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 8
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And now, my brother, in bringing these reminiscences to a close, permit me to congratulate you, that you have had the honor and
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the privilege of ministering to this venerable church so happily for more than a quarter of a century. And, through you, I would congratulate the church, so dear to me by reason of the memories which it revives, on reaching its two hundredth birthday, in a condition of vigorous health and unshrinking courage. When Methusaleh was two hundred years old, he was yet in his young manhood. But before he arrived at his thousandth year, he died of old age. But this church, so long as it continues to be a true church of Jesus Christ, is instinct with a divine life which for- bids it to grow old, and annuls its subjection to death, as long as there are human beings inhabiting these hills and valleys who are to be saved. From all I know of this church or learn about it, it was never younger than it is to-day. Though by reason of unavoidable causes, it is weaker as to numbers than formerly, that furnishes no proof of weakness in spiritual power and fruitfulness. It is often the case that our larger and wealthier churches are the feebler ones. Where God works in and with a church, units count for hundreds. And it deserves to be remem-' bered, that, though six or seven generations have succeeded one an- other in the membership, this is the same church that was founded by the fathers and mothers who here first took upon themselves vows of loyalty to Christ, and it inherits the fullness of the ances- tral blessing. If this inheritance shall be handed down to the suc- ceeding generations, then the promise will be fulfilled that "they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength." Their youth will be continually renewed like the eagles.
Yours in the Fellowship of the Church,
AMOS S. CHESEBROUGH.
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THE PASTORATE OF THE REV. JAMES L. WRIGHT
REV. SILAS W. ROBBINS
Pastor of the Congregational Church, North Haven, 1852-1856 First Congregational Church, East Haddam, 1856-1871 First Congregational Church, Manchester, 1871-1891
D EAR BRETHREN AND FRIENDS : It is not possible for me fully to express the pleasure I have in sharing with you the common interest of this great occasion while we are living for a little time in the light of other days.
I may be permitted to say that whenever I look back upon the past with a disposition to magnify my record, to persuade myself that, after all, I have been somewhat of a man in the world, I love to recall the fact that at one time in my life I was the minister of this historic and honored church. Your records may not show it; never- theless, it is true that for some four or five months in 1852, I was privileged to occupy this pulpit, having my Sabbath home in the family of Dr. Ira Hutchinson, that noble man who might have been a grand minister after the type of Dr. Field, if he had not been a grand physician-a man of large intelligence, quick and ac- curate judgment of men and things, who could read human character as clearly as he could read the con- dition of the human body, and withal kindly, sympa- thetic, and communicative-just the man for a young minister to be acquainted with. And to have had such
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acquaintance was a valuable supplement to a theological course.
I feel, therefore, that I owe much to this church. First, because of the inspiration, the impulses that I here gathered in the early days, so that when, after the four years of my pastorate in North Haven, I came to be a pastor in East Haddam, I had only to look across the river to be assured that I had friends near by.
Again, I owe much to this church because, if there had been no church in Haddam there would have been no church in East Haddam, and I should have missed fif- teen years of delightful service there-this according to the principle of Father Gavazzi, who, when visiting this country thirty years ago, was accustomed to say to his audiences, speaking of Italy and Columbus, "Had it not been for Columbus I might now be addressing an assembly of wild Indians."
And again, I owe a debt to this church, because it brought to me the knowledge of such men as David Dud- ley Field, John Marsh, and James L. Wright, as well as my beloved brother, who so long and so worthily has stood in this royal line. I shall never forget one red-let- ter day, the Sabbath which Dr. Field spent with me in 1857. He was on one of those visits he so delighted to make to the scenes of his early labors. He preached three times to my people, and during his stay entertained me richly from his abundant knowledge of men and events which have distinguished this locality. Especially did he never seem to tire of speaking of the great ability and high character of David Brainerd.
But the one man with whom I entered into closest relationship was Mr. Wright. He came in 1855, I in 1856; and we were side by side in labor, sympathy, and
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growing friendship till his work was done. The last service which I conducted in this church was in mem- ory of him. And when, a few weeks later, I left my parish for another, it was easier to go because he had gone.
