswold,

Math'w Griswold,

Nathaniel Owen, Jr.,

Alex'r Griswold,

William Phelps,

Moses Griswold,

Edward Griswold, Jr.,

Phin's Griswold,

Abel Wright,

Noah Griswold,

John Ross,

Thomas Griswold,

Joab Griswold,

Geo. Griswold,

Moses Griswold, Jr., Alven Owen.

During and after the Revolutionary war, 1 a Mr. Daniel Foster preached to the Poquonnoc people for a while, but his doctrines were not acceptable to the people - and perhaps, if rumor be true, they were not very orthodox.

After him came Universalism and Infidelity, and though the society in 1796 erected a new meeting-house (now standing), the church was pretty much broken up. It gradually became extinct, and its last members died a few years ago.

1 He was there as early as 1776, when he represented Poquonnoc at the ordination of the Rev. D. S. Rowland at Windsor.

CHAPTER XX.

WINTONBURY PARISH,

Now Bloomfield.

We have no definite data as to the time when that portion of Windsor, known as Wintonbury, was first settled, or by whom. 1

By 1734, however, its inhabitants had so far increased in numbers as to be desirous and able to support, partially at least, a gospel minister among themselves. Accordingly, the legislature, at its May session in that year, received a petition signed by 27 residents of the district known as "Messenger's Farms in the South-west part of Windsor," praying that they might be allowed "winter privileges."2 This, in view of their distance (six miles) from the house of worship in the north society, was deemed a reasonable request, and winter privileges were granted to them from the first of November to the last of March.

1 Barber says, in his Hist. Coll. of Conn , that " at the period of the first settlements on Connecticut River, the Windsor people sent out a number of men to explore the tract, since Wintonbury. These men returned, and reported that there was good land sufficient for the maintenance of three families." It is not at all probable, however, that this was " at the period of the first settlements," &c.

2 Thos. Rowel,

David Buttolph,

Robert Walley,

Abel Gillet,

Robert Barrett,

John Hubbard,

Isaac Brown,

Moses Cadwell,

David Brown,

David Grant,

Peter Mills,

Nath Cook,

John Loomis,

John Soper,

Jonathan Brown,

Alex'r Hoskins,

Peletiah Mills,

Joseph Hoskins,

Solomon Clark,

Anthony Hoskins,

Zebulon Hoskins,

Isaac Eggleston,

Isaac Skinner,

Daniel Eggleston,

Enoch Drake, Jr., Daniel Mills,

John Eggleston,

371

WINTONBURY PARISH.

Two years elapse, during which they probably hired a minis- ter and maintained regular worship, and then, May, 1736, we find another petition from 31 persons in Windsor, with 12 in Simsbury and 8 in Farmington, similarly situated, and earnestly praying for parish privileges. Accordingly a parish was set off, bounded on the north by Simsbury and Windsor Third (Poquon- noc) Society; east by Windsor First Society; south by Windsor and Hartford, and west by Farmington and Simsbury. Of this parish, which was nearly four miles square, about seven-tenths lay in Windsor, one-tenth in Farmington, and two-tenths in Simsbury. It was named in consequence, from the towns of which it was composed, WIN-TON-BURY. The first society meet- ing was held November 16th, 1736, at which it was unanimously voted to build a meeting-house and hire a preacher. At the next session of the legislature, May, 1737, they say that they have voted to build their meeting-house on the east side of Wash Brook, but fearing lest they should intrude on the pre- rogatives of that legislature in the matter, they request the appointment of a committee to locate the said meeting-house. The desired committee was appointed, and located the meeting- house near the bank of the hill, about twenty rods from the cen- tre of the parish, which was duly approved by the legislature. This edifice, situated on the site of the second one taken down in 1858, was 45 feet in length by 35 in breadth, but was never entirely finished.

A church, consisting of 67 members, was organized on the 14th of February, 1738, and on the next day the Rev. Hezekiah Bissell was ordained as its pastor. On that occasion, the Rev. Jonathan Marsh, of Windsor, preached from 2d Corinthians, iii, 6; the Rev. Samuel Whitman, of Farmington, gave the charge, and the Rev. Benjamin Colton, of West Hartford, the right hand of fellowship.1 There were at that time 65 families in Wintonbury, comprising 325 souls.

At a society meeting about this time, it was

" Voted, we will give Mr. Bissell, £200 yearly for the space of three years, whereof £100 yearly is for his salary, and the

1 This was in 1751, the Fifth Society in Windsor. For list of original members, deacons, &c., see Appendix, No. 8.

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HISTORY OF ANCIENT WINDSOR.

other £100 is for his settlement, the money at the present currency."

£100 on the then existing scale of metal coin, was equal to £60, which was finally established as his salary, with the addi- tion of 38 cords of " 3 foot " wood, yearly.

Thus, in the faithful discharge of those mutual and pleasant relations which exist between a beloved pastor and his people, time sped tranquilly on, until, in 1779, Mr. Bissell's failing health obliged him to ask for assistance in his ministrations. From that date, his pulpit was supplied until his death, which occurred January 28th, 1783. On his monument in the old cemetery at Bloomfield is the following inscription:

In the early years of his ministry, Mr. Bissell had adopted the Half-Way Covenant, which admitted all persons of civil behavior to the watch of the church, and to the privilege of baptism for their children, without attending the Lord's supper. Under the workings of this rule, the number of real communicants in the church had become very small. After Mr. Bissell's death, in September, 1785, the church adopted a New Covenant and Con- fession of Faith; and at the same time abolished the Half-Way Covenant. Its abolition, however, was accompanied by the fol- lowing compromisory vote:

" Voted, that all those of competent knowledge in the word of God, and of regular life and conversation, and that appear to be serious and conscientious in the judgment of the church, may be admitted to Covenant with this church."

