USA > Rhode Island > Kent County > Warwick > Historical sketches of the churches of Warwick, Rhode Island > Part 6
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portion of the church united with the Free Baptist Church at Apponaug, and others with other churches, and the body ceased to be a distinct church. The meet- ing-house, which was owned by stockholders, was sold to the colored church, on the Plains,-they having lost their house by fire,-for $800, who removed it, in 1873, to the site of their former house, where it now stands.
WARWICK AND EAST GREENWICH FREE-WILL BAPTIST CHURCH.
The meeting-house of this church is situated on the Plains, about half a mile north of the village of Appo- naug. From the records of the church and other sources, we subjoin the following account of its origin and history : Previous to the building of their meeting- house, the church, which was organized December 23, 1841, worshipped in various places, but chiefly in the meeting-house a mile north, near the " High House." Rev. Geo. Champlain was the pastor, and continued in this relation for some fifteen years. About the time of the " Dorr war," the larger portion of the members were on the side of the " law and order " party, and the church worshipping in the meeting-house to the north- ward were largely of the number known as "Liberty men." As a consequence of the disagreement in politics between the two churches, the privilege of holding meetings in the meeting-house was denied Mr. Champ- lain and his church, and measures were taken to build for themselves a house of worship. Gov. John Brown Francis, Judge Dutee Arnold and Geo. T. Spicer, Esq., now of Providence, but then of Pontiac, interested them- selves in their behalf, and a subscription was started to. raise the necessary funds for the erection of a meeting- house.
The subscription paper was drawn up by Gov. Francis, and is still preserved. The following are extracts from this paper :
" This house is to be consecrated to the use of the Free-Will'
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Baptist Church of Warwick and East Greenwich, of which George Champlain is now the elder. and Joseph Babcock, deacon; subject, however, to this condition, viz .:
That the seats shall be free for all the worshippers of that congregation, and that no pews shall be erected therein.
It is understood, likewise, that the lot whereon the building is to be located shall be conveyed to the above society, but not until au act of incorporation is first obtained."
Appended to the paper are the follownig names of those who subscribed $20 or upwards, viz .: Judge Dutee Ar- nold, in behalf of himself and his daughter Marcy, $50 ; Hon. William Sprague, in behalf of himself and his daughter, Mrs. Susan Hoyt, $75; Gov. Francis, in behalf of himself and his daughter Anne, $75 ; John Carter Brown, of Providence, $50; C. & M. Rhodes, $25 ; George T. Spicer, $20.
The land on which the house was built was given by Stephen Budlong to the church. The house was built in 1844, at a cost of $1,275. This house was used until August, 1872, when it was totally consumed by fire. The present house, which is the same one that originally stood near the " High House," and was subsequently removed to Pontiac, was purchased by this society the same year their house was burnt, for $800, and removed to its present position.
The relation that those who have preached sustained to the church is not very clearly defined in the records, so that it is difficult to tell by them whether those who preached were formally recognized as pastors or only supplies. The church has not always, if ever, been able to support a pastor, and has, consequently, been obliged to secure such preachers as were able to support them- selves wholly or in part. Among those who have preached to the church for the longest periods, were Elder George Champlain,* Elder E. Bellows, Elder
* Eller Champlain become well known throughout the town as quite an able preacher. He was a man of more than usnal natural ability, aud a forcible speaker, and many anecdotes are told respecting him that reveal his keenness and ready wir. It is said that oue time some of his hearers complained to him that he was too personal aud
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CENTRAL FREE-WILL BAPTIST CHURCH.
Peter Noka, Elder Benjamin Roberts, Elder Durfee, Elder John Dixon, and the present pastor, Elder Wm. Devereaux, who has preached to them for several years past.
The following persons have served the church as deacons, viz .: Joseph P. Babcock, Job Frye, James B. Waite, Henry E. Sambo, Geo. Champlain, Jr., Samuel S. Bliss, Jeremiah G. Dailey, Thomas H. Brown, Harri- son G. O. Lincoln, and others.
The following persons have served the church as clerks, viz .: James B. Waite, Henry E. Sambo, Thomas H. Knowles, Wm. H. Briggs, Samuel B. Eddy. John F. Champlain, John O. Lincoln, Albert G. Lippitt and John P. Gardner.
CENTRAL FREE-WILL BAPTIST CHURCH OF WARWICK.