There were noble men in the Middlesex Association, whose names are honored and whose works live after them-Nichols, Beach, Bell, Doolittle, Wickes, Baird, Gallup, McCall, Hillard, Brainerd, Burr 1-Burr who was, who is, and long may his "sun be hanging in the west," while the people rejoice in its light. In Middle- town, not then annexed, were Jeremiah Taylor and John L. Dudley, whose ability and fraternal sympathy were greatly prized.
We were then in the first decade of this great half- century so soon to close. And though the elements abroad are astir to-day and we stand paralyzed before events that are transpiring, hardly realizing that the things are so, yet fifty years ago opposing elements were astir in this home-land, stupendous issues waiting their de- cision, and a mighty conflict impending, compared with which in duration, in magnitude, in cost, and in results, the recent war with Spain was hardly more than a sham fight.
Probably there has never been a period in the coun- try's history when its intellect and heart were brought into more strenuous exercise than during the years be- tween 1850 and 1865. Mr. Wright came just as the fires of the Fremont campaign were kindling. Then followed the four years of agitation during Mr. Buchanan's ad- ministration, and then the four dark, terrible years of the Civil War.
1 Dr. E. F. Burr celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of his settlement at Lyme, October 3, 1900
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And it is not to be forgotten that the sentiment in favor of temperance reform had never been more thor- oughly aroused than at the opening of this half-century. The Maine prohibitory law had been hailed as a rising star of hope. Other States followed its course till the great State of New York gave the indorsement of its example. And we cannot tell how much would have been permanently accomplished for this cause had not the greater agitation for the saving of the Union absorbed the attention and effort of the people.
Now it may be remembered by some that the elements of opposition were nowhere in the State stronger than in the communities along this valley. Not that many were opposed to temperance, not that anybody advocated slavery. But it is hard for the ardent members of a dom- inant political party to surrender the conditions needful to its ascendancy.
Now these were times when it was fortunate for this church to have in its pulpit a man-a man of strong in- tellect and great heart, of quick discernment and accu- rate judgment; a man gentle, patient, determined, true to his own ideas of right, yet respectful toward other people's ideas ; a man who could deal with opposers with- out bitterness, and hold the respect even of those whom he did not win.
I am safe in saying, I think, that in those years of agitation there was no failure of spiritual life in the churches. At least I know how the ministers felt. The political questions might even be called religious. The earnest preliminary discussions were such as to quicken the moral sense. And in the stern stress of the war, the anguish of the bitter years, men were crying, "How long, O Lord, how long !"
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The year 1858 was a year of memorable revival. The work began in East Haddam the year preceding. The whole town was moved by the Spirit's influence as it had not been since 1824. Seventy-nine members were added to the Congregational church. The following year, the churches this side the river were visited and the re- viving power was felt far and wide in the land. Other occasions of rejoicing in spiritual growth came with succeeding years.
The pastor of this church was made glad by these visitations, and the demands they made upon him were his opportunity. For every department of parish work he was indeed abundantly fitted. He was an adminis- trator, a counselor, a comforter. In all perplexing con- ditions that arose, he carried a warm heart, a clear head, a steady hand. And yet, I always think of him first as a preacher of the truth-not in the sense of being a light in a great city drawing the crowd, but as one thoroughly grasping the truth and so presenting it to others that they would see it and be made better by it. He had been a teacher for a time before taking up the du- ties of a parish, and he was skilled in the art of imparting knowledge. When I knew him once preparing a hand- book in mental philosophy for the instruction of his children, I was sure he could prepare one in natural science, in language, or in history as well. But I knew that the study of the human mind was his peculiar de- light; and so, when he stood in the pulpit, his great joy was to reach men with the truth of God.
He himself had been instructed, as most of the min- isters in the Association at the time had been, by that eminent teacher, Dr. Nathaniel W. Taylor. And Tay- lorism, to use a term once somewhat in vogue, has been
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well characterized as common sense applied to theology. The day had gone by when the attention of the people was taken up by the efforts of the pulpit to reconcile the inconsistencies of the so-called Calvinistic teaching. If such inconsistencies had been accepted on the plea that there must be mysteries in theology, Dr. Taylor said, "Yes, mysteries, but must there be nonsense in theology?" And he protested that the cry of mystery should never be raised as a cloak for absurdity.
