USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > The memorial history of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884, Vol. I > Part 53
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400
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.
THE BAPTIST CHURCH.
BY REV. A. J. SAGE, D.D.,
Formerly Pastor of the First Baptist Church.
IN 1767 Deacon Nathaniel Drake, Jr., of Windsor (Second Society ), a young man, was imprisoned in Hartford for non-payment of the minis- ter's rates and the tax for building a meeting-house. The account given in Stiles's "History of Windsor," p. 439, which is taken mainly from a volume printed in 1767 by Ebenezer Frothingham of Middle- town,1 adds that he was imprisoned, although he was a Baptist ; that he had pleaded the privilege of a Baptist through all the courts with- out relief until at last the Assembly had given him a mark in his hand, and that notwithstanding this his persecutions had continued. The " although " refers to the Acts of Exemption for Baptists, passed in 1729 and 1745; but the expression "" a mark in his hand " cannot be explained.
This is the earliest mention of a Baptist in Hartford. Although few Separate churches joined the Baptist denomination, and the two orders were distinct in their origin, Baptists were confused with Sepa- rates in the popular mind, unjustly incurring the odium attached to the latter; and Hartford, whose peace had never been disturbed by Separatism, looked coldly on the first public efforts of her Baptist citizens.
John Bolles (died 1830), " the Nathanael of his day," and univer- sally respected for his integrity and vigor of character, is regarded as the father of the cause in Hartford. It had been his practice to walk to Suffield, weekly, to attend church ; but in 1789 he and others, all mem- bers of the Suffield church, formed a church in Hartford. The first baptism was administered August 5, and on Sunday, September 7, after a preliminary meeting at the house of Luther Savage, public worship was celebrated at the house of Mr. Bolles. A church of sixteen members was constituted March 23, 1790, under advice of a council ; Mr. Bolles was the first deacon, and the Rev's John Winchell and Adam Hamilton frequently preached. The Rev. Stephen Smith Nel- son, an alumnus of Rhode Island College (now Brown University), a refined and scholarly man, became the first pastor in 1796, and was ordained soon after.2 His pastorate ended in 1801. The church first appears in the minutes of the Association in 1800, with a membership of one hundred and twelve. In 1807 the number was fifty-eight.
The first meeting-house was built about 1794, at the corner of Temple and Market streets, and was subsequently occupied by Congre-
1 " A Key to Unlock the Door that leads into Take a Fair View of the Religious Constitu- tion established by Law in the Colony of Connecticut."
2 He married, Oct. 15, 1798, Miss Emilie, daughter of Mr. Ephraim Robins. The "Courant " calls him "Pastor of the Baptist Church."
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THE BAPTIST CHURCH.
gationalists and by Jews.1 The first sessions of Washington (Trinity) College were held there while the Baptists occupied the building. After Mr. Nelson's resignation the Rev. David Bolles, the Rev. Eber Maffit, and Deacon Ephraim Robins supplied the pulpit. The Rev. Henry Grew (1807-1811), an earnest and devoted but eccentric man, denied the right of the unregenerate to join in the singing in public services. He was once seen standing bareheaded outside of a house in Village Street, having refused to stay inside where prayer was being offered before some unconverted persons. After the severe fashion of the day, he was excluded from the church in 1811 for various conscientious ob- stinacies and peculiarities. The Rev. Elisha Cushman, ordained 1813, was pastor until 1825, - an eloquent preacher, who increased the mem- bership from ninety-two to two hundred and sixty-eight. The Rev. Cyrus P. Grosvenor (1825-1827) was known for his literary tastes and his Antislavery sentiments.
The Rev. Barnas Sears (1827-1829), afterward D.D. and LL.D., was subsequently a professor in Madison University and in Newton (Mass.) Theological Seminary, Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education, President of Brown University for twelve years, and finally the first manager of the Peabody Educational Fund. He was also author of numerous works and editor of others.