This church was organized by Rev. Benjamin Phelon, who, on the third Sabbath in August, 1835, baptized and formed into a church the following individuals, viz .: Alexander Havens, Wm. Harrison, William D. Brayton, Thomas W. Harrison, Elizabeth Wickes, Catherine Westcott and Mary E. Wilbur. Their first deacon was Alex. Havens, and their first clerk, Wm. D. Brayton.
Rev. Benjamin Phelon, now of Providence, was their first pastor, and preached for them at this time about two years and a half. He was followed by Rev. Thomas S. Johnson, who was called to the pastorate of the church in October, 1837, and remained about two years.
severe in his preaching. He replied: "When I am preaching I shoot right straight at the devil, every time, and if any of you get between me and the devil, you will be liable to get hurt." While preaching he would sometimes get quite animated, and his gestures on such occasions would be more forcible than elegant. He occupied the old " Tin Top " at Quidnick for awhile, after it was given up by the church that built it, and, it is said, he would sometimes, while preaching there, jump so high that the audience in front of the pulpit could see his knees. To do this he must have gone up more than three feet into the air. Elder Champlain had some failings, but possessed many excellent qualities.
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CHURCHES OF WARWICK, R. I.
Rev. J. S. Mowry was the next pastor, and commenced his labors November, 1840, closing them in May, 1842. He, in turn, was followed by Rev. Martin J. Steere, who remained three years.
In April, 1849. the church invited Rev. Mr. Phelon to become again their pastor, which invitation he accepted, and he continued to preach until September, 1869.
After this, Rev. J. A. Stetson supplied the pulpit for several months, and until the Rev. E. P. Harris was called to the pastorate. Mr. Harris remained about six months.
The present pastor, Rev. George W. Wallace com- menced his labors in September, 1870 .*
The number of members at the present time is eighty- seven.
THE NEW JERUSALEM CHURCH.
The following interesting communication, giving the origin of this church, is from Hon. Simon Henry Greene. The personal allusions of the venerable gentle- man to his own experience, though perhaps not designed for publication, will not detract from the interest with which it will be perused :
RIVERPOINT, R. I., April, 1875.
REV. O. P. FULLER.
Dear Sir,-Mr. Artemas Stebbins who was well known in Warwick as a Methodist Circuit preacher, about the year 1812, was probably the first to make known the New Church Theology in the town. My home was then in the locality of the town now called Centreville, with my mother, Mrs. Abigail Greene, a de- voted, worthy member of the Methodist Church. My father was Job Greene, who died in 1808.
In the autumn of 1811, I was placed at a school from home, returning in 1812. I was employed in business
* The sketch of this church is furnished by its pastor, Rev. G. W. Wallace.
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NEW JERUSALEM CHURCH.
in Hartford, Conn. in 1813, returning home again in 1814. In 1815 I engaged in business in Providence,. where I married in 1822, and resided there until 1838, when my business required a removal of my family to Warwick, my native town, and a removal was made accordingly, to where we still reside.
You will .thus see how the link which had connected me with Centreville was severed, and how the most inti- mate relations with that locality, as to me, were measur- ably suspended. I had notwithstanding, some knowl- edge at different times of Mr. Stebbins, his whereabouts and his occupation. I heard of him, not far from the year 1815, as travelling and vaccinating for the kine pock, then having the title of Doctor, and that he had visited Centreville on such a mission. And if my recol- lection is right, he was then teaching the doctrines of the New Church,-and it is not unlikely he may have preached them publicly at Centreville. Years after- wards I heard of him as settled in Swanzey, Mass., where I believe he died. I do not know that he ever became a minister of the New Church, to preach regu- larly, or indeed at all, anywhere. He was probably the first man to make a declaration of the doctrines of the New Church-called by Swedenborg "The Heavenly Doctrines of the New Jerusalem," in the town of War- wick.
My own attention was attracted to acquire a knowl- edge of the doctrines, while living in Providence, at about thirty-five years of age, but the ideas contained in them were so new to my mind, that I made slow pro- gress in learning ; my former theological notions block- ing the way for the entrance of the new truths. I had been religiously inclined from an early age, and had read much of theological works, but with all my expe- rience and observation, I could not settle into a rational, satisfactory 'belief in any of the systems of theology which had fallen under my notice, until the writings of the profoundly learned and eminent scholar and christian, Emanuel Swedenborg, fell in my way. Apparently by
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CHURCHES OF WARWICK, R. I.
