USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Waterbury > The town and city of Waterbury, Connecticut, from the aboriginal period to the year eighteen hundred and ninety-five. Volume III > Part 11
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This canopy was first erected over the altar, but was subsequently removed to the south wall of the chancel arch. The expense of this change was borne by Mr. Burnham's sons, and the inscription to his memory was added by direction of the parish at that time.
Under the north gallery is a black marble tablet with this inscription in gilt letters :
In memory of the Rev. James Scovil, born in Waterbury, Jan. 27, 1733, grad- uated at Yale College, 1757. Ordained by Zachary Pearce, Lord Bishop of Rochester, at St. Peter's, Westminster, England, April 1, 1759. Missionary of the Ven. S. P. G. to this parish (then St. James), and its first resident rector, 1759-1788. Died at Kingston, N. B., Dec. 19, 1808.
Also of James Scovil, Esquire, his son. For many years an officer of this parish. Born March 19, 1764, Died Nov. 26, 1825.
This tablet is placed here by their grandchildren and great-grandchildren, 1885.
The chimes, consisting of ten bells, were the gift of G. W. Burn- ham, and the clock was the gift of Mrs. Burnham.
A brass tablet on a background of Spanish griotte marble (the work of Giessler of New York) was the gift of the Sunday schools of St. John's and Trinity parishes. It bears this inscription :
657
ST. JOHN'S PARISH SINCE 1830.
In grateful remembrance of the Reverend Jacob Lyman Clark, D. D. Born at Westhampton, Mass., Sept. 19, 1807, graduated at Trinity College, 1831, ordained deacon June 29, 1835, and priest July 5, 1836. Instituted rector of this parish, Easter, 1837, where for forty years he faithfully served God and ministered to His people, until he entered into rest, January 26, 1877. " For he was a good man and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith, and much people were added unto the Lord." " Blessed is he that considereth the poor."
A small brass tablet upon a background of carved oak, on the side wall of the chancel, is inscribed as follows :
In memoriam rei. The Rev'd John Williams, D. D., LL. D., was elected fourth Bishop of the Diocese of Connecticut at a Convention held in St. John's Church, Waterbury, June II, 1851.
" That thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting."
The memorial windows are eleven in number, and are in mem- ory of the following persons :
James Mitchell Lamson Scovill, died May 16, 1857, aged 68 years.
John P. Elton, died November 10, 1864, aged 55 years.
Edward S. Clark, died June 20, 1862, aged 51 years.
Abram Ives, died July 18, 1869, aged 51 years.
Minnie Adelaide, daughter of Orrin and Eunice A. Scott, died May 25, 1871, aged 6 years and 7 months.
William Henry Scovill, died March 27, 1854, aged 58 years.
Eunice Ruth Scovill, died November 25, 1839, aged 34 years.
Nancy Maria Austin Hall, died February 8, 1868, aged 53 years.
Roxy Scott, died November 4, 1870, aged 77 years.
Daniel Scott, died October 6, 1874, aged 92 years.
Mary B. Ives, died January 30, 1870, aged 55 years.
John Buckingham, died May 3, 1867, aged 81 years .*
The baptismal font, of carved Ohio stone and marble, is a memorial to the Rev. Joseph D. Welton, who died January 16, 1825. It was given by Hobart V. Welton, his son. The lectern, an eagle carved in oak, is a memorial of William H. White, who died in 1873. The Bible, Prayer Book and Hymnal were presented by Mrs. Betsey Elton, in 1872; the alms basin and communion service by classes in the Sunday school. The gilt cross was the gift of Mrs. John Buck- ingham.
In 1893 the church received from an unknown donor the gift of a chancel organ costing $4000. The window to William H. Scovill, which would have been hidden by the organ had it remained in its original place, was divided and occupies two windows under the gallery. The second of the two is a memorial to Eunice Ruth Davies, wife of William H. Scovill, born at Ogdensburg, N. Y., March 5, 1805; died November 25, 1837.
* The windows for Mr. and Mrs. Ives are from the Royal Art works, Munich ; the others from Sharp & Son, New York.
42
658
HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
At the annual parish meeting, April 2, 1877, the Rev. J. Foote Bingham, D. D., who had been associate rector with Dr. Clark dur- ing the year previous to his death, was made rector of the parish. He is a native of Andover (Conn.), graduated from Yale college, in the class of 1852, and received the degree of S. T. D. from Western Reserve in 1869. He remained rector of the parish until the spring of 1880, when he resigned and removed to Hartford. He has since resided there without permanent charge.
