USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Derby > The history of the old town of Derby, Connecticut, 1642-1880. With biographies and genealogies > Part 48
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HISTORY OF DERBY.
when he joined the conference and became a successful itiner- ant. He died in triumph in May, 1873, aged 68 years.
In 1838-9 the circuit was again divided ; so that Birmingham, Waterbury, Middlebury and South Britain sustained each a pas- tor, and only Humphreysville, Great Hill, Pleasant Vale and Pine's Bridge remained as the Derby circuit.
In 1840-41 Thomas Sparks was the preacher in charge, re- siding at South Britain, and Ezra Jagger in 1842-3, residing at Great Hill. These were assisted by L. Atwater, a student at Yale, and by Moses Blydenburgh.
On Saturday, March 19, 1842, a quarterly meeting commenced at Southford, and in the absence of the presiding elder, Carpen- ter, Sylvester Smith preached, and the following Sabbath morn- ing being very pleasant it was impossible for more than half of the people to get into the chapel. Mr. Sparks occupied the pulpit, and Mr. Smith took his stand in the school-room below and preached while half of his congregation were out of doors, unable to obtain seats inside. Mr. Sparks came from England, and was employed a number of years in the Wolcottville cotton factory under the influence of that earnest lay Methodist, Chris- topher Wolcott, from which place he went out as a Methodist itinerant, and became quite celebrated as such in the eastern part of New York state. In 1844 Moses Blydenburgh was pas- tor in charge, residing on Great Hill ; he died in 1848, aged 31 years, leaving a widow, and one son who is a lawyer in New Haven. The next two years George L. Fuller was in charge . of the circuit, residing at Great Hill, where three of his children were buried.
In the fall of 1846 a subscription was started for a new church edifice at Humphreysville, Sylvester Smith leading with the sum of six hundred dollars ; but the burning of the paper mill, of which he was half owner, embarrassed the work although it did not abate his zeal ; for during the year he increased his sub- scription to eight hundred dollars. One brother, who did not at first pledge himself, gave one hundred dollars ; another changed from twenty to one hundred, and a good woman changed her subscription from ten to one hundred dollars.
Charles Stearns, preacher in charge, moved into the parson- age in May, 1847, finding the society commencing the new
467
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
church. The old meeting-house was sold for one hundred dol- lars and torn down, after serving its purpose sixty years, and the new one built on the same site. Jared Bassett, assisted by Isaac Bassett, built the stone work ; all the people aided the enterprise to the extent of their ability, both in money and la- bor. The corner stone was laid on Saturday, June 19, 1847, Rev. E. W. Smith of Birmingham making the address ; Sylves- ter Smith depositing the case under the stone after announcing its contents ; Charles Stearns, the pastor, conducting the ser- vices, assisted by Rev. Wm. B. Curtiss of the Congregational church. The contractor was Amos Hine of Woodbridge; the architect, Lewis Hotchkiss of Birmingham ; the bell, weighing 1, 150 pounds, was from Meneely's foundry in Troy; and the church was dedicated on Thursday, January 18, 1848, by Bishop E. S. Janes. All the elm trees near the church were set within a year after the dedication.
Ir May, 1849, was in charge of what in the next year was set off from Derby as the town of Seymour, and remained two years with success. David Osborn was the next pastor of Sey- mour and Ansonia, it being a prosperous year in both places. His successor for two years was Rufus K. Raynolds, an ener- getic, useful man ; Great Hill becoming a separate charge in his second year.
William T. Hill was pastor in 1855-6 for the two churches, Seymour and Great Hill, being prosperous years. Thomas Stevenson was pastor in 1857-8 ; L. P. Perry, in 1859-60 ; Al- bert Booth, in 1861 ; George L. Taylor, in 1862, this being his first itinerant work. He was a faithful pastor and minister; a fearless defender of the "stars and stripes," and in those troublous times spoke boldly for the Union.
In the summer of 1864, under the pastorate of A. B. Pulling, two festivals were held, by which $800 were secured, which freed the church from debt. Sylvester Smith was appointed pastor in 1866; Joseph Pullman in 1867-8, both eminently suc- cessful ; Bennett T. Abbott in 1869-70 ; Joseph Smith in 1871-3, and proved himself an able minister, he being the first pastor who remained in Seymour three consecutive years. In former years he resided in Waterbury as a local preacher, and did much good service here and in Wolcott, Conn. E. H. Frisbie and
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HISTORY OF DERBY.
James Wiswell, local preachers in New Haven, also rendered good service. Sylvester Smith, a local preacher, during his forty years residence here, was a most active laborer and liberal giver in the church.
