USA > Connecticut > Middlesex County > Haddam > The two hundredth anniversary of the First Congregational Church of Haddam, Connecticut, October 14th and 17th, 1900. Church organized, 1696. Pastor installed, 1700 > Part 7
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And here, Brother Field, is the blessed fruit of your labour. ' O, had the people been poorly indoctrinated, what evils would have accompanied the blessed work. You sowed a great deal of good seed, which is now springing up & will bear I trust an hun- dred fold. You laid a broad & strong foundation to a building which is now agoing up with shoutings, "Grace, grace unto it." The people probably estimate your labours tenfold more than they ever did before; speak of them constantly; your faithful- ness & their inattention, your plain exhibition of truth & their blindness, stupidity, madness, folly. And I am persuaded it would cheer your heart much, while wandering through the wil- derness, did you know the affection they bear you, and the uni- form manner in which they all now criminate themselves for loving you no more and profiting so little under your faithful ministrations. Strange are the events of Providence, but God's will be done.
On Friday last we had a day of Fasting & Prayer, and a solemn season it was. But little work was done. The meeting house was full, and we had a most solemn assembly. Old Mr. Parsons preached in the morning, I in the afternoon & evening. You were then specially remembered & often are, in our addresses at the throne of grace.
There has been but little opposition. What has existed has
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nearly subsided. There has been on the minds of many an un- common solicitude for relatives and sinners. There is a prayer meeting every Sunday noon. The Females are about forming a Missionary Society.
You must pray for your old people. They will give you such a welcome when you come back as you little expected when you left. Yours Sincerely in the bonds of Christ, JOHN MARSH, JR.
The interest deepened as the weeks went on, and just a month from his ordination, on January 17, the church welcomed to its fellowship, chiefly from the young, seventy-four communicants. Each following month of the year, except September and November, the number was enlarged; and January 1, 1820, the membership was more than seventy per cent. larger than it was when the pastor was inducted into office. Dr. Marsh always acted on the assurance that it was not he and his people who were waiting for the Lord to convert men in his own good time and way, but that the Lord was waiting for them to put in the sickle of an abundant harvest. Four more revival years followed before Dr. Marsh listened to the urgent call to become the agent of the American Temperance Union, and his people with great reluctance acceded to his request, April 1, 1833. He writes to the church, "Our union for fourteen years has been to me exceedingly pleasant," and is able to add, "On most of you I am permitted to look as the seals of my ministry." Five revivals had greatly changed the community. In 1821, beginning with February, there were confessions of faith for eight successive months, making a total of forty-seven for the year. Three years later, this experience was again repeated, with fifty-three accessions, giving an increase in four years of an even
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one hundred. In 1831, likewise, not less than a score of precious souls were added to the church. But three years earlier, in 1828, the most remarkable of this fruitful series of revivals swept through the town, add- ing one hundred and four names to this church, and many to the other communions. Rev. Simon Shailer, the pastor of the Baptist church, estimated the number of genuine converts through the town to be between two and three hundred. Dr. Marsh wrote exultingly of this extended triumph of the truth, "Within ten years three hundred and twenty-nine have dedicated their service to the Lord," a yearly average of thirty-three, adding, "These revivals have been still and solemn, and have in each case more and more impressed us with the truth that revivals of religion are the foundation of Zion's prosperity." Victoriously, indeed, was this the revival era of our history. To those marvelous spiritual awakenings we trace the most potent and holiest influ- ences that have wrought for righteousness, sobriety, and peace.
The Sunday-school and the Bible Society, both started in immediate connection with the large ingathering to the church in 1819; the foreign missionary interest, which first appeared in 1812, when the Middlesex Aux- iliary to the American Board was organized, but was greatly increased during the revival years; the temper- ance movement, in which service the young pastor was to become an influential actor; these, and other social and spiritual blessings of lasting advantage to the church, are all greatly indebted to the revival spirit.