This, however, gave rise to the question, whether those who

1 He graduated in 1733, the first of his name among the alumni of that institution.

373

WINTONBURY PARISH.

had formerly been admitted to the Half-Way Covenant were excluded by this vote. The church therefore, March 10th, 1786, " voted, that those that have owned the Covenant have still a right to offer their children for baptism, so long as they walk orderly."

Much opposition ensued, and the society who were also dis- turbed by Separatists, and a strife which had arisen in regard to settling a successor to their late pastor, were in a most uncomfortable state. Finally they voted, although with diffi- culty and by a small majority, to reconsider their former vote, and adopt the rule of the Stratford Church, which admitted per- sons to full communion, without necessarily requiring them to partake of the Lord's Supper."

Under this Stratford Church rule, which lasted only to 1791, five persons were admitted to full communion, who felt unworthy of partaking of the Lord's Supper. These were Hezekiah Lati- mer, Jr., and wife Rebecca (who became hopeful converts in the revival of 1799); Peletiah Parsons and wife Roxy; and Dorthesias Hubbard.

Meanwhile, a great quarrel was going on in the society, con- cerning the settlement of a pastor. The principal candidate, Rev. Solomon Walcott, was bitterly opposed, and several in con- sequence certified themselves as having joined the Baptist Church. His friends finally triumphed, and he was installed May 24th, 1786. He received no settlement, but his salary was fixed at $300 and 30 cords of "3 foot" wood. Mr. Walcott graduated at Dartmouth College in 1776, was ordained pastor at North Stamford, Conn., in 1780, from whence he was dis- missed in 1786. The unhappy contention, however, to which his settlement at Wintonbury had given rise, was still un- healed. The church at length made a desperate attempt to extricate themselves from their embarrassments, by the follow- ing vote of November 15, 1790: "This church, conscious of their own imperfections and of the failings of human nature, and earnestly desirous to be built up in gospel order and regu- larity, remembering their unhappy situation during the late con- test, vote to forgive mutually their past offences towards each other, and to cultivate mutual peace and brotherly love."

This pacific measure failed of its intended effect, the malcon-

374

HISTORY OF ANCIENT WINDSOR.

tents would not return, and peace was only restored, in 1790, by the dismission of Mr. Walcott, who removed to Canajoharie, N. Y.

The Rev. William F. Miller was ordained as the third pastor of Wintonbury parish, on the 30th Nov. 1791. He received £100 salary and the same allowance of wood as his predecessor. He was a man of strong powers of mind, and ardent piety, and his labors were crowned with much success. He not only succeeded in fully restoring the tranquillity and harmony of the hitherto divided church, but was blessed with several interesting seasons of revival. The most noticeable of these occurred in 1799, 1800, 1808 and 1809, when large additions were made to his charge.

Previous to his settlement, the society threw out the Strat- ford rule, and readopted the vote of Oct. 6, 1785.

They also voted "that the parson is only as any other church member." In the years following they proceeded in an orderly manner, and after repeated attempts at conciliation, to deal with those members who, in the late dissensions had left them and joined the Baptists. On December 6th, 1801, they met for the first time in a new and beautiful meeting-house.1 A dedi- cation sermon was delivered in the afternoon by the pastor, from Mark xi, 14, 16, 17, and " not a pew empty, above or below; a joyous day." Well might he record it as " a joyous day," for a great change had come over the almost wilderness parish, which sixty-seven years before had humbly petitioned the legis- lature for " winter privileges." Now the forests had given place to well tilled farms, and the dwellings of a large and prosperous community. Manufactures also contributed to swell the resources and increase the domestic comfort of the inhabit- ants; while over all was spread the beneficent influence of peace and free institutions. 2

1 A view of this edifice (now, 1858, torn down), may be seen in Barber's Hist. Collections of Connecticut. It was 50 feet long and 40 broad.

2 In 1802, Wintonbury parish contained 176 dwelling house, and about 1050 souls. There were also at that time, 4 taverns, 1 saw-mill, 1 fulling mill, 1 grist mill with two sets of stone, and one gin-distillery erected that year. In 1801, 1500 meal casks, hogsheads, barrels and tierces had been made and vended.

The Wintonbury Library Society was formed in January, 1793.

375

WINTONBURY PARISH.

In June, 1808, the church adopted the confession of faith and covenant now in use. In 1811, the Rev. Mr. Miller was dismissed.

Rev. JOHN BARTLETT was installed February 15th, 1815, and dismissed May 19th, 1831. He was the brother of the Rev. Shubael Bartlett of East Windsor, and was born in Lebanon, Ct., graduated at Yale college in 1807, settled at Warren, N. Y., in 1811. From thence to Bloomfield, after his dismissal in 1831, he removed to Avon, N. Y.

Rev. ANSEL NASH was installed September 7th, 1831, and dis- missed February 24th, 1835.

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The history of ancient Windsor, Connecticut, Part 33

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