During the energetic labors of William R. Webster as pastor, in 1874, a large and commodious parsonage was erected, at a total cost of $2,630 ; Lugrand Sharpe, Warren French and W. C. Sharpe being the building committee; the old parsonage bringing $2,000.
In 1875 E. H. Dutcher was the pastor; in 1876, Charles A. Tibbals, who soon after united with the Episcopal Church. At this time the church was beautified with an elegant black wal- nut pulpit presented by H. B. Beacher, Esq., which was first occupied February 4, 1877, by Aaron Pierce of East Village, who was pastor of the church in 1848, and his venerable ap- pearance in his eighty-ninth year constituted an occasion long to be remembered ..
In the spring of 1877 J. Vinton became the pastor, and the year was one of success ; in which Arthur J. Smith, uniting with the church and feeling called to the ministry, left his employment at the office of the Seymour Record, and entered the Collegiate Institute at Hackettstown, N. J., preparatory to en- tering college.
Seymour and Great Hill are still connected under the same preacher.
THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL.
George Kirtland came to Seymour in 1825, and in 1826 or 7, started a Sunday-school with five children, the number increas- ing to twenty-seven the first year. He continued the school six or seven years, when it was discontinued. The superintendents since the re-organization of the school have been :
1841-2, Samuel R. Hickox.
1859, Warren French.
1843-8, Lugrand Sharp.
1860-I, William N. Storrs.
1852, John Adams.
1862-5, Henry W. Benedict.
1853, Frederick Durand.
1866-7, William N. Storrs. 1868, Sheldon Miles.
1854, William A. Hughes. 1855, William Mallory.
1869, William C. Sharpe.
1856-7, Albert W. Lounsbury. 1870-I, William N. Storrs.
1858, William Mallory.
1872, William W. Dibble.
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EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
1873, Samuel Butler. 1874, Charles N. Blanchard.
1875, Samuel Butler.
1876, Edward N. Botsford.
1877, Henry C. Rogers. 1878, Samuel Butler.
1879, George E. Stockwell.
TRINITY CHURCH.
A meeting was held according to proper notice at the house of Doct. Samuel Sanford, on the 20th of February, 1797, and an Episcopal Ecclesiastical Society was formed. The notice dated February 12, 1797, was served on thirty-nine persons, who were : Reuben Lum, James Manville, Nathan Mansfield, William Tucker, Benjamin Hawley, Russell Tomlinson, Martin Beebe, Enos G. Nettleton, Ephraim Wooster, Nathaniel Holbrook, Jeremiah Gillett, Josiah Nettleton, Philo Holbrook, Edward Hayes, Nathan Stiles, Wilson Hurd, William Church, Abel Church, John Griffin, Daniel Davis, Bowers Washband, Alex- ander Johnson, Timothy Johnson, Joseph Johnson, Charles French, Israel Bostwick, Moses Riggs and John White. These were professedly Episcopalians. The meeting was organized by the appointment of Benjamin Davis, moderator, and Samuel Sanford, clerk ; and Joel Chatfield, Israel French and Jonathan Miles, society committee. As there had been a union of the parish of Great Hill with this new society, the united organiza- tion was called Union Church.
At this first meeting a committee was appointed consisting of Benjamin Davis, Edward Hayes, Nathaniel Johnson and John White, to furnish materials for the building of the church. A site was purchased of Leverett Pritchard for $60, on which it now stands, the deed being dated March 23, 1797. Early in the spring the corner-stone was laid by the Rev. Edward Blakes- lee, then an assistant to the Rev. Dr. Mansfield of Derby, and during the summer the building was raised, and before winter entirely enclosed.
The inside finishing was delayed, and temporary seats made of slabs.
Of this church Dr. Mansfield of Derby was the first pastor, and his services as rector continued until about 1802, he preach- ing here one-third of the time, and receiving proportionate sup- port from this society ; and the parish continued to render him support until his death in 1820.
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HISTORY OF DERBY.
In 1802 the Union Bank was established with a capital of $2,000, paid by fifty-seven persons, for the purpose of support- ing the ministry, but it proved a troublesome enterprise, and soon after 18II, the contributions were returned to the original owners. Various ministers supplied the church with services portions of the time some twenty years, among whom were Revs. Solomon Blakeslee, Calvin White, Ammi Rogers, Ambrose Todd, James Thompson, Aaron Humphreys, Chauncey Prindle. In 1817 the church was completed inside, and was consecrated September 2d of that year by the Right Rev. John Henry Hobart, D. D., Bishop of the Diocese of New York.