One lingers lovingly over the pages of names in the records of Dr. Marsh, so suggestive of youthful conse- cration to the Master, and of self-denying, enduring ser-
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vice for the welfare of his church; names of the young they were, but to us they are the names with family histories woven into the fabric of social development, and also, for the majority, names of the redeemed tri- umphant who have passed one by one into the solemn silence beyond which are the joyful reunions.
At the opening of the present pastorate on January 1, 1872, only four names of 1819 remained on the roll, and of the nearly four hundred received into the fellowship of the church in connection with the five large revivals under Dr. Marsh, all but twenty-eight had either taken letters to other churches or joined the church above. The latest to unite with the church of these twenty-eight was Rev. Daniel Clark Tyler, who is now living at the advanced age of ninety-two, too feeble to send either reminiscences or greetings for this occasion, and who supplied the pulpit in the old meeting house for a few months after Dr. Field departed to Higganum; whose father was Moses Tyler, first on the records of additions by Dr. Marsh, as the son was the last by confession ; the Moses Tyler of the grist-mill at the creek, and em- phatically of prayer-meetings at Turkey Hill, Shailer- ville, Tylerville, and every place, private or public, near or far, where one could be found or created; a humble man of the revival spirit, and leaving to his son Daniel Clark, and to his church a priceless inheritance of Christian consecration and zeal.
Next before Mr. Tyler on the 1872 list of members stand the names of two others, whose memory is very precious to the church by reason of long and faithful services, united with a charming Christian fellowship and friendship. Their son bears the father's name, Cy- prian Strong Brainerd, and in grateful and generous
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tribute of love to the memory of the beloved father and mother, desiring also to make the worship of the sanctu- ary of his parents' praises and prayers richer and more inspiring, donates to the church on its two hundredth anniversary this beautifully finished and sweet-toned organ. Mr. Brainerd, with characteristic modesty, denies us the privilege of acknowledging, with formal address, this gift of love; but his filial affection encourages us, I am confident, to speak with appreciative recollection the name Cyprian Strong Brainerd, Deacon, enrolled for that office and filling it worthily till his death in 1880, for thirty-four full years of loyal service, and also serv- ing for a long term as the successful leader of the choir, and the name also of his faithful wife, Florilla Hull,- 1831 names they both are. How we should enjoy hav- ing the deacon stand up here to-day, with his choir, and sing, as of old, with strong, resonant voice and reverent, joyful face! We trust he is invisibly present, and- to our ears inaudibly-joining in these anniversary hymns of victory.
Three names earlier on the list of twenty-eight is that of Rev. Davis S. Brainerd, thirty-four years the honored pastor at Old Lyme, whose brother Samuel made just one exception to regularly taking a long church nap, and that was when Davis, his pride and favorite, occupied the pulpit by exchange. Mr. Brainerd was present at my ordination with fatherly greeting and benediction of blessing. Four years later, the senior brother, then in his eightieth year, was welcomed to the fellowship of the church. Then, too, these other honored names deserve more than simply repeating : Deacon George S. Brainerd, Deacon Oliver P. Smith, Ansel Brainerd and wife, Eze- kiel Clark, Mrs. Hannah Emmons, Mrs. Smith Ventres,
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who, if now living, would be just one hundred years of age, and, most wonderful to relate, our beloved "Aunt Larissa" Shailer, who is praying to witness one more revival before her translation, already seventy-six years and a half confessing Jesus on earth in the communion of this church; bright, serene, contented, happy, radiant with spiritual sunshine in face, words, and spirit, whose one hundredth birthday we celebrated September 21, with religious services at her home, recalling her en- thusiastic affirmation that prayer-meetings tired her never. Such are a few of the choice treasures of the third decade of the revival era.
There are other songs of revival rejoicings as the half-century draws to a close. One name from the forty additions of 1841 still remains on the roll, two from the revival of 1846, and one entered in 1847. These five- Miss Shailer, Mrs. Rogers, Miss Mary E. Brainerd, Miss Mary Kelsey, and Miss Catharine Cook-are our present members of more than half a century. Miss Cook's name is the last on the list of those uniting with the church prior to the removal to this house of worship in Novem- ber, 1847.
