USA > New York > Chenango County > Norwich > History of the first one hundred years of the First Congregational Church, Norwich, New York, 1814-1914 > Part 2
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The Indians cleared about ten acres around the con- fluence of the Canasawacta and setout many apple trees, which were still bearing fruit when the settlers came. Many were in bearing fifty years ago; and it is possible that some may yet be living. The larger part of this cleared space was called " The Castle," although as far as I can find, there was no building on it. There was a Council House near the Homer Johnson place, how- ever, in which the leading men of the Confederacy or tribe held discussions when important matters needed careful handling. Weddings and funerals were held here; also all sorts of celebrations. dances and re- unions; at which times very many of the tribes people
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First Congregational Church History
came in canoes from up and down the river. The people set up their tepees around this centre, even as far south as Oxford and as far north as Galena. Oxford had a fort and a burial ground. There were two burial grounds at Norwich; one at the corner of Birdsall and Front Streets; and the other at Birdsall and York.
The Indians assembled at "The Castle " a few times after the Whites began to come in. At one time the Whites were much startled when many canoes filled with Indians suddenly and noiselessly appeared in the river; but they made no attempt to land until they reached " The Castle." There was no disturbance of any kind. They remained a few days and held a council of some sort. When it was over they departed as silently as they came. This was the last assemblage at " The Castle."
There was one sin which the early settlers in Che- nango County were not guilty of. They did not attempt to steal the land from the Indians, nor to treat them unkindly. As a consequence both were good friends and no fights nor massacres had to be recorded. One white man tried to make a snug profit from the settlers by buying up quite a tract of land from the State; but the settlers boycotted him and he was glad to sell to them at one dollar an acre profit, which made the price $2.50. They decided to take the whole section; so he took his money and the deal was made without any wrangling; and the people were very soon as busy as beavers building log houses, clearing the land and pre- paring for future crops.
It is very evident that the beauty of the situation was a very important influence in the selection of this site for the new village by these hardy pioneers who were so eager to build their homes and get to doing something worth while. This valley still retains its beauty, but not in so large a degree as in those early days when nature was the gardener and forest
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First Congregational Church History
and wild verdure were in luxurious abundance
A town organization was formed January 19, 1793. The name was suggested by James Glover, who was a native of Norwich, Conn. He settled in Preston, near the eastern town line, in 1887. Preston was then a part of Norwich. Mr. Glover was a relative of the Glovers who settled in Oxford, but not a near relative.
Even before the Whites came the name of the river had become the name of the whole valley, from North Norwich, south, to Binghamton-then known as " Che- nango Pint," and the name " Shenang Country," was a name well known and much regarded by the sturdy citizens of Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, many of whom were, later, destined to make it their home. By 1800 a large number of them had emigrated to Norwich on foot, by ox teams, or horses, or whatever mode of conveyance they could get.
The first to own land here was Avery Power. In 1798 he procured a title from the Indians at three shil- lings an acre, for most of the land known as "The Castle." He secured the money to pay for his purchase by boarding the State Surveyors who laid out the tract the next year. After this no more rendezvous were held there, and the only Indians seen were a few who came singly. These became very friendly with the Whites, who treated them kindly, fed them and gave them lodging when they desired it. Mr. Power sold his land in 1800 to John Randall for $4,100.00. Hezekiah Pellett came in 1793, on foot, with all his wardrobe in a bundle strung over a stick on his shoulder. His son, John (" Uncle John Pellet," as everybody called him, later) came with him-a boy of five years. Mr. Pellet took up a large tract of land on the east bank of the river, now known as the Matthew Ransford farm, and extending to and including the Peleg Pendleton farm, north of Rexford Street bridge.