Verily, it was the clearness of his own thought, the just application of the specific truths in specific cases, which his hearers needed to know and feel and practise, that made Mr. Wright so edifying a preacher. The truth, vital in his own experience, became vital in other souls. Thus he called men to repentance. Thus he fed the flock of God. If any among his hearers were bowed under the weight of sin, perplexed over questions of doctrine and duty, troubled to understand their spir- itual condition, like Bunyan grievously "tumbled up and down in their minds," he was a teacher to clarify their views of truth, to lead them to the simplicity of faith, the joy of an immortal hope.
Some matters are discussed in these days, with refer- ence to our Christian faith, which had little attention forty years ago. Mr. Wright, were he now here, would doubtless treat these discussions with due respect, for he was a progressive man, while nothing would deter him from the present imperative duty to proclaim the truth as it is in Jesus. Even then he was accustomed to say, "We must leave some things to the scholars; we have not time for everything. We must take results from those who have time and facilities for complete. investigation." Yet one thing is sure: no discussion or
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speculation about the Scriptures would lead him to miss the priceless treasures they contain.
We take the grain from the fields, the timber from the forests, the granite and marble from the quarries, the gold and the silver from the mines, regardless of the question how old the earth is, by what long and varied processes it has come to its present state, how deep down we must penetrate to reach the molten mass within, or whether or not it be solid all the way through. The theories of the geologists can never make the earth other than it is. So with the sacred Book. It is here, it is ours. All the studies of the critics cannot make the Bible other than it is. They may tell us something about its origin which we have not known. They may help us to a clearer understanding and a more profitable use of its contents. But the more we know, the more shall we be sure that the Word of God abideth forever. And so we say to the honest investigator, go on with your re- searches ; tell us what you know, and what you do not know keep to yourself, while the church goes on praying and singing as our fathers sang :
How precious is the Book divine By inspiration given, Bright as a lamp its doctrines shine To guide our souls to Heaven.
The time permits me not to say more. When all is said that one might say, still one feels that all is not said. To know Mr. Wright was to know him as his people knew him who heard the word from his lips, who welcomed him to their homes, who saw his devotion to all that made for the prosperity of the community, and who in the manifold experiences of daily life received
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his benediction. It was to know him as his brethren knew him when they met to counsel together and to pray for the welfare of the churches. Even now I seem to hear his voice as I recall the sermon he preached at the Consociation in Essex in 1857, from the text (Phil. iv : 3), "Help those women which laboured with me in the gospel"- a sermon on true cooperation in Christian ser- vice which went to all our hearts.
It remains for me only to congratulate this church yet once more on his efficient ministry-that he came when he did, that he stayed as long as he did, and that "being dead he yet speaketh."
Allow me to repeat the closing paragraph of the discourse given in this church a few weeks after his decease: "With our tribute to this devoted pastor we record an expression of sympathy for the people whom he served so faithfully, giving to them the strength of his best days. May this ancient church be early blessed with another as worthy of a place in the succession of its honored ministry as was he who has now finished his course." And now, dear friends, looking back along the years which have passed since that day, I rejoice with you in the signal proof they have given that God answers prayer.
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MINER C. HAZEN, M.D.
E MERSON says, there is no history, it is all biog- raphy. Carlyle says, the history of the world is the biography of its great men. So the history of Had- dam for two hundred and thirty-eight years is not so much the record of the changes that have come over the face of the township; for, aside from the clearing of the forests and cultivating the soil, there is not so much of change to note, and little we would wish to change. The same majestic river winds through this picturesque valley among these beautiful hills, but all these were here before the white man took possession, and were a source of pleasure and inspiration to
The poor Indian, whose untutored mind Sees God in clouds and hears him in the wind.
It is not the river that flows on forever, but the men who have come and gone-it is what they have ac- complished, especially their religious work, that we would commemorate to-day.
The history of the town is the history of the church, and the history of the church is the biographies of the twenty-eight men and their descendants and successors who settled here in 1662, and honored God's law in establishing and maintaining the religious worship in the plantation.