accident, but really by the ordering of the Divine Prov- idence, I came in contact with a few individuals in Providence who were " receivers of the Heavenly Doc- trines," and who held regular meetings for worship and for instruction, at Union Hall, near Westminster street, on which occasions a sermon was read by some one of the members. Occasionally a visit was made us by a minister, who preached and administered the sacraments of baptism and the holy supper. We became members of the Bridgewater, Mass., Society of the New Church, and the pastor, Rev. Samuel Worcester, rendered to us occasional pastoral care and services. His brother like- wise, now Dr. Thomas Worcester, then the pastor of a New Church Society in Boston, visited us and preached in Providence. Samuel has been dead several years. Thomas is now living in Waltham, Mass., retired from active life, to much extent, in the ministry, on account of advanced age and impaired health. Both of them were sons of Rev. Noah Worcester, one of the earliest and most noted Unitarian Clergymen in the United States. The sons, however, were compelled wholly to repudiate the peculiar theology of their father
I engaged with Mr. Edward Pike, in the firm name of Greene & Pike, to do business in Warwick, in 1828, which copartnership arrangement continued until his death in 1842. I had conversations with him and his brother David, who is still living, on the subject of the New Church doctrines. They became much interested in them, and procured the " True Christian Religion," the final work on Theology of Swedenborg, and of a great number of volumes previously written and pub- lished by him, which they read and became convinced of the truth of those doctrines. I became a member of the Bridgewater Society of the New Church in 1836.
In consequence of the interest the Messrs. Pike and I felt to have preaching in Warwick, Rev. Samuel Wor- cester was invited to preach in Warwick, and he did so at the " Lippitt & Phenix School House," on the 14th of April, 1837, to an audience of about 175 persons. Many
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NEW JERUSALEM CHURCH.
interested listeners to New Church teachings were present. Mr. Edward Pike and his brother David soon afterwards visited Rev. Mr. Worcester's home, and were' baptized by him at Bridgewater on the 7th of May, 1837. In due time others were baptized by Mr. Worcester here in Warwick, and a little band were associated together to hold regular meetings on the Sabbath day for worship then held, and now continue to be holden, in a house built by Greene & Pike, to be used for the double pur- pose of a school-house and a house for public worship.
In 1838, I removed with my family to Warwick, and it was arranged, the pastor co-operating, that I should be appointed and authorized to act as a leader in public ·worship, in which capacity I have officiated to the present time, -- to wit: to the year 1875,-a term of nearly thirty-seven years, being now in the 77th year of my age.
It is obvious to a New Churchman, that the New Jerusalem which John saw " coming down from God out of heaven," is indeed leavening the whole world with the Divine love and the Divne wisdom, raising it by those sublime principles to higher and more exalted spiritual, heavenly states. Those heaven-descended qualities infused into the minds of men enlighten their paths, and say unto them in the benignity of perfect love-" this is the way, walk ye in it." But alas! men generally do not believe that it is the Lord in His second coming, " in the clouds of heaven," who is now standing at the door of their hearts-their affections-and knock- ing for them to open the door, that He may enter in with His love and wisdom, and establish His glorious king- dom there,-they do not believe that all who have died since the world began have been raised from death unto life, and have been judged, and have become associated in the spiritual world with those in similar states with themselves-whether those states be evil, or whether they be good. " Evil is of hell, and good is of heaven." " The life of man is his love." If the love be evil, the life is hellish. If the love be good, the life is heavenly. Yours truly, SIMON HENRY GREENE.
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CHURCHES OF WARWICK, R. I.
FRIENDS' MEETING, OLD WARWICK .*
The first " Monthly Meeting" of the Society of Friends held in Warwick, on record, was at the house of John Briggs, in 1699. Meetings were held subse- quently at the house of Jabez Greene, and probably until their meeting-house was built. The Greenwich Monthly Meeting then embraced the towns of Provi- dence, Greenwich, Kingstown and Warwick. The fol. lowing is from the records of the "Monthly Meeting :"
" At Greenwich Monthly Meeting of Friends, held 4 month, 4th, 1716, it was proposed to build a meeting-house at Warwick,. and two Friends were appointed to lay the proposition before the Quarterly Meeting, and also the Yearly Meeting."
Three months later the Monthly Meeting decided to build the meeting-house. The records do not inform us when the house was built, but it appears to have been built before the land upon which it stood was purchased, probably by permission of the owner, and with the understanding that a deed of it would be given. On the "ninth of 3d month, 1720, Benjamin Barton sold to Samuel Aldrich, Thomas Arnold, Jabez Greene, Joseph Edmonds and Thomas Rodman, for £45, current money, one and a half acres and thirty-five rods " of land, " being that piece or parcel of land on which stands a certain meeting-house in which ye people called Quakers usually meet in Warwick aforesaid."