The pastorate of the Rev. Gustavus Fellowes Davis, D.D., begin- ning in 1829, was ended by his death on the 11th of September, 1836. No Baptist pastor in Hartford has been more highly respected and affectionately remembered. On his appearance in the Association, largely through his influence and through other concurrent circum- stances, a new interest in education and in Sunday schools was mani- fested. Dr. Davis was the chief agent in collecting funds for the Connecticut Literary Institute at Suffield. He was appointed a trustee of Washington College in 1831. He was chaplain of the legislature during two of its sessions. In 1831 a new house of worship, known, after the removal of the church and society to a new building, as Touro Hall, was completed on Main Street. It was soon filled to overflowing, and it being found necessary to establish a new church, the first sep- arate meeting of a colony was held in a hall on Main Street near the Little River, May 11, 1834. On Sunday, October 21, the South Baptist Church was organized and recognized. The pastorship of Dr. Davis is regarded as marking the beginning of the substantial prosperity of the Baptist cause in Hartford. His death was looked upon as a public calamity. He was a warm friend of Mrs. Sigourney, who, on wit- nessing a baptismal service conducted by him in the Little River, in front of her residence, now the home of the Hon. Julius Catlin, on Asylum Hill, composed a poem, from which the following stanzas are selected : -
1 "NOTICE. Proposals will be received from any person willing to contract for erecting a Tower and Spire, for the Baptist Meeting-House in this city -- the dimentions of which must be as follows, viz. : The Tower to be 14 feet square, and in height and diameter in pro- portion to the Tower. The whole to be done in a plain, but workmanlike manner. The proposals must include all the materials, together with the erecting and finishing the same complete. The payment to be made in a valuable tract of New Land, on the banks of the Connecticut River. Proposals will likewise be received for finishing the inside of said house. Payment as above. Apply to John Bolles, Samuel Beckwith, Ebenezer Moore, Luthier Sav- age, Zecheriah Mills, Committee. Hartford, Mch. 12." - Courant, March 19, 1798. VOL. I .- 26.
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.
THE BAPTISM.
'T was near the close of that blest day when with melodious swell, To crowded mart and lonely shade had spoke the Sabbath bell, And on a broad, unruffled stream, with bordering verdure bright, The westering sunbeam richly shed a tinge of crimson light.
When, lo! a solemn train appeared, by their loved pastor led, And sweetly rose the holy hymn, as toward the stream they sped ; And he its cleaving crystal breast with graceful movement trod, His steadfast eye upraised to seek communion with his God.
And then advanced a lordly form in manhood's towering pride, Who from the gilded snares of earth had wisely turned aside ; And following in His steps who bowed to Jordan's startled wave, In deep humility of soul this faithful witness gave.
Who next? A fair and fragile form in snowy robe doth move, That tender beauty in her eye that wakes the vow of love. Yea ! come, thou gentle one, and clothe thyself with strength divine, This stern world hath a thousand darts to vex a breast like thine.
Then, with a firm, unwavering step, the watery path she trod, And gave, with woman's deathless trust, her being to her God ; And when, all drooping from the flood, she rose like lily's stem, Methought that spotless brow might wear an angel's diadem.
Yet more ! Yet more! How meek they bow to their Redeemer's rite, Then pass with music on their way, like joyous sons of light ! But lingering on those shores, I stayed till every sound was hushed, For hallowed musings o'er my soul, like spring-swoln rivers, rushed.
"'T is better," said a voice within, "to bear a Christian's cross, Than sell this fleeting life for gold which death shall prove but dross ; Far better, when yon shrivelled skies are like a banner furled, To share in Christ's reproach than gain the glory of the world."
The hymn by the same author, "Pastor, thou art from us taken," was written on the occasion of Dr. Davis's death.
While the Rev. Henry Jackson, D.D., was pastor, from 1836 to 1838, the church shared in the powerful revivals that visited the city. He was afterward, and until his death, pastor in Newport, Rhode Island, and was there, as here, highly esteemed. The venerable William Bentley then supplied the pulpit for a year. The Rev. Jeremiah S. Eaton served here (his first pastorate) from 1839 to 1844, and added large numbers to the church. He was afterward pastor at Portland, Maine, where he died. His widow was an efficient pastoral assistant in the church in Hartford from 1871 to 1878.
The Rev. Robert Turnbull, D.D. (1845-1869), had previously served in Danbury, in Detroit, at the South Baptist Church in Hartford, and in Boston. As a preacher he excelled in the beauty of his language, the glow of his fancy, and in a pure and fervent mysticism. His personal life was gentle, modest, and simple, and he was esteemed and loved throughout the city. He was editor for two years of the "Christian Review." After the close of his pastorate Dr. Turnbull preached in New Haven, but in 1873 became Superintendent of Missions for the Baptists of Connecticut. He died Nov. 20, 1877, and was buried in Spring Grove cemetery, not far from the grave of Dr. Davis.
The present elegant church-building was dedicated May 23, 1853. After Dr. Turnbull's resignation the church was without a pastor until the Rev. A. J. Sage, D.D., formerly a professor in the University of
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THE BAPTIST CHURCH.
Rochester, assumed the pastorship, Jan. 1,1872, continuing it to July 1, 1884. He is now a professor in the Baptist Theological Seminary at Morgan Park, near Chicago. His successor, the Rev. Lester L. Potter, formerly of Springfield, Mass., was installed June 19, 1885.
