USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Derby > The history of the old town of Derby, Connecticut, 1642-1880. With biographies and genealogies > Part 34
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The Rev. J. Howe Vorce, was acting pastor in this church from April, 1875, to August, 1879. (See Biog.)
It is with much pleasure that the following letter is intro-
293
LETTER OF THE REV. CHARLES NICHOLS.
duced. It was written by the Rev. Charles Nichols, at the request of the Rev. J. Howe Vorce, in view of a centennial his- torical sermon ; and although too lengthy for insertion on that occasion, it is very appropriate for the present work. It gives on the authority of an eye-witness, and that witness one of the noblest sons of Derby, the things which if asserted without such personal knowledge might be doubted by many. It is given nearly entire as written by himself at an advanced age :
" NEW BRITAIN, June 24, 1876.
" To My Dear Christian Brother, REV. MR. VORCE :
"I write to you as being myself a Derby man. I was born at Derby Narrows in the year 1798, and am now in my 79th year. My early l'fe, until nearly twenty years of age, was spent in Derby. My parents were in principle Congregationalists, attending the Congregational church, and when, after my father's death, I was put out to service by my mother, being then fifteen years of age, I was put into a family, all of whose members were Congregationalists of the strictest sort, they adopting, as did my mother, the Assembly's Catechism, as containing the summary of their faith.
"The Meeting house in which the Congregational order worshiped, and where I attended meeting from my childhood up to my nineteenth year, was called the old meeting-house on the hill. It was probably more than half a mile from the church edifice which is now in use, a little east of north. I recollect it perfectly. The place on which it stood was called Meeting-house Hill. Roads led to it from four direc- tions ; and all around it the surface of the ground was uneven, and its position was in the middle of several unfenced acres, gullied somewhat by rains, and yet generally green in summer, and affording pasturage for sheep. The meeting-house stood alone except that there was one small dwelling house near it on the north-east, and a red school build- ing a few rods south-west, two stories high, having a cupola in which was hung the church bell. My strong impression is, that this church bell, thus hung on the Old Red school-house, was owned either by the town of Derby or jointly by the Congregational and Episcopal socie- ties. The school-house on which it hung was nearly midway between the two church edifices. This bell had a history after I left the town, which probably caused some merriment, and also stirred some bad blood ; but that history is not familiar to me to any such extent that I can state the facts in regard to it.
" The old meeting-house was unpainted, dingy, inconvenient, un-
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HISTORY OF DERBY.
sightly, and in warm and damp weather it had within, a musty smell, ungracious, as things in a process of decay generally have.
" In its shape this house was almost square. I judge it was forty- five feet long and forty feet broad, and was constructed with two stories. Excepting for the two rows of windows all around the house, it looked like a large neglected barn. It had neither steeple nor tower. During all my young days the underpinning was in some places almost wholly removed, and thus a convenient opening was afforded for the sheep and lambs which often grazed in the neighborhood, at which they might enter and there ruminate and give an example of quietness and sweet peace to the human sheep who were in the fold just a little above them.
"The old meeting-house had two doors, one in front and one in the east end.
" It was made with a gallery on each of the sides, and seats in these galleries rising one above the other as if constructed on an inclined plane. The seats in each gallery were long slips, and there were four or five slips in each gallery. The music of the sanctuary was then, as now, a very important part of worship, and the front slip in each gallery was sacred to the use of the singers and the 'players on instruments.' We had not the organ in those days, but we did have both vocal and instrumental music, that to my youthful mind was impressive and in- spiring beyond what I can express. In the winter season we had reg- ular weekly singing-schools, holding them in private houses, now in one part of the town and now another. All the youth who had the 'ear for music ' were invited and urged to attend them, and they were social and useful gatherings ; presenting to us themes for study ; often intro- ducing us to new and valuable acquaintances, and to some extent fitting us for a sphere of usefulness.
" In those days the choir would on pleasant Sabbaths almost fill the three front slips around the galleries of the old meeting-house. Four parts were usually carried, two by the ladies and two by the gentlemen. The chorister always gave the key-note by a little instrument called the pitch-pipe. Then, the whole choir sitting would 'sound the pitch ;' each distinct part sounding the first note with which said part was to start off in the exercise. The chorister made himself prominent by a large flourish of the hand in beating time, often eying the singers earnestly, significantly, and sometimes by a sudden and loud slap of his book, as if he would say, 'You drag ; wake up and sing with more spirit.'