A record-book is still preserved, the inscription to which reads : "Parish Records of Union Church, Humphreysville. Stephen Jewett, rector, 1822. On the next page he wrote : " December, 1821. Union Church, Humphreysville, I began to officiate statedly in this parish. On Easter week, 1822, I was regularly called and engaged for one-third of the time at a salary of $500 per annum, and my wood. Easter week, 1824, began to officiate one-half of my time at Humphreysville at the same salary. 1827 burying-ground fenced and church painted. 1828 bell purchased, cost, $6.17; ground in front of the church leveled." The salary mentioned ($500) must have been for the two parishes, Derby and Humphreysville. The bell cost $256.19, and the $6.17, was the cost of freight or something of that kind. In this book Mr. Jewett continued a careful record of baptisms, marriages and burials in Union Parish until 1834, when it ceased. If such a record had been kept by all the min- isters of the parishes in old Derby, and preserved, a full gen- ealogy of the families of the town could be given, which cannot now be done.
After the resignation of the Rev. Stephen Jewett in 1832, the Rev. Charles W. Bradlew was rector one year, followed by the Rev. John D. Smith, eleven years, who officiated in this church every Sunday the first five years, and the next two divided his time between this church and St. Peter's of Oxford, after which he confined his labors to this parish. Following the resignation of Rev. Mr. Smith in 1845, the Rev. John Purvis became rec- tor, and continued thus two years ; at which time the commu- nicants of the parish numbered about one hundred. The Rev.
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EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
Abel Nichols officiated one year following Mr. Purvis, and after him the Rev. William F. Walker accepted the charge of the parish and continued until 1851, when he removed to New York. From 1851 the Rev. Charles G. Acly officiated two years, and effected the canceling of the debt of $850 ; then the Rev. O. Evans Shannon became the rector, and in 1856 the name of the church was changed from Union to Trinity.
From this time efforts were made for extensive repairs on the church, which resulted in holding the last services in the old church July 5, 1857, and the consecration of one all new ex- cept the frame, by Right Rev. Bishop Williams, on the IIth of May, 1858. Some debt remained, which, as usual, cost a great struggle, but was finally canceled.
Rev. Mr. Shannon resigned the rectorship June 1, 1866, having done a great and good work. A little before his resigna- tion the parish purchased a house for a rectory at a cost of $2,500.
The next rector was the Rev. George Seabury, who com- menced his services in January, 1867, and continued them until April 21, 1875 ; a successful term of labor of over eight years.
The present statistics of the parish are nearly as follows : families, 135 ; baptized members of the church, 410; communi- cants, 157.
On the 27th day of June, 1875, the steeple of the church was the third time struck by lightning, the damage amounting to about $50.
Of the sixty-three persons who contributed to defray the ex- penses of finishing the church in 1816, not one is now living.
During the first twenty-five years from the organization of the parish eight clergymen were employed for a specific length of time, and in the next fifty-three years, nine, four of whom had charge of the parish over forty-three years. On the 25th of September, 1875, the Rev. Edwin J. K. Lessel became rector of the parish.12
12 History of Seymour, pp. 25-29.
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HISTORY OF DERBY.
HUMPHREYSVILLE, IN DERBY, IN 1836.
Mr. John W. Barber wrote thus of the place at the time he made the drawing :13
" The accompanying cut shows the appearance of Humphreys- ville as it is entered upon New Haven road. The Humphreys- ville Manufacturing Company was organized in 1810. The village is situated in a small valley of the Naugatuck, four and a half miles from its junction with the Ousatonic river at Derby
HUMPHREYSVILLE, IN DERBY, IN 1836.
Landing. It is surrounded with lofty hills excepting the nar- row valley through which the Naugatuck passes. The heights south of the village on the western side of the river are lofty, rocky and precipitous. The building seen in the central part of the engraving is the Humphreysville Cotton Manufactory ; it is four stories in height and about one hundred feet long. On the left of the print, on elevated ground, is the Episcopal Church ; there are two other houses of worship in the place, one for Congrega- tionalists and one for Methodists ; the last two are situated on the heights a few rods south-east from the the centre of the vil- lage. Directly underneath the Episcopal Church is seen in the engraving a part of the Naugatuck river with the falls. At this place a ledge of rocks, about twenty feet in height, crosses the
13 Historical Collections, 201.
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CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
river and forms a perfect dam about two-thirds the distance ; the remaining third is closed by an artificial dam. This place was formerly known by the name of Rimmon Falls. There are 50 or 60 dwelling houses in the vicinity of the factories and three or four mercantile stores. Most of the dwelling houses are south of the cotton factory ; only a few of them appear in the engraving. A small but beautiful grove of pines is situated at the southern extremity of the village, through which the build- ings, which are mostly painted white, appear uncommonly beau- tiful as the village is approached from the south upon the river roads."
THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 14
A council met on the 12th day of March, 1817, for the purpose of " organizing a church of Christ " in Seymour, " if it should seem to be best." They appointed the Rev. Zephaniah Swift, moderator, and the Rev. Nathaniel W. Taylor, scribe. The council consisted of the Rev. Nathaniel W. Taylor of the Centre Church, New Haven, the Rev. Samuel Merwin of the North Church, New Haven, the Rev. Bennett Tyler of South Britain, the Rev. Bela Kellogg of Franklin, Mass., and the Rev. Zeph- aniah Swift of Derby. Nine persons presented themselves be- fore the council, producing letters of good standing from other churches, asking to be organized into a church ; they were : Joel Beebe and his wife, Bradford Steele and his wife, Ira Smith and his wife, Lewis Holbrook, Hannah P. Johnson and Sally Wheeler. The decision of the body was that " the above named persons be and are hereby organized into a church in this vil- lage." This action shows that it was a new organization and not the revival of an old one, which fact throws great doubt upon the supposition that there had been a church previously organ- ized at this place. A society had been established about twenty-eight years before, but a society is not a church among the Congregational people. The labors of the Rev. Benjamin Beach had continued in this place from r787 to 1805, and from that time to 1812 the worshipers at this place attended other churches to some extent until the settlement of Rev. Zephaniah
14This account of this church is taken mostly from a sermon delivered by Rev. S. C. Leonard, July 9, 1876, as a historical discourse. See History of Seymour, by W. C. Sharpe.
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HISTORY OF DERBY.
Swift at Derby, in 1813, when he began to supply their pulpit a portion of the time ; and, as the result of his labors, they were encouraged, brought together in the purpose to sustain the preaching of the gospel and organized into a church as just stated. The old meeting-house was still standing, and was fitted and used for worship. Of it Mrs. Sarah Jones, daughter of Bradford Steele of Erie, Penn., wrote some twenty-four years ago: "I well remember when it was done off (what doing off there was !). It was divided into pews. It was neither lathed nor plastered, and but poorly clapboarded. Many times have I brushed the snow off the seats before sitting down. Its exterior resembled a barn more than a church. Still it was beloved, and probably had as true worshipers in it as those of modern style."
During the vacancy of the pulpit of this church a new ele- ment had been introduced into the place, and Humphreysville, as it was then called, through the establishment of the Woolen Factory, had become an enterprising, growing, lively commu- nity ; from which state of grace it has never really fallen.
Eighteen days after the church was organized, that is, on the 30th of March, 1817, the Rev. Mr. Swift being present, eighteen members were added to the church, and one of them, Mrs. Daniel White, was still living in 1876, and in her eighty-sixth year. Two months after the organization, the Rev. Bela Kel- logg received other members, and a few months later still others were added, and thus quietly but steadily the number increased until at the end of the second year it numbered thirty-four members.
On the 22d of September, 1818, the old meeting-house was sold to the Methodist Church, and in due time, as it could, the new church built a meeting-house overlooking the river, on the eastern bank where the Congregational burying-ground is still to be seen. The church held its services in the Bell school- house while building their new house of worship. The steeple to complete this edifice was built in 1829.
To this church the Rev. Zephaniah Swift ministered some years ; giving one-fourth of his time by consent of the Derby church, some of the years, and receiving one-fourth of his salary from this congregation. This church owes much to him, a man
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CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
of stately dignity of bearing, but with a warm heart within him, good, true and faithful ; a man who made so powerful an impres- sion on at least one who came under his influence, as to lead him to say that it would be joy enough for him, if he should ever reach heaven, to meet Zephaniah Swift there.
The Rev. Bela Kellogg was not the pastor of this church, but ministered to it for a time, not long after its beginning.
The Rev. Ephraim G. Swift was pastor from 1825 to 1827. He died in August, 1858.
On the IIth day of May, 1828, the Rev. Amos Pettingil re- ceived to membership in the church several individuals, among whom were Isaac Sperry and his wife, Albert Carrington, Ad- aline and Emeline Sperry and Olive Merriman.
