USA > New York > Chenango County > Norwich > History of the first one hundred years of the First Congregational Church, Norwich, New York, 1814-1914 > Part 3
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Many years ago I heard an incident related which well illustrates Mr. Enos' character. Whether fact or fiction does not matter now. A backwoodsman who had always lived in the forests of early Eastern New York, away from the haunts of men, seldom seeing any one besides his wife and children, was out at one time on one of his long hunting tramps. He had no thought of getting lost, for he knew the trackless woods from
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long experience; but when he assayed to return to his home, the fact that he was lost dawned upon him, and he wandered about, trying to find some of the signs of woodscraft which would show him the way. The longer he wandered the more confused he became, until he bethought himself to pray; a thing he had never done and he didn't know how. After a while, in utter desperation he went down on his knees and with eyes closed and face turned up toward the sky, he said aloud, in the only language he knew, " Oh God ! you know I'm Jost. Show me the way home to Betsey and the babies damn quick !" With the satisfaction that he had done the right thing, he arose from his knees, opened his eyes and saw right before him the signs he had been looking for, which had been there all the while, but he could not see them. With eager steps and a thankful heart he went on his glad way home. We call it pro- fanity, but he surely spoke the most earnest desire of his troubled mind and heart and in the only language he knew. Good Elder Swan (and others like him) who was the means of the sound conversion of hundreds of people in this county, used the common language which men understood We now think that it bordered on the profane, but God heard his prayers and abundantly blessed the message. Mr. Enos was of that type. They are all gone now. I do not say he was profane, but he and Elder Swan believed very earnestly in hell and damnation and they spoke in the language fitted to impress the truth on the minds of men of their time.
Mr. Enos always spoke in very terse sentences, which to our sensitive ears would be startling. It was the only language he knew. To illustrate :- He often came into my father's tinshop. He and Mr. William Eaton, the foreman, were very fast friends, and both had been strong Republicans since the party was launched in 1854. It was near the time for some elec- tion. Mr. Eaton, thinking he would joke Mr. Enos, said
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playfully, " Well, I suppose you will vote the Demo- cratic ticket ?" Mr. Enos smiled, showing that he appreciated the pleasantry, but shot out with his usual vehemence : " No Sir! I had as lief be called the Divil as a Dimecrat and I hope I may never merit either name," and roared out a strenuous " Ha! Ha! Ha!" He was always a joker, but in a very dignified way. The following he related in the same place to the same listeners: He had a long trellis of grapes across the back side of his garden. In the fall the grapes were very abundant and fine; but the hoodlum's annoyed him nights by stealing the grapes from the back side. He told about the thefts and berated the boys vehemently. He then said in his peculiar way-" I hid in the vines and when the little scallawags come, I took a board and I-split-it-from-eend- to- eend- across- their bodies; and how they did run! Ha! Ha- Ha ! "
Hon. Samuel S. Randall, writing of Mr. Enos in the later years of his life, calls him " the venerable pillar of the Congregational Church;" and the " Chenango Union," at the time of his death, sums up in a few words the life, character and salient qualities of Mr. Enos: " He was an active business man and has done much toward building up the village. A man of rare physical development, he retained in a remarkable degree his vigor even in advanced years. With the exception of partial bindness he enjoyed excellent health until ten days of his death. An upright, court- eous, Christian gentleman of the old school, his mem- ory will be ever green in the hearts of those who knew and loved him."
He can be compared to Elijah, with the odds in favor of Father Enos, at least in two points-Elijah got badly scared and discouraged; Father Enos never had either malady. Neither Ahab nor Jezebel ever brought any palor to his cheek.
Mr. Enos had three wives. The first was Lenda
TRUMAN ENOS AND 3d WIFE MRS. ABIGAIL (PARMELEE) ENOS.
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Thrall, daughter of Isaac and Rhoda Thrall, as pre- viously related. October 20, 1822, their daughter became the wife of Dr. Harvey Harris, who became a noted physician in Norwich, where he was born August 3, 1795, being the fourth child born in the village. Three other children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Enos -a daughter, January 18, 1808; a son, October 21, 1810; a son, July 12, 1812. The last was drowned in Canasawacta Creek, just back of the tannery, June 12, 1815. Mrs. Lenda Enos died April 29, 1815, of fever. She was sick seventeen days. (Record by Mr. Enos.) In October, Mr. Enos married Betsey Campbell. She died July 2, 1817, of consumption. October 24, 1817, he married in Durham, Conn., Abby (Abigail) Parmlee and brought her to Norwich. She died Jan- uary 14, 1862, of pneumonia, aged 69. She had no children.