" The former treaties I made " (1879) relates the
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First Congregational Church History
beginning and growth of religion in the village; of the " Great revival " of 1799 and of the formation of sev- eral religious societies growing out from it. These were all undemoninational-there were not enough per- sons of any one sect to warrant the formation of a sep- arate organization. As time went on the influence of the revival waned. Although several had been church members in the east, most of them soon drifted with the tide and forgot their vows ; and yet there was a remnant in the little village " who had not bowed the knee to Baal." Ever since civilization developed in mankind, whatever the vicissitudes of life may be, there have always been a few faithful souls who have clung to the faith of the fathers and have kept alive the altar fires. Such a remnant remained in Norwich at the closing of the old century and the opening of the new-the nine- teenth, the century which was to develop more wonder- ful things than all the eighteen which preceeded it. A notable one of these faithful souls was Mrs. Elizabeth (Hale) Snow, widow of Abraham Snow. She was the mother of Henry Snow, Capt. William Snow and Han- nah Snow, who became the wife of Col. John Randall, all well known residents for many years, in Norwich. Mrs. Snow's name and good works will appear often in this history of the next twenty years. She died in Nor- wich, September 8, 1822, aged 57.
TRUMAN ENOS.
Ever since the publication of the First Series of the History of The First Congregational Church of Nor- wich, N. Y., I have been studying this man. The more I study him the larger he looms. His life and the life of this church were so closely interwoven that it is impos- sible to separate them; therefore this chapter will be given to a personal sketch of him.
He was a remarkable man, but those nearest to him, who associated with him daily and recognized his lead-
A LETTER FROM HOME
DEAR CHENANGOITES-
Recently, in looking over the record book of the clerk of the board of trustees of the First Congregational Church of Norwich for the year 1874, I ran across this item.
"Much complaint having been made that the Sabbath evening meetings were disturbed by boys standing around the doors and on the sidewalks at close of service, a committee was appointed to act for the trustees in connection with the trustees of the other churches in putting a stop to it if possible."
So this habit of the boys waiting outside the church and lining up on the curb as the people came out at close of service to take their girls home prevailed up here in Central New York, too. It prevailed down in Connecticut in my day. I can see the bunch lined up there now, watching the exit, as the evening congregation came out of church. The girls came out very innocently, arm clasped in mother's arm, or father's, just as though they didn't know there was a boy friend in the neighborhood. Then the curb line thinned until finally only one or two boys remained. There had been a misunder- standing somewhere and their particular girls had gone to some other church, or hadn't gone to church at all, or possibly they had deliber- ately avoided the meeting.
I observed this over a period of several years while I was still too young to be interested in seeing a girl home. I never heard that there was any concerted effort on the part of the churches to put a stop to the practice, but about the time I began to be interested the mothers took a hand to solve the problem. They laid down a law to the effect that no boy could walk home with their daughters unless he had been in church himself during the entire service.
How that did swell the evening congregations, especially of one particular church where it happened that a large number of the popular girls attended. Some of the boys went "whole hog" in the matter and went to church with the girls, sitting with her parents in the family pew. The others grouped together in the back seats and waited at the foot of the aisle or in the vestibule for the approach of the girl friend.
There isn't any report in the records which I read to denote the result of the effort made here in Norwich, but there are some indica- tion that the Norwich 'mothers adopted the method of the Connecti- cut mothers. I found the evidence of this on the fly leaves of an old hymnal which was discovered covered with dust in one of the dark corners when the church was under repair recently.
Here was evidence that some of the boys went to church Sunday evenings and further evidence that they avoided disturbing the service with whispering, and carried on their conversation with messages written on the fly leaves of the hymnals. Here is one such written conversation:
First boy-"I am going home with Emma R."
Second boy-"Where is this girl that you call Emma R; there is Emma B over there. You'd better go for her."
And here is a one-sided message on the same page:
"See my girl up there a little to the right, four seats ahead, with yellow ribbons on her hat. You will see me go for her certain."
Boys are boys still, and girls are girls, but I am afraid more of them go to the movies than to church on Sunday evenings nowadays.
13
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Terry Pin's Tips on FOOTBALL By FREDERIC A. BIRMINGHAM
Women dislike more foods than m but women are familiar with mc o, 'ds than men, according to studi
A household, like a business, more efficient with organization.
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New York is the leading state the United States in the product of cabbage.