The name of the Rev. Charles Thomson appears first on the records under date of July 20, 1828, and he was installed pastor of the church in April 1830. He came from Dundaff, Penn., and labored about five years and was dismissed. He died in March, 1855.
The Rev. Rollin S. Stone preached for this church from June, 1833, to September, 1834, changing pulpits with Rev. Z. Swift half the time. Following him the Rev. John E. Bray ministered to the church about seven years and a half, from September, 1834, to April, 1842.
On the 23d of June, 1843, the Rev. William B. Curtiss was called to be the pastor, and he continued his effective work six years, until October, 1849. During this period the present church of this denomination was built, being located in the val- ley below the Falls, and Mr. Curtiss occupied its pulpit about two years.
Four years and nine days after this house was dedicated, on the 29th of April, 1851, it was opened for the first installation ever held in it. On that day the Rev. E. B. Chamberlin was constituted pastor of the church and society ; the installation sermon being preached by the Rev. Fosdick Harrison of Beth- any. He was dismissed on account of ill health, May 20, 1852.
The Rev. J. L. Willard commenced his ministry here, Sep- tember 1, 1852, and continued until May 1, 1855, and was soon after settled at Westville, Conn., where he remains an efficient and successful minister.
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HISTORY OF DERBY.
About this time the village suffered the loss of a heavy man- ufacturing industry which necessitated the removal of about thirty families, connected with this congregation, from the place, and this resulted in great discouragement to those who re- mained. In the midst of this despondency a young man, a graduate of Amherst College, on passing through the place, was iuduced to engage in the work of supplying the pulpit. This young man was Henry D. Northrop, and an unusual revival was the result of his labors. He labored from August, 1857, nearly through the year 1858.
The ministry here of the Rev. E. C. Baldwin was of a year in length, to May, 1860, and that of the Rev. Sylvester Hine, fol- lowing, of about the same length.
The Rev. J. L. Mills, now professor in Marietta College, Ohio, preached here two years ; the Rev. George A. Dickerman, one year ; and the Rev. A. J. Quick, nearly two years and a half.
On the 22d of May, 1868, Allen Clark was ordained in this church as an evangelist, and he ministered to it about one year with much success, the church being largely increased in its membership. Mr. H. P. Collin followed Mr. Clark, being also ordained as an evangelist, and his labors were accompanied with a goodly number of additions to the church. Rev. J. W. Fitch supplied the pulpit about one year, closing in the spring of 1872, and he was followed by the Rev. William J. Thomson, whose labors continued nearly two years, closing October, 1874.
The ministry of the Rev. S. C. Leonard commenced on the 15th of November, 1874, and continued until the summer of 1879, when he removed to supply the pulpit of the - Congrega- tional Church at Naugatuck, five miles up the river. His labors were quite successful, and his labors and life highly commended in the community. His historical sermon, as given in the "History of Seymour," is very pleasant reading, and a valuable contribution to the memory of a faithful, toiling people of the past and present age.
It is said that the first deacon of the earliest church in this place was Timothy Baldwin of Derby; if so then there must have been a church organization which he was to serve as dea- con, although no records have been seen or heard of confirming the supposition. When the church was organized in 1817 the
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CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
two chosen to this service were Bradford Steele and Nehemiah Botsford, and they continued to serve in that office until nearly the close of life. Deacon Steele, in September, 1840, a little more than a year before his death, asked to be released from further official duties, because of his age and infirmities, which was granted. Deacon Botsford made a similar request a little before, which had been granted.
In 1776 Bradford Steele was a boy of not quite fifteen years of age, and hence was not quite sixteen when he enlisted in the army which represented the cause of freedom. Terrible scenes he passed through, for the memory of one certain day lived with great vividness to the end of his life. It was the 22d day of August, 1777, when he was taken prisoner and treated with a cruelty which was merciless, his very appearance becom- ing so changed by what he endured in a short time, that his father, when he met him, did not know him. He died in peace, December 23, 1841, at the age of 80.
The church seldom has a firmer friend than Deacon Kinney, some time since deceased. It was from a gift made by him that the society now possesses its convenient parsonage.
The names ascertained of those who have served as deacons are as follows : Capt. Timothy Baldwin, appointed in 1789; Bradford Steele and Nehemiah Botsford, in 1817; Sheldon Kinney and Alfred Hull, 1840; Andrew W. De Forest, 1844; William Kinney, Miles Culver and J. L. Spencer, 1853 ; W. M. Tuttle, 1858; Charles Bradley (date not known); David John- son and Levi Lounsbury, 1865 ; Joshua Kendall, 1868.
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