The old meeting house justly claims recognition in speaking of these great revivals. It stood a few rods to the north of the present parsonage, and gives its name to the adjoining park, Meeting-House Green, the smaller of the two parks generously given to the town by four of the eminent sons of Dr. Field on the seventy-fifth anni- versary, in 1878, of his marriage to Submit Dickinson of Somers, as a memorial of the honored father and mother whose influence is so vitally and enduringly a part of our history. For more than three fourths of a century it sheltered this church. From its pulpit,
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four of the most eminent of its pastors fed the flock: Mr. May for thirty-two years ; Dr. Field for twenty-one; Dr. Marsh for fourteen; and Dr. Clark for three years. Mr. Cook was the pastor when the farewell sermon was preached and this house welcomed the church to its at- tractive and convenient arrangements for Christian wor- ship. Mr. May had preached the dedicatory sermon at the old church, October 24, 1771, taking as his theme the prophetic message, "The spiritual presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in his house of worship its greatest glory, and what ought most earnestly to be sought after." Sixteen revivals hallow its memory with ingatherings of grace. The records show that more than one half, or fifty-eight per cent. of the entire enrolment of the church, on confession of faith, since 1756, with peni- tent spirit and consecrating vows entered through its aisles into fellowship with the saved. It was a plain building, having no tower, no bell, no carpets, no stoves for many years, and very little interior adornment. "I remember it well," said Rev. Charles Nichols, eight years a pastor at Higganum, in a remi- niscent letter, "with its square pews, its spacious gal- leries, its two rows of windows, and its high pulpit. How homely to modern taste, and yet what glory of the grace of God was at times seen there in making lost sinners see the adorable wonders of the love of God in Christ." What exultant experiences swelled the hearts of pastor and people, of young and old, on those mem- orable occasions, "days never to be forgotten," of larg- est revival ingatherings, the recitals of heaven alone can portray. Mrs. Hemans's lines on an old English church, with the change of only a name, vividly utter our thought by repeating the cherished impressions ever
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associated with the meeting house at whose altar for two generations the fathers dedicated themselves and their children to the Lord.
It stood alone
In gracious sanctity. The air was fraught
With noble memories, whispering many a thought
Of Haddam's fathers: lofty and serene,
They that had toiled, watched, struggled, to secure Within such fabrics, worship, free and pure,
Reigned there, the o'ershadowing spirits of the scene.
Victoriously the fathers, lofty and serene, reign here on this day of days, "the o'ershadowing spirits" of this scene, where children, themselves venerable, and chil- dren's children, gather to pay exultant tribute to noble memories and renew the pledge that worship, free and pure, shall ceaselessly remain the priceless boon of cen- turies yet unborn.
Our present house of worship has inherited the bless- ing of the past, and been the home of gracious revivals. Its erection was closely connected with the organization of the Higganum church, May 14, 1844. From that date the religious influence flowing from the Congrega- tional fellowship west of the river divides into two streams, nearly equal at the first, but changes in the pop- ulation have greatly favored, during recent years, the much larger increase of the daughter church. Plans for the new house were considered in 1845, but final action as to the site was not taken till 1847, the corner-stone being laid June 21. At its dedication, November 3, 1847, Dr. Marsh preached on the theme, "The dedication of a house of God an occasion of great joy," and Mr. Cook offered the prayer of consecration. A brief report of
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the exercises closed by saying, "Several anthems were sung by a large choir in superior style. The house is one of much beauty and the prospects of the church are now of an encouraging character."