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A LETTER FROM HOME
DEAR CHENANGOITES-
Recently, in looking over the record book of the clerk of the board of trustees of the First Congregational Church of Norwich for the year 1874, I ran across this item.
"Much complaint having been made that the Sabbath evening meetings were disturbed by boys standing around the doors and on the sidewalks at close of service, a committee was appointed to act for the trustees in connection with the trustees of the other churches in putting a stop to it if possible."
So this habit of the boys waiting outside the church and lining up on the curb as the people came out at close of service to take their girls home prevailed up here in Central New York, too. It prevailed down in Connecticut in my day. I can see the bunch lined up there now, watching the exit, as the evening congregation came out of church. The girls came out very innocently, arm clasped in mother's arm, or father's, just as though they didn't know there was a boy friend in the neighborhood. Then the curb line thinned until finally only one or two boys remained. There had been a misunder- standing somewhere and their particular girls had gone to some other church, or hadn't gone to church at all, or possibly they had deliber- ately avoided the meeting.
I observed this over a period of several years while I was still too young to be interested in seeing a girl home. I never heard that there was any concerted effort on the part of the churches to put a stop to the practice, but about the time I began to be interested the mothers took a hand to solve the problem. They laid down a law to the effect that no boy could walk home with their daughters unless he had been in church himself during the entire service.
How that did swell the evening congregations, especially of one particular church where it happened that a large number of the popular girls attended. Some of the boys went "whole hog" in the matter and went to church with the girls, sitting with her parents in the family pew. The others grouped together in the back seats and waited at the foot of the aisle or in the vestibule for the approach of the girl friend ..
There isn't any report in the records which I read to denote the result of the effort made here in Norwich, but there are some indica- tion that the Norwich mothers adopted the method of the Connecti- cut mothers. I found the evidence of this on the fly leaves of an old hymnal which was discovered covered with dust in one of the dark corners when the church was under repair recently.
Here was evidence that some of the boys went to church Sunday evenings and further evidence that they . avoided disturbing the service with whispering, and carried on their conversation with messages written on the fly leaves of the hymnals. Here is one such written conversation :
First boy-"I am going home with Emma R."
Second boy-"Where is this girl that you call Emma R; there is Emma B over there. You'd better go for her."
And here is a one-sided message on the same page:
"See my girl up there a little to the right, four seats ahead, with yellow ribbons on her hat. You will see me go for her certain."
Boys are boys still, and girls are girls, but I am afraid more of them go to the movies than to church on Sunday evenings nowadays.
13
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d :- d h et he er g- st h r. kd ie bt d, t- h f er ;h h, a- 1℮
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-
LAGUARDIA
MILK PAIL
-
GERRY MALONEY
VVV
Terry Pin's Tips on FOOTBALL By FREDERIC A. BIRMINGHAM
Women dislike more foods than men put women are familiar with more .n. ds than men, according to studies.
A household, like a business, is more efficient with organization.
F
New York is the leading state in the United States in the production of cabbage.
capuage.
A LETTER FROM HOME
DEAR CHENANGOITES-
Recently, in looking over the record book of the clerk of the board of trustees of the First Congregational Church of Norwich for the year 1874, I ran across this item.
"Much complaint having been made that the Sabbath evening meetings were disturbed by boys standing around the doors and on the sidewalks at close of service, a committee was appointed to act for the trustees in connection with the trustees of the other churches in putting a stop to it if possible."
So this habit of the boys waiting outside the church and lining up on the curb as the people came out at close of service to take their girls home prevailed up here in Central New York, too. It prevailed down in Connecticut in my day. I can see the bunch lined up there now, watching the exit, as the evening congregation came out of church. The girls came out very innocently, arm clasped in mother's arm, or father's, just as though they didn't know there was a boy friend in the neighborhood. Then the curb line thinned until finally only one or two boys remained. There had been a misunder- standing somewhere and their particular girls had gone to some other church, or hadn't gone to church at all, or possibly they had deliber- ately avoided the meeting.