The Friends were never numerous in the town, but held meetings in the house at Warwick frequently during the last century ; for the last fifty years only occasionally has the house been occupied. The old meeting-house was so much injured by the September gale of 1815, that it was taken down the following year, and a portion of its timbers were used in the erection of the present
* For a portion of the items in the above account, I am indebted to the venerable Perez Peck, of Coventry.
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EPISCOPAL CHURCH, COWESETT.
modest structure. The old house was considerably larger than the present one, and was two stories high.
Loyd Greene, an approved minister of the Society of Friends, and a resident in that vicinity, gave the Society the sum of $500, the interest of which was to be ex- pended in keeping the house in repair. This money they deposited in a savings bank, and by the dishonesty of the cashier they lost about one-third of it about ten years ago. The interest has since been allowed to accu- mulate to the amount of the original sum. Loyd Greene sold his farm at Old Warwick, and removed to East Greenwich, where he became disheartened, and wandered back one day to his old home, and hung himself in the barn which he formerly owned. He is remembered as an upright, conscientious man. The old. meeting-house has been thoroughly repaired during the past season, and is one of the oldest buildings in the State occupied by the Friends for their religious meetings .*
EPISCOPAL CHURCH, COWESETT.
The items respecting the church in which Rev. Dr. James McSparran, Dr. Fayerweather, and others, offi- ciated once a month, are gathered chiefly from the in- teresting work of Mr. Updike.
"On the 2d of September, 1728, a lot of ground situated at equal distances from the present village of Apponaug and East Greenwich, and between the post road and the present Ston- ington railroad, was conveyed by the Rev. George Pigot to the Society in London for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, for erecting a church according to the establishment of churches by law in New England. A church was accordingly erected,-a wooden building, two stories in height, with a steeple and spire, fronting the post road. After remaining unoccupied a long time, in a ruined state, it was taken down, about the year 1764, by inhabitants from Old Warwick, for the
* Their first house at East Greenwich was built in the year 1700, and the first meeting held in it was on the "second of seventh month," of that year. They continued to worship in it until the year 1806, when they erected the one they now occupy.
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CHURCHES OF WARWICK, R. I.
purpose of erecting a church there. The materials having been conveyed to the shore, were scattered and lost during a storm which arose soon after. A number of graves, probably of individuals connectedl with the church, are still to be seen upon the lot. The Rev. George Pigut residel in Warwick a number of years, and ownel a track of land there. He proba- bly obtained the means of erecting the church."
When the congregation of Trinity Church, Newport, built their new church in 1726, they gave their old building to the people of this denomination living in this town, and, according to tradition, it was floated from Newport to this place. From the abstraets of the Missionary Society, under whose patronage the Episcopal clergymen in this State then acted, we learn that Dr. MeSparran officiated monthly in Warwick, from 1741 to 1757, and Mr. John Graves from 1762 to 1783, the former receiving for his services the sum of £50; the latter, £15.
The house stood on the corner of the street that leads down to the " Folly Landing,"* on the site of the house erected a few years ago by Edwin Bowen. The grave- yard was just south of Mr. Bowen's house. There were inscriptions on but two of the stones, those of Capt. John Drake and his wife. The Captain, as appears from the inscriptions on the stone erected at his grave, died January 29, 1733. His wife died July 23, 1738. The remains, with the grave stones, were removed to the old Caleb Ladd burial lot, about an eighth of a mile to the northward, many years ago, by Mr. Jonathan N. Peirce, who owned the lot at the time.
This lot subsequently came into possession of David Greene, who sold it to Rufus Spencer, who bequeathed it to his daughter, Mary Spencer. Mary Spencer, by will, gave it to the Society of Friends at East Green- wich. On February 1, 1803, as per deed of that date, Nicholas Congdon, Darius P. Lawton, Perez Peck, Beriah
* The origin of this term is as follows: Josiah Baker put up a house near the shore and kept a sort of tavern, which became known as " Baker's Folly." The term " Folly " became applied to the wharf also, and for awhile the railway station near it was so called.
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EPISCOPAL CHURCH, COWESETT.
