USA > Vermont > Bennington County > Arlington > St. James' Episcopal Church, Arlington, Vermont : a sketch of the birth and growth of Saint James' Parish, the oldest parish in the diocese of Vermont, together with brief sketches of the lives of the bishops of the diocese and of the rectors of St. James' Parish > Part 15
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St. James' Churchyard By HORACE MILLS ABRAMS
F those who travel Route 7, many note the picturesque beauty of the little, Old Churchyard of St. James', Arlington, and some of the more discerning stop to gain better acquaintance. Older many years than the church building itself, the churchyard with its and he-covered stone wall and fine trees at its gate, yet nestles in the otecting shadow of the church. This cemetery has an interesting tory coupled with its beauty, and as this history leads to a better e derstanding of Arlington, some of the story will be briefly given. 0 in n, d Those who settled Arlington were many of them Episcopalians. e primary cause of their migration was rebellion against the services ich they were compelled to attend in Connecticut. It was therefore tural that the town charter made provision for the support of a arch and minister agreeable to the settlers. Rev. Frederick A. Wad- gh, one time Rector of St. James' and probably Arlington's best torian says-"The public rights, set apart by the town charter, Mre believed to be sufficient to constitute ample endowment-provided ything like fairness were used in selecting the lots. To Captain ergiel Hawley, leader of the emigration, therefore, the care and pro- uting of these rights was entrusted" by vote of the proprietors in the king of 1764 at the same meeting in which Hawley was elected the wn's first moderator. "In 1765, by vote, the proprietors set apart a t of about 14 acres, 3 of which should be a churchyard and public en, the remainder as part of the glebe evidently intended as a place : the church and ministerial residence." The selection of this plot the center of the village in such an attractive site is another debt- e probably not appreciated by modern men of business-which those 10 love Arlington owe to Jehiel Hawley and his far-sighted interest. "In some manner, not now known, much of this plot was con- cated and sold, with the exception of the north-east acre reserved : burial of the dead." What attractiveness was lost to Arlington len Hawley's original plan of making these 14 central acres a Ommon" was swept aside! f
arie Frau to ara iten a ga gat y led est
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Most people assume that because of the logical location of the chu fan next to the burying ground, they were always intended to be that waard That is only partially true. They have grown up together for ov!en century, but when in 1784, after many delays occasioned by the ev: w of history preceding, the question of location of the church builder o came up, another location was selected. Wadleigh says-"Having ho excluded from the public ground set apart for the purpose, timber enbo on a glebe lot was drawn to a place about half way between ] la Arlington and West Arlington. A conference with Gov. Chittenegt and with the counsel of Lemuel Buck, Esq. who lived as far dist bir as any person, led to reconsideration, and it was voted to build Ar church by a stake to be set by the Governor south of the church ya:w So the church came back to the approximate site that wise old Jedan' Hawley intended it to occupy. How many churches can point to Htl ing their locations selected by the founder of both the town and chute and by the highest officer in their civil government? Bu
Not only has the originally planned location of the church beer moved but also that of the burying ground itself. It originally Et tended somewhat farther east toward the state road than at pres Just when the east boundary was moved back is uncertain now anc record exists as to those who were laid in the ground now a part of road to the church. Our Vermont ancestors of those colonial times h neither the affluence nor time to mark the resting places of their coin with inscribed stones. Rough field stones upended at head and mi marked many graves, while others lacked even this identificat M Probably many of the early settlers whose graves are now unkne. were among those who could not be identified when others were M moved inside the existing boundaries. A number of interesting sto. ce too long to relate here, are told about this readjustment by o ved Arlingtonians. N
In any case Arlington is somewhat unique among New Engl ily towns in that so many who did so much for her in her early diar passed on to find their last abode in even newer settlements furi North. Some like Jehiel Hawley were Tories and though invited N return after Saratoga did not do so. In others the migratory instiem which brought them to Arlington originally proved too strong and t A moved to newer settlements. Of these may be mentioned Dativ Castle, who was one of the early settlers in four different Verme- towns, Ethan Allen, Mathew Lyons, Governor Chittenden and m Sc other notable Vermonters. Some, like Remember Baker, to whom el memorial has been erected (1941) met untimely deaths in line of do to the new republic elsewhere and never returned to their home. Hi ever, many of Arlington's early notables still watch its progress fit
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cheJames' Churchyard. The earliest remaining stone is that of Amos at hard who died December eighth, 1777. Many of Ethan Allen's or en Mountain Boys, both officers and enlisted men lie beneath the ente waving flags, which spot the green lawn. Just within and to the uil ng 2 ber n ten t of the evergreen shaded gate is the mossy stone of Mary Lyons, of Mathew Lyons the bull-necked Irish contemporary and ;hbor of Ethan Allen and Thomas Chittenden. Not much is known Mary but not the least of her husband's achievements was that of g the only man to ever represent successively-and successfully-in di shington, the people of three different states.