I observed this over a period of several years while I was still too young to be interested in seeing a girl home. I never heard that there was any concerted effort on the part of the churches to put a stop to the practice, but about the time I began to be interested the mothers took a hand to solve the problem. They laid down a law to the effect that no boy could walk home with their daughters unless he had been in church himself during the entire service.
How that did swell the evening congregations, especially of one particular church where it happened that a large number of the popular girls attended. Some of the boys went "whole hog" in the matter and went to church with the girls, sitting with her parents 1 in the family pew. The others grouped together in the back seats and waited at the foot of the aisle or in the vestibule for the approach of the girl friend.
There isn't any report in the records which I read to denote the result of the effort made here in Norwich, but there are some indica- tion that the Norwich mothers adopted the method of the Connecti- cut mothers. I found the evidence of this on the fly leaves of an old hymnal which was discovered covered with dust in one of the dark corners when the church was under repair recently.
Here was evidence that some of the boys went to church Sunday evenings and further evidence that they avoided disturbing the service with whispering, and carried on their conversation with messages written on the fly leaves of the hymnals. Here is one such written conversation:
First boy-"I am going home with Emma R."
Second boy-"Where is this girl that you call Emma R; there is Emma B over there. You'd better go for her."
And here is a one-sided message on the same page:
"See my girl up there a little to the right, four seats ahead, with
. yellow ribbons on her hat. You will see me go for her certain."
Boys are boys still, and girls are girls, but I am afraid more of them go to the movies than to church on Sunday evenings nowadays.
13
ate ot. He ys es; , de is f- 1-
d t-
d h et ne er g- w st th r. d he bt d, It- h bf er th h, a-
LAGUARDIA
0
MILK PAIL
GERRY MALONEY
Terry Pin's Tips on FOOTBALL By FREDERIC A, BIRMINGHAM
Women dislike more foods than men but women are familiar with more o 'ds than men, according to studies.
A household, like a business, is nore efficient with organization.
New York is the leading state in the United States in the production of cabbage.
Or CANINO ..
or cabbage.
13
First Congregational Church History
ership and his force of character, did not appreciate him Not that he was very learned, for he was not. Not that he was a great leader-a masterful man. He was this only in a limited sense. Not that he was always right and made no mistakes-he made many mistakes; and we cannot say that he "fulfilled the law of Christ;" but he had many virtues-which "covered a multitude of sins."
He did not know much about " book larnin "-it is on record that he spelled his wife's name in three dif- ferent ways at least-but he had a lot of common- sense-horse-sense, if you will; with energy unlimited and a bulldog pertinacity which never let go. What- ever he set out to do, went somehow. He was as devoid of fear as Martin Luther; his " courage rose with danger and he strength with strength opposed." Yet he was not conceited or overbearing; and his name was not first in the list of constituent members of the new church, albeit he had done more than any other to bring it about: but this church was the first reg- ularly organized church in this village. I do not know that the prospective organization of the First Baptist Church (which was accomplished by Rev. Jedediah Randall, August 18, 1814,) had any influence on Mr. Enos to get this church instituted first. I have found not the slightest suggestion in any record; but if he knew that that project was underway, I have no doubt that he took pains to accomplish his desire. Indeed, there are some reasons one can see in the way the mat- ters of this church were seemingly hurried, which might be construed to favor that idea-reminding of David Harum's "golden rule " ;- " Do unto the other fellow what he is going to do unto you and-do it first" -for while Mr. Enos was always very friendly with the persons who would constitute the Baptist Church, he would be very sure to see to it that the Congrega- tional Church was first. He was very anxious that the
14
First Congregational Church History
church should be formed; and after it was brought into being it was very dear to him and he was willing to make any sacrifice that would help to build it up, as we shall see later on.
It is also very evident that this church would not have come into being, at least for some months, and probably for some years later than it did, had it not had the help of his energy and personality.