" I remember how in those days of my boyhood the ' tithing-man ' did often seek to magnify his office. The young urchins were just as full of fun and nonsense then as are their descendants of the present
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NEGRO PEWS.
day. Heads often bowed in seeming reverence were, as a matter of fact, frequently down in a worshipful condition simply to conceal from the watchful tithing-man the merry laugh, or the mischievous knife in its work of carving, or the recounting in soft whispers the story of some exploit.
" Now and then, as I well remember, we would cease through for- getfulness to be awed by the tithing-man's presence, and some ludicrous word would work upon our childish natures and the inevitable snicker would burst forth. Holding the nose, as we perhaps did, would do no good. The laugh was in us and the more we tried to suppress it, the more it would not be suppressed. In the very midst of the fun, the tithing man, with a countenance like an angry thunder cloud, would show himself true to the requirements of his official station. Some- times he would simply rise from his seat and stare the culprits in the face. Sometimes he would rap loudly with his knuckles. Sometimes he would leave his seat and take the irreverent boy by the collar and drag him to another seat of the house, which feat nine out of ten of the boys and girls would enjoy with a keen relish and a hearty ' laugh in the sleeve.'
" Before leaving the gallery of the old meeting-house I wish to speak of two regularly inclosed pews ; one in the south-west corner of the men's gallery, and the other in the south-east corner of the women's gallery, designed for slaves and their children. They were vulgarly called the ' Nigger pews.' Slavery still existed in Connecticut when I was quite young, and I remember to have seen here and there one whom I knew as a slave, owned by their masters according to law, just as the ox or horse was owned. The slaves generally bore the name of their masters. If, for example, Richard was the slave of the Mansfields he was called Richard Mansfield ; if colored Cato was the slave of the Holbrooks he was called Cato Holbrook. The fact that a provision was made for people of color when the old meeting-house was built, shows that their spiritual necessities were thought of, even while their separate seats in the most distant corners of the church edifice may in- dicate that the prejudice against color was strong, even in the minds of Christian people. Some of the slaves owned in Derby were regarded as devoutly pious. Such a slave was owned by the Holbrook family: He died before my remembrance, but as I lived almost five years in the same family, I often heard him spoken of tenderly by those about me. He is reported, though he could not read a word, as having been in the habit of carrying the Testament in his coat pocket. When he was questioned for his reason for so doing, his reply was, 'to keep the devil off.'
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HISTORY OF DERBY.
" This same slave was once, according to tradition, sent into a tract of woods, distant from home, to do several days work at chopping wood. It so happened that he forgot the days of the week, and by mistake kept on chopping through the whole of the Sabbath. When he re- turned home Sabbath evening, supposing it to be Saturday evening, learning his mistake, he determined that the next day-that is, Monday -should be his Sabbath. He would not work or do anything on Mon- day which was inappropriate to the Sabbath. When he was told that it was Monday, his ready reply was, 'I know it, but I am not going to cheat the Lord out of one day.'
" In 1798 a law was passed by which all persons born of slave par- ents after that date should be free at the age of twenty-one ; but there were still slaves, a very few, in 1848, when a law was passed abolishing slavery altogether in Connecticut.
" The gallery in the old meeting-house was fitted for the youth of the place, and the children just merging into boyhood and girlhood. It was considered quite an attainment to leave the pews below and the watchful eyes of parents, and ' go up' into the gallery. The lower part of the house was arranged with pews next to the walls, and if I remem- ber right, with four tiers of slips in the body of the house. There was one wide aisle from the front door to the pulpit, and other narrow aisles extending around the room. According to my recollection, what are called the wall seats, especially those near the pulpit, were occupied by the more aristocratic part of the audience. The seats were all occupied by an industrious, intelligent, high-minded and honest class of men and women, who revered the name of God, loved his ordinances, and cher- ished a high respect for the minister of the gospel. The gray hairs and venerable looks of many of them are present to my mind while I write.