ild A recent publication states that Mary Brownson, Ethan Allen's first yahe was buried in Sunderland. In fact, both she and two of the lusty Jan's children, Joseph and Mary, are buried in St. James'. The olet location of their graves was lost in the moving mentioned above. chuwever, a stone to their memory was erected by Mr. Jesse Burdett on Burdett lot near the center of the yard. A young college graduate- h 2 genitor of Miss Hermione and Mr. Nathaniel Canfield of Manchester, Ethan Allen's secretary while the latter was producing his "Oracle re: Reason" in Sunderland. Mary Brownson was not noted for tender- and of tongue nor was young Hitchcock over assiduous in the matter of work. Hitchcock's friends were wont to remark after Mary's th that they never saw him work so hard or so willingly as when roping to carry Mary's body from Sunderland to St. James' Church dd in February, 1785.
Mr. Jesse Burdett, for many years Vice-President of the N. Y. C. & R. railroad, had his summer home in the present Rectory. Both he Mrs. Burdett and their son John Lathrop Burdett, at one time Pay- ter of the N. Y. C. & H. R. railroad, were among Arlington's led people.
Near the northeast corner stands a pure white marble cross of beau- illy modest simplicity and proportions marking the graves of ureman Halsted Watkins and his wife Helen. The work of Rev. Watkins and his wife are better told elsewhere in this volume.
tec Ist Not far away is also the resting place of the devoted wife and mate of the Rev. George R. Brush, a former Rector of St. James'. dd At about this same point the youth of Arlington for many years Dreived their education in the school of District No. 2. The building lf-after three moves has apparently come to rest behind the church School St. where it now serves as home and summer studio of Miss pozuel S. Drummond, a noted music teacher of Philadelphia. At one diod a Baptist Church stood on the cemetery lot near the school-so Hr in fact that Mr. Will Hard, now 87 years young and of remark- fly keen memory, relates that the older boys could jump from the ool to the church steps. He has good reason to remember. Not as
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old as the boys of whom he speaks-young Hard tried the jump- cut his forehead on the church steps in his unsuccessful attempt.
Space does not allow mention of many others resting here. hoped that a directory of the cemetery may soon be erected nea entrance for the assistance of the increasing number who visit beautiful spot each summer. The names of many representatives colonial Arlington families are here, Hawleys, Hurds, Hards, Canf Lathrops, Demings, Holdens, Benedicts, Gallushas and Andrews, to 1 tion just a few.
St. James' is a happy hunting ground for those interested in q10 head stones. Many have exceptional Masonic symbols. Dr. Ka Baltimore's noted surgeon, has found here "cherubs" of unusual de and beauty. The names on the stones give a good picture of the plane in which they lived and worked, good Yankee names, all of ta There are Zadock Hard, Chloe Deming, Benijah Leonard, Eliakim liams, Thankful Briggs, Abner Everts, Tabitha, Zilphia and Pollard, Polly McAuley, Biron Barless, Simeon Jones, Galen, Adon and Israel Canfield, Jerusha Clark.
Another, Elnathan Merwin, kept one of the numerous taverns w abounded in colonial days. Perhaps Elnathan's was larger-or 1 conveniently located-than some of the others. Certain it is thai the south-east corner room of his tavern was held the first recce meeting of a Masonic Lodge in Arlington in March, 1797. Elnatla tavern achieved fame even before that, when most of the meeting the Governor and Council were held there-perhaps in the same 1 -when Vermont was an independent republic of which Arlington the capitol. Elnathan still watches over many who do not know a his claim to fame.