Samuel W. Hall, whose wise and generous gifts to St. John's parish and for other public uses are referred to elsewhere in this History, died March 5, 1877. He left to the parish in trust (the income only to be used) $10,000 for the poor of the parish, $5000 for church repairs and $3000 for the parish library. He also left $10,000 to trustees to be used for a widows' home, provided that an equal sum should be raised by the parish for the same purpose within three years. As it seemed desirable that the form of this trust should be somewhat modified, the bequest was allowed to lapse, and the sum named was then given by the heirs of Mr. Hall to the parish, under a trust, in the modified form. For the clear and judicious arrangement of this trust the parish is indebted to Dr. Bingham.
After Dr. Bingham's resignation the Rev. R. R. McGregor McNulty, who had been assistant minister during the previous year, became rector, and remained with the parish until September 20, 1883. He is of Scotch descent, a native of western Pennsyl- vania, and a graduate of Washington and Jefferson college in the class of 1867. While here, for family reasons, he took the name of Converse and dropped that of McNulty. Both names appear on the parish record. He is now connected with Hobart college.
The Rev. Edmund Rowland, D. D., succeeded Mr. Converse as rector in the spring of 1884, and still occupies the position. He is a native of Springfield, Mass., and a graduate of Trinity college in the class of 1857.
In 1884 John C. Booth and Mrs. Olive M. Elton presented to the parish the lot at the corner of Church and West Main streets, and a rectory was erected thereon, which was completed in the spring of 1886 at a cost of about $16,000. The rectory on leaven- worth street was sold. In 1890-91 the managers of the Hall fund erected for the use of the parish, at a cost of about $16,000, a com- modious building of brick and granite, known as the parish house.
Since the middle of the century St. John's parish has had an assistant minister during a large part of the time. In several instances the assistant was elected rector; in other cases assistants
659
ST. JOHN'S PARISH SINCE 1830.
have become rectors of other important parishes. The following list gives the names of most of them, with biographical memo- randa.
1
In October, 1849 the Rev. John A. Paddock, afterwards Bishop of Washington, preached here a few times and was invited to become an assistant, but, having meanwhile received a call to the parish of Stratford, he accepted it. The Rev. George W. Horne was then employed. He resigned, December 9, 1850, to take a parish at Oswego, N. Y. Not very long afterward he became a missionary to Africa, and died at Rocktown, October 2, 1854. He was born at Kingston, Jamaica, W. I., May 5, 1821, was educated in part at a Wesleyan institution in England and studied theology with Dr. Samuel F. Jarvis, of Hartford. He was succeeded by the Rev. Edward Jessup, who remained here until the spring of 1852, when he took a parish in Chicopee, Mass. He was afterwards in Bath, Me., and Brooklyn, N. Y. He was a native of Westfield, Mass., and died in Switzerland, whither he had gone for his health in 1872.
The Rev. Charles G. Acly came next, beginning his ministry here in March, 1852. He resided at Waterville, as the amount of work he found to do there seemed to make this desirable. A chapel had been built there, and consecrated in June, 1851. He resigned at Easter, 1856, and soon after became rector at New Milford, where he died in 1880.
The Rev. Samuel G. Appleton succeeded, from 1856 to 1858. He was born in Gloucester, Mass., in 1808, graduated from Amherst college in 1832, studied theology at Andover, Mass., and was ordained deacon in 1834 and priest in 1835. He went from here to Morrisania, N. Y., and died there November 29, 1873.
The Rev. Junius M. Willey became associate rector in April, 1858. He resigned in December, 1861, to take the chaplaincy of the Third regiment, Connecticut Volunteers, commanded by Colonel John L. Chatfield, who was a member of the parish. Mr. Willey resigned after some months' service and became rector of St. John's, Bridgeport, where he died.
The Rev. John Eaton Smith was assistant from early in 1862 to October, 1864. Not long after this he became rector of the memorial church at Westport and died there. He was succeeded for a short time by the Rev. C. W. Chandler.
The Rev. A. Floridus Steele was assistant from Easter, 1865, to January, 1868. He was a son of the Rev. Ashbel Steele, a native of Waterbury, and Clara Brewster, his wife, who was a descendant of Elder Brewster, one of the Plymouth " pilgrims." He was ordained a deacon by Bishop Johns in May, 1861, and became assistant to the Rev. B. Leacock, Harrisburg, Penn., in September following. He was ordained priest by Bishop Stevens in May, 1863. He went from Water- bury to Albany, N. Y., where he was assistant at St. Paul's. From there, in 1869, he went as rector to St. Mark's, Washington, D. C., where he died, August 28, 1893.