He was born October 24, 1779, in Windsor, Hart- ford Co., Conn. His parents were Abijah and Hannah Enos. His father was born in 1748 and his mother in 1751, probably in the same town. They were married about 1776-7,and lived in Windsor until 1782, when they moved to Kingsboro, Fulton Co., New York, near Johnstown, where Truman grew to young manhood; but what employment he had I do not know. At the age of 23, July 1, 1802, he married Lenda Thrall, daughter of Isaac and Rhoda Thrall, in Johnstown, and the ceremony was performed by Stephen Gillet, Esqr. (I am confident that the name should be Gillette, but the entry is taken from the family Bible, made in Mr. Enos' own hand. We have abundant evidence that he spelled phonetically, so we know what he meant.) His wife he calls Lenda. I am very sure that this is a nickname, and that her real name was Philinda, the name given to their only daughter.
He had evidently heard much about " The She- nang Country;" now he was determined to try his fortunes there, so in 1804 he and his wife moved to Oxford and set up a home; and there their daughter, Philinda, was born, October 28, 1804. After about a year they moved to Norwich and he engaged in the tan- ning business. He was 26 at this time and full of the vigor of young manhood. He was large of frame and tall, with square, firm shoulders, strong, rugged, ener- getic and straight as an Indian. He was of the stuff of which pioneers are made. Had the circumstances
15
First Congregational Church History
and environment been suitable he would have become as famous as Daniel Boone or Davy Crockett. At this time he was very far removed from a Christian in prac- tice or disposition, except in the homely virtue of hon- esty, at least in business ; but he soon made a place for himself in the little community and became well estab- lished in his business. His tannery was located partly on and partly to the north of the site of the present Stone Mill on Canasawacta Street and the Creek, and he lived in the house across that street on the east, now the corner of West Main Street. (The same house stands there now, and after a century of use it is rarely empty. It is now owned by Clarence Peters.)
Charles Randall soon became a partner in the business; but after about a year the outbreak of the War of 1812, fired the patriotic soul of Mr. Randall and he sold his interest to Joseph S. Fenton and enlisted for the war, in the Regiment of Col. Thompson Mead, as Lieutenant. Mr. Fenton and his family had taken up a residence in Norwich about a year before.
In 1811, on a Sunday, on the West Hill, while finish- ing up an unsuccessful deer hunt, Mr Enos " came out into a clearing facing the west and the setting sun." There came into my mind the Bible lessons taught me by my mother "-back in Connecticut; and he seemed to himself " the wickedest man on earth." He hurried home under deep conviction. (See p. 12, Ser. 1.) After several days of unsuccessful efforts to smother his feel- ings, he called on Mrs. Elizabeth Snow, the only Chris- tian he knew of in the town. She was one of God's servants who had kept her faith. We can easily imagine her surprise and joy at Mr. Enos' story and his evident " distress of mind;" and she was ready and very willing to tell him " what he must do to be saved." They had a season of prayer and he went home, read the Bible and prayed himself and soon found peace. After a few days, when he needed coun-
16
First Congregational Church History
sel, he rode down the valley two miles to see the only man professor he knew of. Him he found living with- out prayer; unhappy himself and unable to direct an- other. Mr. Enos was much disappointed, but not dis- couraged. He had set out to find Christ and, as in other things, he was bound to win. It was not long before he was rejoicing in the new found faith. In those days " experiencing religion " was a very pain- ful process. People thought they were not soundly converted unless they had passed through a season of excruciating mental agony. We have found the better way.
At that time Sunday was the regular day for hunt- ing, fishing, going to mill, visiting or doing odd jobs around the house. Profanity, (which is today so pre- valent a practice,) was almost universal. Mr. Enos now realized the situation and began a powerful cru- sade against the open sins of the people which was very successful. The next winter he brought Mr. Fenton, his partner, to an acceptance of Christianity; and together, with the assistance of several Christian peo- ple who had become residents of the village, they made a very decided moral and social improvement in the community, so that a church organization was felt to be a necessity.
Since his conversion Mr. Enos had been very prom- inent in every movement to foster religion in the vil- lage and was a trustee in nearly all the religious organ- izations which had been formed.
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