St. James' is not Arlington's only colonial church yard. Natal advantages led many of the settlers to make their "pitches" near ych is known as "The Green" in West Arlington. In 1802, these fan se associated themselves together for the purpose of building a churc their own. The East Church (now St. James') was a free church c Bethel, while the one at West Arlington in which the pews were lr at auction was called Bethesda. The churches got on well togena having the same minister and one-half the officers of the associaon coming from "down river." The Bethesda church had their churchyard on a knoll above the Battenkill and on the road about half mile west of the church. Here rest most of the Bucks, the Hud some of the Hawleys and other representatives of the original fam at Mark Whalon, in an historical article has described in some detail Bennington County custom in which farmers quarried marble on 1 farms for tombstones long before they were needed. On summer :, days after service they were wont to gaze on these memorials-sg
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Is comparing their own with those of their neighbors. The West ngton yard contains two stones whose inscriptions prove the facts Mr. Whalon's narrative.
When Captain Jehiel Hawley led the little band of youthful grants from New Milford, Connecticut, to their new homes in ngton, he was accompanied, among others by his brothers Abel, anfpon and Josiah, and their father Ephraim. Ephraim Hawley lies to the center of the churchyard. His simple stone bears, in addition is own name, this inscription-"Jehiel, his son, The Founder of the copal Church in Vermont." Nearby, its molded top decorated with 1 carved cherub and weeping willow of the colonial period, stands her plain stone. Appropriately to him whom it so well and simply - le p memorates, Nature has given it a delicate pattern of lichens. en and by whom it was erected perhaps some reader can advise. It is this inscription-
In memory of Captain Jehiel Hawley, of Arlington, in Shelbourne, County of Chittenden, this man died November 2nd A. Domini 1777, aged 66 years. Death Reigns Triumphant This man has ceased, he speaks no more His Troubles are past, his fears are or'e. Then speak no ill ye men of spite For God's a God that Judgeth right.
Let him that standeth Take heed lest he fall.
notIn such simple words is written the memorial of the man who ided the beautiful, historic little town of Arlington; who founded Naasplendid Episcopal Church of Vermont; a man of whom it has been ar fan urc that his enemies could find no fault save that while he "feared" served "God," he also "honored the King" and who because of his judgment, ability and kindness should be better known and hoored as one of Vermont's great citizens.
ere ogeton. Arlington has her historic place in the story of Vermont and of the More fortunate than many larger places, and ones better ocitwn today, she has had an unusually large proportion of historic ir lents. Other towns may claim Ethan Allen-Ethan was certainly utte enough to share-he made his home in Arlington during the period Huis greatest activity. Governor Thomas Chittenden was of sufficient amfare to share and he achieved his best work while living in Arlington. tail re are others-Remember Baker, Judge Harmon Canfield, Schure- Halsted Watkins, Jesse Burdett, George H. Wadleigh and many er 9 rs, several of whom are not to be found in St. James' and whom ngton is glad to share with other towns.
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CHAPTER FIFTEEN
St. James' Parish at Present
W HEN Abraham Bronson came to Vermont in 1802, he f the Episcopal Church almost extinct. Had it not beer. the persistent loyalty and religious efforts of the illust Jehiel Hawley, who laid the foundations of the church in the h of the people by assembling them for worship in his home Sunday Sunday for upwards of twenty years, the Rev. Abraham Bronson n have passed from Arlington to some other field to begin his missic labors.
Some day, it is our hope that a monument may be erected ir. Arlington Churchyard to bear a lasting honor to the memory of churchmen and pioneers who blazed the trail for the establishment growth of the Episcopal Church in Arlington. It was largely due to foresight and activity of the Rev. Abraham Bronson, it should al: remembered, that in 1811 the Eastern Diocese was formed, and Bishop Griswold was called to Episcopal oversight of the infant ch in Vermont. This may seem an unimportant phase of that early p to those who have been nurtured in non-Episcopal churches, but connecting link between our mother, the Church of England anc Episcopal Church in America is its government by Bishops, and permanency of its existence here in America depends upon this for government in every diocese. For this reason, in preparing this hi: of the parish, it has seemed fitting to knit together the growth and tivities of the parish with the Episcopate as the center.
The Bishops have been the instruments of its spiritual growth to them alone is committed the authority to impart the laying-c hands in confirmation. To them the parish has looked for counsel inspiration, and they have been "the court of appeal" to whom been committed questions of discipline and parochial differences.