" The shape of the pulpit in that old house was that of a box, about six feet long, three feet wide, and not far from four feet deep. There was a rounded projection on the front of this box and on this was a narrow book-board and a very simple cushion, where lay the Bible and the hymn book. In this projection, which was in shape like the half of a barrel cut lengthwise, stood the clergyman when he spoke to God in prayer, or read to his audience from the Bible, or hymn book, or his manuscript. Directly beneath the pulpit sat the deacons, known by their position, if not otherwise, as the chosen officers and the two lead- ing men of the church. The two deacons in all the period of my child- hood were Deacon Holbrook and Deacon Tomlinson, both of honest report, and, as I think, endued with the Holy Ghost and with wisdom. Deacon Holbrook died in the early part of the year 1813. Himself and wife were the parents of twelve, seven daughters and five sons, all
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OLD FORMS OF WORSHIP.
of whom lived to adult age. I think not one descendant of the name of that great family remains in Derby. Deacon Holbrook was suc- ceeded as deacon by Deacon Carrington, who was entirely unpreten- tious, but a true and good man, ' not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.'
" Many of the people who gathered at the old meeting-house came from the distance of miles. Numbers came from the Neck, from Sugar Street, from Sodom and from Squabble Hole ; and they seem to me to have been harmonious and united until the time of the call for the Rev. Thomas Ruggles. They then became seriously divided.
" When I was a boy what is now Seymour was Chusetown. Manu- facturing then being introduced there by General David Humphreys, it ceased to be Chusetown, and was called in honor of the distinguished manufacturer, Humphreysville, but was still a part of the town of Derby. While I remained in Derby the Humphreysville people who were of the Congregational order, came either three-fourths or five-sixths of their Sabbaths to the old meeting-house to worship, and by agreement of parties. the pastor of the church went the other fourth or sixth of the Sabbaths to Humphreysville, and we in the old meeting-house held a deacon's meeting, and heard some one of good voice and manner read a sermon from some volume. When, finally, the people of Sey- mour established permanent public worship among themselves I am not informed. It must have been at a later date than 1817, for that was the year of my leaving Derby, and they were then, if I do not misremember, still worshiping with us in the old church.
" This old meeting-house never knew the luxury of a carpet upon its aisles. Many of the best families knew no such luxuries ever in their best parlors. No fire in the winter ever modified the freezing air of the house. The worshipers came, in many cases, two, three and four miles, sometimes with the weather at zero, or even below that point, and sat from one to two hours, having had no glimpse of a fire till they caught it on returning near sunset to their own dwellings. It seemed not to have entered the mind in those days that the place of public worship should or could be made comfortable or attractive. Nor was it recognized as a fact, that when the whole person was chilled, and the whole congregation wishing for the final amen, the worship could be neither very spiritual nor effective of good upon the general mind.
"The forms of worship in that church were, at the period of which I speak. very nearly uniform throughout our state. There was first the invocation, then reading the scriptures, then the first singing. After this came the general prayer. Almost universally if any persons were severely sick, a note was sent to the clergyman, which was in form
38
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HISTORY OF DERBY.
about this, viz. : ' Mr. A. B., being severely ill (sometimes it would read dangerously) asks for an interest in the prayers of this church and con- gregation, that if consistent with God's will he may be restored to health, but if not, that he may be prepared for his great and last change.' Mothers often sent up a note of thanks for God's preserving goodness to them in time of peril, and for permitting them once more to appear in the house of worship.
"The attitude in family prayer, in the days of my childhood, was that of standing. I never knew the head of the family or any of the mem- bers of the household to kneel in prayer until I left Derby and resided in another state. Bibles were far less common then than now. So far as I had opportunity to observe, they were not passed to the children and other members of the household in time of family prayer in the morning that each might read ; neither, to my knowledge. was there any singing in connection with the season of family worship. The al- most universal custom was for the head of the family, who only had a bible, to read a passage and then rise, stand erect, holding to the back of his chair, and in that attitude offer his prayer. The other members also stood. Consequently young minds were not greatly interested, and as this morning prayer was generally offered at the time when the table was spread for breakfast, and the rich flavor of the smoking vi- ands made the young appetites sharp, the sense of relief at the word 'amen ' was greater than any sense of virtuous resolution to which the prayer had led.