A reasonable time after her death, it became very evident that Mr. Enos intended to take unto himself a fourth companion; reminding one of the aged farmer, who being called upon by the census taker, was asked, " What is your age?" "Ninety." " Married?" " Yes." "' More than once?" " Yes; had three wives and guess it will take about one more to stand me through." Mr. Enos' choice fell upon Clarissa Marsh, a maiden of 61; a resident of Norwich for many years and a mem- ber of this church since 1835. She was not averse to the union. Mr. Enos was then 83, in good health and vigor; but had become nearly blind. He could go about
the streets, but was not able to do anything in the way of work; nor to recognize his intimate friends until they spoke to him. His daughter and her family set about to dissaude him, which they succeeded in doing after much very strenuous urging and many argu- ments. He was then living in the family of Dr. Harris, on North Broad Street, where he was very faithfully cared for until he died May 11, 1869, at the age of 91 years.
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Mr. Enos' estimation and valuation of his three wives was certainly unique and characteristic; and stated in his impulsive manner of talking, it would have puzzled one to guess which he really prized most. It was: " My first wife was fine; the second was super- fine; the third was extra superfine." What tran- scendant superlative he would have applied to the fourth, had he got her, is beyond my thought.
During the Civil War he was intensely loyal to the Union. When Lincoln's first draft was made in 1863, Mr. Enos was selected to draw the ballots from the wheel. As before related, he was nearly blind; yet his known sterling honesty and his strength of character were so well known that the choice met with universal approval. The drawing was made August 24, 1863, in the Court House, which was packed to more than capacity. When the hour came, Mr. Enos, guided by an officer, took his stand near the wheel, which stood just in front of the witness stand, and was raised high so that the inside of the drum could not be seen. He turned his face toward the audience: It was evident that he appreciated the solemnity of the act he was about to perform. He stood straight, in quiet dignity; every inch a man and a son and citizen of the best country in the round world, to which he had always been loyal. He knew that every little roll that he drew from the wheel might mean wounds and death to the man who answered to the name written thereon; but it was as patriotic a duty as carrying a musket on the battlefield, and he did it to the best of his ability. At the signal the clerk turned the wheel around two or three times, unfastened the cover and turned it back. The old man put forth his hand, and with trembling fingers found the opening and drew out a small roll of white paper about the size of a lead pencil, and about one and one-half inches long, firmly sealed. He handed it to the clerk, who broke the seal and in a clear
ENCS
ar
TRUMAN ENOS' MONUMENT. In Mt. Hope Cemetery.
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voice read the name of the drafted one. Two or three names were read and received in silence, and the ex- pectancy was almost painful. After that the crowd grew cheerful, and whenever the name of some man well known in the town was read, there was great applause by hand-clapping and laughter. The old man quietly stood there and pulled out the ballots for per- haps an hour of more, until the quota was full, when he quietly withdrew, with the aid of the officer.
After his sight and hearing became deficient, at Mr. Scoville's suggestion, Mr. Enos used to sit in one of the armed chairs just under the front of the pulpit, at the Sunday morning services; and so he had the great satisfaction of hearing the reading and the sermon, and it was an object lesson to the congregation as well. It was pathetic to see him there.
He showed his personality in the monument which he erected in his lot in the cemetery. It is unique to say the least. I can safely say that there is not another like it in all America. Philander B. Prindle, when urged very strongly by Mr. Enos for his opinion of it, said :- " It looks like a great spider sitting up on its haunches;" but this did not daunt Mr. Enos at all. He still thought it the finest in the Norwich cemetery. .
This is now just as he had it set up, with the excep- tion of four iron rods about one inch in diameter, which were joined to the underside of the marble base on four sides, above the cobblestone column; the lower ends being sunk in the ground at a spread of about three feet, to serve as braces to keep the monument from toppling over. The rods have been removed as unnecessary.