Three settled pastors have occupied the pulpit for fifty of the fifty-three years since the removal from the old house: Mr. Cook continuing five years, Mr. Wright doing royal service for the sixteen years that closed with his translation, January 18, 1871, and the present pas- torate commencing with December of that year. Six revivals have awakened glad songs of praise within these walls. In 1853, during Mr. Colton's short acting pastorate of less than two years, thirty-five were added to our communion. Mr. Wright rejoiced to welcome in 1858, a memorable year of revivals, thirteen, and again in 1866 nineteen, and in 1870, the last year of his min- istry, ten more were enrolled. The revival of 1876 added forty on confession of their faith, the membership of the church reaching, January 1, 1877, one hundred and fifty, its highest enrolment since the division of the church in 1844. Again, in 1897, the community was un- usually moved and twenty names were added to the list of communicants. We crave no larger blessing for the coming years than the continuance of the revival spirit in this house of prayer, with an ever-deepening and expanding influence. A few remain who in early youth worshipped in the older sanctuary ; but to most of us this house is an inheritance from the fathers, the scene of our deepest religious experiences, the place of uplifting Christian fellowship, where thoughts of truth and love have banished doubts and fears, where heaven has seemed very near and we have had visions of the exalted Christ,-the house
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Our fathers built to God,- Here holy thoughts a light have shed From many a radiant face, And prayers of tender hope have spread A perfume through the place. They live with God, their homes are dust, But here their children pray, And in this lifetime trust To find the narrow way.
From the mountain peak of two centuries we look back for an hour, and then, wiser and stronger for what we have learned of achievement, we face the new, those greater, grander centuries of the final triumph of the kingdom of God, with the prayer that he will make us faithful and grant to our beloved church the yet larger and more rewarding spiritual harvests of the millen- nial day. -
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REV. AMOS S. CHESEBROUGH, D. D.
NEW HARTFORD, CONN., October 10, 1900.
REV. E. E. LEWIS.
My dear Brother: It is with deep regret that I feel obliged to decline your invitation to participate personally in the ap- proaching bicentenary of the First Church of Haddam. The best I can do is to send you a few
REMINISCENCES
which, if your Committee deem them worthy of the occasion, you are at liberty to make use of at your discretion.
My acquaintance with this church dates back to the year 1841, the first year of my ministry in the adjacent parish of Chester. Coming, as I did, directly from the theological school, a young man, a stranger in these parts, it was very gratifying to receive marked attention from Dr. David D. Field, who was then the Pastor. He made an early call upon me, invited me to his house, requested my assistance in reading the proof of a publication which he was then editing, and proposed an exchange of pulpits. At my ordination he gave the charge, and from him I learned many lessons of great value to me in my ministerial life.
Dr. Field was a strong man, both in body and mind,-about sixty years old when I first knew him. In person he was of me- dium height, squarely and solidly built. He was not mincing or hesitating in his gait or action, but moved as if he had important business in hand,-some purpose to accomplish; and in speaking he was clean cut and positive, seldom appealing to the feelings. He was a graduate of Yale College in the class of 1802, and was ordained and installed as the Pastor of this church in 1804, which office he held for fourteen years. During the succeeding eighteen. years, he ministered to the Congregational Church of Stockbridge,
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Mass., and then sought and obtained a resettlement in this his for- mer sphere of labor. Here he filled out seven more years in the pastorate, at the expiration of which, in 1844, he received his dis- mission.
Dr. Field was a scholarly man in his tastes and attainments, and was the father of more brains in his children than any man I ever knew, except, possibly, Dr. Lyman Beecher. As an au- thority on questions of Congregational polity, in his day, he had few equals. In theology he may be classed as a moderate New England Calvinist, with a large charity for all disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was the author of a very valuable history of Middlesex County, in gathering material for which he made the acquaintance of the leading families in the several towns, among which he always met with cordial entertainment in his excursions.
The education of the young ever elicited from him an active interest, and, if I am not mistaken, it was owing largely to his influence and counsel that the fund was given for the establishment of the Brainerd Academy. It was a noble purpose which prompted the Brainerd brothers to contribute so generously for this object. In its early history there was a promise that the institution would prove to be an invaluable success in furnishing to the young people of Haddam the opportunity for the pursuit of more advanced courses of study than were afforded by the common school. It happened during the first or second year of my ministry in Chester, that an urgent request came to me to take charge of the school for a week or two, as Mr. Snow, the principal, was necessarily absent, by reason of sickness, at his home in Massachusetts. Com- plying with the request, I found the school well filled and in ex- cellent condition; and I greatly enjoyed my brief pedagogical experience. Several years afterward, the attendance began to dwindle by reason of the suspension of work in the quarries and shipyards and the growth of Higganum as a new and flourishing center of population and business. Thus, unfortunately, Brainerd Academy, like many other academies in the country towns, has been superseded by a few more heavily funded institutions, and by the high schools of the cities, to which our recent railroad fa- cilities afford cheap and ready access. Notwithstanding this decline, however, the founders of Brainerd Academy deserve to be remembered with gratitude and honor for their generous purpose.