The Rev. Francis T. Russell became assistant rector in March, 1868, and resigned in August, 1876, to become rector of St. Margaret's school. He still ren- ders frequent assistance both in St. John's and Trinity parishes, and has frequently conducted the service at St. Paul's. Waterville.
The Rev. J. F. Bingham, D. D., became associate rector in February, 1876. When he succeeded Dr. Clark as rector, the Rev. Victor C. Smith became associate, and held that position until May, 1878. The Rev. John H. White was assistant from that time until November 1, 1878, when he became rector of Grace church. Saybrook. From there he went to Saint Paul, Minn., and later became deacon of
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HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
the Theological school at Faribault, and in 1895, was elected bishop of Indiana. Mr. White was succeeded by the Rev. R. R. McNulty, who, as already stated, was elected rector on Dr. Bingham's resignation.
The Rev. Melville K. Bailey, an assistant at St. Margaret's school, who had served as lay-reader before his ordination, became assistant in the spring of 1883, and resigned at Easter, 1885, to take charge of Trinity church, Branford. He went from there to Torrington, but is now one of the missionary assistants of Grace church, in New York city.
The Rev. S. R. Holden became assistant in 1885, and resigned to take a school in Colorado, in the summer of 1887.
The Rev. John H. McCrackan became assistant in September, 1891. The assist- ant has usually had charge of the Waterville chapel, which under Mr. McCrackan's management became quite prosperous. He resigned in November, 1894.
The following persons, born or in part educated here, have become Episcopal clergymen elsewhere. The list is probably incomplete.
Elias Scovill, the third son of the Rev. James Scovil, was born in 1770. He succeeded his father as rector of Trinity church, Kingston, N. B., and died there, February 10, 1841.
Joseph Davis Welton, son of Richard Welton, was baptized June 1, 1783. He was ordained deacon December 18, 1808, and priest December 23, 1810. He preached at Woodbury and at Easton. He was compelled by illness to give up preaching, but taught school for a while, and died at Waterbury, January 16, 1825.
Ransom Warner, son of Obadiah Warner, was born May 6, 1795. He was ordained deacon December 29, 1822, and priest November 4, 1823. He was for many years rector of St. Andrew's, Bloomfield, and died there June 18, 1856.
Anson Clark, son of John and Mille (Munson) Clark, was born in Waterbury December 10, 1806. He entered Kenyon college in the class of 1836, but at the close of his Sophomore year entered the Theological seminary of the Diocese of Ohio. He was rector of several parishes in Ohio and Illinois.
The Rev. Herman Munson Clark, born August 29, 1789, ought also to be men- tioned.
George Jarvis Geer, second son of the Rev. Alpheus Geer, was born in 1820. He was ordained deacon June 29, 1845. He was rector of a church in New York city, where he died March 16, 1884.
Abram Joseph Warner, youngest son of Ard Warner, was born July 1, 1821. He graduated at Trinity in 1842, and was tutor in Jubilee college from 1842 to 1845. He has since been rector of several churches at the West, and is now (1895) rector at Angelica, N. Y.
The Rev. William Augustus Hitchcock. D. D., was the second son of William Rufus and Mary (Hull) Hitchcock, and was born January 29, 1834. He studied theology at the Berkeley Divinity school in 1857, and was chaplain in the United States Navy for five years. He was afterwards rector at Portsmouth. N H., at Pittsburg, Pa., at Batavia, N. Y., and at Buffalo, N. Y., where he now resides. He has several times represented his diocese in the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
Charles C. Coerr was born at Woodbury, August 12, 1848. He was a student of the Yale Medical school in 1867, but decided to become a candidate for orders, and graduated from the Berkeley Divinity school in 1871. From that time until 1882 he was connected with parishes in Brooklyn, Binghamton, Whitney's Point
66I
ST. JOHN'S PARISH SINCE 1830.
and Morris, N. Y., and at Shakopee and Rochester, Minn. From 1878 to 1882 he was secretary of the Minnesota diocese. Since then his parishes have been Warsaw and Palmyra, N. Y., and Wilmington, N. C., and he is now rector at Renovo, Penn.
Frederick R. Sanford, son of Rufus B. Sanford, was ordained deacon June 1, 1881, and priest June 23, 1882. He has been rector at East Haddam, at Warehouse Point and in California, and is now (1895) minister in charge of St. Paul's, Riverside (Conn.).
ADDITIONAL MEMORANDA.