The first pastor of the South Baptist Church was the Rev. Henry Stanwood, a man of high Christian character, who remained two years. During his pastorship the first meeting-house was erected on the south- east corner of Main and Sheldon streets. Dr. Turnbull preached here, April 2, 1837-1839. The Rev. Edmund Turney was ordained pastor in 1841, and remained one year. Among positions afterward held by him were those of President of the Fairmount Theological Seminary, Cincinnati, and of the Baptist National Institute for Freedmen in Wash- ington, where he died. He was a superior teacher and a successful pastor. The Rev. Robert Raymond, pastor from Sept. 12, 1842, to 1846, is now Professor of Elocution in Boston University. The Rev. J. L. Stone supplied the pulpit for one year. The Rev. J. N. Murdock, D.D., formerly of Lockport, New York, served from May, 1849, to December, 1857. The present imposing place of worship was dedi- cated April 23, 1854. Dr. Murdock has since been the honored secretary of the American Baptist Missionary Union, the offices of which are in Boston. The Rev. William Fittz was pastor for a year and a half from Sept. 5, 1858. Before and after this he was pastor in Rhode Island. The Rev. C. B. Crane, from Roch- ester Theological Seminary, was ordained Oct. 17, 1860. In 1878 he became pastor of the First Baptist Church in Boston, and in 1885, at Con- SOUTH BAPTIST CHURCH. cord, New Hampshire. Dr. Crane is especially remembered for his attractive social qualities, and for the freshness and intellectuality of his thought. The Rev. Hugh O. Pentecost, who succeeded him May, 1878-1881, increased the mem- bership greatly. Mr. Pentecost has since been a pastor in Brooklyn, Long Island, and in New York City. The Rev. W. W. Everts, Jr., for- merly of Providence, Rhode Island, was pastor from July 1, 1881 to 1884. He is now a pastor in Philadelphia. His successor, the Rev. Kittridge Wheeler, was installed in 1885.
The Asylum Avenue Church, constituted Nov. 2, 1872, was composed of eighty-seven members, fifty-eight of whom came from the First Church, and eighteen from the South. Its house of worship was dedicated
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.
October 7. The Rev. Forrest F. Emerson, its pastor from 1873 to 1879, when he united with the Congregational denomination, was highly es- teemed for his social qualities, literary ability, and powerful preaching. His successor, the Rev. George M. Stone, D.D., was settled in 1879.
The Washington Avenue Church was organized in 1870; occupied its new building, now called Morgan Chapel, in 1871, and was served by Rev. Amasa Howard till 1876, when, for financial and other reasons, the growing church suspended its meetings. The Rev. D. F. Lamson, from Worcester, preached in the chapel under the direction of the other churches, during the years 1882 and 1883. In January, 1883, the church was reorganized, taking the name of the Memorial Church ; and a pastor, the Rev. H. P. Smith, was settled in 1884.
The Windsor Avenue Church was formed in 1871, and occupied a new chapel on Suffield Street, but was dissolved in 1879, the members being received mostly into the First Church. Its pastors were the Rev. George A. Simonson and the Rev. W. H. Randall. Two small churches of colored people have within a few years been united, under the name of the Union Church. The church building is on Wooster Street, and the present pastor, the Rev. A. M. Harrison, was settled in 1883.
An association of the churches of Hartford and vicinity was formed at Danbury in 1790, and was called the Danbury Association until 1813, when it took the name of the Hartford Baptist Association. Its manu- script records contain many instances of oppression under the old laws during the latter part of the last and the opening of the present century. In 1789 the Baptists took steps to prevent any abridgment of the priv- ileges granted to dissenters, and in 1791 met in Hartford, chiefly to petition the legislature
"That for the future there be no religious establishment, and that all Chris- tians of all denominations have full religious liberty."
Similar petitions were presented yearly until 1818, when rendered no longer necessary. Deacon Daniel Bestor, of Suffield, frequently repre- sented the Association before the legislature.
Thomas Jefferson was a favorite candidate for the Presidency among the Baptists in the State, on account of his efforts to promote religious liberty in Virginia, where the denomination had suffered bitterly, and on his election a committee from the Hartford (Danbury) Association presented a congratulatory address. Hence the familiar expression of those days, "a Democrat and a Baptist." In 1816 it was voted to pe- tition the legislature for a grant of $10,000 for the education of " pious young men " for the ministry, and that same year the legislature appro- priated certain moneys to dissenting denominations " for the support of the gospel in their several societies ;" but as at the next meeting of the Association the general sentiment was against receiving State aid for the support of the gospel, no funds were accepted by the Baptists.