In the fall of 1812, Rev. Jonathan Haskell, a Bap- tist from Oneida Co., came to Norwich and stopped with Mr. Enos, who himself hired the ballroom in the " Old Yellow House " (now the residence of H. O. Hale) and Mr. Haskell held service there the next Sun-
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day. After the service a consultation was held and Mr. Haskell was hired as a sort of general pastor, for one year on a salary of $300.00, to be paid in money and produce." He was not hired as a Baptist, nor any other sect-just a pastor for everybody. Mr. Enos assumed the responsibility of raising the money. Of course he succeeded. He " tackled " everybody- Christian and infidel alike. As he said, "even those not Christian contributing." " Myself, Joseph Slater and Job Stafford drove our own teams to Oneida Co. and moved him down." Mr. Haskell lived in the first house north of the Creek bridge, on the Plymouth road. Later this was the home for many years of Deacon Buttolph, and where he died.
Soon missionaries from the Missionary Society of Connecticut, began to visit the village. One of these, Rev. David Harrower, reports to the Society, Novem- ber 2, 1812, " in Norwich-by information, religion is in a very low state here." The next year he again came to Norwich and found a great improvement. The next year, April 6, 1814, he came again; this time in company with Rev. Joel T. Benedict, and they stayed a few days preaching and talking with the people. Quite a number of Christians had moved into the village and they were anxious that a church should be formed. About the first of June a letter was sent to Mr. Benedict requesting him to come and assist in the organiza- tion of a church. He came Tuesday, June 14. Rev. George Colton, another missionary employed by the Missionary Society of Connecticut, was in town and preached in the afternoon. The next day, Mr. Benedict and Mr. Colton talked with the people as to the advisa- bility of the proposed church. Mr. Benedict preached in the afternoon; and the next day, Thursday, June 16, the examination of candidates was begun, con- ducted by Elder Elisha Ransom, pastor of the Baptist Church in Plymouth. He was a very Godly man and
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he made the examination a very thorough one. Twenty- two candidates came forward-seven males and fif- teen females. Twenty-one were approved-seven males and fourteen females; and that proportion has been maintained for most of the time until now.
On the Sunday following, June 19, 1814, the twenty- one were organized as " The First Congregational Church of Norwich, N. Y.," by Rev. Joel Tyler Bene- dict. Articles of faith and covenant were adopted. (See Series 1, pp. 16 and 17.) Elijah Chamberlain and Tracy Ensworth were chosen the first deacons, " for life or good behavior," as the custom was then. (For names of the twenty-one see " Honor Roll," pp.)
These services were held in the Court House-the first building which was of wood, built in 1809. Mr. Benedict writes: " The audience was large; nearly 400 persons attended." (The text of this description is made up largely from Ser. 1, so that a more intelligible and connected story might be given. (Ser. 1 pp. 14-17.)
Rev. Jonathan Haskell was living in the village at this time and was very much opposed to the formation of this church. What his reasons were I do not know; on the surface it looks as though it was because it was not organized as a Baptist Church. He had been living in the village for a year as a sort of pastor of all the people, without regard to sect. He knew that he could not be pastor of a Congregational Church, of course. There is no record that he was even consulted regard- ing it. If this supposition is the right one he would encounter the decided opposition of Mr. Enos at once; who was first, last and always a Congregationalist, and as such he would vehemently resent any attempt to insert any other forms into the church. He had come from Connecticut stock to whom not only the church but the civil government was Congregational; and yet Mr. Enos was the man who was the means of Mr. Haskell's being engaged to come to the village and
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remain and labor for the year. This was not the only clash Mr. Enos had on the same vexed question, as will appear later in this history. It was not intollerence with him. It was simply a matter of conscience. He had no quarrel with Christians who did not believe as he did, but he could not outwardly profess to believe what he inwardly did not accept. Denominationalism ran very high in those days and for many years after; and creeds were accounted as next to Scripture in bind- ing force on the consciouces of believers: so it is no wonder that clashes occurred as soon as church organ- izations were proposed and constituted.