7
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During the interval which elapsed between the dismission of Dr. Field and the settlement of another Pastor, there was a revival, in which I was called to assist the minister who was in temporary charge. There were some cases of awakening of con- siderable interest.
In 1846, Mr. Elisha W. Cook, who graduated at Yale in the class of 1837, two years after my own graduation, received and accepted a call to the pastorate of this church. In his ordination and installation it was my privilege to take part. Having had some previous acquaintance with Mr. Cook in New Haven, I anticipated for him an efficient and successful ministry; and, so far as I know, my anticipations were realized. I am sure that he enjoyed the confidence and respect of his ministerial brethren.
In the second year of Mr. Cook's ministry, if I am not mistaken, this house of worship was erected and consecrated. It was a memorable event, the change from the old sanctuary to the new. The former was an antiquated structure, in shape nearly square, and of dimensions large enough to accommodate the town at the time when there were no other places of worship. Doubtless, when built, it was consecrated to God and the town, and like most of the old meeting-houses, it was designed, in part, for town meetings. The building had little of architectural ornament without and within, one of those buildings which irreverent persons were ac- customed to designate "the Lord's barns." When first erected, I was told the pews in the audience-room were all square, so that a portion of the congregation sat with their backs to the preacher, and some sideways. But at the time I first preached in the house, none of the square pews remained, excepting those adjoining the sides of the building. On first entering the high pulpit, and looking up to the lofty gallery, and down upon the sparse con- gregation, I found it difficult to adjust myself to the peculiarity of the situation. But, as the service proceeded, I found myself agreeably affected by the serious and venerable look of things; and ever afterward, on learning the history of the house-how many scenes of spiritual quickening it had witnessed, and how many souls had within its walls recorded their vows of consecra- tion to Christ, I felt it to be a privilege to stand in the sacred pulpit and echo the teachings of the good men who in the past had there held forth the Word of life.
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But the days of the old structure were numbered. It was be- coming dilapidated and beyond repair. The dying out and re- moval of the old families, and the opening of other places of worship was reducing the congregation, so that the house was disproportionately large for the need. The proprieties and ne- cessities of the case demanded a new and more compact and more attractive house of worship. Nothing else and nothing less was to be thought of; for the people had a mind to work, and rose resolutely and unitedly to the occasion. I cannot, at the distance of more than fifty years, recall the particulars of the service of the Dedication. But I remember that it was a feast of gladness, that the seats were filled to their capacity by the people of this community and delegations from the neighboring parishes. And a hush of deep and tender seriousness fell upon the assembly when this pulpit, this communion-table, these seats, and these walls were solemnly dedicated to Almighty God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
As my intercourse with the members of this church was limited to pulpit exchanges with your minister, and to occasional public meetings, I had small opportunity for forming familiar acquain- tance with individuals, though I was on speaking terms with many. Permit me, however, to specify three or four who occupy a choice place in my memory. One of these is Deacon George S. Brainerd, who seemed to me to be a man of solid worth-a pillar in the church, giving to it his steadfast and generous support. Another, worthy of special mention, is Deacon Cyprian S. Brainerd, who, although he resided on the east side of the river, was seldom deterred by storm or ice from filling his place in the choir and the Sunday-school. The last time I saw him, he was a mourner over the sudden death by pulmonary hemorrhage of a promising son. I might name also Samuel R. Brainerd, in whose Christian home I was most pleasantly entertained with bed and board dur- ing my brief term of teaching in the Academy. Not to yield to the temptation to extend this specification further, I only name Doctor Hutchinson, whom I counted as an intimate friend, both while he was a resident here and in Cromwell. I always had a high regard for him and for members of his family as intelligent and zealous supporters of the Church of Christ.
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