" The people with whom I worshiped in the old church almost, if not quite, universally considered the evening of Saturday as holy time. Often we heard whole sermons which were designed to prove that the Sabbath began at the going down of the sun on Saturday, and we thought it was proved. Accordingly when it began to be dark on Sat- urday secular cares were laid aside. The plays for the week were ended, the playthings were put away. All labor in the field must cease. But the moment the sun set behind the western hills on Sunday, that moment the holy day was closed, and play might then be resumed. The farmer then would, if necessary, grind his scythe preparatory to early mowing Monday morning. The young people might assemble for sport, and lovers in their neat Sabbath dress might lawfully meet and build together their airy castles for some happy future day.
"In my childhood there was one, and only one, other organized church and society besides the Congregational, and that was the Epis- copal. Rev. Richard Mansfield, D. D., was the pastor of that church in my childhood He was a graduate of Yale College in the class of 1741, received his degree of D. D., in 1792, and died an old man, full
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MINISTERS AND THE CATECHISM.
of years and of honors, in 1820. I remember him well. He was tall, of spare habits, and wore a white, large wig. He was very old when I was very young.
" Occasionally I attended that church and heard him officiate. His voice was then feeble, but his countenance indicated gentleness, and a kind and benevolent heart. He continued in Derby until his death, and I think is laid among his own people. While Dr. Mansfield was yet living, Rev. Calvin White became the pastor, as a colleague. Mr. White also graduated at Yale. He was in the class of 1786, and died in 1853. Both Dr. Mansfield and Mr. White were very gentlemanly. I knew their families well in my boyhood, and still think of them with respect and affection. After I left Derby, and somewhere about 1820, Mr. White became a Roman Catholic. Being excluded from the Episcopal church, he remained in town and officiated, as I have been told, in his own house to a few who were of his own belief.
" Methodism, in my boyhood, had hardly gained a foothold in Derby. There was just a little sprinkling of that element over the town, but no organized society to my knowledge, until I ceased to be a member of the town.
" Of Baptists, there were none.
" In the common school at Derby Narrows, it was a rule, strictly ob- served during my school days, to repeat each Saturday forenoon, the catechism. Two catechisms, called commonly, "The Church Cate- chism" and "The Presbyterian Catechism " were in use. The Sabbath- school was not known in Derby till the summer of 1817, when one was organized by Mr. Josiah Holbrook, The school then met in the up- per story of the old red school-house on Meeting-House Hill, and held its sessions in the morning of the Sabbath, during about one hour pre- ceding the first exercise in the church.
" There were three clergymen who were natives of Derby, and by many years my superiors in age, whom about once a year I used to hear preach. These were Rev. Amos Bassett, D. D., Rev. Daniel Tomlinson and Rev. Archibald Bassett. All these were born and spent their childhood in the Neck district. Dr. Amos Bassett I knew personally. He was of a very serious, and one would think of a sad countenance. He was quite scholarly, and was for a long period one of the fellows of Yale College. For many years he was pastor of the Congregational church in Hebron, Conn. He graduated with the class in Yale, in 1784 ; died in 1828, and his remains lie buried in the cemetery in Derby.
" Rev. Daniel Tomlinson was long the pastor of the church in Oakham, Mass. He also graduated at Yale in the year 1781, and died in 1842.
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HISTORY OF DERBY.
Mr. Tomlinson was a man of distinguished excellence. His voice and manner in the desk were very peculiar. They were his own, and in- imitable. He always preached with' black gloves on his hands, and I well remember that my pastor, sometimes noticing that there was smiling about the house when Mr. T. officiated. would rise from his seat and in a dignified and solemn way, request that there should be no levity in the house of God.
" Of Rev. Archibald Basssett. I have little knowledge except that he graduated at Yale in 1796, and died in 1859.
" The Rev. Abner Smith, had his home in that part of Derby called Great Hill. I remember him as he used often to appear in our church, and as I sometimes heard him preach. His delivery was very moder- ate, his voice nasal, his body short, his legs long and very crooked, and his whole aspect and manner unique. My strong impression is that he was a graduate of Harvard. I spent a little time in his house about 1823, since which I have kept no track of him.