Brown, and others, in behalf of the Society of Friends, sold this lot and land adjoining, amounting to fifty acres, " being the same as conveyed to them by Mary Spencer, late of Greenwich, daughter of Rufus Spencer," to Jonathan N. Peirce for the sum of $2000. A portion of this tract was sold a few years ago to Amasa Sprague for $12,000. A portion on which the old meeting-house stood, Mr. Peirce sold to Mr. Bowen, as above stated. Mr. Peirce, at the ripe age of eighty-three, resides upon a portion of his purchase made in 1808, having removed his house from the opposite side of the road when he sold the land to Amasa Sprague.
The following are extracts from the church records, with biographical comments by Mr. Updike :
" April 11, 1736. Baptized at Cowesett, (Warwick Church), by Mr. McSparran, two children, viz .: Rebecca Pigot, daughter of Edward Pigot, and Charles Dickenson, son of Capt. John Dickenson."
" Edward Pigot was the brother of the Rev. George Pigot, and was a physician,-came to Warwick soon after his brother, but remained but a few years after his brother removed to Salem."
" Sept. 7th, 1739. Dr. McS. preached at the church in War- wick, and admitted Mr. Levalley to the sacrament of the Lord's supper."
" The Mr. Levalley here mentioned was probably Peter Levalley, who died in Warwick in 1756, and was the ancestor of the Levalleys in Warwick and Coventry."
" Dec. 14, 1745. Dr. McS. preached Moses Lippit's funeral sermon, and buried him in his own ground in Warwick. He died the 12th, about 11 o'clock in the forenoon."
" June 8, 1746. Dr. McSparran baptized by immersion a young woman named Patience Stafford, daughter of Samuel Stafford, of Warwick, and then from Mr. Francis' rode to the church, read prayers aud preached there."
" April 21, 1750. Baptized by immersion, in Warwick, Elizabeth Greene, wife of Richard Greene, and by affusion, Welthan Lippit, wife of Jeremiah Lippit, a sister of said Richard."
"Saturday, June 12, 1756. Dr. McSparran administered bap- tism by total immersion to two young women at Warwick, viz .: Elizabeth Greene, jun. daughter of Richard Greene and Eliza- beth, his wife, and to Sarah Hammett, daughter of an Ana- baptist teacher, some time ago dead."
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CHURCHES OF WARWICK, R. I.
" July 23, 1756. As I came home from Providence, I took Warwick in my way, and baptized hy immersion one adult, named Phebe Low, daughter of Philip Greene, Esq., of War- wick, and wife of one Captain Low."
" Philip Greene was the grandson of Deputy Gov. Greene, and the father of Col. Christopher Greene, of the revolution, and married Elizabeth Wickes, sister of Thomas Wickes."
About the only relics connected with the old church known to exist at present, are a portion of its records, and a Bible and prayer book, given to the church by the " Society in London for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts." These latter fell to the possession of a Mrs. Lippitt, who lately died in Providence. The books are probably now in possession of the nieces of Mrs. Lippitt.
ST. PHILIP'S CHURCH, CROMPTON.
At a meeting of several persons, desirous of forming a Christian congregation in communion with the Pro- testant Episcopal Church, held in Crompton Mills, War- wick, on the 27th of May, 1845, the Rev. James H. Eames was appointed chairman, and Mr. David Updike Hagan secretary. After due deliberation it was decided to form a religious society to be known "by the name and style of St. Philip's Church." The following per- sons were appointed wardens and vestrymen : Frederick Pfawner, senior warden ; David Updike Hagan, junior warden; Wm. C. Gregory, James Crawford, James H. Clapp, Thomas Tiffany, vestrymen ; David U. Hagan, vestry clerk, and James H. Clapp, treasurer.
The vestry were instructed to procure "a lot or lotts for the use of this congregation as soon as the sum necessary to effect it shall be subscribed." The present lot on which the meeting-house is situated was purchased and the house built during the year. It was consecrated by Rt. Rev. J. P. K. Henshaw, Bishop of the Diocese of Rhode Island, January 1, 1846. The house was never completed according to the design, which contem- plated a tower and vestibule on one of its corners, with
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ST. PHILIP'S CHURCH, CROMPTON.
other ornamentation. The cost of the house in its present form was $1200.
Previous to the building of the church, religious ser- vices were held in the "Store Chamber " for about a year, Rev. J. Mulchahey, now assistant rector of Trinity Church, New York, and Rev. Daniel Henshaw, son of the Bishop, and now rector of All Saints Memorial Church, Providence, officiating on alternate Sabbaths. The first baptism recorded on the church records is that of a child of Thomas Hampson, December 19, 1843.
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