About 1813 Rev. Jedediah Randall emigrated from Stonington, Conn. He was a brother of John Randall, who came in 1797, and an uncle of Deacon Charles Randall, who was deacon for 50 years in the First Baptist Church. Elder Randall, as he was always called, was not alone a preacher, but was a good farmer. He conducted his occupation on good business prin- ciples and so was a success. He bought about all the land on the southeast bounds of the village, from his residence at the present No. 66 South Broad Street, to the river and creek. The house had been built by Silas Cole and used as a residence and tavern by him for several years, he having been one of the very early settlers.
Elder Randall at once, with his wife, " Aunt Patty," took a very prominent part in the life of the community. Soon after he got well settled in his home he began to think what good he could do to his neigh- bors. There was a good sized ball-room in the house, therefore he let it be known that he would hold services in the ball-room on Sundays. Very many came, both of towns-people and farmers. Those who came with wagons he had the horses put in the barn and fed, and after service, fed the owners also. This was one of the times when " salvation was free," for Elder
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Randall did not even " take up a collection." He emulated the example of Christ without the miracle.
August 13, 1814, a preliminary meeting was held in his house; and a subsequent meeting August 18, at which he instituted " The First Baptist Church of Norwich, N. Y.," with fifteen members. He was engaged as pastor. An audience room was ready for them in the form of Elder Randall's ball-room, and that was free also. Neither pastor nor church cost the infant organization anything. Elder Haskell was one of them, but he did not seem to take any prominent part in the preliminaries. He must have left the place soon after.
Elder Randall was a very forceful man, and it is undoubtedly owing to the impress of his character and leadership that that church so long held the leading place among the churches in the village. He was not much of a preacher, but as his character and reputation were entirely above reproach and his business ability was so evident, everybody believed in his integrity, and as time went on and he showed himself entirely cap- able in leadership and of sound judgment in business and affairs, without the stain of selfishness, his influ- ence was predominant in the church and gave it a very strong foundation. His sermons would hardly satisfy Norwich congregations of this twentieth century. Dr. Rainsford once said that " a man who swears, swears because he can't think of anything else to say." Elder Randall did not use profanity, but when he was at a loss, when preaching, what to say next, he said :- " It appears evidently, from the principle to which we act upon, to wit: (as in at least one instance) John on the Isle of Pattimouse." My father was a boy then and used to sit in the gallery of the old Baptist Church, and with pencil in hand, would make a mark on the un- painted wood of the gallery balustrade, whenever the good elder used the expression. However, what Elder
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Randall lacked in the quality of his sermons he made up in leadership and as a pastor, which made the church very strong. It was just these qualities which the Congregational Church lacked during the first years of its existence. It had just as many Godly men and women as the other, but it had no settled pastor and no preaching except an occasional missionary who came along; or the pastor of some church in an adjoin- ing town, who came by invitation and held services for a day. At ordinary times Mr. Buttolph or Mr. Fenton read a sermon. The members were faithful to their trust, however, and so the church grew in spite of the lack of pastoral oversight and spiritual guidance.
Probably the man who came most often and con- ducted services was Rev. John Truair, pastor of the Congregational Church at Sherburne. He was the father of Prof. John G. K. Truair, second principal of Norwich Academy. The most of the services of the church were held in the large kitchens of Mr. Enos or of Mr. Fenton; or in the First Academy, which stood where now the roadway of Mitchell Street comes out into North Broad Street. When some clergyman was to preach, the service was held in the Court House. The Baptist Church also used the Court House often for the same purpose.
The prayers and untiring zeal of the small band soon began to have a strong influence in the community and the membership began to increase. Then a strong desire was felt for a " meeting house." A meeting was held in the Court House on July 15, 1816, at which " The First Congregational Society of Norwich, N. Y." was incorporated. Truman Enos and Joseph Kelso were elected presiding officers and Loring Fen- ton and David Buttolph, witnesses. On July 22, Mr. Fenton and Mr. Buttolph delivered the records of the meeting to Judge Casper M.Rouse, who allowed them and ordered them recorded. July 24 they were endorsed as recorded, by Smith M. Purdy, Deputy Clerk.