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My pleasant duty it is to speak of the deacons who for the past two centuries have served this church. Of these twenty-seven deacons, five are living: twenty-two have passed to the other side. The oldest of these was Dea- con Elisha Cone, who died at the age of ninety and nine years and six months; the youngest, Deacon Fiske Brainerd, who died at the age of forty-three, after a service of four months. Their average age was about seventy-four years. This would seem to indicate that the deacon lives beyond the average of human life. The ninety-first Psalm is the deacon's Psalm. "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation." These Hurs, who sustain the hands of the weary pastor; these armor-bearers, like the first patriarch, are also blessed in their families. Of Abraham it was said, "For I know him that he will teach his household and his children after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment." Please note the quality of the deacon's sons in this list.
The date of appointment of the first four deacons of this church is not known. The first was Deacon Daniel Brainerd, the proprietor. He was the ancestor of all the large family of this name in this country. He came to Hartford from England when he was eight years old, and from there to Haddam when he was about twenty-one years old, and became a prosperous and in- fluential citizen. He was the largest landholder in the plantation, owning, besides other properties, nearly all of what is now the thriving village of Higganum. He married Hannah Spencer of Lynn, Mass., by whom he- had eight children, seven sons and one daughter. He
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died April 1, 1715, at the age of seventy-four. His monument, a plain, brown-stone slab, is in the old bury- ing-ground, and is the oldest in town, save one, that of a man from Chester who died in 1711. Dr. Field, early in this century, estimated the Brainerd family at three thousand. By this time they must be like the sands of the sea, and among them, living and dead, are many emi- nent names from all walks of life. Of the twenty-seven deacons of the church, nine have been Brainerds. Dea- con James, the fourth deacon, was the second son of Deacon Daniel; Deacon Elijah was the seventh deacon, and a grandson of Deacon Daniel; and Deacon Hezekiah was a son of Hezekiah, the seventh son of Daniel Brain- erd, and the eighth deacon of the church. Nor is this all : Deacon Daniel Brainerd's first son, Daniel junior, was deacon of the East Haddam church, besides which, Oliver P. Smith, the twenty-first deacon, was half Brainerd. We now have the Brainerd blood in the wives of Deacon Rogers and Deacon Odber, and in the veins of our junior deacon is the same blue blood. Deacon Joseph Arnold was the son of Joseph, an original settler.
Deacon Thomas Brooks, the son of Thomas, an original settler, a blacksmith, had an only son Thomas, who was the fifth deacon, and he lived in the old red house which used to stand near the present house of Cephas Brainerd. Deacon Brooks sold this property to Rev. Eleazer May.
Elisha Cone was ordained as deacon in 1742. He lived to the great age of ninety-nine and a half years, and served the church sixty-seven years-"and he died."
Rev. Thomas Robbins of Norfolk supplied the pulpit in Haddam about 1802-1803, and after the death of Rev. Mr. May received an urgent invitation to become their pastor, which he declined. He kept a diary which
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has been published, of which a copy is in the State Li- brary. Under date August 3, 1803, he notes: "Saw Deacon Cone of this town mowing. He is nearly ninety- four years old, and has been an ordained deacon sixty years. Visited a school. Read the Bible."
Deacon Elijah Brainerd, son of Elijah, son of Deacon Daniel the first, was in office from July 12, 1759, until his death, May 9, 1764, at the age of fifty-eight.
Colonel Hezekiah Brainerd was the son of Hon. Hezekiah, who was a prominent public man (Colonel Hezekiah was also brother of David and John Brainerd, the eminent missionaries to the Indians). He was Town Clerk, Justice of the Peace, and a colonel of militia. His wife was Mary Fiske, the daughter of Rev. Phineas Fiske. A son of Hezekiah was a noted physician, emi- nent as an inoculator for smallpox. He had a "pock- house" a mile west of his residence, by the woods near Niggertown. He was Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. The widow of Dr. Hezekiah Brainerd left a be- quest of $500 to the church. Deacon Hezekiah died De- cember 14, 1774, aged sixty-seven.
Deacon Joseph Smith was the grandson of Simon, a first settler, and served eighteen years.
Deacon Nehemiah Brainerd, second, was a graduate of Yale. He was a grandson of Hon. Hezekiah, and son of Rev. Nehemiah, and was prominent in public affairs, Clerk of the Town, Justice of the Peace, and representa- tive to the General Assembly of the State. He was dea- con sixteen years, and died in 1807, at the age of sixty- six.