The Connecticut Baptist Convention was organized and held its first meeting in Hartford in 1823. In 1885 this convention reported the Baptists of Connecticut as numbering 21,785; the number in Hartford being 1,649.
A. J. Sage.
405
THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
BY THE REV. W. F. NICHOLS.
THE history of the Episcopal Church in Hartford is the history of a single parish, - that of Christ Church, - until 1841; then of an ex- tension into six additional parishes and a mission, 1841-1870; and finally of an adjustment of church life and work to the changes in tlie city and times, 1870 to the present.
With the permission of Mr. Charles J. Hoadly, M.A., we shall gather freely from his full " Annals of the Episcopal Church in Hartford to the year 1829,"1 the facts of the period he covers. There is no evi- dence of any organization of Churchmen until the end of 1761 or the beginning of 1762, though as early as 1664, William Pitkin, John Sted- man, and Robert Reeve, of Hartford, together with certain others, had, as members of the Church of England, complained that they were deprived of spiritual privileges by the ministry of the country, and asked that they might not be compelled to contribute to the sup- port of ministers so depriving them. On the 6th of October, 1762, John Keith, William Tiley, William JJepson, Hezekiah Marsh, and Thomas Burr 2 purchased of Charles Caldwell a lot for an Episcopal Church, which included the northeast corner of the lot on which Christ Church now stands, and extended to the north of it, - Church Street not being opened until about 1794. Foundations for a church were laid ; but owing to the disturbances of the times they and the lot were sold. Litigation, however, followed the sale, and in 1772 the land was restored to the parish by order of the Superior Court, it having in the mean time passed into the possession of Mr. Samuel Talcott, Jr. There is a tradition that in 1792, when the work of building the church was begun anew, Prince Brewster, the mason, a member of the parish, said, in the presence of sundry persons who were gathered about, " I lay this stone for the foundation of an Episcopal church, and Sam Talcott and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
The oldest recorded acts of the parish are those of a meeting held Nov. 13, 1786, at which a new organization was effected, the articles of association placing it " under the Direction and Government of the Rt. Revd. Bisp. Seabury, and the Episcopal Clergy of the State of Con- necticut." The following were the signers: William Adams, John Morgan, John Thomas, Jacob Ogden, Samuel Cutler, Thomas Hilldrup, John Jeffery, George Burr, Stacy Stackhouse, Cotton Murray, Isaac Tucker, William Burr, Elisha Wadsworth, John Avery, Aaron Bradley. William Imlay and John Morgan were chosen wardens; William Adams, clerk ; and Samuel Cutler, John Thomas, Jacob Ogden, and John Jeffery, vestrymen. John Morgan was warden until 1820. He projected the bridge across the Connecticut, and the street leading to it
1 Christ Church, Hartford. Semi-Centennial, 1879, pp. 41-83.
2 Thomas Burr was the grandfather of Alfred E. and Frank L. Burr, of the " Hartford Times."
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.
bears his name. More than £300 was then raised for building a church, the contributions including " £10 in pure spirit," "1 hhd. Melossis," " Noah Webster, Jr., £3;" the last-named subscription being paid in seven dozen of Mr. Webster's famous spelling-books. After some delay the church was built, and consecrated by Bishop Jarvis, Nov. 11, 1801; an account of the service being given in the "Courant " of Nov. 16, 1801. The church was a frame building, 90 feet by 44, with a spire, and the conventional double rows of round-top windows. Within, there were galleries and square pews ; one of the square pews, with a canopy over it, being known as the " Governor's pew."
This first church 1 was occupied until 1829, when the present stone church was consecrated, on the 23d of December, by Bishop Hobart, of New York, acting for Bishop Brownell, who was absent from the dio- cese. "In our day," said Bishop Clark, in his sermon at the semi- centennial celebration of the consecration of the church, " churches have been erected which far surpass this building in splendor and grandeur of design ; but none of them are as far in advance of Christ Church, Hartford, as this was of all others that existed at the date of its consecration." In 1836 a brick chapel was built in the rear of the church ; the tower was completed in 1840, and on the 23d of December, 1879, at the semi-centennial of the consecration of the church, a new chancel, chapel, and parish building-the gift of Mrs. James Goodwin and Miss Mary Goodwin - were opened by Bishop Williams. In 1883 a dwelling was bought, and rebuilt for a rectory.