The ecclesiastical corporations of Connecticut were modelled on Congregational forms, and the societies of other denominations were created by giving them simi- lar powers. As a consequence the governing officers of a society were called the society's committee. Some of the early records of St. John's parish speak of meet- ings of the "vestry," but the designation of vestrymen appears first in 1831, and does not appear again until 1838, when it was voted "to appoint two wardens and five vestrymen, including the secretary and treasurer, and that the rector should be chairman of the vestry and parish meetings." It was not, however, Dr. Clark's cus- tom to attend these meetings, unless some special business required it, nor did he then preside. In 1878 an act was passed by the legislature authorizing the Diocesan Convention to regulate the organization of parishes, and a canon was adopted by the Convention, making the rector the presiding officer.
Prior to 1833 the expenses of the parish were met by a tax laid on a list made from the grand list of the town. In October of that year a vote was passed to sell the slips, in order to raise money to defray ordinary expenses, and this course has since been adopted, with the exception that in 1870, while the temporary chapel was occupied, the plan of free sittings and voluntary contributions was tried for six months, but it was not found satisfactory.
In 1851 St. Paul's chapel at Waterville was consecrated as a chapel of St. John's church. A successful mission had been sustained there for some years, but it had outgrown its accommodations. A flourishing Sunday school was in progress, and it was deemed advisable to build a chapel. For some time it was in charge of an assistant minister who resided there. In June, 1893, the anniversary of the establishment of the chapel was celebrated with special services, a report of which was published in a handsome pamphlet of 38 pages. On Easter Monday, 1852, the vestry by vote of the parish was authorized to light the church with gas. Prior to that time there was no gas for lighting pur- poses here, oil lamps being used. So long as the old church (of 1795) stood, it was the custom to illuminate it on Christ- mas eve by placing a candle at every alternate pane of glass. The effect, espe- cially when the ground was white with snow, was brilliant and beautiful; but the fastening to the windows of the wooden strips on which the candles were placed injured the church, and the tallow ST. PAUL'S CHAPEL, WATERVILLE. made a great many grease spots. When the new church was built the custom was abandoned, to the great regret of many children and some grown people.
662
HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
With occasional breaks, " tythingmen" were annually elected until 1849. Their duties were supposed to be to preserve order in the galleries, but the office had been a sinecure for a long time. The inference is-although we are little accus- tomed to think so-that there had been a gradual improvement in behavior among the children who attended church. It should, however, be noted that in the early days it was the custom for all the children, after they were eight or ten years of age, to sit in the gallery, and probably the temptation to disorder was greater than when it became the custom for many of them to sit with their parents.
The Sewing school of St. John's parish was organized about the year 1864, Mrs. Anna H. Clark and Mrs. William Lamb being the ladies most active in its forma- tion. In its first corps of teachers were Ann Ophelia Sperry, Mrs. Elizabeth Smith, Susan Cook, Etta Scovill, and Charlotte B. Merriman. Until the end of 1868, the school was carried on in the chapel of the old church; afterwards in the upper chapel of the present church, and since 1890 in the assembly room of the parish house. Mrs. Clark was its superintendent until the autumn of 1880, when Alice Kingsbury took charge of it for a year. Since that time it has been conducted by Helen Merriman. During the last year there were 143 names on the record of children who attended the school, and there was an average attendance of over sixty. The expenses of the school are met by offertories taken in the church.
In March, 1865, in a letter to the vestry, Dr. Clark said: "St. John's has had for more than twenty years, with the exception perhaps of one or two years, the largest Sunday school in the diocese."
The " Brotherhood of St. Andrew " was established on St. Andrew's day, 1883. Chapter No. 313 was organized in St. John's church on March 15, 1889, under the name of St. John's chapter. Eight young men were enrolled by the rector at that time, on their taking the vows of the brotherhood. The active members numbered at one time sixteen.
The order of "Daughters of the King " came into being in New York city in 1885." St. John's chapter was organized in May, 1891, through the influence of a member of the order residing in New Haven. Thirty-nine members have been invested with the badge of the order,-a cross, bearing the inscription, "Mag- nanimiter crucem sustine."
The Diocesan conventions for 1821, 1851, 1858 and 1876, were held in Waterbury, also a convention of lay delegates in 1788.
In April, 1872, John H. Sandland, after forty-two years of continuous service, resigned his position as the leading tenor singer, and the rectors and the parish united in a testimonial in recognition of his long and faithful service. (See page 294.)