" Two other Derby men became ministers about the year 1826, viz .. John L. Tomlinson and Truman Coe. The former had been a law- yer in Derby for years. He graduated at Yale in 1807, and died in 1853. Mr. Coe did not graduate, but received an honorary degree from Yale in 1825. He had been a distinguished teacher of youth; and also a lecturer of science ; was wholly a self-made man. He died in 1858."
THE WAR OF 1812.
This war, like many others in the history of the world, was originated and organized in the interests of a political party, upon a basis of small pretexts and with the intention of ac- quiring the British territory of Canada. The disgrace and dis- honor of it has ever been a cloud over the fair name of the United States.
At this time David Humphreys, who had borne the military title of colonel for many years, was residing in Humphreysville, busily engaged in his manufacturing enterprises and philan- thropic plans.
Upon the opening of the war, his love for his country was aroused as in his younger days, in the Revolution, and calling a public meeting at the old and then dilapidated appearing meeting-house standing on Academy Hill, he delivered a stir- ring and eloquent oration, and called for volunteers. A com- pany, called then troopers, (now cavalry) was enlisted, with the
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COMPLIMENTS TO COMMODORE HULL.
Colonel as its first officer, and was accepted by the state. Mr. Humphreys was then appointed major general of the state mil- itia, and afterwards was called General instead of Colonel Hum- phreys.
No records of town acts in regard to the war are found, except that introduced by General Humphreys as complimentary to Commodore Isaac Hull, and very seldom is a document seen which is more perfect and complete.
" At a meeting of the inhabitants of the town of Derby, legally held by adjournment, April 12, 1813, the following resolutions were intro- duced and read by Col. David Humphreys.
" Resolved, that Isaac Hull Esq., a native of this town, captain in the Navy of the United States. and lately Commander of their Frigate Constitution, with the aid of his gallant officers and ship's company and the smiles of Providence, having led the van in the career in our naval glory by capturing His Britannic Majesty's Frigate Guerriere, commanded by Captain Dacres, has, in our opinion, deserved well of his country, and is an ornament to the place of his nativity.
" Resolved, that joining cordially in the universal applause bestowed by our native countrymen, on Hull, Jones, Decatur, Bainbridge and Lawrence, and their brave and skillful associates in perils and triumphs, for their glorious naval achievements, we judge we have a right in our corporate capacity, without showing an undue partiality to the first men- tioned officer, or stepping aside from our municipal duties, to notice more explicitly his exemplary merits, from having better opportunities of being acquainted with them.
" Resolved, that Messrs. John L. Tomlinson, William Humphreys and Pearl Crafts, be a committee to collect and digest such distinguish- ing illustrative facts on the subject matter now before us as may be attainable, and that they will cause the result to be communicated to the public in such manner as they shall deem most proper.
" Resolved, that from the interruption of our fisheries and navigation by war, gold and silver we have not, to offer costly demonstrations of respect and esteem in imitation of richer towns, yet what we have we freely give, to wit, a tribute of gratitude.
"Therefore, voted that Isaac Hull, Esq., being already constitution- ally entitled to the freedom of this corporation, the thanks of this town be presented to him in a box made of heart of oak, the genial growth of his native hills.
" Voted, that the committee take order from the selectmen for the performance of this service and report their proceedings to a future
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HISTORY OF DERBY.
meeting, for the express purpose that a town record be made for the perpetual remembrance of these transactions.
" Voted, that the committee above named be directed to transmit to Capt. Hull a certified copy of the foregoing resolutions.
J. L. Tomlinson, clerk."
Diligent search has been made through the town records and newspapers of that day for the report of the committee which was to be " communicated to the public," but nothing of the kind has been found.
During the war, Derby also furnished a company by draft, which, after repeated trainings in town, was ordered to New Lon- don, where, under Captain Gates (of Derby) it rendered mate- rial aid against the British, and gained lasting credit to the American service. The company-the bone and sinew of Derby -prided themselves on being patriotic and brave, full of Revo- lutionary pluck, and having enrolled among their ranks no drones or, what were equally as despicable, cowards. But they were slightly mistaken, for one of their number, private E-B-, was shy of gunpowder, and if possible always shirked his duty. Threatened with an attack, the balls beginning to fly from the enemy, Capt. Gates nerved his men by saying, " Now, boys, is the time to think of your wives and sweethearts, and live or die, fight for the honor of old Derby."
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