St. James' Parish has lived in the midst of the turbulent as w the peaceful on-goings of time in the community and the nation has witnessed in the lives of its devoted parishioners many times od pression, and periods of hardship; its people in the early days had e of the comforts and conveniences of modern life.
THE REVEREND WILLIAM MEYLER WARLOW 1911-1915
THE REVEREND KILIAEN VAN REN SSELAER GIBSON 1917-1918
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THE REVEREND JOHN MILLS GILBER 1923-1925
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THE REVEREND GEORGE ROBERT BRUSH 1926-1939
THE REVEREND PHILIP THACHER FIFER 1939-
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'he stage coach and horse and buggy period seems like an echo of listant past to us who have inherited the comforts of travel in nobiles, buses, railroads, and airplanes.
Jur forefathers lived without the constant touch with the affairs te world through the telephone and the radio.
'et their story is a revelation of indomitable courage and thrift, as mes to us through the meager records that have been handed down . In the common round of their community and church life, they their times of friction, they were beset with the same weaknesses petty jealousies that are common in all communities without respect me. But their simplicity of life had its great advantages; they ed to the church as their teacher, it was the center of the interest le neighborhood.
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"Through the years the parish has been the background for the lopment of social and religious welfare. Here have been fostered refinements of life.
The church building as it stands now with its commanding and in- ng presence is the embodiment, the fruit of the struggles and fices of the past. It testifies to the worth of the systematic teach- of the faith of our fathers, given through the diligent ministry of ors and teachers, and through the quiet influence and example of y fathers and mothers of sturdy character and unswerving integrity. The diocese and the parish have within a few years entered upon and efficient leadership.
At a special convention of the diocese held at St. Paul's Church, ington, on July thirtieth, 1935, to elect a successor to the late op Samuel Babcock Booth, D.D., the choice of the diocese resulted te election of the Rev. J. W. Sutton, D.D., vicar of Trinity Chapel, York.
Unfortunately, as it then seemed, after a delay of several months, Rev. Dr. Sutton declined the election.
n the meantime the diocese without a leader was becoming dis- aged or disheartened, and the importance of the speedy election of hop was keenly recognized.
Another special convention of the Diocese was held at Trinity rch, Rutland, on November twelfth, 1935, and, on assembling, the Vedder Van Dyck became the choice of the convention. He was ecrated at St. Pauls' Church, Burlington on St. Matthias' Day, uary twenty-fourth, 1936.
The Rt. Rev. Vedder Van Dyck, D.D., is the fifth Bishop of the cese of Vermont. He, like the late Coadjutor Bishop Bliss, was tor of St. Paul's Church, Burlington, where he had successfully istered for five years.
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While Rector, he showed unusual capacities as a preacher an administrator, having served on the Executive Council and on Diocesan Committee of Finance.
In his wider field as Bishop, he has become familiar with the sp problems of the diocese and has shown peculiar versatility in hel to solve them.
The diocese has been facing the problem, since the death of Bi Booth, of how to finance the up-keep of the two buildings, the mont Episcopal Institute and Bishop Hopkins Hall.
Sad as it seemed to allow the Vermont Episcopal Institute to teriorate through lack of repairs, yet since funds are at present sufficient to adequately maintain both buildings, the Bishop decided for the pressing needs of the School for Girls, Bishop Hopkins should be maintained, and that the resources of the diocese shoul used so far as possible in the repairs and improvement of the proj so that the building may become a permanent educational institu
Through his planning and financial management, not sparing own physical labor in the use of the paint brush and carpenter's 1 the Bishop has succeeded in the renovation and repairs of Bishop ] kins Hall so that it now shows the fruit of his initiative in impr heating and plumbing equipment, and in the decoration of the int of the building.
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Bishop Van Dyck has given himself unsparingly to the many I lems, financial, educational and spiritual, of the diocese, spen much time in counsel with Rectors and parishes when needed; he ministered often in the Chapel of the School for Girls, where he teaches, and in vacant parishes and missions in addition to his rej parish visitations, seeking in his preaching and in spiritual counse awaken the congregations of the diocese to the vital need of loyalty to the standards of the Church, and to attendance at its ship, also laboring to strengthen the morale of the people by appe to them to realize the necessity of turning their hearts and minds wills toward God and religion in this time of crisis.