On December 29, 1872, Theodore Ives Driggs, after serving as organist for twenty-nine years, tendered his resignation on account of physical infirmity, and resolutions were passed recognizing his long and useful service. Charles H. Smith (see page 189) was appointed in his place, but resigned September 13, 1874, on account of illness, and died soon after. Mr. Driggs, having in a measure regained his health, returned to his position, and retained it until about a year before his death. During a large portion of this period he taught a class in the Sunday school, and acted as financial agent of the parish. (See page 369.)
On March 29, 1875, John W. Smith, after a service of more than a quarter of a century as a leading singer, resigned his position. His prolonged, gratuitous and faithful services were recognized in suitable resolutions. (See page 189.)
* This order, which is confined to the Protestant Episcopal church, must be distinguished from the order of " King's Daughters," which has circles in most of the other Protestant denominations.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
GROWTH OF ST. JOHN'S-PLANS FOR A NEW PARISH-ACTION IN 1872 AND 1874-BEQUEST OF S. W. HALL; ITS EFFECT-AID RENDERED BY ST. JOHN'S-" TRINITY " PARISH ORGANIZED-THE BUILDING OF A CHURCH-DESCRIPTION OF IT-MEMORIAL GIFTS-THE FREE PEW SYSTEM-RECORD OF EIGHTEEN YEARS-THE TWO RECTORS.
D URING the ministry of the Rev. Dr. J. L. Clark in St. John's parish, the population of the town increased from about 2500 to over 20,000, and the number of families in the parish from 130 to 480. For some time previous to the burning of the church, in 1868, it was felt that there was no room for growth, and one of the first questions in planning a new church was, what should be its size. The desirability of a new parish had already been discussed, so that the idea was familiar, and after due deliber- ation it was decided that the new church should be no larger than the old (in fact it contains fewer sittings), and that as soon as pos- sible measures should be taken to organize a new parish. On December 15, 1872, a meeting of St. John's parish was called to con- sider the subject. The language of this call is so indicative of the spirit in which the subject was regarded that it is worth quoting:
The members of St. John's parish are requested to hold an informal meeting in this chapel on Sunday evening, December 15, 1872, at a quarter past eight, for the purpose of consultation in regard to taking the preliminary steps for the formation of a new parish, if deemed advisable. All persons not members of the parish, who are attendants at the usual services of the church, are earnestly invited to be present.
A committee of six was appointed at this meeting to report at an adjourned meeting to be held a week later. This committee reported that they were " unanimously of the opinion that a necessity exists for such a movement, and the only question arising is whether the present is the time, or whether it should be delayed until our present church edifice is completed and paid for," and in view of all the circumstances the committee recommended post- ponement. The report is unanimously concurred in, although it is added that " some members of the committee have felt called upon to yield their former opinions for the sake of the general welfare."
The cost of the new church was so heavy that it did not seem possible to do anything more at that time. The project was, how- ever, by no means abandoned, and it may be said to have consti- tuted from this time forward one of the plans of the parish. Dr.
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HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
Clark was in full sympathy with this movement, and did not allow it to be lost sight of. A meeting of the parish was called for fur- ther consideration, February 9, 1874, and the rector presented "a paper of great interest in regard to his work during the last twenty years." It was a statistical comparison of this parish with several of the larger parishes in the state, showing the progress that had been made and the propriety of adopting a still more aggressive policy. At the annual parish meeting, April 6, 1874, a proposal was made by the senior warden, S. M. Buckingham, who had now be- come the owner of the temporary chapel, with reference to the use of that building for a new parish, if one could be organized, or as a mission chapel, if it should be thought best to begin in that way. But action was postponed; the parish could not yet see the way clear to meet the expense.
The death of Samuel W. Hall occurred on March 5, 1877. He left by his will $15,000, to accumulate for five years and then to be used for the building of a church as a memorial of his wife,-the building to be of stone, and the sittings to be free. This bequest seemed to make the way clear for the new movement, and at the meeting held on Easter Monday, April 2, 1877, a committee reported that $2000 had been pledged for the annual expenses of a new parish, and that fifty-two families had consented to join the same.
On behalf of those interested in the new enterprise a request was made that St. John's parish furnish $15,000 towards purchasing a lot and building a church. A committee was appointed on behalf of St. John's to confer with a committee of those who desired to form a new parish, in relation thereto. This committee reported in favor of giving to the new parish $1500 for the next year, and $1000 a year for four years thereafter, or until the new parish should have erected a church edifice. At the next parish meeting it was reported that this offer had been accepted, and that a new parish would be formed as soon as the necessary permission could be obtained. The clerk announced the names of the following per- sons-nineteen in number-as giving notice of their withdrawal from St. John's for the purpose of forming the new parish :
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