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The practice, then almost universal, was to form two organizations-the church the spiritual body, not incorporated; and the Society, incorporated, which was understood to be the responsible body and the cus- todian of all the property the organization possessed and to attend to all the financial matters-collect the money, pay the bills and hire the minister, all of which was managed by a board of six Trustees, two elected annually by the Society, which was composed of all persons, whether members of the church or not, who attended the church services for one year and had con- tributed to its support. This was a very cumbersome combination, which left the church, which was really the most important part of the duality, with no legal standing whatver. One of the reasons for this anomally, and probably the only one of any import- ance, was that it enabled the unconverted husbands of women who were members to be members of the Society and have a vote in the management of the church; and therefore more likely to contribute liber- ally to its support. At any rate the plan was effective then and has been continued until now in the older churches, although many of them have done away with the Society and incorporated the church; and churches organized late years have given the church its right- ful place.
Ephriam Wells and James Birdsall were elected trustees for three years; Truman Enos and Joseph S. Fenton, for two years, and Elijah Chamberlain and Joseph Kelso for one year. David Buttolph was elected clerk of the Society. He held the office until 1845-6. Mr. Wells and Mr. Birdsall were not members of the church but their wives were. Mr. Buttolph was not a member of the church, but became one the next January.
The Baptist Church and Society of Norwich, was incorporated August 12, 1816. It will be noticed that in this case the Church and Society were both incor-
.
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porated, so that each had the same legal standing, but the society was a useless appendage, except for the reason given above.
Soon after the Congregational Church was incor- porated, the desire for a " meeting house" became insistent; and as Mr. Enos said: " Mr. Fenton and I were appointed a building committee to raise the funds. We scoured the whole township, taking money or produce of any kind-anything that a man could give- and soon set the carpenters at work. This was in the fall of 1816. (See Ser. 1, pp. 19 and 20.)
About the middle of December, 1816, signs of a revival began to appear. The church very quickly discerned the indications and engaged Mr. Truair to come down and take charge of the work. He came. The results will be given in the words of one who was living in this village at the time and was converted in the revival and became later a noted Congregational clergyman and lecturer in the New England States.
Rev. Henry Clark Wright was an uncle of Mrs. Helen M. (Wright) Smith, who is still a member of this church though living in Otsego Co. Mr. Wright was born in Sharon, Conn., August 29, 1797. He was a graduate of Yale. He became a minister and, later, an anti-slavery lecturer, and a very intimate friend of both William Lloyd Garrison and Wendell Phillips and often traveled with them making addresses. He became a member of this church January 17, 1817. He wrote an autobiography in 1847, in Roseneath, Scotland, from which I shall quote freely, giving the tale in his own quaint language. I know of no other source from which the story of those days can be obtained now, for all the actors are now a long time dead.
When he was four years old the family loaded themselves and all their belongings onto a sleigh drawn by a span of horses. In crossing the Hudson on the ice the horses broke through and they came near being
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drowned, but they managed to get over and went to Hartwick, Otsego Co., N. Y. There they bought a farm of 160 acres. The boy worked on the farm and went to school until he was 16. Then his father took him on horseback to Norwich and left him on trial with David G. Bright, to learn the hatter's trade. Mr. Bright carried on a hat store and manufactory on the north- east corner of the East Green. His manufactory was in rooms in the rear of the store. He was the father of Senator Jesse D. Bright of Mississippi, of Secession fame, who was born December 18, 1812, on Lackawanna Avenue, Norwich. The house was lately removed to make room for the garage. It was very nearly back of the store.
Mr. Wright says :- " I had never been from home to spend more than one day at a time. I had made up my mind I would learn thoroughly how to make hats and that I would submit to all necessary hardship to perfect myself in it." After three months' trial, his father came over, and as everything was satisfactory on both sides, the young man was indentured to Mr. Bright for four years-until he should become twenty- one. He writes: " A singing school was taught in the village one winter and I greatly enjoyed attending it. The school was taught by a man who was counted very religious and he always opened his singing by prayer. He was much given to talking to people about their souls and about being converted. But he was a sweet singer, and for this I attended. I used to carry my flute and play on that. He had a harp which he played. For several weeks after he left, I conducted the sing- ing school, meeting some fifty persons every Sunday evening and instructing them in singing. This I en- joyed greatly. Teaching this singing school had a powerful effect on my own feelings and conduct. Mine was a gratuitous school. Mr. Bright had bought and presented to me a fine finte and this helped me on
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