The Rev. Philip T. Fifer entered upon the rectorship of St. Ja Church on the first Sunday in May, 1939.
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Mr. Fifer is a native of Philadelphia, and was prepared for priesthood at the Philadelphia Divinity School.
He was ordained Deacon June first, 1931, from St. Peter's Padly Glenside, near Philadelphia, and to the Priesthood March twelfth, 1
His ministry began as Vicar of an old colonial Parish, St. Jan uc Perkiomen, in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, on June first, 1 M where he remained until November thirtieth, 1935, when he bert Vicar of the Church of the Advent, Baltimore, Maryland. Afinal
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ST. JAMES' PARISH AT PRESENT
stry of over three years there he was called to become Rector of ames', Arlington.
The item of chief interest in Mr. Fifer's first two years as Rector t. James', is the attempt to place religious education on a really uate level of efficiency.
t seemed to him, as to many others in various places and churches, the nineteenth century Sunday School was not and could not live o the hopes entertained for it in the days of its founding.
The Church can never afford to forget the affectionate and generous tion of countless lay-women and lay-men who have staffed the chial Sunday Schools for the past hundred years, and yet, for all in his view, the children of the Church were not being adequately nded in the Christian Faith and Christian living.
"o Mr. Fifer, as well as to other like-minded educators elsewhere, : seemed to be two ways in which to deal with the problem.
n the first place, aside from any question of when or where the ren were to be instructed, the new plan assumed that the priest elf would do the teaching.
econdly, where possible, the instruction would be given in connec- with secular education, preferably in the same building, and on ol time.
As the plan worked out in Arlington the children of grammar school were brought to the Rector's Study on Saturday mornings, coming le of three different hours according to their ages.
"his arrangement has been in effect for two full years now, and in Rector's judgment has thoroughly fulfilled its purpose.
n regard to the other element of the revised scheme of education, no than a beginning has been made, but there is hope for develop- Upon the suggestion of the local Roman Catholic priest, and at request of the parents, the school authorities devised a plan for ious classes to be taught in the Senior and Junior High Schools by everal clergymen.
This was most happily put into effect in the latter part of the 1939- school years. However, its necessity was not fully enough ed by the powers that be in the school system.
On this account, in the reorganization attendant upon the burning of the schoolhouse in November, 1940, religion was tem- ily dropped out of the curriculum.
The principal has declared his intention of reestablishing religious uction when the school is again housed in adequate quarters, and Mr. Fifer's hope that the school and community will then be able e that religion is not a peripheral subject, but one of the funda- Af cal four R's.
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ST. JAMES' EPISCOPAL CHURCH, ARLINGTON
It should be borne in mind, Mr. Fifer says, that this attempt to i the disastrous divorce between religion and secular learning is peculiar to Arlington, but is commending itself to countless comr ties in this country and abroad.
Nearly thirty towns in Vermont alone have embarked upon si projects.
Mr. Fifer is a musician and he says that before coming to Arlin he had given much thought to the matter of Church music. T great and oft-expressed delight he found at hand, in the person of Harry Grout, the choir director, both the desire and the abili bring the parish music into line with the standards that are app by many students of Church music.
The last century has seen a renewed emphasis both upon worshi the several appurtenances thereof, including music. However, Fifer says, as might have been expected, desire for improvement o the facilities at hand, and it was characteristic of most church ; to suffer from being overly ambitious.
Mr. Fifer feels that the problem has been met in a splendid w Vermont on a diocesan basis, by the provision of annual training ferences and choir festivals.
Arlington began to cooperate in these ventures in the time o Fifer's predecessor, and has now come to such a level of attainmen: the Bishop himself has called attention to it.
In March of 1941 the Chancel was strikingly enriched by the tion of a Tabernacle and Sanctuary Lamp.
They were given by the Leake and Jackson families in memo their parents, Richard Bryan Leake and Annie Nichols Leake, a memory of Mrs. Roland Jackson, daughter of Richard and Annie and of her son Richard.
These gifts had been accepted by the Vestry with the consen at the request of the Bishop.
In the unavoidable absence of the Bishop the Rector blesse gifts and put them into service.
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