The first services of the Episcopal Church in Hartford were held under the fostering care of the English " Society for the Propagation of the Gospel." The Rev. Messrs. Viets, Peters, Dibblee, Leaming, and Jarvis are known to have occasionally officiated in Hartford. An early map of Main Street has the name of " Abraham Beach, Episcopal minister," who, it is said, wrote the prospectus of the "Connecticut Courant ;" but Mr. Hoadly finds no tradition of his ministrations here. In 1795 Mr. Calvin Whiting officiated as lay reader. The first rector was the Rev. Menzies Rayner, 1801-1811, and the following is the list of rectors since : the Rev's Philander Chase, 1811-1817, afterward Bishop of Ohio and Illinois ; Jonathan M. Wainright, 1817-1819, after- ward provisional Bishop of New York ; T. C. Brownell, D.D., Bishop of the Diocese, 1819-1821 ; N. S. Wheaton, 1821-1831, afterward Pres- ident of Trinity College ; Hugh Smith, 1832-1833; George Burgess, 1834-1847, afterward Bishop of Maine; Peter S. Chauncey, 1848-1850; Thomas M. Clark, 1851-1855, Bishop of Rhode Island ; R. M. Aber- crombie, 1856 -- 1861 ; George H. Clark, 1862-1867 ; Robert Meech, 1867-1874; W. F. Nichols, 1877 -.
The beginning of the second period of which we have spoken, that of church extension, had the way prepared for it by a vote of the mem- bers of Christ Church parish, at a meeting held Feb. 16, 1839. The preamble referred to " the progress of the town and the general pros- perity of the Episcopal Church;" and the resolution declared " That in
1 Six localities were considered before the lot for the present church was deeided upon, to wit: 1. Lot next east of Hartford Bank; price, $11,500. 2. Lot on west side of Main Street, near the present Roberts Block; price, $13,500. 3. Lot on west side of Trumbull Street, oppo- site Pratt Street ; $8,000. 4. Lot on Market Street, where the old City Hall stands ; $8,500. 5. Lot on southwest corner of Asylum and Trumbull Streets; $12,000. 6. Present lot ; cost, $9,500.
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THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
the opinion of this meeting the time has arrived when it is expedient to attempt, in reliance on the favor of Divine Providence, the establish- ment of another parish of the Protestant Episcopal Church in this city." St. John's Parish was accordingly organized, March 18, 1841. The corner-stone of the new church was laid the 14th of the following July, and the church was consecrated by Bishop Brownell, April 20, 1842. Under its first rector, the Rev. Arthur Cleveland Coxe, the parish soon took rank as a prosperous and important work. It has always been known widely for its good works and influences, and among its rectors have been some of the most prominent clergymen of the Episcopal Church. Following Mr. Coxe, who resigned in 1854, have been : the Rev's E. A. Washburn, D.D., 1854-1863, afterward of Calvary Church, New York ; W. C. Doane, D.D., 1863-1867, now Bishop of Albany ; L. H. Mills, 1868-1872; Matson Meier-Smith, D.D., 1873-1876 ; A. D. Miller, 1876-1882; and J. W. Bradin, 1882 -. The present Bishop of Connec- ticut, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Williams, was consecrated in St. John's Church, Oct. 29, 1851.
The city missionary work of the Episcopal Church took definite shape with the starting of mission services in a hall on Market Street, Dec. 15, 1850. The services were soon changed to a hall on Temple Street; and July 25, 1854, the corner-stone of St. Paul's Church, on Market Street, was laid. This was consecrated June 26, 1855. A "Church City Missionary Society " was at first formed to carry on the work ; but Jan. 12, 1857, a parish was duly organized with the name of St. Paul's Parish. The Rev. Charles R. Fisher had charge of the work from the beginning, and - save for a brief interval filled by the services of the Rev. Samuel Hermann - continued in it until the day of his death, Nov. 24, 1876, twenty-six years in all; winning for himself, by his faithfulness in it, the title of "Father Fisher."
The rapid growth of the city westward led to the organization of Trinity Parish, Sept. 26, 1859. A building which had been used as a place of worship by the Unitarians was bought, and removed from its place on Asylum Street, stone by stone, to its present site on Sigourney Street; the corner-stone being laid Oct. 23, 1860. The church was consecrated May 20, 1861, with the name of Trinity Church. The following have been its rectors : the Rev's Pelham Williams, 1861- 1863; S. G. Fuller, 1863-1865; Francis Goodwin, 1865-1871 ; E. E. Johnson, 1871-1883; and S. O. Seymour, 1883 -. The parish is the centre of church life for a section of the city occupied by the wealthier inhabitants, and has from the beginning been conspicuous for its mis- sionary efforts, having started and sustained the flourishing mission at Parkville, and having provided for years services in a school-house at Blue Hills. This parish added a chancel to the church in 1875, and built a rectory in 1882.
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