Eliakim Brainerd was a captain of militia, and in ser- vice of the government in the Revolutionary War. He was deacon from 1784 until 1806. His death, at eighty-
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three, occurred in 1815. He was the great-grandfather of Cephas Brainerd, our presiding officer to-day.
Jonathan Huntington was ordained deacon in April, 1806, and served in the old church thirty-eight years un- til the church at Higganum was organized in 1844. He was appointed deacon in the new church and served until his death, September 2, 1848, at the age of seventy-eight. Deacon Huntington was a man of medium height, erect and stout. He was a graduate of Yale, engaged in mer- cantile business as well as agriculture. He was an im- portant man in matters of the town, and repeatedly representative to the legislature. He was a member of the convention that formed the State Constitution in 1818. He was a specimen Puritan, grave and severe in demeanor, a man of dignity and character. He was first, last, and all the time a warm friend of his pastors, Drs. Marsh and Field. The latter, though of the same general make up, dignified and severe, enjoyed humor, and would indulge in a hearty laugh when occasion compelled it. On one occasion, at an after-dinner interview at the house of Deacon Huntington, David and Jonathan were communing together, and at some remark made by the deacon, the doctor laughed very loudly. The deacon said to him, "Dr. Field, it is undignified for you to laugh so loudly." Dr. Field then laughed louder than before, in which the good Deacon Jonathan was obliged to join- but David exceeded. Deacon Huntington was the first superintendent of the first Sabbath-school, organized by Dr. Marsh in 1819.
Deacon David Hubbard lived in the Ponset district. From 1806 to 1836 he was associated with Deacon Hunt- ington. He died at the age of eighty-seven.
Deacon James Walkley of Walkley Hill was in service 8
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from 1819 to 1839-twenty years. He was a diligent, prosperous business man, a man of peace. He was the father of Selden and James C. Walkley, two well-known and useful business men. His only daughter was the wife of Rev. James Noyes, of blessed memory.
Deacon Fiske Brainerd served from February 5 to June 5, 1826, a period of four months. He died at the age of forty-three. He was a son of Deacon Nehemiah, and a brother of General John and Nehemiah, who es- tablished "Brainerd Academy" and gave a large sum for the support of the church.
Asa Young was the successor of Deacon Fiske Brain- erd, and was deacon from 1826 to 1836, when he removed to Michigan, or, as records say, to Munson, O. He lived by the river in a white house where may still be seen an old cellar. A building used as a dwelling later and recently torn down, called the "White House," was formerly Deacon Young's shop, where he made blocks and other articles of furniture for vessels that were built near by. Deacon Young was a genial, social man, and, though diligent in business, never so hurried that he could not stop to listen to or tell a story. He died at the age of eighty.
Deacon George Smith Brainerd was ordained to office March 5, 1841, together with Benjamin Hopkins Catlin, M.D., and Comfort Cone.
Deacon Catlin served one year and four months, when he removed to Meriden, where he continued to fill the office of deacon in the First Congregational church of that place until his death in 1875 in his seventy-ninth year.
Deacon Comfort Cone served this church three years,
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until he removed to Higganum, where he was deacon until his death in 1875. I remember him as an amiable, courteous old gentleman, always inclined to charity.
George S. Brainerd, or Deacon George, as he was called, was a quiet man, positive in his convictions, of sterling integrity and excellent judgment. He was a loyal supporter of the church in its financial and spir- itual concerns. He was always present at public Sab- bath worship, prayer-meetings, and in Sabbath-school as superintendent or teacher, ready to serve in any place. I remember his large class of young ladies in the north- west corner. Steadily he worked at it ;- to a looker-on it seemed as if it must be rather dull, but the interest was steady and continuous. He told me not long before his death that he had reason to believe his whole class had become Christians. Besides farming, Deacon Brainerd was in early life engaged in quarrying, and was the first to refuse to furnish his men intoxicating liquors. When I first came to Haddam, forty years ago, the two deacons were Deacon George and Deacon Cyprian S. Brainerd. This noble pair were faithful and strong men, not alike at all, but one seemed to supply what the other might lack, and in their long service together everything was harmonious. Deacon George S. Brainerd died suddenly, January 27, 1872, aged eighty.
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